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Two Pigeons

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  1. I saw the first performance of this production at the Opera House. It wasn't the premiere, that was in Manchester but the production caused a very good critical reaction. Never, at any time do I remember a red tutu. Lots of black was the overall impression and that has remained for over 30 years now. Philil Prouse's designs are often based on black, except his Sleeping Beauty which is primarily gold.
  2. If you get the chance to see Dancer MAB it is rather amusing to see Schaufuss either wearing an ENB t-shirt or mentioning the company. As I fan of BRB I would love to see a series with David Bentley giving his company the same sort of publicity.
  3. I am sure that this point has been made before but in the 80s we had three really good series. Fonteyn's The Magic of Dance, Peter Schaufuss' Dancer and Natalia Makarova's Ballerina. Regrettably the BBC appears to have neither the interest or the funding for such coverage again. If they did it would need to be fronted by a Deborah Bull or a Tamara Rojo to be really successful but I cannot see that happening either. Everything is a bit superficial these days.
  4. I think it could be argued that BRB already do that with their small scale tours. They tend to offer a very attractive mix of works too. I have a bit of a beef about Strictly. Here is a programme which is about 70% Latin dances. I know the contestants do a 50/50 mix of ballroom and latin but most of what the pros do is raunchy show numbers. If we had a bit more classic and elegant ballroom other forms of dancing might benefit. Mind you, the girls have to be fully clothed for ballroom and the BBC see are always trying to attract 'yoof' so I can't see it happening. Meanwhile, back to ballet, a lot of us in major cities would like to see the RB tour, not least to see works like One in or La Sylphide which the other companies just don't have. Unfortunately it's just not going to happen as there is neither the will nor the funding to do it. I am sorry but however much we may love the art it remains very much a minority attraction and as the population changes this will only get more acute. People will always stay with the tried and tested, especially when tickets are as expensive as they are. When it comes to not experiencing triples it is their loss but you cannot force them to go.
  5. I think you are right Janet. Ashton either willed them to him or his executors made the decision after his death. Either way I feel it was (on the whole) a good decision. Schaufuss was very good to Ashton in his last years. Admittedly Apparitions was a misfire but I will always be grateful that I had a chance to see Romeo and Juliet, with all its flaws, danced by artists who believed in it passionately and under Ashton's supervision. Although I understand that Shaufuss has turned out some rather bizarre performances since I think the ballet would have become a lost legend without his intervention. I cannot see it being mounted at the Opera House. I would suspect that both tbe dancers and the box office would take the view that it is inferior to the Macmillan version and not be too keen on delivering the subtlety it needs. FLOSS makes the point that Mercutio is a vital role and as important as the leads. I agree with her on this but I would add to that Tybalt as a significant component. When BRB launched their production in tbe early 90s the Romeos and Juliets were a bit uneven. However, Peter Ottavanger and Evan Williams were outstanding as Tybalt and tbe drama was heightened accordingly.
  6. May I add my disappointment with the new websit. Cumbersome and time consuming. However, the good news is Tyrone Singleton and Celine Gittens on the opening night. There is the added bonus of Will Bracewell as Benno. My gamble for the Wednesday matinee hasn't paid off but that was a known risk so I cannot complain too much.
  7. I've just got myself a ticket for the Wednesday matinee in Brum just in case. Many thanks to Janet for the early warning.
  8. P.s. if that's the first cast for Brum I will a VERY happy bunny!
  9. Yes I am! I think we need to alert Alison as well. Great news for Brandon. He so deserves it.
  10. Hi Janet my argument about that is that I am afraid I am very picky about the seats I will accept at the Hippodrome. Much as I love the place I think it should be admitted that some of the sightings are pretty dreadful and the circle is not great for leg room. The company does visit theatres which are better served. Plymouth is one, I would suspect The Lowry is another. I know my years of touring are way behind me but I am afraid I am very unlikely to travel to another city without knowing whom I at least expected to see. I genuinely admire your wholehearted support of the company and your appreciation of everything you see. I think I am just a bit too jaded now. I have booked for the opening night of Swan Lake as part of my subscription. I have a pretty good idea who will be the first cast and that it won't be Celine and Tyrone nor will it be an interesting debut. If I knew in time that, for example, Brandon Lawrence was doing the Thursday matinee I would willingly stump up for a second visit. Of course, Bintley's point about seeing the company is vindicated by the fact that by the time the casting is announced it will all be sold out anyway. Heigh ho
  11. Hi FLOSS given the problems the company has with triple bills you would think he would at least offer casting for those. He has some real crowd pleases, Bracewell, Lawrence, Gittens, Singleton etc for whom I would willingly shell out for an extra ticket. I suppose the converse is that there are also one or two I would pay money to avoid. Either way I don't think he will budge from this. When I was secretary of BRB Friends I was Tasked with sending bouquets to each of the soloists for Birthday Offering the night he took over the company. I remember writing in and asking for the cast list as I said that having one bouquet addressed to Miss Gelfand and 6 others addressed 'to whom it may concern' would rather spoil the effect rather. I was given the casting just in time to write the appropriate cards.
