bridiem

I was in the second circle, but for the special occasion I'd treated myself to row B (normally I'm in row O or similar!). I looked round to see if it was well attended, and it did look to be, but I couldn't see all the way back so it could just have been the front area that was full. So not sure!

It was so hot at 6pm today in London that after a few minutes walking to the tube (en route to Sadler's Wells) I literally felt as if I was getting sunburnt. Crazy. Thank God the forecast is for it to be cooler tomorrow. I can't wait for the autumn...

Yes, I must now add Hobson's Choice to my highlights! Such a beautiful, joyful ballet, with gorgeous music and designs, and brilliantly danced by BRB.

At the end of Hobson's Choice tonight, as well as the 'Mossop and Hobson' sign going onto the shop front, a bigger sign of the same design came down from the flies saying 'THANK YOU DAVID'. It was brilliant! Lovely speeches from Sir Peter Wright and from David Bintley himself (and, before the performance, from the Chairman of BRB). A really loving, affectionate, emotional farewell. AND it had been a wonderful performance, led by Samara Downs and Lachlan Monaghan. I'd forgotten what a superb ballet this is.

Well the trouble is, of course, that it's not possible to know in advance if a new work will be good, so it's a bit difficult to include specific new works/works not yet created in lists of favourite ballets or ones you'd be happy to see every year. But in general, yes, new works are absolutely 100% essential, every year. Though there would be many views about who should be commissioned, of course...

Thanks trog - sounds like fun!

Now that's a very good and pithy question... I haven't seen Victoria, for various reasons, but have been reading the reviews and discussions with interest.

I saw this bill at Sadler's Wells tonight. I really enjoyed Lyric Pieces. It struck me in a way as very old-fashioned (and I mean that as a compliment) - just lovely, lyrical (of course!) classical choreography to quietly beautiful music. Nothing extreme, no great emoting, nothing hugely technical, and with simple, clever design. Nothing saying 'look at me'; just dancing to music. And danced very well, too, with a very nice pas de deux at the end for Céline Gittens and Brandon Lawrence. A very peaceful, very lovely work. I mostly enjoyed Sense of Time too. I found the suitcase structure fascinating, and like Jan was concerned for the dancers' safety once it started coming apart! My friend said she thought that most of the cases would in fact have been secured, with only a selected few released to fall off. (I'd never have thought of that!). I wasn't at all sure what the piece was about (and I didn't buy a programme), but I gradually thought it might be about the precariousness and instability of modern life (or of all life, I suppose). The choreography became a bit repetitive after a while, and I began to lose patience when a dancer walked slowly across the stage with an open suitcase (with a light on inside it) over his head... but things looked up again after that and the ending was satisfying. I was completely bemused by Peter and the Wolf. I'm afraid I didn't like it anyway - the sets, the choreography, the costumes, the whole conception really - but above all I had no idea why this was on a bill otherwise clearly aimed at adults. It would be OK for a children's matinée, but why on earth was it on this bill? The music is fun, of course, but the piece just didn't work for me in any way. So it was a very disappointing end to the evening, and as Jan said a very unbalanced bill.

In spite of my (long!) list above, I do largely think you're right, jmhopton. (Though long as it is, my list still leaves out many of my favourite ballets.) If there was to be only one ballet that was scheduled every year, for me it would be Swan Lake (the production I mention above) because of the combined and transcendent power of the music, the choreography and the themes.

There is now a separate thread for this, sybarite2015@, in case you haven't seen it yet.

Fascinating review, Nogoat! I'd love to have seen this.

Yes, I surprised myself in that! I realised I don't feel the need to see any of the 3-acters every year, though I'm very happy to see them regularly. Whereas some of the one-acters are CRUCIAL!

There are lots of ballets I love but could manage without for one season. I realise that my list is inextricably linked to the music I love most. And largely comprises works that really involve a lot of dancing. But if time and money were no object, and if 'my' company had enough dancers, my annual 'core' repertoire would be: Swan Lake (the RB production before Anthony Dowell's) The Sleeping Beauty (the RB production premièred in 1978) Giselle (Peter Wright production) Cinderella (Ashton) The Nutcracker (Peter Wright, either RB or BRB) Requiem (MacMillan) Gloria (MacMillan) Song of the Earth (MacMillan) Scènes de Ballet (Ashton) Symphonic Variations (Ashton) Concerto (MacMillan) Symphony in C (Balanchine) Rhapsody (Ashton, in its original designs) Les Patineurs (Ashton) Rite of Spring (Pina Bausch) L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (Mark Morris) Then we could start on all the others (others I love, others I would like to see again, works new to me, new works, etc). It would mean very long seasons... But that's fine with me.

Wow! That's a lot of promotions! Congratulations to all. I'm delighted about Antoinette Brooks-Daw.

I'm really looking forward to further posts from Japan about the tour. The dancers are posting some lovely photos on Instagram! They clearly love being in Tokyo.

Well you already support the company by buying tickets, which is the most important kind of support there is.

Sorry, not sure of the relevance of 2001 - were new employment terms introduced after the re-opening of the ROH? I wouldn't expect that dancers could be demoted (now or in the past); but I would have thought their contracts could not be renewed (as has clearly been the case in the past).

Is it really a 'jobs for life' scenario? I remember, for example, Fiona Chadwick having to leave when she was still at the height of her powers. I had assumed that dancers were on annual contracts, but maybe that's not the case.

I find the 2nd circle at SW very bad for sightlines, and I'm tall. I regularly have a head in my way, because the seats aren't staggered. It was one of the (many) things that really annoyed me when the new SW opened. Why would you design a new theatre like that??

I do love this forum. 😍

Fonteyn and McGregor?! 🤔

But could they not have done e.g. a pdd from Birthday Offering or Swan Lake? At least something that Fonteyn actually danced!

Wonderful! I watched without sound because I'm in a cafe, but her dancing was so musical that I didn't need the sound. So lyrical and harmonious, and incredibly moving. Thanks very much for posting it, Springbourne3.

Yes, I thought that was odd.

I actually get a bit tired of the sense that the aim is to be as abandoned as possible (in all the MacMillan works, in fact). It's not a competition; it's art.