BristolBillyBob

Off-topic, but if I ever start a band I'm totally calling us Jazz Pants Nightmare.

On 21/11/2018 at 17:02, Lindsay said:

...to my mind putting muscled young men in tiny gold speedos and having them writhe around in slow motion under golden lighting is fairly unarguably homoerotic.  There are clubs in Soho where you could see very similar things any night of the week, except that the choreography there tends to be more interesting. 

When I write about my feelings about the show later, I'll pick up on some of these points, but for now I just wanted to thank you for making me giggle. 2am bed after the last train back from London is already making my work day a challenge, so a smile with my morning tea was welcome. 

Hi all. Just quickly popping my head up to say I'll be at this tonight, and will be flying solo. I'm always up for saying hello to fellow forumites - it was lovely to meet @Blossom yesterday! - so if you're going too and want put a more up-to-date face to my name in the interval, do drop me a line.

If anyone's interested, Northern Ballet's 1984 Blu Ray is £13.30 on Amazon at the moment. Seems like a pretty decent price for the Blu Ray disc, >£20 most of the time. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07BF8557Q/?coliid=I2HIUF64OKNJTT&colid=2JWJX25RL6KL2&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

BristolBillyBargainBasementBob

No longer needed.

On 18/09/2018 at 19:46, BMC said:

On the subject of relaxed performances, I inadvertently booked for one recently - to see a romantic musical comedy at the Sam Wanamaker Theatre at the Globe. As someone who likes to sit quietly, gets incredibly irritated by mobile phone lights etc, I didn't know what to expect but it turned out to be one of the loveliest afternoons I have ever had at the theatre. One of the actors came on stage at the beginning and mentioned in a very low key way that the audience could react however they would like to, including going in and out during the performance.  That didn't happen so much, except for a lady with a sleeping baby which eventually woke up and was taken out but what was particularly engaging was seeing a lady with Tourette's clearly enjoying every minute, with her carer able to relax and have a good time. We soon got used to her calling out, although very often what she said was pertinent to what was going on on stage and she had the audience in stitches - totally laughing with her, I hasten to add - while the actors didn't react at all so there was nothing to draw attention unnecessarily to anyone. Although it was the ultimate feelgood musical, I can honestly say that it being a relaxed performance made it very special indeed resulting in prolonged applause and cheering. To say a great time was had by all would be an understatement. I was chatting to a colleague about it and she told me about her young brother who has Down syndrome - he absolutely loves musicals and likes to sing along so her family are huge fans of these relaxed performances.

 

I think this is a very long winded way of saying that I think they are a terrific idea as long as it's made clear when you book so that you know what to expect.

What a lovely post; made me happy to read it. Thanks for taking the time to share.

On 27/06/2018 at 22:01, RuthE said:

 

 

If you can bear to click on a Daily Mail link, I refer you to Quentin Letts’s review of The Turn of the Screw. Why send somebody who clearly just doesn’t like 20th-century opera, and sneers at the notion that others might, to benefit from press tickets to just such a show?

I always thought, in my case for music albums, that there should be two reviews; One from someone who knows about the genre and already appreciates it, understands its nuances, etc., and one from someone who isn't normally on board with it, but can offer an outsider's perspective. Too often I've read reviews from someone who clearly doesn't enjoy or appreciate that kind of music, makes that fact clear, and I learn nothing about whether the album is any good!

I always remember a friend of mine saying "The problem with reviewers is that a lot of the time they're mostly reviewing themselves", by showing off how much they know, how snarky they can be and just how gosh-darn intelligent and insightful they are, and I think that's probably true.

On 07/09/2018 at 19:24, Odyssey said:

I would love to get my hands on the giant volume of photographs of Sylvie Guillem called Invitation at a good price. I once discovered a copy online at a very reasonable price  -particularly for the postage and packaging as it is a heavy book. Much to my exasperation it never arrived and the seller refunded! 

I saw this in the Opéra de Paris shop and had a leaf through. It's really quite a wonderful but remarkably weighty thing; I think it would've been my hold luggage allowance by itself!

