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RobR

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Everything posted by RobR

  1. RobR
    Well, that’s a shame. You might have enjoyed it had you chosen to go.
  2. RobR
    I thought Geoff was specifically referring to an irritating male voice. I hope I didn’t misunderstand
  3. 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
  4. RobR
    I’ll have the other if it’s still available. I’ll pm you
  5. 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.
  6. RobR
    I’ll pm you
  7. 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!
  8. 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?
  9. RobR
    Yes, I noticed that in all the performances I’ve seen. Dr C waves a blessing on the couple from the upstairs window through which he watches the dancing.
  10. RobR
    I must have misread your original post and, as a consequence, misunderstood it. I am happy to stand corrected and apologise. It was just that I thought that you were generally criticising her and/or her dancing as 'leaden' and 'lumpen' with regard to all her performances and not just that in Coppelia.
  11. RobR
    I’m sorry to say that I think this criticism is too personal
  12. RobR
    I certainly agree with your take on the performances but think that adapting and filming a classic for general release (and BBC Boxing Day must count as that) is, in part, often designed to introduce a book, a play, or a ballet to very many people who will never have read or seen the original. If the TV or cinema audience is sufficiently intrigued to watch and, hopefully, enjoy this R & J, then it must count as a positive. I suspect that 99% of those who watch will not notice nor be concerned by the bush's intrusion, much less Ms Hayward's lovely feet, or their absence.
  13. RobR
    Interesting to read the various reviews already posted. R & J has always been my favourite ballet, from the perspective both of dancing and orchestration and, as a consequence, I was apprehensive that I would not enjoy a filmed ballet, reduced to 90 minutes by Nunn & Trevitt, as much as I’d hoped I would. I have just seen it at the Curzon and really enjoyed it. The acting of the dancing principals; Hayward, Ball, Bracewell & Sambe captures the essence of the characters in a way that the stage performance never can, whilst the principal character dancers, Saunders, McNally & Pajdak, develop the narrative, again by acting in the subtle way the filming encourages. Of course, I miss the big dance scenes, lost in the reduced time, but this is a wonderful ballet production and very much worth seeing.
  14. RobR
    Is this this afternoon’s matinee or yesterday’s General?
  15. RobR
    I thought Catalabutte's heels were a little too high for him?
  16. RobR
    Seriously though, could whoever is interested in pointe shoes start a new thread?
  17. RobR
    Thanks @JNC. I’ve only just managed to get a ticket and was aware of the injuries. I just thought that there may have been an announcement that I missed. Thanks again
  18. RobR
    Anyone?
  19. RobR
    Just a query as to who’s likely to be dancing the two principal roles on Saturday evening, if anyone knows.
  20. RobR
    In the conservatory with the candlestick?
  21. RobR
    (Apropos of my previous post, I’m always amazed at how few posts I’ve accumulated, as compared with so many posters who’ve joined after me and the fact that I have, again in comparison, a comparatively poor ‘Community Reputation'.)
  22. RobR
    I’m racking up posts tonight, but appreciate that we all, subjectively, insert our own detail into the broad brush of this or any narrative ballet. I’m afraid we’ve all considered why Giselle had a suicidal breakdown and the finer points of Von Rothbart's scheme to turn young women into swans and seize power, etc, etc., but on JNC's point, I’ve always assumed that Des G was so in love with Manon that he chose to follow her into exile and share her hardships. Perhaps he found and sold the bracelet to pay for his passage, or......
  23. RobR
    Well Rob, you may be right but I’d have thought if the bag contained anything of hers, DesGrieux would have given her something better to wear and, on that premise, do we see either Des Grieux or the bag go into the stockade with Manon?
  24. RobR
    I think that these are different bracelets. We can see a bracelet on the Gaoler's desk. Probably my mistake, given my recent history, but I’ve always seen the bracelet as an allegory. Both M. GM and the Gaoler give jewellery to those they desire and wish to corrupt. The Gaoler has clearly been examining the new shipment of transported harlots for his own gratification and has Manon dragged to his quarters. In the first instance, Manon succumbs to the temptation but with the Gaoler, the wiser Manon sees the offer for what it is and rejects both the bracelet and the advances (and is raped, nonetheless). Following her arrest, trial, haircut and transportation, Manon, like the other harlots, arrived with nothing but the rags she stands in.
  25. RobR
    I’ll pm you
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