SheilaC

Irek is now ballet master at the Paris Opera Ballet. He did run a small company a few years ago, which had quite a good range of ballets. So it's an interesting suggestion.

Even better!!

It's an interesting time. Northern Ballet still hasn't announced who their new AD will be; an insider told me that the interviews had taken place in November, but still no news, and a rumour that David Nixon has been asked to carry on until Easter. It's too soon for Acosta to put his hat into the ring for ENB but I think that Christopher Hampson, currently at Scottish Ballet, would be a good choice. He has added some interesting ballets to the rep and done a lot on the digital front. He is a good choreographer and has history with ENB, both as a dancer and as a choreographer.

I just hope she won't ditch the SFB's rep, some of the most interesting in the world.

In the traditional version the Saracen Knight is a far more interesting, even exciting, role than Jean de Brienne; so maybe Cirio still wins.

I'm glad to say that I have had helpful responses from ENB and the Coli box office, too.

I am a friend, so did get the email, but one of the performances I had booked was cancelled, despite not being included in the email, so all the changes were not included, LinMM. It is usual for theatres to send an email for each performance cancelled, not a long all-encompassing email with dates buried in the text, and above all, not giving a comprehensive list. The cancellation of a matinee causes logistical problems for those of us who live a very long way from London.

But I HAVEN'T had an email to tell me or explain to me, just a series of vouchers from the ENO Boxoffice without a word of explanation. I have emailed ENB to complain that they still are advertising the performance in the listing details and have not contacted me in any way. I earlier emailed the box office to inquire what was happening, why I'd been sent vouchers with no information. I do feel some sympathy for both the box-office staff and ENB, it must be terrible for them, but they should still follow process, especially if they want our continued support.

And the matinee of Friday 14 January is listed on the ENB casting information, which is what I checked when I first discovered that my ticket for the performance had been cancelled; it still is listed.

I've now got 2 further credit notes- but with absolutely no indication of what they are for! Their box office is having problems at the moment. A few days ago they sent me tickets for My Fair Lady (not my scene, I prefer Shaw) in May! They couldn't understand why I got in touch to let them know!

Maybe, but it wasn't when I bought the ticket on 24 September, and a second ticket a few days later.

I've just had my tickets for the matinee on Friday 14 January refunded, without explanation. I don't think that was one of the cancelled dates. Makes me wonder about cancelling the other dates that weekend, not least as LNER has already cancelled my train back North on the Sunday.

On Saturday I attended the second performance of a new version of Carmen, choreographed by Didy Veldman. It was produced by key players in the previous Osipova vehicle (The Mother) Alexandra Markvo and her organisation Bird and Carrot Productions, and the composer, Dave Price, also worked on both dance pieces. It premiered at a theatre in the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, also like The Mother. The concept is ambitious albeit cliched, a play within a play, or more accurately a ballet within a danced play. It covers two acts. There are five performers, Osipova, Isaac Hernandez, Jason Kittelberger, Hannah Ekholm and Eryck Brahmania. They are in the process of filming Carmen but their relationships mirror those in the ballet. At times it is confusing as to whether a particular section is the filming or the ballet, although when Brahmania or Hernandez are holding cameras it is, of course, obvious that it is the filming. A major theme is jealousy, with Michaela, the character performed by Ekholm in the play element, consumed with jealousy of the increasingly sexual relationship of Carmen and Jose, as well as Jose's jealousy of Escamillo, in the ballet. In a play section Ekholm (Michaela) and Carmen have a long duet where their relationship fluctuates, as Carmen tries to placate her colleague, until the jealousy explodes. The ballet ends, as usual, with a violent pas de deux between Jose and Carmen. It was these duets which were the most powerful parts of the piece. Overall I felt that the whole came to less than the sum of the parts. The quality of the choreography varied and it was too long, some editing, particularly of the 'play' parts, would strengthen its impact. On the plus side, I particularly liked the way Carmen's interiority is explored in a way that isn't equalled in the ballet versions of Carmen that I know best (those of Roland Petit and Alberto Alonso). This gives Osipova the opportunity to delve into the anxieties and the emotions that propel Carmen's behaviour ; and it is a powerful vehicle for highlighting Osipova's strengths in acting and dancing. The opportunities for the other dancers were more limited. Hernandez danced well but the choreography for him was not very varied, concentrating mostly on his jumps. Kittleberger only came fully into his element in the final section. Ekholm's contribution became less prominent in the second half. The music worked well. Mostly original there were also some segments from Bizet's score. The designs were attractive especially the vivid red costumes for Carmen. There was video although the images were at times obscure over different surfaces rather than a full screen. And the printed programme was excellent value at £5, informative and very well illustrated, a marked contrast to the £15 programme for Polunin Ink at the Royal Albert Hall. The audience were very enthusiastic at the end, even though I heard people say they hadn't always followed what was going on. As a vehicle for Natalia Osipova it works well., it's an ideal role for her..... no doubt in time there will be a video on SkyArts to accompany all the other Osipova programmes.

