Candleque

That is an accolade for David Donnelly for sure. Fwiw, I always feel a bit sorry for the dancer playing Paris. It is a named part, but he doesn't get any show-off steps or swordplay like the other lads. And MacMillan makes him much more of a bullying cad than Shakespeare ever did. Paris doesn't even get a proper dramatic death scene; it is over in a blink-and-you-miss-it second 🤣 🗡

This part of Sim's lovely review really hit home for me. By lucky chance I saw their R&J debut. And was blown away. While I was a ballet fan prior, I didn't really book for specific casts. Yasmine and Matty were so amazing together, I realised I needed to see them again. And that prompted my deeper knowledge of the different dancers. Which led to seeing multiple casts for each ballet, vs just going once. So I have a lot to thank them for (except for the blow to my budget 🤣 )

Fyi, If you are a London Ballet Circle member, there is an invite to attend a Technical Stage Rehearsal on the 16th at Sadler's Wells.

I first encountered Don Q in the movie The Turning Point where a new Kitri is rehearsing with a revered coach. Loved that scene in the film and then in the ballet. So will book just to see this IRL again 😆 Also (and here is why we REALLY need more of the cast mentioned in advance) I think Ryoichi Hirano is amazing perfect as Espada. Would book just to see him again. Since we can assume (mostly) who will dance Kitri, it would be fun to think about who gets to debut as Mercedes. Has Leticia Dias done this role already?

Totally agree. His dancing talent shines even in this role 🌟 In another cast, I found Thomas Whitehead to be the best (or shall I say least obnoxious in my eyes) bossy step-sister. I noticed his acting skill and nuances more than I had previously (sorry Tom) in other ballets. Applause to them both from this non panto fan 👏 💐 👏

Tend to agree with the last part of the last sentence, at least at the ROH 🤣 Totally agree it would be interesting to see some of de Valois' works. Also having never seen anything by Nijinska, or even heard much about her before, I selfishly wish the Royal Ballet would join the ballet world in rediscovering her. In terms of modern female choreographers that deserve the main stage, obviously Twyla Tharp comes to mind. Hardly a risky choice and certainly a crowd pleaser. (Assume the RB have performed her dances in the past, but I don't personally remember.) As a stretch goal, I'd personally love to see the ROH give someone like Arielle Smith a chance. Would be amazing to see her give an older classical work a makeover (i.e., the commission to Liam Scarlett for Swan Lake or Tamara Rojo's Ramonda). Not everyone needs to love the final product, just as not all of us are Wayne McGregor fans. And while things like Draft Works are great, it is the main stage that really counts imo. People can certainly disagree that representation is important, but in ALL fields unless active steps are taking to measure and balance diversity, there is no progress. It does not happen on its own. You can see it in the recognition and growth of female film directors for example, or movements like OscarsSoWhite, or the bestseller The Story of Art without Men, etc. Am sure I will be corrected if I am wrong, but as far as I know (since de Valois) the RB have never had a woman as their Resident Choreographer or appointed to one of the other official positions. When they do (for her talent, not for box ticking) that will be progress and gender equality in my eyes.

Gutted to miss Marco Masciari as the Jester. So happy to see him get a showcase role

This is a fun topic. Can't wait to see what people think once the schedule is announced and we can match pairs to specific ballets. For me, am hoping James Hay gets the principal roles he deserves (with any partner except Bennet Gartside — heheh j/k they were good together). I would book Yasmine Naghdi and Matthew Ball in anything, but for variety would say why not have them do all the classical roles together and cast Matthew with Mayara Magri in the more modern pieces (their Carousel was amazing.) And then Yasmine can do those ballets with Cesar Corrales 😁

Ditto. As one of the panto haters who wish there wasn't so much stage time given to the step sisters, I have to say that James Hay somehow made me see for the first time how much actually dancing they do. I fully enjoyed (most of) Act 1 because I felt his technique showed through the slapstick. (Like so many, I am mystified why he doesn't get cast in lead roles more often. Am counting the days until his Sleeping Beauty in May.) Portraying the more annoying bullying sister, I think Bennet Gartside did a great job. Having seen four casts, I have to say that Thomas Whitehead was my personal fave in that part (the first time anyone in my eyes surpassed Gary Avis, who I generally adore). All the dancers seem to be having a ball (pun intended) with these parts, so feeling a bit churlish to keep wishing someone had the power or gumption to cut down the step sisters to a less obnoxious level. Agree Fumi and Will were magical as always and I was so happy to see them. My own vote for best performance is still Yasmine and Matty (Tuesday) but basically feel how privileged I am to have seen four different couples dazzle us with their virtuosity in these roles. My mixed feelings about this Cinderella choreo and production are in no way a reflection of the amazing talent of all the dancers. What a company 🌟

