Quintus

Has anyone seen the full length Jocelyn Pook score for M-dao online? I was trying to explain to my music producer son what I would call, using a technical musical term , the 'scary growly bit', to see if he could tell whether the effect was natural voice or electronic pitch-bending. There are short clips from rehearsals on ENB's Youtube channel, but those feature the earlier 'waily bit'. Can't find it among the soundcloud clips on JP's website; maybe she doesn't have the rights to publish it.

I watched ENB company class last week - in the stretching/warm up, Jeanette Kakareka, who is admittedly tall, casually 'stepped' onto the barre, i.e. with her leg folded vertically and her knee up by her ear.... then flopped over so her body was parallel to the barre with her legs still in that step position. It hurt just to watch.

I think I might stick to saying hello to those of you who are sporting a badge rather than adorning my own lapel with a pair of pointe shoes

I wish the Coli would ban drinks too; on our last outing there, the women next to us put their large glasses of wine on the floor then kicked them over on their way out in the interval. Having snatched my coat, as usual under my seat, from the approaching puddle, we told the usher, who marshalled up a wad of tissues and muttered darkly about slip hazards. When the women returned they didn't even notice their glasses of wine had gone..

Sort of... I went to the full stage rehearsal, which was mostly not in costume, and saw Begona Cao with Max Westwell in that. I'd also attended an ENB masterclass evening some weeks ago where Annabelle Lopez Ochoa was rehearsing the two of them through the pdd scene with the singing. Then I saw Tamara and Irek last night. I'd love to have seen Begona in the full performance, as she was so expressive in rehearsal. Frida was in and out of bed as she had numerous operations throughout her life; the strappy costume was a representation of her steel corset, as shown in one of her paintings. Like Diego she also managed to have lots of affairs, including apparently one with Trotsky, so she lived life to the full! Back to M-Dao, I noticed some martial arts moves in Medea's initial sequence. I'll have to look up some more of Yabin Wang's work, as I've always thought there was scope for a work that explores the parallels between ballet and martial arts (when I win the Lottery...).

The accident was represented immediately after the initial scene where Frida is a schoolgirl flirting with the boys; the Mexican Deaths appear amid flashing light and one reaches and touches her stomach; i took that to be the pole. If you haven't see the film Frida, then that is an excellent place to start to find out more about her. Schirmer Art books' Masterpieces series has a biography and lots of her paintings in their Frida Kahlo book, well worth getting.

just back from tonight's performance, with Tamara and Irek in BW and Lauretta in Medea. Second time round and with costumes everything worked better / even better. Broken Wings is a great spectacle and I found it really quite emotional, in part at least due to Tamara's performance (though I found Begona equally compelling in the rehearsal). Irek was naturally more at ease as portly, middle aged Diego than Max Westwell. I wasn't sure about the deer as played by Jeanette Kakareka. The stylised movement grated a little and as a closer reference to Frida's 'Little Hart' I'd have preferred a smaller dancer in the role; JK is very tall even before the antlers go on. I had found M'Dao a bit dull in rehearsal but Lauretta's Medea really propelled it along and she had us completely gripped; we thought she was fabulous. Still not entirely convinced at the staging of the children's murder behind the curtain, even when you know the narrative it's not that clear what's going on. I also enjoyed Fantastic Beings far more on a second outing, though I'd still say it's the weakest of the three, and it feels a bit too long. We were in row C, so the darkness of the lighting that others have mentioned was not an issue for us, and the piece gave many company members the chance to have their moment in the limelight. I'd happily go and watch the whole thing again tomorrow. As an aside, I wonder why Lauretta is going to do with a pile of unused right-foot pointe shoes at the end of the run!!

I've just watched the stage rehearsal of Broken Wings, with Begona Cao as Frida. I'd advise anyone unfamiliar with Frida Kahlo to browse her paintings and read a bio, or watch the film; the piece is packed with references to her work which will otherwise be lost. I thought it was excellent. Begona really gives it her all and is of course a great natural casting as Frida.

ENB on their Facebook page have just posted pictures of Grayson Perry's commissioned front-cloth for this production. Have to say it looks fantastic, a great tribute to Frida Kahlo. I'm going to the rehearsal tomorrow afternoon and the evening performance with Tamara and Irek on Friday and from the clips I've seen and the choreographer insight evening I've seen to date, am really looking to it.

Adding my thanks too. As someone with limited history with ballet and even more limited technical knowledge, I learn a lot from the discussions. Like a few other posters on this thread, I do often end up going to performances on my own, as my wife is only really up for the occasional visit, and a way of meeting other members for a quick drink or chat before or in intervals would be good. The 'tickets available' subforum seems to work - perhaps another subforum along these lines would be useful, where members who are planning a solo trip can express interest in meeting others there?

