Mummykool

I agree, but its almost as if you have to get a ticket (in the cheap seats, I hasten to add) just to see if it's as bad as the last time........

We saw them on Wednesday and they were absolutely fabulous. Celine sparkled in every way. She was totally in the character of Swanhilda and threw in some fantastic spins and balances along the way. In fact I enjoyed her Swanhilda more then the wonderful Momoka Hirata on Friday night, and I never thought I would be saying that! To quote the local press review 'Principal dancer Celine Gittens is incredibly well-suited to the lead role of Swanilda. At times she is petulant and precocious, at others bubbly and girlish. She sasses the wayward Franz (Tyrone Singleton) and playfully mocks the aged Dr Coppelius (Michael O’Hare)' Tyrone was also on top form and responded with a cracking performance and Mathias Dingman also deserves a mention for his superb spins in Call to Arms. Comparing the two evenings, I thought the orchestra under Paul Murphy on Wednesday gave a better rendition of the music than under Phillip Ellis on Friday. Slightly longer, more dramatic pauses in the music made a world of difference, enabling the dancers to hold their poses at key points. Also Michael O Hare was a more sinister Dr Coppelius than the more cartoon character of Rory Mackay on Friday. Having said that, both performances were thoroughly enjoyable and we left with huge grins both nights. I can only apologise that my local theatre is shabby and very overpriced. No wonder they cannot fill the seats (although Wednesday was much busier than Friday). I think the trick is to get last minute tickets in person at the box office if you want to get special deals. There were certainly none in the local press. Such a shame. It is wonderful not to have to travel to London or Birmingham see the ballet, but companies will not bother coming to Bristol if the theatre is consistently half empty.

Beautifully put Sim. You have summed up my feelings exactly! Loved the cast for Symphonic tonight also. Great way to close out the season.

I thought it was a wonderful evening, especially from the comfort of my own home. My only gripe was the poor lighting, which seems to be a constant complaint with performances at Sadlers Wells. It was sad that so little of Mr Menezes excellent La Sylphide ppd was visible in the gloom....his feet looked wonderful in the brief instances they were visible. Like everyone else I loved Flight Mode and was sorry that he also didn't get a prize. I am absolutely thrilled for Georgia Bould. I sat next to her Grandma in the Coliseum when Georgia was still waiting to hear if she had been taken into the company. She was telling me how hard Georgia worked and of her determination to succeed, but above all, how proud she was of her granddaughter. I startled the husband by squealing with delight when it was announced Georgia had won the People's Choice award. Somewhere in Wolverhampton is a Grandma absolutely bursting with pride today! Once again it is hat's off to Tamara. Sharing the evening online with a wider audience, her elegant presentation, her articulate and interesting comments and, above all, her obvious love she has for her company of dancers, can only help widen interest in the art we all love. I find her truly admirable.

The first piece was amusing (and I thought quite clever) to start with, but then it seemed to morph into something else that just didn't know when to stop. The second piece looked interesting but again was far too long. I can't say I found either the choreography or the music inspiring. The quality of dancing however, was superb. I think Bridiem has made a really good point about the dancers lack of facial expression making it difficult for the audience to become fully engaged. Ghost Dances is an iconic piece, head and shoulders above the rest. It certainly got the ovation it deserved but, like Johnpw, I wish people had waited until the curtain had closed completely before making such a noise. I think the lighting was a little dark but it does add to the powerfully brooding atmosphere of the piece. It was also a real pleasure to hear the music performed live. It's worth going just to see Ghost Dances - in fact the the people next to us did just that and only showed up at the end of the second interval.

How did McRae fare? I thought he over-did it on his debut, but have to admit that, out of the three Rudolphs we saw, I felt sorriest for his in the final act.

I think these 'curtain' episodes show how Rudolf gets embroiled with the Hungarian uprising.... The first time he is accosted he just wants to get rid of them, the second time he listens etc. etc. So I feel it actually moves the story along while the change of scenery is taking place. I find that infinitely preferable to a musical interlude (which these days half the audience would take as an opportunity to chat......)