I think I would have to check with the editor as he may have copyright, and he may have started Xmas leave as from tonight. It will be difficult to summarise, Mary, as I deliberately argued it tightly so that no-one could minimise what I was saying by accusing me of being emotive. For the same reason I based a lot of my argument on what Carlos Acosta had said in a DT interview with Gerald Dowler (July issue). I structured the letter round Acosta's theme of "New director, new company, new repertoire', adding that the brunt of his emphasis seemed also to be 'new audience'. I stressed that the company, in its various formations, had benefitted from several outstanding directors, in particular John Field and Peter Wright and that they, and David Bintley, each added their own perspective and choice of repertoire (Field encouraging new choreographers eg Cranko, MacMillan; Wright adding further dramatic and balletic masterpieces, in addition to his acclaimed productions of the classics; Bintley scheduling a wide variety of ballets, including Balanchine, as well as creating his successful full length dramatic works based on well known literary classics.) I added: "Each built on the strengths they inherited whilst evolving the artistic direction of the company. Yet Acosta seems to be turning his back on these rich traditions in his search for the new." For Acosta plans to change the rep radically, for the first five years, at least, to "establish the new direction, which cannot be taken from the past- it has to go forward". When pushed, in Dowler's interview, (and other interviews) about favourite ballets being squeezed out, he just referred to 19th century classics, ignoring suggestions of works by de Valois, Ashton, MacMillan and all the other 20th century key works that SWRB/BRB specialised in. His priority is ballets that are "more modern and reflect out times", using modern choreography. So his aim is a cross-brand company rather than a classical one. This requires, he says different dancers and he wants 'the standard of the company to rise tremendously", a sad comment on the dancers many of us admire so much. He also has ambitions to tour internationally (which the company used to do, actually) and to perform much more in London, including jointly with the Royal Ballet (again, this used to happen). The implications for us poor benighted souls in the regions is bleak- already my nearest theatre (Sunderland- 60 miles away!) that hosts the company only has four performances a year instead of the 16 in the past, and many cities, not least Bradford (home town of Brandon Lawrence and Max Maslen, two key BRB dancers) has not enjoyed a performance for years. Many of Acosta's aims are, in principle, fine up to a point. The company does need to move on, it does need to attract new audiences and develop new work. It is the total abandonment of all the rich rep and tradition from the past that is so worrying. And as we know from our discussions on Ashton, if dancers don't continue dancing Ashton or any of the other great choreographers whose work used to enrich SWRB/BRB then the stylistic differences and nuances get lost. As a living art form ballet cannot afford that.

Sorry folks for misleading you re the month. The letter seems to have hit a widely shared anxiety, I have been surprised at how many people have got in touch to say I expressed their feelings, even a critic from a rival dance magazine.

Yes, I have a long letter published in the Dancing Times (December) analysing this.

I'm delighted to say that there is now a tribute to Samsova on the BRB website. There are some beautiful photos of her dancing in Swan Lake (I didn't make it clear in the previous post that the film of Swan Lake would have featured her) and very warm and affectionate words from her friend, the equally remarkable Marion Tait.