It does rather feel like an infomercial. I prefer Carry On Cleo!

I'm watching the documentary 'Cleopatra'. The main historical presenter Bethany Hughes insists on narrating past events in the present tense. Mary Beard has the same habit, and it also happens on the In Our Time podcasts. It's clearly a convention that the directors are asking for, but I find it really corny and distracting. Do they think we are all 5 year olds who will fall asleep unless they make everything immediate?

that's more of a customer base indicator; Lidl has theirs out on January 5th and Waitrose only on December 10th edit: I have no idea how I've just come to comment on a three year old post! sorry!

I noticed at the recent Russian Icons gala that while Ivan Vasiliev is still sporting longish 'hero hair', he is developing a significant bald patch. He is visibly a chap brimming with testosterone, so it was bound to happen. I await developments with interest - will we see a heroic combover, a close crop or recourse to wigs?

Have any of the companies put out April Fool stories? Haven't noticed any so far... No 'Darcey Bussell to replace Melvyn Bragg on In Our Time', no 'Iana Salenko quits social media', no 'McRae renounces hair lacquer for good', no 'Zakharova offers support to Trump'. Most disappointing.

Very sad. The Two Ronnies were hugely clever, versatile, professional and likeable, and half the nation seemed to tune in when they were on. BBC News just quoted Ant and Dec and said the Ronnies' crown had passed to them. What an insult - such empty vessels in comparison.

But if you did that you'd be missing out on 0.001% interest

This could be a very long list, so I'll keep it to those I've seen live and who have a very special something that makes me particularly excited to see them Of the current crop of superstars.... Polina Semionova (to Sybarite's point about grown men going weak at the knees, I think she takes the biscuit. I do have reservations about her rather ungainly backwards hops though), Natalia Osipova (her and Ivan Vasiliev's awesome DQ in London was a real high point), Evgenia Obraztsova (unmannered and fluid), Svetlana Zakharova (very commanding on stage albeit regal in manner) More parochially I always love to see Fran Hayward and Ksenia Ovsyanick (despite my having to check Ovsy / Ovys every time!). ​Biggest regret would be never having seen Sylvie Guillem.

I'm putting Icelandic accents in Room 202, as exemplified here by a young and borderline-elf Bjork : https://www.nowness.com/picks/bjork-the-sugarcubes-television-talk-1988?utm_source=FB&utm_medium=SM&utm_campaign=FB280316 It's a charming intonation, and those split vowels and voiceless aspirants (like the 'h' she manages to get into the middle of 'not') suggests it's the original language is one that likes to take its time. Delightful.

I emailed the contact's boss in the end and got a response and apology almost by return, so it may just be down to the individual..

I believe Zakharova is supportive of Putin around the Ukraine issue and once did a four year term as a deputy in the Duma, the Russian Parliament, appointed by him. btw both she and Vishneva are well worth making an effort to see. Zakharova in particular seems to divide opinion, but I found her mesmerising, with a hugely commanding presence on stage

A few weeks ago I saw some request, I think on Facebook but possibly a Friend's letter, for part-time volunteers to help ENB with admin tasks such as mailing out subscription renewals. I work as a strategy consultant and transformation director on contracts typically of a year or 18 months which always have gaps between them, so when such a gap recently came up, I emailed the Friends coordinator offering to help out. Two weeks later and I haven't even had a reply. I'd have been fine with a 'thanks but the rush is all over so we don't need anyone', but I find the lack of a response really quite rude. My attempts to draft a follow up have all sounded too passive-aggressive, so uncharacteristically I've deleted them! Anyone else had a similar experience?

Mayerling. Shoot me now as I know it's many peoples favourite, but I just find it melodramatic and uninvolving....

not a useful reply but this prompted a memory - I went to Leningrad as it was then thirty years ago having just left university. We went in on the train from Helsinki, which was sealed as soon as it left and rapidly became strewn with comatose Finns who had immediately availed themselves of vodka at Soviet prices. I remember the city as very beautiful and we were perfectly free to wander round. One evening we happened across a smallish theatre with a ballet on and just bought tickets on the spot and went in, knowing nothing about ballet at the time and just on a whim. I remember that it was a contemporary, abstract ballet and very sensual - it overturned all our young-laddish preconceptions. I have no idea now what it was or where we went, but it made a huge impact at the time!

You can have a pair of Diana Vishneva's for a mere $500 via her Kickstarter campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pivotalpointe/diana-vishneva-pivotal-pointe/description I see that 13 were sold out of the 50 available, so they'd probably be glad to take a cheeky offer on the rest just to reduce the ongoing Febreze bills....