Geoff

19 hours ago, Linnzi5 said:

That is incredibly frustrating. I agree a message needs to come up on screen to say sold out. I suppose the software isn't intelligent enough to do that? 

This would seem a simple enough fix (but of course I don‘t have the skills or experience of the wonderful ROH website team).

Perhaps anyone who experiences this issue could drop a line to the (I hope still functioning) email address:

customerservices@roh.org.uk

15 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

I must point out that last week, when trying to get a rush ticket for Cav & Pag, I tried going directly into the performance only for the rush tickets not to show up. They only showed up when I went in via the Friday rush page. So what worked today is certainly not an infalliable way of getting rush tickets. I have also tried being already on the seating plan page before 1pm and refreshing at 1pm, which sometimes brings up the rush tickets and sometimes does not. As far as I can tell, there does not seem to be a single best way of getting rush tickets, the successful route seems to vary on different Fridays!

Curiouser and curiouser. An intermittent glitch? Any system analyst would say that spotting the causes of intermittent issues can be very hard.

That is no reason for the ROH web elves not to try harder to fix it though. After all, we simply want a website that works, reliably and efficiently, without the random eccentricities we are still having to put up with. 

15 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

Today's Friday rush was quite weird at my end. I only got home just before 1pm so at 1pm I was still waiting for the Wifi to come on so tried going onto the ROH website on my phone in the meantime, got onto the Friday rush page as it ticked over to available, & got a 10 minute wait time. Then my Wifi came on so I tried on one browser & got a 7 minute wait time and another browser gave a 14 minute wait time. All of these wait times were jumping around but none of them looked like they were about to give me access. So I decided to try going into the performance I wanted directly, though I wasn't expecting it to work. However it let me get straight in & all 5 rush tickets on the side of the stalls circle that I was after were still available. I snapped one up & was paid & confirmed while the other 3 queues were still queuing. I can only assume the tickets were still there several minutes after 1pm because everyone else was stuck in queues too!

Very pleased for Dawnstar that she has a ticket (and hope you can use it!) But not so pleased to hear about what is clearly a serious glitch in the system. I wonder if we have all been too sanguine about the mystery of the jumping around queuing times (which I have experienced several times over the last months) It seems there may be yet another issue with the website that is not being attended to. 

On 12/12/2023 at 19:32, Ondine said:

And in many cinemas in the UK according to that last link in my tweet, there is a list, however I suspect the 'encore' type showings will be more random so worth checking local cinemas.

I think you mean your post not tweet, but thank you, there is indeed (though not very well signposted) a button inside the poster link which leads to UK info. My reading of what’s there is live on Jan 21st, encore (where available) on Feb 1. 
 

Don’t bother with the website for Pathe Live (supposedly a partner) This has nothing about the show. 

7 hours ago, Amelia said:

On 10/12/2023 at 20:16 Geoff said:

"Something different (apparently they were at the Olympics some years ago but I missed this) ……………………………...:

This is an absolutely amazing performance, Geoff.

Yet another inspiration for any choreographer who wants to break out from today’s clichés and surprise the audience. 

For those who think they know their Gene Kelly, try this tv recording from 1959 (with among others the Hungarian prima ballerina Judith Dornys):

Something different (apparently they were at the Olympics some years ago but I missed this):

On 01/12/2023 at 18:44, Fonty said:

As has been mentioned earlier, once a ballet gets a reputation for being "twee", then I think the dancers themselves start to lose faith in it and begin to dance without real conviction.  A lot of Ashton was created for specific dancers.  I know that Two Pigeons was created for Lynn Seymour, and from what I have read about her, twee was the last word to describe her. 

As has been discussed on the Forum in the past Two Pigeons is known to be autobiographical, or at least inspired by important events in Ashton’s personal life. A little more attention to the history of the work and what it is really all about - and “twee” disappears.

But I would not be the first to observe that Royal Ballet “traditions” do not always serve works well. Performing tradition is passed on from person to person, but that risks a mechanical process leading to institutional forgetting, when some in the chain have not the faintest understanding of what is going on or may have once known but have long forgotten everything except the steps. 

