Blossom

She was joint winner of Emerging Dancer and was clearly the best of all of the ladies. She danced the Esmeralda pdd beautifully. Definitely a rising star.

Yes, I think she is lovely with it as well. Very collaborative - ‘I think that we need to xxx’ not ‘you need to do xxx’.

Also worth noting in Bussel’s favour that as ‘the most famous British ballerina since Fonteyn’ (Alastair McCauley) is President of the RAD and is inspiring a generation of children who receive their exam certificates signed by her. Re coaching, she mentions her extensive coaching in the Ashton Rediscovered Raymonda Q&A. Even during her 5 years In Australia she continued to coach.

Very much enjoying making my way through these. Would love to attend these and I am local but just don’t have free Sundays!

Yes that’s the one. He was horrid to Klimentova- unbelievably so considering it was all being filmed as well! Grounds for constructive dismissal in any regular workplace....

I rather like the existing RB version, I like the opulence and one of the things I love the most about Swan Lake is the various character dances. Interesting Penelope that your mind wandered during the Mariinsky version- I absolutely agree and it wasn’t particularly memorable. Does anyone recall the documentary from years ago which covered Derek Deane’s staging of Swan Lake at the RAH? Assume it was the first year it was on there...? He was absolutely scathing about the number of bad productions out there... would be interested to know which ones he rated!

Just received the same offer from Official London Theatre- 50% off quoting OLT50. Am sad that they are struggling to fill the theatre.... I don’t think ENB would have the same problem at Sadlers Wells, it seems to be a Coliseum problem. Or has this always been an issue? The theatre is so tired as well and needs to be restored to its previous glory to compete with the ROH.

Cinderella and Bayadere also on my wishlist. And as much Ashton as they can! Would happily take my daughter to see Fille if it's on again.

Choked on my cup of tea as I read this news but delighted if it means I will get to see him more with his move. Glad he will stay in London. Interested to see when his first roles are announced

Not see SB live so not fair to comment but agree that it was a bit camp... I adored Red Shoes. Staging was so cleverand pacing of story done very well, loved the ballet within, loved music, loved the homage to the movie with the red haired Vicky Page. I would be interested to see it again and see if I still feel the same way. The Red Shoes film was much adored by my Grandma who I had hoped to take to see it but she became ill around the time it premiered and she passed away no more than 6 weeks before I saw it in London. Needless to say I was emotionally overwhelmed by the production.

Happy to hear they are showing the Nutcracker documentary again - I accidentally deleted it from my Sky box!

No crying as such but the following make me feel very emotional. Tamara Rojo as Marguerite. Alina Cojocaru and Natalia Osipova as Giselle- both for very different reasons. And Peter Wright’s choreography of Nutcracker grand pas de deux, the steps and the music are such a perfect fit. Although otherwise I could take or leave Nutcracker.

First of all, the critics were in last night- Gerald Dowler from Dancing Times and Clement Crisp on a night out together. Would love to have been sitting closer to see what they thought.... I don’t want to give a detailed review as I was feeling rather unwell last night (nothing contagious) but no way I was going to miss the performance! The orchestra, first of all was fabulous. The sets - and the moving sets in act 2 - capture the mood Ashton was trying to create brilliantly. Will be swotting up later on the set design with the article in the programme. Essentially, for both, DVD just can’t match a live performance. I thought Osipova improved with each act. I found her to be more boyish/tomboy than ‘strong woman’/Amazonian in act 1 - much preferred Bussell who I have on DVD (and I appreciate that’s a contentious statement to make having read the above). Act 2 she was stronger but Act 3 I think although the steps are challenging she better suited them. Some of the pdd lifts were a tad clunky but assume that’s just the joy of seeing her first night. Clunky dancing wise, I did feel that some of the act 1 dancing by Sylvia’s attendants was a bit lumpy in places, I think that’s just the challenge of all of those tiny, intricate steps from Ashton... having said that, Choe stood out for me, as always. Was pleased to see David Donnelly dancing in the Terpsichore PDD (can’t remember name of his character and don’t have programme on me right now). I had the pleasure of seeing Bonelli coach him at a workshop about a year ago now and as a result am enjoying watching him progress. Loved Bonelli- he seemed a bit shaky (hands!) as he went into his Act 1 solo but didn’t disappoint. Claire Calvert was a perfect Diana- she really embodies the Ashton style and this stood out for me. Oh and just to edit, Hirano wasn’t really my idea of a villain. He danced well but just didn’t convince me that he was the bad guy. Not a patch on Soares.

Have you tried watching RAD ballet tips on YouTube?

Do you have to physically go to the box office? I am less than a 10 minute walk away but it’s the getting out during the working day which is tricky!

Sorry to hijack but just wondering what level of ‘friends’ do you have to be to secure tickets for these events? They always seem to be sold out by plain old friends level...

