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bridiem

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Everything posted by bridiem

  1. bridiem
    Yes, I thought the extras were excellent too - really good interviews, as always, and an enlightening few minutes of Darcey Bussell in the studio with Takada. And I thought Kristen McNally was a very good presenter, but I do wish that the script for the presenters would sometimes be a bit more informative and not just endless enthusing about the production. It makes it all sound a bit juvenile. The audience is quite capable of deciding for itself if what they are seeing is exciting and wonderful; what some might need or appreciate is a quiet bit of exposition about the work we're about to see/are seeing. (Some of this is provided in the interviews, but the presenters could/should do it too.) That said, I really like Ore Oduba as a presenter.
  2. bridiem
    So sorry, Fiz!
  3. bridiem
    I saw the live screening tonight - full house in Wimbledon. Scintillating dancing from everyone, and such commitment and energy - just brilliant. In fact it was almost too much for me - there was so much activity and busyness and acting going on that I felt quite exhausted (sitting there in my comfortable seat...). Maybe it was seeing it all in close up that made it a bit much; it'll be interesting to see what it's like seeing it from the Amphi later this month. Takada and Campbell both pulled out all the stops. Unfortunately the second one-handed lift in Act 1 went wrong, but they dealt with it very professionally and the rest of the performance was immaculate. I did find Takada too reserved though; she smiled winningly, but I never felt she was actually inhabiting the character. But technically she was amazing and so beautiful. Campbell was brilliant technically AND I found him totally credible (and very amusing) as the charming, smitten lover. The rest of the cast worked their socks (or tights) off, and I thought Anna Rose O'Sullivan was a thrilling Amour - so fast, and so bewitching. I can't say that Don Q will ever be my favourite ballet (and I'd forgotten quite how bonkers the plot is), but it's worth seeing for all the superb dancing opportunities (and the striking design, in this production).
  4. bridiem
    I don't think that choices are always just 'preferences' (though sometimes they are); sometimes I do think they're actually flawed (though I fully respect the right of others to make them, and to disagree with me.) And my comment about Scarlett was responding briefly to the previous post, which had made and quoted brief general comments about him as a choreographer. I didn't expand further because I didn't think this thread was the right place to enter into an extended discussion.
  5. bridiem
    Yes - I've had an increasing feeling since the autumn that the ROH (as opposed to the RB) no longer seems to know what it's doing. Awful PR with statements then being denied/contradicted, poor new cast sheets subsequently replaced by the old ones, awful problems with the new website, incorrect casting info and inadequate notice of cast changes with some attempts then made to rectify the situation, the Linbury sightlines problems and apparently only knowing about them after the event; etc. After my (extremely dispiriting) visit to the Linbury on 8th Feb, we emerged on the ground floor and made for the exit into the Piazza only to find that it was locked (even though they must have known that the Linbury audience hadn't yet left). It was really the last straw and left me feeling that I was in a poorly run amateur venue. And yes, I take no pleasure at all in saying all this. And I don't know why it's happening.
  6. bridiem
    Well, that's good, I suppose. Not sure why it took audience feedback though.
  7. bridiem
    I'm sure this is true. However, I do wonder if seeing the RBS students perform is really of great interest to a wider public coming to the ROH (as opposed to family/friends etc and those with a serious interest in ballet) and that may be at least part of the reason for the slow sales of these performances. Perhaps a stronger marketing campaign would have helped; but watching ballet students perform is quite a specialised interest so I'm not sure (especially since there were 3 performances).
  8. bridiem
    I do agree with this generally - occasional use of projections can be effective, but it usually has the effect of making the dance action look small and irrelevant. However I don't think that was the case in Vixen (which some of us did in fact like).
  9. bridiem
    Maybe it's a Musicians' Union thing? (If so, all the leading dancers should surely have the same right?).
  10. bridiem
    I was referring to works such as Sweet Violets, The Age of Anxiety and Frankenstein, all of which I think were so chock full of design, plot, steps, and characters that they were ultimately less successful than they could have been (in spite of all the works having merits - I often really like his works at first viewing when I get swept along by their scale and ambition, but on further viewings I get frustrated by the flaws). It's really good to be ambitious but I sometimes think that 'less is more'. And as you know I think that the ending of the new Swan Lake is misjudged, marring what was otherwise a great achievement. I haven't seen most of his works created for other companies, but I thought that No Man's Land for ENB was excellent. And I do have a great deal of respect for Scarlett - he has undoubted choreographic talent and a lively imagination.
  11. bridiem
    Well I will reserve judgement about Frankenstein until I've seen it again. But I do think that Asphodel Meadows is the best thing he's ever done; which is not really as it should be. He clearly does have talent, and a sense of visual drama which I like; but he also too often has flawed judgement which mars the end product.
