Two Pigeons

I think you will find that one or two of us have made the same observations. It is a real shame that the Spartacus and the second act of Giselle are so unbelievably badly lit. I doubt any amount of remastering can fix that.

I can remember the old days when the two pairs of seats at the ends of Row B were only £1 because the people in front did lean forward and obscure about a third of the stage. The second night of Dowell and Makarova in Month in the Country (followed by Baryshnikov and Collief in Rhapsody) was memorable for a couple creating merry hell because exactly that happened.

The usherette pointed out, quite forcibly, that this was the reason the seats were so cheap. Tnis did not mollify them.

Those were the days!

If Janet's friend is who I think it is I cannot think of a nicer or more fitting tribute to a great supporter of BRB. She devoted much of her life to watching them and it is terrific that she should have a permanent memorial in this way.

Yes, it was broadcast on Sky Arts 2. There was much to be enjoyed.

You gotta hand it to Darcey. Nothing succeeds like success!

Thank you for this information. I really do hope Victoria is doing very well. We miss her at BRB.

No doubt Sky paid pretty heavily for the privilege and no doubt that counts for a lot these days.

I would have thought Marguerite should have merited more than an MBE. Still no knighthood for David Bintley. I suppose it is possible he has turned one down. I would like to think that one had been offered at least.

Could only catch the last half hour - but it was so good. I really appreciated the detail of the gestures/mime. Sort of Martha Graham meets Wheeldon at times but added to the archive/retro feel of some of the choreography. I saw Choreatum (? am having a senior ballet title moment - forgive) in Munich came into my mind at times. I'm more of a Wayne McG than Wheeldon fan, but when I saw WT in its first run, I was stunned by its beauty, grace and depth of feeling so gently expressed. Seeing the last statue scene on tv made it even clearer. I'm sure it'll be back next season, but I might even buy the DVD. And they should repeat it on bbc4, but there is iplayer too. In fact I'd quite like a year dedicated to Shakespeare in ballet: the Royal have got The Dream, R&J, Shrew, WT...they could revive the Helpmann Hamlet, Tetley's Tempest...acquire the Limon Otello...and commission a Macbeth.

BRB are planning pretty much that with their 2015/16 season. Bintley is said to be planning a nes full length Tempest. The Nureyev version was one act.

No one could ever be Elgar quite the way he was. He just lived the role.

P.s. Spartacus is Vassiliev and Maximova. Great cast but a ballet you really need to see 'live'. The filming is rather dark and dated I'm afraid.

Hi there. The Giselle is Ananiashvilli and Fedeychev. First act lovely, second act very darkly filmed. The Nutcracker is Vassiliev and Maximova. Dreadful production and choreography worse but they are wonderful. Swan Lake is Plisetskaya but very darkly filmed, Don Q is Pavlova.

Profuse apologies for all spelling errors and casting omissions. The documentary with Deborah Bull on dancing with the Bolshoi is excellent . Interesting to hear Bolshoi dancers moaning about globalisation and all companies getting too alike. Just what we say here!

I did hear a whisper that we may get the Cranko production back again after all these years. I am sure Shakespeare Suite will be on the list. Both of those options will give some cracking opportunities to some of the men. Tyrone for Petruccio please!

I think it's more than a rumour. The 2015-6 season is going to be built round Shakespeare's works culminating in a new Bintley work. Ideal casting for Romeo and Juliet is a hard one as so much can change but I would like to see both Celine Gittens and Delia Matthews as Juliet amongst others. For Romeo definitely Mathias Dingman and Brandon Lawrence. Much as I adore Tyrone Singleton I would love to see him have a go. I would also like to see Luke Schaufuss get lots of chances in a number of roles.

I know Alison. We had the one before and it was replaced. Unfortunately the replacement wasn't an improvement.

You will find it well worth the trip. I remember Edward Thorpe when dance critic of the London Standard saying it was the best production in the world. I have to agree with him.

