BristolBillyBob

Ah, "Trinidadian". I was right the first time. Still, at least I know now.

I meant Celine Gittens. Although from looking again at her profile I notice she was born in Trinidad, in spite of growing up in Canada, so maybe Trinidadian? Trinidadite? Trinadian? I'm going to go and look that up. Anyway, mea culpa. I guess I just always remember that she's got a Canadian connection because I spent a year living there so still feel a kinship with the place...

So, my annual trip to Cheltenham to see my beloved Birmingham Royal Ballet was, unusually for me, the first BRB outing of the season. I'd adored every mixed bill they've done so far (particularly the one with Elite Syncopations), so how would this set stack up? The opener, Quatrain was (spoiler alert) arguably the highlight of the night for me. Kit Holder isn't afraid to innovate in his choreography, and had some very dynamic and novel ideas in the mix. When he has groups on stage, he moves them adeptly in unison, like cogs in a fluid machine, without resorting to identical steps for all the dancers. Where his strength is beginning to show, though, is with his PDDs. As Janet mentioned, there was one particularly moving duet with Céline Gittens and Yasuo Atsuji that brought to mind Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet's stunning Ten Duets on a Theme of Rescue by Crystal Pite. This is high praise indeed. The two dancers moved in sympathy with one another wonderfully, and I recalled something Two Pigeons said to me on another thread about Peter Schaufuss's description of Bournonvilles' pas de deux as "conversation between two people rather than an exercise in porteuring", something that I think Kit Holder really understands. He is rapidly becoming an accomplished choreographer and his promise and style is really beginning to show. I suspect he might be quite the asset to BRB in the future, and could be the perfect contemporary foil to Bintley's storytelling prowess. After the first interval was Matryoshka, choreographed by company dancer Ruth Brill. It was a fun piece, danced with bounce and flair by all the dancers, who were largely drawn from the lower ranks of the company. However, the piece was dominated by Céline Gittens who stole the show completely (in spite of an ungainly tutu that needed hiking up every time a leg rose above knee level!). It's not to say that the other participants were weak, far from it, it's just... You know in the film version of Les Miserables, how Anne Hathaway was completely amazing and, especially after she sings that great version of that song and vanishes, you kinda miss her, and you know that everyone else in the movie is very good and everything, but what you really want is for Anne Hathaway to come back because she was totally brilliant? Well that, but with our Canadian dancer friend instead. Up next was the Beauty And The Beast Act I PDD. And what a beauty it was indeed. Momoko Hirata, who I'd seen in the lead of Prince Of The Pagodas, was superb. To pick up a character 'cold' like that for an excerpt must be hugely challenging, but she hit the ground running and utterly nailed it. It felt like I'd seen the whole story play out, not just a tiny portion. Tyrone Singleton portrayed the beast very sympathetically, but without pulling the punches of a creature battling his darker instincts. Loved it, and I'm looking forward to seeing the full production at the very earliest opportunity. For me, I felt the Swan Lake pas de quatre fell a teeny bit flat. It was danced technically very well, particularly by Mathias Dingman who is a hugely likeable dancer with charm to match his technical skill. However it just didn't seem to take off for me. The piece didn't seem to have enough meat on it to work as an extract and there wasn't enough character in this section for the dancers to get stuck into to bring it to life for me, so I guess I'm in agreement with Pas De Quatre above, appropriately enough! Last but not least was Ashton's Façade. As a piece, this was a little hit and miss for me, but it's churlish to throw any po-faced criticism at something designed to be so jolly, particularly when it's danced with such enjoyment by the company. Karla Doorbar was one stand-out in Polka, with an effervescently charming performance, while Mathias Dingman and Jamie Bond were hilarious in Popular Song. Céline Gittens (erroneously, I think, billed as Daria Stanciulescu on the cast sheet, assuming I'm reading the right bit) was also predictably note-perfect in the Tango Pasodoble, even though I wasn't such a fan of the choreography. On a general note, Edivaldo Souza da Silva, a new name to me, stood out very well in all his pieces. He joined the company last year at Artist level and I think he could end up being another worthy addition to an already very strong roster of male dancers at the company. A very shrewd acquisition. Finally, as I mentioned before, I'm in a state of perpetual enbafflement as to how Céline Gittens isn't a principal yet. On stage, she is every bit the principal. She has musicality, technique, diversity, character, a keen sense for both drama and comedy; every quality you could ask for in a ballerina she has in droves... The audiences love her... I simply don't get it. Surely if she doesn't get the promotion at the end of the season another company will snap her up? On another thread on here, I've been reading about how Tamara Rojo wants to shore up the ranks at ENB before she retires from performing... I'd hate to see her slip through BRB's grasp. She sums up everything I love about the company; she has the technical ability and the skill but doesn't sacrifice having her own identity to achieve it. She is for me part of the company's fabric. It would be a great loss if she were to leave. Anyway, all in all a great fun evening out at the ballet. Perhaps, for me, not their strongest line-up in terms of content, but it was danced with all the flair, talent and enthusiasm that makes BRB easily my favourite company and massively watchable whatever they may be performing. But yeah... Seriously, Dave... Céline. Get it sorted.

