San Perregrino

Northern Ballet are dancing R&J at Sadlers Wells and around the country on and off until the end of the year. Highly recommended

The return to London by NYCB has been much anticipated nay trumpeted on this forum. Fantastic reviews of its NY season have reached these shores. My spirits may have been dampened by negative advance comment on the programme to be presented (a medley of short choreographic pieces with no apparent connection) and the absence, due to injury, of one or more of NYCB’s dancers. However, I have no prior experience of NYCB so I will always put the naysayers aside until I have seen with my own eyes. And so, I went along this afternoon with an open mind and a willingness to embrace what is on offer this week. Oh dear. For someone who will seek to find the good in everything, in respect of this NYCB ‘showcase’, that is a very difficult ask. Duo Concertant stood out for its precision and detailed Balanchine choreography. Pam Tamowitz’s ‘Gustave le Gray No 1’ appealed because of its creative originality and the elegant colour palette. Rotunda was formulaic and offered nothing of note but its repeat would have been preferable to Love Letter (on shuffle) which was akin to slow torture as each segment ended in the stage going black fooling us into thinking it was done only to start up again and prolong the misery. Two out of four is a 50% success rate so that would mean a ‘Pass’. No distinction or merit to awarded in this instance. Given NYCB’s reputation for superb dance & ballet, I came away feeling robbed.

the current Royal Ballet version does have the joyful Act 1 mixed corps dancing and virtuoso solo display by Benno in front of the Palace gates. This is followed soon afterwards by Siegfried's melancholy solo before he heads to the woods & lake and the stage is flooded with (female) swans. The Act 3 Palace scene also has plenty of dancing by couples and solos before the Black Swan and Siegfried solos & pas de deux increase the intensity. As such, your son will see that there is much of interest beyond the swans. @Beaker If you don't already know it, virtuoso male dancers feature in Forsythe's 'Playlist' (Track 1, Track 2) which contrasts ballet classicism and athleticism with the beats of neo-soul and house music. Choreographed for ENB. it is simply inspiring for any young male dancer and is available on the interweb.

Along the lines of “These shoes are killing me” ?

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.

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. 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….

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.