SheilaC

20 minutes ago, Tango Dancer said:

 

Definitely.  Every dancer has less good days, days when they're dancing through a cold or a minor injury or preoccupied emotionally.  They're amazing but they're not perfect and things go wrong on occasion.  

I totally agree and I rate artistry, lyricism , musicality and style above the ability to thrash out fouettés. I once saw a performance of Swan Lake by Zen where her fouettés unravelled; but her Act 4 Odette was the best I've ever seen.

I most associate her with a remarkable solo, almost certainly by Bejart, about a squeaky door, I think, quite extraordinary, unfortunately I can't recall, or find, the name.

The last time I saw Bejart in person he was sat at the opera house with Maina Gielgud in the Crush room, long before it became a restaurant. Their continuing affection and understanding radiated out.

I attended both performances on Saturday. I agree that Polina Semionova was excellent and I always thoroughly enjoy Brandon Lawrence's performances, lovely personality, style and jump, although I wouldn't put him in the top rank of classical dancers yet. The whole cast at the evening performance were good, better overall than at the matinee, which gave less experienced dancers a chance., although Rachele Pizzillo as a courtesan and Hungarian princess, and Yuki Sugiura as a 'swan maiden' were impressive.

However, I thought Yaoqian Shang was as good, in her way, as Polina  as Odette. I first saw her do the dual role in Sunderland some years back, when she was new to the role. Her second act then blew me away, she had something of the liquid Lyrical quality of the young Lynn Seymour's Odette. In Act 3 her fouettes then were an unmitigated disaster. I had booked to see her do Swan Lake a week before lockdown, in 2020, but, to my great disappointment she injured herself that morning in class (the bonus was that casting changed and Brandon did an extra show). This year she's not going to Sunderland so I booked for the matinee at Birmingham. Once again her movement was beautifully articulated, musical, expressive, eloquent, even more than in her early performance. Semionova also shaped her movement beautifully, capitalising on her height to create dramatic arabesques, not unlike Zen's (Yankovsky) who has a similar physique. However, come Act 3, Semionova was the more brilliant technically as after a successful start with the fouetees, Shang lost confidence half way through and it all unravelled.

Another pleasure at the matinee was to see Max Maslen as Siegfried, the first performance after the announcement of his promotion. He always comes across as sincere and believable in any role he undertakes and he is a sympathetic partner and fine dancer. I was more moved at the end of his performance than I usually am nowadays at Swan Lake, and Wright's production has a more dramatic ending than most productions. so it really does seem climactic.

Gielgud danced for a couple of years with LFB in the early to mid '70s. I remember seeing her dance one of the Tchaikovsky classics in Newcastle, with Adam Luders (later a luminary of NYCB)- not a predictable combination!

He was very glamorous when young. I saw him several times as the father in La Dame aux Camelias as he kept up his connection with Paris Opera Ballet until recently; I always felt it was a privilege to see him.

Tonight, on Radio 3, Live from the Barbican, the programme includes Petrushka (will we ever see that again?) and Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini. (7.30 - 9.30)

Today's Guardian reports that the Playhouse in Edinburgh had to stop a performance of Jersey Boys last week after a fight erupted! It quotes the Stage stating that ATG is working with producers and marketing to modify ad campaigns for its theatres. Apparently theatre staff face much abuse, occasionally even physical.

47 minutes ago, FionaE said:

Over a year in advance … it’s not yet 8 February 2023 !!!

This is usual BRB practice. They always announce in the spring which ballet will be performed 12 months later so that audiences at regional theatres, who are attending the current ballet, can book for the company 12 months later.

The Circle is very steep, RichardLH and it can be very difficult to access your seat. Normally I prefer the circle in a theatre but at the Hippodrome I always book side stalls.

Some Ashton!!

