tracieanne01

My daughter also took part in the Genee and what a wonderful experience she's had she didn't make the finals but I thought she looked amazing. I've got two ticket for the final tomorrow if anyone's looking to buy them second circle 1 row G18 & 19 if anyone's interested please get I touch x

Hi if you add the £9000 fees, accommodation £4500 along with basic living expenses and everything they require for training. During the course of BW training rehearsing and doing there Swan Lake tour my daughter went through at least 18 pairs of pointe shoes. My husband is self employed (80/100hrs p/w) and I work as a senior Carer (40/70hrs p/w) in a local care home so were not exactly on the high end wages x

Hi sorry for not making that clear. Yes we are Scottish and live in Scotland. The funding for Scottish dancers to continue there training in Scotland is really non existing. I still can't comprehend why ? Sorry get a bit annoyed about this topic x

Hi everyone my daughter has been training at BW since last September because we stay in Scotland we only get £1205.00 towards her fees from SAAS which means we have to cover the rest. My daughter applied for a student loan which only covers her accomadation. It's an uphill battle for us to find the money. On the plus side I've never seen my daughter look so good and be so happy. I thought my daughter was an amazing dancer (typical mum) before she started training

with BW but I was reduced to tears when I watched her perform in Swan Lake she has improved massively in such a short time were all so excited to see what happens next. Looking forward to the end off year show in Oban on the 15th May xxx

I loved reading your review and was so excited to see you mention my daughter Daniella Brown she has only been training with BW since last September. It's amazing in how such a short time that she has improved and thrived we are really excited as this is only the beginning xxx

I have just returned from a very long and tiring drive to Pitlochry where I spent a pleasant weekend. One of the delights was a trip to the Festival Theatre where I saw Ballet West perform Swan Lake. Here are extracts from my review:

 

"I enjoyed that performance very much. In watching Ballet West, a reviewer has to bear in mind that it is primarily a school. Consequently the main roles have to be danced by its teachers, Jonathan Barton and Sara-Maria Smith, and most of the other roles are performed by students some of whom seem to be quite young. The troupe has to dance to recorded music which limits the opportunities for acknowledging applause and makes no allowances for the the styles and capabilities of individual dancers. Similarly. the small stages of some of the auditoriums will limit the scenery and props that can be used. Also audiences must vary considerably. Last year the company danced to a rather larger and more appreciative audience at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre. On Saturday the house was much less full, there was applause in a number of wrong places, silence where applause would have been justified and even some pantomime style booing (thankfully drowned out by cheers) when Rothbart took his bow even though Isaac Bowry had danced that role very well. When all those factors are taken into consideration it was a very good evening indeed.

 

Swan Lake is quite a long ballet and demands much from the principals especially in the third act when Siegried is deceived by Odile. In particular, there are Legnani's 32 fouettés which is the probably the best known part of the choreography. They require considerable stamina, concentration and skill and not every dancer is up to the test. When that test came I was counting and I am glad to report that Smith passed with flying colours. I should add that Barton danced his part of that pas de deux with equal virtuosity.

 

Another good strong male dancer was Andrew Cook who danced the pas de trois in Act 1 impressively with Daniella Brown and Helen Foskett. He seemed somewhat more mature than the other dancers and I have been scouring the programme and googling his name (so far unsuccessfully) for some background information. Brown and Foskett also danced well and they appeared again with Ally Barnes and Yolanda Magashi as the little swans, another difficulty bit of choreography which they performed successfully. Other female dancers who particularly impressed me were Claire Rice and Hannah Fowler. I liked Rice's part in the mazurka very much. Another divertissement that I enjoyed was the Neapolitan dance which was danced by Duncan Saul (a guest artist) and Yolanda Magashi. In the 1970s that role was danced by Wayne Sleep, The Neapolitan dance was a great favourite of the crowds and it was probably the foundation of his career. Saul's performance reminded me a little of Sleep's all those years ago. But my favourite dancer this year as last was Isaac Bowry who danced Rothbart. A very talented young man showing promise as a character artist I shall follow his career with considerable interest. Although I have singled out a few names I must stress that all danced well and I commend them all."

 

The next Swan Lake I shall see will be Matthew Bourne's for which it is good to have the conventional version in mind.