FrankH

I'm sure I can speak on behalf of the LWC, and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) in thanking you for this lovely comment. As a charity doing valuable work in the UK and around the world, every visitor helps the cause of nature conservation. Richmond Park is also good for birdwatching. I have only been once in recent years, when I walked from the eastern entrance to the Pen Ponds and back. I got a very good view of a Common Tern fishing. On the way, there was a fine view of White Lodge in the distance. What a wonderful setting for a school! House Sparrows, like starlings, were birds once taken for granted - indeed all too often regarded as "pests". Their massive decline in numbers, to the point of almost complete disappearance in many parts of the UK, will be obvious to anyone who has lived through the last 40 years or so. It's good that there may be a bit of a revival. I have seen the occasional individual in my area of SW London recently, but it's still an infrequent observation. Its relative, the Tree Sparrow, which I've never seen, is in an even more desperate situation, although the RSPB reports a small upturn in numbers, albeit from a very low base. I am grateful to Jane and others for resuscitating this thread. I was afraid my very long post about my dramatic encounter with some ducks might have killed it off! Well, you are to blame if I now post some more rambling reminiscences of observations of life among the feathered dinosaurs (which is what birds actually are!).

The fact that a bird is on the endangered list doesn't necessarily mean that it isn't still common in part of its range. Starlings have declined drastically in numbers in the last 50 years in the UK. I remember in the '50s and '60s huge flocks over SW London, doing all their beautiful and intricate patterns of flight. Nowadays in the same area, I can't recall seeing more than a very few in a year, many years none at all. It's good to hear that they are still common in East Sussex, a beautiful part of the country which I also know, as I was at school there in the '50s. Just done a day's volunteering at the London Wetland Centre. Had a good view of a Snipe, not a particularly rare species, but one which I had never got a really good sight of before. Also a number of Pochard, a very beautiful duck, which is also now on the "Red List", as it has been declining in numbers at an alarming rate. And two robins, astonishingly bold. One quite happily hopped up to about a foot away. I was opening my bag, and perhaps it thought I had goodies for it. Although none today, little egrets are quite frequent visitors to the LWC. Also bittern, 2 or 3 individuals reported today.

Saodan, I agree with you absolutely. When I said I perceived a "rivalry", it wasn't between Francesca and Yasmine. I was thinking of what JohnS had written a few posts above: "As regards the lows, I just worry that there may be the beginnings of what I sense may be some Ballet Forum perceived rivalry between Francesca and Yasmine advocates". It was among the "advocates" I was perceiving a "rivalry", and even there I'm not sure the term is appropriate. I do get the impression however that some feel Yasmine has not been given a fair share of the limelight. And there may be some who think both FH and YN have received more than their fair share compared with their contemporaries. We need not project the feelings of fans and advocates on to the dancers themselves. One of the things which attracts me about the Australian Ballet is that, whenever I have seen a programme about them, they seem so much a real team, a company of friends and people who like each other. I haven't seen so much about the Royal Ballet, but would expect that in this respect, they are more like the Australians than, say, the Bolshoi, where some of the fairly recent antics puts one in mind of that ghastly film Black Swan.