God Bless Sir Peter. We are so lucky to have four of his greatest productions, only Giselle is missing.

Welcome Northstar. Just to say that the BRB version used to have both the variations you refer to and with the same choreography as the RB production as well as the Jack in the Box. They have been dropped over the years. I don't know whose choreography it is but it would not surprise me if it wax Sur Peter's own.

As you have so enjoyed seeing BRB may I recommend the Moving Stateside programme in February? If you are coming do let us know whuch performance in case you can meet sone of the BRB faithful.

BRB is my company and has been since I first saw SWRB in 1982. However, there is one issue which really grates on me and that is the lack of advance casting when they appear at the Hippodrome. I do realise that there are all sorts of hazards such as injury and pregnancy to contend but tickets are expensive and I would like to at least aim for a cast I want to see.

I booked a ticket very late in the day after the casting was released. I was extremely fortunate to see my absolute first choice which was Celine Gittens and Tyrone Singleton. Celine is still a soloist but for me she totally delivered and I am not alone when I say that I feel that her performanes make her well worthy of a higher ranking within the Company. Her pas de deux with Tyrone was a fitting climax to the piece and every time she smiled my heart soared.

I do think Ribbons has a point. This is a wonderful production but if a viewer feels the climactic pas de deux is a let down the evening is spoiled. The principal level of the company is affected by injury and pregnancy (although Natasha has had her baby now) so may be the performances at the weekend should be given to the most talented of the next tier down. I think had he seen Celine he would not have been so disappointed.

I also had the bonus of seeing Iain Mackay as Dross and Delia Matthews as the Snow Fairy. There is another SPF I would have been very happy to have seen.

Sorry Bruce, that title goes to the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. This is something on which even the London critics agree.

I am glad another poster has reminded me about Shadows of War. For all that I thought Miracle in the Gorbals was a mixed success I am very pleased to have had the chance to see it. For personal reasons I always love Flowers of the Forest and was more than happy to see it again.

One of my highlights would have been the wonderful Les Rendezvous which is a ballet I love. Unfortunately I cannot cope with the revised costumes and setting and not all the principals had any understanding of the required style. Against that, all the pas de trois were delightful and exactly what was required (apart from the costumes).

Fabulous news and I hope this is a harbinger of things to come.

My ballet going is far less comprehensive than Janet's but I would agree about Celine Gittens. I just love to see her, particularly when she's with Tyrone Singleton. They are a really gifted pair.

As I have not seen that much live ballet I would like to mention some great programmes about ballet on BBC4 and Sky Arts 2. I would give special mention to David Bintley's programme relating to the Sadler's Wells Ballet during the war, Tamara Roja analysing Odette/Odile and Deborah Bull talking about Dancing in Russia. I would give half a nod to Darcey Bussell's list of greatest ballerinas. It prevoked much lively comment but no two of us would ever come up with the same list as each other.

My greatest regrets are that neither the ENB Corsair or the RB'S Ashton programme wax recorded for television.

I welcome the series of unseen ballet from The Bolshoi. I suppose it is picky to regret that some of the filming was so poor and so darkly lit. I suppose I shouldn't moan as this seems to be a modern trend in the theatre now. I think some directors think we all have super vision.

My last word has to be for The Nutcracker and Spartacus on Sky Arts 2. Not great productions and choreography but who cares. Vassiliev and Maximova so everything was worth it.

I remember the days when BRB used to allow far more flowers than happen these days. Also we used to have more curtain calls. These days it's a couple of modest bunches at most with three bobs by way of bows. Can't say it adds much to the theatricality of the performance.

According to the Amazon website the running time is only 80 minutes which does not strike me as that particularly good value. Obviously no extras so I think I'll wait till it's discounted.

I enjoyed the telecast last night but found the lack of cast information very irritating. If seems to me odd that we are told who was Giselle and Hilarion but not Albrecht or Myrthe. I recognised Fadeyechev so can anyone help me with the rest? I wish Deborah Bull would include this in her introduction.