graemew

Hope Saturday's cast  keeps up this very high standard. My wife will argue, being a supporter of Steven, that it will be even better. But without Ms Nunez.......?

2 minutes ago, Tony Newcombe said:

Go to the cinema performance. !!!!!!!

Oh we will Tony! We go to them all, even if we have seen the same cast "live". Apart from the odd criticism about the cameras being too close from time to time, the revelations live cinema gives makes up  for the restricted detail observable from the Ampi.

Osipova has improved year on year as she has become more used to the ways of the RB and seemingly more a part of the Company. Nothing to do with her dancing per se but more about the relationship with other cast members on stage which in turn lifts her dance. Loved her in Anastasia. 

Having skimmed through this thread I can see no comments concerning the Nunez/Clarke partnership in R&J. I can understand that giving Reece a steady hand for his first runs makes sense and Marianela is just the dancer for that, but would have loved to see her partnered by Vadim once more.

I know a few people who had rather hoped that Bolle might have made a guest appearance as Romeo this year, with his career winding down I believe.

And to throw my fourpennyworth in, I can imagine Campbell making an excellent job of Romeo. He brings alive all the roles I've seem him dance.

We attended an Insight costume evening where you could get "hands on" to the costumes. Costumes for major roles (at least), have a label inside listing the names of everyone who have worn them. And all costumes are made with generous hems and hooks and eyes for flexibility, as has been noted already. 

Isn't this the Live Cinema casting too?

I would have loved to see Marianela but my wife Barbara complained that as much as she enjoys Nela too, she should be allowed to choose Steven "just for once". Multiple visits are not really on the cards because of travel costs on top of tickets. However, having given in this once, I should be able to return to Marianela exclusivity for another couple of years. 

3 minutes ago, aliceinwoolfland said:

Now this is making me nosey! 😂

My first two suspects seemed to be wrong, according to Mr Google!

I have to say that worn pointe shoes ae not the most wholesome of products and I can see that commercial resale could be a real Health and Safety nightmare. As has been pointed out, a pair gifted by a dancer have a special value. Where do you draw the line? Signed photographs or posters would have a cmommercial value but it's not the same as the dancer doing the signing for YOU! 

I have the answer to my original question - thank you for that. I am glad to feel that irrespective of the outcome the lovely Marianela won't be dancing bare-foot and we won't be hearing "Cast change! Marianela Nunez has been replaced by XYZ  in this evening's performance due to a shortage of point shoes"

My wife attended a Craft Day at the Opera House yesterday. She tells me that for £12 it was exceptional value and very well organised (yes i know!). The group of about two dozen were instructed on how to make a cushion cover from pieces of surplus Opera and Ballet fabric. At least a dozen new sewing machines were brought in as well as irons and ironing boards. Opera House costumes were available to inspect and even try on if you felt so inclined and the whole thing seemed to go down well with everyone. Nice to report a succesful implementation of something associated with "Open Up".

For the last two days (Sat and Sunday) at 1pm the Ampitheatre Bar has been either totally closed, or not selling coffee, and indeed not very helpful at all! The downstairs area (the bit that looks like Ikea) was very quiet and if you made it up the escalator to the closed bar/roped off outside area you had difficulty getting back down as the down escalator was off. It did seem a little as though "Open Up" was "Closed Down".

6 minutes ago, Sophoife said:

I know Australian Ballet sells used pointe shoes in their online shop: you used to be able to choose your dancer from a drop-down list and the prices were flexible depending on your choice. It's now $99/pair and no choice is available. Given their heavily-promoted  partnership with Bloch, it's funny how many use Freed, and half a dozen are now using Gaynor Minden.

I would imagine that the ROH shop would double that price. It is currently selling small packs of ex-costume department fabrics at 20 pounds/pack.  However, worn pointe shoes are not the prettiest of goods to display and so would have to be kept under the counter!   I'm sure it would be a good revenue earner though although another imposition on overworked dancers.

1 minute ago, Jan McNulty said:

I've just had a look at the Pointe Shoe Appeal page and I couldn't see that it says the money goes into the general fund.

 

As I understand the situation (but please correct me if I a wrong) if a charity raises money for a specific cause then that is what it has to be used for and the charity's accounts should reflect how that specific money has been spent.

But if the Company would normally spend a certain sum on shoes, then the donations reduce the contribution from the company and that reduction could be diverted to other areas like staging (picking up capybara's point).  It's just focusing a general request into a specific area to make it more appealing to recipients. However, I think taking it to the next stage and linking it to one dancer seems one step too far. 

I received in the post today a request to contribute to the Royal Ballet Pointe Shoe Appeal. It was written in such a way as to suggest one was making specific contributions to one or more individuals which got me thinking about who pays for shoes and where this fund is directed. I would love to know whether shoes are provided at no cost by the ballet company, partially funded or down to individuals. Does it depend on individual contracts perhaps? In which case are the Appeal funds dished out in cases of  hardship or absorbed in some central pot?

I apologise if this has been mentioned before (it is rather a long thread to scan through) but why do people lean forward in their seats in the Ampi at ROH? Elbows on knees,  chins on palms and then the person behind can't see a thing. With normal behaviour the sight lines up there are some of the best.

The worst audiences for general behaviour seem to come along with the Russian summer visits. A higher percentage of casual holiday visitors perhaps?

20 minutes ago, penelopesimpson said:

Hmm.  If that is the case, then all the other venues practicing good security are 'out of the loop?'

How do the Barbican, Royal Festival Hall or National Theatre compare? Not been to any of those for a while but they all similarly placed walk-in venues.

Whenever there have been increased National levels of security my experience is that the ROH has been quick to respond and appeared to do so in a thorough manner. With this in mind I would be surprised if security issues have been pushed into Any Other Business and not been seriously evaluated.  Perhaps I'm in Cloud Cuckoo Land

We attended the Opening Night for Mayerling and felt the "flow" around the building worked well. The Ampitheatre Level 5 cloakroom worked extremely well (particularly compared with what we have put up with for the last year or more) and the new staircase from the bottom of the escalator down to the exit was a boom in avoiding the "old" crush as the flow mixed with patrons leaving the stalls. I asked an usher about the lack of security and was advised that there had been close consultation with the Security Services and that there were "people around". Must have been the gent in the raincoat and trilby leaning against a pillar reading the "Standard".