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alison

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  1. alison
    Somewhere in the middle of the "new Royal Ballet Swan Lake" thread (http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/8921-a-new-royal-ballet-swan-lake/page-3#entry119383) we started getting a bit worked up and picking our least-favourite bits of Swan Lake. Now this is your chance to make up your own DIY nightmare Swan Lake by cobbling together as many disparate chunks of the ballet as you like, preferably from current or previous productions, to make the most dreadful production possible, rather like that "Misfits" game where you have various heads, bodies, legs and feet printed on strips of card and have to put them together to make particularly ridiculous-looking characters. I shall think about mine while I'm off doing the washing-up, but in the meantime, over to you ...
  2. alison
    I think I was probably dividing it into pre-natal and post-natal, or something
  3. alison
    It would be, but I doubt it: it sold incredibly poorly even in London when they last put it on. I think I pretty much loved it from start to finish, although I might have been a bit confused at the singer! It was from that performance that I counted my "proper" balletgoing as starting. It was a sweltering 30 degrees plus outside, and I was very surprised, given that he was in the knee-breeches on the cover of the programme, to see Gennaro make his first appearance in those shorts. In my inexperience back then, I wondered if it was either some sort of health and safety measure, or whether the dancer had actually refused to wear the knee-breeches because it was too hot! I have somewhere a scanned copy of the review from Dance & Dancers, comparing the various casts, but it seems to be at work only. Must check it out sometime.
  4. alison
    Triple bill? I have it on video, I think with "Silence is the End of Our Song".
  5. alison
    Catching them at Wimbledon next week, so we shall see ...
  6. alison
    You're right - I've just looked up the DVD via Amazon: I've always had it imprinted on my brain that it was the Norwegians, for some reason. Was the casting down to a batch of injuries, pregnancies or what? I remember when the Royal Swedish came over to London to dance Don Q and a whole load of their ballerinas were off on maternity leave of one sort or another, but can't remember whether this was another instance of the same or not.
  7. alison
    Yes, just when you thought it was all over and things could get back to normal Two more lifts to replace, apparently. Guess I'll have to go back to travelling via Holborn or Embankment, because my experiences of doing the recommended walk to Leicester Square were pretty hellish. I think I'll move this into the News and Information forum so that more people spot it.
  8. alison
    Oh? That wasn't the impression given by the media. My apologies. The LFB version must have been 1989, then: I did think it odd that they seemed merely to be giving a handful of performances at the Dominion and none elsewhere.
  9. alison
    I think being on the small screen maybe even improved it - and there are very few dance pieces you can say that about. I think because it was so claustrophobic it suited the screen well. And yes, I'm pretty sure it was Channel 4 it was on.
  10. alison
    I've been catching up with the newspaper links, and am fascinated to see that Ballet Arizona, of all people, has just danced the first performances on US soil of Bournonville's "Napoli". It appears to have gone down extremely well with the critics: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/17/arts/dance/review-ballet-arizonas-napoli-embodies-a-culture-of-exuberance.html?_r=1 http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2015/02/tales-of-the-danish-southwest.html and I hope the audiences appreciated it as well. The Danceviewtimes article in particular gives an excellent report of the ballet, and I particularly like this comment: "You can’t delete religion or its trappings from “Napoli” any more than you can take the cross out of “Dracula” without damaging its architecture. You’re removing a counterweight to other themes." Other stagers, please take note! It sounds very much as though the production is highly similar to the one Festival Ballet used in 1989, which I really liked. It's great to see Ballet Arizona doing something like this, and marvellous that Ib Andersen isn't neglecting his own heritage. Lucky Phoenix! I wonder if they would ever end up doing a mini Bournonville festival in the US in a similar way to what Sarasota Ballet do with Ashton? I don't suppose we have any readers who actually saw this, and who would like to report back, do we?
