Sophoife

I was thrilled to get a last-minute SCS D51 from @Rob S for what was supposed to be an Osipova Sleeping Beauty in May this year (Yasmine Naghdi replaced her for why I can't remember). Imagine my 5'3" of horror when the two tall stools in front of me were occupied by two large young women: neither shorter than 5'10" and (I can say this as I am no sylph myself) neither less than at least 14 stone. The usher at the nearest door came over to me and suggested I go and see his boss in the foyer and say he'd sent me as I had not a restricted view but no view at all. With two minutes to curtain up, said gentleman scribbled on a voucher and said RUN. B52 of the Stalls Circle. With nobody in front of me for the second act (a trio in their twenties just never came back after interval). For £12. Rob, I never thanked you properly but I'm doing it now!!

So true. Programming is all. Speaking of dark humour, Béjart's Le Concours. AusBallet did it years ago, with Steven Heathcote as Columbo in a saggy macintosh/trench coat, and Gina Brescianini as a murder victim. It was great! Robert Helpmann's The Display has a rape, and at the very end the Girl is overwhelmed by the Lyrebird. One of the most fabulous costumes I know, the Lyrebird. First pic by Jeff Busby of Madeleine Eastoe and IIRC Calvin Hannaford, second by Vic Grimmett of Kathleen Gorham and Barry Kitcher.

Act II very good too. Marcelino Sambé and Anna Rose O'Sullivan absolutely beautiful, such a secure partnership (no wonder with their history). Rose Fairy Isabella Gasparini delightful. As usual, a tear in the corner of my eye as Clara and Hans-Peter looked back at each other, and another one as Drosselmeyer clasped his nephew to his manly breast. I'm going again tomorrow. Merry Christmas to all!

Cinema relay made it to Hobart: so far no issues with either sound or picture (interval). Sophie Allnatt and Leo Dixon are lovely and it's so nice to see a different interpretation of Drosselmeyer (much as I love Benn Gartside and Gary Avis). Ol' silver fox himself Christopher Saunders and Kristen McNally as a real parent couple, Christina Arestis as a glamorous dancing mistress... Looking forward to act II! PS Dame Darcey sparkling and seems to be coping with the cue cards better than usual.

Some versions of Swan Lake do have a "happy ending", most notably the Mariinsky's. Juliet may be Shakespeare, but Manon is the Abbé Prévost. Laura Esquivel didn't let Tita and Pedro marry in her novel. Woolf Works: Septimus in Mrs Dalloway and actual Virginia Woolf took their own lives. On the other hand, The Merry Widow (previously derided on this forum by some people) has a gloriously happy ending. Harlequinade, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty...

I'm so envious you saw Rina and Misha @Bluebird and that you were there for Jill and Marcus. I only managed one live performance, in Melbourne, and felt the production fell flat and needed work. Particularly that the mime had virtually all been removed! Obviously this was six or so performances in to a 60+ show run, so by the time of these recent shows it was fairly well bedded in! Also perhaps because I never really warm to Ako Kondo and her husband Chengwu Guo as a partnership - although I was pleasantly surprised at their Titania and Oberon in November! Must get around to reporting on that...

Nina needs a Nanny.

I doubt it @capybara. When one looks at the list and remembers it's highly unusual for AusBallet principals to pass 40 in the role (Steven Heathcote being the exception that proves the rule), and all except Linnane, Morelli and possibly Ogai and Bemet are over 30... Joe Caley: BRB 2005, principal 2011 Robyn Hendricks: TAB 2005, principal 2016 Chengwu Guo: 2008, principal 2013 Dimity Azoury: 2008, principal 2019 Sharni Spencer: 2008, principal 2022 Brett Chynoweth: 2009, principal 2018 Ako Kondo: 2010, principal 2015 Benedicte Bemet: 2012, principal 2019 Jill Ogai: 2012, principal 2023 Marcus Morelli: 2014, principal 2023 Callum Linnane: 2015, principal 2022

Marcus - principal Misha - soloist Jill - principal Yuumi - senior artist I'm not psychic, just acquainted with the company 🤭 Nathan should be next male principal, and I'd be surprised if Yuumi isn't a principal in the next 12 months. Also, in the promotions list in my previous post, both Max Zenin and Cameron Holmes went to soloist from corps, skipping coryphée rank. Cameron is Billy Elliot, having been part of the original Australian cast back in 2008.

Added leaver: Amanda McGuigan Promotions announced today, the last day of the company year, to take effect 1 January 2024, including Yuumi Yamada to senior artist, and Maxim Zenin and Misha Barkidjija to soloist. Watch Yuumi go to principal some time in 2024.

