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bridiem

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Everything posted by bridiem

  1. bridiem
    Yes, I think it's the 'no apparent effort' that's key, here and in all balletic steps. I've just watched (since it appeared in my Twitter feed this morning) a youtube clip of the pas de deux in Rhapsody, danced by Collier and Baryshnikov. What really struck me was not just the beauty and harmony of Collier's dancing, but it's apparent effortlessness. She moves - and looks - as if ballet is the natural expression of human nature and every step is the simple expression of her thoughts and feelings as they soar in harmony with the music. Stunning.
  2. bridiem
    If Hallberg now has that designation, it's strange that it hasn't been announced.
  3. bridiem
    So sad to hear this. I didn't know John personally but he was clearly a wonderful and much loved person who has contributed so much in so many ways. May he rest in peace, and I send my sincere condolences to his family and friends.
  4. bridiem
    I think your duckling theory may be right, maryrosesatonapin, since my favourite Swan Lake is still my first, i.e. the Royal Ballet's production of the late 1970s with a beautiful Ashton Act I waltz and his choreography for Act IV. Maybe it's because that was when I was first finding dancers I loved and encountering the great ballets for the first time. Or maybe it's because it was beautiful, lyrical and traditional. The current ENB proscenium arch production is very like it, so that is my favourite current production. And I agree with all your comments about the Scarlett SL.
  5. bridiem
    I wouldn't call 10 performances 'ridiculously large', though it does look like more than usual. But I'm normally dismayed by how few performances there are of triple bills, given the amount of work that goes into staging them, and especially if it's a successful bill. All three works in this bill are top quality, so I assume the ROH thinks they will sell.
  6. bridiem
    If the aim is to make Francesca Hayward look like a boxer in boots, it's a great photo. Why anyone would want to do that beats me.
  7. bridiem
    I've only now been able to look properly at the casting (many thanks for your wonderful spreadsheet lists, Dawnstar!). I'm very glad that Magri and Sambé are doing Swan Lake (even if only one performance). But apart from that, and in spite of all the riches on offer, I'm afraid that my initial reaction is one of extreme disappointment because two of my personal favourites, Alexander Campbell and Claire Calvert, are nowhere to be seen. I mean literally nowhere. (Unless either of them eventually pops up in the Scarlett second cast). So I'm basically in a bit of a strop at the moment.
  8. bridiem
    I think you make a very important point, Toria. The live screenings are hugely important in that they reach so many people who will never go to the ROH (many of whom will also be UK taxpayers and so indirectly helping to fund the ROH). So it's really incumbent on the ROH/RB to ensure not only that the repertoire broadcast in these screenings is as all-encompassing as possible but also that the casting is spread as widely as possible so that as many as possible of the company's leading dancers are seen by these audiences.
  9. bridiem
    Well I'm not sure Ireland did well in their second innings... (nor England in their first!). What a bizarre match. I can't quite see how it's possible to only score 38 - that's impressively terrible. But I'm English by birth and Irish (and South African) by heritage, so I also hope Ireland has great success (though preferably not against England).
  10. bridiem
    Really interesting replies! Thank you. Except that I do now feel more of a temptation coming on...
  11. bridiem
    From FionaE's original post, I think it must be Nikolas Gaifullin.
  12. bridiem
    Thanks, Jan. I suppose I got frustrated because the rehearsals open to the public/Friends now generally do seem to be 'full dress rehearsals' which to me is just performance-lite. I'd love to see more rehearsals of the type you describe. (I rarely go to masterclasses etc now, because (again) they've got more expensive over time and so compete with the cost of a performance. But I do very much see the point of going to those sorts of events.)
  13. bridiem
    Following on from a discussion about ticket availability for rehearsals at the ROH in another thread... why do people go to rehearsals? (Genuine question.) I used to go to rehearsals - RB and others - occasionally when I was younger, because a) they used to be cheaper than they are now, and b) they were sometimes 'real' rehearsals, i.e. aiming to get things right on stage before opening. Over time, they became simple run-throughs of the work/s, differing in no significant way from a performance except that you didn't really know if the performers were 'giving their all' or not. So I no longer saw the point of going to them when they used up money that could be used for a performance. I remember an LFB rehearsal taken by Beryl Grey years ago - she was in the auditorium with a mike, directing the rehearsal, correcting mistakes, etc - it was fascinating! But rehearsals aren't like that now. So I'd be interested to hear why people go. (I hope I'm not too enlightened, since I already spend too much on performances!).
  14. bridiem
    At this rate people will be in their early 20s by the time they're deemed ready to be a full member of a company! Seems strange in the light of past generations, and tricky given how short most dancers' careers are. But I do understand the posts above about when young dancers may or may not be ready.
  15. bridiem
    Glad it's not just me... (I am resigned to the fact that I have never heard of a lot of people who are apparently superstars. Or if I have heard of them, I don't know who they are.)
  16. bridiem
    I suspect it's not uncommon for professional bodies to require not just a subscription but revalidation of qualifications nowadays. (With retirees paying a lower subscription.)
  17. bridiem
    I had the same experience when doing a real booking (I hadn't noticed that the tickets were supposed to start at £14 - I just thought the pricings were a bit unusual!). No booking fee added to the total although it did appear in my 'basket'. All a bit confusing.
  18. bridiem
    I received an email from ENB today including photos of the company packing up to leave Markova House.
  19. bridiem
    It makes me so angry. She's playing a white cat, for God's sake! Is it a problem if a white performer is playing a brown or black cat?? Bizarrely ridiculous.
  20. bridiem
    Oh dear - I now foresee potential elements of the reviews, if the film turns out less than well...
  21. bridiem
    I saw the original musical many years ago, and thought it was brilliant. But I wouldn't expect a film now to bear any resemblance to that; I don't know what people were expecting, but I think it looks cleverly done (in its way). There's always going to be a compromise between people looking like cats whilst actually being people, so (again) I don't know what people were expecting. If the final result all looks very artificial and slick I imagine I won't like it much; but a lot of films nowadays are like that. Anyway, I will see the film when it comes out (though I'm not sure I would have if it hadn't been for Francesca Hayward being in it).
  22. bridiem
    Perhaps a ticket tout has hacked the ROH website.
  23. bridiem
    Yes, it is a modern perspective - it must have been standard at the time for very young teenagers to get married/have children (otherwise Shakespeare wouldn't have written the play wot he wrote!). But I'm glad the ballet allows Juliet (and her parents) to look a little older (at least some of the time), since from a modern perspective a 13-year-old getting into this sort of situation (and ending up dead) would not be dramatic or tragic but straightforwardly appalling.
  24. bridiem
    That makes her mother an extremely young mother... Is any indication given of her father's age?
  25. bridiem
    What an incredible final. I'm so sad that Federer lost, but it was a brilliant match and Djokovic is amazing, especially given he had moreorless the whole crowd against him too. There were times when I wanted to weep at the sheer beauty of Federer's tennis, and in a way that's a greater achievement than winning a match. Talk about stress!! What with the tennis and the cricket - I was switching to the cricket at every changeover and that got more and more tense and then the super over (of which I had never heard until today) happening at literally the same time as the tie break! Unbelievable stuff. The moment of England winning the world cup will rank with Jonny Wilkinson's kick for sheer ecstasy and unbelievable drama. You just couldn't make it up. I LOVE SPORT!!! Totally exhausted now (having spent all afternoon and evening on my sofa).
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