SMballet

Dear all: Update, hurrah, I've managed to get one ticket for Friday 5/1 7.30 p.m. performance, but am still very much in the market for a second. Any price!

No luck with Friday rush again, alas, so still in the market for two tickets for Jan 5th evening performance, at any price range!

Still looking and hoping for two tickets to Jan 5th evening performance! Fri rush not working for me...

Am still very much in the market for this, dear friends!

Dear friends, if anyone has two tickets available for the Jan 5th evening performance, I'll gladly buy them. I'll keep looking at the Friday rush releases as well, but just in case someone here has good seats they cannot use , do please let me know!

I'm just reading about this now. I'm so sorry, and my deepest condolences to all those who loved her. May she rest in peace. I never met her but I read her posts here with interest and admiration, and was deeply touched by her great love and knowledge for ballet. It is too sad to realise we'll not read her posts again. I hope wherever she's gone there's lots and lots of delightful ballet, performed live right in front of her eyes...

I have a very silly and possibly unhelpful comment to add to this discussion: these very occassional spats between posters is super entertaining (for me, but maybe for others too ), and I do hope that no one leaves just because sometimes things get a bit heated! Honestly, of course no one should be outright rude - but no one here has been, not on this thread , and people really rarely are here - so here's a plea to everyone, yawners, non yawners alike, to stay and keep posting (and yawning, if you wish!)! I love you all even when you fight (maybe especially, cause I'm bored at work!). And because there is room here for everyone: rabid fans, rabid critics, well-informed balletomanes, completely uninformed dillettantes (like me), new timers, old timers, dancers, non dancers etc etc. It's what makes this forum fun, and I hope all of you will stay !

I'm so sorry to hear this. My condolences to his family and all those who loved him. May he rest in peace.

SheilaC loved your story and your harridan school headmistress, who let you skip school again!

No no! Not saying that at all. Oh no, I hope it didn't sound ageist of me. I just wanted to say that I do very much enjoy reading the reminisces of some of the more experienced ballet watchers here, and it is sometimes startling for me to realise how long so many of you having been watching and loving ballet, whereas for me it's only been a few years and I'm very much still at the stage in my life where I'm forming my likes and dislikes. So the longer-time watchers are true ballet fans, whereas people like me are just newbies, and it is good for us to learn from them. I mean that in full admiration. If some people here have watched Lesley Collier dance then it means you've been watching for more than 40 years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Which is amazing.

I'm loving reading all these reminiscences about her. Looked on youtube for some clips of her dancing but there is not much available. Gosh some of you have been watching ballet for so long, and have such good memories and experiences that you share here. I'm so glad to be able to learn from you! (I'm just barely out of my 20s and hope to be watching ballet, and maybe reading and writing on this site, for at least 60 more years... Maybe I will be talking about Marianela Nunez the way some of you are talking about Lesley Collier!

I'm curious to know more about your views on this. I can't find much on it on youtube except for one brief clip with Ed Watson and Federico Bonelli, which looks really interesting. The general consensus here seems to be that it is not a very good or interesting ballet, and I'm wondering why (if anyone who has already seen it would be kind enough to fill us in, briefly, as to what he/she thought) I'm not based in in London, alas, so can't see it anyway. But am curious to know why the general view is less positive, as the premise seems fantastic (and the stage sets look great too, based on the brief youtube clip I saw).

