Duck

Well, I certainly wasn't trying to intervene there. Apologies if this looked as if.

Something that combines nature and art e.g., organising holidays that combine walking and ballet performances/ art exhibitions. In France preferably.

The last time I referred to Haydn as composer for the music that had been used for a ballet, it was actually Haendel, and it took me a while to realise the confusion. So this time it is really Haydn. Uwe Scholz made The Creation for Ballet Zuerich in 1985. The ballet company at the Opera national du Rhin, led by Ivan Cavallari, is the only company in France that has this ballet in its repertoire. I saw it in Biarritz last night as part of an annual local dance festival “le temps d’aimer la danse”. Each day of the Creation is introduced with a long, stamina-testing solo, before the corps comes on stage, in varying numbers and formations, and making wonderful use of the whole stage. E.g., a large group splitting into several smaller groups; a dancer starting a movement, and each of the other dancers following a count or two later with the same movement until they, one by one, dance again the same movement or stand in the same line. Ballet steps are clearly identifiable – sauts de chat, a variety of pirouettes, tours en l’air into one leg standing/ the other leg kneeling on the floor (there is surely a specific term for this), bourrees, and repeatedly grands jetes that are immediately followed by balances on demi pointe in arabesque. Some surprising elements, too – a pirouette in one direction followed immediately by a pirouette in the other direction, a dancer holding another dancer in front of him and then throwing her backwards over his head, where she is caught by another dancer. The first few days have solos, until half-way through a day is introduced through a long PDD, with the two dancers smiling at each other so brilliantly that I thought that this would be the day with the creation of human beings, in particular as the day that then followed showed three soloists. However the subsequent part of the oratorio made me wonder whether I had got somewhat lost amongst the days. The programme, unfortunately, consisted only of a four-page leaflet, and I believe a more detailed programme would have helped identify each individual day more easily, and how the different pictures on the backcloth relate to each day. The programme leaflet listed the members of the company however not who was dancing last night. Based on the dancer’s pictures on the opera’s web site, I haven’t been able to recognise that many dancers unequivocally (e.g., I don’t know the names of the dancers in that wonderful PDD half-way through) however Nicholas Jones drew my attention through his clear mastering of the repeated combination of jumps followed by balances immediately afterwards, and through his incessant smile whenever he was on stage. A beautiful display of humanity and joy. The applause was rhythmic and long. Ivan Cavallari will become the Artistic Director at Les Grands Ballets Canadiens after this season. Lucky Canada!

The Sadler's Wells web site now shows the running time, approximately 2 hours 20 minutes http://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/2016/english-national-ballet-giselle/booking

Without trying to take this thread off topic - try Eric Vu-An's company in Nice , he is adding his version of Raymonda III and DonQ, and Petit's L'Arlesienne to the repertoire this season.

Read the book over the summer, watched the video (is this when Julien leaves the seminary and arrives at the La Mole household?), got the ticket. Thank you, both, for pointing me to this. I look forward to seeing how Scholz condensed the 600+ pages into a little more than 2 hours, and how the tumultuous relationships between Julien and Mme Rênal and Julien and Mathilde are translated into PDD

A list of cinemas in France that show the documentary Reléve from tomorrow http://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=245961.html. I am not clear whether this site lists all locations in France, also as the list is still growing, however for anyone looking to see this in Paris, there should be plenty of choice.

