Odyssey

DanJL’s account is exactly what, I believe, must be part of the reasoning for Carlos Acosta inviting guest artists. 

Thank you. These are beautiful pictures.

I don’t think it’s detrimental to BRB dancers. Guesting is something that can be a win win. From listening to various dancers talk about this very topic, I think they gain too from watching these dancers at close hand. The extended tour provides quite a few opportunities for the home dancers to have several attempts at the main roles. I’ve  just emailed a friend who enjoys the occasional visit to Birmingham Hippodrome,  but wasn’t  planning to go to see Don Q . She’s seen Nela and Vadim in live screenings and can’t believe her luck she’s now got tickets to see them.

So pleased to hear that Hamilton proved herself( once again) to be ideally cast in Macmillan roles. With so many young, new principals in the Company. I hope she will not be sidelined in future casting. 

Wow!
Although I want to see BRB dancers having the opportunities to.dance these roles. I love the idea of the occasional guest performances - similar to how it was in previous times. I guess there will be a stampede for tickets.

Fingers crossed the casts are as published. It wasn’t the case for the Autumn performances in Plymouth, but I guess things are a little more settled now. 

I can see this sparking a whole new thread concerning variations to iconic costumes in long standing productions. 

I know I  have mentioned it previously, when it was last aired’ but I highly recommend the Nijinsky biopic. Carefully recreated extracts of the repertoire from the Diaghilev Ballets Russes, some lovely cameo appearances from the likes of Carla Fracci and Anton Dolin. And a wonderful stellar cast.

When I moved recently from the Midlands to the South West, I realised I’d be sacrificing so many opportunities to see BRB and the odd jaunt to London. However, I have found I can get to Plymouth  in less than an hour, and to my delight have already seen BRB and Matthew Bourne . Have had front circle seats for an incredibly reasonable price,  and unsure how quickly Don Q tickets might be snapped up, I booked them as soon as they were available. There are still quite a few excellent seats available, but I imagine the cost of travel and overnight stay would mean it’s not practical for many. Although I do recommend the area for a short break! Just hoping BRB will be able to continue to keep Plymouth on the touring schedule. 

7 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

 

It turns out that with my recorder it does matter!

 

 

I was surprised that in the final act he danced so much with Hamilton and Lamb mostly danced with Hirano. I had expected Watson & Lamb to dance together for most of Act III. Given Beatrice is the love of Dante's life, I'd expect that when he finally got to paradise his idea of paradise would be to be with her as much as possible.

Yes, I  found this puzzling, but but no less enjoyable.

Yet, it wasn’t always so. A few years back they did show what were then recent recordings of RB productions. I recall being pleasantly surprised that Osipova’s  Giselle was shown less that 12 months after the original cinema streaming. I think the timing of those showings was also more reasonable. Presumably they failed to do a deal with the ROH that suited them.

Gordon from Viewers Relations has replied to me to assure me my comments are receiving their attention and I  will receive a further reply shortly. I have asked if Sky intends to broadcast the RB production and, if so, when - I won’t hold my breath! 

Thank you. 

17 minutes ago, oncnp said:

 

viewerR@sky.uk 

 

How to make a Sky complaint | Sky Help | Sky.com

17 minutes ago, oncnp said:

 

viewerR@sky.uk 

 

How to make a Sky complaint | Sky Help | Sky.com

Thank you

1 hour ago, alison said:

I feel a rude email to sky coming on: it's not good enough for the continuity announcer to say one thing and then for the programme to be something else entirely 😞

Heartily agree but just spent a couple of minutes trying to find a relevant email address . Can someone advise please.

I have replayed the streaming of The Dante Project numerous times and it continues to delight, challenge and entertain me. Plus to see the Company as an ensemble - particularly as there are so many talented dancers in this current generation - is a wonderful thing to behold, and I’m pleased  the strength and depth of talent will be recorded for posterity. I had dared to hope the BBC would screen it given that even with the dearth of ballet on our screens in recent years,  major new commissions by in-house choreographers have generally been aired. However, I didn’t think it would be shown before a further run at the Opera House, so I am extremely happy. It( just about) makes up for the lack of any new production being screened during the festive period. 

