San Perregrino

As a way to introduce children to live ballet you might consider:

English National Ballet and English National Ballet School’s

My First Ballet: Swan Lake

4 – 13 April 2024 at Sadlers Wells 

followed by a visit to the Royal Ballet in May or June to see the full length production if your son is hooked. ENB are also doing Swan Lake in the Round at the Royal Albert Hall in early June. 
 

17 hours ago, PeterS said:

if you click on the seat on any seating plan whether sold or not you ought still to get the view. the DGT does cut off the top of the stage but it has never bothered me.

I'd rate d36-39 as good standing places.  they are central so you'll see the full width of the stage. as to height, though the bar is level, the places are on a rake with 36 being the lowest, 39 the highest.  how much 'height' of the stage you will see/will be cut off also depends on the height of the person watching and the production itself. a shorter person has a better angle looking upwards. note that there are also lighting (or other technical boxes above some of those places, you can see them in the pictures) which can impede the upward angle view. I don't know what you've booked, but if it's Manon I doubt that you'll  miss anything, however, if it's Nutcracker you won't see the tree grow to full height. 

I stood in d38 for Swan Lake last night. the top half of the stage is cut off by the overhang and the lighting boxes to the top right hand side.  in the white Acts this meant that the sky and the moon weren't visible. in the Black Swan Act, I crouched down to see what might be obscured to find that the palace has beautifully vaulted and painted ceilings hidden from view. the top of the staircase is visible so that the entrance of the black swan is seen in full.  the illusion of the white swan in the mirror above the staircase is however partially lost. 

17 hours ago, PeterS said:

NB bear in mind that the standing places are at specific locations and moving sideways isn't possible if the adjacent places are filled.  d39 is an exception as it is at the end on the aisle.   if the usher on duty is amenable, it is possible to edge a little sideways for a view of the stage.

most standing places are unsuitable for children for, unless they can see over the bar they won't be able to see anything except the top of the stage ;-).   d39 is an exception as it is at the end on the aisle.   if the usher on duty is amenable, it is possible to edge a little sideways for a view of the stage.

IF I could delete these words from my previous post, I would. if the mods can do so, PLEASE, PLEASE, do.

I retract my hypothetical statement in the light of practical experience. for the first act last night a parent and child ended up standing in d39. (they originally had tickets in the d28-d32 range where the child could see nothing). they were moved by a well-intentioned patron to d39 to give the child a chance of seeing the stage shortly before curtain up and too late for the usher, busy occupied dealing with other patrons, to intervene. the child was only able to see over the bar by standing on a booster cushion, an accident waiting to happen, with the parent standing behind to steady and calm the child as it became tired and bored, standing, sitting, stretching as the beauty unfolded onstage. some the child saw, much it didn't.

standing in the aisle to the side to the bar as I have previously suggested was no better for a child that height as it's view was still blocked by the people sitting in the rows in front. very much a failed experiment which unsettled the patrons around including myself.

they didn't return after the first interval so at least the parent knew the child well enough to accept it was too young/tired/had seen enough/was well past it's bedtime to enjoy the production or even that the parent had admitted to making a mistake booking those places. for that, I salute them.

Tonight’s opening performance is….

SWAN LAKE

The 1060th performance by The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House. 
 

there are some taller than average regulars who book the front row seats. they get the best of all worlds but I always feel sorry for the people sitting behind them.  it happened to me once. I was miserable for days afterwards.

if you click on the seat on any seating plan whether sold or not you ought still to get the view. the DGT does cut off the top of the stage but it has never bothered me.

I'd rate d36-39 as good standing places.  they are central so you'll see the full width of the stage. as to height, though the bar is level, the places are on a rake with 36 being the lowest, 39 the highest.  how much 'height' of the stage you will see/will be cut off also depends on the height of the person watching and the production itself. a shorter person has a better angle looking upwards. note that there are also lighting (or other technical boxes above some of those places, you can see them in the pictures) which can impede the upward angle view. I don't know what you've booked, but if it's Manon I doubt that you'll  miss anything, however, if it's Nutcracker you won't see the tree grow to full height. 

resting on the bar is ok, but leaning over for a better view isn't good etiquette as it will invade the space of the person sitting in front of you and you may get a negative response so it's worth bearing this in mind. if your knees are good then if you want an extreme upward angle crouching now and then is the better option.

