Blossom

Thanks Janet!

Slight diversion to ballets with are not considered palatable these days- Bayadère, Corsaire, potentially Fille, I found this sign at the Duke of York theatre tonight quite interesting… “This play is set in 1979 and consequently reflects some of the attitudes, language and conventions of the time”. Unfortunately cant work out how to shrink a photo file size on my phone…

I’m not going to see ENB’s Nutcracker because I just don’t like it. I wrote an email to ask Aaron S Watkin if he would mount a new version. To his credit he replied within 24 hours to say it’s early days for him at ENB but I certainly hope he views the Land of Sweets with a critical eye at the Coliseum at least. I find it is completely lost on such a huge stage for a start. In agreement on the food and drink situation- my friend had the displeasure of being covered in someone else’s glass of red wine at a performance of Manon pre Covid.

Littering in theatres is something I feel very strongly about and hopefully training the (not so) mini-Blossoms effectively. We take everything out with us if the kids have eaten or drunk anything (in the interval) at our seats. This is one reason why I adore the ROH, if you can't take anything in, then nothing will get left behind. Astounded by the chicken wing story though!

It was such a lovely treat today. Brilliant to have Hayward/Campbell AND to see Tsembenhoi/Rovero showing the (almost) finished results of their work from the studio insight. Having Gary Avis was the perfect icing on the cake. There were a few last minute cast changes so hoping no more injury news to follow and it was just a matter of clashing schedules.

I wonder if this is to try to keep things fresh or something else… Getting my fill while I can!

I thought this too. Especially the app on TV where there is no A-Z search.

Is there anyone who has had access to the stream for a while? Keen to know whether new productions are added monthly to further bulk up the content OR are productions added for a limited time and then taken away? I'd rather hoped for the former, but one of the reasons I signed up was for Coppelia which doesn't work on my TV (shows the insight under the production listing), shows 'coming soon' on my laptop and according to the Box Office I would like to inform you that we have now removed access to the performance content for the ballet titles The Dante Project, Coppélia and Like Water for Chocolate on Royal Opera House Stream. They will be available soon, so the pages can still be viewed and their wraparound and trailers are still available. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide with information about specific dates for titles to be added to the current Stream catalogue.

Terrible shame for James Hay BUT delighted to see Daichi instead.

Decided too late I wanted to book for 20/21 Dec… Looking for 2x£68 or £32 seats. Or would happily take one of the £32 loose seats and one of the more expensive ones on the row infront…

Luckily have seen her dance at the Nureyev gala which is one of the reasons I was particularly keen!

I have it on good authority that Fille hasn't been cancelled. Next season perhaps? I think it's a wonderful sunshine ballet and a great first ballet for kids. Would love to see this danced by the new cohort of principals promoted since the last run.

And yet, also a Friend but didn't receive any info. ENB comms can be incredibly hit and miss.

@Emeralds unfortunately i can't stay for longer!

Just to say as well in terms of the value of taking part, arts appreciation is as important as taking part/doing. I failed miserably at getting either of my daughters to enjoy taking ballet classes - or any form of dance - but one of them hugely enjoys the theatre. I've always taken her to ballet and dance so she is one of the lucky ones who has been in a theatre. She has friends from her previous state school who had never been to the theatre before by the age of 16, so now that she is participating in some of their cheap ticket schemes I am pushing her to prioritise them to go with her. They are unlikely to instigate trips themselves but I hope at least they will be able to recall their experience. Bear in mind one of the friends I particularly have in mind is studying English at A Level so the experience could really be elevated by seeing what she is studying on stage. Daughter #2 is more discerning (or less, based on the sorts of things she will happily see at the theatre) these days but I did get her to a number of ballets to experience them live and to experience a live orchestra, as well as concerts and musicals. Son is still a work in progress - still has to come to what he is told to! He is enjoying literature in year 7 and is exploring creativity despite being dyslexic and having ADHD. He writes incredibly creatively despite atrocious spelling (SEN driven) and somewhat enjoys art (but not being told what to do while he is building his technical skills) and his creativity just needs nurturing through experience - and this might just drive him towards a creative career. With a different parent, this might not happen. Parental apathy is a huge issue. At my eldest's previous state school, I organised a trip to Shakespeare's Globe for as many of my daughter's gcse year who would want to participate in a tour and workshop on one of the teacher strike days. Of a year of 90 students, we managed to scrape 16-20 as part of the group. In many cases, parents couldn't see the value of pushing their reluctant children to join. Those who did join really benefitted from the experience of understanding how plays were performed then, understanding the context of the theatre itself and also participating in a sort of drama exercise workshop to explore themes relevant to the questions they would be asked. Given the students live a maximum of 1 hour travel time from the Globe (London postcodes) this just baffled me.

