Two Pigeons

Ballet directors are becoming like football managers and being sacked for all sorts of reasons. 'Twas ever thus! I remember when Schaufuss was sacked from ENB and look at the number of people who have tried at that job, only to be edged out after a couple of years. One thing about Tamara Rojo, no one is going to push HER around. To be fair to both BRB and RB this is far less a problem there. At least with Ross Stretton it was pretty clear why he was ousted out and no one could say his tenure at the RB was that successful. Whatever are the rights and wrongs of the Kobborg case they have undoubtedly lost a very effective director who was doing wonders for their repertoire. It will be a long time before ONB recovers from this I feel.

Indeed! The retrenchment of all retrenchments. Given the success the company had with A Month in the Country this new season is such a let down.

The one good thing about this is that Ruth Brill's work is being showcased.

I have just received my supporters priority booking form for 2016/17. I am not sure if the information is embargoed but I think it is pretty much general knowledge that the season will open with Bintley's new production of The Tempest and that both Nutcracker and Cinderella are being given. There really isn't that much else but my main source of disappointment is that there is only one triple bill and not a hugely inspiring one at that. I know that this is a sign of stringent finances and even I must accept that mixed bills seem to be obstanately uncommercial (unless they include Carmina Burana for some reason) but there is no Ashton, Balanchine or Macmillan and I am very sorry about that. No doubt the official announcement will be made very shortly.

well, the director's job has now become an utterly poisoned chalice and I cannot see anyone equal to Kobborg's standing or ability being willing to take it. Presumably some nonentity will be appointed with a brief to steady the ship and do as he or she is told from above. All those production jewels removed from the company. It really is pretty heartbreaking but I am sure that Kobborg will be snapped up by a more sympathetic company which will recognise his undoubted gifts and given him the support he needs to create something very special elsewhere.

I suppose they could have made a bigger hash of all of this but I am not entirely sure how.

I saw the cinema relay last night and enjoyed it hugely. I can only concur with the praise for the pas de six and both leading protagonists. However, what I enjoyed most was the interview involving Sir Peter Wright. Here is someone who really loves and understands Giselle. I am so sorry BRB no longer have his production of the work and I really miss the pas de six which is so much more interesting than the bog standard pas de deux. I have had the privilege of interviewing Sir Peter in person twice and once over the telephone for an article for the BRB Friends' magazine. I have always been fascinated by his story about hiding in the Opera House gents in order to see Galina Ulanova as Giselle. It was her performance which has inspired him all these years. He said she was funny and very human in the first act. I thought of that story when I saw Nunez last night and I wondered whether that was entirely her own interpretation or part of it was Sir Peter's recollections of Ulanova. Either way, I really did enjoy the performance (with the sae reservations about the Myrthe as stated by others) and I was very impressed with the corps in the second act.

I hope we get some really interesting casts. We have had one or two Cinderella I have been less than keen on.

Going back to the original posting, it has just occurred to me that some ballerinas crop up in numerous responses. However, hardly anyone has mentioned Darcey Bussell. I find this very interesting. Do people no longer think of her in those terms? Is she thought to be more of a media figure now? Any thoughts?

As one of BRB's biggest fans I have concerns about the future of the company given that the Council is making such trenchant cuts into its funding. Having said that I remained pretty amazed that the company has had such a successful 26 (nearly) years in the city. I know that this is BristolBillyBob expressing his dreams and any such move is unlikely to be supported in fact (at the moment). However, my feelings for the company are such that I would rather it was kept together and moved than disbanded. Birmingham City Council has done a sterling job over the years to support both BRB and the CBSO which are sources of great pride in the city. However, as public money gets increasingly squeezed and the membership of the Council changes I can see lean times ahead.

I have only seen Muntagirov on tv but I am pretty confident that were I still watching the RB he would be on my list too.

I really do hope that is a case of wishful thinking.

I do so agree. He was terrific and she was just fabulous. It was at the Coliseum when I saw them and I just remember beaming all the way through the performance. The night before we had seen Terekhova and a very young Igor Zelensky. Ah, those were the days. I also remember Neff as Conrad, miming 'I am a corsair' every 5 minutes. Pankova was Gulnara and Zaklinsky was the slave dealer whose name escapes me. Such happy memories. I am so glad I have the DVD of that great cast. I have really enjoyed this thread. I spent part of the afternoon watching Patrick Dupond in Etudes on YouTube. Retirement is just bliss!

I don't think it is possible to over defend Fonteyn. Her influence was enormous and this should never be under appreciated. I really envy you seeing Markova. Anyone who influenced Clement Crisp to the extent he still refers to her as one of his ideals has to have been something very special.

