bridiem

I was delighted to read your post, @Tiptoesmama - it sounds as if it couldn't have gone better! I'm so glad you both enjoyed it so much. (I find that when the tree is growing, I just stop breathing... so I understand your tears!). I hope you will go back before long, but I'm sure that neither you nor your daughter will ever forget your first visit.

26 minutes ago, Missfrankiecat said:

May I add to the list of public behaviours which make me grind my teeth - public grooming and preening!  I sat next to an adolescent last night in the stalls who spent most of the performance applying and re-applying lip gloss and tossing and fingering her long hair.  How the people behind tolerated all the movement in their sight line, I cannot imagine.  The worst bit was in the interval when she took out a brush, laboriously groomed, and then picked the hairs out of her brush and threw them on the floor.

Yuk!

6 hours ago, alison said:

So, this coming Sunday, all on  BBC4:

 

8 pm - Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker! (anyone know if this is a new recording, or a repeat?)

9.30 pm - 2 episodes of The Magic of Dance

12.35 am - repeat of Nutcracker!

2 am - Darcey Bussell: My Life on the BBC (I don't remember watching that one previously, but it actually looked quite good)

Then catch a few hours' shut-eye before the Bolshoi Coppelia on Sky Arts at 6.15 am!

The Darcey Bussell programme was excellent - a lot of lovely extracts of her dancing and more wide-ranging than I'd anticipated.

ENB Tweet: 'In this evening’s performance, Ken Saruhashi replaces Edvinas Jakonis as Nephew, and James Streeter replaces Giorgio Garrett as Drosselmeyer.'

1 minute ago, LinMM said:

Really enjoyed the talk/films/masterclass posted above. 
I remember this pas de deux very well and Fonteyn and Nureyev made it magical as well. 
Is this kept in the RB current production of Sleeping Beauty does anybody know? 

No, it's not. It seems to be generally thought that it's too different from Petipa stylistically. Personally, I'd be tempted to include it.

21 minutes ago, alison said:

It's early days in January yet - maybe someone forgot?

No doubt - that's what proofreading (before going live) is for.

54 minutes ago, Blossom said:

You must have caught this mid update as it now says 2024!

That's good; but wouldn't it be better to proof-read an update before it goes live on the website? Just saying. (And yes, I know it's the promotion that matters not the website... but it's just annoying that they're so sloppy.)

The ROH website already shows him as a soloist and says that he was promoted in 2023. ? Presumably a typo re the date, but you'd think they'd wait anyway since they've given a specific future date for the promotion. 

Tweet from ENB: 'Principal casting update for this evening’s performance: Francesca Velicu replaces Shiori Kase as Clara; Ken Saruhashi replaces Erik Woolhouse as Nephew; Noam Durand replaces Victor Prigent as Nutcracker; and James Streeter replaces Henry Dowden as Drosselmeyer.'

On 02/01/2024 at 18:28, Odyssey said:

Not sure if this is the best place to put this ..

Ashton Masterclass Anthony Dowell coaches Melissa Hamilton & Reece Clarke in Awakening pas de deux from The Sleeping Beauty.

https://youtu.be/njZM4YxEE5M?si=SNzTEuT_KsFH5FQS

 

Wonderful and very enlightening masterclass, and so moving to see Anthony Dowell working with today's dancers. His beauty, lyricism and musicality are still, to me, the pinnacle of classical ballet and it was clear that both the dancers held him in the most enormous respect. His constant emphasis on plié, flow and being less geometric were very telling. Also an interesting introduction from Jane Pritchard. Invaluable.  

The RB has in fact done Les Sylphides a number of times in my 'era': I saw it at the ROH in 1978, 1981, 1991 and 2009. (I was surprised myself to see this! Feels much longer ago.)

ENB Tweet: 'Principal casting update for this evening’s performance: Shiori Kase replaces Emma Hawes as Clara; Erik Woolhouse replaces Vsevolod Maievskyi as Nephew; Victor Prigent replaces Skyler Martin as Nutcracker; and Henry Dowden replaces James Streeter as Drosselmeyer.'

Thank you Sim, and thanks to all the Mods. You do a brilliant job in keeping this forum running smoothly and giving all its members the opportunity to share, listen and learn.

Happy New Year to everyone.

11 minutes ago, Tiptoesmama said:

Just looking at booking tickets for Swan Lake.  If you need to return a ticket can you only get an account credit? We have a guest who might not be able to attend nearer the time.  I don’t understand the resale request section of the website - it says you can only request resale within 24 hours of the performance? 

Yes - until 24 hours before the performance, you can only get a credit to your account. From 24 hours before the performance, you can return it for resale - so it's a risk unless the performance is very well sold/sold out, because it might not re-sell. 

6 minutes ago, Jake said:

Has never been quite the same for me since I learned that Peggy Mount didn’t actually sing Climb Ev’Ry Mountain!

I'm sure she sang it in her soul 😇.

17 minutes ago, Jake said:

                   Missed the last ten minutes of The Sound of Music 

I had to stop reading at this point through sheer horror! Makes me feel positively faint... However I'm glad you enjoyed An American in Paris!

