CCL

Just to add, if you bought a ticket for the pre-Christmas showing, there is a special offer price when booking for this second cast. I have bought my ticket; I’d like to echo Northstar’s gratitude to BRB.

What a beautiful production, and how clever and imaginative to offer it to the public in this format! I bought the on-demand stream, and watched last night. Despite the lack of audience and applause it still managed to be absolutely magical and it raised my spirits no end. I loved Karla Doorbar’s wide-eyed, eager Clara, and her pdd with Cesar Morales’ nutcracker prince was all kinds of gorgeous. The snowflakes scene was utterly lovely too, especially the radiant Alys Shee. I am a huge fan of the partnership of Cesar and Momoko Hirata, and despite a shortened grand pdd, I was still enraptured. Thank you so much to all at BRB and Birmingham Rep who worked hard to make this happen.

Well, thank you very much for the tip-off- I am now watching on Netflix- the rest of my family are out, so for once I have the television to myself!

I have tickets for the first night of ENB’s Nutcracker, booked in a bit of a frenzy last Friday, forgetting all about the new rules which meant I couldn’t book my usual three seats...I was so relieved to eventually get something vaguely resembling what I wanted that I didn’t think at all about casting. I was surprised and pleased to see the announcement yesterday, and I’m delighted with the first night cast.

I’m from Manchester, and I love both! The football came from my dad, the ballet from my mum. It’s a pity that the MP spoiled a valid point about saving smaller, historic football clubs such as Accrington Stanley by making a silly generalisation.

Rather emotional, having been at last night’s performance. It was lovely to be back at Sadlers Wells, seeing BRB, and I’m so glad that all the planned performances of Lazuli Sky were able to take place. A little sad at implication of the further restrictions announced, but I won’t go any further down that road. I very much enjoyed the whole programme. I thought ‘Our Waltzes’ was gorgeous - joyful, innocent, emotional. I liked it as an opener for that reason - it was as if the dancers were telling us ‘We’re back, and we’re so happy to be back’. Momoko Hirata and Cesar Morales, ebullient and sparkling, stood out for me; I was also drawn to the tenderness of Tyrone Singleton and Samara Downs’ dancing. ‘Liebestod’ was danced by Tzu-Chao Chou, replacing the injured Yasuo Atsuji. This was a punchy, muscular, exciting performance, if very brief. ‘Lazuli Sky’ was a superb climax, full of adrenaline and beauty, tension and power, gorgeously lit and staged. The whole ensemble were excellent but special mention to Tom Rogers and Yu Kurihara. I’d definitely like to see it again, as there was so much to take in. Huge kudos to Carlos Acosta, Will Tuckett and all involved in this very special programme.

Thank you Lynette, the Northern line issue would have caused me real problems if I hadn’t known about it! Travel Plan B now sorted out...

Donated, and sincere thanks to all the moderators for all that you do.

My daughter got me two tickets for the Saturday night...counting the days 😊

I will be at work Monday 10am and not able to get to a computer- I have my daughter on standby to book for me. Fingers crossed...

I’m sad that I really didn’t take full advantage of what was on offer, partly because my concentration has been really poor during this strange time. Having said that, I really enjoyed some of the BRB At Home content, particularly Celine Gittens dancing The Swan, the gorgeous Alone Together, and the pas de deux from Concerto danced by Jenna Roberts and Tyrone Singleton. All of these were a joy to watch whilst poignantly reminding me of what is being missed. A huge thank you to all concerned. I also adored La Fille Mal Gardee from the RB, pure delight, an absolute tonic. I didn’t get round to booking for Sleeping Beauty this season, as I was prioritising other ballets, so it was a real treat to be able to watch - every time I see SB, I’m surprised that I had forgotten how much I like it, if that makes sense - especially the last act. I’m someone who really enjoys lots of divertissements, so it’s perfect. Lastly, I saw some snippets of the NB gala, and particularly the pdd from Madame Butterfly- lovely Momoko Hirata and Cesar Morales. These were my highlights.

I just completed a very short (one question) survey from BRB to say I would be able and willing to attend a performance of Nutcracker in Birmingham this Christmas. I’m sure other members of the forum have had this email today. I’d like to echo other comments that BRB have been impressively proactive in their recent communications.

Thanks again Dave M for highlighting this. It was absolutely charming - I had a real lump in the throat at the end.

Signed, thank you for the link.

Thank you Dave M, I’ve bookmarked your link. I wanted to catch this when it came to Sadlers and didn’t manage to, so look forward to seeing it on Sunday

I loved it, so grateful to all involved, it was joyful and life-affirming. Thank you BRB!

