trog

Here's the full list http://public.oed.com/the-oed-today/recent-updates-to-the-oed/june-2016-update/new-words-list-june-2016/#new_words - I see BRB is there although I doubt it means what I say BRB means - it's most likely be right back.

I'm sure he filled in as a teacher at the DanceXchange here in Birmingham a few weeks ago. http://www.opera.ee/en/estoonlane/jonathan-hanks/

Here's the best free resource on stetching & fexlibility that I know of http://www.bradapp.com/docs/rec/stretching/ There are loads of DVDs and books to be had on the subject - so many that it is overwhelming. I have several and they're all much of a muchness (IMO). Find one you like and stick to it. Of course, deciding on one is tricky. It's a pity FABTV isn't still around as they would show programs in which they played some of the DVDs available; eg xtend barre, sleek technique, Nicky McGinty, etc - google these and you'll find previews or try here https://www.youtube.com/user/FitnessTVchannel It's slow and steady with flexibility training and, like all things, you have to keep working at it.

I too was at Elisha's final performance. The journey was terrible - I was on the M5 at junction 2 at 16:35 and arrived at the Hippodrome at 19:20. I did take a 10 minute comfort stop on the way, but the combination of endless road works, terrible traffic and headwinds made this the worse run to Bristol ever. I used to commute Brum to Bristol every day and I could do it in 65 minutes. Anyway, the nightmare was well worth it, to see Elisha for one last time. Looking back at her many superb performances over the years; Cinderella, Belle in Beauty & The Beast, Roxanne in Cyrano, etc, etc (browse https://www.brb.org.uk/hires/ and you'll find many pictures of Elisha), I will very much miss seeing her. She really was on fire Friday evening, and the performance will forever remain in my memory.

French polishers use it. A quick google revealed this http://www.axminster.co.uk/liberon-blonde-dewaxed-shellac-flakes-340989 which would prbably last you a lifetime.

If you haven't gotten around to buying yours yet, I purchased mine from here http://www.badgesplus.co.uk/round-badges.htm quick turn around and locally made in Brum's famous jewellry quarter.

I caught up with this hard working small company at the Roses Treatre, Tewksbury, in their production of Roald Dahl's Little Red Riding Hood and The Three Little Pigs. I saw the production four years ago and I had fond memories of it. There seemed to be some new bits in it from the last time; Darius James has been known to revise productions. There are some really good laughs in this. It's really a ballet for children and they love the toilet humour. I did too! If you are planning to see this, I'm afraid that you're just going to have to put up with young children being loud. There is some lovely dance too. You have to really concentrate to catch some of the steps. Generally in ballet, a sequence will be repeated, so if you think "oo that was nice" you can really pick out the details on the reprise. There are no repeats in James's choreography, so you might miss out. The combination of dancing and narration is not an obvious one but it works very well in this production. Let's be honest, without the narration it would really work all that well. The visual jokes are funny and always drew a big laugh, and Dahl's writing guarentees a laugh. There are ten dancers in the company, and there appear to be five new ones from last years lineup. This is the 18th consequetive year that I have seen the company and long may they continue to delight and entertain.

I saw their Jane Eyre at the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton. Having neither read the book or indeed the program notes before seeing the production, I really had very little idea as to what was going on during the performance. I did not know who any of the characters where or their relationship to each other, so I think it was a very poor choice for a ballet. It's not all bad though. There are some really excellent moments. I was very moved by the bed pdd and the bullying scene was well done, even though I didn't know who was being bullied. Philip Feeny's score is wonderful. It's quite avante garde and I would like to hear it again. I thought the set was very clever. It's amazing what you can do with a raised platform and some curtains. The Grand seats about 1200 and I am happy to report that there appeared to be very few empty seats. I haven't seen Northern Ballet since the did Dracula in 2000 - I must not leave it that long again.

If you're there on the Friday night, you'll be able to identify me by my new blue badge.

