RHowarth

When did you get it, Dave? I'd better chase mine up!

Has anyone who preordered received their copy yet? 

Thanks very much for this, Blossom. There's no point in me waiting for casting (as I live out of town and already have trains and hotels booked as part of a wider weekend away seeing shows at ROH and Bridge as well) so was able to take the plunge. I treated myself to front row dress circle at £55 for one of my chosen performances, which is a first for me and more than I would normally pay but thrilled to have a chance to sit in such good seats for once. Booked the upper circle for my other chosen date (at £25) and still a step up from the balcony where I normally sit, and luxurious in comparison, so I'm a happy customer and wouldn't have spotted this offer if you hadn't posted. 

Still not there. How disappointing! 

9 hours ago, alison said:

I once made the mistake of going for lower slips standing - never again!  I don't usually suffer too much from vertigo, but this was too much for me.

It makes me feel wobbly even to look at them from the safety of an amphitheatre seat -  and I don't suffer from vertigo either! 

Thank you, I've just signed up with a view to booking Raymonda tickets (although I wonder how substantial the discount will be). 

I've not sat there a great deal as they're generally a bit out of my price range, but I definitely wouldn't think twice about booking there again if the opportunity arose - and having my view obstructed by safety barrier/tier ledge is a personal bugbear of mine so I'm sure I would have noticed! I think the further you get away from the centre, the more the ledge, as it curves round, might restrict your view of the extreme downstage area on the side you're sitting at (i.e. the front of the stage closest to the orchestra) - but I would say that restriction is slight, and definitely preferable to heads in the way. Be good to hear from others on the subject so you can make an informed decision! I've definitely had more trouble seeing, due to my height, from far more expensive seats in row C of stalls circle.

Generally I find the amphitheatre, being steeply raked,  has a good view for small people unless others are leaning forwards/draping their arms around their companions etc. 

I've never had any problems seeing from the central blocks of stalls circle standing, despite the claim from the ROH that they're not suitable for persons of short stature. In fact they are my favourite place to be. The side blocks do pose a problem though.

Hi! I am also 4'11 and have no problems with the ledge on row A of amphitheatre. 

The double Giselle day on Saturday 27 November is necessitating not one but two overnight stays for me. Granted the first one on the Friday night is due to engineering works which mean that the 6.30am train  I would usually have been happy to catch wouldn't have got into Kings X until 10.30am - too close for comfort for me as I like to leave room for manoeuvre for delays. The last train home on a Saturday used to be 9pm which would have been fine for a short ballet like Giselle after a 5pm start,  however the timetable has changed recently (engineering works on the 27th aside). 

I'm due back at work at the end of March after maternity leave. I don't think taking annual leave during my first week back would go down too well! 

I think the performances tend to be spaced out, too - so I don't think, for example, it's possible to do a Friday night followed by a Saturday matinee, or a Saturday matinee followed by a Saturday evening performance. I could be wrong though! 

Thanks Alison. It's the times I'm after - just want to see when the matinees are. Not urgent as I'm not a Friend and so can't book yet - it's just that all of this talk of Swan Lake reminded me I'd better formulate my action plan! 

Hi, does anyone have a link to PDF with casting (and show times) please? 

Sadly it seems that Dane Hurst is leaving Phoenix already to return to South Africa to support his family there. 

4 hours ago, Ian Macmillan said:

My wife, a former RB dancer, has told me for years that - in general - Russian dancers turn left and Brits to the right.  

That's interesting as it suggests the dominance is taught/learnt - whereas my own experience - of the dominance being apparent both in watching and in doing- suggests that it could be hard-wired into the brain in some way. Is anyone here an occupational therapist?! 

I should add that I am in no way of professional standard- I very doggedly and diligently staggered through to Advanced 2 which syllabus I studied with interest but declined to be examined in for fear of certain failure! 

I read an interview with Francesca Hayward somewhere where she talks about her left-turn dominance which apparently is far less common in female dancers than in male dancers. Like me she is right handed. Alas, there the similarities cease! 

Off topic, but interestingly (to me, anyway!) as a left turner, it always looks 'wrong' to me to watch people turn right. It looks much more natural and attainable to me when dancers turn left like I do. 

3 hours ago, Scheherezade said:

 

I've lost count of the number of National Theatre productions I've been tempted to walk out of since the departure of Nicholas Hytner.

Didn't walk out of Macbeth there a few years ago, but fell asleep several times.

I've often found there's a lack of provision of cast sheets at regional theatres for touring companies like BRB and NB, or that the cast sheets are from a previous performance (usually opening night). I've always considered it disrespectful to the artists dancing at that particular performance- particularly the latter practice of attributing their performance to other artists. When I've asked duty managers for a correct version, I've generally been met with a blank stare, and have put it down to lack of understanding of the art form and its traditions amongst staff in theatres where ballet is presented infrequently. 

20 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

 

And you can still have the memories by printing off the cast sheet (or, as @zxDaveM does, save the pdf)!  That's what I have done with every performance so far with digital cast sheets (and not just at the ROH).

I'd rather pay for one at the ROH than add printing off to list of miscellaneous life admin - particularly as my personal phone and laptop aren't linked to a printer.

I think it's rather sad. There is something nice about looking through cast sheets from 20 years ago and seeing, for example, that Marienella Nunez was in the corps or that Kevin O' Hare was Romeo opposite Monica Zamora's Juliet.  Lots of memories contained in cast sheets. 

It is usually 6 ballets and 6 operas isn't it, rather than 3 of each?

On 12/09/2021 at 00:50, alison said:

Ye gods, the bottom price at the Hippodrome is £32 for the back row of the rear circle.  I hope these prices will be going down again once a full house can be sold.

I think they were that for Fille a few years ago. 

I did message the company a week or so ago about the number of acts but haven't had a response yet. And yes it is disappointing that Manchester lost not only the premiere but, thus far, any dates at all.

Jan - I'll be seeing Alex Campbell as Romeo at ROH at the 11.30am matinee on 15 Jan and then planning to dash over to the Coli to catch the second (and third if there is one) act of the 2pm Raymonda matinee before seeing it fully at the Sunday matinee the next day. Can I tempt you?!

Does anyone know if this is 2 or 3 acts in this version?

1 minute ago, alison said:

I think they've been saying it at least since they reopened in May, possibly before - I didn't buy any tickets to last year's Covid performances.  I've never actually been asked for ID, though.  It may just be an anti-tout measure, or a Covid tracking measure, if the name on the ticket doesn't match the name of the user.

Ah, right - thanks. I haven't been to ROH since last March so that explains how I've never seen it before! I was worried I'd inadvertently booked a schools' matinee or something.