  12. I have been a supporter of SWRB/BRB since 1982 and this is the company I follow most closely. Although I accept fully that all forms of subsidy are been squeezed I am totally fed up of their constant attempts to extract money. We have point shoe appeals, director appeals etc ad nauseum and the one that really galls me, please leave us some money in your will. I remember a very long and slightly rancourous telephone call with one of their professional fund raises who was trying to pressurise me into increasing my direct debits. I have got to the stage now that if they contact me by the method you describe and they ring me again I will cancel all my debits and probably not renew my Friends' subscription. Until they reorganised the membership alphabetically I was BRB Friends number 6. I was very proud of that and often wondered if I was 'in the Village'. Although I do love the company I am fed up of just being viewed as a potential cash cow. The Friends of the Hippodrome are nothing like as agressive. If they want to get more money out of me they should publish advance casting so I have time to make an informed decision when buying additional tickets.
  13. Given the number of football clubs across 4 divisions, let alone the lower leagues, together with those in Scotland and Wales compared to the number of ballet schools I would have to say football has the edge. Admittedly there may well be more competition in football as it is an activity which is so universal. Added to that the physical requirements for a female dancer are getting more and more prescriptive. Your niece is a lovely dancer I have no doubt but if she is not the type currently in vogue she may well lose out. Harsh though this sounds that is the way things are going. One thing is clear though. If they both make it to professional level the footballer will make more money, even in the lower divisions. I wish them both every success.
  14. I remember going to an RBS show I the early 80s and there were something lime 3 Irenes and a couple of Jolyons. As we all counted back to the 1960s we saluted tbe success that was The Forsyte Saga. Even in black and white.
  15. Sorry, it has to be the Strictly effect. I'm amazed there hasn't been a surge in Lens, Antons and Brunos. However, we should be grateful for small mercies.
  16. I do wonder how much money Anthony Russell Roberts is making out of M and A. Seems to be a case of never mind the quality.........
  17. While fully endorsing the point about second and third rate casts being lamentable I still feel that second tier Ashton is still head and shoulders above so many other choreographers. Not all, obviously, but lots of others.
  18. Hi FLOSS, I won't name the dancer I referred to but I have to confess that my view is a bit subjective. I don't like her in anything. When I see anything in which Markova excelled or was choreographed for her I am staggered at how prodigious she must have been. But then I remember how Clement Crisp writes about her. For him to have been so inspired by her over so many decades she was undoubtedly in a class of her own. I think you make consistently valid and perceptive views on both the demands and difficulties of the Ashton rep. Having seen British ballet for 35 years now I consider myself to be extremely fortunate to gave seen some great Ashton dancers, Sibley and Dowell being first amongst them. When I first starting going I could see Park, Collier and very occasionally Seymour. Later dancers I would regard as Ashton dancers include Wildor, Sansom and Yoshida amongst others. How many potential there around now will depend largely on the training and coaching they are given. I must agree with the poster who talked about the subtlety of his work and this is an area which is very vulnerable as acting styles are undoubtedly becoming broader. Mind you, these things may correct themselves in very suprising ways. One male dancer who was very much in the Ashton mould left some pretty great memories as Oberon, Colas , the Young Man in Pigeons and Valses Nobles et Sentimentals etc etc etc. Clearly he respected and loved the works. I find it ironic that Iain Webb has created a protected oasis of Ashton works in America. I wish he would bring his company over here for a visit so that we could all have a good wallow. It would be very interesting to see what we could have but in danger of losing. It would also be very interesting to see how such a visit would be greeted by the current British ballet hierarchy.
  19. As an addendum to my previous mail, I cannot see any reason whatsoever for BRB's failure to present Les Patineurs for more tears than I can remember. The piece is an utter joy from start to finish and goes down well with audiences. Mind you, I am not convinced that Sir Fred would have recognise his vision of Les Rendezvous from some of the performances we had last year. It wasn't just the dreadful redesigns and lighting. One of the dancers in the Markova role was so adrift from the style the part requires I could have wept.
