trog

I have always thought the Sleeping Beauty as being too slow and boring, until the story is out of the way. One the BlueBird, Puss In Boots and Little Red Riding Hood appear, I think the ballet improves no end. Romeo and Juliet is another that needs a good prune. There is far too much music. When you prune the garden, it looks so much nicer and there are several ballets that I feel the same about. :)

I've only ever heard it as letters, ie are aye dee - same as RADA - the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

A heads up for The Man Who Loved Redheads with Moira Shearer on Talking Pictures (Freeview 81) this Saturday 18:35 I haven't see it for ages, so I can't remember how much she dances. IMDB says "John Hart dances the part of Sergei in the Sleeping Beauty extracts and appears by permission of the Covent Garden Trust."

The Firebird Nutcracker Sweeties Apollo Concerto Barocco (pretty much the entire Balanchine catalogue) Far From The Madding Crowd

Spotting who was in the audience was great fun! I would like to add to Janet's review and say that I think the first pdd between Maggie and Mossop is one of the most beautiful in any ballet.

I think it was one of the worse :) As to the Unleashed Triple; I don't know what was off the leash. Lyric Pieces has always been a favourite. The movement of the cardboard is quite hypnotic at times and the choreography is wonderful. I thought Sense Of Time was really good. The wall of suitcases is a real surprise, although clearly the stage crew haven't quite got the hang of setting it all up, as the performance started about 5 minutes late. With delicious Delia Matthews, Celine Gittens and Brandon Lawrence on stage, I was very, very happy. I don't like Peter And The Wolf. I have seen it three times and it isn't growing on me. The decision to have Peter as a girl just doesn't work in my opinion.

https://mailchi.mp/dancexchange/brum-pro-class-membership-launched?e=6fc76aa788

I'm seeing it in Shrewsbury and Wolverhampton.

If you want to dig around, these are the pairings that I know of for Grand PDD on youtube Alicia Amatriain and Jason Reilly (2 versions) Elisa Carrillo Cabrera and Igor Kolb Uliana Lopatkina and Marat Shemiunov Julia Kramer and Robert Tewsley Alicia Amatriain and Roberto Bolle Elisa Badenes and Roberto Bolle Lauren Cuthbertson and Alexander Jones If you don't like Le Grand Pas de Deux, there is always "The Mistake Waltz" from The Concert by Jerome Robbins

As do Julia Kramer and Robert Tewsley. I think there are six different pairings to be found on tube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iS4Yj_84Co

We do calf raises at the barre in one ballet class I do - 8 in first, 8 on the left leg, with the right leg cou de pied, 8 on the right and repeat. It's an absolute killer! I do this in the gym too, three times a week. It hurts less if you really pull up in the knees and squeeze your bottom. Don't lean on the barre to much either; it is much easier if you stay vertical.

If you are in the circle for Swan Lake (and other big ballets), you can see all the pretty patterns the corps make, which you won't see if you are in the stalls. If you're watching R&J from the circle, the stage looks really empty for most of the ballet. The worse case for this was ENB R&J In The Round, which I saw in the Adelaide Entertainment Centre (basically an aeroplane hanger). I was in the front row and for most of the ballet, the two dancers looked to be about 4 miles away. Reminds me of when I saw David Bowie in a stadium gig. More the Small White Speck than the Thin White Duke. They said it was David Bowie, but it could have been anybody. If you are in the front row of the stalls of a theatre (my preferred spot), you can watch the orchestra if the ballet is a bit dull. You can sometimes hear the dancers grunting too, which shows they are human after all.

I've seen R&J danced to Berlioz score, which I think is superior to the more familiar Prokofiev score. There is so many great ballet scores, it is hard to pick a favourite but The Firebird is oneo of mine.

It appears that if you aren't logged in, you don't count as a view. I don't login unless I have something to post, which isn't that often. I still check the site daily though.

There isn't much on as far as I can see. Hippodrome has Calendar Girls The Musical and Ceri Dupree in The Ladies I Love The Alex has Thriller Live The Crescent has Spamalot The Rep has Captain Corelli's Mandolin The Old Joint Stock has Riot Act