I'm afraid I actually have perceived some "rivalry", if that is the right word. I may be wrong, or it may come from the fact that I am a (largely passive) observer of forums involved with sport, where such "rivalries" are blatant. (is Messi better than Ronaldo, is Jurgen Klopp a better manager than Jose Mourinho etc.etc.). I have sensed some resentment that YN is not receiving as much publicity at the moment as FH. There is what I might call, exaggeratedly, an amount of "damning with faint praise" of FH. She tends to be praised for particular roles, and with particular partners, and in a couple of cases, it seems that the poster is actually more interested in the partner (usually Campbell). On the other hand, many posters praise YN "in everything she does". My impression is certainly that if there were a "poll" of preferences among the posters in this forum, YN would win by quite a margin. Now there is nothing basically wrong in this. The vast majority of you are far more sophisticated and knowledgeable about ballet than I am, and I trust your judgment. So you are probably right that eventually YN will turn out to be the "better" of the two. Against the general tone of the posts however, I must set the fact that Francesca has been promoted at a slightly faster rate than Yasmine, although both have had meteoric rises compared with most of the other RB dancers. Kevin O'Hare and his staff must know something about what they are doing. It may very well be that they are "protecting" Yasmine. I mentioned in another thread that a large amount of publicity, "hype", is a mixed blessing, and many performers in the arts and in sport have not handled it well. I think Yasmine actually benefits from the situation. She has also received quite a bit of publicity, just not as much as Francesca. There is thus less of a spotlight on her - and consequently less stress. She is freed up to develop at her own pace, Until recently, I hadn't seen either woman dancing in a major role. And then I saw FH as Clara in the live RB cinema transmission, and was bowled over by it. For me it was one of the finest performances in any of the performing arts I have seen (thinking of other such, I came up with Marlon Brando in On The Waterfront !). I realised that all the hype for FH, even if excessive, had a very valid basis. I have not yet seen Yasmine dance a major role. I am quite prepared to be even more impressed by her - but it won't matter if I am not. As a beginner in ballet appreciation, my opinion will matter far less than those of the large number of knowledgeable posters on this forum. All I am prepared to venture is that if Yasmine is actually "better" than Francesca, she may very well turn out to be one of the all time greats (Pavlova, Fonteyn, etc.). But perhaps "rivalry" and "better" are the wrong words. From what has been posted on here I get the impression that they are rather different sorts of dancers - am I right that they differ markedly in height, which would immediately affect the impression they sometimes give. As a complete hunch, with no basis in actual knowledge, I wonder if Francesca might be the one who appeals slightly more to the "general public", in which I include ballet appreciation novices such as myself, while Yasmine will be the darling of the true ballet connoisseur. Yasmine as ballet's Alastair Cook to Francesca's Kevin Pietersen. After all that woffle, I'd better give my best and worst for 2016. I actually haven't seen that much this year. Best: (of course) Francesca Hayward, Francesca Hayward, Francesca Hayward, and more so, in RB's The Nutcracker The Australian Ballet. I think this is a wonderful company. Even if the ballet correspondent of The Daily Telegraph (if I recall correctly) thinks they are rather second division, they've impressed me from the time I saw their slot in the 2014 World Ballet Day transmission. They seem to have an extra degree of joie de vivre about them. They also have a young dancer, even younger than FH and YN, called Benedicte Bemet, who has impressed me each time I've seen her. I enjoyed both their productions at the Coliseum, the (sort of ) Swan Lake and the Ratmansky Cinderella. As I generally don't like messing around with the classics, and SL is my favourite ballet, I don't think I would have bothered to see Graeme Murphy's version if it hadn't been the AB. I'm really glad I got to see it. And I even managed to have a few words with their director David McAllister after the Cinderella performance. Vadim Muntagirov in The Two Pigeons. What a fine actor as well as dancer he is. Worst. Nothing really, but I did almost fall asleep in Rhapsody, despite the gorgeous Rachmaninov music. Best wishes to all of you for 2017. May Yasmine join Francesca as a Principal.

I watched the Nutcracker programme on my PC. Despite the constant stops for "buffering", I found it interesting and enjoyable. I cannot agree that it was a mistake, from the programme's viewpoint, to dedicate some attention on one particular dancer, Francesca Hayward. This was not a programme on BBC4 aimed just at dedicated ballet-lovers. Both the channel it was put on, and the timing of the broadcast, suggest that a rather wider audience was being considered, hence the "human interest" angle. And for that Francesca was the obvious choice. Not only is she clearly one of the most outstanding young dancers at the RB, but she was to dance the SPF in the performance highlighted in the programme. But even this wouldn't have been enough had the other parts of the human interest angle, such as her family (grandparents), her first ballet teacher etc., not agreed to take part - and proven good TV programme material. I can see why some might wish more attention to be given to other principals as well. But that would have made the programme much longer, and at one and a half hours, it was already quite a bit longer than the average length for a TV programme. However, Mary makes a good point in wondering if getting this sort of exposure is good for Francesca. Not so much, in my opinion, because it punctures any mystique. We learnt that Francesca seems a nice, well-balanced young woman, with kind and supportive grandparents, and a first ballet-teacher who immediately recognised that she had a special charisma and aura about her. We really didn't learn anything much deeper about her. But this sort of attention can indeed be a mixed blessing, perhaps even sometimes a curse. The fields of the performing arts, and sports, will provide many instances of young performers who have been "hyped" intensely, but have failed to live up to their early promise. I suspect that in many cases the reasons for this are not so much physical, as mental. It needs a personality which is both strong and sensible to weather this sort of attention. The RB have promoted Ms Hayward at a very fast rate, because she is a dancer of exceptional talent. If some posters on this forum are correct, and the RB have also been responsible for the degree of exposure she is getting, it can only be (one hopes) that they are confident that she will not be spoiled by it. It seems to me that while this sort of attention might be a danger for Francesca, it is actually a help to her contemporaries at the RB and elsewhere. In particular, it is perhaps a benefit for Yasmine Naghdi. She has also received quite a bit of publicity, just not as much as Francesca. Similarly, she has also been promoted through the "ranks" at a meteoric rate, just not quite as fast as Francesca. Perhaps the fact that the spotlight has been more intense on Ms Hayward, means that the situation is less stressful for Ms Naghdi, as to some extent the heat is off her. Incidentally, the live transmission of the Nutcracker in early December, seeing which made me realise that much of the hype for Francesca is absolutely justified, had her dancing the secondary role of Clara, while Lauren Cuthbertson danced the SPF. This suggests to me that the RB are neither promoting Francesca unduly rapidly, nor are they responsible for any unjustifiably high level of publicity that she may be getting.