Sorry, me again, 3 I cannot believe I left out earlier, Joe Cipolla, Wolfgang Stollwitzer and Alexander Campbell. Finally, I hope, three who have special places in my heart because of the interaction we had as friends off stage, Stephen Wicks, Vincent Redmon and Kevin O'Hare - I wonder whatever happened to him.

Hi Alison. Trust me, if you had seen Dupond live you would remember him. Restrained and retiring he wasn't, but he was great fun and a real 'notice me' star.

I am pleased other posters have mentioned Eva Evdokimova. She was a dancer unlike any other I have seen. Ethereal, romantic ballerinas like her are very few and far between. I count my memories of seeing her dance with Peter Schaufuss in La Sylphide and Giselle as amongst my absolute favourites. She really understood these jewels of early 19th century ballet By contrast I also have great memories of her as Swanilda and Tatiana which you would have thought she was less suited for. That may have been true but she was terrific in both roles.

I know what you mean about 'getting your eye in' FLOSS. I referred to the gala for Fonteyn when she was 60 on another thread. I loved Birthday Offering and Facade and Salut d'Amour blew my mind as they say. I regret I must also confess that the performance of Symphonic Variations with Merle Park and (I think) David Wall (may have been Eagling) bored me excessively. Boy, have I come to revise my opinion of that since! Oh, the follies of Youth.

Dowell, Baryshnikov, Robert Parker, Michael O'Hare, Tyrone Singleton, Brandon Lawrence, David Wall, Stephen Jefferies, Nicolas Le Riche, Peter Schaufuss, Patrick Dupond, Patrick Armand, Bruce Sansom, Wayne Eagling I did see Nureyev a number of times but never at his peak so I would not include him. The two dancers I wish I had seen were Eric Bruhn and Vladimir Vassiliev. Some I wish I had seen more of, Adam Cooper and Johann Kobborg.

I dare say that if anyone us had the chance to see Pavlova we would be aghast. However, it should be remembered that she so inspired Ashton he put his memory of her into practically every ballet he ever wrote. It is worth thinking that in 20 years time there will be posters saying that today's great technicians are inferior to what will be around then. This should not detract from our enjoyment of what we can see now and our cherished memories of what we have seen.

I was very lucky to see Tereshkina as Kitri. I can still remember my jaw dropping when I saw her do the pas de deux in the third act. She was just astonishing.

I know I number of posters on YouTube remain unaffected by Fonteyn. I remember one of them describing her as 'a mediocre dancer at best'. All I can say, and this is totally heartfelt, is that people who think that way can never have seen her perform live. My first trip to the ROH was the gala for her 60th birthday and she performed Salut d'amour and as the debutant in Facade with Helpmann. I may have been young and impressionable (22) and may have known very little about ballet but she is seared into my memory and I remember that performance far more clearly than many of those I have seen in the intervening years. Her technique may have faded but her sheer theatrical magnatism just hadn't. Here was a ballerina who had been dancing Aurora twice in one day in her 40s and 50s. When you think about how much and how often she danced during The War and on very indifferent stages you have to concede she was something very special. A good friend of mine saw her dance Swan Lake with Nureyev in Stratford Upon Avon. What are the chances of most of today's crop of ballerinas dancing that often or that accessibly? It is perverse but the ordinary provincial balletomane has a far greater chance of seeing both Cojocaru and Rojo now they have left the RB. What is the likelihood of ever having the chance to see Osipova or Haywood outside of London? Do not judge Fonteyn or her contemporaries by modern day standards. They may not have the same physical facility but I would suggest that many of the modern ballerinas could not compete with the oldies in terms of performance and artistry.

One of the most commanding ballerinas I ever saw on stage was the great Tatiana Terekhova as Myrthe and Medora. She absolutely dominated the stage and had the most enormous amount of presence. Not long after that I passed her in Thorp Street in Birmingham and I had to do a double double take. She was tiny. It just shows you how a personality can fill a theatre despite actually being very small.

I had forgotten Trinidad. She was very special indeed. Added to that, some of my favourite ballet memories involve Sandra Madgwick, especially dancing with Michael O'Hare.

Fonteyn, Makarova, Ananaishvili, Bessmertnova, Evdokimova, Sibley, Park, Collier, Tait, Yoshida, Samsova, Haydee, Guillem, Donovan, Muller, Vallo, Gittens. I would have included Seymour but I really didn't see enough of her. I only saw Fonteyn twice but those memories have never left me. May think of some others later. Sorry, forgot Maximova, Terekova and Asylmuratova.