loveclassics

I'd like to add The Three Musketeers to Janet's list. It's a complicated story but was excellently told when I saw it at Sadlers Wells a few years ago (Northern Ballet, I think) with both the comedy and the drama well portrayed. Linda

Thank you, that's marvellous news. Really looking forward to seeing her as Alice. Linda

I couldn't agree more. Without the right music it just isn't ballet!

Oh dear, I didn't want to start the tears flowing! Thanks to everyone for their interesting contributions - I will give La Dame another chance and see if I can see what everyone else plainly does. Incidentally, I saw Neumeier's Romeo & Juliet in Copenhagen back in the 70s and it left a lasting impression on me. I'm not sure if I really enjoyed it but I have never forgotten it which is remarkable considering the number of performances which have left no trace on my memory. Linda

Recently there have been several ballets by John Neumeier on Sky Arts and what I find striking about them is that they all seem to start in silence. The most recent was La Dame aux Camelias but I remember his version of Swan Lake a little why ago and there have been others whose titles I can't remember at the moment. In most/many of them the silence continues for quite a while into the action which I find very odd indeed. I'm a simple soul at heart and always thought that classical ballet required music for the dancers to interpret. Take away the music and you're left with little more than mime (or pantomime) IMHO. So can anyone explain this to me? Why the silent beginnings? Is there some specific reason for this that I am too unfamilar with Neumeier's work to understand? I'm sure there must be some knowledgeable person in this forum who knows all about this so I would be most grateful if he/she could enlighten me. Linda Afterthought: La Dame etc. is credited as being based on the book by Dumas so what are characters from Prevost's Manon doing in it?

Oh dear, another senior moment! I have absolutely no recollection of this programme at all so either I missed it or (more likely) it was totally unmemorable. Can anyone give an opinion of it? Linda

Astonishing what you can find on YouTube. For instance look at this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIiZuAVZH4w. Amazing clip of Gwen Verdon and Bob Fosse in Damn Yankees. One of my favourites but eclipsed by this: www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8oY_7Z_8V8 Wonderful finale to Kiss Me Kate with 6 great dancers but again my favourite is Bob Fosse, this time with Carol Haney. Don't miss!

More details on balletnews.co. uk which also says it will be shown on BBC2 on March 1st.

Thanks John. Will call them nearer the time - just in case anyone else 'goes off'. Linda

Does anyone know the casting for the family matinee of Alice on the 6th December?

Me, for example. I used to spend my weekends marshalling at Brands Hatch and loved every minute of it. And I know of another ballet dancer (apart from McRae) who describes himself as a 'petrolhead'. Linda

Don't despair - there are definite periods of low activity on eBay and this seems to be one at the moment. I haven't done any research about trends in online sales (but I bet there is someone on the internet who has!) but I suspect it's the wrong time of year. It could be because Christmas is coming - always an expensive time of year - and people are being a bit more careful with their spending. And the cost of living is rising, especially power bills and we've been promised a very cold winter. A friend of mine put a load of clothes on eBay during the summer and made a useful amount of money but she says nothing much is happening at present. And I have been giving away a lot of stuff on Freecycle which was a roaring success earlier this year but now has slowed down considerably. If you can't even give things away maybe everyone is just busy making other plans. Why don't you try again in the Spring when people feel more optimistic and ready to treat themselves? Incidentally, that potential customer sounds very dodgy to me, you were right to dismiss her, especially if she wanted to do a deal outside of eBay's procedures. There are plenty of warnings online about not getting involved in such private deals. Good luck Linda

Rupert was a bit of a revelation in Month as I had never imagined him as a love rat but he was very convincing in the role and danced very elegantly. "Love rat"? I've always seen this character as an innocent, quite out of his depth. I suppose that's down to the dancers I've seen in the role before but I must say I rather like the idea of this characterisation. Good for Rupert! On the subject of wigs, Rupert had his own hair last night. I agree with the journalist (Judith Mackrell?) that they can make certain ballets look rather fusty and old-fashioned, but my biggest objection to them is the choice of colour. Blond wigs on dancers who have naturally darker hair can look rather odd and often there's no need for them. So true and it's not as if the plot depends on the colour of someone's hair. Linda

Can someone tell me anything about the Bernstein score? For example, when was it written and can I find a recording to listen to first? I miss out on a lot of new stuff because I find the music uninspiring and sometimes downright repellent (shudders at memory of Pierrot Lunaire). With most ballet I find familiarity with the music adds immeasurably to my enjoyment of the dancing. Linda

One other question: how much of their grant money do organisations like the ROH spend on maintaining the buildings they use? I think there is a strong argument for saying that historic or listed buildings should receive separate funding for maintenance of the structure and ACE money should be used exclusively for the production of dance, theatre, music etc. I often wonder if the RB could put on more new productions if their revenue wasn't contributing to the the upkeep of a 19th building. Lottery funding covered the cost of the renovation in 97-99 but it must still be pretty expensive looking after the old exterior. Or is that cost covered in some other way? Linda