I'm so sorry; I'd wanted to write with a fuller report yesterday of Saturday evening's performance, but the unseasonable warmth, and the splendours of London on a Sunday, and the fact that I'm only here for a few precious days, kept me from writing. As I'm not a seasoned or well-informed ballet watcher, I'll keep my comments to the impressionistic: first off, Marianela Nunez and Vadim Muntagirov: a gift from the gods. I know many of the more experienced ballet goers here have been fortunate enough to have watched some legendary partnerships in the past, and I wonder if, for my (younger) generation, this particular partnership will linger on in my mind, and in my memory, as I grow older, as the one to which every other is compared. I simply cannot think of a better partnership. A lot of people , here and everywhere, have rightly complimented the joyousness of their dancing and their individual technical perfection and the sheer brilliance of their stage presence. I'll confirm all of that, but what I think I'd like to add here is that they dance so well together. I've seen each of them on this stage with other partners, and they are always so good, always giving of their best. Each is a joy to watch, no matter who they are partnering. But when they dance together it seems to me all that more special, as if they give more than their best to and for each other. I've never watched DQ live, but I've seen the youtube clips of Marianela and Carlos dancing the same choreography, and think that actually physically, and perhaps personality wise (at least what they project on stage in character), Carlos and Marianela are much better matched. But there is something about Vadim and Marianela together, perhaps their very difference - his reticent elegance, her warmth and radiant joy, their technical perfection, the matched lines - something about it just makes the partnership sparkle in a way that seems really rare. Apart from the main leads, I was blown away by Ryoichi Hirano and Itziar Mendizabal's duets, and their chemistry together; they sparkled and then caught fire, and absolutely stole the show when they had centre stage. Anna Rose O Sullivan was a delightful, light-footed cupid, so perfectly musical and fairy like. Mayara Magri was a fantastic Queen of the Dryads; something about her just catches the eye, no matter where she is on stage. I agree with some other commenters here that the staging is a bit too busy; there is almost too much going on all the time, and the scene is unnecessarily crowded with people and props and bits of scenery. It is certainly colourful and joyful as intended, but I sometimes couldn't see the dancing because the props , or dancers, got in the way. Some of the acts felt a bit too long. But maybe that's my travel weariness catching up with me! For the rest, I was thinking how rare it is in ballet to have an older lead in the main role, as we have here, and I found myself wishing that there could be ballets that did much more (and I wish this one did more too) with the themes that lurk beneath the surface of DQ: the poignancy of old age, of regret at things not having been done, of nostalgia for an adventure filled youth , of yearning for a past that maybe never even existed, and above all, the longing for a life that is more colourful and adventurous than the one that one has been consigned to living. In this staging it is all boistrous broad comedy, but I think much more could be done, to bring out Don Quixote and Sancho Panzas story, to make them complex, nuanced, and recognizable to us all, regardless of our age. But that is maybe for another ballet, and here I risk being told that I've gone off topic. To end with a final thought on Saturday's evening performance: the ballet was performed as a perfect embodiment of Carlos Acosta's (announced) vision, a thing of joy that helped us forget the sadder parts of life. Marianela and Vadim sparkled in a way that I think must be rare, on any stage, in any era, but the entire company sparkled with and for them. It was a lovely, lovely evening. I just wish the story could have pushed a bit more, towards the darker, sadder, elements. Thank you to the whole company, and , oh, to the marvelous, appreciative audience too, whose collective joy lifted my spirits !

A marvelous, exciting, wonderful, unforgettable evening. I'm just back ( after having waited for an hour and a half at the stage door, during which I managed to get autographs from many of the wonderful dancers tonight, including Mayara Magri, Nicol Edmond, Kevin O Hare, Ryochi Hirano (swoooooooooon, so good looking in person, it's almost imporbable) Vadim (double swoon, though his vibe is more kind and gentlemanly rather than outright "hot", which Hirano , to my tastes, is) and la queen Nunez, all of whom were smiling and gracious and patient and kind with the many, many, fans who waited till 11.30 to see them). I will try to write a fuller report tomorrow, it is well past 1 a.m. and I am exhausted ! PS many many cast changes, and I asked one of the ushers and he didn't seem to even know. I could identify Mayara Magri (instead of Fumi Kaneko) and Itizar Mendizabel (instead of Laura Morera) but it's really irritating that they can't print cast change slips if the changes had been made somewhat in advance. I mentioned to Mayara Magri that I hadn't known that she would be Queen of Dryads this evening (while telling her how delightful her performace was) and she asked if she was in the cast sheet and appeared irritated to see that she was not listed as the Queen of the Dryads. So, I do think it is disrespectful to dancers. I understand if the change had to be at the last minute, but if it is done a few days ahead surely they can reprint at least change slips like they used to? And why don't they announce the changes before the performances? More from me tomorrow, on the actual performance.

Dear all of you, I've just arrived in London last night, and am lucky enough to have got a ticket for DQ this evening (Saturday). Am sooooo excited. Will anyone else be there and would you like to meet at one of the intermissions?