Wonderful news. Tiny powerhouse that she is, I'm excited to see what happens.

Indeed it is. The anguish of an unfinished Nutcracker.

The great Japanese ballerina Gozira

No!! He doesn't have hooded pop-eyes! 🤭 But in these two I can see your point.

Was going to add Marcus Morelli and Jill Ogai's promotions to this thread but @Emeralds created them a whole new one 🤭 Congratulations to both!

@Bluebird will hopefully provide a report as she was there! Couldn't be more pleased for both - his partnering needs work but gee he can dance! She has grown in the last two or three years so much from the girl I once condemned as a great contemporary dancer. Now a real artist.

Nicolette, despite her training and experience in Europe (Dutch National), suffered from the worst affliction to affect a conductor: she's female. She did guest elsewhere, but got far fewer offers than she would have if she had been male. She was, however, one of the trailblazers for conductors such as Vanessa Scammell and Alondra de la Parra. Marin Alsop The Divine is of course La Doyenne. And Simone Young is The Godmother. Side note: my oldest bestie, who now lives in Zürich, has two sisters, one of whom lives in Amsterdam. She and I were on a city cruise in 2017 and were talking music (that was our connection as youngsters, and was her profession). Turns out she and Nicolette, young first time musical mums in Furrin Parts, had been quite close for a while, until the general rejoicing when Nicolette got the AusBallet job. Nicolette was rather unflatteringly amazed when I gave her Liz's greetings: "How on earth do you know her?" Well, I'm not just a ballet geek you know.

Well, I personally didn't hear either of Messrs Georgiev or Gaynor 😉 Maestro Wordsworth though...!

I mean, this year AusBallet has had as conductors: Charles Barker (principal conductor ABT, music director Pittsburgh BT, music director AusBallet 1997-2001) Joel Bass (current conducting fellow) Nigel Gaynor (music director and principal conductor Queensland Ballet 2016-) Martin Georgiev (staff conductor ROH, guest conductor BRB) Jonathan Lo (current music director) Nicolette Fraillon (music director 2001-2022) Vanessa Scammell (former AusBallet conducting fellow) Simon Thew (former assistant music director AusBallet, now music director at Houston Ballet) Barry Wordsworth (former music director Royal Ballet and BRB at different times, has conducted the Last Night of the Proms, all-round conducting legend) Simon conducted Don Q in Sydney at short notice because it was suddenly realised Mr Lo had London commitments that clashed (I should know, I saw Simon in Melbourne then again in Sydney when he conducted the night before I left Australia, and then in London Lo and behold 🤣)

Both companies now to be shortchanged? Because that's what it amounts to. At least it's only London-Amsterdam, not London-Sydney-Melbourne!! Still amazed I've heard Jonathan Lo more in London than in Australia this year. Yes yes I know he had commitments, but you know, he's being paid extremely well by AusBallet, and perhaps he should have deferred taking up the appointment until more of his prior commitments had been completed. Shortchanged of Sydney (ish)

Can't say. She's only been here since the middle of the year and all the company's done since then is a zillion Swan Lakes and the Ashton mixed bill. I couldn't tell you if she had any small roles i.e. named fairies in the Ashton, as the company did not deign to name any of them. She has done a number of Cygnets though.

@Jude my favourite scene in the two Peter Wright Nutcrackers is when the prince wakes up in the pine forest in the BRB one. Also at the very very end when the prince brings her home. I wasn't going to go to Melbourne to see the cinema relay on 22-23-24 December (no cinema showing it closer), but now I'm going to Hobart for Christmas, and yay it's on! Happily AusBallet is bringing its BRB one back next year for the first time in five years and I've already booked (casts unknown until November 2024) six shows.

Thanks for all your info and comments @AllAboutTheJourney, I hope someone else will also post their impressions...

The one Don Q I saw Guillem dance at the ROH (June 1994), her Basilio was Oliver Matz. I don't remember him at all! 🤭 Looking at the ROH performance database, she danced with Matz in her three 1993 Kitris, then Cope twice in 1994 but a few days later Matz twice more...so I will assume Cope sustained an injury after his second Basilio and Matz was whisked over from Berlin to cover for him. Does anyone know? How interesting - the database also says Cope only ever danced Basilio at the ROH five times - twice in 1994 with Guillem, and the rest in 2001 with Miyako Yoshida!

Seated on a train in Germany some years ago, the young woman sharing my table was sketching figures and I became interested. She worked in the wardrobe department at the Stuttgart Ballet and I was en route to watch the company.