SheilaC

It's not actually a full version of Giselle, a main pas de deux in Act 2 is not included and other sections are cut, too. Nevertheless, the Giselle is wonderful, both Ulanova and Fadeyechev, and Karelskaya as Myrthe; but Struchkova is amazing, too, in Walpurgis Night, her technique quite as good as anyone today and with a fantastic vivacious personality. Definitely worth seeing.

Floss's comments on possible tinkering with the 2016/17 rep are very much to the point. I have just received an email, as a POB subscriber, notifying me that the Tudor/ Millepied programme (In December) has been replaced by a Kylian triple bill. Another Millepied ballet has already been replaced, some weeks back; but as Tudor fan I regret that The Leaves are Fading has also now been cancelled.

I think it is a typo, Bluebird, as on Friday 30 September Zucchhetti is listed as performing both the matinee and evening (Choe/Morera)

Osta and Le Riche can be seen dancing live in March for three performances (11 - 13) at Theatre des Champs Elysees. They set up a studio there last year where they teach performance and interpretation, rather than technique as such.

Alice, it's easy to get to Doncaster by train from York. and there are lots of trains. I live North of York but had no problems getting to and from Doncaster to see Northern ballet last year .The Cast theatre is attractive and about 10 minutes walk from the station.

I believe that the tour will be the launch of Carlos's new Cuban company. This is a group of 24 Cuban dancers, half classical, mostly coming from the Ballet Nacional of Cuba, and half contemporary, all young and very talented. So it is likely to be quite different from the Coliseum programme but probably very exciting.

Don Q is right that some tickets are sold outside- but a warning! outside the Garnier black market dealers operate. I've never noticed them at the Bastille (the venue for Bayadere) but they are probably there, too. At the Garnier they charge a lot for poor tickets.

I went to the matinee (£15 for a front row seat, 1st circle!- booked months ago), having attended a Rambert Saturday matinee at SWT last season and found it fantastic value each time. Mark Baldwin opened the performance to explain the aims and order of the programme, introducing us to some of the dancers, who showed some key steps from the first piece, Transfigured Night, which he outlined. The whole ballet was then performed. Kim Brandstrup was in the audience (Mark told us that and I later saw him) but he did not appear on stage. The previous time I saw one of these matinees Christopher Bruce had joined Mark on stage and discussed aspects of his ballet that they dancing. After the interval, Mark came back on stage and explained that the company trains alternative days in classical ballet and contemporary. Eight dancers then came on stage and showed some class exercises, some all together, then some taught by two ballet/dance rehearsal directors, respectively Mikaela Polley and Angela Towler, both remarkable dancers in the past. Then some of the Rooster dancers came on to demonstrate some moves, after which the whole piece was performed. As ever, I was blown away by the beauty of Dane Hurst's dancing. Its purity and musicality made me remember Michael Clark in his pre-punk days. I was gutted to read in Luke Jennings' review that Saturday was his last day as a member of the company. But the standard of all the dancers is very high. I was surprised not to notice any Royal Ballet regulars there; but Kevin O'Hare did attend. I assume that the Saturday matinee format is a regular at Sadler's Wells. It is informative, entertaining and great value so it might be worth others booking next time Rambert are at the Wells.

I saw 2 performances of RNZB at Edinburgh in Giselle, the production by Johan Kobborg and Ethan Stiefel. Essentially it's a traditional version but with a few tweaks. It is seen through the eyes of Albrecht; a dancer representing an older Albrecht appears at the opening and at the end of each act, remembering his relationship with Giselle. The role of Hilarion is expanded, both dramatically and in dance. The 'peasant pas de deux' is performed by a bride and her groom, plus Giselle, Albrecht and Hilarion. The production is convincing and the dancers are very well rehearsed. The scenery is basic, the cottage for Giselle and her mother and the building Albrecht uses are mere shacks. The lighting is mostly mercifully bright compared to most ballets nowadays. The costumes are attractive but slightly simpler than for most productions which often make peasants very well dressed. The biggest production drawback is that there is no live music and the tape is very loud. The first Giselle I saw was Lucy Green, who is strong technically and convincing in both acts. Her Hilarion, Kohei Iwamoto, danced well in the second act but came across as a lively lad rather than an aristocrat in disguise in Act 1. Jacob Chown, as Hilarion, gave a strong performance as Hilarion. Myrtha was Mayu Tanigaito who doesn't have a good enough jump for the role, nor the necessary authority. However, maybe she was saving herself as at the evening performance she was Giselle. Her dancing was stronger. I liked the start of her Act 1, she was charming and shy but in the Mad Scene she was grumpy rather than tragic. Her Albrecht was an Italian guest, Carlo Di Lanno, who danced strongly. Abigail Boyle was a more authoritative Myrtha. The standard of Moyna and Zulma at the 2 performances varied but the corps danced in unison. Overall it is well worth going to if you can get to Canterbury or High Wycombe. And for fans of Northern Ballet or BRB, there is a chance to see former dancers, respectively, John Hull (who was the Duke in both performances) and Lori Gilchrist (Zulma at one performance); or Nathanael Skelton ( a lively peasant). The company is also performing a mixed bill, at Leeds next week, at the Linbury and at Canterbury.