I went to see this at the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham last night. I'll write up my full thoughts later, but for now I'll just let this one point sit and germinate for a while... How on earth has Celine Gittens not been made a Principal yet? I MEAN, SERIOUSLY.

I'm only 100 pages in at the moment, but I'm currently thoroughly enjoying Gillian Lynne's autobiography A Dancer In Wartime. It's written in a beautifully lyrical way, and very movingly in places - it's already brought a tear to my eye on a couple of occasions! http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dancer-Wartime-girls-journey-Sadlers/dp/0701185996

Well, as it’s been nearly a week since I saw the fantastic Sylphiden and Études double bill at the Royal Danish Theatre, my memory is a little hazier than I like it to be when I'm reviewing so I'll just go into the highlights of what I remember. First things first, the Royal Danish Theatre (Gamle Scene) is a beautiful venue. It's a classically European grand, multi-tiered, horseshoe opera house. Its opulence gives it a wonderful sense of occasion, but the relatively small size means that I don't think there's a poor seat in the house. Even the very top tier, where my surprise ballet buddy (whom I met on a walking tour during the day) found a seat, seemed close enough to the stage to feel a part of the action. The seating doesn’t curve right up to the side of the arch either like it does at the Royal Opera House, so if you’re paying a visit, don’t feel like you’re getting short-changed in the cheap seats. It was my first time seeing La Sylphide, but I very much enjoyed it. It's a lean ballet in terms of running time, but has two very distinct acts, much like Giselle, at least in this version. The stage at the Royal Danish Theatre is pretty compact for a ballet stage, and so it was surprising that the fairly simple first act set took up easily a third of the floor space. Oddly, though, while it seemed to hem in the solo performers in places, the corps sections filled the stage effortlessly without coming across as cramped. I’ve frequently said that Birmingham Royal Ballet’s men are the equals of the women in the company. From what I saw last Friday, the men at Royal Danish Ballet even have the edge. Gregory Dean, Sebastian Haynes and Andreas Kaas were all superb. If you knew nothing about ballet and had to describe what you imagined a Scandinavian style would be like, you’d probably come up with all the adjectives to describe this trio of fantastic dancers. They were all powerful, but with a control and a... neatness to their dancing that could've been an exhibit in Designmuseum Danmark. Gregory Dean, flying the flag for us Brits, is a sensational dancer, and one of the finest male performers I’ve seen. He has as clean lines as I’ve seen, and dances with a measured, restrained grace during the first act. During the second act, this restraint makes way for a growing emotionality, culminating in a devastating finale for his character. It’s a note-perfect performance. He is a massive credit to the company and we should be proud to have such a fine dancer flying the flag overseas. Haynes and Kaas, who I’m staggered to see are both still in the corps were excellent too, with Haynes in particular a fierce Madge, with swagger, malevolence and arrogance in droves. The style (as I saw it) of Royal Danish Ballet is abundantly apparent in the ballerinas of the company. The feather lightness and grace results in a startling silence to the dancing. Even during the corps scenes, it’s as if the cast are suspended in the air. Amy Watson, as Sylphide, was a sublime dancer. While I felt like it took her a little while to fully inhabit the character (or at least convince me), her PDDs with Dean in the second act fully took off with a genuine chemistry between them. This lift in her characterisation means that by the time of La Sylphide’s Dying Swan tribute, the tragedy really hits home. The costumes in act one were all in multiple shades of grey (note to self: have a word with the RDB marketing department about how to capitalise on prevailing cultural trends), tending towards the charcoal end, and reminded me of some of the cooler, simpler costume designs of BRB. The muted style of the costumes is mirrored in the set, which is a deep, almost black, shade. While this might seem drab, it acts at the perfect counterpoint to the second act. As the curtain goes up after the interval, the brilliant, blank whiteness of the stage floods the auditorium and garnered a bit of a gasp. This is ballet blanc writ large. The solid white cube of the stage lends an otherworldly quality to the dances of the sylphs. It’s like ballet meets 2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s a simple approach to staging a performance, but incredibly powerful, particularly during James’s collapse. As he crouches, devastated, on the stage, the brilliant whiteness ever-so-gradually faded to black, and the contrast was heartbreakingly dramatic. Part of me wished the ballet could’ve ended on that vision. La Sylphide would have left me plenty satisfied, but the ever-generous Danes were still to treat us to the balletic feast that is Études. It’s a love letter to ballet and to ballet dancers. In this regard, it reminded me a little of Serenade. However, I took a while to warm to Études. It starts off quite slowly, but builds to some quite remarkable scenes towards the end. J’aime Crandall was a superb dancer, and her partnerships towards the end had me and my charming Danish next door neighbour exchanging looks and “wow”s (or, in her case, “wøw”s). Overall, though, this is a piece for showing off with. It involves almost the entire company, and every dancer delivered. What a depth of talent the RDB has! The Danes are incredibly lucky. I did find myself, though, wondering how the self-assuredness of the Royal Ballet or New York City Ballet would power through the piece. I bet it would be quite something. As a demonstration piece, I guess Études is fairly peerless. However, as an homage to the joy of ballet, I found myself pining for Serenade’s gentle subtext and emotional power. Anyway, I’ve waffled on long enough. Great show, great company, and I’ll be first in line for tickets if they ever come to the UK again! PS. As an aside from my trip, the Danish people are some of the loveliest, kindest, friendliest people I’ve ever met, and Copenhagen is an intriguing city. Even the Little Mermaid, which everyone meanly describes as ‘Europe’s Most Underwhelming Attraction’, was a charming lass. Nice work, Denmark.