NB bear in mind that the standing places are at specific locations and moving sideways isn't possible if the adjacent places are filled.  d39 is an exception as it is at the end on the aisle.   if the usher on duty is amenable, it is possible to edge a little sideways for a view of the stage.

most standing places are unsuitable for children for, unless they can see over the bar they won't be able to see anything except the top of the stage ;-).   d39 is an exception as it is at the end on the aisle.   if the usher on duty is amenable, it is possible to edge a little sideways for a view of the stage.

to update non-friends, there are currently hundreds of tickets still available for all performances of both Ashton triple bills in the main house.

@Bruce Wall since, according to you London is getting a rubbish programme danced by the dregs of NYCB, I’m now wondering if it best that I return my tickets for a credit note and pick up another excellent performance of the Royal Ballet instead….

2 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Yes, he did, very well. I thought his jumps particularly impressive.

 

Another Benno from the last run who hasn't been mentioned yet is Richardson, who I thought managed to make more of the role acting-wise than most did.

 

Now what we need to know is when all these confirmed & likely Bennos will be performing!

Kevin O’H came onstage before today’s rehearsal to say that the Sasaki/Sissens combination had been a late substitution (he didn’t say who for) and to ask for our forbearance as they are still not fully rehearsed as they debut in @6weeks.

As a result other cast members were shuffled too. 
In light of the above, I wouldn’t hold your breath for much advance casting information beyond what we already have. 

With all Carlos Acosta’s outside interests it feels like the job of  Director of BRB merits only a part-time appointment. One has to wonder if he is able to give BRB the attention it needs at this time.

40 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

I've amended the title to include the company ... other companies do exist and perform Swan Lake.

Very true. Between now and August there are at least 5 different productions in England alone:

Royal Ballet

ENB My First Ballet: Swan Lake

ENB Swan Lake in the Round

The Acrobatic Swan Lake

State Ballet of Georgia Swan Lake. 

i also think there are other companies touring the UK.

24 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

Having changed my account settings to sign up for emails I had hoped that I might get the offer for the MacMillan triple bill. No such luck. All I've had so far have been 2 emails exhorting me to buy tickets or items in the ROH shop for Mother's Day.

I doubt you’d receive any emails that have already been sent out unless it was decided to repeat the offer. 

10 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

Manon's Act II black & gold costume got some mentions a few pages back. I wonder if Lescaut also being costumed in black & gold in Act II is deliberate, to emphasise both his kinship to Manon & that both of them are getting access to wealth from the same source to enable them to get lavish, expensive clothes?

Alongside this I’ve always thought that Manon, Des Grieux, Lescaut & the mistress were dressed in black, gold & ivory in act 2 as a way of making them stand out from the crowd as they move around stage and easily identifiable as the central characters to the story. Also it’s ’the Gang of Four’ against the establishment which is why Monsieur GM isn’t dresses in the same colour palette. 

1 hour ago, Peanut68 said:

gift so many as they seem to do to RBS students & ROH staff to fill seats

can you please provide documented evidence to back up this statement? 

a lot of ill will was generated in the autumn season by discussion of hearsay and the spreading of gossip about 'free seats to friends & family'  and the 'papering' of the house.  however, when requested forum members were unable to provide documented evidence to support these rumours.

I’m looking forward to seeing this production and will approach it with an open mind.
It’s always good to see something new. If it’s ballet or dance, it has the potential to entertain, to please and amaze.

I can’t make up my mind about something, let alone judge or criticise it before I’ve seen it “in the flesh”.
As there are potentially 4 casts to see, the test will be whether I want to return more than once. 

per the ENB website, running time is: 

1 hour 30 minutes including one interval

which, in theory,  makes it almost possible to do two shows nightly. 

although, the Sadlers Wells website has it differently as:

Running Time

1 hour 50 minutes (including one 20 minute interval)

Whenever the new Sadlers Wells season goes onsale to its members. Keep an eye out for announcements and check the SW website now and again.

