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Could be. My mother does an aquacise class that is funded by the Australian government. It's to help with the rehab on her tin knees, but she loves doing it and I think she would continue even if she had to pay. As I have said before there are more people in the ballet classes that I do than there has ever been. In the past, the class has always been full at the start of term and dropped to 8-10 by the end. Last term there were still 15-20 in class and there were new faces coming right up until the end. Last night (first class for the year) they were turning people away and about 1/3 were new. It gets a bit crowded with 30 people but it doesn't worry me - there is always plenty of room at the front.

Andrex Dash Button Amazon Dash Button is a Wi-Fi-connected device that reorders your favourite product with the press of a button. Each Dash Button is paired with a product of your choice, which is selected through the Amazon App on your Android or iOS smartphone during the set-up process. Easy to use. Press the Dash Button and never run out of your favourite products. As far as I can tell, you are supposed to purchase a bunch of these things, one for each product (coffee, loo roll, tootpaste, etc) stick them around your house, so that you can order stuff at the touch of a button. At £5 a pop, it would take a reall mug to signup to it, even if you do get a £5 discount on your first order. I can imagine it being pressed quite often and you find yourself with loads of, for example, loo rolls that you don't want.

I'm not a doctor and I don't play one on TV, but I can tell you that schools are breeding grounds of all manner of illness. I know I work in one, and I have worked in several in the past. The first school as a grammar school and I was quite frequently down with a dreaded lurgy, especially in the winter. On the plus side, when I left and went back into the general work force, I never got ill. Next I worked in two schools, a secondary and a primary. The primary was terrible - lots of children running about with six foot snoot dangling - they would constantly run into you and you would instinctively use you hands to stop them, with predictable results. Now I work in a six form college - it's better but we staff are still at the mercy of student germs. So what can you do? Wash your hands at every opportunity, using hand sanitizer - I keep a tube in my drawer. Avoid as much contact with people as possible (OK so not exactly practical in your daughters case). Eat well - lots of fresh fruit and vegetables Drink lots of orange juice - I'm a litre a day man.

This is one of those seemingly endless small companies that come from Russia and tour the UK for a few months, presenting Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Copellia and Giselle in numerous regional theatres. I saw them presenting Swan Lake in Symphony Hall in Birmingham, Saturday night. Their website says the company was founded in 1996; I'm surprised that they have never popped up on my radar before. If you go and see one of these companies, you know exactly what you will get and you really shouldn't expect any more. The dancers will usually be passable (but not spectacular), the sets will be simple, the stage small and as the repertoire is limited, the dancers know the steps extremely well, so it often appears as though they are dancing in their sleep. With Swan Lake, you can be sure that the jester (so beloved by British audiences) will make an appearance (but not the tutor) and the happy ending will be presented. Tick on both counts. There were two surprises in this production. Firstly, the entire score, and I do mean every last bit was there. There is usually a huge section missing from act 4 (I think it is sometimes referred to as Waltz for White and Black Swans). Secondly the Neapolitan as danced as a solo. The score was played by the Hungarian Sinfonietta Orchestra, and at times it did sound a little strange, probably because of the lack of musicians. I don't know how many musicians were in the bottomless orchestra bit of Symphony Hall - it was impossible to see. There are only two of the twenty five dancers featured in the program Natalya Romanova and Petr Borchenko. I thought Romanova was quite good as Odette/Odile and there was a marked difference in her for each role. She really was a different person. Borchenko wasn't the Prince - he was relegated to Czardas and Vadim Lolenko was Siegfied. He was no where near up to the standard of dancer as Romanova. Overall, I found it a pleasant evenings entertainment for thr first ballet of the year.

Here's a thread that has some ideas http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/13968-portable-ballet-barre-any-good/

There is Pas de Quatre. Here is a discussion from 2003 on another board and they come up with several http://balletalert.invisionzone.com/index.php?/topic/13245-all-female-ballets/

Seeing more of Delia and Brandon. The BRBs Evening of Music and Dance is always a highlight. Really, I look forward to any ballet and I have lots lined up for 2017. I'll also be very glad to be back in ballet class next week, assuming my back allows me to go, although I'll probably do what I aways do - just ignore the pain and go. For the curious, 30 years ago I injured my lower back lifting a 5kg piece of computer equipment out of a box. I was in agony for about three weeks - standing up or lying down was about all I could do. Trying to cut code, standing at my desk, was "entertaining". Anyway, it all got better, but every so often it comes back to remind me it's still there. It lasts a couple of days and then goes away. It's always something trivial that sets it off. I'll deadlift 100kg in the gym with no problems, but putting on my shoes, or my jumper or picking a pillow off the floor - all these have caused it to go. The Thursday before Christmas, it went again and it's still quite twingey. This is the worse it's been since the iinital injury. Maybe I'm getting old

"Nearly everyone in the UK knows by heart the best path to take them over to their favorite public house. But what about jotting down the shortest route to visit every pub in the country and return home safely? That is what we set out to do." Link 1 - UK Pubs traveling salesman problem Link 2: 24,727 UK Pubs Interactive map of the tour (takes a while to load) Hic!