Yasmine radiant so far tonight. Step-sisters bothered me less because I’m so happy to see her in this role 💖 However my opera glasses caught one of the Summer Fairy’s little pages yawning his head off. So I kept looking at him lol. Don’t know how he is going to make it to midnight ⏰🤣

Thank you; the ticket has now been taken

I don't remember exactly if he gave actual predictions or just personal wishes. Here is the link to the public report: Marcelino Sambe In Conversation with Sarah Crompton | 12th December 2022 Fyi: If you're a Member, the video of the whole talk is available via the LBC Members Only page

Not confident to give predictions beyond: - a MacMillan (which I will see — but would be nice to have a year off to miss it more) - a McGregor (which I won't see; personal pov) - and Nutcracker (which I will always see 🎄) My wish list is Sylvia. Would be amazing to see Yasmine Naghdi and others do this role 🤞 Dream also would be delightful 🧚‍♀️

I have one ticket to watch class at the ROH that sadly I can no longer use. Please DM if interested, ta. The Royal Ballet Class on Stage Friday 21 April 2023, 11.30am | Main Stage ROH Orchestra Stalls, H-29 £20 (H-29 is on the side, but this is a good seat as there are no heads in front of you)

Spot on. Rather dreading having to sit through the sisters act again and again 🙈. Because I was excited to see so many ballerinas making their debuts as Cinderella, I made the rookie mistake of booking multiple tickets for a show I had never seen. If it comes back (as no doubt it will given the investment) once will be enough for me. Am sure the Jonathan Gray review is in the Links; hope it is ok to quote one line: "If only the producers had been braver, bitten the bullet, and given the ballet the pruning it really needs." That's exactly how I feel. With all respect to Ashton, how long does a ballet have to be around before it is okay to make some tweaks? Agree Ashton is a genius, but that doesn't mean every work is perfect. On the other hand, while not my own cup of tea, I know that pantomime is super popular in the UK. So my new marketing question to the ROH is: Why not communicate that element? This Cinderella really is the perfect entry ballet for families that love panto. But a lovely ballerina in a field of flowers does nothing to communicate the slap-stick humour that is half the show. Contrast with the original VHS cover image on the ballet's wikipedia page which features the step-sisters as well as Cinders and her Prince. (Note the page in the background appears to be in blackface so thankfully it is ok to make at least some needed changes for a modern audience.)

Totally agree. Have been trying to avoid analysing fairy tale plots too closely, but actually changing a classic story to remove the villain just doesn't make any sense. Better to remove the father altogether imo — although I would hate for the step-sisters to have even more stage time. I'm NOT a panto fan, so got bored very quickly by their antics, even as I admire the brilliant dancers. Gary Avis is alway amazing. And Luca Acri looked like he was having a ball. For me, I kept thinking how great he'd be as the jester or even the prince. (Casting a dancer in their prime as a slapstick step-sister isn't a choice I'd have made, but hey I am confused quite often with casting decisions ;-)) The dance with the broom is iconic, so a thrill to see it live. I was so happy to see the fairies finally show up (and take the spotlight off the step-sisters) that I enjoyed their costumes, little pages, everything, including of course their beautiful dancing. Luxury casting ftw. Agree with everyone above about the Disney-ness of other costumes. Loved the sets and effects and the modern sparkle the light show adds without infringing on the dancing. I really applaud the Royal Ballet for bringing this back. Niggles are the choreo for the Corps didn't wow me. (Apologies to Ashton super fans.) Nothing stayed with me, like say a Swan Lake or other big production. The ballroom dresses felt like a missed design opportunity, as they just looked like 1950's prom dresses in my eyes. But certainly serviceable. Including the rehearsal, I saw the show both from the amphitheatre (great view for scenes with the whole company) and the stalls. Wanted the ballroom couples just hanging on the sidelines to join in to fill the stage and make some magic. The bewitchment for me happened whenever Cinderella was on stage. Congrats to Marianela Núñez 💖 Very much her show, with Vadim's Prince always a brilliant partner. And the jester. LOVED seeing Taisuke Nakao shine. Am seeing three of the other casts and cannot wait to see who gets the play this plum part. My own Ashton fandom centers around the virtuoso ballet dancing. If I could wave a magic wand, I'd fast forward the panto parts and replay the pas de deux and solos over and over.