Collier didn't just dance the ballet with Baryshnikov- she created the role. My daughter and I spoke to her a few days before the premiere (on the Queen Mum's 80th birthday- Rhapsody was Ashton's birthday present; they were quite close friends). At that stage Baryshnikov still hadn't arrived in London so all the choreography that had been created then was on her and the small corps, she said. I wasn't able to get tickets for the queen mum's gala but we were able to go to the second performance when there was still glitter left from the gala celebration. It was wonderful to see two such fabulous dancers, dancing such musical choreography but a main memory is that Misha scarcely looked at Lesley. The gala performance was televised and if you watch it you will see what I mean, little communication with her, despite Lesley's heroic efforts.

For anyone in two minds about attending the show at Sadler's Wells, just take a look at Buddy's Lyrical Dance today- 2nd link 'a quick glimpse- Who Cares?'  It shows an old clip of Tiler Peck dancing magnificently a solo from Balanchine's Who Cares. It's far from my favourite Balanchine ballet but Tiler is amazing in it, performing for one of Balanchine's most charismatic ballerinas, Pat McBride, who also used to dance that solo spectacularly.

Tiler's an extraordinary dancer, well worth catching in a rare performance in the UK.

14 minutes ago, Pas de Quatre said:

Looks good, but if main BRB tour to Mayflower, Southampton please can we have BRB2 somewhere in South or Southwest. 

Not to mention the North East (where BRB used to have successful regional tours when the company divided in two) and North West (where BRB has cut down on its performances at the Lowry, as it did years previously to Sunderland, and to Bradford, where it no longer performs at all, despite several top dancers coming from that city!)

The film Red Sparrow is on again on Film4 at 9pm on Tuesday 17 January. It includes choreography by Justin Peck, dancing by Sergei Polunin and by Isabella Boylston as the dance double for Jennifer Lawrence. The cast includes Charlotte Rampling (who I've seen on her own at a ballet matinee in Paris) and Jeremy Irons among other good actors. Not a terrific amount of ballet shown and the film can end up feeling a bit long winded but worth watching once.

Rhapsody and Two Pigeons are on SkyArts again next Saturday, 21st, at 7 am.

On Radio 4 next Wednesday (18) Wayne Sleep discusses Jerome Robbins in the Dancing Legends series. I expect a lot will be about Robbins's fabulous contribution to musical choreography and production.

I agree with Fonty that Alain gets the last laugh, returning for his beloved umbrella after all the other dancers have exited the stage. Ashton obviously loved him and from Alexander Grant, the creator of the role, on, some dancers have portrayed him sympathetically and subtly. But others have not- from Alexander Grant's brother, Garry, on, crudely playing him for laughs in a way that has always been offensive and inappropriate.

Update- I have watched the link they sent me but it does not appear to be the one oncnp mentioned, which is relatively recent and includes Osipova. Fumi, Maia Makhateli, Eleanora Abbagnato, none of which are on the link I was sent, The Best of the Etoiles, from 2018, 2019 and especially 2020. It starts and ends with Nela and Vadim (Sleeping Beauty and Corsaire), plus the wonderful Kimin Kim in Bayadere, Vadim Shkiyarov, Jacopo Tissi, among others (the men are better than the women although Iana Salenko is good with Kim).

So I still don't know how to get for free the Etoiles  video that oncnp recommends!

8 minutes ago, oncnp said:

Odd - I just checked again and it is still free. 

Yes, it's very odd as it states clearly on the website that it's free- rather misleading as I commented in my reply to them.

But many thanks for the tip-off- even though it didn't work for me.

I have just this moment had a further message from them, a different person (if the chat was a person!) saying there are 2 online versions- one of which IS free, giving me the link. Unfortunately I'm too technically challenged to give the link here, can only do it by forwarding the email. If any one is very keen, message me with your email and I'll forward it.

On 31/12/2022 at 15:01, oncnp said:

“Les Étoiles”, produced by Daniele Cipriani, for ITsART gathers together the most iconic and exciting moments of Les Étoiles, Rome’s most keenly-awaited dance shows, a glittering cast of ballet stars in a rich and virtuoso programme of jumps and pirouettes taken principally from the classic repertory. Les Étoiles’ internationalism is the show’s leitmotif and reflects that special character that makes dance the model for an ideal society and world.