Hi all. I managed to snag a last minute ticket to the RDB performance of La Sylphide/Etudes next Friday as part of my also last minute spur-of-the-moment trip to Copenhagen! So I thought I'd start a thread in case (1) anyone else is going and fancies saying hello or (2) anyone has any insider tips of things to do in Copenhagen (or, for that matter, Malmö)! I've never seen RDB before, but I notice the website mentions they have some dancers from England. I can't spot them on the website though. Anyone know who they are? Is there anything else worth knowing about RDB or this production beforehand? I am very excited.

It's ok, ticket booked! I just kept an eye on the website and a few tickets cropped up this morning. VERY EXCITING. Once again, I'll be probably the only person in my hostel dorm going to the opera house.

Hi all. I'm toying with a quick trip to Copenhagen, and I note that RDB are performing La Sylphide but it's sold out . Does anyone happen to know the situation for returns at the Royal Danish Theatre? Do I stand a chance of any last minute tickets? Or does anyone have any other tips for getting hold of one? Any help gratefully appreciated. I might end up going to Copenhagen anyway, so even 'asking at the door' advice would be appreciated! Mit luftpudefartøj er fyldt med ål!

Great review, mshovelt, thank you for posting. The mirror PDD, in particular, sounds amazing. *makes note to see the Osipova cast when this returns*

Thanks! I'm not sure which I preferred, to be honest! There was so much to recommend both. Aki Saito and Wim Vanlessen's partnership was so, so thrilling to watch, that's undeniable. It was probably the most exciting PDD I've seen since Iain Mackay and Elisha Willis's act one closer in BRB's Far From The Madding Crowd back in 2012. But on the flipside, I adored Nuñez’s interpretation of the role. I guess in an idealised version, I'd have two Tatianas. The reason why I didn't compare Nancy and Akane's performances is because actually, I felt they both had similar interpretations of the role. Both played the role as playful, gentle souls with a hint of whatever the 'ye olde days' equivalent of street smarts are. And, while not to do Akane down, I came away from the ROH with my head swimming with thoughts about Marianela's performance so I'm not sure I could write much more. Whoops! In terms of the staging, the simpler, more restrained staging of RBF's version worked just as well as RB's more grandiose designs. I tell you one thing, though, I definitely preferred the 'country gentlemen' in RB's version. While Capybara assured me that "The elderly 'gentlemen' in Act 2 of Onegin are always played 'over the top', BBB. You should see them at the Royal Ballet!", I can vouch for the fact that, actually, RBF's appeared to have set a new standard in caricature! Honestly, they were almost slapstick.