It felt privileged to attended the rehearsal and I can't wait until next week so we can talk about the show. I had never seen Ashton’s Cinderella before, so had no (choreographic) expectations. Have to say it felt liberating as an audience member not to be waiting for the iconic fouettés or famous fish dives that symbolise other well-known classical ballets. So I could just watch and enjoy. My main shareable take-away thought atm — which may belong in the ROH Marketing thread and frankly did not occur to me until I actually saw the show — is a genuine befuddlement programming-wise as to why would the Royal Ballet choose to do Cinderella in the same season as Sleeping Beauty? A beautiful damsel in distress is rescued by a prince. Lilac Fairy Godmother and gorgeous side Fairies giving gifts. Déjà vu all over again. Maybe that's why the ROH poster looks more like Aurora 😄

Both Ondine posters are so good. I have never seen this ballet (except for the snip in the Fonteyn gala) and envy those who have. Fwiw, if I was a ballet management team trying to attract an audience raised on The Little Mermaid, this show would be on my must do list for sure. (Please 🙏)

On one hand, I am v happy to hear that the ROH are offering discounts to Friends — their most loyal (and deserving) customers 👍. On the other hand, am so sad I didn't receive this offer myself ☹️ And yeah — note to ROH — although I have already booked multiple casts, with a discount I would have been tempted to buy more tickets... Checking the website just to see what shows up to an unlogged-in user, Cinderella comes up on the page as a long scroll down number 12. Makes no sense marketing-wise, but the productions all seem to be listed in chronological order based on start date, whether it is an Insight, a Tour or a mainstage ballet or opera. Shows the flaws of the ROH site design. They really need to do some serious usability testing. One of the base principles of web usability is minimising how many clicks or scrolls any user needs to get to the desired content or action. As always, it is hard to figure out what the marketing department at the Royal Ballet is thinking. Who is their target audience?? While I understand using the beautiful Marianela Nuñez in the key image for Cinderella, I'm rather befuddled by the background of photoshopped flowers. Tells me nothing about the plot or the production. Perhaps the flowers will be made clear in the new designs we haven't yet seen. As contrast, I think the BRB's key image for their new Black Sabbath ballet is brilliant. And their old Cinderella poster has a clear concept vs the ROH current one.

Loving hearing that some of the younger company members are getting a chance to shine 👍

Very happy I got to see this show. I admire Tiler so much. Not just as a brilliant ballerina, but as the architect of her own career offstage. Author, curator, choreographer, designer; an amazing and inspirational woman. The program was beautifully crafted imo (and executed). What a treat to see Roman Mejia and the other dancers live. I echo everyone who would love to see NYCB in London — unlikely I know, but we can dream. While I enjoyed all the different pieces, the Forsythe was my grudging highlight (adore his choreography, not so much the music choice). While the evening was probably the best example of modern ballet I have seen in awhile, I do admit thinking throughout the show how thrilling it would be to see Tiler in a ballet like Sylvia. Another one added to the fantasy wish list 😆

Sadly, I didn't get to see this Gala. Was surprised (and happy for them) that António Casalinho and Margarita Fernandes got to close the show. Would this be unusual for such young dancers? Don't know much about how Galas are organised tbh. Do dancers choose the piece they want to do? How much input in general would they get?

I didn't know this — have to say now it seems imo like the best thing to happen to António Casalinho since he won the Prix. Just looking at all the amazing roles he has done (including galas like this) at his young age. If he had gone to the Royal Ballet, would he still be in the Corps like other recent PdL winners?

Thanks to posters above for reminding me of this survey. The name of the page in the metadata is: Royal Opera House Pricing, so yeah I think they are mostly interested in how high they can go. Whenever given a text box, I took the opportunity to add things they didn't ask, like my wish list of ballets (Sylvia!) and how I felt about the Diamonds evening. I also suggested if they really wanted to understand their hardcore fans, they should just invite all SCS ticket holders to a focus group. Way simpler than that convoluted set of scenarios question 🤣

Cannot speak of course to any individual dancer's motivation. But on the social platforms — say Instagram — there are certain behavioural norms understood by frequent users. When tagged in a Story, for example, one gives the original poster acknowledgement or thanks by reposting. Instagrammers here will have observed how often the dancers repost each other. It is a common thing. If you are a just a fan and Marianela Núñez reposts you, that is a happy dance moment because you then know Nela saw your post and liked it enough to share it. Please note, I am NOT saying audience members should film anything besides the curtain call. Just that a dancer might repost a video on Instagram (or wherever) as a way to say thank you to that loyal fan.