Sharon

I do miss her, such an exceptionally lovely ballerina especially in Ashton - her beautiful port de bras......

Mayerling, La Bayadere, Winter Dreams, Don Quixote, The Firebird. I'm sorry if I've forgotten any, but did Yasmine Naghdi debut and then be amazing in all these roles?

I couldn't write last night I was so overwhelmed. I witnessed greatness on that stage. Yasmine Naghdi is undoubtedly the Aurora of this generation, as Sim said. We all know that she has an amazing, assured technique so much so that it is almost taken for granted because she makes it look easy. But for me what was wonderful to see last night was how she totally embraced and lived this role. She was Aurora, from the pleased excited look on her face at her first entrance to the confident, unrushed balances in the rose adagio. You believed she was a young princess, Yasmine danced like she was. I want to mention her beautiful port de bras throughout, her hands, her arched and pointed feet but most of all the beauty and artistry of this very special ballerina. I shall never forget this performance the last time I was so moved watching SB was when I saw Viviana Durante. I never saw Fonteyn live, but I like to believe that she was smiling down and nodding in approval at last night's performance. I'm aware that this review has only mentioned Yasmine - and that is not a critique of the company because all the dancers were fantastic, special mention to Romany Pajdak. But the show belonged to Yasmine Naghdi.

Approximately 10 in our cinema tonight, I think, worrying. I loved the show, another opportunity to see this marvelous programme. The whole cast of Concerto were fantastic but the performance belonged to Yasmine Naghdi - what more can be said of this wonderful ballerina? Her musicality, her artistry and her phenomenal technique is always a pleasure to see. Enigma Variations was a showcase of the acting ability of the RB. I was so pleased to see Romany Pajdak again, she is perfect in this role it really suits her calm, romantic persona. In fact Romany was gorgeous in every ballet tonight , I can't wait to see her in more solo opportunities, it was exciting to see her partnered with Cesare Corrales in Raymonda. Another notable performance came from Hannah Grennell in Concerto & Raymonda. And Reece Clarke was excellent in Raymonda. The whole cast of Raymonda were brilliant though, especially Vadim Muntagirov as usual. One moment I thought was particularly lovely when the camera caught Isabella Gasparini with a big smile on her face as she watched Osipova in her solo. Just magic.

Just catching up on WBD, and it was great to see Kirill - the boy from the Vaganova documentary who Tsiskaridze disliked, taking part. I really hope he does well.

No lead principals and only 1 principal - Shiori Kase appearing in Liverpool. Are they all preparing for London?!

Or that beautiful Act 2 solo by Ashton in the Sleeping Beauty......

Yes I agree, such lovely lines. I honestly think Tsiskaridze is a bit of a bully, excluding Kirill from the graduation performance - I mean how petty / personal is that? It certainly wasn't professional. If Kirill was good enough to complete his training without being asked to leave, and also gain 4 in his final exam, despite being I'll, he was surely good enough to be in the graduation performance. It appears Kirill's successful audition at the Bolshoi was something Tsiskaridze couldn't accept, was it because Kirill independently contacted the Bolshoi or was is because it's Tsiskaridze's old company? I wish him and all the young men successful careers. And Tsiskaridze? Please try to nurture and encourage rather than pick favourites and bully others!

I love this video

Outstanding performance from the company last night (12th). I was particularly interested in seeing Jamar Roberts first choreography for the company 'members don't get weary' - and I was really impressed. He obviously is a very talented choreographer as well as being a beautiful dancer as seen when he guested with the RB in 2016. Although I've seen Revelations several times, I can't help but be amazed and impressed at the choreography, imagine the impact this ballet made in 1960. And I have to say I wonder if Macmillan ever saw this ballet because some of the movements in the pdd do remind me R&J.... The company at large are looking and performing so well that it was a real pleasure to see them again. Watching #aileymasterclass live this evening I wished I'd had the opportunity to take part in such a fantastic class when I was young. Inspirational! I sincerely hope the company comes back soon.

And Alice...

During the early 80's one of the young principals of SWRB was Nicola Katrak. Such a wonderful ballerina, but she's never mentioned now. I remember her clearly in Fille with Roland Price, both of them a delight. She was also fantastic in Coppelia and Two Pigeons. Although young and very sweet one would think that she was ideally suited for just the ballets I've mentioned - however Nicola also had a very secure technique - she just wasn't 'showy'. Her Aurora was wonderful - so musical and a believable young princess - rather like Durante was in this role. She was strong, practically injury free, and more importantly very very dependable. There was one particular season, (84/85?) when several other principals were injured and Nicola was hardly off the stage. I think Peter Wright must of thanked God for her every day. My most vivid memory of her was when she performed Titania in The Dream with Iain Webb. She was glorious and I have never seen a better interpretation since. That she went on to share her knowledge and teach the children at White Lodge is fantastic and I often wonder when I watch young dancer's now if they were lucky enough to of been taught by her.

