RHowarth

Heap doing opening night tonight I think (according to Instagram).

Will we find out Myrtha casting before the run starts? From casual Instagraming I gather that Calvert, Kaneko, Heap and Magri are cast but I may be wrong and there may be others.

Sophie Rebecca, I’d be very interested in any events in Leeds. My two nearest major cities are Newcastle and Leeds (I’m thirty minutes by train from Newcastle and one hour from Leeds) and both Birmingham and London are prohibitive when juxtaposed with the relatively short length of the workshops.

A stone's throw from Edinburgh's other full-time dance school, Dance For All on Stephen Street - although Dance For All's full-time strand is for 16-plus and doesn't have such a ballet focus.   

I’m sure this has already been covered in the links forum, but I missed it and have just read it in this week’s Stage. Peter Schaufuss is opening a full time ballet school in Edinburgh in 2019, with a launch event in March of this year. Applications for March close early Feb. Www.edinburghfestivalballet.co.uk. 

9 hours ago, Sunrise said:

When I used to usher at a theatre in London, when the auditorium was not well filled we were encouraged by our supervisor to move the audience forwards. This was in part not to waste perfectly good views, but also to give a bit of support to the actors so they didn't have to perform to empty seats!

Me too, as an usher at a prestigious Edinburgh theatre amongst other places. And now, as a marketing person, I would encourage it myself! Which probably influences my rather brazen approach to it as an audience member, although I always stick to empty rows and never sit in front of someone who’s paid more than me. In fact, that was always the rule for us as ushers: we didn’t have to remain in the usher seat if the house was thin, but weren’t permitted to move further forward than the rearmost paying customer.

I’ve often wondered to what extent, if any, it’s a chicken and egg situation for principals in companies like the RB where stage time is limited. Do principals guest with other companies  because they don’t feel they’re getting enough stage time at, for example, the ROH - and they know that their career is short? Would they do as much guesting if the RB - for example - didn’t share the ROH with the Royal Opera?

I’m disappointed to miss this; I’ve wanted to watch it for years but can’t find it on catch-up. There is a DVD; I seem to remember the film was remastered a few years ago. I hope they repeat it!

5 hours ago, assoluta said:

 

That looks very suspect to me. Having had a lot of experience with ballet students of that age, it would be a criminal negligence for any pedagogue to allow attempting even the half of that number. It could easily end up in a career threatening foot stress fracture.

It’s been many years since I read Holding on to the Air but from memory, I’m not sure Farrell was talking about doing them en pointe?

Thank you. I’m really hoping my school will be doing it; they were wavering...

Is the barre and centre work set or unset?

1 hour ago, Blossom said:

Also worth noting in Bussel’s favour that as ‘the most famous British ballerina since Fonteyn’ (Alastair McCauley) is President of the RAD and is inspiring a generation of children who receive their exam certificates signed by her. 

 

Re coaching, she mentions her extensive coaching in the Ashton Rediscovered Raymonda Q&A. Even during her 5 years In Australia she continued to coach. 

 

 

And I think she has a lovely manner as a coach - always encouraging and respectful and getting the best out of the dancers of whatever age or rank, and really gives insightful technical corrections specific to the individual  rather than ‘this is how i did it’.

Merle Park and Gary Avis are miked up for the second seasion. Seems like they might have had some technical issues generally for Dowell’s as the q and a wasn’t filmed.

On 05/01/2018 at 08:32, ninamargaret said:

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

When was it last revived? It feels like it ought to be while Dowell and Collier are around to coach it, and potentially Eagling too although I don’t know how much coaching he does at RB (others will be more knowledgeable than me about Jennifer Penney’s availability). I just daydreamed a cast including Muntagirov, Hayward and Naghdi...

On 06/01/2018 at 09:34, BMC said:

 

 

Plus: a blast from the past - Fearful Symmetries. Again can't remember too much about it except loving Irek Mukhemedov and Deborah Bull dancing up a storm. It may look really old hat now as it was a long time ago but I would be intrigued to see if it could hold its own, both without that amazing original cast and just generally in terms of how things have moved on

Scottish Ballet did Page’s Fearful Symmetries about ten years ago, IIRC (certainly would make sense as he was their director at the time). I remember leaving the theatre feeling exhilarated and at the time it didn’t feel old hat at all.  

14 hours ago, MargaretN7 said:

The National Theatre has parts open to all, performance or no performance. I'm assuming it could be like that. (Do we need a separate thread for this, it's not exactly Swan Lake.)

https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/2017/lyn-gardner-publicly-funded-theatres-time-occupy/

Not Swan Lake related, but there was an interesting debate recently in the wider theatre world as a result of this article in The Stage.