As I’m currently in 'save mode' financially, my ballet going has been reduced somewhat this season, but a too-good-to-be-true ticket offer and just £13 for the National Express meant that I found myself settling down to an evening of Onegin at the ROH on Wednesday. Which basically means this season I’ve been to four productions, of which half were Le Corsaire and half were Onegin! But you know what? If 50% of my ballet going is one production I’m glad it’s Onegin because, and whisper it quietly, it might be nudging its way close to being my favourite ballet. Anyway, the first (and up until yesterday) production of this particular ballet I saw was in the autumn at Royal Ballet Flanders’ thrilling show at the Ghent Opera House. How will RB fare in comparison, in spite of the serious drag factor of having very few, if any, Nancy Osbaldestons in their ranks? This was my first time seeing Marianela Nuñez dance, and I now understand the high esteem in which she’s held. She is the most expressive dancer I have ever seen. She’s like salted caramel, she has depth, endearing sweetness, and substance. In the ballroom sequence, when she is rejected by Onegin, her acting had so much dimensionality to it. Rather than just being straight-up sad, the dawning, yearning, crushing horror that all her dreams are being shattered will be familiar to anyone can remember unrequited love as a teenager. For the first time in a ballet, I found myself wanting to hop up onto the stage and give her a big hug. Akin Takada is very much my kind of dancer. She looks like she weighs about eight grammes an flits around the stage like an autumn leaf. She’s very much of the Yuhui Choe or Elisha Willis school and all the better for it. Vadim Muntagirov makes an excellent Lensky, seeming to fit the role perfectly. His solo at the start of the third act was particularly excellent. Thiago Soares made for one steely Onegin. His dancing reflected his aloof persona, with a combination of almost laconic leaps reflecting his boredom at life’s inability to entertain him, partnered to sudden bursts of inch-perfect thrilling turns as his frustration boiled over. Much has been written already on this forum about the pacing of the closing PDD in act one, and I’m inclined to agree. RBF’s version with Aki Saito and Wim Vanlessen was, and I quote from my review at the time, “genuinely thrilling” and “I actually gasped at one point”. Sadly, although my pulse quickened slightly at the start of the scene as it recognised what was coming, the fireworks never arrived, which others have suggested was probably orchestra-pacing related. In any case, what interested me was that, where Vanlessen’s Onegin was notably softer during this scene, playing a more benevolent, idealised Onegin, Soares’s character remained the hard-shelled persona that he was in reality. Both perfectly appropriate ways to play the part, but it had an effect on my interpretation of Tatiana’s love. In RB’s version, even in her subconscious, she’s attracted to the very quality that will undo her, whereas in Vanlessen’s world, she is blind to his faults, dazzled by her infatuation. In both cases, her fate is a savage one, but the journey there is subtly altered. With Nuñez’s superb emoting, the other thing that struck me from this performance is how Tatiana fares ultimately. Her love for Prince Gremin (danced very gently and empathically by Ryroichi Hirano) is, in act three, not the ‘wrong’ love for her. She dances with genuine affection, a grown-up, mature love, in stark contrast to her infatuation with Onegin. One doesn’t feel like her true love, Onegin, has been ripped from her by cruel fate, one ends up concluding that Prince Gremin was her true love, and that Onegin was the sort of relationship that can only belong in the folly of youth, that wouldn’t work in the adult world. This impression is made stronger by Soares’s interpretation of the mirror PDD. The other thing that occurred to me in the final act was the strength of Nuñez’s Tatiana as a character. In the intervening years between Lensky’s death and Onegin’s return, the stark contrast between the two is writ large. Onegin has been desperate, at the mercy of his emotions and wandering, lost, trying to find some redemption. His steely, arrogant mastery of his emotions in act one have proved to be an illusion and they have bitten back, hard. On the other hand, Tatiana has come to terms with what’s happened, she has found acceptance and moved on. She has fallen in love again, properly, and when Onegin arrives back in her life, she is ultimately the mature one of the pair and the roles have reversed somewhat. Without Nuñez’s portrayal of a woman genuinely in love with her husband - a deeper, more meaningful love - it could be seen that she was sending Onegin away in favour of an easy life, choosing convenience over passion. In the world of Nuñez’s Tatiana, she has found something better, something stronger, and one can’t help rooting for her and cheering her decision. I've had numerous conversations about feminism and ballet, and where the strong female characters are, and I'd nominate Nuñez’s Tatiana for the list. Anyway, I haven’t really concentrated on the dancing as much as the characters in this write-up, but sometimes that’s the hallmark of a good show for me, if I’m transported outside the craft of the storytelling into their world. I came away thinking more about the characters and the story I’d seen on stage than the technical aspects, and that’s one of the highest compliments I can pay. Marianela Nuñez can now add another fan to the legions on this forum. Finally, as a PS, it was jolly lovely to meet Sim and ToThePointe during the intervals. I'm always very happy to meet fellow forumites, it's great putting names to faces.