Hm, I wish we could see the basis for these figures. So many quasi-official statistical statements are based are skewed data, for instance in the way the cost of living is calculated & the unemployment statistics which automatically exclude thousands of people. Are these figures based simply on total population, adult population or simply the numbers of people who regularly attend 'cultural' events? And from where are these population figures derived? The last census? It is accepted that this omitted thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands, of people who never completed the forms for fear of being identified for tax, immigration status or even criminal activity. The total population of London increases all the time and nobody really knows how many people live in the capital. As I read it, the percentage is simply the percentage of funding presumably from the Arts Council. But what is the total amount spent on the arts generally in the regions? London has a huge number of cultural events and must spend huge amounts on staging them. The percentage of subsidy to overall cost is therefore a much smaller amount than this bald statement suggests. Forgive the cynicism but in the run-up to a general election we can expect many statements to be issued as potential vote-catchers. I suspect those who issue them decide what they want said first and then find/create/manipulate the figures to support them. Lies, damned lies & statistics etc. I'm not saying that more money for arts in the regions isn't desirable, I'm merely saying I would like to know how the figures were calculated before I accept them. Linda

I think she was partnered by David Makhatelli? There were only 3 couples cast initially: Darcey & Jonny Cope, Marianella and Rupert Pennefather and Zen and David. I'm pretty certain that Bolle didn't dance in Sylvia until the second run of performances when he replaced the newly-retired Cope. Prior to Sylvia in 2004, she did get cast as Odette for several performances and was partnered by Cope. I think Darcey was on maternity leave at the time and Guillem had given up Swan Lake by then. But until that chance she had been playing roles like Carabosse and the Empress Elizabeth presumably because she was/is such a good actress and the powers that be didn't see her in the classic tragic heroine roles. Thank goodness she finally got her opportunity to do Manon. I'd like to see her as Larisch next. Linda

Sorry Janet, I didn't see this post before I responded to the original one. Please transfer mine if you think it more appropriate to this thread. Linda

There have been quite a few comments lately about making allowances for dancers returning from injury and this surprises me. I simply don't believe any reputable company would allow its dancers to perform demanding principal roles before they were fully fit and capable of a good performance. Or that the dancers themselves would want to. As they say at Wimbledon: to appear on court is a declaration of fitness. So let's not patronise these dedicated and level-headed professionals by suggesting otherwise. As for aging dancers, I think it is fair comment to point out that a lack of youthful brilliance can be overlooked in appreciation of their experience and charisma in performance. I had a friend (a professional ballet dancer) who simply couldn't bear to watch Fonteyn in her last few seasons but her audience forgave her waning physical prowess, preferring to see her artistry and interpretation. No one watching her as Juliet towards the end of her career saw her as mature and middle-aged. And the opposite also applies. I'm sure there are plenty of Ballet.co-ers who wish, as I do, that certain very technically gifted and dazzling performers would concentrate more on their acting and less on the fireworks and party tricks! Linda edited for typo.

Hard to tell since the BBC clip was at 'normal' speed and the YouTube one is speeded up, rather like film from 30 years earlier. According to YouTube it WAS the same clip but although it starts OK it becomes unwatchable after a little while as it is sooo fast. Edited after I checked the extra info on YouTube. Linda

Can anyone confirm this? If so, it is what I have been waiting for. I love Swan Lake (who doesn't?) but the current production is fussy, over-designed, full of totally inappropriate behaviour and much too DARK. And the costumes, yikes! The ballroom scene appears to be populated by extras from The Masque of the Red Death. And yes, I know black tights are very flattering but it helps if you can see a dancer's legs. The current production dates from 1987 and we have had about 4 different Beauties since then. It's more than high time that Swan Lake was revisited and redesigned. It doesn't have to be completely redone - choreographically it is fine but the costumes and sets must be changed and all that larking around mentioned above erased. Oh and please no more flying monkeys. Above all, PLEASE, improve the lighting so we can see what we are paying for! Moderators, you may wish to put this in another thread as I am sure others will want to add their suggestions. Linda

I was going to add this to the thread about the RB's Ashton Mixed Bill but it is going a bit off-topic so I've started this one instead. In the BBC's recent documentary about the RB "Dancing in the Blitz", there was a clip of the dress rehearsal of the first production of SV. The only surviving dancer from the original cast, Henry Danton, talked about it as being a relaxation for the dancers to dance something that was pure dance. Despite its technical difficulties those who danced it in the past apparently loved it. According to the programme (narrated by David Bintley) the clip has never been seen before which opens up all sorts of possibilities. If it's from the RB archives maybe more film from this era will be made available for us to see. Incidentally, if anyone missed this fascinating documentary, I have a home recording which I am happy to lend. Linda

If you look at any photos of the original production you will see that Dowell (who created the role) always wore a rather bouffant blond wig. I'm not crazy about this latest version but it IS a slight improvement on the original. Mind you last time I saw this in 2005, both Murro & Cope wore their own hair and looked much better, and younger, for it. I really think any wig that distracts from the dancing should be banned!

I usually watch the dance programmes on Sky Arts but I don't remember this coming on before. I will record it on my SKY+ box and let you know more about it afterwards. Linda

I often hear the phrase 'you didn't make the cut' when watching US TV programmes. A nicer alternative is 'they went another way' usually in the context of auditions. Linda