loveclassics

" Sergei Polunin, a dancer" Ouch! Linda

Me too - thanks a lot Dave, it's like getting rid of an irritating mosquito. Linda

All of a sudden the light has dawned: these are not the words of a real person. This thread has become possessed by the malevolent spirit of one of Frederick Ashton's less successful boyfriends - hence the outdated and oddly camp phrasing. I guess there's nothing for it but to send for the bell, book and candle - anybody out there good at exorcism? Linda

Forgive me for stating the obvious but your comments are from funny and frankly unnecessary. This has always been a polite and well-moderated forum and making snide remarks in the guise of fake affection ('my dear Janet') is pretty uncivilised. Posters can disagree about performances without being offensive to others and if you post like a troll you must expect others to treat you like one. Please stop being so unpleasant - nobody likes this sort of behaviour and if you are so serious about ballet that you can't engage with amateur enthusiasts then perhaps you're in the wrong forum. Linda

Tomorrow's Times has a feature about Matthew Ball, with a photo of him as the Swan in Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake. It describes him as 'only the second British male to join the coveted ranks of Royal Ballet principals'. What ever? I can think of at least a dozen in just the last 20 years. And what happened to the Press embargo on news of promotions? Apologies to the moderators if I shouldn't mention this but it's well and truly in the public domain now. Linda.

I hope to see it in the theatre too one day but in fairness I should say that at the cinema I attended (The Windmill Cinema club in Littlehampton) the transmission was exemplary. Marvellous sound and lighting and no technical faults, enhanced by an enthusiastic and knowledgeable audience whose manners were impeccable. And it wasn't just oldies like me there - plenty of younger people plus a surprising number of children who I suspect were being given a treat by indulgent grandparents. And at the matinee you could follow the performance with an ice-cream and a walk along the beach! I'm seriously thinking of going there again as it was a much better experience than I have had at the modern cinema near my home in Canary Wharf. Linda

I haven't been able to see this at the ROH so I had to be content with the cinema broadcast. For what it's worth I enjoyed it but with reservations. Firstly, I really dislike the ending -it's muddled, unconvincing and I came away feeling rather flat. Very disappointing. The main faults with the previous Dowell production could so easily have been fixed without throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Better lighting and costumes ( I know male dancers hate white tights but the audience needs to see the footwork), less 'business' and calming down the decor would probably have done it. Nice to see the flying monkeys have been ditched but von Rothbart as a courtier seems irrational - it makes more sense to me if his world is distinct from the royal court and Siegfried is the innocent bystander blundering into a totally alien situation. Modern choreographers seem to find myth hard to deal with unless related to current politics. But the reason that myths have survived is I think because they still resonate with the human condition and the desire to see and feel something more than our everyday reality. This is really why I don't think this version is quite right. Excellent designs, acting and technical skill but that's no more than we expect from our premier company. Personally I would have liked something more. Linda

Thanks very much Bluebird, I was having difficulty finding it. Linda

I'd like to second that. No dancer, however beautifully proportioned, can look good in a costume that looks like ill-fitting, faded undies. My pet hates are the dreadful corsets worn in 'La Petit Mort' and the knickers and vest sets for Chroma. One of the professional dance critics memorably described them as being 'the colour of old bras'.

Now I know what I want for my birthday😊 Makes hitting the big 7 Oh that much easier. Linda

Isn't that a little harsh? Personally I think Bonelli is still excellent and youth isn't everything, While I think Vadim is a brilliant dancer I still think he lacks a certain 'princely' aura - a sense of 'otherness' that marks out the aristocrat from the boy next door type. I'm sure he will develop this in time. I'm not saying this is always essential but in a fairy story it does help. For the same reason, while I admire Campbell's skill, I don't think he is suitable to be the fairy tale prince - he's just too likeable and approachable. Suitable for our modern monarchy perhaps but not in the ballet tradition which does, after all, stem from the court of the Sun King. Luckily for us, and the RB dancers, there are plenty of human characters in Macmillan's work as contrast to Petipa's more rarefied roles. Linda

I took so long with my post (laptop playing up a bit) that I didn't see the latest posts about poor screenings. I have to say that the quality of the streaming here was fine and the sound quality in particular was wonderful. It's not a new or even purpose-built cinema either although I think the auditorium was upgraded about ten years ago. It's very much a local venture with volunteer front of house staff and a very wide choice of films, including live transmissions from the ROH, the National Theatre and other world class venues. I suspect that's why the standards are high - they need full houses all year round to keep it going. Unlike bigger resorts such as Brighton or Chichester, none of the major cinema chains are interested in a small town like this. It's a great shame that the commercial cinemas aren't as dedicated - I sympathise with anyone who didn't get to see this production at its considerable best. Linda