May I just apologise to Two Pigeons that, on reading back, my last reply seems curt and ill-tempered. "I don't watch the two programmes you mention" is a statement of fact, not a put-down, as if they were not worth watching - as I don't watch them, how would I know? The fact that you and David watch them shows that they do have considerable value. And you will realise that I agree with you on the question of the general "dumbing down" of the BBC in recent years. And this does have some relevance to the subject of the Sir Peter Wright programme - very clearly a case of not dumbing down. It gives a little hope that some posters on this forum think they can discern an upturn in standards, of which the SPW programme may be a sign. Perhaps the attacks on the BBC, and its tightening budgets, may result in a greater emphasis on intellectual quality, rather than on superficial showmanship. And the "dumbing down" phenomenon is sadly a feature of society in general, and in some other fields to a far greater extent than in the BBC.

I don't watch the two programmes you mention. I only mentioned Brexit, not as an example of BBC impartiality, but as an example of the very strong, and intolerant, partiality of the newspapers I listed. Whether or not the BBC regards Brexiteers as the "Devil's spawn", it's certain that to the Mail etc., "Bremoaners" as they like to call Remainers, are worse than Devil's spawn - they are unpatriotic, un-British pinko-liberals, etc., and above all "Enemies of The People". Ex-Archbishop Rowan Williams pointed out recently the almost Stalinist use of "The People" by such organs as the Mail. All who disagree with them are not part of The People, and therefore their views don't count. I am sorry now that I even mentioned Brexit, even as an example of the hate-filled intolerance which characterizes the Mail and other parts of the Press. But since the BBC, imperfect as it is, made or commissioned the programme, and since the BBC is under threat from powerful forces, I thought it right to defend them. I apologise for the diversion from the main theme of this thread - a fine tribute to a remarkable person.

I watched this programme on my PC. Despite the imperfect connection, with constant stops for "buffering", I found it compelling viewing. For a newcomer to ballet appreciation, it was also educational and informative. And I was even moved to the extent of a tear in the eye on a couple of occasions. I admit that until two years ago, I would have had no idea who Sir Peter Wright was! Well, now I know how important he has been, and still is, for ballet in this country. There have been some "digs" at the BBC, implying that this sort of excellence is now only possible as a sort of mistake. However I fear this is just the sort of programme which will be lost to "terrestrial" TV, when the Daily Mail, Daily Express, Sun etc. get their way, and the BBC either ceases to exist, or is reduced to a shadow of its present form. And let's have no illusions about this. The most powerful parts of the commercial media in this country want the BBC gone. Then they can have a virtual monopoly to brainwash the public with their particular viewpoints. After all, the Daily Mail etc. present themselves as The Voice of The People, and anyone who doesn't agree wholeheartedly with their viewpoints, e.g. about Brexit, is thus An Enemy of "The People" . Of course the BBC inevitably falls into that category, since it has to try to be impartial. Of course the BBC is not perfect. A lot of imperfect programmes are made, and some very bad ones. In fields which I know a lot more than I do about ballet, there has been undeniably a bit of "dumbing down". For instance, in films about wildlife, there is now too much concentration on the presenters, keen to show us how brave, athletic, humorous, handsome etc.etc. they are. But at the same time, the great Sir David Attenborough is still producing his stuff, and if it weren't for the BBC, I doubt whether they would be available free-to-view.