Wayne Eagling is reputed to have said, according to a very good source, "there is a God!' because neither RB nor BRB had taken Vadim, allowing ENB to offer him a position.

Brandon and Delia were wonderful in their first performance this afternoon. He is a true prince, a true danseur noble; lovely stage manners, beautiful style, fine elevation for such a tall dancer. She danced clearly, no fudging, beautifully articulated shapes and her dancing conveying her emotions in a way you see less frequently nowadays. Altogether a very moving performance from them both. They coped pretty well with the Black Swan pas de deux. The corps danced eloquently and together and the two big swans were very well matched (Ana Albutashvili and Alys Shee) and danced immaculately. It was lovely to see the production again, no silly tutor, no rude princesses in identical dresses (I was sorry to read about Samara's expression, I have always greatly admired her, but princesses would follow etiquette), no silly cavorting at the start of the ball scene, just a true reading of the classic, in other words, a Peter Wright masterly production. A pity that the audience was so small.

The casting for La Bayadere at the Paris Opera Ballet has just been updated to include Kristina Shapran (Nikya) and Kimin Kim (Solor) for some performances of La Bayadere at the Bastille theatre in December. Heloise Bourdon, of POB, will be Gamazatti.

Yes, Alison, I often watch The Next Step as it's my granddaughter's favourite programme- even though she's just given up ballet lessons! It's not unlike Fame, although it just focuses on dance, both ballet and contemporary, not the other arts. The dance levels are fairly high. There's a lot of emphasis on personal relationships, both rivalry as dancers but also boy/girl relationships.

The ballet was very warmly received, especially by those in the front rows and by the members of the company, who were in the best seats (meaning I couldn't couldn't book the seat I wanted!). Both the music and choreography were rather repetitive, perhaps necessarily so, given the theme of the book, although there are some nice solos for Martha Leebolt, as Julia, and one interesting pas de deux for Leebolt and Batley, which impressed people not very familiar with Macmillan. It's a fairly close depiction of the plot of the novel but cannot convey the philosophical complexities fundamental to the work. People unfamiliar with the novel may be confused about what is going on, unless they have bought the programme and managed to read the plot. The choreography for the Proles, and their costumes, were not sufficiently contrasted to those of Winston and his colleagues, and the Prole Woman is not characterised accurately- the audience might feel that Winston fancies her, while in the novel she fascinates him by her vulgarity rather than sexuality. But the dancers are very well rehearsed and individual dancers are convincing, Toby Batley and Martha Leebolt, in the leads but also Javier Torres who gives a chilling performance, very clearly danced. After Leeds, the ballet will be performed in seven theatres, culminating in London, Sadler's Wells, next May.

me too!

I saw Swan Lake on Friday and Saturday matinee. The production is poor, and there are no good female soloists. Kolesnikova was unlyrical and her grin as Black Swan was the most hideous I have ever seen. I think she danced better technically on her previous tours here, not that I rated her then as an artist. But the trip was worth it for seeing Vadim and Kim, two danseurs nobles, who both had real style and elegant technique and acted better than her or Matsak (whose acting was even worse than Kolesnikova's, and who was only competent technically - yet was good the same night as Gamzatti) However, the main reason for posting is to comment on a strange anomaly in the ticket prices. I sat in exactly the same seat for both Swan Lake performances, yet I turned out to have paid £7.50 more for the matinee than for the evening performance with Kolesnikova. The box office and the front of house manager could not understand the difference; but as the matinee was one of the additional performances, it may be that the promoters sneaked in price rises for the extra performances.

Pity that the way the rehearsal was organised didn't permit a photo of Yanela Pinera. I was at the talk she did on Sunday for the British Friends of the National Ballet of Cuba, her previous company, and she was very interesting. They do a version of Sylphide in Cuba but very different from Schauffus's, for instance there is more direct partnering whereas in his version James does not touch the Sylph. Schaufuss went to Australia the last two weeks to polish and correct the production and dancers. Pinera is a wonderful Giselle, her favourite role so she should be a good Sylph. I was very impressed when I saw her in Havana three years ago and apparently she was the star at last year's festival, which I was unable to attend.