Not sure if this has been posted somewhere else, since it's radio, but just in case not: seen on Twitter: 'Christmas morning - How to Play 8.30am @BBCRadio4  - the Royal Ballet Sinfonia @BRB invite us into their rehearsals as they prepare for their Christmas performances of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. Producer Chris Taylor. Whole series @BBCSounds'

ENB tweet: 'Principal casting update for today’s matinee: Katja Khaniukova replaces Erina Takahashi as Clara; Ken Saruhashi replaces Daniel McCormick as Nephew; Miguel Angel Maidana replaces Matthew Astley as Nutcracker; and Giorgio Garrett replaces James Streeter as Drosselmeyer.'

37 minutes ago, Mary said:

Mark Morris seems to have spent much of his career trying to counterbalance all the misery, and is amusing on the subject of 'why on earth does modern dance have to be so miserable'. His work often has a sense of humour and a lot of joy.

 

Yes, Mark Morris is an honourable exception. As is Paul Taylor.

7 minutes ago, DVDfan said:

Well, if the programs are getting rebalanced towards happy works, that's good news. About time too, I might say, if I was being curmudgeonly!

I don't think you were being curmudgeonly, DVDfan! It does seem to be the case that comedy and happiness are more difficult to portray than drama and tragedy; but I think that there's also a sense especially in contemporary dance that it's terribly important to be serious and to be seen to be serious. (Whereas in fact, all aspects of life are equally important. How would we understand tragedy if we didn't also know happiness?).

Here we go again - ENB re this afternoon: 'Principal casting update for today’s matinee performance: Erina Takahashi replaces Katja Khaniukova as Clara; Daniel McCormick replaces Ken Saruhashi as Nephew; Matthew Astley replaces Miguel Angel Maidana as Nutcracker; and James Streeter replaces Giorgio Garrett as Drosselmeyer.'

3 hours ago, Sim said:

To continue from my first post....I thought this was a really super debut from Aiden O'Brien.  He was coached for the role by Gary Avis, so naturally he had a great head start.  However, he is the one who has to deliver onstage, and this he did, in his very own way.  Here was a younger Drosselmeyer, mysterious and magical. I kind of fell in love with him. You could see his brain whirring all the time:  I loved all his little details, like during the party he kept looking at the toys (and at one point tapped the rabbit on the head with his forefinger) and a small smile crept across his face; he was planning how the dream was going to work, and each toy's part in it.  He made his love for the Nutcracker very clear in how he was cuddling it to him after he fixed it.  He was so considerate of Clara when he was inexorably propelling her towards her strange dream.  And...the tricks all worked, and his cape action was great!  I had a very warm feeling today, secure in the knowledge that the future of Drosselmeyer has been established.  And yes, I feel I can say that after only one performance.   I really wish I could see him again in the role this run, but for those who have yet to do so, a real treat awaits, imho!  

Just to mention that Gary Avis has posted a photo of himself and Aiden O'Brien on his Instagram account, and the words: 'Super proud of this one today - a fabulous Herr Drosselmeyer debut from @aiden_ob @royaloperahouse. Thank you for listening and trusting me during the rehearsal process - a thoughtful, calm and authoritative start to your Drosselmeyer journey - huge congratulations'.  Very generous comments; and AOB clearly has had the best possible coach for this role!

Tweet from ENB: Principal casting update for today’s matinee: Katja Khaniukova replaces Fernanda Oliveira as Clara; Ken Saruhashi replaces Aitor Arrieta as Nephew; Miguel Angel Maidana* replaces Henry Dowden as Nutcracker; and Giorgio Garrett replaces James Streeter as Drosselmeyer.

*Debut in role

Excellent performance this evening - individual excellence from Naghdi, Ball, Pantuso, Ikarashi and Sasaki, and Gary Avis displaying a kind of corporate excellence that seemed to generate, command and direct the whole affair. He told the story, he created the magic, he watched over and guided every dancer and every moment, and he brought it all to a close with both emotion and panache. Stunning. He changes the whole dynamic of the show, in a way that is quite breathtaking and completely masterful. He seems to become part of its creation - not just a performer, but an equal to Wright/Ivanov and Tchaikovsky.

I was thrilled by Viola Pantuso's Clara - she has such beautiful arms! (And legs!). And she danced beautifully as well as responding well dramatically. I can't wait to see more of her. I also really enjoyed Daichi Ikarashi as Hans Peter. Mariko Sasaki was an elegant Rose Fairy, and Naghdi and Ball glittered impressively as Sugar Plum and her Prince.

Wonderful.

I also wanted to record a conversation I heard in the lift at Covent Garden tube after the performance, even though it has no relevance to anything! I found myself standing next to a tall, elegant couple with their little girl aged about 7. The little girl was in her best coat and gold ballet shoes, so it was easy to guess where they'd been. And this was their conversation:

Little Girl: 'What time is it?'

Elegant Mother: 'About 10'

Little Girl: 'Is that late?'

Elegant Father: 'Yes'

Little Girl: 'Nina says that she goes to bed at 11.30, and that when she's 8 she'll be allowed to go to bed whenever she wants to'

Elegant Mother: 'Well she's talking absolute gibberish, dear'.

For some reason I found this exchange touching, amusing and strangely reassuring.

Tweet from ENB: Principal casting update for today’s matinee: Fernanda Oliveira replaces Katja Khaniukova as Clara; Aitor Arrieta replaces Ken Saruhashi as Nephew; Henry Dowden replaces Miguel Angel Maidana as Nutcracker; and James Streeter replaces Giorgio Garrett as Drosselmeyer.