  12. bridiem
    To me that's all part of the bird symbolism that's used throughout the ballet, in respect of both women and men. i.e. birds (and people) being trapped, discontented, sharp, silly, beautiful, petulant, hesitant, fearful, seeking freedom, seeking a partner, flying away, coming home, coming together, sharp wings/elbows, soft wings/arms, etc etc. These are not 'just' real people, they're telling universal truths (in a stylised, balletic form). Even for someone like me who is a bit bird-phobic, I find it very effective, very amusing at times, and very moving.
  13. bridiem
    Who is Zachary Farouk? I don't think he was fast-tracked through the RB (or if he was I missed it!).
  14. bridiem
    Extraordinary the strength and longevity ballet training confers. Must be Pigeon Ferri.
  15. bridiem
    Well it would certainly be very different from either of those! But I would say it's worth a try, especially since it has apparently had some tweaking since its première.
  16. bridiem
    I find the rather broad 'acting' in Act 1 essential to the story. The characters don't have names, and I think they move from being archetypal Silly Girl and Boorish Boy, with a correspondingly immature relationship, to the more nuanced and mature people they have become by the end.
  17. bridiem
    Terrific evening. I really enjoyed The Cunning Little Vixen; I was a bit afraid when it started (and having read the synopsis and the list of characters) that I would find it twee and winsome, but in fact Cunning LIttle Liam has produced a work of real charm and humour that also challenges the older dancers technically. I loved the projections - really beautiful, and fully visible from the side Amphi. And the cast were excellent, especially Madison Bailey as the Vixen, Liam Boswell as the Fox and Daichi Ikarashi as the Frog. And The Two Pigeons was just magnificent. Yasmine Naghdi was so beautiful and moving, and very funny in Act I; although she was being annoying and petulant you could also sense her fundamental seriousness, and her despair when the Young Man left was palpable. Fumi Kaneko was impossibly glamorous as the Gypsy Girl and Valentino Zucchetti a thrilling Lover. Alexander Campbell once more displayed his virtuosity, musicality and fine acting, and he and Naghdi were so touching together. The final pas de deux was the essence of beauty and romance as remorse met forgiveness and blossomed into the knowledge of love. When the second pigeon flew perfectly into place, the audience couldn't contain itself and the applause and cheers were ringing out long before the curtain fell. ANOTHER night to remember. And the more I see of The Two Pigeons the more bowled over I am by it.
  18. bridiem
    I made most of the above points in my reply to Customer Services, and have received another email from them saying that all my points are being looked at.
  19. bridiem
    I've received another email from Customer Services about the view from Upper Circle A41 and A42. They say that the producers of the Royal Ballet performance have revisited the sightlines and are happy to give me a 50% Gift Certificate in relation to my booking. I assume (hope) that this means that the seats (and other similar ones) will be acknowledged to have a restricted view and set at correspondingly lower prices in future. I'm obviously glad to be receiving a partial refund, but it still all seems bizarre to me that a) the theatre was designed in this way when it is usually going to involve performances (by the Royal Ballet or anyone else) where being able to see matters; and b) the sightlines were either not tested in advance and priced accordingly, or (even worse) were known to be bad in advance but not priced accordingly on the grounds that the audience probably wouldn't complain. I wonder how many seats will now be re-priced? And how will that affect the projected income for the Linbury??
  20. bridiem
    Yes, but it should be discussed in the first instance - or at least at the same time - with whoever programmes the Linbury for the range of performances of which dance is only one (but not the only one that would be affected by sightlines). In fact I'd be surprised if the RB decides on pricing for seats in the theatre when it's performing there.
  21. bridiem
    Well it's either buck-passing or genuine lack of understanding. I'm not sure which is more concerning.
  22. bridiem
    I contacted Customer Services on Friday night about the sightlines (from A41/42 in Upper Circle). I received a reply today saying that they are sorry to hear of my experience and will contact the Royal Ballet about this and get back to me. I find that rather strange. Surely the RB was only one participant in the planning of the new Linbury? The sightlines relate to the theatre itself, not to the particular company performing at the time. The same problem will occur whoever is performing. (I have replied to this effect.)
  23. bridiem
    Very true, Ian. I could just have said 'Does no-one simply aim to produce dance to music?' - I don't suppose anyone chooses music they don't consider to be good (or presents what they consider to be poor choreography). But there seems to be a tendency to over-intellectualise the approach. No (or very few) words are needed to present the context or purpose of an abstract work; all that matters is what we see, not what the choreographer was thinking about when s/he was creating it. It may (and probably should, if it's good) mean all sorts of different things to different people.
  24. bridiem
    Yes - no cast lists available in the Linbury, apparently, so buying a programme is unavoidable. And I found most of the notes about the works really quite preposterous. Lots of complex, huge ideas apparently being expressed in these short new works! Does no-one simply aim to produce good dance to good music any more??
  25. bridiem
    I quite agree, Bruce (except that I think having 3 resident choreographers works against inviting people in in sufficient numbers) - I was really looking forward to seeing these new works. But if this was the best available in terms of both new music and dance, God help both art forms. (And in fact, I don't think it is the best available. I do wonder how and why the works/choreographers/music were selected.)
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