I quite enjoy bargain hunting - it's something of a hobby for me! - so I'll keep an eye out and report back if I spot it somewhere!

In case anybody is interested, I've been watching In the Company of Stars: The Paris Opera Ballet on Amazon and second hand copies have dropped to £1.06 (+ £2.80 p+p). Can't comment on the book itself as my copy has yet to arrive, but thought I'd give a heads up.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/2080300008/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Ooh, I didn't know they were doing Vera. It's an absolute beaut. Happy memories of that night at the Barbican at Choreographics in 2014; it was something very special indeed. 

Hi there,

Insights: Balanchine and Robbins – Exploring American Idols: Tuesday 27 November 2018, 7.30pm

I'll be up in London for a conference while this is on, and I'd be happy to take a ticket off your hands if you (a) have one to offer and (b) want to spare me the uniquely exquisite social awkwardness torture that is "networking dinner".

Thanks! 

19 minutes ago, Rob S said:

 

Don't quote me on it but their price guarantee deals with the price you pay should it go down between the time you order it and when it's released, as it's now indicating the Special Edition version is £50 they may claim your order was when it was mis-priced and the guarantee doesn't cover that.

 

Wish me luck, then! I'll report back in the autumn...

2 hours ago, Pulcinella said:

This is what Amazon say about the special edition.  The ordinary edition is £30, the special edition £50.

I put in an order for this when it was £30 earlier... Literally the only time I've preordered anything on Amazon, and their Preorder Price Guarantee has already paid off for me! 😄

Darcey Bussell just announced on Instagram that she has a new book coming out called Darcey Bussell Evolved:

Quote

I'm so excited to share with you the cover for my new book Evolved. It's full of photographs from my career taken by fantastic photographers such as Annie Liebovitz. Evolved will be published on 1st November by @hardiegrantuk and you can order your copy now in bookshops and online (including a very special edition!). Dx

Looks like it'll be released on 1st November this year. Most bookshops are listing a 'special edition' but I'm not sure what that entails! 

Her last photo book - simply called Darcey Bussell - is one of my favourite ballet books, so I have high hopes for this. 

Just to add to Janet's wonderful review, it's worth mentioning how strong the corps are at BRB at the moment. I've never seen Fille before it arrived in Bristol, but with the lion's share of solos given to just two characters, I suspect Fille could live or die on the corps' performance, and they were sublime. Excellent work throughout the company! 

Oh, and lovely to meet up with Janet at both class in the morning and in the evening! That's, by my reckoning, three different cities we've caught up with each other now, right? Bristol, Cardiff, Birmingham? Have we ever met at BRB in Cheltenham?

On 12/05/2018 at 23:24, ninamargaret said:

Up until the closure for renovations Front Row Stalls was my favourite seat, giving a perfect view, feet and all. I think they  'improved' the rake in the orchestra stalls,so that the front few rows  became lower. I've also been told that the Centrefront row of Stalls Circle can be difficult if people in the back row of Orchestra Stalls are tall.

Slightly off-topic, but maybe we could start a thread somewhere for sharing seat recommendations (or warnings) for theatres? I know there are photos for ROH, but it's useful to know when you can/can't see feet in the stalls, or whether you'll have a conductor or violin bows in the way, that kind of thing. I often write a quick note on the back of my ticket, which I keep tucked into the programme, so when I return to a theatre I can check what seats I had and whether past me suggests I book them again. An example is the Millennium Centre in Cardiff. Nearly all the stalls rows have amazing leg room, but there are two that aren't clear from the seating plan that are hideously poor for some reason.