The Courtauld Gallery in London will host an exhibition about Rodin and dance. It includes both sculptures and drawings and will run from Oct 20 to Jan 22, 2017. http://courtauld.ac.uk/gallery/what-on/exhibitions-displays/rodin-and-dance-the-essence-of-movement

Very occasionally, I watch opera, and this very much depends on the topic or story of the piece. Luckily, I looked at the Sadler’s Wells web site in July, searching for a programme that would help me get through the summer break. This is when I discovered Britten’s Owen Wingrave at the Peacock Theatre, which I saw last night, and also for the first time. The set and the props are a clever example that something uncomplicated can be very effective and powerful - a black backcloth remains in place throughout the opera and shows an infinite number of lines of names in white font, reminiscent of war memorials; numerous replica rifles hang from the ceiling for a good part of the performance; a group of boys ride on hobby horses to simulate a military parade in Act 1. The set and props, together with the clear storyline and the performances, created a very powerful atmosphere that drew me in completely. I don’t watch opera often enough to be comfortable without surtitles however last night, with the exception of Owen Wingrave’s peace aria in Act 2, this was less of an issue than I feared initially. The isolation of Owen Wingrave and the oppressive atmosphere at Paramore was incredibly distinct and discomforting. Owen Wingrave’s death in the haunted room of the house, with the group of boys throwing hundreds and hundreds of pedals of red poppies on the floor around his corpse, left me rather emotional. I most enjoyed Dominic Sedgwick in the title role and James Liu as the narrator, the latter providing a very moving account of the death of a young member of the Wingrave family at the hand of his father centuries ago. There are further performances of the opera on 6 and 9 September, and excerpts will be performed on 10 September. With some spare seats towards the back of the stalls last night, tickets for the forthcoming performances should still be available.

Regarding accommodation - serviced apartments can help save on the food bill, and they tend to be more spacious than hotels in the same price range

The pass still existed when I was last at the Louvre in February. Coming from London where many museums don't charge an entrance fee except for special exhibitions and just ask for voluntary contributions, visiting museums in Paris can seem & be expensive. The pass could be a worthwhile alternative if the plan is to see as many places as possible in a short period of time. I haven't tried the pass yet though so don't know how it works in practice. Checks upon entry are very thorough throughout, I'd recommend carrying as little as possible with you. The Paris Opera offers day-time guided visits in case you can't get a ticket for a performance.

The Orangerie for Monet's waterlilies http://www.musee-orangerie.fr/en The Rodin museum (& the bistro inside the museum offers inexpensive lunch) Queues for the Louvre can be extensive, I would recommend pre-booking a ticket Cheap tickets for the mixed ballet programme at POB in early October are currently sold out however return tickets on the main web site as well as tickets on the ticket exchange form of the opera tend to appear especially within the last 2 weeks before a performance, however they do tend to go very quickly once made available A walk through the Marais, completely free of charge Pere Lachaise for its atmosphere

I went just over the 30-minute limit to edit the above post, so here separately additional comments From a test after I bought a first ticket, the pass, however, still does not allow to buy tickets at a discounted price for more than one performance of the same show. It does allow to buy, however, more than one ticket for the same performance of a show. The seat categories that come with the discount vary from performance to performance, and currently not every performance offers the discount. So hopefully discounts will be allocated to additional performances over time, depending on ticket sales. In relation to Ratmansky's Sleeping Beauty which is starting in a few days' time - discounts are available for some performances.

Just seen by chance on the POB web site https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/ticketing/spectators-offers/pass-opera. The Opera de Paris offers a 20% discount for tickets in the more expensive seats for a range of performances (ballet & opera) for the holders of a new Pass’ Opéra. The pass is limited in numbers. Once bought, it gives access also to those performances for which public booking has not opened yet.

For those who would like to see Ratmansky's Swan Lake and can't get a ticket for the performances by Ballett Zuerich, here the link to the performances by the Scala in Paris in November http://www.viparis.com/viparisFront/do/manifestation/palais-des-congres-paris/LAC+CYGNES+-+SCALA+MILAN=12927 Ballet Biarritz Mandalain's new season http://malandainballet.com/en/tournees/2016-09 - including e.g., The beauty and the beast, Cinderella, a new ballet Noah

I like keeping it to a specific week as this will limit the number of posts of "I am going to ..." within the same thread, and thus facilitate searches for the same date.