21 hours ago, Flit and float said:

I loved The House! I always hope it'll turn up on YouTube....you'd never get something like that now! The Nutcracker auditions were fascinating - one of the girls in the running for Clara didn't get it because she was too good & "mature" a dancer! And now it's an adult! 

I have the accompanying book but was too young for the TV series and for the last fifteen years or so have been desperate to see it!

1 hour ago, RuthE said:

My sister asked this last night! 

 

 

Spooky! Great minds and all that...

Thanks for the response.

Hi,

Not sure whether this should be in 'Doing Dance' or one of the other forums, but...

I'm intrigued to know which school year groups dance which roles in The Nutcracker. I'm particularly interested in the Royal Ballet School and the Royal Ballet's production of the ballet, but am also interested in other companies and productions (particularly in the US). 

I believe that first and second years dance party guests and mice. What about years 9, 10 and 11? Do they still appear? Then I guess upper school girls are drafted into the corps de ballet for snowflakes. I used to be under the impression that the 'angels' were danced by upper school girls, but either that was wrong, or it's changed, as I recently saw a photograph of Demelza Parish in the role.

Thank you,

Rebecca

3 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

The fact that Sambé is injured is in the public domain.  The extent of the injury is not and, so whilst some of us may know, it would be against the AUP to post details on here.

He’s posted an Instagram story this afternoon explaining the issue. 

I needn’t have taken a morning off work to get mine! 

Casting has now been updated to include Takada, Ella and Jose Alvez - in Danses Concertantes if my memory serves me correctly. 

49 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

I'm afraid that I was rather naughty and asked (nicely, I hope) what must have been the same gentleman in Manchester whether he was 'on commission' in relation to programme sales. Well.......... I've never found cast sheets so jealously guarded or so scarce. Many 'proper' programmes did not contain them. And, after all, they are supposed to give members of the audience the opportunity to vote for their favourite dancer. So they are clearly meant to be available to everyone. Anyway, that perspective eventually resulted in a release of one copy between 5 people! I So I was able to return to my seat feeling quite triumphant!

Totally agree with this and have had many an argument with theatre staff about this in the past. But I think staff at ATG venues DO have targets to meet with regards to programme sales, which doesn’t help matters.

8 hours ago, Amelia said:

Hurry up! Those who missed Le Corsaire in cinema can watch it now on the Bolshoi's website. It is easy to register there:

http://media.bolshoi.ru/play/#/vod/mcat/5

Hi Amelia. Thanks for this - I’ve just registered. I missed the broadcast as it wasn’t showing at any of my local cinemas this time. Do you know how long it will remain online? I’m at work now and tonight is Royal Ballet live broadcast! 

5 hours ago, FLOSS said:

Some suggestions for sources of information about the company and apologies in advance if you have already thought of them.Even if the following publications don't say anything about who danced what in Plymouth they may give you some idea about who was in the Markova-Dolin company and their place in its hierachy.

 

1) The  V and A has  an extensive theatre museum holding. The staff might be able to help you as you are able to be specific about the information you want.

 

2) The Local Newspaper. Does it have an archive of some sort? Perhaps its not housed locally but is at Colindale.

 

3) The Dancing Times. It may not say much about performances in Plymouth but it will probably contain   details about the London performances the company gave which may give you some idea of the company's personnel. I doubt that its back numbers have been stored electronically but you never know. Does someone know if there is any UK library which has its back numbers as part of its stock?

 

4) J.P. Wearing's "The London Stage 1930-39" which I believe chronicles all theatrical activity in London during the period and may provide information about the company's personnel when it appeared in London. 

 There should be public libraries in the UK which hold it.

 

5) A recently published book about the development of ballet in Britain during the war, "Albion Dances", it covers events nearly a decade later but the Bibliography might give you some useful hints about where to look for the sort of information you want.

 

6) I believe that all of Alicia Markova's personal papers are held at the Gotlieb Centre Boston University. The staff there might be willing and able to assist you. If not the bibliography in the recent (2014) Markova biography might assist. 

 

As I said before I apologise if you have already considered these potential sources of information. I shall be interested to know how you get on. I am particularly curious about how helpful "The Dancing Times" proves to be and how accessible its archive is.

FLOSS, the National Library of Scotland holds back issues of The Dancing Times. I’ve looked at them from the 20s and 30s before. I’m guessing the British Library  (much more convenient for Portsmouth!) also holds them.

Grand tier was closed on the Thursday matinee. I was moved to the dress circle which sadly wasn’t full either.