Late too, but heartfelt thanks to all the moderators for their hard work, and best wishes to all of you for the new year!

Oh no no I wasn't upset. But it's never been my favourite ballet, I don't know why. I'm always thrilled by the Shades act, but the rest of it is just boring and overly "exotic" a la russe, for my tastes. I don't like the Nikiya Gamzatti bit, and I loathe the bronze (gold?!) idol, the temple dancers, all of that. (But I must note that I've never watched the full ballet live, just the Shades act at the Opera de Paris: which is, when done well, beath taking). To answer LinMM's question, oh no no, the only thing that really bothered me was that I couldnt come up with a suitably witty response to the lady at the time , I just muttered something polite and fled. I wasted a good ten minutes afterwards wishing I'd said something witty, like "oh I'm from Calcutte not St Petersburg so why would this make me home sick," (And now, having seen the hilarious elephant clip above, I wish I'd said "I'd have felt even more home sick if there had been an elephant for Solor.'") But in the main, I think that , while in the UK people are well educated enough to know that *of course* it's a fantasy world that says more about 19th Century high Russian cultural mores than anything else, that is not the case in the US. I don't mind the orientalist fantasy bit myself; as I said above, I think it's benign; but it is orientalist, and very different from other fantasy ballets like Swan Lake and Nutcracker (which many of you bring up) which don't take tropes of "other" cultures and reduce them to ridiculous costumes. I hate the Chinese and Arabic dances in Nutcracker too, by the way. I don't think I'm overly sensitive (to use the words that some of you use, I don't think I'm a PC brigade - I never heard that expression before! (but I'm not British so maybe it's a british thing, and I certainly don't want to wade in to any British cultural wars here) I just have, like I suppose all of you, very clear ideas about what constitutes good taste in art. And, to my very specific tastes, la bayadere (which yes it's a french word, but I'm completely francophone, and no it is never used except in very orientalist contexts such as 19th century orientalost paintings set in India or Algeria etc) is not good art. But similar costumes , character tropes etc can be found in lavish bollywood movies made even today, so I think, for me, it's really just question of taste, not of having taken offence when none is meant. I'd so, so, so much rather the austere aestheticism of, say, Swan Lake. No midriff baring hip swaying temple dancers for me, I say! Or snakes! Or elephants!

Oh my god. I was asked by eldery lady, during intermission (screening in Boston) if Bayadere made me feel homesick (I'm Indian,and happened to be wearing Indian clothes that day). (NO bare midriff unlike Nikiya and Gamzatti). Said lady accosted me at the intermission, gushed about my "beautiful clothes" UGHHHHHH, asked me where I was from, and then asked me if watching it made me feel homesick. OH GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD I almost died. So for all those of you wondering what the fuss is all about: apparently, really, there are people in the world like that. I didn't know how to respond. How should I have responded?\Anyway, yes, I think the ballet is a benign form of Orientalist art, and I wouldnt shed a tear if it were retired from the rep. Only my opinion, of course. But I dreally rather prefer it if orientalist-fantasy ballets dwelt on some different orient altogether, not mine. So that I wouldnt have to answer ridiculous questions at intermissions...

Fascinating, thank you all for your replies. I had no idea! Imagine wearing Margot Fonteyn's costume and knowing that her name was sewn into the label, somewhee above yours! I can't imagine what a thrill that must give present- day dancers, to be literally embodying the history of their company, and its traditions, in your clothes! But I imagine it also must get a bit stressful, to know, for instance, that one's waist is 5 inches bigger than whoever else wore the costume before!!11!

This is a fascinating and informative thread! I have another, (very loosely, apologies) related, question, regarding dancers' costumes: are they made afresh for each dancer in each role - I would think so, as they need to fit so perfectly - or are they recycled/retailored? When dancers perform in galas elsewhere, ie, not in ther home compnies, where do the costumes come from in that case? The costume always fits each dancer perfectly, so I thought that each time a dancer takes on a role, he/she gets a new costume made specifically for her/his body. But now reading this thread I wonder.