 

Free but you do have to register

 

Les Étoiles Streaming - Watch for in HD for free - ITsART Italian Art and Culture

I have just spent a miserable 50 minutes trying to access Les Etoiles. Although you say it's free, after registering, and the website claims it's free in fact you have to buy or rent- as I eventually discovered after waiting 20 minutes or so for advice from their chat-box.

I should have added that next week's Composer of the Week (R 3, at 12 noon, then on Sounds) is Max Richter, a composer many of you like much more than I do. His music used for ballet includes Four Seasons and that composed for ballet (notably Wayne McGregor) includes Infra, Woolf Works and the new piece based on Margaret Attwood's dystopian novels

Alison, I think it would be good to have a thread for radio programmes.

A couple of weeks ago the R3 Composer of the Week was Chopin, heaven for people like me who are addicted to Chopin and to the wonderful ballets Robbins created to his music- each episode had music for one or more of Robbins' masterpieces. The following week it was Cesar Franck including the music for Symphonic Variations and Stravinsky's music for ballets or later used for ballets is frequently on.

BBC Sounds retains the programmes for a month so one can always go back to it- as I am just about to do, as there's nothing for me on TV!

Thanks Janet, I tried to search for a full list but couldn't find one.

Disappointing that there is no ballet nominee- an all too depressing sign of the times. But Mary Evelyn was a wonderful contemporary dancer and has done a great job at LCDS.

However, I am delighted that Edward Lynch is being awarded an MBE. He was an early member of Phoenix in their dynamic all-male years, although not one of the 3 founding members. Years later, when he had an artistic post at the City of York, and I was careers director at York St John University, he ran some workshops on careers in dance for students on our dance degree, and very inspirational he was.

Once again Sunderland misses out. Birmingham and Plymouth get famous guest artists, Sunderland doesn't get BRB stars such as that wonderful danseur noble, Cesar Morales, yet again, nor Celine or Brandon.

Yes, Alison, it was the usual cast.

But it was fascinating to spot all the future soloists and principals dancing in the corps, and even a walk on part, I think, by Joe Sissons. Nice to see Matthew and Mayara dancing together all those years ago!

I totally agree Fonty, that's how I voted, on the grounds that the Ashton programme was a very well balanced and varied bill, with music from 3 different composers, and choreography that was musical and expressive for ballets that followed different styles. (I actually worded it a lot better than that!)

5 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

 

I've been on a couple of trains over the years where someone has taken seriously ill and the guard came to help and coordinate with the driver about the course of action to take...

I've been on several trains when a passenger was taken ill and the help of the train manager (as guards are now called!) and other staff was essential. Train staff are also necessary to intervene when passengers are disruptive. If I've been to a matinee when my train reaches York scores of drunks invariably get on the train. Train staff are needed even though transport police usually come on board as well. 

Another threat to passengers' service is that the train companies want to close ticket offices on stations. But the staff don't just sell tickets, they give advice and can answer questions to help customers select the journey best for them. And they are essential when a train is badly delayed or cancelled, as happens all the time in the North. In September my direct train to Liverpool to see ENB was cancelled ( as were all the other direct trains that day) and the advice of the ticket office staff was invaluable. And the staff are multi-skilled in small stations, providing assistance to passengers with mobility problems.

There are real safety issues and customers' needs should be taken into account.

The focus of the media on the effect of the strikes (which will impact on me, too- I'm taking my granddaughter to London on the 16th, her first visit to London and to see her first Nutcracker so I understand the concern) tends to ignore the disruption passengers in the North face, with trains constantly cancelled by TransPennineExpress and Grand Central as well as the notorious Avanti. I decided against seeing Northern Ballet in Leeds and Newcastle on evenings in the autumn as the risk of not being able to get home was too great; TPE warned passengers to check before travelling even if a journey had been booked, which means that they were ducking the usual responsibility to ensure that all passengers were entitled to get to their destination and their rights to delay repay.

Train companies are given half a billion pounds a year by the government yet are not required to provide a proper service, so that even Avanti has been rewarded despite their appalling service- or lack of it!