1 hour ago, aliceinwoolfland said:

I had a slightly stressful experience at the ROH on Monday - I was sitting in the amphitheatre, in a non restricted view seat, but being very small my view was almost totally blocked by a very tall woman in front. I sat on an inflatable cushion, which made me about the same height as most other people (and still shorter than my boyfriend) and at the end of the first interval the women behind me complained that I was blocking their view and that the seat cushions are only for children. I explained I couldn’t see otherwise and suggested that they also get a cushion. They went off to complain to the ushers and came back grumbling but didn’t say anything else to me for the rest of the performance. Can anyone advise if I was breaking some sort of code of conduct? I don’t want to deliberately block anyone’s view but I’d paid for a non restricted view seat and I am pretty short....

https://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Periscope or https://www.savvyhomemade.com/making-a-periscope-for-kids/ ? 😇

Shame it's not doing so well, as it's frequently brilliant. Act 1 in particular is quite something, some absolutely wonderful choreography. 

9 hours ago, LinMM said:

But how was it stolen from a secure premises? It almost seems as if someone was in the know about it!! 

Ballet costumes have a particularly niche market I would have thought so not sure if they would have been that useful.

Was the van quite new? Could be that it's just the van itself which was the target....perhaps they will "dump" the costumes somewhere .....hopefully undamaged. So sorry for the students. Only good bit is that the extra publicity may get more people going to see them!!

It's probably the van that was the target. It was a 2014 plate, so not massively old. Apparently it was clearly marked up with rental company decals. As I understand it thieves often go for rental cars/vans as the companies are more likely to write it off on their corporate insurance than go to a great deal of trouble trying to find it.

I'm presuming the flight cases are worth something too, so sadly I wonder if the costumes will be disposed of and the flight cases and van sold on.

4 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

I've merged 2 threads in this one place.

Thanks! I did check, but I suspect we posted within minutes of one another.

Central School of Ballet have just posted this on their Facebook page:

Quote

 

Appeal for help from the public.

Ballet Central’s tour vehicle was stolen from secure premises in Central London on Tuesday morning. We are appealing for help to find over 100 unique hand-made costumes which were especially designed and created for the 2018 tour. Other stolen items include sound, light and dance equipment.

The tour will go ahead as planned but the return of the costumes would be an enormous help. The Metropolitan Police have been informed.

 

Please get in touch directly with Central School of Ballet if you have any information on 020 7837 6332.

 

Such dreadful news so close to the tour.

If you can share in case anyone hears anything of use in the ballet community I'm sure that'll be appreciated.

The staff and students all work so hard to create what is invariably a highlight of my ballet-going year, so I'm sure everyone on the forum will echo my love and warmest wishes to everyone at Central School, and all the very best of luck getting everything ready for the tour in what must be now very difficult circumstances.

20 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

I’m at the matinee too!

Ooh! I'm second row stalls, f9, white jumper. Do say hello! 

How on earth did I only just spot this was coming to Cardiff? Have booked for the matinee tomorrow.  Been a long time since I've seen Northern Ballet, can't wait! Dreda Blow/Javier Torres/Antoinette Brooks-Daw cast should be fab...

14 minutes ago, Lizbie1 said:

The fees are indeed ludicrous, but unless the policy has changed in the last few months I don't think that they charge any fees at the Hippodrome if you book in person at the Box Office.

That's true, and I often work around the corner so do that most of the time. While saving on fees would be good for other venues, I'm more curious about the deals and other offers, such as discounts or advanced bookings, etc., that come through the ATG Card, whether they'd be worth it.

Hi all,

I've noticed that quality ballet is (thankfully!) coming to my fair city a little more these days, with BRB and ENB bringing their filles and swans respectively to Bristol later this year. Both are going to be at the Bristol Hippodrome. It's a theatre I don't have much love for, to be honest, as the spurious 'fees' are often as extortionate as the ice cream prices! While I'd much rather go to the Birmingham Hippodrome or Wales Millennium Centre, I can't ignore the fact the Bristol Hippodrome is 15 minutes walk away from my flat.

Anyway, as I was booking for another event at the Hippodrome, this got me to wondering if I should consider the ATG Theatre Card. 

Have any of you subscribed to the ATG Theatre Card, and if so what have your experiences been? Are there ever good offers on ballet performances, and have you found the card good value for money? I'd be very keen to hear your experiences before I decide whether to invest or not.

Thanks,

BBB