According to Danse a la plume, the Stanislavsky company will be the guest company of the 3 week summer festival, les etes de la danse, June to July, in Paris 2017. As we already know, New York City Ballet is the invited company for next year (28 June to 16 July, 2016)

I attended the matinee yesterday, of a quadruple bill, on a day trip via Eurostar. The choreography was all by Ailey and three of the pieces were based on music by Duke Ellington, in one case, The River, created specifically for the ballet through a direct collaboration between these two iconic African-Americans. The most balletic of all the pieces, The River, was commissioned by ABT and includes a pas de deux created on Erik Bruhn and Natatlia Makarova. I recall seeing it when ABT visited London in the early 70s. This version was later revised by Ailey for his own company, removing the pointe work and reducing the number of sections to eight. The other two Ellington pieces were Night Creature (which Festival Ballet used to perform) and Pas de Duke, which was created on the remarkable Judith Jamieson, former dancer and later artistic director of the company, and Baryshnikov. Whilst I was very glad to see the ballets again I did feel that they had dated somewhat, in terms both of ethnic representation and of dance aesthetics. The dancers were, as ever, supremely enthusiastic but don't have quite the style and control now displayed by dancers who are trained in the major ballet academies. The final piece was the signature Ailey ballet Revelations, based on negro-spirituals (the official programme uses this description). It is astonishing that after so many thousands of performances the company still presents it so freshly, dancing with such fervour yet with controlled discipline in the group sections. The religious passion is deeply moving even to an non-believer. The performance ended with both the customary wild applause and the encored Rock My Soul. It was utterly moving; not least remembering the unforgettable Dudley Williams, who performed I Wanna Be Ready with deep conviction thousands of times, even when in his 50s and virtually unable to walk; he recently died. RIP. At one time the Ailey company visited Britain frequently, touring widely and always enthusiastically received. It is time they came again, they would reach out to a broad section, not just the traditional dance audience. Finally, given the discussion on this and another theme, about the booking date for next year's summer dance festival of NYCity Ballet, the Chatelet 2015-2016 brochure states that the programmes and prices will be announced in January 2016.

Osiel Gounod is one of the most exciting dancers I have ever seen. I saw him several times in Havana, at the biennial festival in 2012, and his technique surpassed any of the more famous male Cuban dancers, and in addition he has a delightful personality and real stage presence.

I saw the first (preview) performance last Thursday. I booked when it was first announced, partly as Aurelie Dupont was then scheduled to perform; ironically, she didn't perform in Manchester as she decided instead to dance in Paris that weekend in McGregor's L'Anatomie de la Sensation, the second of his ballets commissioned by Paris Opera Ballet. I saw the second performance of this run of the ballet (premiered in 2007) the matinee last Sunday. Unfortunately this wasn't one of Dupont's performances as it was the second cast. But as a ballet it is a stronger piece than Tree of Codes, with a much better score, Mark Anthony Turnage's Blood on the Floor, and more focused choreography, drawing on the narrative structure of the score and the strengths of the original cast. That said, Tree of Codes is visually stunning, a brilliant show. Although it is hard to see how it relates to the original book, and the choreography is repetitive at times, especially at the end, the dancers, both from Company Wayne McGregor and the Paris etoiles, Marie-Agnes Gillot and Jeremie Belingard, when they finally appear, are superb and the overall impact of the stage effects, lighting, design, fabulous. Perhaps I can add that the two performances of Fille I saw last weekend in Paris were good, with an excellent Lise by a sujet, Eleonore Guerineau, in her first principal role, a musical dancer with a strong technique and nice epaulement and a warm lively personality. Philip Ellis conducted (normally Royal Ballet Sinfonia).

They should be virgins (Diana was goddess of virginity- but also childbirth!) but should be more like Amazons than they are in this version. Neumeier's Sylvia ballet for the Paris Opera Ballet depicts them, and Sylvia herself, as more spirited, as they should be, IMHO.

It was generally agreed with Louise that ballets should be as clear as possible and that a ballet where viewers needed to read programme notes beforehand failed in this respect. Chris said that a ballet that was based on a novel or other literary form should not just rely on outlining the plot but should add an extra dimension or insight, citing the example of Scottish Ballet's Streetcar Named Desire which illuminates Blanche's tragic downfall more sympathetically than the play itself. He said that ballets should always have a message and not just be about plot. For example, the most significant versions of Cinderella are in essence about a girl's coping with grief for her mother, exploring the darkness in Prokofiev's best ballet score. Another example of a Cinderella production was that of Ratmansky, who, according to Mary Brennan (who saw it in St Petersburg before the Maryinsky took it to the Edinburgh Festival), used it as an attack on the bling of Post Soviet Russia, with the prince searching for innocence and finding it in Cinderella. This covert political statement was of course not recognised by Western audiences who disliked the version because of its lack of magic. Apparently Ratmansky has completely disowned his ballet since he left Russia. Mary and Chris both stressed that choreographers need to analyse and project what they are trying to say. There was also a sense that the choreography, like performances, need to be authentic (my word), that is true to the artist themself. Mary said that Peter Darrell was the first to use a dramaturge, the playwright David Hare. Newer ballets sometimes use non-linear narratives, including flashbacks, such as Wuthering Heights. Surprisingly, none of the critics examined the non-linear approach of Woolf Works and it was not possible to raise it as there was hardly any time for questions and that was monopolised.

