Jump to content

Lily_883

Members
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    39

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by Lily_883

    Travel tips : Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam and RDB in Copenhagen

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted

    I was there in September last year. I stayed at the CitizenM hotel and it was very walkable to the opera house (and other attractions). I felt safe walking back at night. It’s a lovely city and I spent a lot of time happily wandering around admiring the canal houses.
     

    I sat in the front row of the 2nd balcony and had a great view. 


    Hope you enjoy your visit!

    • Like 5

    I am shamed by my poor dévéloppé

    in Doing Dance

    Posted

    The thing that has helped me is thinking about where my knee needs to be. So, for développé à la seconde, I think of bringing my knee towards my armpit before I unfold the leg (while trying to keep the hip down). I quite often just repeat that movement to help build strength and think it has helped with my développés and grand battements.

    • Like 2

    World Ballet Day 2018 - 2nd October 2018

    in Ballet / Dance news & information

    Posted

    ROH have also published their schedule for the day here:

    • 12.00pm: Royal Ballet class
    • 1.30pm: Rehearsal with Charlotte Edmonds and Joseph Sissens
    • 1.50pm: Rehearsal of La Bayadère with Lauren Cuthbertson, Natalia Osipova and Vadim Muntagirov
    • 2.20pm: Rehearsal of Mayerling with Steven McRae, Sarah Lamb, and Laura Morera
    • 2.50pm: Rehearsal of Draftworks
    • 3.10pm: Rehearsal with the Royal Ballet School
    • 3.40pm: Rehearsal of Winter Dreams with Tiago Soares and Marianela Nuñez
    • 4.10pm: Rehearsal of The Unknown Soldier with Matthew Ball
    • 4.30pm: Rehearsal of Aletta Collins new work with Mayara Magri
    • 5.00pm: Rehearsal of La Bayadère with the corps de ballet
    • Like 8

    Ballet shoes for wide feet

    in Doing Dance

    Posted

    I have wide feet (a pointe shoe fitter once commented that they are almost as wide as they are long 😳) and really like the Capezio Hanami stretch canvas split soles. The suede pad under the toes is wide and flat, which is a big plus for me. I'm not sure of the width fitting - I just order them in my normal shoe size from dancewear.co.uk - but they're comfortable from the get-go. Hope that helps!

    • Like 1

    Importance of pianist in an exam

    in Doing Dance

    Posted

    When I sat my Intermediate last year, we only had one practice with the pianist before the exam, after months of only using the CD. On the day of the exam, the tempo for one of the barre exercises was so slow I wondered if I had accidentally switched to half counts due to nerves! And it's not just the tempo that can differ; there was definitely some legato where I expected more staccato on some of the exercises, which is hard to adapt to. The pianist later mentioned that she had never listened to the CD. I was surprised to hear this at the time, but maybe that's normal practice? I guess if you're an experienced musician, you wouldn't expect to need more than the sheet music?

    Now That's What I Call A Correction Volume 1

    in Doing Dance

    Posted

    9 hours ago, TYR said:

    Renato Paroni is baaack for a few days and in full GENIUS...OR MADMAN? mode.

     

    Ha ha, genius or madman is right! Thanks for sharing these. I have fond memories of attending Renato's classes during a spell in London last year.

     

    Random question: any idea what music he uses? I recall some Jamie Naruschen and another regularly played album that I was never able to identify. 

    Now That's What I Call A Correction Volume 1

    in Doing Dance

    Posted

    A couple of fresh ones. Renato Paroni at Central School, to fellow student who is practicing a few turns before barre:

     

     

    On one foot? I guess it's true by definition. File under "cryptic meditations from the guru"

     

     

    I took Renato's class a few times on a recent visit to London and thoroughly enjoyed his teaching style. He comes up with some fantastic analogies! I have a whole bunch of them saved as notes in my phone for future reference. 

     

    One of my favourite corrections was when he talked about how engaging the correct muscles and sorting out your alignment is your shower and everything else - port de bras etc - is just perfume i.e. you need to shower first and then you can spray your perfume. He expresses it better, but you get the idea!

    • Like 1

    The Royal Ballet: Anastasia, October 2016

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted

    I find myself in opposition to the common concencus it seems; I enjoyed acts 1&2 (I was there Friday night, the Cuthbertson, Lamb, McRae et al cast), but found act 3 somewhat uninvolving. There seemed to be a lot of sitting about watching home movies, some utterly unthreatening dandy soldiers hop-skipping about, some running around the far flung corners of the stage, and a load of angst while doing so. Music was good though, once it started. I just enjoyed the dancing in its response to the music (and lovely music it was too) in the earlier acts, they seemed to fly by. Perhaps it needs another viewing, as all I could recall from when I saw it in 2004 was that I couldn't remember much, except the feeling I didn't enjoy it at all (though I was a complete ballet novice back then).

     

    I'm with you, zxDaveM. I really enjoyed the first two acts last night. Lauren Cuthbertson has such a fluid and elegant port de bras, and I thought the music, designs and choreography were really beautiful. 
     
    I will say that I wasn't particularly taken with the pdd between Steven McRae and Sarah Lamb - it seemed a bit clumpy, but I'm not familiar enough with the ballet to know whether that was down to the choreography or the performance. From where I was sitting, McRae's costume also made it look like his shoulders were up around his ears every time he raised his arms. 
     
    I had such high expectations of the third act after the reviews here, but I can't say I was very moved by the performance. I was itching for some activity on stage during the film clips, and I'm afraid I find the short hair / grey smock / inverted movements combo to depict someone in an asylum a little clichéd. Each to their own. I'm planning to catch the cinema broadcast, so perhaps a second viewing with a different cast will alter my view.
    • Like 2

    The Royal Ballet: La Fille mal gardée, September 2016

    in Performances seen & general discussions

    Posted

    ....... just to say that Francesca Hayward and Marcellino Sambe, ably assisted by Thomas Whitehead and David Yudes, brought the house down tonight.

    Yes, I made my debut as a ROH audience member this evening, and what a wonderful evening I've had! It was such a treat to be sat in the orchestra stalls (thanks to the considerate forum members who shared the Metro offer). I was blown away by Francesca Hayward and Marcelino Sambé - such a musical and effortless performance from both of them.

    • Like 13
×
×
  • Create New...