Balletfanp

It was....

I have been suffering from an awful viral cough for the past week - really hope I can vanquish it before this Friday otherwise I am terrified I will find myself being berated on this thread for serial coughing! ???? Seriously, if it is still bad I may have to give it a miss ????.

My nephew read the last page as the conclusion of his eulogy at my dad's funeral. Always breaks my heart...

It was a shame that Alex Campbell was rather glossed over as well - they didn't even show his solo. But overall, Francesca was lovely, and I enjoyed it.

Although I have to say that although I am not a fan of Darcey's presenting style, she came over as rather better than usual, I thought. Not so much gushing. Would have still preferred someone else, though.

Happy Christmas to you too, Lisa!

Apparently not ☺.

In my son's school jumper a few years ago - "Remove child before ironing".....

I went to see it last night. I really enjoyed it. It started off a bit slow, I thought, but rapidly improved. Some really beautiful music and costumes, lovely choreography, and from what I remember of the film (it's a good many years since I saw it) conjured up much of the same atmosphere. The sets were also very clever and impressive in the way that they were constantly changing. The annoying thing was that the programme didn't contain a cast slip so there was no way of telling who was dancing the roles - I was sitting right up in the gods and being so far away from the stage I couldn't even match the dancers to the photos in the programme. The programme just listed all the dancers who are playing each character during the run. So the dancer who played Victoria Page could have been either Cordelia Braithwaite, Katrina Lyndon (local Plymouth girl) or Ashley Shaw! Whoever it was, she was a lovely expressive dancer and played the role very well. The final scene in particular was very atmospheric and tragic. Overall, I found it really enjoyable and I'm sure it will be another massive hit for Matthew Bourne when it comes to London.

I'm seeing it in Plymouth on Friday - very much looking forward to it! I will report back...

I too get very irritated by the curtain calls (which I enjoy watching) being interrupted by the hosts talking. The dancers deserve their moment of glory in the cinema just as much as in the venue itself.

Hurraaaaaayyy!

Yes, I'm with you there. When I saw it, the man sat next to me in the stalls began to titter, along with me and two Japanese ladies in front of us who got a major attack of the giggles at that point! The other one is when the Professor attaches the probes and the arm shoots up - something about that bit sets me off as well.....!

It's on iPlayer for those that missed it.

How sad - one of the characters of my youth. I read his autobiography a few years ago - he had a very messed up youth (his mother was completely loopy) but had a genuinely big heart.

Saw the Muntagirov/Nunez cast last night. What a wonderful partnership they are turning out to be - bags of chemistry and both the most wonderful dancers. The characterisation of both was spot on, and both just seemed to be having a ball on stage. I must say Muntagirov was on fire last night gaining huge applause for his stunning solos. And Marianela's smile lit up the auditorium as ever. I have always thought that Tuckett made the best Simone, and I still think that, but I really enjoyed Marriott. He did actually come across as very feminine, and made Simone's genuine affection for her daughter very evident. He was also very funny, with a lot of little touches that made me laugh out loud a few times. I'm not sure if Vadim was expecting the "wandering hands" when Simone finally embraces Colas near the end or not, but either it was very good acting on his part, or his reaction was genuine and comical! ???? And Peregrine behaved well, except for breaking into a brisk trot whilst crossing the front of the stage, and having to be held back! A wonderful evening, enhanced by a particularly enthusiastic audience who laughed in all the right places and applauded with gusto!

And let's not forget that he has already shown that he can play the more dramatic roles very well; e.g. Des Grieux, Lensky.

I meant in Mayerling....

No Muntagirov?? Seriously?

Did anyone see the Muntagirov/Nunez performance the other night?

Speaking as someone who has hung my (quite heavy) bag from my neck by the straps before, to avoid having to place it on a - shall we say, less than pristine toilet floor - I quite agree with you, Dance*is*life (and yes, I have also resorted to the teeth method on occasion as well)!

They refused to issue the recent Nunez/Muntagirov Giselle as well - and they could hardly claim 'no demand' for that! There was a positive clamour for it.

Oh! Darn it! Sorry folks.

The Bolshoi segment now seems to be up on YouTube - they don't hang around! Hope the rest of them get their segments up quickly.

They usually leave the whole thing up for some time afterwards. I will be at work all day do I'm counting on it!