bridiem

Evdokimova was amazing! Sadly I only saw her a handful of times. I don't think I ever saw van Hamel.

Well you can see above that you quoted me, Bruce, which is why I responded; but I wasn't offended, just rather bemused! At any rate - my good wishes to you too.

I'm not sure why you quoted me before making this rather indignant comment, since I didn't mention Onegin or Baryshnikov or Don Q at all in my list. For reasons I can't now remember or understand, I didn't enjoy Onegin when I saw it in the 1980s and have only come to appreciate it quite recently, so I don't feel I can reasonably nominate 'definitives'. (And of course others may well not have seen the performances in the 1980s.) And I didn't include Don Q because it's not a ballet that is really important to me (and no, I haven't seen Baryshnikov in it, either live or recorded).

When I started compiling my list, I realised that for me it’s pretty much impossible to say that any one interpretation of a major role has been ‘definitive’ because, no matter how brilliant it was, that would exclude too many other interpretations of equal but different brilliance. In fact, the only role for which I could do this is a character role where I do really believe that there has been/is one definitive interpretation… But I think this is because a great role does generally permit different great interpretations rather than one definitive one. Also, I find to my surprise that there are dancers I love/have loved who don’t appear on the list. I think that’s either because they are/were excellent in many roles but not necessarily ‘definitive’ in one, and/or because I haven’t yet seen them often enough in the role/s. (I do think that it normally takes a number of performances for me to consider an interpretation ‘definitive’, though there are a few exceptions to this below. This is also why the list is very RB-heavy, because I have seen more performances by the RB than by any other company.) And there are other roles I could have included, but this post would then be even longer… Odette/Odile: Collier, Makarova, Brind, Cojocaru, Rojo, Yanowsky, Kaneko Siegfried: Dowell, Muntagirov Aurora: Collier, Cojocaru, Lamb, Nunez Florimund: Dowell, Muntagirov Giselle: Evdokimova, Makarova, Cojocaru, Rojo, Lamb, Osipova, Hirata Albrecht: Nureyev, Dowell, Kobborg, Polunin, Morales Myrthe: Yanowsky, Heap, Quagebeur (Khan version) Hilarion: Jefferies, Gartside Cinderella: Collier, Cojocaru, Hayward Prince: Dowell, Muntagirov Romeo: Dowell, Kobborg, Muntagirov Juliet: Collier, Ferri, Cojocaru, Rojo, Lamb Manon: Wildor, Cojocaru, Rojo, Lamb Des Grieux: Dowell, Kobborg, Muntagirov Rudolf: Wall, Kobborg, Watson, Muntagirov Mary Vetsera: Seymour, Ferri, Benjamin, Rojo Lise: Collier, Hayward Firebird: Chadwick, Benjamin And yes – Drosselmeyer: Avis

I don't know who was involved at Sadler's Wells, but most of the protesters I've seen have been middle-aged or elderly people.

As the National Archives blog here points out, there is still debate as to whether the violent suffragette protests advanced or hindered their cause. And it does seem to be very widely held that the oil etc protesters are doing their cause no good whatsoever by alienating almost everyone who might otherwise support aspects of it.

I have a note that it ends at 5.30pm, but I don't know where I got that from.

You're right - I've just booked a ticket. I'm a standard Friend and wasn't expecting booking to be open until my ticket booking date! (Since that's what the email told me...). Thank you @oncnp. I hope you can get a ticket too now, @SheilaC. P.S. It still says 'Buy Tickets' even when I'm not signed in, so being a Friend doesn't seem to be relevant. (Maybe this is a mistake and booking will close again shortly! Who knows.)

Um, no - the experience of this 'epic urban set piece' is NOT as exhilarating as the action on stage (or off stage, whatever that means). Nothing is more exhilarating than what happens on stage (at least on a good night). And the tour doesn't include the auditorium, which is the whole point of the building and the most significant area into which there is normally no access unless you have a ticket!

Yes, it would be a great way to end each season. And would/could give opportunities both to principals and to more junior dancers.

I'm sure this is all correct, but for me it's part of the often rather sick social media game that is really a form of blackmail. If you don't post sexy pictures you won't get sponsorship. If you don't create an artificially perfect image of your life you won't get modelling opportunities. Etc. Apparently under the 'control' of the account holder, but really placing a lot of pressure on them to take advantage of what's on offer. (And thereby placing a lot of of pressure on many impressionable young followers to aim for an equally 'perfect' life.)