As a relative newcomer to serious ballet appreciation, I have special reason to thank this forum. I really became interested in ballet in late 2014, and it's possible that the interest might not have grown as it has, had I not found this forum, with its multitude of enthusiastic and knowledgeable posters. I have learnt so much from you, and am sure that I will continue to do so. Best wishes to all posters, and especially to the moderators and other staff, for the New Year.

Although it's now three days past since I attended the live screeing at my local Curzon cinema, I feel I have to express my appreciation for one of the most entrancing performances I have seen, since I first began to take a serious interest in ballet two years ago. I have only a rudimentary knowledge of the finer points of ballet technique, so I can only add my subjective opinion on what seemed to me the highlights of the performance, and of the live screening. Negatives? Almost none for me. I agree that, in the first act especially, the live screening could have done less switching away from the dancers' feet. I understand that those with more advanced ballet appreciation than myself, would find this frustrating. Yet in this particular performance I found that the occasional switch to other features of the dancers actually enhanced my appreciation. I will explain shortly. The ballet itself? While Sir Peter Wright has clearly done a great deal to improve on the original libretto, it still doesn't quite work for me. There's still the fact that Clara is largely irrelevant, dramatically speaking, in the second act. I saw a version by the Moscow City Ballet last year in which the roles of the Sugar Plum Fairy + Prince were eliminated. The Grand Pas de Deux was danced by Clara and, if I recall correctly, as a Pas de Trois. While this might not be the best solution, something along these lines should be attempted. SPW's version still makes more sense than the original mess, which as it stood, hardly qualifies as "narrative ballet" at all. Positives? Too many beautiful performances to mention all, but one standout - Francesca Hayward. I had read a lot about this young lady. She must be the most "hyped" young ballet dancer in the UK at present, and has even received what is probably for the general public the ultimate imprimatur - great praise from Darcey Bussell! This screening was the first time I have seen Francesca Hayward in anything like a major role. So is the hype justified? Yes, yes, yes......and many more so! I can't think of many instances when I have been so captivated by an artistic performance. I am not qualified to judge her technique, except that she seemed to make the difficult and demanding look easy and effortless. But important as technique is, great art is about more than this. I read that Maria Callas had an imperfect vocal technique, but she overcame this through force of personality, and her ability as an actress, to become one of the greatest operatic sopranos. She had, forgive my use of a now overused term, the "X Factor". And Francesca Hayward has this too, in "buckets". I did not see her in "Manon", but I remember reading a review which highlighted the emotional intensity of her performance. That was in a role which clearly demands such an intensity to perform properly. Here, in the much lighter role of Clara, she lit up the stage whenever she was involved. And here was the positive side of the rather peculiar editing in the screening of the first act. No, we don't need close-ups of her left nostril, but I certainly appreciated a few close-ups of her very expressive face.Those in the audience at the ROH will have missed out on this, unless they sat near the front or had binoculars. But I expect that even at a distance, something of the extra special quality of her performance will have come across. I now appreciate what all the hype has been about, and I hope that many more will do so as well. Apart from her, I must mention the Grand Pas de Deux, not of course danced by Clara in this version. The first part of the Pdd, the realy "Grand" bit, is for me one of the most moving pieces of music ever written. I cannot listen to it without my eyes watering up. What a genius Tchaikovsky was! Of all the great composers he is the one who seems to find the surest path to the heart-strings, and the tear ducts. I could simply listen to any of his ballet scores with pleasure. But seeing the dancing adds so much to the experience, if of course the choreography and dancing matches the music. On Thursday night it certainly did. FLOSS writes above that the Gpdd is the only bit of the original Ivanov/Petipa choreography to survive in the present production. This must be because SPW felt he couldn't improve on it. So thanks to the Royal Ballet for another uplifting experience. In a year when the worst side of human nature, its capacity for hatred, intolerance, and gullibility (for lies which suit one's own biased viewpoints) has been only too apparent, it gives me a little hope that one day the designation Homo sapiens might not seem quite as inappropriate, as it all too often seems in the present world situation. May I wish you all, and especially all who work to keep this forum going, a happy and blessed Christmas and New Year.

