loveclassics

Could the lack of a performance-ready second cast be due to the fact that McGregor's style of dance is so radically different from classical ballet? I remember reading somewhere that dancers risk damaging their bodies if they are rehearsing and performing in both a modern piece and a classical one during the same time period. Guillem (predictably) was very outspoken about this issue and refused to perform in a classical ballet (I think it might have been Giselle) in the same month that she was dancing Mat Eks' Carmen. And the potential risk to the company is increased because McGregor uses so many principals in one cast. Just a thought, could be totally wrong. Linda Ed for punctuation.

The entire opening ceremony (4 hours) is now available on BBC's iPlayer for those with the endurance... If I have the time I will watch it and give the times of the ballet bits. Ed to add last comment.

Thanks for this, Janet, I'll definitely get in nice and early. The more I read of this production the better it sounds. I'm really looking forward to it and if there are any special offers I may even buy extra tickets to see other casts. Incidentally, when can we expect to see casting announced for the Coliseum performances? Linda

Me too! Swan Lake, the London Festival Ballet, at the Davis Theatre, Croydon, sometime in the 50s. My mother's choice as she had fond memories of ballet lessons as a child. My sister and I were also sent to learn the basics and having seen the real thing we were fascinated. My father bought us an EP of highlights and we practically wore it out dancing round the living room for ages afterwards. But we were much luckier then as there were plenty of television performances to watch as well, unlike today, sadly. Linda Edited to add the name of the company.

Sorry, coming to this thread rather late but which King, Fiz? I've just finished Sharon Penman's trilogy about Stephen, Matilda, Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine and getting stuck into Alison Weir's 2 books (1 novel and 1 biography) covering the same period. It's an era I never learnt much about at school so I'm filling in the gaps at present.

I've just come across a reference to Assylmuratova at the Royal Ballet in 1989 - her partner at some performances was Ruzimatov.

It was in the summer of 2012. The original score used by MacMillan in 1989 was cut, as was some of the choreography, but the original sets and costumes were remade and did not revert to those used in the 1996 revival. Unfortunately the cuts still didn't result in an entirely satisfactory ballet. As some of the reviewers pointed, the scenario by Colin Thubron simply didn't match the music, lovely though the score is. I can't be the only ballet-goer who hopes the new version by BRB solves the problems and makes the most of this, Britten's only ballet. Linda

Thank you, Terpsicore, for taking the time to write such a detailed review. I am now more determined than ever to see this in London. Linda

I think that's a little unfair. Admittedly it can be confusing but if you do a minimal amount of homework beforehand, the scenario does make dramatic sense. i can willingly suspend disbelief for the fairy tale ballets so Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty are no problem for me. It's where the story is meant to be about real people and they all behave completely unrealistically and illogically that I start to scratch my head (and frequently conclude that the dancing isn't good enough to compensate for the nonsense.)

"She does 4-5 pirouettes perfectly upright while the partner’s support is very light and fleeting. He does not hold her but only touches her at some point, literally with one finger. I don’t like to see how many dancers now aree twirling their girls with their hands like a distaff." I saw Donald McLeary give a master class at the ROH in which he said how important it was NOT to 'paddle' the turn. For one thing it is easy to overdo it and unbalance the ballerina. Deborah Bull made the same point in her TV programme 'The Dancer's Body' when talking about the physics of turning. Linda Edit because I somehow lost the quotes.

I'm sorry I can't remember the full name, I think it was the former. It was when the company toured the US around 1991.

Well the bedroom pdd in Manon is pretty 'warm' not to mention hot!

There was Ananiashvili and Fadayev in the 90s though technically she's Georgian, not Russian. And Makarova and Mukhamedov (but he's a Tartar) around the same time. Usually though the RB management tries to reproduce the old magic of Fonteyn and Nureyev, so they partnered Bussell first with Mukhamedov and later with Zelensky. Assylmuratova was also partnered by Cope in the late 80s but after his departure I'm sure she danced with another guest compatriot, can't remember who. Linda Edit to correct spelling.

