Dawnstar

I sometimes feel awkward at stage doors because I can be the only person not asking for selfies with the performers. I just want to thank them for their performances.

Muntagirov's only 33! Unless he has injury problems (and he doesn't seem to be injury-prone, touch wood) I would have hoped he'd dance for about another decade. That would give him time for another 3 or so runs of Don Q.

A bit more World Ballet Day promotion from the RB. (Personally I'm rather regretting having booked the Anemoi/Cellist double bill on 1st November, before I knew it was going to be WBD that day.)

Reading that article, it doesn't sound great. Should I be assuming I won't be seeing McRae in The Nutcracker in 2 months' time?

While it'll vary between dancers, I'd say be prepared for a minimum of half an hour & quite likely longer. On Saturday Kaneko took over an hour to emerge after the matinee & Naghdi just over half an hour in the evening.

I saw Giselle for the first time when the RB did it 2 seasons ago so I have no knowledge of what the choreography historically should be but out of the 4 Albrechts I saw only one, Bonelli, did the extended entrechats & I thought it was fabulous. For me the entrechats going on & on worked perfectly dramatically, given Myrthe is forcing Albrecht to keep dancing.

I noticed that as soon as the Nutcracker casting was announced & would like to see her but unfortunately I saw everyone else in that cast last season and, as I can't afford to see many Nutcrackers, I feel I should select casts where I haven't seen the majority of the dancers in their roles before. I think they only work for some people in the target audience though. I'm on the autistic spectrum & the idea of a relaxed performance makes me shudder! What I want is "uptight" performances where everyone sits still & shuts up throughout! I seem to be one of the few people who has no particular preference in seeing Nutcrackers either before or after Christmas. I'd like to see Buvoli's SPF debut but the trains for New Year's Day are looking conspicuous by their abscence so I don't think I'll be able to get there. I'm rather surprised at there being a full cast change for tomorrow evening. Maybe Sambe isn't available to partner O'Sullivan?

Thanks @Rob S. You can see why often I come & find you in intervals & ask who various people are!

After further peering at my photos, is Madison Bailey the girl furthest to the right in this one? If so then my dancer identification must be getting worse because I jolly well ought to be able to recognise her, having seen her as Clara last year!

Thank you very much for the definitive identification! And apologies for mis-identifying your daughter. Trying again: is this Bethany? (Previous photo from yesterday's matinee, this is yesterday evening.)

I can assure you that I'm extremely broke at the moment! At the beginning of October I had c. £400 in my bank account which has to get me through to the beginning of December. I even drew up a spreadsheet the other day to make sure I could afford the tickets & train fares for the 6 Don Q casts I want to see, plus train fares for a handful of other performances I already have booked, & I cannot afford to spend money on anything else until December.

Yes! Though I see I'm wrong in calling it a 19th century novel as it was actually published 1909-10. It's mostly set in the 19th century though.

May I ask for some assistance from those better than I am at dancer identification? There were a few dancers I noticed yesterday who I think may be some of the new Aud Jensen Young Dancers but I find it so difficult to tell from single B&W headshots. Is this Bethany Bartlett as Gamache's fiancee? Front row L-R Marianna Tsembenhoi, unsure, Viola Pantuso, Martin Diaz, unsure, Casper Lench?, Isabella Shaker?, Denilson Almeida, unsure, Luc Foskett? (I'd particularly like to know if I've identified Isabella Shaker correctly as she stood out for me in the Act II corps.) (Overlapping with the previous photo I'm afraid) Front row L-R unsure, Martin Diaz, unsure, Casper Lench?, Isabella Shaker?, Luc Foskett?, unsure, Blake Smith? unsure.

A pity the ROH didn't have a 19th century author set a well-known novel (turned hit musical) there!

Interesting that theory suggests taller dancers are inclined to injury when among the RB Principals in recent years it is some of the shorter ones (McRae, Takada, Corrales) who have been off injured more frequently.

I knew this production was busy but had forgotten quite how much happens at the sides, as the last time I saw it was BRB when I could afford to sit centrally. Now sitting at the side I keep on having to remind myself I should be looking at the dancing in the middle & not just the acting at the side, which is nearer to me!

Is it Dias's Mercedes debut? And thinking about it is it Whitehead's debut in the title role? I'm very pleased about Dixon & Hay. As they were on last night I didn't expect to see them today.

I'd checked the website every day for about a week in case anything I could afford came up at the side of the stalls circle. As it didn't, I waited for Friday rush rather than looking earlier on Friday morning. So I am now kicking myself that I could have potentially got a much better seat for a quarter of what I paid for a rush ticket.

I suppose as ENO are only now performing part time (adding up this season's performing dates comes to under 6 months) they're using that as the rationale for wanting to only have a part time orchestra. Gone are the days when their season ran through to June, they finish in March this coming year.

Given I've had said dressing gown for about 20 years & it's already been mended & is now developing more holes, I think not! If I meet up with anyone on here later today, please be aware that I do have a good excuse for looking a mess!

That's the problem I'm finding with the 25% off offers: as they only apply to the higher priced seats, with ticket prices having gone up so much I still can't afford stalls seats even with 25% off. If it was 50% off then I could just about stretch to it on occasion. I think finding out tickets are being made available to only a select group for a pittance is much more annoying than if there's a smaller discount made available to the general public.

I'm starting to think the train companies have taken a dislike to ballet, or at least to me seeing ballet. After missing the first part of ENB's triple bill last month I nearly missed the start of Don Q today. At 10.13 I looked up the National Rail website to check the 11.14 Cambridge-Kings Cross was running, only to find there are severe delays through Royston. On the Liverpool Street line the only train that would get me to London in time left my local station at 10.25. At this point I was still in my dressing gown. I somehow managed to get dressed & to the station in 10 minutes & got the train! ETA Ah, cross-posted with you @alison!

Oh dear, it's starting to feel as though McRae is cursed with onstage injuries. Not discounted? It would be lovely to be the sort of person who could go "I fancy a last minute night out.... I know, I'll buy a £150 ballet ticket"!

There are side stalls circle bench seats C17-21 and 87-91, which are what I'm always after. I believe there are standing places in the balcony as well.

It sounds a bit like a play (possibly an Ayckbourn?) I recall reading about where 3 performances went on simultaneously with actors moving between different stages. The audiences would have had to book 3 performances in order to see all of it. Not that that's going to be possible for the ballet, with only one gala performance taking place.