Springbourne3

I believe Melissa Hamilton will also be dancing one of the Shades tonight according to her Instagram account

Graemew - what an apt description re - dust cloud - it looked just like one!

I was at the ‘Bayadere’ livestream yesterday and it’s been a while since I’ve seen this ballet (has never been a favourite of mine) - however, I really enjoyed this production and was quite entranced by the Shades entrance last night. It was like looking at a reflection in a hall of mirrors when you see your reflection going on into what appears to be infinity - the dancers worked in complete dreamlike unison and lead by the wonderful Romany Padjek (perfectly placed every time) - I didn’t notice any wobbles from any dancer throughout either. The dancers that stood out for me in the Shades corps, besides Padjek, were Isabella Gasparini (giving her all beautifully and sincerely) and Sae Maeda (quietly gracefully confident in the front row). The applause at the end of the Shades entrance was loud and prolonged - well deserved and I think it’s one of the best I’ve seen. The three Shades - Choe seemed to lack her usual joy and I thought her (first) variation lacked attack and she looked a little nervous. I thought that out of the second and third variations, danced by Nahgdi and Takada, Takada had the slight ‘edge’ with soaring elevation and solidly held aresbesques - just stunning. Nunez was outstanding and I thought she was a class above Osipova last night (just my opinion) - gracious, sincere and with beautifully executed classical technique. I thought Osipova over-acted at times and it just didn’t ring true and she didn’t seem to have convincing passion for Solor. Muntagirov just gets better and better - I think the role of Solor really suits him - he can dance so very beautifully and act so very convincingly. Beautiful lines and port de bras. Other dancers that stood out last night for me were, Elizabeth McCrae ( ‘pink ladies’ pas de quatre Act 1) beautiful quality/footwork and always ‘on’ the music and a glowing Nadia Mullova-Barley and Leticia Dias in the corps dances. A couple of negatives were the poor lighting at times - particularly after Núñez performed a variation and when she came back on to take a reverence she just disappeared into darkness - there were a few comments about this from people in the cinema audience. The last at act was disappointing in that it seemed to of been cut short - where was the earthquake and special effects that Darcey B had mentioned in the previous interval? All we could see were lots of lamps flashing around the stage then blackness for a good few minutes.....and suddenly we jumped to the final tableau....end of story.......I remember from previous productions the lightening and the giant Buddha collapsing etc etc. It felt as they had run out of time and the story hadn’t really been properly concluded. it was lovely to see Markarova on stage at the end though.

It’s a shame that the talented Chun-Win Lam just missed promotion to Coryphée this time (he was placed third in the men’s Quadrille to Coryphée promotions).

https://www.dansesaveclaplume.com/a-la-barre/1033555-concours-interne-de-promotion-2018-novembre-resultats-des-danseurs/ Results of the Paris Opera Ballet’s recent Concours interne de promotion

Finola Hughes was the original Victoria (White Cat) in 1981 - she trained at Arts Ed in predominantly musical theatre so it will be interesting to see how Miss Hayward will interpret the role! I think that it can only be a positive opportunity for her (and other members of the RB) to extend themselves as a dance artistes - good on K O’Hare!

Congratulations to her and thanks for the update.

Thank you so much - it’s a possibility!

So far I’ve managed to view the Australian Ballet, Vienna State Ballet, Houston Ballet and Norwegian National Ballet sections of WBD (lots more to see as yet) and watched all the RB section on the day. Love love love the Australian ballet but the company class was ruined in my opinion, and as mentioned by others here too, by the continual chatting between the AD and the presenter (who was parading around in a tutu at the very beginning??🙈) - just so annoying that it went on during the whole class and for most of the Australian section..... They have an amazing studio space (and pianist) to dance in and Ive always loved their grand allegro/pirouette sections on WBD as they all seem to have so much athletic attack and such great elevation - good to see some talented new dancers (Yichuan Wang in particular) in the company too. Would love to see their ‘Sleeping Beauty’ production. It was good to see the work of the Norwegian National Ballet and introduced by the AD, Ingrid Lorentzen, as I’ve never had an opportunity to see much of their work before - great to see Zenaida Yanowsky coaching Manon’s solo to the lovely Melissa Hough. Must definitely try to get to see this company at some point. Still lots of WBD to catch up on - highlights for me so far were the RB Shades (Romany Padjek, Sae Maeda, Isabella Gasparini and Katharina Nikelski looking particularly beautifully and appropriately dreamlike), the 2nd year Upper School RBS students looking like they were absolutely loving what they were doing in their PDD coaching class (Julie Petanová shone in group 1) and Joe Sissens in the Charlotte Edmonds piece (he stood out in the RB class in my opinion too). Still much more to catch up with though.

‘Slight’ difference in the coaching of the Engrance of the Shades from two ‘Bayadéres’ (Bolshoi/RB) - one was shouting criticism in a humiliating way and the other was full of praise and encouragement......It made rather uncomfortable viewing (Bolshoi). I thought the RB Shades looked so serene and graceful - cant wait to see them soon and I noticed a quietly confident Sae Maeda in the front row - a future talent to watch out for I think. What happened to Mayara Magri?