44 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said:

Does anyone know when tickets for Akram Khan's Giselle at Sadler's Wells go on sale? It says they open Spring 2024 which I assumed would be now, or at some point this month...

Whenever the new Sadlers Wells season goes onsale to its members. Keep an eye out for announcements and check the SW website now and again.

56 minutes ago, Fonty said:

 Could you see all the SCS places @PeterS  ?  If you can draw me a floor plan, and show that you counted every single space....then I might consider sending the tenner.  

 

Actually, it doesn't really matter if these people were in a cheap seat or an expensive one.  The point is they left after the first act.  They seemed to be saying that the performance wasn't a good one, and they gave the impression they were cutting their losses and going home early.  

 

I think these people must have been a bit mad, to be honest.  And occupying places that dedicated Campbell fans would have killed for.  

I agree that IMHO at least these people missed out on an evening of magnificence.

However, one person’s meat is another’s soya protein macnugget. If what I read on here is true even seasoned forumites will pick and choose which bits of a ballet evening they are prepared to watch notwithstanding external constraints necessitating a late arrival or early departure. 
You and I can bask in the enjoyment of a full evening well spent. 
 

1 hour ago, Fonty said:

I am prepared to bet a tenner that this couple were not in expensive seats, and were probably occupying two SCS places.

on the side that I was standing all SCS were full from before the performance until the last curtain call. however, during Act 3,  there were some empty seats in my sightline both in stalls circle and orchestra stalls.  can I claim the tenner? shall I send you my bank details? 🙂 

Well, all that was missing from this afternoon’s performance was a flower throw. It had all the hallmarks of final performances (of Manon) by Sarah Lamb & Ryo Hirano. Extended red run and acknowledgment of the standing ovation from an audience who knew it had seen something special. 

18 minutes ago, Scheherezade said:

 

Personally, I'd rather have a website that worked  without hiccups from the outset than one that told me what I already knew.

That said, I now know that if clicking on add to your basket doesn’t give me the success message, then it’s a waste of time repeatedly clicking on add to your basket as the ticket has gone into someone else’s basket and, at least for the moment, isn’t up for grabs by me. It may become available again if released back into the wild by the captor or if a basket expires due to inactivity.

48 minutes ago, Candleque said:

the RB principals do not dance enough (at the ROH). Maybe we need more galas or ensemble works

also, perhaps given it’s increasing popularity, it’s time for the RB to think in the medium to long term about having its own dedicated venue rather than having its opportunities to perform limited by having to share a space with the RO. 

Is the “Success” message that pops up when something is successfully added to your basket a new addition? 

Just now, JNC said:

interesting and thanks for sharing. Seems a shame to cut something that is “unique” to this production, I would have been very interested to see it! 

The result is that the Prince is rather under-utilised in this production. Unlike the RB version there is no Act 2 dance with his lady after the Blind Man’s Buff, rather she dances/cavorts in front of him (enough to make anyone think twice about taking that relationship any further). Then, after the party goes hunting there is no solo for the Prince to express his sadness and longing for his soulmate followed by the appearance of the fairy. Instead the fairy pops up as soon as the Prince is alone. The Prince does have one show stopping moment in Act 2 when he comes downstage in a straight line executing 3 x 360 degree tours en l’air with one arm above his head. Lachlan Monaghan, César Morales & Max Maslen all excuted this sequence with aplomb.

On 22/02/2024 at 18:39, alison said:

It should be noted that the Awakening pas de deux at the end of Act II seems to have gone back to sleep again.  I couldn't work out whether it was to keep the running time to under 3 hours, or due to lack of rehearsal time or something.

“Hello BRB please tell me that I’m not going mad….when I saw SB in Southampton (Sat matinee) I’m sure it included the awakening pas de deux, yet this wasn’t danced last night in Birmingham. Am I correct? Thanks”

“Hi Peter 👋,

Don’t worry - you’re not going mad at all!

The show was repeatedly running into overtime so was altered after Southampton. 

Hope that helps,

All the best,
BRB”