At the risk of repeating myself, I was talking about the cinema streaming for the 2019/20 season, and whether it's a repeat or not - Cuthbertson is still appearing in 3 of them. And as someone who can't get to the ROH often, the cinema stream is my opportunity to see the company and as many principals as possible. Btw I totally agree about Morera, she is a wonderful dancer and I can't wait to see her in Manon in October.

Like others above have wrote, my strongest memories are from when she danced with SWRB - she was always a delight. I'm so glad I was fortunate to see her perform many times in lots of ballets whilst touring with SWRB.

@Anna C ok let me rephrase - of the '4 big classics' of the RB's 2019/20 Cinema broadcast - Lauren Cuthbertson is dancing 3 of them!

I'm probably a bit slow in mentioning this, so please excuse me if I'm repeating. But, can someone please tell me why RB management thought it a good idea to cast Lauren Cuthbertson in ALL the big classics in the live Cinema relays?? A repeat of Nutcracker in December. Sleeping Beauty in January. Swan Lake in April. I like Cuthbertson - but this is hardly fair to the other 7 principals. And to actually repeat her 2016 performance? And we have also seen her Sleeping Beauty broadcast live before too. As someone who cannot get to London frequently to see the RB, I really appreciate the live Cinema relays. But I don't want to see the same ballerina everytime I go. You'd think there was only one ballerina capable of dancing the big one's from this casting, and we know that's not true. Is it so difficult to share the roles so those of us outside London get to see the remarkable variety and talent within the company.

Yes it was. But he didn't say where he is going. Or have I missed that? Or is it a secret??

R.I.P John and condolences to his family 🙏

@Irmgard thank you for this lovely tribute to Bergona Cao. Such a beautiful ballerina - in every performance over all the years I've had the pleasure to watch her perform I have known I was watching a wonderful artist. I especially loved watching her close-up while performing with Carlos Acosta in Apollo & Afternoon' at the Lowry. That ENB have apparently not awarded her nothing more than a one sentence farewell is a disgrace! Surely a farewell performance could of been arranged - and even if (!?🙄) it couldn't be arranged, there's NO excuse to not awarding this beautiful, dedicated, long standing member of the company a fitting written tribute! What the heck is going on at ENB that everyone/anyone thought that this was acceptable? Shame on them!

I've booked for Morera/Bonelli as they are both exceptional dramatically, and I have missed seeing Bonelli SO much this past season. My 2nd - impulse buy - is the Nunez/ Bolle show. It's been a while since I've seen Bolle live. I don't like M&A so I didn't go down to London to see him when he was last here. I decided to watch it at the cinema. As I'm sure most of you know Bolle recently gave his farewell performance in Manon at ABT. I know nothing has been announced if this is his last performance with RB - but you never know???

Very sad to hear of the death of Julia Farron. I am sure the RB/RBS will hold a heartfelt memorial, to this very important figure in the history of the the Royal Ballet. R.I.P 🙏

Thank you for pointing out my terrible typo - what can I say? Mistakes happen & I will have to double check before I post in future. And please, don't be offended again if I wonder why a faun apparently masturbating on a nymphs clothing is so much more acceptable than Victoria & Albert's pdd? Is it because the former is a mythical story, about a creature not a man therefore not real - but the sexual relationship between Victoria & Albert was very real? In any case, my amusement in the comparison was not intended to hurt your feelings.

I was also late - having to jump up quickly and escape when Toy Story 2 started! And yes I agree with your point about the 'explicit' 😁 pdd Alison.

It wasn't shown 'live' anywhere - Pippa Moore told us it was filmed when they were at Sadlers Wells...

I have always enjoyed Cathy Marsden's ballets, I love her narrative approach and I find her choreography highly inventive and individual. This was displayed especially in the Victoria/Albert pdd and the pas de trois in act 1. Some of the lifts were amazing. Someone wrote that they found the pdd embarrassing?? I found it to be 'real'. But that comment made me laugh -remembering the outraged audience in Paris when they saw Nijinsky's Faune humping the nymphs shawl. 1912 -2019, some things never change.😂 The alarm went off during the film and the lights came on, before any of us had the chance to moan, a woman announced that we had Beatrice in the audience. Then Pippa Moore introduced herself, explaining since she was from Liverpool she had decided to watch the film -for the first time, here with us. We then had a spontaneous question/answer session with her. As usual she was delightful and answered all questions and even explained the storyline to those who were confused. I was greatly relieved when she told us she is in fact remaining with the company to coach and pass on her roles to the younger company members. If that's what happens when the film is interrupted - I'm ok with that! Thank you Pippa. Was this the best ballet I've ever seen by Cathy Marsden? No. I've enjoyed her others more. But there were undeniable moments of pure brilliance and creative ability that is astounding. Which is why I will always go to see any/all of her ballet's and I eagerly await the next one!