Does anyone know if Ferri is only coaching this particular pairing? I think it’s extremely interesting and revealing to find out which coaches are involved in preparing the dancers. 

So very sad to hear she is leaving the UK, but professionally it is a wonderful opportunity for her to continue to grow. Yes, she’s leaving on a high and those are big shoes to fill. I hope she maintains strong links with the UK, because hers has been a much needed refreshing and intelligent voice in the arts world at a time of intense pressure. 

3 hours ago, Sim said:

It's also a misleading read as it says that this is Alexander Campbell's first go at Romeo, which of course it is not.  It is his first go with the Royal Ballet, but he has danced the role with Birmingham Royal Ballet...and with Perm Ballet guesting in the UAE with Yasmine Naghdi as Juliet.  So not his debut at all, really...

Yes, I was slightly baffled that Campbell didn’t make this point in the interview. Particularly as it is essentially the same production in terms of choreography.

Yes, many congratulations to the recipients. 

I’m struck at how responsive the awards system is to recent achievement in sports and other fields. With this in mind, should leading dance companies be actively promoting the achievements of those in their ranks, particularly as they reach a certain point in their career? Ed Watson is a particularly pertinent example, but there are many others. 

I echo this Julie and Brandon. You’ve set the barre high with the guests this season!

After listening to the latest episode, I was prompted to watch the Requiem solo on YouTube which I hadn’t seen in a while. So beautifully danced by Leanne. Thank you. 
 

On 14/11/2021 at 21:36, JennyTaylor said:

I've just seen photos posted on Instagram of Marianela Nunez and Roberto Bolle rehearsing at the ROH.  Dying to know for what purpose. I had a look at La Scala's website and no clue there, but I did note that he is due to dance Onegin in September 2022. 

Marianela is listed as taking part in Roberto Bolle’s annual New Year TV programme Danza Con Me. They are performing two dances together from Paquita and Manon. Melissa Hamilton is also appearing with Bolle  in McGregor’s Borderlands. The details are her which you can Google translate. Lots of mouthwatering treats.

https://giornaledelladanza.com/roberto-bolle-danza-con-me-tra-gli-ospiti-svetlana-zakharova-marianela-nunez-virna-toppi-nicoletta-manni-e-molti-altri/

Lovely that Italy has this New Year tradition in its mainstream schedule. I was trying to think who would have the media presence to establish such a gala here - Darcey Bussell, Carlos Acosta, Tamara Rojo?  Certainly hard to  think of anyone who, like Bolle,  is still dancing regularly. 

The renaming of this thread is sadly spot on! We are all struggling to find anything even remotely ballet related this Christmas. Bah humbug. 

20 minutes ago, bridiem said:

See Alastair Macaulay's obituary:

https://www.alastairmacaulay.com/all-essays/khc9b19dz05a5zpiec7h7mw7yznn83

Such a lovely tribute that celebrates her artistry. However, I dare to disagree heartily  with his assessment of Sir Peter Wright’s  Sleeping Beauty! 

I was fortunate to see her on several occasions when she joined Sadler Wells Ballet, including her Odette/Odile in the production of Swan Lake which she staged alongside Sir Peter Wright. A classical ballerina par excellence,  she had a striking stage presence, which, although I was then relatively new to ballet, I retained a sense of her total command of both the technical and dramatic interpretation of a role. Apart from her leading ballerina roles, I remember her as a majestically, haughty  and compelling Carabosse who was well pitted against Margaret Barbieri’s stately Lilac Fairy - a marvellous production, which Samsova again jointly worked on with Sir Peter. Looking at her biography, her contribution to ballet in the UK has been immense. So sad to hear of her passing.

I didn’t go as I felt I would be disappointed - the traditional BRB production, particularly the transformation scene,  is as near to perfection for me as I can imagine. However, a friend went and described the experience as being in ‘Nutcracker heaven ‘ . She was fortunate to see the wonderful pairing of Celina Gittens and  Brandon Lawrence, so she was probably right !