I used the space for the signature (my settings -> signature). Now that I've added a second performance there, I've noted that the signature has been amended also for previous posts I like the idea of a separate thread as the information that I am sharing about upcoming performances is only visible in my signature ... so if I am not posting anything, the information won't be visible to anyone. Ideally, the thread would be able to handle posts about a variety of upcoming performances in a way that a specific performance can be identified easily (something like a database that can be searched/ sorted by date/ location etc., not sure whether the forum has such an option?). ----- edited for typo & last sentence

The much-discussed documentary "Releve" about the creation of Millepied's "Clear, Loud, Bright, Forward" for POB last season will be shown in cinemas in France from 7 Sep http://www.kmbofilms.com/#!relve/csap If anyone is aware of a launch in cinemas in the UK, thank you in advance for sharing related information

Results of this year's competition https://www.facebook.com/444071619046404/photos/pcb.990810121039215/990809987705895/?type=3&theatre Congratulations to the laureates as well as the winners of the other prizes and awards.

Based on experience, badges can be difficult to spot. I have thus now stated the next performance that I will be watching in my signature and will review how this works.

ABT has published the casting for the two lead roles for their performances of Ratmansky's Sleeping Beauty in Paris in September http://www.abt.org/calendar.aspx?startdate=9/1/2016

I saw this tonight and agree, it is fascinating to see the dancers perform from so close up. The pieces that I enjoyed most were Zweisamkeit, Are you as big as me - a funny piece with three male dancers of different height (Theophilus Vesely, Louis Stiens, Alexander McGowan), and Pine (choreographed by Louis Stiens and danced by Agnes Su, Angelina Zuccarini, Alexander McGowan and Robert Robinson), which I found quite hypnotising in its PDD. I wish the ceiling of the dance studio would have been higher as I think it impacted on Robert Robinson’s jumps in Le Corsaire. Tickets for the two performances at the Medina Theatre on the Isle of Wight this Friday and Saturday are still available. The programme is mostly different from that performed last year, and at a ticket price of £12 & for a good cause, there is every reason to see this year’s programme. Robert Robinson explained that he plans to expand BalletWorks to other places in the country in support of local charities. I wish him every luck and success in his endeavour --------- edited for typo

Thank you, Angela. I saw Aeffi and Fancy Goods when the company was at Sadler's Wells a few years ago, and I found Goecke's style interesting and completely different to anything I had seen previously. Nijinski has been enlightening and transformative as the movement vocabulary was matching the story so brilliantly. Looking at next season, it has moved Goecke's Kafka with Stuttgart Ballet into my list of must-see performances.

She is really special, and she is testament to the fact that dancers at Stuttgart Ballet can progress through the ranks very quickly. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung published a picture of her and Friedemann Vogel in the Tchaikovsky PDD http://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/russische-tanzkunst-bolschoi-ballett-feiert-jubilaeum-14358356.html (bizarrely, this picture is the cover of a short report about the current visit of the Bolshoi in London). Their overwhelming smiles are part of what made their performance on Sunday so thrilling.

I stumbled upon a book by Philippe Grimbert on Saturday that mentioned Nureyev in its title ("Rudik l'autre Noureev") and that seemed to show Nureyev on its cover. I was intrigued and thought that it might be a book about someone with the same name, someone who pretended to be Nureyev, etc. I turned the book round to read the description and realised that it is indeed about Nureyev - it seems that following a visit to Russia, he contacted a Paris-based psychoanalyst. A review in Le Figaro states that the book is not a biographical exercise even though the sources are reliable and the reality always comes through ("Mais il ne s'agit pas là d'un exercice biographique même si les sources sont solides et la réalité toujours affleure") http://www.lefigaro.fr/livres/2015/03/05/03005-20150305ARTFIG00025-noureev-sur-le-divan.php. I did a search for a UK publication of the book by Grimbert and can't find any. Does anyone happen to know whether the book has been published in the UK & I just can't find it on the web? Thanks in advance.