  20. I think this is a very interesting question. Had you asked me about 5 years ago I would have said that the charge definitely did not apply to BRB. Given that the company does not have access to a significant portion of the Ashton rep, e.g. Cinderella, Sylvia, Ondine, Rhapsody being examples off the top if my head, it should be remembered that we had Daphnis and Chloe paired with Two Pigeons only 3 years ago, a triple of rare(ish) Ashton works from the 30s and a very successful revival of Symphonic Variations. I would also nominate Tombeau, Bintley's homage and lament for Ashton as one of his very finest works. We are finally getting A Month in the Country with The Dream and Fille never being that long out of the rep. Enigma is being shown in October and this is a work which has suited BRB very well. However, I do feel that there is a slight feeling that the Ashton rep is not getting quite the same respect it has had previously. Whether this is influenced by box office appeal or as was suggested above, a diminishing number of Ashton suited dancers I cannot say. The other thing I would point to is less coaching by great Ashton specialists. As has been said a number of times on these boards, Ashton is overshadowed by Macmillan at Covent Garden who has a very effective and powerful advocate. BRB tends to be dominated by the works of David Bintley and I feel that the Ashton rep comes in rushes and then vanishes for a while. We have 3 of his greatest in the next 6 months and the company undoubtedly has very good potential Ashton dancers, Will Bracewell and Delia Matthews instantly come to mind. If the works are presented with care and respect the shows should be terrific. If they are not I, for one, will be bitterly disappointed. At least David Bintley has not jumped on the current bandwagon and gone for performances if Marguerite and Armand. We don't have the dancers to do that work full justice. Yet.
  21. Thank you for posting this. I found the interview very interesting but it could have been so much better with a decent and better prepared interviewer. I thought Sylvie came over very well and her sincerity shone through despite some pretty banal questions. It would also have improved matters had Zenibe Bedawi actually listened to some of the responses and not jumped in too quickly in places. Either way, thank you Sylvie for some utterly glorious memories. I also think you should be appreciated for the fact that you very rarely cancelled your planned performances. As someone who was brought up on seeing Makarova it was a very refreshing change.
  22. I think that Matthew Bourne is very effective in turning out works that are trendy, fashionable and appeal to a younger audience. E.g., vampires are big news at the moment, let's have one in the Sleeping Beauty. Also the company makes a point of being all embracing and not stuffy. Admittedly it isn't really ballet either but they are sufficiently different as to be popular and get their works filmed. As I remember their ticket prices are, on the whole, cheaper.
  23. I think you have covered so much in your excellent posts FLOSS that all we can do is lament and agree. It is pretty clear that the BBC's attitude to ballet may be regarded as minimal. I do remember ITV showing some ballet over the years, the Makarova/Dowell Swan Lake and the Asylmaratova (sorry for the spelling) Bayadere being two examples but from decades ago. Added to that there is the Darcey issue. Given the BBC's propensity to constantly promote itself we get Darcey in so much because 'Darcey means Strictly' so she can cover anything from Audrey Hepburn to a highy subjective list if her favourite ballerinas. Much preferred commentators such as Deborah Bull and Tamara Rojo get shunted to the occasional outing to BBC4. Sky Arts have undoubtedly made contributions but here again, ballet is being sidelined as there is so much more available product for Opera, even though this tends to be gimmicky productions of the same works from the 18th and 19th centuries. I would love to have some reruns of the programmes you have mentioned above, to which I would add the Collier/Dowell Cinderella, Park/Wall Sleeping Beauty and the Evdokimova/Schaufuss La Sylphide. My regular company is BRB and I share the views expressed by a number if people the way the repertoire is going. It would be nice to think that the company has such a loyal audience, both in Birmingham and their regular touring stops such as Plymouth, The Lowry and Sunderland that they could take on some of the Royal's rep, such as Manon, Onegin and La Sylphide. However, there are real problems here. The major one is that the loyal audience just isn't large enough. The company has real problems filling The Hippodrome for triples, no matter how attractive and worth seeing, and less familiar work. It is not 'a destination' in itself the way that the Opera House is. To be honest Covent Garden will always be pretty well attended irrespective of what is being shown as there is such a strong corporate presence. Added to that, there is the second issue that the present management of BRB seems to be concentrating far more on 'new work' than importing existing ballets from other sources. Given how much 'new work' has been produced over the last 20 years practically none of it has been recorded and televised. We have a new version of The Tempest due next year. It may be utterly fabulous and a raging success but I cannot see the audiences piling in for such an unfamiliar work. However, if the BBC or cinema owners broadcast yet another relay of The Nutcracker it will probably be a sell out. There is one untapped source of ballet which I really wish the BBC or Sky would utilise and that us ballet from Europe. I get the impression that there are sone real gems put out on Danish, German and French tv which we do not get the chance to see. Given that Sky keep showing Opera from Australia and places like Barcelona I wish they would extend this to ballet. My last wish is that the Cranko estate would loosen their stranglehold on his repertoire and let us have proper recordings of his works.
  24. Indeed Aileen. Who knows what may have happened but 'temps' may well be the case.
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