It's a pity there's no film of her dancing Swan Lake. I'm pretty sure it was filmed, I think in Manchester, soon after the production was premiered , but it was never shown on TV, I never found out why. Re Orlandau's comment on BRB I guess that currently no-one even remembers that they once possessed such a star!

She was a truly wonderful dancer, with a fabulous Russian back and epaulement. Her productions of the classics were very good, helping to develop the dancers of SWRB. The company she and Prokovsky founded, New London Ballet, was at a very high standard for such a small company, with excellent dancers and some really good new ballets.

Yes, Tebasile, mine was posted on 3 November. Perhaps you didn't request for them to be posted? I've a feeling I had to pay extra for postage. (There isn't a cost breakdown, but I'm shocked to see that I paid £14.75 more than the cost of the ticket itself! That can't all have been postage). Good luck- and enjoy the performance!

Essentially, JNC, the POB production is very similar to that of the RB. Some details differ, some dances are in a slightly different order and the choreography for the corps varies a bit. For example, Wilfred doesn't draw attention to Albrecht (or the audience) that he's still wearing his sword; Giselle doesn't dance for Bathilde, after Berthe's intervention; Albrecht cautions Bathilde not to speak (by putting his fingers to his mouth to shush) when Giselle first becomes aware of the deception. Like traditional productions in the past there is the Peasant pas de deux, not pas de six as at the Royal, and the couple are backed up by 8 female members of the corps. Berthe does the full mime account of the wili legend and there is mime in other parts of the ballet, including at the start of Act 2 when, like some other versions, some villagers are gambling in the forest and react to Hilarion when he arrives. But overall the production by Patrice Bart and Eugene Polyakov has much in common with Peter Wright's, retaining most of the traditional Romantic choreography. Giselle is usually danced in the Garnier theatre, unlike most of the big classics, which are usually performed at the Bastille theatre. The latter has little or no atmosphere which reduces the impact of the ballets. The Garnier has a deep stage which helps Giselle look at its best and, despite the extravagant baroque decor, the auditorium has a sense of intimacy, more than the Royal Opera House, which heightens the impact of a good performance.

In the Paris Opera Ballet production of Giselle some of the Dukes look searchingly into Berthe's face (they don't all) as though they are recalling a past dalliance, and at Giselle, as if to speculate if she could be his daughter.. Which would be a case of history repeating itself.

I once told someone who hadn't seen Nureyev that his favourite partner was .... his cloak!

I saw the performance at Leeds as well. I enjoyed the first act but thought some parts of the action were unclear. At the start a doctor, wearing a face mask, reacted with Giselle and I assumed that she was in a hospital, which reminded me slightly of Mats Ek's version where Giselle ends up in a mental health institution, but after that I didn't notice any reference to any sort of hospital. Another confusing point was when Hilarion finds something incriminating in Albrecht's coat but neither I nor the friend I was with could work out what it was. Giselle's death was very sudden and it wasn't clear to me how she died. The dancers were wear contemporary type clothes. The style was contemporary ballet, no pointe work but pleasant. The second act was something else. No bride-like Wilis but ghouls, wearing strange makeup and even weirder clothes. Some of the ghosts were male. The women danced on pointe (this, and some of the soundscape reminded me slightly of the Akram Khan version). The choreography was original and gripping. When Giselle and Albrecht eventually appeared their tenderness permeated the choreography yet I didn't get the impression of Giselle's overwhelming love for, and protectiveness of, Albrecht which is at the very heart of the classic. This act would work equally effectively on its own in a mixed bill. The dancers were all good, although I was slightly disappointed in Battggia as Albrecht (and with a family of social workers I don't like his theory that Terpischore cites that Albrecht is a social worker!- no evidence in the choreography or interpretation), but Yasset Roldan (Hilarion) is a stunning dancer. Altogether the company is well worth catching if their tour takes them anywhere near you.

I've booked the second performance (initially there was only going to be one). But it's weird, it's not in a conventional theatre but an Edinburgh University venue, the Pleasance- and if you don't want to book on line you have to ring a London number! When booking you don't get a proper ticket as seating is allocated on arrival on a first come, first served basis. The casting is intriguing, should be an interesting performance.