I wonder if these daft labels are actually an insurance against lawsuits. I recall reading of a sad case where someone put their small pet dog into a microwave to dry it out after a bath. The person complained that there was no label on the microwave to say that it couldn't be used to dry out pets!

Various "sub-segments" now up on respective companies YouTube channels, e.g. Queensland Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Houston Ballet.

post#77 is Bolshoi last year. Their segment for this year doesn't seem to be up yet.

National Ballet of Canada segment now available on YouTube, at both 1080p and 720p.

According to my PC, 720p is HD!

The Australian Ballet segment also available, complete and in HD on YouTube.

I managed to see the greater part of the Royal Ballet segment, and a large part of the San Francisco portion, with only brief minor problems. Judging by the experiences of others, I seem to have been rather fortunate on this occasion. I've no idea why, as I often do have problems with my internet set-up, though it's been better recently. I'm looking forward to downloading all the sessions from youtube.

Yes, it's 2015, when Bolshoi had only 3 hrs, while the other 4 companies had 5 hrs each. This year it seems to be back to 4 hrs each, as in 2014. I seem to remember that last year all the sessions were on youtube within a couple of days.

I'm so glad my long and rather pompous post didn't put a death to this thread! I am going to describe an episode which, more than any other I have witnessed, demonstrated to me that ducks have personality, self-consciousness, and not inconsiderable intelligence. The events took place over two days. It is unusual in that I was not just an observer, but became involved in the drama. Not because I decided to, but because a bird made the decision to involve me. Time: late spring/early summer 2014 Place: Bluegate Gravel Pit. This is one of a number of large ponds/small lakes on Wimbledon Common. Birds: one female Mallard, several males. "Ornithological" notes: Late spring/early summer is an especially trying time for female Mallards. The temporary pair bond she will have had, breaks up as soon as she starts incubating her eggs. Before this, her temporary male partner will have practised "mate guarding", preventing her from being harassed by other males.This clearly makes it more certain that he will be the father of her ducklings, while enabling her to feed in relative peace. This is important because she has to produce a large clutch of eggs with very nutritious yolks. She has now lost this protection. And Mallard society at this period has the problem of large numbers of unattached sex starved males roaming around, looking for a chance with a female. Rape is commonplace, gang rape all too frequent. Sadly this sometimes results in the death of the female, which also means the death of her offspring, as the eggs will not be incubated. Day 1. Late afternoon. I had been birdwatching at my usual site on the Common, Queensmere. On this day, I went home via Bluegate Gravel Pit, a detour I used to do every few weeks. On this day, I stopped on the west bank of the narrow, central, part of the lake. A gang of male Mallard was swimming steadily southward. Two individuals, the gang "leaders" as I came to think of them, were at the head. Four or five "followers" tagged along behind. A solitary male Tufted Duck was swimming in the opposite direction. He looked rather jaunty and unconcerned that he was coming in close proximity to these Mallards, which are rather larger birds. And actually, neither species is particularly aggressive. However birds don't always play by the rules - they aren't just creatures of "instinct" - so when the Mallards and the Tufty passed with no hint of aggression, I muttered "well done, lads". However the lads were about to show the darker side of their character. Just as they were passing the Tufted Duck, the male Mallards suddenly became excited. They had spotted a lone female Mallard. She was amongst loose vegetation on the opposite bank to where I was standing. She must have had a nest nearby, and was taking a break from incubation to stretch her legs, and was on her way to the pond to find some food. Unfortunately for her, this coincided with the arrival of this marauding mob of maleficent males (sorry - I have a love of alliteration). The two gang leaders immediately got out of the water and started to chase her. The followers didn't. Instead, they stayed in the water and congregated around the point where she was heading for. Seemingly they were waiting to ambush her, and get at her before the leaders could. Caught between ambushers and pursuers, her situation looked desperate. While I was thinking of ways to help her, she took matters into her own hands - or, rather, wings. She took flight across the pond, and alighted right beside me. This was surely no coincidence. She had decided that I could be some protection for her, as indeed I wanted to be. The followers took no further part. They remained on the water. But the two leaders took off immediately and joined her and myself. They cleverly positioned themselves on the other side of her. There was no way I could threaten them without appearing to threaten her as well. I could almost imagine that they had arrogant smirks. Stalemate. For what seemed quite a long time, but was only a few seconds, I tried to think of ways to resolve the situation. Not only was I concerned for her safety, but I didn't want to be outwitted by a pair of ducks! She put an end to this by suddenly taking to the air. The two males immediately took off after her. The last I saw of them that day was the three flying high over the trees in a westward direction - further into the Common, and away from her nest area. She was quacking very loudly and angrily. I couldn't help interpreting her vocalisations along the lines of ".... off, you .......s!" I waited a while, but she didn't return. I left the Common annoyed and rather disheartened that I had failed to do much to rescue this particular damsel in distress. I hoped that she would have avoided the fate the two males clearly intended for her. And that if she couldn't escape them, that it would just be the two, and not also some extras joining in the "fun". Day 2. I wouldn't normally have returned to Bluegate Gravel Pit for a couple of weeks. But I did go the very next day. I went without much hope of seeing the heroine of the day before. Not because she would have been killed, that is still a rare outcome. But it would have been likely that she would have been incubating her eggs, and I certainly didn't want to disturb her by looking for her nest. So I went and stood at the spot I had stood at the previous day. The scene was quieter than the day before. No sign of the Mallard gang, indeed few birds of any sort around. I focussed my binoculars on the bank opposite, at the area where I had first seen her the day before. Nothing there, but then there was a moving brown blur with a hint of wings, something much closer than the focus point. I lowered my binoculars. The female Mallard had landed right beside me. This time it was not through desperation. She wasn't being harassed. She had voluntarily broken cover from where she was (her nest?) to make contact with me. Moreover she was quacking away vigorously, not in the very loud and angry tones of the day before, but in a more "conversational" tone. It seemed that she was trying to communicate something to me At this point I rather wished I were a Doctor Doolittle. Was she perhaps complaining that I hadn't been more help the previous day? Was she merely telling me what had or had not happened to her? Or, as I hoped, was she thanking me that, ineffective as I had been, I had been around, and had come back to see how she was? But perhaps this is being too "anthropomorphic" - or perhaps not. A final strange thing about this whole episode is that I have no clear recollection about how it ended. Up to the point that she landed on the second day, and started to quack at me, everything is very clear. I can still see, in my mind, very clearly most of the main events on the two days. But as to how it ended, I have no picture. I know that I would not have left while she was still beside me. She must have departed at some stage - probably flying back to her nest. From time to time, there are stories in the media, and on youtube etc., which claim that a mother duck has approached humans for help when their ducklings have got into trouble. I have usually taken these stories as unjustified "anthropomorphism". I am no longer certain that such scepticism is always justified. Many thanks to anyone who has bothered to read all this. I hope I haven't bored you excessively!

