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RobR

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  1. RobR
    Just heard, and I hope I’m right, that the Culture Secretary, Oliver Dowden, has confirmed that theatres and cinemas (and I assume ballet/opera companies) are exempt from the 10pm curfew
  2. RobR
    I’ve no real problem with the multiple requests. All of us on BCF are aware of the need to support the Arts and, with our interest, the RB/ROH in particular. Many of us will already have sent donations to the RB and/or other Arts venues/companies. That said, 75% of my group (3) had never previously visited the ROH and may not have appreciated the multiplicity of funding requirements and the 'taster' tour may spark an interest to both watch and support the Arts.
  3. RobR
    There you go, two more 😉
  4. RobR
    I’d give you more ‘likes’ if I could 🙏
  5. RobR
    Thanks There were no restrictions on photos and I would have done a selfie but for the fact that I was wearing a mask although some would say I look better wearing a mask ;)
  6. RobR
    I don’t know if anyone else went but it was wonderful to be back in the ROH, to visit the ground floor cafe/bar, the shop and to go on the backstage tour. All the ROH staff seemed very happy to be showing us around and were all very helpful and informative. The Stalls seating has been completely removed, to enable the orchestra to perform on a socially distanced footing for the upcoming live performances to be streamed. The tour finished on stage, where the informative and very engaging David Pickering, showed us all how to bow/curtsey to the Royal Box and the imaginary audience, accompanied by real and very good-natured clapping from the ROH backstage staff present. I finished off in the shop buying cards/postcards of my favourite ballet dancer. So good to be back
  7. RobR
    Any other Forum member intending to be there on Sunday for the 7pm tour?
  8. RobR
    Sorry for the mixed metaphor
  9. RobR
    I think so. I had the same problem for the Friends dates that others have reported. Very nice to be able to post positively on the Forum. I’m hoping it’s a ‘green shoot’ on the road to the return of events at the ROH
  10. RobR
    Well, I’ve got one for Sunday evening 🎈🎈
  11. RobR
    Yes, quite possibly but the difference for me is that they are available now and online without my having to buy the dvd, at about £20 each, as and when it’s for sale and, with a terminable rental of about £9.00 per month for all of them. But, I’m not advising anyone else doing what I’ve done, merely pointing out that it’s there and on a free trial offer.
  12. RobR
    I recently received a recommendation to Marquee TV and I’m very impressed after watching two Royal Ballet productions. The filming is very good, you see the stage as though you’re in the middle of the stalls, close ups are well handled and the focus and the editing is excellent. The other feature I enjoy is that the productions that I’ve watched so far are recent and the casts are, largely, the current company. Of course, the older filmed productions are very nice, particularly for a trip down memory lane, and I recognise old favourite dancers from my fairly regular ROH visits over the last twenty years but as a balletgoer averaging about four visits a month I’m suffering from withdrawal and find it more entertaining to watch, for example, the recent Hirano/Cuthbertson WT than the otherwise excellent, but considerably older Watson/Cuthbertson version, shown last Friday. I haven’t yet fully explored this streaming service but the range of ballet company productions from both the UK and abroad, as well as the theatre productions it offers could keep me entertained for a much longer lockdown. (I should say, having read what I have written, which could be mistaken for some sort of press release, that I have absolutely no connection with Marquee TV and am currently enjoying my free trial, having committed to a monthly subscription.)
  13. RobR
    Of those who went from White Lodge and are currently in the company; Chisato Katsura, Isabel Lubach & Julia Roscoe, with choreographer Charlotte Edmonds as the little bird. I hope I haven’t omitted anyone.
  14. RobR
    The options are: 1. Donate your tickets or, 2. Request a credit or, 3. Request a refund
  15. RobR
    I think it inevitable that performances will cease in the near future. This will inevitably add to financial pressure on both the RB and the ROH. With this in mind, I do not intend to return or seek a refund on tickets I currently hold for performances which are either not performed or for which I choose not to attend.
  16. RobR
    I’m afraid I don’t agree. The music and traditional choreography requires a pas de trois. In Dowell’s SL, it didn’t involve Siegfried - it was just some random bloke and two random girls. The introduction by Scarlett of the two princesses (replacing the two random girls) need someone specific to dance with. Benno fits the bill, as I believe he does in other choreographic versions. It would never be Siegfried who dances with his sisters in the PDT, he’s got bigger fish to fry, so there we are. I can’t see what the perceived problem is or why Benno shouldn’t dance with the princesses.
  17. RobR
    And, back to performances. I was there for Reece Clark’s debut as Siegfried. I’d originally booked this ticket without regard as to who was to perform. I think RB casts are uniformly good, albeit that some feature dancers whose performances I sometimes enjoy more than others. So, it was with considerable pleasure that I learnt that Reece Clark was debuting. I thought he was excellent and, as an earlier poster remarked, it could as easily have been his twentieth performance as his first given, in my view, his competence and (justifiable) confidence. Apart from his dancing, which I enjoyed and admired, he acted the role convincingly - something that not all dancers, principals or otherwise, can manage although that was no great surprise having seen him recently as Onegin. What you had to be there to notice was the collective holding of breath by the audience during both his big numbers in Acts 1 & 2, coupled with the (almost audible) exhalation of relief and the applause that accompanied his successful completion of his performances; almost as though they were willing him on. A great debut.
  18. RobR
    Well, that’s a shame. You might have enjoyed it had you chosen to go.
  19. RobR
    I thought Geoff was specifically referring to an irritating male voice. I hope I didn’t misunderstand
  20. RobR
    i shouldn’t be surprised, as many women (and men) will confirm, some men love the sound of their own voices and are more than happy to share their opinions without much consideration of the circumstances or the sensibilities of those with and around them
  21. RobR
    I’ll have the other if it’s still available. I’ll pm you
  22. RobR

    Physio Assessment

    RobR replied to Moana's topic in Doing Dance

    Shirley Hancock in London. I don’t have her contact details but professional dancers have been to her.
  23. RobR
    I’ll pm you
  24. RobR
    Actually, it was great in the cinema but even better on the small screen. The whole company was terrific but Hayward and Bracewell were beyond superlatives!
  25. RobR
    Actually, does Coppelius merit remorse? He creates a beautiful doll but with our 21st century insight, we might suspect that his intentions are less than innocent. Franz enters by a ladder but his intentions are, arguably, every bit 'romantic' as Romeo's masked gate-crashing a private (Capulet) party and subsequent entry into a private garden to romantically pursue a 13 year old girl before subsequently marrying her without her parent's consent and sleeping with her after killing her cousin in an anger infused brawl. Coppelius deliberately drugs Franz ( Rohypnol?) necromantically intending to take from him, again without consent, his heart and other organs to selfishly infuse Coppelia with human characteristics. His mimes to the audience about her beauty suggest, again, that this is for his own carnal desires. When Swanilda asks if he 'made' Franz, he lies to her about that too. He is clearly selfish, amoral and grasping (requesting two bags from the duke). He is then caught out and exposed by Swanilda’s bravery. So, why does he merit remorse?
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