loveclassics

I booked for the Insight and have had my booking confirmed at the reduced price. But since they went invitation only and then exclusively for Friends I can only get seats for Insights, rehearsals etc. if someone sells on their seat. So I am a rare visitor with little realistic chance of attending such events. Judging by the last few booking periods, Friends are frequently unable to find affordable seats for any of the performances they want to see, so why on earth is the ROH trying to reach an even wider audience? They need to put on more performances and not restrict some of the precious few for a mythical audience which may not exist. Frankly, I think the Royal Ballet needs another auditorium or should even consider separating from the Opera. The company could still perform at the opera house sometimes but should have another home for its exclusive use. What do others think? Linda Edited for typo.

According to the blogger, the dancer 'will be responsible for mops, rent, pipes and flooring'. The mind boggles!

Thank you very much. Marvellous cast, really looking forward to it. Linda

Does anyone know the casting for the matinee on December 14th? It's not shown on the ROH website. Thanks Linda

You could try eBay - quite a few posters are offered but generally they're the same size as the ones in the ROH shop. Another member of this forum (Scaramouche) is a collector of the outdoor-size posters and he sometimes sells items from his collection. Why don't you try him - he might be able to help you. (hope this doesn't contravene any rules).

When you consider that muscle is so much denser (and therefore heavier) than fat and most dancers are practically ALL muscle, I'm amazed that some of the lifts are even achievable, let alone how effortless they look when you see a couple who are perfectly matched. Anne is, of course, quite right that Guillem and Cope were wonderful together - both very tall and muscular yet they seemed to fly across the stage, especially in that spectacular last pdd in Manon. Nice to see that BBC are using a very brief clip of that in the trailer for tomorrow's programme on Guillem. It will be interesting to see if her partners are mentioned but could she have had such a successful career without them?

Some years ago the RB imported Kenneth Greve to partner Zenaida in Manon. He's a good 6' 4" so matched her well heightwise but not (IMHO) dramatically. And Guillem's regular French partner was Hilaire Laurent who is only of average height but they still looked good together. I think it's not so much physical similarity as musical and emotional empathy that matters. Of the pairings I saw, Bussell and Cope were perfectly matched in many respects but not such a sparkling partnership as Rojo and Cope. I'm sure there are many other examples ballet.co-ers can recall.

5 ft 8 inches, I believe. Sorry not fully metric-converted yet!

Not to mention the 'grey panthers'. There are plenty of affluent pensioners around who have much broader tastes than the interviewer seemed to be aware of. When you reach the grand old age of 65 you don't suddenly get a desire to see nothing more exciting than the Nutcracker!

Sorry, not used to posts running over a second year!

Is this a recording?

Did anyone see last night's Insight evening and can give a brief account of it here? I always used to love going to these but tickets are so hard to get hold of. I was thrilled to see 2 tickets up for sale yesterday but sadly was stuck in traffic on the M25. I do wish they would revert to making these evenings available to all. On the rare occasion I get to go, I can't help noticing a lot of familiar faces so if the new policy is to attract newcomers, it simply isn't working. Linda

I don't know if my advice is appropriate because I'm in my sixties so much older than you but I developed a bunion quite early as a result of a bone disease in my teens. For years I put up with it because my GP told me surgery would only increase the pain. Finally I decided to forget about looking good and switched to flat 'sensible' shoes. I also saw a physio about knee pain and the diagnosis was pronation. She recommended slimline ortho inserts. Result: no pain and the bunion seems actually to have diminished. I can walk much better now though I still have the odd pang for heels. Sometimes the low-tech solutions are the best. I do hope you find a solution that allows you to continue with teaching.

I remember seeing this the first time it was shown and it still makes me laugh. I wonder who was in the fat suit though (sorry for un-PC term but it IS in common usage amongst theatrical types). She was remarkably good and what a story to tell: "I danced with Rudi as a pig!". Lovely. And Ms Piggy ALWAYS came out on top and had the last word no matter who her co-star was. And as a fellow 'differently proportioned' person I can say hand on heart that the girl done good!

Anna, I'm pretty certain that Alina & Federico danced together in Ondine, back in 2005. I certainly saw them rehearsing together at an Insight Day on the subject and thought then that they made a good couple. Linda

Not sure that would work - can you see Friar Lawrence performing a same-sex marriage? And the rival clan problem would hardly be noticed.

I remember reading a story about one of top clubs getting their players to swap places with ballet dancers for 1 day of training. By lunchtime the footballers were exhausted and couldn't believe they still had 5 hours of rehearsal to follow their morning class. In contrast, the dancers were asking, after a typical (for footballers) morning's training, 'when does the real work start?'. Pity more sports masters haven't seen this. But I also know of one famous male dancer who started dancing at 6 years old but never had problems with teachers or fellow pupils because he was also good at rugby and athletics. I am sure that any boy who is good at ballet must also have the strength and co-ordination to be successful in practically any sport. Sadly, sport will always offer better financial prospects as well as being more socially 'acceptable' and maybe that's where so many would-be dancers go.

Now I wish I hadn't retired from IT. I would love to see an Elastic Beanstalk!

Thank you everyone for the info. Linda

Are there any recordings of this? I've seen it live of course but can't remember any live transmissions or DVDs issued. There's a good recording of ABT but I would love to see the RB version again. Any info most welcome. Thanks Linda

But the opening of the 'new' Sylvia in 2004 wasn't. Maybe re-created revivals don't count but then neither do new shorter works like Wheeldon's DGV.

While I have every sympathy with the sentiments expressed, in the interests of fairness it must be remembered that the subsidy only amounts to 10% of the RB's running costs. I remember Monica Mason stating publicly that the subsidy just covered the cost of royalties (owners of ballets receive royaities just like playrights). So I suppose they can do as they please with the remaining 90% of the tickets?

I remember seeing the pdd from Scheherazade at the gala for Maya Plisetskaya a few years ago. I can't remember the ballerina but the Golden Slave was Ruzimatov. Never having seen him before but aware, of course, of his reputation, I was expecting a real treat but sadly my reaction was similar to the corps member who caught Meunier's eye. I've never seen such appalling over-acting in my life before or since! And that costume! I really couldn't believe it and kept thinking 'are they serious?' I guess that's the way the choreographer/director likes it but it just reminded me of a commercial for Turkish Delight. Perhaps I just don't appreciate the old Bolshoi style? I thought Spartacus was over the top too, even with Vasiliev and Maximova 40 odd years ago.

Thanks Bruce and PDQ. Assuming I haven't melted in the heat, I'll be there tomorrow.

Can anyone tell me anything about Marc Brew? Amongst the free open-air events at Canary Wharf this month is: "A premiere performance by renowned choreographer and dancer Marc Brew" featuring senior students from the Central School of Ballet. It's part of the City of London Arts Festival and I thought it might be interesting but I know nothing about Mr Brew's work. Anyone seen any of his performances and can give me some idea of what to expect? (It's on July 19th at 5.30 and 6.15 in Cabot Square). Thanks