Saturday evening. Cast: Ako Kondo, Chengwu Guo, Valerie Tereshchenko, Robyn Hendricks, Jill Ogai, Jasmin Durham etc. From reading various reviews I didn't expect that much. It turned out to be one of the most memorable artistic events I have ever attended, although for me not entirely because of events on stage. I thought the dancers were superb - both soloists and Corps. If there were mistakes anywhere, they didn't affect my enjoyment. As for the ballet itself, I was entranced by it. I am not a particular fan of Prokofiev's music, and this ballet didn't make me more of one. But I can see how well the score fits in with the mood and story of the ballet. Or rather, how well Ratmansky's angle on the Cinderella story fits the music. The ballet was a visual treat. The gimmicky parts actually worked for me. There are illogicalities in the details (e.g. why metronomes rather than clocks?) which some reviewers found annoying. I didn't. I just revelled in the imagery. A bonus was the presence of Benedicte Bemet. Not in the cast, but as one of the "Artists of the Australian Ballet" who appeared as "Ball Guests" and "Temptors". She is not only a magnificent dancer but a fine actress. And I thought the same acting ability appeared in all the dancers. If there is a "weak link" in the company, it wasn't on view. The Daily Telegraph ballet critic doesn't rate The Australian Ballet among the global first XI of ballet companies. If so, it certainly plays at a standard well above its league placing. And much of the credit for that must go to the artistic director and his staff. Which leads to the off-stage event which sealed the evening for me. I was in a seat towards the back of the Stalls, row M. Imagine my delight in finding that seated only 6 rows directly in front of me was David McAllister, Artistic Director of the AB. I recognised him immediately as he was turned round in animated conversation with a white-haired gentleman in the row behind him, who must have been someone important in the ballet world. And then, in one of the intervals, Fiona Tonkin walked right past my seat on the way to greeting and embracing the white-haired gentleman. How elegant and graceful she still is, years after she retired as a dancer. I am normally very shy - I wouldn't dare approach dancers at the stage door. But as David McAllister was leaving the auditorium at the end of the performance, I managed to find myself right behind him. With the exit door fast approaching, I plucked up my courage and said "Mr McAllister, I want to thank you ..." And I mentioned World Ballet Day 2014, and I mentioned especially the wonderful Class led by Fiona Tonkin, that it had been one of the most joyous things I had ever seen, and that it had contributed to my becoming really interested in ballet. By that time we had reached the parting of the ways.There was so much more for which I wanted to thank him, and the AB, but I didn't want to detain him at what must have been a busy and stressful time. For me, The Australian Ballet epitomise the qualities which have led me to love ballet as an art form. There is an elan, a special joy, about the Company, so evident in their sections of WBD, in both 2014 and 2015, and in the performances I have seen. And so much of that feeling must come down from the top. Thank you, David McAllister. Thank you, The Australian Ballet. May it not be too long before we see you again in the UK.