World Ballet day on ITV News at Ten with Carlos Acosta interview now

I’m going to be literally glued to my seat all day - great line up of worldwide ballet companies and particularly looking forward to the Paris Opéra, Vienna State Ballet and Norwegian National Ballet 2 slots. It’s a shame that NBC and SFB are not included this year, but great to see Alvin Ailey and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens included in this year’s USA/Canada line up. It would also be good to see some of the work of the Rambert and Phoenix dance companies in the UK - but I guess there is just not enough time in one day. Pleased to see that the RAD London also get a slot as it’s the biggest dance teaching organisation in the world (and being a retired RAD teacher myself!) and many of the RAD Genée award winners are dancing in dance companies all over the world - what about the PDL too?

Thanks for posting - I have tickets for the Bristol Saturday matinee so far

I would love to see her Juliet and I really hope that she will be cast again this season - I’m a loyal fan of Hamilton’s from her YAGP days.

It’s being screened in my sleepy part of Wiltshire at a new cinema complex near to me - I checked for seat availability and not one seat had been sold as yet - wasn’t there a fairly recent Nureyev documentary shown on TV with ‘previously unseen footage’ of him??

Patrick Dupond was born in Paris on March 14, 1959. He began his’ ballet training at the age of 10 with Max Bozzoni, a private teacher. By 11, he was accepted into the Paris Opera Ballet School. There, he combined his academic studies with his ballet work, and also found time to continue private training with Bozzoni. Advancing rapidly, Dupond entered the Paris Opera Ballet at the age of 15, breaking the company's long‐standing rule never to admit anyone until the age of 16. Dancing in the corps de ballet, he was soon chosen for a few important solo roles, notably in Roland Petit's “Symphonie Fantastique” and “Nana” (in which he partnered the Canadian ballerina Karen Kain). I think the film is possibly from 1992 but not completely sure on that and I believe he now has a dance Academy in Bordeaux, France.

I’ve tried to like Don Q but its never been a ballet I would want to go and see - the Acosta version practically sent me to sleep (not to mention his recent ‘Carmen’ 🙈 just awful). It’s a shame that the RB have included Don Q next season as, in my opinion, I don’t really think the RB excels in this ballet. I don’t think they excel in ‘La Bayadere’ either and I’d be happy if all three ballets never entered the RB repertoire again. Bring back Massine’s ‘Le Tricorne’ with De Falla’s evocative music and those Picasso designs.....far better than Don Q! Olé!

😂😀 here is the complete Bolshoi ‘Spring Waters’ pas de deux with Bylova and Nikonov 💖 enjoy

I would love to dance the beautiful Nocturne from ‘Les Sylphides’. I saw this performed as a young child and thought it was just magical with the Chopin music, the moonlit woodland setting and the corps de ballet poised like ethereal white statues around the stage. The other title/leading roles would be, Juliet ‘Romeo and Juliet’ - rebellious and tragic💔 the Firebird from ‘Firebird’ - exotic and mysterious🔥 ‘Manon’ - romance, trickery and tragedy 💋💍 ‘Cinderella’ - the fairytale transformation and to make that ballroom entrance sur les pointes down the staircase 🌟 ’Giselle’ - betrayal, tragedy and forgiveness 😢😘 ’Sylvia’ - that Pizzicato variation would be tricky though🏹 ’Pineapple Poll’ 😃 just fun! ⚓️ and last but not least, and just to make that spectacular run and dive into my partner’s arms, the Bolshoi’s ‘Spring Waters’ pas de deux.....phew Which partner/partners would we dance with though?

Beautiful dancer RIP

I understand what you mean - so perhaps I should add that my old and very baggy Ondine t-shirt was great for a pre-class warm up and then for after class - the image of Fonteyn in black and white was very eye-catching. There was a small collection of t-shirts that were sold at the ROH in the 80s with beautiful photographic images of RB dancers 😃 I found the photo in question taken by Roger Wood...so beautiful

When I had my dance school I also started adult ballet classes - mainly for beginners and those who had attended ballet classes in the past. As the classes grew they became quite a ‘ballet social event’ as we would all meet up for dinner before going to watch a ballet performance or live cinema screening. Some adult pupils even entered for ballet examinations and their new found passion for ballet encouraged friends/family/colleagues to also become interested in ballet. I even had a few rugby players who ‘had a go’ at some ballet classes to help with their rugby skills and became completely hooked on the art as a result.

Would love to see ‘La Peri’ (1956) - I have books and books with photos of a very exotic looking Fonteyn in the title role - and would also love to see ‘Façade’ again too.

I used to have a t shirt too - which I bought from the ROH years ago when I was a dance student - it had Margot Fonteyn as ‘Ondine’ on it and I literally wore until it fell to bits! I had quite a few comments on it and so was a way to share some of my ballet passion. I also taught dance for years and that was a great way to share and nurture ballet passion! 💕

RIP Diana Vere