I am a strong believer in this - and this is why BRB2 and the upcoming plans for London City Ballet are so important.

Raymonda casting has now been published on the site. https://www.operaballet.nl/en/dutch-national-ballet/2023-2024/raymonda/cast-sheet I'm disappointed not to get to see Maia Makhateli but it was unlikely as I'm going to the second performance. Thrilled to have Raymonda: Olga Smirnova Abd al-Rahman: Constantine Allen (don't actually know of him) Jean de Brienne: Victor Caixeta @art_enthusiast when are you going?

Linking to this, there's also a campaign from The Society of London Theatre/UK Theatre which launched in October which will be lobbying for the next Government to ensure that every child gets to experience theatre. From their launch toolkit: Launch-Toolkit.pdf (uktheatre.org) Every child has the right to experience and enjoy our country’s world-leading theatre. • SOLT & UK Theatre want every child to attend the theatre by the time they leave school. • Ahead of the next general election, we ask all political parties to commit to this pledge by ring fencing funding, to support schools to bridge the funding gap that currently exists for theatre trips. • There is strong evidence that going to the theatre provides cultural enrichment, has educational benefits, helps to build empathy, promotes well-being, and supports the growth of our economy. • For the theatre sector, ensuring that all young people have the experience of going to the theatre will inspire future audiences and our future workforce, helping to address skills shortages. The aim is to Provide cultural enrichment Spark interest in careers in theatre and address skills shortage Boost audience figures Support economic growth Despite challenging economic circumstances and the battle for every penny of Government budgets allocated, this campaign is about securing the future of such an important part of the economy.

Speaking of soloists, I feel that there have been some length of service prizes in terms of promotion to that level too.

A year later I seem to have got this offer, with nothing to pay til March. I wonder that says about streaming numbers? Also suggests that now is the time to test the livestream capability while still small numbers.

Thanks for this. I can imagine they would want people to buy it as a Christmas present so that makes sense.

Who else is in this Nutcracker? Rose Fairy, Drosselmeyer etc. Also, are we expecting Cinderella to be uploaded when it goes on sale on DVD? Trying to decide whether now is the time to trial. There is a £1 offer for 'Black Friday' but it doesn't seem accessible as soon as I log in. Wondering if Friends status negates the offer because of the existing discount. Does anyone know

I had been tracking this for days and then had a meeting after work and completely missed this. Had been hoping to get the £32 seats for New Year’s Day to take my 5 year old niece for the first time…

Given Nutcracker has an annual outing, it’s amazing that the Insights are still so fresh and provide a new window into the ballet. Delighted that both Marianna and Giacomo get to debut and wonderful to see them dance up close. Seeing the battle scene focussed on only Nutcracker/Hans Peter, it looks like an exhausting lead into the pdd so hats off to Giacomo who made it look anything but!! Also lovely to see a new Drosselmeyer in training and understand the finer details. In awe as well at the number of corrections/builds Gary Avis can store and then relay after the dancers perform a section. Left on a high but frustrated at the 2 week wait until the dress rehearsal.

Having seen the cast sheet I am crossing fingers that we might get Clara and Nutcracker pdd