From an email that I received. It will probably be very interesting, but I can't make it. Sir Peter Wright - In Conversation and Book Signing Saturday 18 June | The Patrick Centre I am delighted to invite you to a unique afternoon with Sir Peter Wright, dancer, choreographer and former Artistic Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet. To celebrate the publication of their book Wrights & Wrongs: My Life in Dance, Sir Peter and writer Paul Arrowsmith will reflect on over 70 years dancing and creating ballets. You will hear from Sir Peter about his fascinating life, the world of ballet and his most celebrated Birmingham Royal Ballet creation, The Nutcracker. After the talk, Sir Peter and Paul will be signing copies of Wrights & Wrongs for a limited time only. The talk and signing will take place on Saturday 18th June, at two times - 12.30pm and 5.30pm. The talk will last approximately 60 minutes and tickets are £20 per person. You also have the exclusive opportunity to purchase an advance copy of Wrights & Wrongs for £20, a £5 discount off the recommended retail price. Copies of Wrights & Wrongs can be reserved in advance when you book your ticket, and will also be available for sale on the day. Owing to the seating capacity of the Patrick Centre, places at the two talks are extremely limited. To book your tickets please go to www.brb.org.uk/Wright or call 0844 338 5000*. For any other queries, please contact Elise Bourgy on 0121 245 3537 or email elisebourgy@brb.org.uk

Hopefully some of the cinemas here in the UK will be outside of the M25.

They might have good reasons for being in the wrong class, that being the time it is on. The Tuesday classes at the DX are 6:00pm improvers and 7:15pm for beginners. I can't make the 6:00pm class, so I have to do the beginners. It isn't a problem for me, I just make things harder and the teacher sets more difficult variations. I did feel a bit embarrassed the other day, when I did a big finish ending in a drop to one knee and she announced to the class "Don't be put off by things like that". (There were a lot of first timers.) Fortunately, Thursdays tha class times are the other way around, so I'm in the right class. I don't think you ever stop learning in ballet. Last night, we had a substitute teacher and he set a tendu variation that I've never seen before. As to adults dropping out because it is harder than they expected, I know of a recent case. Earlier in the year, we had a new chap come to class who had been dragged in by his girlfriend. He said it was hard to "contort your legs that way and wreck your knees". Of course, he mean turnout and we turnout so that we don't wreck our knees. He stopped coming after a couple of weeks, but she still comes.

There has been a definite change in the makeup of adult ballet classes since I started 20+ years ago. Back then, there was usually only one bloke in class (err me!). After the first decade, there was one other bloke who came for a year or two. He was well past 60 but I think he moved away and stopped coming. The only other chaps were at the classes that I attended at the real ballet school. One or two of the students would do the adult class as an adjunct to their training. Now there is usually at least one other bloke in class and sometimes three or four. We had the mayor come for a while, when the pressures of office would allow. Sadly he never wore the chain to class! In Birmingham, the classes have always had a wide age span from 18 to 60+. We're getting more black men these days. There have always been black women, but rarely men. Several women whose heritage is of the Indian subcontinent, although no men as yet. They will, no doubt, come one day. Why the increase in numbers? Perhaps for the reasons Colman said. Perhaps for other reasons too. I think there is a trend for older people to excercise more. We're getting more people through the door at the gym that I go to, and they don't seem to be put off by the body builders either.

I found this today http://www.brumpic.com/home-blog/2016/5/26/dance

The trailer reminds me of the ballet segment in the annual Vienna New Year's Concert. If they can attract people who haven't been to the ballet before, so much the better! Perhaps they will be inspired to go and see it live. I was chatting to one of the people who works at the DanceXchange last night and he said that this year there have been more people doing adult ballet classes than ever. I can confirm that classes have been larger this year. Around now, numbers start to drop off but there are still 10-15 in class and new people are coming every week. I've never known new starters this late in the term. The chap said that beginners street dance was more popular than every too. This can only be a good thing.

Yes, annaliesey thanks for posting 'We love a “split” penchee or jete that goes beyond parallel, developpes past the ears....' - I don't!

"Young people of Birmingham have been putting on their dancing shoes and working with Birmingham Royal Ballet to come up with a very special performance based on William Shakespeare’s famous play Romeo and Juliet." https://www.brb.org.uk/post/brb-team-with-aston-hall-for-a-unique-education-project http://balletnews.co.uk/birmingham-royal-ballet-and-aston-hall-collaborate-for-romeo-and-juliet-project/ If you don't know of Aston Hall, it's one of the gems of Birmingham, It is a magnificent seventeenth century red-brick mansion situated in a picturesque public park on the north side of Birmingham. King Charles I visited and it was besieged by the Parliamentarian's. The house still bears the scars.