  11. alison
    Yes, those were distinctly "challenging". Really not the sort of thing to be subjecting ballet-starved audiences in smaller regional theatres to - certainly not in the early years. I'm not sure who else has rights to it apart from Rambert at the moment. As you say, it really is a shame, because it's part of the syllabus and yet it seems impossible to see it performed live anywhere.
  12. alison
    Yes indeed. Would it had stayed that way, really. It was such an exciting time. I was only just getting into ballet at the time, and now wish I'd seen more of the performances from that era, instead of being in my "been there, done that" phase. I was just reading the reviews of the Ballet Arizona "Napoli" and reminiscing about the one performance I ever saw of that - LFB again.
  13. alison
    Timmie, try this thread: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/2734-where-are-the-best-seats-for-swan-lake-in-the-round/ (There's also one relating to the in-the-round Romeo production)
  14. alison
    Actually, maybe not Hogard, unless they split the role on the first night? I thought she started dancing Odette only, but could be wrong - it was just slightly before my time.
  15. alison
    I was about to say that I assumed the premiere was cast as on the video, i.e. Schaufuss and Hart, but in fact it was Patrick Armand, I *think* with Susan Hogard?
  16. alison
    It's one of my very favourites too, although I'm not sure the original cast can be surpassed. I've seen them all, although I have a feeling not all at the same time - perhaps one of them was injured. I remember watching Onzia in it from front stalls at the Coliseum - now, that was an experience! I've also seen various Rambert casts in it, including female ones - and maybe a mixed-gender one? A fantastic ballet to perform in, and I wish someone would revive it.
  17. alison
    I got a phone call from BT this morning after some years, trying to persuade me to switch my phone back to them. One of the things she asked me when trying to persuade me of all the benefits was: did I receive unsolicited sales calls? (because they could filter those out for me)! Well, duh. I said "You're asking me that?" The irony seems to have passed her by completely!
  18. alison
    Thank you, victoriapage - no relation, I'm assuming? I've changed the title to reflect the updated content of the thread.
  19. alison
    (Only the women, of course )
  20. alison
    Oh? You mean they've dumped the Peter Wright version?
  21. alison
    You reckon? I think there's a lot of room for ... disimprovement, if there is such a word? I mean, they could kill Rothbart by pulling his wing off, have a happy ending, have loads of tubby blokes prancing around as courtiers in Act I, Odette standing on pointe on her partner's head ... This is starting to feel like that game where you construct a person by putting together separate (and disparate) heads/torsos/legs/feet on paper/card. In fact, I feel a new thread coming on: Nightmare Swan Lakes ...
  22. alison
    My mistake, sorry. My disappointment was all the greater considering that the Royal Ballet's own production a few months earlier had received rave reviews, and even that didn't convince people around the country that it was a ballet worth seeing. I suppose if it *had* been the RB performing it would have sold more tickets.
  23. alison
    No, indeed . (I was - vaguely - listening to a conductor on Radio 3 yesterday who was talking about his work with underprivileged children and the hugely positive effect that the music and arts can have on their lives. And then I read in my local paper that the local music trust is at risk because of budget cuts.) And it's not only the arts being affected in that way. I was talking to an inventor the other day who was saying that the UK used to lead the world in so many technical matters, but that he wonders how we're going to be able to carry on doing that given that so much of our industry has been closed down and young people aren't getting the necessary background to encourage them /rant
  24. alison
    Some people may have been going for last trains, or irregular trains: my last connection from Charing Cross used to be at about 10.10 pm, so I could understand it if that were the case. But where trains are plentiful there's perhaps not such an excuse, unless you have a babysitter waiting to get home, or something, I suppose. And actually, I remember talking to someone who said that if they left at such-and-such a time they would make their last fast train home from Waterloo, whereas the one after that was maybe 45 minutes later and called at all stops, thus taking 50% longer. Or something like that, anyway.
  25. alison
    Well, wouldn't you, given the option? When do you ever see, for example, BRB or NB premiering works in London?
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