thewinelake

Hi, 

Can I just ask if there's anywhere here one can post links to shows that may be of interest to the forumites?

Cheers

OK, from a technical viewpoint, all one needs to do is remove the class of "unavailable" from the spot that marks the seat. Just need to think of an easy way to do that!

I might have a go...

So you won't see anything high up (if there is anything high up)... But quite close to the action compared to the Amphitheatre!

Well, we've gone with Naghdi....

But when booking tickets, I didn't check each seat and now I see:

• LEVEL 1 Stalls Circle 1A, C-29 

  Tall loose seat, ceiling overhang obstructs the view

• LEVEL 1 Stalls Circle 1A, C-30 

But it's hard to go back to look at the view because they've been sold!

Anyone know how bad these seats really are?

I think we can’t make the osipova dates, and also not much left

Trying to work out which performance to see. I have a soft spot for Yasmine Naghdi, but the date that's most convenient has Akane Takada.... Both with Sambé. Any views to help us decide?!

What was that dance competition they had about 5 years ago? I'm not talking about the one on Sky. That was better. I think they managed 2 series before canning it.

Ah, I see it was "So you think you can dance?". Produced by Simon Fuller. Presumably without Cowell's involvement.

1 hour ago, penelopesimpson said:

Hmm

That had me laughing, as I had a look at some of the video. Let out a "Hmmm" myself and scrolled down to your comment.

So I guess I should say "WSS" or "^^^this" or whatever the current vernacular is...

We are in a post truth society, so it’s not surprising. No reason that us old guard should not try to rail against it....

Well, I've got to say that the most amusing responses here have at least meant that the programme's existence has made me chuckle a few times!

I didn't know until afterwards that it was a Simon Cowell thing. I thought he was exclusive to ITV.

Surely there must be people discussing this abomination??!

DVD duplication services are very cheap - eg £150 for 100 DVDs with cases and colour covers. It’s what we will use.

Its funny how the ballet teacher/choreographer wants a very simple fixed angle as she cherishes the movement of the dancers in the stage. I find that a bit boring and like the odd closeup! But less faff to do it their way.

Well, one can send large files, but I think the main worry is link sharing. 

I'm now told that if the downloadable footage has a disclaimer/warning on it (small but visible at all times) - eg "This video is for personal use only and must not be shared publically or redistributed for child safety and contains copyrighted music." then honour is satisfied.

There's an idea - a ballet based on Minecraft 😉

No worries about people sharing that link on social media?

I've asked this a while ago, but wondered if things might have moved on.

I've got 4K footage of a recent show and we want to distribute to parents. Traditionally this is done on DVD, but the quality is rubbish compared to High Def or the 4K original.

What do other ballet schools/amateur companies do and what do the professionals do?

I guess ROH issues BluRay at High Def, but a lot of people don't have access to BluRay players. In fact more people have smart TVs that can access YouTube and the like, but the control of distribution there is lacking.

Are there some better platforms to try?

Thanks - this must be an FAQ with a sticky post somewhere. I'll just have to work to find it! 😉

Just been looking into booking seats for Don Q. The idea of having a photo of the seat and from the seat is a good one, but why doesn't the view from the seat at least have the curtains open?! Daft!

And while I'm here - where do I look for seat recommendations? I presume it's not quite as simple as "you get what you pay for" and there may be one or two (relative!) bargains to be had

15 minutes ago, Picturesinthefirelight said:

My husband has spoken to school but who  are looking at what is still available but that was 2 weeks ago. There is a rule that under 18’s have to stay with a school approved landlord/lady so we can’t find our own digs. 

If they have that rule, then one would have expected them to be more organised about approving enough hosts!

Are we talking RBS here?

There's another topic - best ballets to sleep to!

BTW, I think this is incredible, and I mostly agree with the comments. Nunez just seems too old for the part for me. 

Wow, didn’t realise that there would be much support for my rebellious views on DonQ...

On the subject of what one likes about ballet, there’s much here that chimes for me.

ultimately, I think it’s emotion and drama that I find the most important. Things like seeing Odette flapping at the ballroom windows or the GPDD of Nutcracker - where the music and drama combine so powerfully are the things i love.

Kitri and Basilio show so little emotion - even when her father forbids their relationship - partly that slightly smug smile that Nuñez wears? Mind you, I guess one could accuse SL of being a bit overdramatic and cheesey, but if so, I’m a sucker for it....

Will seek out some others, and try to get to see it next year. DD’s lot at Cambridge Ballet Club are performing it, just around the same time as it’s on at ROH.

I'm a bit of a novice regarding ballet, really. Seen plenty of Tchaikovsky works plenty of times, and a few more recent inventions (loved Alice in Wonderland). Also enjoy La Fille Mal Gardée and Giselle.

I've never seen Don Q live, and we started watching the Carlos Acosta ROH DVD last night and confess to finding it a bit dull in places. Now I'm not going to make any final judgement on this until I've seen it in the flesh and a few more times, but it did make me wonder what it is about ballets that make me like them. Is it the music, the dancing (performance or choreography?), the scenery,  the acting... 

Familiarity is quite important to me - so many of Tchaikovsky's tunes are so well known and ingrained, but there don't seem to be so many stand-out moments in Minkus's score for Don Q. 

I suppose it's a mixture of these things in most cases, but why did I not warm to this DVD?

I thought I was being blind in seeing no reference (other than my own) to the excision of the Russian Dance. But then I wondered if this has never been in the RB version? Or maybe it was cut out because the Queen's dress would make it tricky! I understand that it was a later addition to the score (so arguably not authentic) - and seems to have a story all of its own...