Hi Liv56 - welcome aboard. If you're an adult looking to do ballet for fun, then DX is great. We're back next week and there are classes Monday to Friday evenings, with varying degrees of difficulty, so they cater for everybody. The studios are nice and warm, and they do limit the numbers in class. It can get a bit crowded though. Most of the teachers are ex-BRB (which is an added bonus for me as I well remember then being on stage and they are still fab to watch). Parking can be a bit of a problem - I park on Bristol Street (free) , or there is a car park directly opposite or the Arcadian. Click here for DX classes. Maybe I'll see you there? Siobhan Collins-McCarthy used to teach at the MAC although sadly they don't run ballet classes any longer, which is a pity as they have a car park. Her classes were quite technical, and she was very quick on the corrections. I haven't been to her school so I can't comment on the studios. Nicholson School of Dance - I haven't been taught by Annette, but I have taken classes in the studios, which are gorgeous. It's quite easy to park there - there is some onsite parking or the side street across. She has some little cubicles to change in. The Dance Workshop in Moseley runs adult classes on Tuesday. I did Suzanne's intermediate for a while - very technical, but as always excellent corrections. The studio isn't a bad size and there are quite good changing rooms. They have a cafe too. Richardz in Rubery has an adult class on Monday nights. The studio is tiny, but there aren't many in the class. I went briefly over the summer break, until I discovered Suzanne's above. The class is very basic and it's a very short class too. Change in the toilet.

http://mashable.com/2017/01/03/ballet-dancer-proves-anyone-can-dance/ Terrible music but he's not a too shabby - I wish I could fouette like that.

Best - BRB Shakespeare Triple - esp Wink & Moors Pavane Worst - BRB too I'm afraid for Wolves Are People Too - lots of the dances seemed to come from other ballets and the live drawings, although really wonderful in themselves, really added nothing to the piece. Biggest Surprise - NBT - Jane Eyre - so little set and so much done with it.

A date for the diary - coming to Wolverhampton 10 June 2017. https://wlv.ticketsolve.com/shows/873568963/events I saw it earlier in the year. It's an interesting idea, although I don't think it worked all that well. Maybe it will improve on a second viewing. (I assume the dancers will be appearing - the program lists it under Jazz.)

Apologies for the belated response - no internet until today. Does anybody know if Zizi could really piroutte that fast or was it a consequence of the camera? Wonderful dancing by her - so good that I've ordered the DVD - it will make a nice addition to Black Tights (which is excellent IMHO).

The BRB did The Cracked Nut twice. It was the beautiful Peter Wright production, which they messed about with - giant candy cane for Clara, seemingly endless Sugar Plum Faries chasing the Prince, Roger Cook (remember him) making an appearance to confront King Rat, lots of guest appearances such as Rusty Lee, Brian Conley, etc. Great fun!

Here is a nice Christmas video on the BRB website https://www.brb.org.uk/post/a-true-christmas-delight-with-pandora

Shakti has a version of Swan Lake which I've had the privilege of seeing three times, once danced on her own and the other with her two regular co performers. It's not Swan Lake as we know it, focusing more on the birds rather than the people, but it is most definitely SL - the entire story is there.

Ballet Cymru include this in in their version of Cinderella.

I bought these about a month ago http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/162266468323 - all 6 for £56.99. The blue and orange are probably not much use for dancers - they barely move when you pull against them, but the others move with varying degrees of effort. I'm going to get another purple and green so that I can join them for extra length.

I too had a pair done at a local picture framers, but the frame is quite large and I'm running out of wall space. Nao Sakuma's just hide in a box. I'm thinking of having a swap around, but I've been saying that for years.

Friday evening Brandon saw relegated to one of the attendants in the Arabian - he was still pretty good though! Delicious Delia was the Snow Fairy - she was lovely as always. For me the highlight was seeing Wolfgang Stollwitzer (name spelled incorrectly on the cast sheet) as Clara's Dad. He looked amazed with each of the magic tricks, laughed at the jokes and still looks as fab on stage as he ever did. Maureya Lebowitz and Joseph Caley gave a good turn in the grande pdd. I'd forgotten just how beautiful this pdd is.

Nice pictures of the dancers on my favourite seat in the Adelaide Art Gallery Dancers from Russia’s St Petersburg Ballet fly in to The Art Gallery of SA

Here's a review from the Express & Stat that didn't make the reviews links thread http://www.expressandstar.com/entertainment/2016/11/27/review-the-nutcracker-birmingham-hippodrome/

I agree. I've seen it 6 times - Bolshoi, Kirov, Paris Opera Ballet x 2 and St Petersburg Theatre Ballet x 2. The Bolshoi were superb and I'm looking forward to the BRB doing it. The Shades will probably look very different. When the Russian companies do it, they appear to take great care in having dancers all of the same height. That doesn't happen in the BRB. My thoughts as well. Celine Gittens as Gamzatti? Celine and Delia in either role would be swell and I hope they both dance Nikiya and Gamzatti. My guess is they will.

This was filmed in the Birmingham Municipal Bank building in Broad Street. It was the hub during the recent IDFB. The building has seen the odd exhibition and is open during the hidden spaces weekend, but sadly this beautiful building is neglected. During the IDFB, we were lead to believe that HSBC (who are building a new HQ behind) were going to take it over, maybe as a branch. This would be a very sad use of the building. However, the latest news is that the University of Birmingham are going to use it for research and performances. Good news! Joe Public might be able to visit more often. It will be a real challenge to get the building ready for occupancy. The ground floor isn't too bad, although some of the marble cladding will need to be replaced (assuming they don't rip it all down). The vaults will presumably remain as is. The upstairs offices and bank managers accommodation are probably off limits until something is done with the stairs. Originally, they featured cast bronze balustrades, but these were stolen by metal thieves and there are temporary scaff bar hand rails in place. There are many sharp edges and until this is dealt with, the upstairs cannot be really used.

There were about 50 people watching Cinderella in Dudley last night. There are usually less than 10 when the Bolshoi are on. Maybe people don't like to go out on Sunday evenings. I am genuinely surprised that there was so many people there. It wasn't live and it's not the best known of scores (personally I think it is a much better score than R&J).