Reading this thread, I'm beginning to be very glad that I only follow a few dancers and often forget to check Instagram for ages anyway... I know that dancers have very strong bodies, and are often now visibly muscly in a way that was not the case in the past - deliberately so, when the aim was to have a beautiful line and to disguise the physical effort involved in ballet. But I would find a focus purely on physique inappropriate in people who are aiming at artistic excellence, not at having the strongest or most desirable body (which is something comparatively easily and regularly achieved by people in other fields, if that is their aim). And I think that such a focus could descend into narcissism, which must already be a danger in a profession where the focus is so much of the time on oneself and one's body.

Fascinating! And I'd no idea there were so many companies in the USA.

Thanks Jan - that's good to know. I've just emailed them to ask if I can still receive emails even though I'm no longer a Friend.

I resigned my ENB Friends membership in January - I hadn't been to a Friends event for ages and it's now quite expensive and I just couldn't justify/afford it at the moment (especially when at the time I had no great confidence about the direction the company would take under its new director). Since I emailed them with my resignation, I've heard nothing - no acknowledgement of my email (even though I'd been a Friend for many years) and no further emails about the company, though of course I'm still interested in them and will still be going to performances (information about which I now largely get from this forum rather than from the company). They should surely have (at least) two different email lists: one for Friends and one for others who have supported or bought tickets or shown an interest in some way. And, I used to work for a membership organisation and we always acknowledged resignations with thanks for their past support and the hope that they might rejoin at some point in the future; that was a very effective way of retaining goodwill and strengthening the possibility of getting them back in the future. It also gives you the opportunity to ask permission to retain their data so you can keep in touch with them, if that's deemed necessary. (And it's good manners, though I suppose that's considered irrelevant nowadays...).

Her online biography on the ROH website is not up to date (why not?) and I can't remember if she's danced Kitri before; either way, I assume you're implying that Hayward would not be up to the technical demands of the role. That may possibly be the case - she's not a whizz-bang technical dancer (to coin a phrase) and has different and very exceptional qualities that I personally value much more highly. I also don't actually think that Kitri as a role is worth the effort if you're not that sort of dancer - it's fun, but has little of the dramatic potential or interest of other leading roles.

Another strike: 'Aslef have announced a one-day strike affecting 16 train companies across England on Friday 1st September, but there will also be an overtime ban on the following day, Saturday 2nd September, which will likely severely affect the train company’s ability to restore services following the strike. The Saturday disruption will also be magnified by an RMT strike on the same day. So the likely effect is hardly any trains for two days.'

I'm dubious about ballet in the round and even more dubious about seeing it from the upper reaches of the RAH (where I have often sat for music concerts, and it feels very much further away than e.g. the Amphitheatre at the ROH or the balcony at the Coliseum). I went to John Curry's skating show there many years ago and could see very little from up top. And there's no way I would sit there AND pay the prices asked for. So I don't go to the RAH for ballet.

Also Mark Morris.

And, Colas lifting Lise up to kiss her from over the top of the kitchen door is surely a H&S outrage. Have they no sense?! And don't get me started on the bum lift.

Perhaps Peregrine would prefer to be in a Wayne McGregor piece.

So do I. The Two Pigeons without the two pigeons would not be The Two Pigeons.

Which makes it even more important to identify, cherish and stage those works that ARE masterpieces (or even just good, which is difficult enough to achieve).

I agree - my (badly phrased) comment actually related to all the new works at the RB in recent decades, not specifically Wayne McGregor. A lot of Ashton, MacMillan etc would I'm sure not be worth reviving - for much of their careers they were 'jobbing' choreographers who had to produce works to keep the show on the road, so to speak. But I do get the impression that new works have become more and more ephemeral over the years, with fewer and fewer being worth keeping, which is ironic given the greatly increased emphasis on 'creativity' and 'innovation' etc.

I appreciate that these are words that need to be used nowadays: innovation, daring, creativity, development, diverse, initiatives, etc etc. And I'm sure there are good intentions here, and it's true that the company does indeed often produce high-level theatre. I do note however that the word 'dance' is used nowhere above, which is interesting. Also that the RB's 'extensive repertory' is mentioned but in practice largely ignored. And it has to be admitted that in spite of these brave words, with a very small number of exceptions the new works at the RB in recent decades have generally been very disappointing. Wayne McGregor is a media darling and so usually gets generous reviews regardless of what he produces; but very little has actually been successful and very little will last. Even the late lamented Liam Scarlett was not, in my opinion, really fulfilling his great early promise, and I'm not sure why that was the case. Perhaps it would help if emerging choreographers in the field of ballet were encouraged and nurtured, rather than someone in the field of hip-hop who will never produce anything approaching a ballet let alone one that will contribute to the company's 'singular legacy'.