What a wonderful evening of dance. The last time we saw In the Middle Somewhat Elevated it closed the show, so it seemed odd to start with that piece. It was very loud (but not unpleasantly so) and danced with very high energy. It may not have had quite the finesse that Cojocaru brought to it last time, but boy did they make up for it in absolute commitment. It was lovely to see James Streeter given a prominent role (in both this and Rite) and Caesar Corrales in particular was on fire. It brought the house down. Adagio Hammerklavier was a complete contrast. The three couples dancing to a solo piano was so calm and beautiful. It was longer than I thought it would be, but I didn't want it to end.Tamara was on top form and absolutely shone...her lines and those beautiful feet brought tears to the eyes. That piece too brought loud cheers from the house. Although not listed as an other interval, there was then a considerable break while the stage was prepared for Rite of Spring. This was done in full view of the audience and it was fascinating to watch the men fix a groundsheet and then dump huge containers of earth over it and rake it smooth. As for Rite itself, we have seen quite a few versions now and none have ever seen to match up to the excitement of the music. This one really delivers both physically and emotionally. The dancers gave absolutely everything and the orchestra were superb. Francesca Velicu as the chosen one must have been absolutely exhausted at the end, I know I was just watching her! Tamara really seems to know how to deliver both as a dancer and as an artistic director. It was a fabulous evening.

We went back to the final performance on Saturday and both Icarus and Narcissus and Echo were much better for a second viewing. Maybe because we knew what to expect, the awful set and costumes of the latter amused rather than appalled. Sergei also didn't sprawl over the 'orange' but instead sat with his back to the audience gazing at the stars, which made more sense. Unfortunately the lake still resembled a volcano, and I felt really sorry for the guy in the red cape .....his bottom must have been really cold by the end of the week. One thing that did not improve with a second viewing was Tea and Coffee. The audience response was polite at the end but then they cheered the dancers...possibly out of sympathy. The dancing was certainly in a different league to what we saw on opening night and made the choreography seem better than at first viewing. Osipova was lovely (again) and seems to be able to make something of a role even in difficult circumstances. Her solo had echos of Anastasia and was very moving. Her spins were superb and her elevation excellent. The main difference was Sergei, who seemed to go for it....possibly because it was the last night. His jumps were much higher and cleaner and the lifts that looked clumsy on Tuesday seemed, if not effortless, a whole lot easier. General response to the evening was very enthusiastic with much whistling and cheering at the end. On that basis it seems unlikely that any notice will be taken of the critical reviews. Given the audience response, the fact the run was sold out and tickets were being offered at hugely inflated prices, leads one to suppose that Sergei may well be tempted into another venture. I can only hope he will be better advised if that happens.

I've got some Swarovski Crystals and a hot-fix glue gun you can borrow Quintus...

Well its not all bad Quintus.....I've seen worse! If you like the incessant drive and relentless choreography of Spartacus, then Vasiliev's Icarus is bearable. As a whole piece this is probably the best section of the evening. The second piece is very Arthur Pita. Apparently it was choreographed for the Stanislavsky and had a limited run. Polunin wished to bring it to a wider audience. I am still wondering why, though quite a few of the audience seemed to get a whole lot of linguistic jokes that passed me by. It is one of those pieces that might be better for a second viewing. I think a lot has already been said about Narcissus. The set is from a very bad 1960's sci-fi B movie. The costumes are naff (although the husband really appreciated Osipova's outfit (and we are betting on how much of it will be left by Saturday)! Mostly the choreography is uninspiring (and probably under-rehearsed) but there were some absolutely wonderful and very emotional sections with Polunin/Osipova and then her final solo at the end. Those alone make me happy to sit through the rest of the nonsense again at the end of the week. Polunin seemed nervous and his dancing wasn't as tidy as expected. It will be interesting to see it all again after they have had a few performances. I wish him luck in his ventures and hope he gets the fame he craves. He won't get it with this as, like Carlos, choreography is definitely not his strong point.