The great British press has a long tradition of damning the native product with faint praise: in summary 'must try harder' seems to be the main message. 'Well done us' is simply not said, even when deserved. That said, the Telegraph's dance critics always seem to be much harder on the RB than any other company. When Ismene Brown was the dance critic she rarely had a good word to say for its dancers and her predecessor, Nicolas Dromgoole, was similarly scathing. Linda

Is there a list of nominees and winners somewhere?

Veering slightly off-topic, I looked up Marco Spada on the Bolshoi's website. Judging by the synopsis even a keen balletgoer would have problems with this. It sounds totally bonkers - does the choreography make up for the daft story?

I appreciate the thought, Janet, but could you put ENB at the beginning of the heading? At first glance I thought 'what's happened to them?', the ballet world is full of sudden changes!

It's the old, old, dilemma. Just a soloist in a top company or a big fish in a small puddle? Forgive the mixed metaphor but I don't see this as a real story. I'm sorry to see him go but many a dancer has had to make this choice (assuming (s)he's good enough to get the opportunity in the first place) and I hope he is happy and successful in his new position and company. As pointed out above, soloists and corps de ballet dancers in smaller companies probably work much harder. At the ROH the ballet only performs about 3/ 4 times a week unlike 8 performances as in the world of the commercial theatre. And a least one RB coach has said publicly that it is always a struggle to find enough rehearsal time for everyone. I don't think there's anything sinister in his decision to go to Romania - it's just a case that he will know the director. A perfectly natural choice though I suspect the location will be a bit of a culture shock after London. And just when I had learnt how to pronounce his name! Linda

Smart teen outwits manipulative Mum to wed lover: greedy widow 'blackmailed' by threat of sex scandal in small town.

I've just seen Matthew Golding in Wheeldon's Cinderella (on Sky Arts) and now I understand some of the comments on this thread. Have to say I think he will be a useful addition to the RB's rank of principals - particularly in the classics. I can also see why Bruce thinks we'll need the sunglasses - such dazzling pearly whites! In his defence, Prince Charming is a pretty one-dimensional role with little scope for more complex emotions. He can come to this Cinders rescue anytime he likes. Very easy on the eye, despite being blond which I always think is a disadvantage in male dancers. Re the ballet itself - has anyone else seen it either by the Dutch National Ballet or San Francisco? I enjoyed the production a lot and I hope someone brings it the UK. Linda

Was that the production where Von Rothbart had a live owl (or eagle) on his shoulder?

Thank you, Mrs BBB. It sounds interesting but I think I had better listen to some of the music first. I'm a bit bothered by the 'if Bach kept bees' bit - what can it mean?

Not to forget their 3 Musketeers which was a wonderful piece: great fun but with a real emotional core and which I look forward to seeing again sometime. Sadly I find Matthew Bourne's work interesting and entertaining but strangely unmoving. I find a lot of the newer works a little cold which is maybe why they don't stick in my memory and I have no real desire to see them again. Swan Lake will survive because it touches the emotions, IMHO. As Anjuli says on another thread: we will happily go to something that makes us cry! Linda

I remember seeing Peter Wright coaching Roberta Marquez in rehearsal once and he drew her attention to the way Giselle looks at the hilt of Albrecht's sword as she holds it and sees it as a symbol of the cross. He said she would hold the cross in religious awe and as a good daughter of the church would not commit suicide. I don't think he actually said her death was accidental/due to natural causes but I always thought the RB production suggested she had bad health (possibly TB, then known as consumption and responsible for many literary and theactrical deaths) and this is why her mother is so protective and anxious to stop her from over exertion by dancing. Another theory I read somewhere suggested that Giselle is already pregnant by Hilarion and only her mother knows. Not anxious to be forced to marry her brutish lover when her pregnancy can no longer be concealed, she invests far too much emotionally in her relationship with the courteous and apparently more civilised Albrecht. Hence the over-reaction when her only hope is revealed as a two-timing love rat. Must admit I rather like Bruce's missing 3 act version. It sounds just like the sort of OTT thing the Bolshoi do with great conviction. Linda

I'm sure one of the monthly dance magazines used to feature dancing cats. Do you think cats have an instinctive sense of rhythm and dogs don't?