ninamargaret

Another way to be the,world's worst theatre goer. Last week I saw Twelfth Night in Stratford. Yes, it's a comedy, and even has farcical moments in it. But the lady next to me found every other word hilarious and came out with squealing laughter at whoops of delight at every opportunity. I was exhausted by the end of the evening.

Be careful - The Ring is extremely addictive! I've just parted with, to me, a small fortune to see it next October.

Have just noticed a Sleeping Beauty with Nunez and Muntagirov is being issued.

Not ballet, but some years ago the RSC put on a play called Tales from Ovid. In one scene two handsome young actors appeared wearing just very skimpy tops. I was at a performance where there were several very well behaved girls with their teachers.The girls got a bit giggly and I heard one teacher say to her colleague ' I think the girls enjoyed that'!

Haven't seen them in Manon, but no way am I going to miss it! Definitely a two hanky job, I would think!

I hope someone more technically knowledgeable will answer this but to my untrained eye Somes was very much a day certainly who had been trained in a style suited to British ballet as it was at that time. I didn't see the Russians when they came in the 50s, but I would have thought that any comparison between Somes and the Russians would have been down to difference in styles of dancing rather than lack of technique?

Have to agree with Floss about Michael Somes. He was one of the first male dancers I saw and I greatly enjoyed his performances with Fonteyn - certainly no evidence of rough handling in things like Cinderella, Daphnis, Ondine. Obviously the style of partnering and dancing was very different when he was around in the 50s/60s, but probably the same could be said for any dancer of that period.

my preference is for designs that complement the choreography but don't swamp it! I find the designs for McGregor's ballets are intrusive and just too 'over the top'. A simple, elegant design is far more to my taste. After all, I have come to the theatre to see dance, not annoying back projections, strange lighting etc. Yes it's clever, no, it doesn't add to dance. Classic ballets e.g. Swan Lake, Giselle, need designs in keeping with the period of their composition I think. And surely choreographers like Ashton and Macmillan chose their designers with care and those designs are part of their view of the production as a whole.

An article in The Times this week on 'ones to watch' also mentioned Joe Sissens

I remember the good old days when I had more money and less mobility problems and could happily see several casts in a run. Now, my resources, both monetary and physical, are less, and we have more marvellous dancers than ever before! Choosing which cast/casts to see is extremely difficult. What's a girl to do?

But before we get to Manon we've got Winters Tale, with some very interesting casting for Leontes, Hermione and Polixenes! I actually booked the Watson matinee by mistake, needless to say whether. I noticed it I certainly didn't return my ticket! Also seeing Bonelli as Leontes - will be fascinating to see how two such different dancers interpret the role.

And given the superb Mayerling with Morera and Bonelli I wouldn't miss them in Manon for anything!

I inadvertently did a bit of seat changing some months ago. Got myself comfortable in my SC seat. About 3minutes before the performance a couple came in looking at their tickets. The man said, very politely 'i think you're in my seat'. I took my ticket out of my pocket and confirmed I was in the right seat. The man got an usher who looked at our tickets and, embarrassingly, I suddenly realised my ticket,which I had taken from my pocket,was for a previous performance. The correct ticket was sitting comfortably in my bag. Profuse apologies all round, and the couple, on their first visit , were good company.

I think Spartacus is very much 'Soviet' ballet, a product of its time and the political thinking at the time of its,choreography. The old DVD with Mukhamedov is stunning and Acosta was not too bad either! I don't really think it's a RB piece, I don't even know if the Bolshoi still does it. Very much a piece of it's time. But I'd still love to see it on stage again.

I think Spartacus is one of the most over the top, bombastic, loud ballets ever and I would happily beat Jillykins to be first in the queue to see it! The only other contender might be the Leningrad Symphony, which I saw the Kirov do during a season at the Royal Festival Hall. I'm sure it hasn't been danced for years, but I remember being bowled over by it at the time.

What about Campbell.as well?

Always disappointed at the lack of enthusiasm for Les Noces. I think part of my enjoyment comes from remembering when Nijinska revived it and watching the corps anxiously and visibly counting to keep up with it's complex rhythms. The last performance I saw showed no such difficulties - just shows what an accomplished company the RB has become! Still think it's worth putting on with Les Biches.

Especially agree about Four Schumann Pieces. Watched it on You Tube recently and loved it.

well, I suppose Lise could be seen as a disobedient daughter, like Brunhilde! Swan Lake would seem to be suitable, with Von Rothbart standing in as a sort of combination of Fafner and Alberich. And the wind machines from The Wind could be useful for Valkyrie.

thank you Ellie. You've filled in the gaps for me. I thoroughly enjoyed his book, The Choreographic Art - taught me a lot.

LinMM, hate to say it but I think it was the 60s! I think they went on for quite a few years.

slightly off topic, but does anyone remember a small group of dancers from the Royal Ballet who did programmes explaining basic steps in ballet and one or two solos/ pas de deux? They toured to schools and small towns were there were no theatres. I think they were called Ballet for All. Saw a couple of their performances and they were excellent

I think.ballet suffers from a poor image in this country. It's very much thought of as being ladies in long white dresses,skipping about on their toes. The average theatre goer will probably go to Swan Lake, Nutcracker, maybe,if they're feeling adventurous even R and J. This is not helped by the Press, who,except for the more serious papers,tend to ignore it.And even The Times today in a section headed The best of the Arts totally ignored dance. Theatre, film, tv, classical music - dance just didn't get a mention. Don't know what the answer is. Theatres have worked hard at encouraging and educating children, and I am sure ballet companies try to do the same but I suspect lack of funds and poor perception of dance is the problem.

I wonder if Cinderella might have greater appeal if the sisters were played by women? This was the case when I first saw it in 1958. I don't know if this was Ashton's original idea but it was very different to the sort of panto dame that we have seen recently

Onegin essential, and I would also like Cranko's Brandenburgs. We have such a marvellous company now, this would be a real delight. Firebird, Les Biches, Les Noces, Dances at a Gathering, Cinderella, Daphnis - any would be welcome. Bit soon for another run of Mayerling but I wouldn't complain if it was included. I personally would like to see Flight Path as .I missed it because of illness. If the Moderators do not object it might be fun to have a thread on ' works that I never want to see again', headed, in my case, by Multiverse. I'm rarely bored by ballet but this was, for me, awful.