Just returned from the showing at the local cinema club here in Littlehampton. Wonderful evening made better by a full and very enthusiastic audience - applauding every solo and so involved there was a collective gasp at Francesca's tiny wobble. Well, she is a local heroine (lives in nearby Worthing) and I thought that might explain the capacity crowd but my neighbour said there was always a full house for the ballet: "we get very excited" she told me - lovely to hear and lovely to be part of it. I have to agree with most other reviewers about the new production. Excellent in part, particularly the third act which was frankly rather a mess in the previous version but I'm not convinced by the ending which seems a bit feeble and unsatisfying. Partly due to Muntagirov I'm sorry to say. As a dancer he is superlative but as a Crown Prince he fails to convince. I think it may be because he just looks so young and fragile, hardly old enough for his mother to be pressing him to choose a bride. Nunez, by comparison, is very much in command, so strong it seems unlikely she needs anyone to help her dissolve Von Rothbart's curse. I loved her Odile, though, technically stunning, absolutely ruthless and firing on all cylinders: a Ferrari to Siegfried's gallant little Honda. But there was also so much to admire in the supporting roles, particularly Siegfried's sisters and the foreign princesses. And I loved the national dances, the sumptous costumes complementing the beautiful ballroom set. In the interval there was an interview with the designer where we saw him painting the lakeside backdrop. It looked lovely then but I didn't think the lighting made the most of it during the performance as it was too dim to see the lake. And one problem from the Dowell version is still hanging around - if the male lead must wear dark tights the lighting should be sufficient to see his legs! I have to agree with other reviewers about Benno. His character is much better developed than Siegfried's and he has much more dancing, (even his uniform is different from the other cadets') but when danced so superlatively by Campbell how can anyone complain? Bennet Gartside was a formidable Von Rothart - am I the only one to be spooked by his resemblance to Putin? But why did he rush off clutching his chest at the end of the Prologue? And why does he glare at everyone as though there's a bad smell under his nose or he's suffering from a bad case of heartburn? I would have thought an ambitious courtier would be more ingratiating, at least to begin with. But these are minor niggles in an otherwise exceptional production. From a personal perspective, a brilliant evening at very modest cost (£13 plus 50p booking fee, free parking and local organic ice cream at a £1 a pot). So much so I'm actually thinking of going to see the encore on Sunday, (assuming I can get a ticket). BTW, if anyone can let me know the casting of the supporting roles, at least for the 3rd Act I would be most grateful. Linda

Well, it did wonders for Adam Cooper's career but I hope he will return to the RB later. Incidentally, what is "Super Cooper" doing these days? Linda

Bonelli and Lamb have danced together before: they were in the Alice in Wonderland performance that was shown on TV some years back. I thought they were terrific together and he seemed to bring out Lamb's mischievous sense of humour which can rarely be seen in the serious roles she is usually assigned. Linda

Are we allowed to ask what is McRae's injury? I know virtuoso dancers like him often suffer worse injuries than less 'firecracker' dancers but he seems very young to have the sort of injury that has kept him off-stage for so long. Linda

It seems to me that most modern pieces we see at the ROH are all rather serious (and/or pretentious?), at least they all seem to need lengthy programme notes explaining what the choreographer is trying to say. But it's not so long ago that new one-acters were allowed to be funny. I remember Matthew Hart's 'Cry Baby Kreisler' which was hilarious, also Forsythe's 'Hermann Schmermann' and other similar pieces often featured as part of the RB's Dance Bites programmes. There were others whose names I can't recall but it wasn't unknown to hear plenty of laughter - I miss those evenings now. Yes we get Fille and the Dream is entertaining but most of it is pretty hard going. Can't we start a movement towards more lighthearted features? Or am I too flippant to be a true ballet lover? Linda

I do sympathise with the Australian critic though. Acosta's Carmen is a memory I really wish I could eradicate, particularly the 'Chippendales' moment. i think Equity should have intervened to protect the dancers - I bet most of them would like to forget it too. Linda

Thanks very much. I do try to keep up but haven't seen my grand children recently. Linda

I loved it but being too old to be a millenial did not understand it all. What on earth is a 'horocrux'? Linda

I was about to make the same comment. Having been to quite a few insight evenings, I would say few dancers in the UK companies are larger than our size 8. Perhaps some of the taller ones are a 10 but generally they have very slender frames. I've also noticed that even the male dancers become very 'streamlined' after a few years as a principal or first soloist. I always thought it was because their busy working schedules gave them little time to eat. A working day from 10.30 a.m. to around midnight (allowing time to remove makeup, change and get home after a performance) is pretty full-on. Even though only the corps work nearly every performance, the more senior ones have to learn new roles, participate in the education and teaching programme and also find time to keep fit, get physiotherapy etc. It's not a life for weaklings! Linda

Too dark, too fussy and too much unfunny 'business', to put it mildly. Siegfried and his friends are not upper-class twits to run around a formal ball swatting people on the backside with their swords and royal tutors don't last long if they get drunk and molest courtiers' daughters. Some lovely costumes but some more like those of a Roger Corman budget horror. Linda P.S. But Sim is right about the ending - much more satisfactory emotionally.

That's just what I was thinking! Only I think Julia Roberts movie was set in outer space? [But any tru sci-fi fan will know about the genre known as 'space opera' which has been known to feature Vikings and their horses being transported across galaxies in space ships*] Linda *I can't believe I know about this - I really must get out more.

Me too. I always thought that the last production didn't give enough to Siegfried but this doesn't sound like much of an improvement. There must be dancers in the company, Bonelli for example, who have taken part in both versions. I wonder what they think? Linda

Yes, that's the one but the the only time I've seen it was in the Awakening pdd during the all-Ashton programme. I wish they would revive some of the other pieces too - particularly Daphis & Chloe - but that's for a different thread. Linda