That piece got my award for the worst segment of the whole evening! This was closely followed by Makhalina's woeful efforts in Spectre. Light Rain was definitely a highlight although, like Fonty, I thought Lacarra disturbingly thin. (Incidentally, as did Olivia Cowley in SB the other week). The other real treats were Vadim's Black Swan PDD and Tamara rattling off those fouettes at the end. We were left in no doubt as to exactly whose stage they had all been dancing on! I also really enjoyed Konavolova, Lunkina and Alexandrova's performances. Glad I bought a programme and all in all a good (but expensive) night.

So are we!

Dying Swan? Special surprise? This is all beginning to sound like the Trocks!

Both but the email was aimed at me as an ENB friend. If you have a spare red flag Quintus, I'll join you........

Well I for one am very grateful as I love La Sylphide but can't stand Song of the Earth.... Incidentally I got an email this afternoon telling me I could get tickets to Giselle at Sadlers Wells in September if I upgraded from a Friend to a Patron. I thought that a bit of a cheek and it made me quite cross.

I believe he has been cast as Soloviev.

I know I'm being cynical here, but articles about a totally nice guy don't sell newspapers. They also do not create much publicity for the upcoming screenings of Dancer and Project Polunin at Sadlers Wells.

The entire Southbank Show documentary about Mayerling is up on Youtube in three installments and is well worth watching. I also found part 1 of Makarova's Ballerina. We have all the episodes of the latter on VHS, also Dance with Deborah Bull but I don't know if that helps!

Make room for me too please!

For those still wanting tickets, there are now 20+ tickets available on the ROH site for the first two Watson /Osipova performances.

I wrote to the ROH to ask why they were not filming the Osipova/Watson Mayerling and have received the following reply. "We are sorry to disappoint but sadly Mayerling is not scheduled to be filmed this Season. The Company would love to be able to relay more performances naturally but is limited by resource. We choose a variety of full-length and one-act ballets to be filmed across the classics, heritage and new work to reflect the range of our repertory. Anastasia was selected as the MacMillan ballet on this occasion, not having been seen at Covent Garden for many years. We do appreciate the desire to see favourite works and casts – and realise that although Edward Watson was in a DVD recording of Mayerling, it was eight years ago! Natalia Osipova features in Anastasia which will be released on DVD later in the year and Zenaida Yanowsky will dance in Marguerite and Armand at the live cinema relay on 7th June. It’s very useful to receive this feedback as we do want to provide DVD recordings that an audience will want to see. If you know anyone who wasn't able to book tickets for this cast's performances, please let them know that there's still the possibility of doing so through Friday Rush and to continue to check with the Box Office and the website for any returns. I hope you will have a wonderful time when attending the performances." I don't think this actually covered the points I made and have already replied. I did not request a live screening, simply that the performance be recorded for a DVD. If I am not alone in wishing for this, perhaps others also need to write to the ROH.....they have been known to bow to public pressure!

Great Idea. I have written to the ROH and asked why they are not filming / broadcasting the performance. Perhaps if a few more of us do the same......

I'm not a massive fan either, especially so after sitting through that interminable McGregor triple bill before Christmas. I was worried that Multiverse had scarred me for life but I absolutely loved last night! Before seeing Woolf Works last year I 'mugged up' on the three novels on which it is supposed to be based.Knowing an outline of the story for Mrs Dalloway helped (gleaned off the internet!), but I was still a bit confused as to who was who. However, it was very moving. As far as the other two pieces are concerned, I don't think my homework helped at all but we really enjoyed everything. As Dave has just said, the music is (mostly) hauntingly beautiful and a lot of the choreography is far more fluid and balletic than the usual McGregor fare. Orlando is more his usual style - contortions, lots going on at once, laser lighting etc etc but we loved it. That is the piece that needs seeing more than once to figure where (and who) to watch, especially as they keep changing costume! Sometimes I think these things are better without preconceived ideas as to what should happen. Perhaps there will be far more explanation for the cinema audience than was provided in last year's programme (which was very intellectual but totally uninformative!) Personally I'd give it a go.

The best for me (in no particular order) The Osipova/ Nunez Giselle Act 2 Akram Khan's Giselle Frankenstein Anastasia Yasmine Naghdi and James Hay I was disappointed by both the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky performances here this year but the worst (by a country mile) goes to Multiverse