CheerwellMaker

I thought Hirano improved in the final act. I didn't find his solos particularly memorable but he does seem like a secure partner. 

Calvert and Lamb were wonderful. 

35 minutes ago, Mary said:

Who danced the bronze idol in these two performances, and how did they compare to first night- when I thought Alexander Campbell was super-?

The matinee was Valentino Zuchetti. I can't compare him to Alexander Campbell but I thought he was really good. 

If attendance is mandatory then payment should be too. Dancers shouldn't be expected to work for free. As an employer it's up to the Royal Ballet to budget accordingly. If they aren't providing a 90 minute class as standard then it's not a case of the resources being available and no one using them.

23 minutes ago, Livia said:

 

You're absolutely right and it's a pity that the business of class has become unionised and subject to contract, that a dancer should feel they're being hard done by if not being paid to take class.

I don't think not paying dancers for class is going to help anything. London isn't cheap and dancers can't live on air and art. Whether there should be longer more specialised classes is a different matter. 

The 1992 version of the Nureyev production by the POB is on YouTube in full. I couldn't compare to the royal's but the corps really are impressive in the shades scene. 

33 minutes ago, FLOSS said:

Here is my suggestion for the 2019-20 season.

 

As Kevin seems to need an excuse to stage any Ashton ballet except Marguerite and Armand perhaps he could use the Fonteyn centenary as his excuse for reviving a wider range of the founder choreographer's works than he can usually summon up the courage to stage. The company could  programme most of the works which were danced at her final performance namely Birthday Offering, Symphonic Variations and Façade. I don't think that Salut d' Amour which was created for the occasion should be included as it was far too dependant on Fonteyn's presence to be effective with any other dancer. It might  be a short evening but it would be one which would reveal quite a lot about the company and its state of technical health. A second mixed bill of Daphnis and Chloe, Scenes de Ballet and Les Patineurs ; another including Nureyev's staging of La Bayadere with a full compliment of thirty two shades, A Wedding Bouquet and a ballet in which Fonteyn would have appeared in her early years Les Rendezvous plus the following full length works Cinderella, Sylvia and Sleeping Beauty.

 

As much as I'd love to see the season you're suggesting, why the Nureyev La Bayadere over the current production?