Do birds have personality? I am convinced that they do. I would like to use this forum to record some of my observations over the past years. I do belong to a leading birding forum, but am reluctant to post some of my thoughts on there, as I would probably be accused by some of being "unscientific", especially of "anthropomorphism" (attributing human feelings to non-human animals). But I believe that such emotions as love, hate, jealousy, grief, enjoyment, suffering, etc. are not confined to human beings. I also believe that birds are more intelligent than they are often given credit for. There is growing scientific evidence that, after human beings, the next most intelligent animals are certain psittaciform (parrots, cockatoos, macaws etc.) and corvid (crows, ravens, jays etc.) birds. As a volunteer at a local Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) Centre, I get frequent opportunities to observe birds and other wildlife. Especially members of the Anseriformes (swans, geese, and ducks), which are one of my favourite groups of birds, not least because they are comparatively large and easy to identify. Many are also very beautiful. No one would claim that these are among the most intelligent of birds - although a recent study seems to show that ducklings are capable of abstract thought! Anyway, I have often found myself intrigued, puzzled, amused, and even moved by some of the behaviour I have witnessed. If there are no objections, which I would understand, I will from time to time post a record of some of my observations and encounters with what I truly think of as "feathered friends".

You've been unlucky, but I may have been very lucky. I have certainly come across the sorts of obnoxious behaviour you, and others, have described. I've just not (yet) come across it in a ballet context - but then I've been to a much smaller number of ballet performances than will have most of the posters on this forum. I suspect there may be a sort of spectrum of behaviour: (worst) films - plays - opera/ballet - classical music concerts (best). I put concerts as best, because I can't see why anyone would go to hear music only to drown it out with eating popcorn etc. But then it's also hard to understand why anyone would misbehave at any artistic performance, but sadly, it's clear that all too many do. For semi-medical reasons, I always try to book a seat at the end of a row. I realise now that this halves my chances of getting an obnoxious seat neighbour!

Thank you, Bluebird, for your comments on Benedicte Bemet, and for the link to the Michelle Potter review. I have been a serious ballet fan for less than 2 years, and am still largely ignorant of the technicalities of the art form. Thus it's encouraging when my subjective response to someone I perceive as a particularly accomplished and beautiful dancer, actually seems to accord with the opinions of much more informed people. I don't claim any particular artistic sensibility in this - after all, as they say, a broken clock is going to be correct twice a day. Not that I will always bow to the opinions of experienced critics. Quite often, you get great differences in their assessments - so who do you believe? On this production, just looking at the linked reviews in the Dance Links section of this Forum reveals a wide disparity. For instance Neil Norman (Stage) gives it 4/5 stars, Judith Mackrell (Guardian) 3/5, but Mark Monahan (Telegraph) only 2/5. Mark Monahan's review "A Swan Lake dismantled with power tools and reassembled with a nail gun" is particularly discouraging, and I'm glad I didn't read it before I bought a ticket, as it might have persuaded me not to. Monahan is also, it seems to me, rather condescending in his description of The Australian Ballet company, "a likeable lot", but "not in the global first XI of ballet companies". What does that mean? Who decides on who gets into this "first XI"? Back to Benedicte Bemet. On reading her bio in the programme, it appears that she was already a Coryphée at the time of World Ballet Day 2014. She had been promoted the year before, when she can't have been more than 19, only a year after joining the company. She is now a Soloist. This is surely a progression and promotions on the scale of a Francesca Hayward. If Mark Monahan is correct in his assessment of the status of The Australian Ballet, perhaps she will go to a more "prestigious" company one day. It would be great to see her for a season at an UK company. Looking forward to the AB's "Cinderella", I've never found Prokofiev as compelling musically as Tchaikovsky.That might not be a bad thing - Tchaikovsky's music is so beautiful that it can almost be distracting. I have no idea whether the beautiful Benedicte will be involved - it will be a pleasant bonus for me if she is.

