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Odyssey

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  1. Odyssey
    Those pictures are stunning. It looks to be a wonderful refurbishment. Lucky Birmingham to have this in its repertoire.
  2. Odyssey
    Another factor may have been that William Bracewell was then a ‘star in waiting’, There are several superb first soloists, Melissa Hamilton being one of them, who are well into their dancing careers and now unlikely to rise to the rank of Principal. I realise this is just my opinion, but as such, I think they are unlikely to be in line for the lead in a livestream, other than as part of a triple bill - Apollo is a good recent example.
  3. Odyssey
    Yes, Janet, but this isn’t new for the Hippodrome. As far as I can remember, the Nutcracker season has always finished quite early in December with panto season, which is a long standing tradition at this theatre, starting pre Christmas rather than Boxing Day, which is when I think many pantomimes get going. As you say, they pack a lot of performances into those weeks.
  4. Odyssey
    Yes, it’s such a lovely moment. Macfarlane mentions the magical tricks and indicates the secrets will not be revealed, so that suggests they are going to remain.
  5. Odyssey
    Looking forward to hearing members’ thoughts on the newly designed BRB Nutcracker which I believe premiers this afternoon. There’s an interesting insight from the Company which includes an interview with John Mcfarlane about the redesigns and the way, over the years, the Company has ‘patched up’ the original costumes and sets. It would be lovely to have a livestream of this iconic production with a follow up dvd/blu-ray. The filmed version of this production from many years back, which features Yoshida and Mukhamedov, is very dark, and hard to get hold of on dvd . It’s well overdue for a new version. Interesting to learn from this insight that the Australian Ballet’s version (which has been filmed) has its own, unique design. https://www.brb.org.uk/stories/zoom-insights-john-macfarlane-and-elaine-garlick-talk-about-the-rebuild-of-the-nutcracker
  6. Odyssey
    Many apologies, that was me. I meant Elyse Borne who coached Marianela and made the lovely comment. Sadly she passed away in 2019. As you rightly say Patricia Neary is very much still with us.
  7. Odyssey
    Mikhail Baryshnikov has been presented with The Royal Academy’s highest honour for dance, the Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation Award by Queen Camilla.This is in recognition of his contribution to ballet and the wider world of dance. Many congratulations to him and thoroughly well deserved. As the award was presented yesterday, we now know why he was spotted in the audience for the Diamond Celebration of the Friends of the Royal Opera House last night.
  8. Odyssey
    An interesting point Alison which prompted me to look up remarks in the book you mention. ( For those unfamiliar with the title, it’s a series of interviews with some -now, legendary dancers ). The comments were made by Merrill Ashley. She was referring to Balanchine’s instruction to her in a wider sense. “Don’t look at your partner. Don’t relate to your partner. Just let him do everything.” Ashley notes, “Sometimes that seems completely right to me, because sometimes people get too involved in creating something other than what Balanchine intended.” She later adds, “ And yet other times, I miss relating to my partner. Some pieces of music are so romantic that you just stare in your partner’s eyes- certain odd moments in Diamonds, for example.” I recall watching a rehearsal by the late Patricia Neary when she was coaching Marianela in the Diamonds pas de deux . She commented something like ‘the joy of the dance shines through in you’. I thought at the time this was such a lovely remark and spot on. Not to put a dampener on Marianela’s exquisite presence on stage and the magnificence of her dancing last night, and whether it is because of the deployment of closeups that is a regular feature of ballet screenings, but I did find myself distracted by Marianela’s “swooning” at the expense of the beauty of the movement.
  9. Odyssey
    I really enjoyed this gala. I think the programme was extremely well thought out and the dancers were on sparkling form. The one piece I wasn’t wowed by was the Tanowitz piece, which surprised me as I’d quite enjoyed the rehearsal on World Ballet Day. I didn’t find anything new or particularly stimulating in the choreography. Highlights for me were the Manon and Qualia pas de deuxs and the Wheeldon and Zucchetti pieces. Diamonds was joyful and a fitting way to end the evening.
  10. Odyssey
    I’m joining in with the optimism. There’s such a wealth of talented dancers in this programme in roles that shows the tremendous range of work in which they excel. Yes, there’s an argument for including more Ashton and Macmillan, but I am glad there’s no traditional classical pas de deux which you see regularly on gala programmes. I think it’s a very interesting programme.