Absolutely loved it last night, in fact, the whole programme was excellent. I was seriously concerned after having seen Aladdin which had zero highs and which made the company look rather lacklustre. I took my daughter to the performance which was her first foray into the non-classical world and it was great to see her engaged and literally leaning forward during this piece. The music went from bringing to life the discord between Pan and his followers which wasn't so pleasing to the ears (!) to a more harmonious sound by the end of the piece which helped to bring together the story telling. The sets were striking and beautiful, costumes added further dimension to the setting and the dancing was top class. It was full of the energy needed to open up the triple bill and couldn't fault the quality of the dancing (which I very much had done with Aladdin). Le baiser de la fee was a beautifully delivered classical piece. Loved Corder's choreography and there was a traditional full pas de deux which included male and female solo piece, allowing for a little showing off which I always enjoy. Loved the way the set slotted in and out of place during the performance, taking us from the forest to the village etc. When the fairy (of the kiss) lured the man away from his bride at the end, the choreography really demonstrated the hold the fairy had over him. The fairy costumes and headdresses were incredibly striking - beautiful but not pretty for the fairies were quite dark characters and of course there's an unhappy ending. Interestingly my daughter Penguin café... I have wanted to see this since I was about 10 which is the age my daughter is now. We both adored it - music, costumes, set - and it left us hungry for more, as well as contemplating the serious message around animals at risk of extinction. Not quite sure how the flea being at risk of extinction is a bad thing - interestingly, I read that Bintley wrote to some museum/archive to find out if any fleas had become extinct and received a reply to say that no-one has ever bothered to find out!. Loved how each animal was brought to life in dance with authentic animal like movements and the moments of humour which accompanied them. Hard pushed to pick a favourite piece within the ballet, but if pushed, would be between the witch-doctor-like Zebra and his vogueing lady zebras, the hilarious morris dancing flea tying the morris dancers up in knots and the fluid and lyrical rainforest people. Stunning dancing, loved the flow from piece to piece and left the theatre on a complete high. Overall a very enjoyable night with a little bit of everything - from contemporary/classical to true classical dance to something which I can't categorise at all. A delight to enjoy with the fresh eyes of a 10 year old also and to learn what excited her - less of the classical and more contemporary please. Previous expeditions have been to Nutcracker and Giselle - will definitely play it less safe in future!!

Saw Aladdin at Sadlers Wells on Thursday night and despite having read reviews in the press and here, I was exceptionally disappointed and considered leaving after the first act. It was my first time seeing BRB and was expecting to be at least dazzled by the great dancing which the programme promised. I wasn't keen on the music - kept almost hearing the Back to the Future theme and it was a bit blockbustery rather than balletic. Wasn't keen on the quality of the costumes which in places which looked cheap and gaudy. Most of all, the dancing seriously disappointed, but strongly believe that this was down to the choreography which was largely lots of petit allegro which confined dancers to very small spaces, racing through lots of steps without showing much in the way of style. There was little adage and disappointing pas de deux which could have developed out in to a bit more of a thrilling piece of virtuousity to give the show an energetic lift. The only positive I can think of is that my kids would probably have liked it (which is fine as long as I don't have to take them).

Thanks first of all for the guidance on finishing times. Another late start tonight but a perfectly timed cab! Any my thoughts from anyone on the music? The tempo seemed considerably faster for some bits vs the Royal Ballet at least and music on cd etc going back as long as I can remember...

Right, in cab on way home and desperately trying to avoid reading about the exit polls, too depressing. Loved The Dream, David Yudes' Puck was fantastic, as were Sambe and Hayward. Previously saw Symphonic Variations in New York, definitely prefer it at home at the ROH, was a completely different ballet to watch. M&A was one I was particularly looking forward to being a huge fan of Ashton. I have Rojo/Polunin on DVD and just love the chemistry and the passion. It wasn't quite right tonight except for the final scene which Ferri delivered well. I think the problem is that she is just too old.... There wasn't enough fire in her in the early scenes, was her line just not long or stretchy enough? Was it something about her upper back? Really can't put my finger on it. And then there were huge cheers for Ferri...

Really excited for Song and Sylphide in particular. Although it doesn't necessarily make sense, it works for me!

This completely feeds my love of history as well as love of ballet. In a parallel life I could quite happily have become an archivist (not specifically in the ballet world) if only it had crossed my mind at the time...

For anyone in London, Ballet Black are rehearsing one of their pieces and doing a Q&A this Thursday at Arts Depot in Finchley (where London Studio Centre is based). It's a free event. https://www.artsdepot.co.uk/dance/ballet-black-open-rehearsal

They are also performing at Arts Depot in Finchley (North London) which is pretty local to me, so I am catching them there. Really looking forward to it.

I have friends membership and logged in on the first morning to buy tickets for Mayerling as due to other commitments, I only had the option of 1 or 2 dates. I waited till after work to actually book and seats were almost all booked out, with some odd single tickets in the stalls being available then pretty much nothing else but the far amphi. That's for Soares/Cuthbertson. I have never seen tickets move so quickly in what was essentially 8 hours. i have just checked on the site as I know the number of tickets you can book with membership is relatively limited and this is what it says:- Advance booking ahead of the public - you can purchase between one and four tickets for most productions and sometimes up to six. However, the number will occasionally be restricted to two tickets for productions where there is exceptional demand. This is the same at all levels of Friends membership, so for so many tickets to disappear so quickly when performances are so highly sought after and therefore a max of 2 tickets per booking, is this something which a 3rd party could really get away with, or was this a proactive move by the ROH? Can't be a 'robot' sale given it was friends dates...