Friday evening at the Coliseum for The Australian Ballet "Swan Lake". The audience in my area - centre right Dress Circle - behaved in an exemplary fashion. That included many young people, and some children. No loud sweet-papers and popcorn, as far as I could hear. Someone had a loud coughing fit somewhere else in the auditorium, but that's forgivable. It's probably pot-luck these days what you get.

Friday performance. Cast - Adam Bull, Amber Scott, Dimity Azoury - seems the same as the opening night. I went with conflicting prejudices. On the one hand, I dislike excessive messing around with classics, in any art form. For me, Swan Lake is THE ballet classic. On the other hand, I was so impressed with the Australian Ballet's contribution to World Ballet Day 2014, especially the joyous Class session led by the inspirational Fiona Tonkin. The AB's section also featured part of a rehearsal of Graeme Murphy's Swan Lake. I don't think I would have bothered to see this work, if it had been performed by any other than the AB. I'm so glad I let my positive prejudice overcome my negative one. I not only enjoyed this (sort of) Swan Lake, but found it surprisingly moving. I had great sympathy and sorrow for both Odette and the Baroness von Rothbart, each a tragic figure. I believe the greater complexity of the characterisation adds to emotional depth of the ballet. But I don't want to compare this with other SLs - I will just regard them as different ballets using some of the same elements, above all Tchaikovsky's sublime music. I am not competent to comment on the details of the choreography. All I can say is that it largely worked for me in telling the story, which is the most important thing in a narrative ballet. What I did find rather jarring was the premature appearance of the Act 2 Lake theme towards the end of Act 1. This haunting music, ethereal and otherworldly in its beauty, deserves to be treated as a rare treasure, only used when absolutely necessary, not just introduced for effect. Besides the principals, I took time to observe the Corps closely. I think that perhaps you get a better idea of the general standard and morale of a company from the Corps. I expected the AB's Corps to excel, and I thought they did. My observations on three of the cast - not in any way to diminish the excellence of the rest. Adam Bull (Prince Siegfried). As Floss pointed out, he doesn't have much that is interesting or exciting to do - but he does have a great deal to do, and did it in exemplary fashion. It seemed to me that he had an exceptionally large amount of lifts to perform - he must have lifted well over the average "tons of ballerina" by the end. And he had done the same thing only two days previously. Adam Bull, Kevin Jackson etc. have to do this while maintaining a slim, athletic build. What a physically demanding profession ballet is - and how dedicated the dancers must be. Benedicte Bemet (one of the cygnets etc.). In the Class in the AB's section of WBD 2014, I thought she was one who really stood out. They also interviewed her after the Class, and she stars in a couple of YouTube clips. The AB clearly think a lot of her. At the time of WBD 2014 she was only a member of the Corps, but now, at the age of 22, she is already a Soloist. When I bought my ticket, I had no idea of the cast, so I was pleased to find that she was in the Friday performance. In the cygnets' dance my binoculars were largely focused on her - I have become a "fan". Her dancing, indeed her whole "persona", seem to epitomise what I find so attractive about the Australian Ballet. Colin Peasley (Lord Admiral). He didn't do any dancing - no surprise as he's approaching his 82nd birthday. He had appeared in the same role in the rehearsal in WBD 2014, and many of the tweets etc, which were highlighted, expressed joy at seeing him. I then googled his name and found that he is something of a living legend in Australian ballet. So it was great to see that he is still playing a part in an AB production - and must be a great inspiration and influence to the company. I am now booked to see the AB's Cinderella on the last evening of their current season at the Coliseum. I'm so looking forward to it! Incidentally, I thought the lavish and informative programme good value for £6.