CHazell2

13 minutes ago, Irmgard said:

It all looked a bit manic, there were some very strange gestures and it certainly did not clearly tell the legend of the Wilis as taught by Karsavina to Mary Skeaping, plus the music for it was drastically cut.

Gosh, wonder why - Usually Alexei Ratmansky is good at that sort of thing. Maybe it was the choice of the dancer in that particular performance?

1 hour ago, Irmgard said:

 Sadly, in the bits I have seen, the mother's mime is not only badly done but is quite bizarre and is nothing like the one Karsavina learned from Petipa which she passed on to Mary Skeaping (and is now done in the Royal Ballet production, as it was in Ashton's and Karsavina's staging in the 1960s).   I shall wait to see the whole thing before commenting on the choreography 

Hi Irmgard

When you say that Berthe's mime is bizarre - what precisely do you mean? 

Did the mime not come across particularly well or did they use different gestures?

Sounds Fantastic

19 minutes ago, LinMM said:

Can anyone remember when Michaela de Prince guested as Myrthe in Giselle in London ....was it with ENB ...I don't think it was ...but can't think which Company it was. 

Anhway I seem to remember that in that performance a fugue was used in the second Act that isn't usually seen .....but was used originally in the ballet....I don't know whether this is the same fugue that Ratmansky is using. 

Yes, it was the ENB in the Mary Skeaping production, which in my opinion is one of the best Giselle productions out there and Skeaping was herself, a musicologist who studied the original Adam score in the Paris Opera House's archives and added the Fugue back in because she said, it showed the conflict between good and evil.

It does sound like Ratmansky is using the same fugue - be interesting to see how he choreographs it. I also hope that the mime is kept intact as Berthe's mime, in which she tells the legend of the Wilis is very atmospheric.

Absolutely can't wait to see this. By the sounds of it, it will be one of the historical informed productions ever.

There is a clip of the Rose Adagio with Darcey on Youtube. The link is

I hope that they film it at some point

The trailer looks splendid and it looks as though it deals with Rudolf's defection and time in Paris.

53 minutes ago, Don Q Fan said:

I think the run is already sold out I have looked several times and it's been sold out every time so no need to bolster sales with Polunin.

Yes I have seen his recent homophobic etc rant on Twitter some very upset dancers out there not least the Trocks.

I can't understand it and being gay myself - I find myself upset and to be honest - angry with Mr Polunin. I used to have a lot of time for him - I felt sorry for him and willing to see his point of view - I believe in live and let live and I wished him well.  I wonder why he has become so intolerant? But there is no room for hating people for no reason in my book - and there is quite enough of that about these days.

Merry Christmas to you all on here, and thanks for all the discussion that we have had on here. Sorry if I have been quiet recently but I have been so busy.

Why did it cause a scandal? It sounds rather intriguing. Was it not particularly not well researched or something? My French is a bit rusty

It's been on youtube for years

It is a reconstruction I believe 

I would love to see the Mariinsky again, hope that they will bring a Fokine triple bill as I always wanted to see Les Sylphides or Chopinana live on stage.

1 hour ago, Richard LH said:

Maybe Coppelia, La Fille du Pharaon, La Sylphide....? also Raymonda as already mentioned. 

I would love to see Coppelia again

I always wanted to see the Bright Stream so I will try and go to that. Otherwise I am afraid that I don't really care for the Bolshoi versions of Swan Lake and La Bayadere. I wish that they had decided to do Onegin as well though as I love the ballet

In addition to what Floss have said. I too, would love to see Enigma Variations and Façade back in rep - as I always wanted to see them. Unfortunately I think that Mr O'Hare is in an impossible position, in this current financial climate - it makes sense to have the big money-spinners in rep rather than ballets that perhaps that not many people are interested in. Sign of the times unfortunately. Perhaps Ashton will (like fashion) come back into style. Certainly the Royal Ballet is in a much stronger position technically and there are still people about who remember how to dance Ashton.

I know the Two Pigeons was a success but that may not be so for the other Ashton Ballets

1 minute ago, Douglas Allen said:

 

 

Might I add my support to what CHazell2 has just said?

 

I've been reading the comments under various headings during the last few days with increasing bemusement and bewilderment. I assume the moderators have been working overtime (for which, many thanks) as comments seem to come and go with bewildering frequency. One moment a comment is in place and I think how unpleasant it seems and then it disappears as if it had never existed. The general tenor of several of the remarks seem unpleasant and inappropriate for this forum and whilst I haven't the slightest intention of contributing in the increasingly polarised and tendentious atmosphere, I hope regular contributors aren't put off (even if, or especially if, I disagree with them).

Thank you for your support, Douglas.

I hope that everybody is Ok and that Livia hasn't put you off. I greatly enjoy our debates and I learn such a lot from all of you.

15 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

I saw one performance of that Sleeping Beauty and despite the fact it was Miyako Yoshida and Johan Kobborg I was bored rigid and never wanted to see it again!

 

Each to his own.

Just out of interest, why did that production bore you Jan? - was it the design or the chorographical text?

I saw that production too twice I think and I remember thinking that although the scenery and costumes were lovely - it was the wrong chorographical text - although I did enjoy the choreography for Carabosse in the Prologue.

I don't think that Petipa should be set in aspic - like the Mariinsky seems to be these days - doing the same tired old productions of the classics year in and year old.

I quite like to see a new production of the Sleeping Beauty as I think that the revived Messel one has ran out of steam. I know that it is an iconic RB production and bringing it back for the 75th anniversary a decade ago was absolutely the right thing to do but I think that it is time for a change.

I think too that the Awakening Pas de Deux should be restored as a) it is a beautiful Ashton piece with beautiful Tchaikovsky music and b) it provides a vital piece in the story as Aurora and the Prince get to see each other for the first time.

Another reason might be also that some members prefer the Leslie Hunty production 

10 minutes ago, Odyssey said:

Having read the posts several pages back from the member from the USA who was over here to see the production, the thread on the Ballet Alert forums is interesting for a more mixed set of responses. 

Hope MAB isn't leaving us.  I think the hot weather in the UK has got a few people hot under the collar.

Yes, I noticed that too. Why is that, do you think? What is the difference between here and Ballet Alert - in regards to the opinion held about Swan Lake

Please,, can we all agree to disagree. I really don't like the way that discussions and politics in general have become polarised in recent years. Life is rarely that black and white - there is always shades of grey.

We all have our favourite productions of various ballets - however that doesn't mean to say that those productions should be forever set in aspic. Every new production always brings something new to the mix - for example it may bring out things that we have never considered before.

I have always kept an open mind - and there is much to admire in the new Swan Lake - considering how Mr Scarlett was under a cloud from some quarters for Frankenstein. There will always be teething problems but they are the ones which are the easiest to sort out.