Awesome. I will certainly introduce myself, and it would be great to say hello to the cast and crew. All the best with prep for the show until then!

Chuffed to see Jeanette Kakareka get the nod. She was a definite standout for for me in Coppelia. I'll definitely be going to this.

Hi all. Thought I'd start a thread for this for three reasons: 1) I'm quite excited; 2) There's lots of discussion about it already on other threads so I thought it'd be nice for it to have a home; and 2) There seem to be a lot of people going, so I thought we could use this thread to arrange to meet up! It's another chance to see Elena Glurdjidze following her departure from ENB, but on top of that the school has some very talented performers within its ranks, so it should be a great show! Who else is planning on going?

(With apologies for re-upping an old thread!) Hello! Sorry Aileen, reading back over this thread I think my reply was a little brisk, there. I blame the cold I had at that time. I'm not in an academic department, but I work in international student recruitment, so I guess I cover everywhere in a way.

Definitely! I'll look forward to it. I'll drop you a PM with my phone number and we'll arrange to meet up.

Hi Sim. Just thought I'd drop by to say that I'll be seeing RB's Onegin on Wednesday next week and I'll happily report back with my thoughts. My first time seeing Marianela Nuñez dance too, so very excited about that, especially given the high regard in which she's held by many on this forum.

Hi all. Just noticed RB's Ondine and La Bayadere Blu Rays on eBay for £11.50 and £13.50 inc P&P respectively. These aren't often discounted below £20-25 so this is probably a pretty good deal if you're after them. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151544404065 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151544395394

Ooh, I also notice from Sadler's Wells' website that Scottish Ballet are bringing their Streetcar. Would love to see that.

Very tempted! Crikey, though, there are quite a lot unsold, aren't there? I wonder if there'll be some ticket deals appearing...

Heh, thanks! I haven't woken up yet this year.

Just remembered about this!!! Thank god there were still a handful of tickets going. Kicking myself for not booking this earlier as there's nothing left in the stalls, but I managed to bag front row circle, so can't complain. I'll be flying solo on this one, so if anyone fancies saying hello in person, please do get in touch.

Hi all! Happy new year. How is everyone? Long time, no see! I've been completely off the ballet radar for the autumn as I'm trying to save a bit of cash and even hanging around the forums ultimately ends up being expensive. However, I'm in need of some cheering up for various reasons so it's time to get a ticket or two on the ol' fridge door! I'll be booking in for BRB's Stateside triple bill next month as I still haven't seen them yet this season. I can't really pass up the opportunity to see my favourite company performing Serenade or the chance to see Jenna Roberts in Lyric Pieces again! I've also just booked in for Bristol Russian Ballet School in Weston Super Mare at the end of Jan (completely forgot about that, SO glad there were a few tickets remaining!). After that, though, I still have £50 in theatre tokens from Santa remaining and burning a hole in my pocket, so I was wondering what the 'hot tickets' are over the coming months? What should I aim to see and which castings would you recommend? A Royal Ballet recommendation would be great, but also if you have any suggestions for mid-priced and cheap 'n' cheerful would be great too (some of the best ballet evenings I've had cost less than £20 for top seats). Something relatively easily reachable from Bristol would be grand, but after the fun I had in Belgium last year you can throw a European wildcard my way too if you like. Thanks in advance! Alex

She could be en pointe herself under that dress and we'd be little the wiser.