  11. Odyssey
    Would love to hear more from anyone who attended the Saturday matinee. Having seen the rehearsal on World Ballet Day.,I’d like to know how Melissa’s portrayal of Mary Vetsera came across.
  12. Odyssey
    Melissa has just announced on Social Media her marriage to Michael Christou last Sunday What a momentous week for her. Many congratulations.
  13. Odyssey
    This looks to be a very interesting venture for Xander Parish.
  14. Odyssey
    So sorry to have to miss the Plymouth run. Have tickets booked for BRB’s return next Spring in Swan Lake, another wonderful Sir Peter Wright production . How were the audience numbers Janet? I assume the upper circle was closed, but hopefully the remainder of the theatre was pretty full for such a lovely production. Looking forward to taking a trip to Birmingham to see it again after quite a few years.
  15. Odyssey
    I was wondering if anyone has news of when we can expect a new series of these excellent podcasts .
  16. Odyssey
    I thought it would be appropriate to post pictures of Her Majesty attending the ballet. I found Getty images have quite a few. Here is just a small selection: https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/queen-elizabeth-ii-visiting-the-royal-albert-hall-for-a-news-photo/52116096 https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/britains-queen-elizabeth-ii-meets-ballerinas-after-the-news-photo/71157994?adppopup=true https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/queen-elizabeth-ii-speaks-to-margot-fonteyn-and-rudolf-news-photo/137810171?adppopup=true https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/the-queen-meeting-ballet-dancers-fromthe-cast-of-the-ballet-news-photo/52098801?adppopup=true https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/queen-elizabeth-ii-meets-john-tooley-director-of-the-royal-news-photo/1300564858?adppopup=true
  17. Odyssey
    Yes, if you read the end of the first paragraph in the citation, it is clear this is why he is being given this new title
  18. Odyssey
    A rightful tribute to a man who, along with Ninette de Valois, had the vision and belief to take the Sadler Wells Company along a new path. Such conviction and determination are qualities our current leaders of classical ballet companies need in spades to steer it through these traumatic times.
  19. Odyssey
    I don’t understand why taking a photo during the curtain calls at the end of the performance is an issue.
  20. Odyssey
    I came across a reference to the cowboy ballet’ Billy the Kid the other day so thought this would fit into the growing list .Commissioned by Lincoln Kirsten with a score by Aaron Copland, it was choreographed in 1938 by Eugene Loring for Ballet Caravan, a touring company - an ‘early version ‘ of New York City Ballet.
  21. Odyssey
    I think it’s an interesting and potentially exciting appointment. He certainly has an excellent pedigree and I think his experience suggests he may have the experience to steer the Company through these challenging times. I am sure there will be no shortage of goodwill for him to succeed. Interesting background information from Emeralds about him being the one behind the invite to Melissa Hamilton. Perhaps she’ll get another invite!
  22. Odyssey
    Yes, I noticed this and although I understand the sensitivity surrounding what would have been the right accreditation, it made me so sad. What a tremendous achievement by Xander Parish. I hope he finds a company that he can call home soon and won’t be confined to guesting.
  23. Odyssey
    So very sorry to hear of the loss of another of that fabulous generation of dancers which I have had the pleasure to see dance over the years. She was such an elegant dancer with a vivacious personality that shone through in all her roles. I feel privileged to have seen her dance many times.
  24. Odyssey
    I was so sorry to hear of the demise of this excellent publication, but it’s a too familiar story where print based media is concerned. I have some recent experience of running a niche magazine that commenced publication nearly 30 years ago. It became increasingly difficult to obtain the regular support of advertisers, particularly with the onset of the pandemic. Those publishers and organisations that did advertise began to make, what we considered to be, unreasonable demands in terms of content to the point that it began to threaten the integrity of the independence of the magazine. Subscription numbers remained steady, but there was no significant growth in new subscribers. Last year we took the difficult decision to cease publication when it became evident that that the long term future of the publication became untenable. When you look at the numerous magazine shelves in WH Smiths you’d be forgiven for thinking that this is a thriving industry, but the vast majority are products from a very small number of publishing houses and these are closely linked to other media or commercial organisations . Dancing Times did well to keep going for so many years against such a difficult backdrop. But the future isn’t a rosy one for independent print based magazines .
  25. Odyssey
    The Sky Arts South Bank Show on Carlos Acosta does appear to be new according to the listing and The Times article on today’s Dance Links.
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