Ooh - I can’t wait to see this - thanks for the heads up Janet 😊

This was an absolute jewel of a performance from Celine Gittens, and from pianist Jonathan Higgins and cellist Antonio Novais. Carlos Acosta’s intro was lovely too - a beautiful present from BRB

I didn’t manage to get involved this evening but would love to next time! Really lovely, creative idea, Bristol Billy Bob!

Thank you! I’ve booked for April 16th

I haven’t seen Corybantic Games or Live Fire exercise before, but I’m curious and will probably book. Is there anyone who has enjoyed either or both of them, and would recommend this mixed bill?

I’m mostly in agreement with @JohnS, I think Yasmine Naghdi’s Tatiana loves Gremin, although she is perhaps not ‘in love’ with him. The resting of her head on his shoulder touched me; I think he makes her feel safe. It was a very moving and sympathetic portrayal by Bennet Gartside. I’m not sure I can add anything to what has already been said about Yasmine - she was stunning: her dancing was glorious and her characterisation of Tatiana so thoughtful and credible. She and Federico Bonnelli made a memorable partnership- he was electrifying in Act 3, the intensity of emotion was heart-stopping. The final moments where Tatiana was clutching a piece of Onegin’s letter, her mouth a buckle of anguish - well, the poignancy of it will stay with me for a long time. I thought Anna Rose O’Sullivan was radiant as Olga, and Joseph Sissens a most dashing Lensky. I sincerely hope ‘Onegin’ is revived again soon, because it’s a ballet I’d love to get to know better.

On my way home from tonight’s performance. My first ever Onegin. I feel drained! Such beautiful dancing and intense emotion. I’ll try to articulate properly tomorrow

I would like to echo Janet’s comments, it really was a wonderful night, my first time at the Evening of Music and Dance. I arrived feeling quite stressed as I got a bit lost between my hotel and the Symphony Hall, but I very quickly recovered my equilibrium as Nick Owen brought out BRB’s ‘newest recruit’, Carlos Acosta. I was really inspired by his enthusiasm and pleased that he made a point of emphasising that there is world class ballet right here in Birmingham. This got a big cheer, and rightly so. The Royal Ballet Sinfonia, expertly conducted by Paul Murphy, sounded glorious throughout the whole evening, and of the pieces that they played without dancers I particularly enjoyed the Intermezzo from Puccini’s ‘Manon Lescaut’, and the waltz from Lehar’s ‘The Merry Widow’ - I felt really caught up in the gorgeous sweep of this piece, which I hadn’t expected to do. Oh, and the Waltz and Midnight from ‘Cinderella’, which I adore (see below). I truly loved every piece of dancing, and would find it hard to pick a favourite. Samara Downs was a most exquisite Odette, beautifully partnered by Yasuo Atsuji in the White Act pdd from ‘Swan Lake’. I completely agree with Janet that it must be so difficult to dance pieces like this out of context and yet bring out the emotion, but they succeeded so well. Although I was disappointed not to see the duet from ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’ and Delia Matthews (and wish her a speedy recovery), I felt most fortunate to see the pdd from Cinderella - absolutely one of my favourites and one of my favourite pieces of ballet music - there is such a sense of yearning in it that it never fails to make me tear up, and this was no exception. We were told that Tyrone Singleton and Miki Mizutani had only had two days to rehearse it, which I thought extraordinary given the absolute security with which they danced witheach other - that incredible lift! I was deeply moved by them both. I have never before seen ‘Two Pigeons’ - this is something I need to rectify, clearly! The music, the beautiful bird-like choreography, Maureya Lebowitz and Max Maslen’s dancing, the two pigeons themselves- all so swooningly romantic. A few more tears! In the second half of the programme, Kit Holder’s new piece The Breath We Took was a delight. Danced to Greig’s lyrical adagio from the Piano Concerto, it had a lovely, stately feel to it. There was a real emotional intensity in the dancing of Céline Gittens and Brandon Lawrence, and this was beautifully reflected by the two other pairs of dancers, Alys Shee and Rosanna Ely, with Alexander Yap and Haoliang Feng. I would definitely like to see this piece again. The balcony scene from ‘Romeo and Juliet’, another of my favourites, was full of passion and longing. Cesar Morales was a boyish, fervent Romeo and Yaoquian Shang a ravishing Juliet. They absolutely epitomised the heady, giddy rush of first love, and I was once again very moved. The finale, the grand pdd from ‘Don Quixote’ was a tour de force from Momoko Hirata and Matthias Dingman, full of charisma, fireworks and high spirits. A fabulous end to the evening. It was lovely to meet Janet and have a quick chat on the way out. I have already made a note of next year’s Evening of Music and Dance, it’s not something I want to miss again.

I absolutely loved this evening- it was just about perfect. I’ll write more tomorrow, I’m a bit overwhelmed!