I've done a bit of pointe and I didn't find it all that difficult. The main problem was convincing my teacher to let me do it. AFAIK, pointe shoes are only made in pink unless it's a special order. I used shoe dye to turn mine black. Getting shoes in a large enough size could be a problem. I'm blessed (or cursed depending on how you look at it) with small feet so it wasn't a problem for me. I was fitted in the Freed shop in London and they were very helpful.

I'm seeing this on the 11th June in Tewkesbury. I've seen it before and it's great fun!

BC = British Columbia

I watched Ballet BC in their triple bill, at the Birmingham Hippodrome, last night, the final event of IDFB. There is a lot of dancing in the dark, with the dancers wearing black costumes and a completely black set. Sometimes it what quite hard to see what was going on. Of the three pieces on offer, the opener 16+ A Room I felt was the strongest. It's very energetic and the drum and bass score helped give the sense of urgency. The dancers are obviously very fit! It is not all danced at warp factor 9; there are some slower sections and there are some lovely patterns in these. The choreography is by Emily Molnar, the AD. Next came Solo Echo by Crystal Pite. It is a much slower piece, danced to Brahms and provides a nice contrast to the opener. The are some really beautiful moments in this and I think this was the audience's favourite. The backdrop of five columns of continuous falling paper snow looks nice. This is in the repertoire of Netherlands Dance Theatre. Finally Bill by Eyal & Behar and in the rep of Batsheva Dance Company. I found this piece very dull and repetitive. I hope the composer has paid royalties to Kraftwerk - there are clearly bits of Autobahn, Trans-Europe Express and The Man Machine in there. The white leotards are uninspiring. I estimate the theatre was half full last night. It is a pity there weren't more there but the company is relatively unknown in the UK. Several of the BRB dancers where in the audience. AFAIK, Birmingham is the only place they are visiting in the UK and the final performance is tonight.

I saw this in the lovely Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury last night and what a splendid evening it was. Quite a good audience too - I think the theate was 3/4 full. Opening with Wink, a new ballet by Jessica Lang, and with three of my favourite ladies (and my absolute current fav), what's not to like! Actually, there was one tiny bit that I didn't like, which is where the dancers are wrapped around each other - looked a bit fetishy to me. The set, with the spinning screens, is simple but effective. I guess you can read any meaning into these that you want, the obvious one being turning the pages in a book. It is a ballet that flows well and is one of those pieces that gently washes over you and draws you in. It is a ballet that certainly deserves a second and third viewing, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing it again. Alfie Jones, who read the sonnets has a lovely speaking voice and the costumes with the hand writing in the design are intriguing - what does it say? After the interval, we had the reconciliation pas de deux from The Dream and the balcony pas de deux from Romeo and Juliet. Neither are favourites of mine, although I will say that Céline Gittens and Tyrone Singleton really sold R&J. Miss Gittens WAS Juliet, the young girl experiencing her first (and last) true love. To end the second section, the pdd from Cranko's The Taming of the Shrew, with Elisha Willis and Iain Mackay turning in their usual sterling performance. Miss Willis really does looked jacked off at the start and mellows at the end. You really can't do wrong with a bit of Cranko. After the second interval, The Moor's Pavane by José Limón, danced to music by Purcell. This was a perfect marriage of dance, music and costumes. I'm a bit of thicko when it comes to Othello and I couldn't follow the story, but that didn't matter. I watched some lovely dancing, which conjured images of a different age. This was the first time that I have ever seen the long period style frocks actually do the job for which they were designed, when in one glorious moment, Yijing Zhang glided around the room as if she was floating. With César Morales, Yvette Knight, Chi Cao and Yijing Zhang, one couldn't help but be captivated. I must confess that I was a bit confused when I saw the casting sheet. I was expecting to see extracts from The Shakespeare Suite in the middle, and had they been included, I think they would have gone down a storm. On the train this morning, I saw a poster that says we are going to get The Shakespeare Suite, along with Wink and The Moor's Pavane, later in the year. I can't wait.

Misplaced ear worms thread

In response to : I know it's a bit early in the year but While shepherds washed their sox by night All seated 'round the tub A bar of Sunlight soap came down And they began to scrub.

I've been known to snigger during the Arabian segment of The Nutcracker. Whenever I hear it, immediately "I say Holmes, what was that?" leaps into my mind. Why you ask? Spike Jones! His version of The Nutcracker Suite is by far the best.