This is, I think, a well-planned and beautifully-executed mixed bill, which really shows off the company's excellent form in three very different choreographies. Unfortunately, I found Obsidian Tear really very dull, and not because of the lack of narrative, that never bothers me; what bothers me is the superficial intellectualising (is that a word in English? sorry! not my first language!) that seems to hang, like a bad, cheap perfume, over so much of MacGregor's work (even the program notes were, in my opinion, irritatingly over intellectual without meaning anything). The dancers were beautiful, particularly Calvin Richardson and Matthew Ball who were given slightly meatier roles than the others. But I found the whole thing ponderous, predictable, and overwrought; and not moving at all. Sorry to all those who loved it; just one girl's opinion. It is nice, and unusual, to see a ballet chroreographed solely for male dancers, and visually it was appealing, I'll give MacGregor that. But really ballet must be much more than visually appealing; if I want to stare at hot men's bodies for half an hour I can just salivate over some random fashion (or sports) magazine. I absolutely loved Marguerite and Armand; I think that perhaps I'm biased when it comes to Marianela Nunez, but she was so exquiste and heart breaking today. She was not at all overwrought, quite the opposite; I thought it was a very delicate, understated performance, and well matched, as always, to Vadim Muntagirov's also very understated performance, and also, incidentally, to the Lizst sonata, which has some very quiet, delicate, moments, before the raging mad despair of the end. The thing about the performance tonight was that Marianela and Vadim, maybe because they dance so often together, made me believe in their story, despite the brevity, and admitted melodrama, of the story line. There is a palpable sense of passion, grief, regret, animal attraction. And all in, what, twenty minutes! How do they do it!? I remember tearing up just at the sight of the tense line of Marianela's shoulder when she turns away from Arman's father. Heart breaking. Every line in her body, every muscle, every fleeting expression on her face, was geared to telling the story, giving depth to a cardboard character. Another moment that really struck me was when Armand's father holds Marguerite's chin when he first comes in to her boudoir - it is an insolent, disrespectful gesture, almost as shocking as if he had slapped her int he face. Really Ashton was a master. What a delicate piece; so much emotion, in such little time. Some of you thought that Vadim was less expressive than he should have been, but I actually thought that made the "insult" scene all the more powerful: a quiet young man who is driven to that. Imagine how much despair you must be in to do that, in public, if you're a reserved society man? I could probably say a lot more on Marguerite and Armand but it's late. so I'll just end by saying, I thought this piece alone was worth the price of the entire ticket. FInally, Elite Syncopations: the company in sparkling form, and a thoroughly enjoyable ensemble act. Not much to say, except that Marcelino Sambe (who doesn't seem credited in the cast sheet_ was fantastic. He just floats and hangs in the air, as though suspended by wires. I mean, they were all fantastic, but he especially. I enjoyed the slapstick bits, and was glad the evening ended with this piece, because M&A is too sad, and OT is too dull. Well, that's it for me. I was very glad to have finally met a few of you at the bottom of the escalators, which I didn't even know existed!

Which escalator, and at which interval? I'll be there in a pastel blue dress, looking a bit tentative..

Dear friends, I'm going to this triple bill tonight and am wondering if anyone would like to try to meet up at one of the intervals? I feel a bit shy about suggesting this but it would be a shame to miss an opportunity to get to know some of you. Also, could any of you let me know approximately when the performance ends? 10.30 p.m., or ?

I have been really enjoying and learning from this discussion. For me, I don;t care about the 31 fouettes, but I get very excited when I see fouettes (again, doesnt matter the number) executed to the music, and with no traveling (unless that is part of the choreography). To my (untrained) eyes, if a ballerina "travels" when she shouldn't, it looks less elegant, and just not right; ditto if the turns are out of the music. For me, thus, musicality and elegance are more pleasing than the technically correct execution of a step, perhaps because I dont know enough to know when a step is being executed correctly. But my eyes see when a step is out of music, or when the dancer is moving (travelling) when he or she shouldn't. I should say I have the same reaction towards male dancers, during their entrechats or grand jetes : I am less impressed by the height of the jump, or how quickly they beat their feet, if it doessnt go with th emusic, and if the landing is ugly/loud. I think I prefer an understated delicate style.

See, for instance, everlane's latest underwear campaign. Goregous, and very similar aesthetic (minus ribbons!)