1 hour ago, Linnzi5 said:

Sadly, I didn't see Rojo live or Cojocaru

You have two chances to see Cojocaru dance Aurora live at Sadler's Wells next year (she is very special in this role):-

https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/birmingham-royal-ballet-the-sleeping-beauty/

Only 13 minutes long but no doubt a treat, Sonia Arova and the Hamburg Ballet (in Cinemascope) as part of an interesting programme:-

https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/default.asp?doWork::WScontent::loadArticle=Load&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::article_id=469F07CD-4CB4-4420-AE07-B76C055040CE&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id=39AAF44A-E88A-4F19-8669-814110DE9F3B

Beginners question: number 4 was my pick last night, is that Lucia Moore?

3 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

I was at the launch event at Sadler’s Wells today!!  I was just about to post a holding message until I can get to my laptop and hopefully find the PR there.

Oh yes please!

(Acoustically speaking, anyway)? Here is what might be a light-hearted answer but which has been issued by ROH itself:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/Cy8YH1UMxu5/

Anybody sit there regularly?

Anyone for tennis?

https://fb.watch/nTGL9D42vt/

40 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

 I don't read German (help, @Sabine0308!) 

13 minutes ago, Silke H said:

Hi @Emeralds The article doesn't mention whether Ms Ferri will or won't continue dancing (I am a native German speaker)

To repeat, the press release is in English as well as German (just scroll down). 

Press announcement (in German and English):

https://cdn.mlwrx.com/sys/w.aspx?sub=kre6XgZGpi8-91csh9ohGbK_k5WyqMXX6ch-91csh9ohGbj&tid=18RHrz-tfs9B&mid=3b409608&enc=66soGzXAq0G5mALmPu-WbiTGs8umJxPFll!R!aFYclqMomLGz-rvXXVS6drkGJVh0

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=umvQxNS934E

Much looking forward to reading what people thought of tonight’s show. 
 

Oops:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxvlJ25rZez/

On 13/10/2023 at 23:19, Paco said:

Strange: Last week Magri, now McRae. These are not muscular injuries, these are slides. Could there be something wrong at one point of the stage floor?

Someone at an Insight a while ago mentioned the horrible injury Osipova suffered towards the end of Act 1 of DQ, and asked KOH if it had anything to do with the set. KOH said yes but claimed the floor had been fixed since then (or words to that effect).
 

Are we sure it‘s all ok, is anyone technically minded able to comment? 

5 hours ago, Emeralds said:

They need some better algorithms or strategies, whichever way they’re doing it. I don’t know why they don’t just send it to everyone who has booked a ticket for the season. A sale is a sale- who cares if it’s someone who doesn’t usually go? (There’s evidently a reason why they chose not to book again!) The best kind of sale is the customer who pays, full stop.

I agree. However since the reign of the former ROH Marketing Queen, whose name must not be mentioned on this forum, we now know that not all sales are equal. The most desired sale is a sale to someone who has never been to the ROH before. Those of us who go a lot are the least desired sales. This was confirmed by the then ROH Chairman.

One might hope that Covid would provide the ROH with an excuse to dump the Maoist demands of the Arts Council (with the paymasters full approval of course) but, oh dear, what if ROH bosses still think like this? 
 

Just to say I notice a number of website issues coming up over the last day or two (including one or two new to me, they still keep showing skill at great innovation on the messing up front, well done the eager clever website elves!) These problems and idiotic marketing behaviour are discussed on anther thread, try scrolling down from around here:

https://www.balletcoforum.com/topic/27634-royal-ballet-casting-for-autumn-2023-24/?do=findComment&comment=418212

As predicted the discounts have started. Try code DUPRE25*

Contrary to what it still says on the Sadler’s Wells website here is the programme for last night (there were some last minute changes in the running order but all - except I think one piece - was performed):

5 hours ago, MAB said:

The Cav and Pag is quite good.  

👍