I was able to attend the final performance at Doncaster, visiting the Cast Theatre for the first time, an attractive venue with good facilities, a cultural oasis in a depressingly deprived town, comprised almost solely of pound shops, betting shops, charity shops and boarded shops. My bad luck with programmes this week continued- none at York for BRB mid-week, lucky to get one of the very few left at ROH on Saturday afternoon, none at all left on Saturday night for Northern. The programme Northern is touring is well-balanced. It opens with Hampson's attractive Perpetuum Mobile, giving the company a chance to show their classical technique. Joseph Taylor, who has greatly gained in confidence in the last two years, led, with Abigail Prudames, with Kevin Poeung and Isaac Lee-Baker giving him a run for his money. After a brief pause, it was followed by the first part of the revised Madam Butterfly, the second half coming after the one interval. I don't remember the full version well enough to comment on the changes but like all David Nixon's ballets the narrative is clear and accessible. Personally I felt the occasional touches of humour were not entirely appropriate although they are presumably intended to lighten the show for the general public. I also have reservations about the choreography for Butterfly's final, suicidal, solo. Like the music it is quite different from the rest of the ballet, more intensely Japanese, ritualistic. For me, that lessens the immediacy of the tragedy, but I imagine that for other people it will enhance the drama. But it is one of Nixon's best ballets and there is no question about the quality of the performances. Pippa Moore's characterisation sensitively reveals the evolution of Butterfly's emotions and compellingly highlights her tragedy. As Pinkerton Kelley McKinlay, a guest dancer new to me, was a good partner and had an attractive style. Matthew Koon, as the marriage broker and Poeung and Lee-Baker, as Pinkerton's friends all danced fluently and Lucia Solari, whose dancing had impressed in Perpetuum Mobile, despite not having a main role, acted well as Pinkerton's wife, not an easy part to convey. The programme is being widely toured, across the country, not just in May and June but also in the autumn.

The Northern leg opened in York on Tuesday, at the Grand Opera House, a venue new to the company. Although overall successful, the tour was plagued with problems. There were no programmes as those for the North had been sent to the South and vice versa. There were few cast sheets and on the Wednesday evening some of those available were those for the matinee. But by far the worst problem was that at the end of the first ballet on Wednesday night, Delia Mathews had a nasty fall, causing serious injury, and resulting in the cancellation of the middle piece, Kin, in which she was scheduled to take the lead, as Elisha Willis, who had taken that role at the first performance, had already left York and so could not take over. Marion Tait came on stage to explain and apologise and the audience reacted sympathetically. The programme is well balanced, opening with Ashton's Les Rendezvous, still in the garish designs that are at total variance with Ashton's intention. In two performances the leads were reprised by Elisha Willis and Chi Cao but at the final performance Delia Mathews and Brandon Lawrence took over. Until her fall Delia tackled the tricky choreography fairly confidently and with more Ashtonian style than most of the other dancers. Brandon also impressed with good control and charismatic stage presence. The middle piece is Alex Whitley's Kin, premiered last year and still impressing with its choreographic ingenuity, testing the dancers both technically and emotionally. Although Whitley was at one time a dancer with the company, before moving to Rambert, it is more contemporary than the other pieces in their rep and the dancers respond energetically. The leads at the two performances were Elisha Willis and Joe Caley, and Delia Mathews and William Bracewell. They performed it differently but well but there was regret that Jenna Roberts's injury has prevented her from reprising it. The final piece is that audience favourite, Elite Syncopations. The audience applauded at the start, when the curtain lifts to reveal the band on stage and in costume. Across the three performances many soloists strutted their stuff but the star has to be James Barton, deploying his dramatic flair to the full, and in role at all times, even when other dancers are featured. One innovation this year is a pre-performance talk. Marion Tait, at her most eloquent, and Dominic Antonucci, were clear and enthusiastic, explaining the purpose of the mid-season tour, describing the daily routine of the dancers and talking about their own experience and describing the bill. Everyone found it a fascinating and informative talk.