Tango Dancer

2 hours ago, Richard LH said:

As to returning tickets,  given the costs of  attending ballet (including train fares etc.) I just thank the ROH that they enable us (subject to the £4 retention) to cancel further performances  we  would not particularly enjoy, and  credit the proceeds for hopefully more rewarding future choices. 

I think if you're not going to enjoy something and know it then it's better to return the tickets so someone else can go and save the money for something you will enjoy. 

20 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

I saw him in both - Different Drummer in person and as the gaoler in Manon on tv. I think the role in Different Drummer was quite abstract and expressionist, almost to the point of looking like a satirical cartoon. I think at the time I thought that he had to portray a lot of villains but in real life (both at the Stage Door and in a TV documentary when he was teaching partnering to RBS Upper school students) he seemed like a really nice person. A relative of mine once observed that the nicest people in life portrayed villains really well because it was their chance to do characters completely opposite to their own personalities!

I think there's something in that.  I saw interviews with Heather Ripley (Jemima Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) and she said Robert Helpmann was absolutely delightful and really kind to her and Adrian Hall (Jeremy) and they thought he was a great person and it was hard to be scared of him when he was in character. 

I would also say that I do classes with Benn Gartside when I'm in London who makes a really good villain (really unpleasant as Rothbart) and is, despite that, a supportive and encouraging teacher.  

25 minutes ago, FionaM said:

https://www.instagram.com/p/C40i9MSIhgt/?igsh=dDdncGxzbDUwdGli
 

This influencer is dressed up as a ballerina in the ROH … and clearly isn’t one.   This offends me.  

My goodness that outfit is not flattering and doesn't look great.  I mean I get it on the one hand.  I wear the pinkest sparkly legwarmers I can sometimes and pink tights and a pink scrunchie when I do my ballet class (especially online classes) to indulge my inner 6 year old and feel like a real ballerina instead of a middle aged office worker.  But I don't think it's really good to dress up in a tutu when attending the ballet if you're not a small child.    It kind of feels inappropriate and disrespectful to the professional performers you're going to see.  

6 minutes ago, FionaM said:

 

I also don’t have a problem with the influencer being glamorous.  The ROH is a place of beauty … both the building and the performances.  We all have enough grimness in our ordinary lives that dressing up for a night out is good for our mental health.  Young people are savvy enough to create their own look without going to the expense of the influencer’s products.

Yes I enjoy getting dressed up sometimes for an evening at the ballet / theatre sometimes.  I mean sometimes I go straight from work in my work clothes (suit or trousers and a smart top) but if I am staying overnight or coming directly from home it's quite nice to dress up a bit.  I mean not tiara and evening dress but a nice pair of black trousers and a silky blouse or a dress in the summer.  It's part of the fun of making it an occasion that you dress up (obviously this is just my opinion and view for myself and I don't mind what other people do).    

Oh this sounds good.  I am already making a note of the date for a weekend in Birmingham.  What a lovely idea!

4 minutes ago, Roberta said:

 

A few stunning photos here of Von Rothbart / Rothbart/ Rotbart etc over the eras! Red beard. Hmmm. The mark of the villain! 

 

https://www.alastairmacaulay.com/blog/spjs2ilspbnnh0k5ozg3fbfco1dc73

 

 

Interesting.  I really like the Royal Ballet's costuming that they use, both the evil bird design (Gary Avis describes it as an owl but I've always thought it was a vulture) and the court design with the long black coat and long hair (which looks really good on both Gary and Benn Gartside in my view).  

1 minute ago, Emeralds said:

I agree- I saw Klimentova one, two and three seasons after she made those comments to the cameras, and what can I say.....she's far from being "old ballerina". if I hadn't known who she was, I would have said this was a star ballerina in her twenties, who outshone a lot of high profile stars who were younger than her, in terms of her technical skills, artistry and harnessing her energy to suit the role. When she danced Juliet, she really did pass for a 14 to 16 year old (and I had a seat in the 6th row of the stalls!) in the way she moved and the way she could act. She did not look like "older lady pretending to be young'. It was extraordinary, she really WAS Juliet.  Klimentova really did retire from ENB (though not from dancing) still at the top of her game. I saw her the following year at Ballet Icons Gala (dancing the Moszkowski Waltz with Vadim- thankfully not yet another Don Q or Black Swan! - what glorious programming) and she was still on top form. 👏 

I did a masterclass with Klimentova at Danceworks online last year and one this year and she looks a lot younger than her age.  She's 52 and I'd pegged her as mid 40s. She still moves beautifully.   

Lovely pictures.  Vadim's costume is a lot more golden than it looks at a distance.  Also Reese Clarke is really tall and I wish he and Yasmin had better costumes. Thanks for sharing.  

27 minutes ago, Sim said:

This is why I don't go to these galas anymore.  For some reason they seem to attract people who don't really care about the artform;  they go to be seen and get in the papers or on TikTok, or just to be in the audience with other 'slebs' (I must admit that I haven't heard of one person mentioned in the link above, but I guess I'm no yardstick for modern culture!). If I want to listen to music/watch ballet whilst I am surrounded by the glow of mobile phones I can simply go upstairs on a London bus, put on YouTube and join everybody else who is doing the same thing.  And it's free!

Yeah I didn't recognise any of the "famous" people the Daily Mail identified as being at the gala either but then I don't watch much television.  The last person I consider famous that I met at a ballet was Mthuthuzeli November and I was very excited about that because I think he's a brilliant choreographic genius.  He was not being photographed, acting like a celebrity or doing anything other than standing there quietly reading the programme and probably wondering why he was being gushed at by a strange middle aged woman! 

46 minutes ago, bridiem said:

 

Really regret not going now - I deprived them of the opportunity to photograph me in my dazzling jeans and endlessly comfy jumper. Ah well. Maybe next year.

They didn't photograph me in my stunning blue trousers and glittering M&S top.  I feel they missed a trick here.  

I've no idea who these "famous" people are and haven't heard of any of them.  I did see some people posing and being photographed at the start and acting like they were important but I didn't think anything of it. 

I'm no good at recognising people.  I used to work in a stately home in Yorkshire as a student and we had many Emmerdale actors and football people etc come in and I failed to recognise them all.  Except Paul Daniels because someone told me he was there.    

13 minutes ago, Fonty said:

It will remain one of the great mysteries as to why people are plugged in to their mobile phones while watching a live performance.  

I don't get it either but an awful lot of people last night didn't seem engaged and were busy whatsapping or otherwise engaged, which is weird to me for something as visual as ballet especially when you have people doing something like a coda or manege.

In contrast i went to a piano recital in Leeds conservatoire on Friday and nobody moved an inch, used their phones or breathed loudly while the pianist was performing. I wish last nights ballet audience were as attentive.

4 minutes ago, Sim said:

Would you like me to change it?  I thought it was rather funny!!   

 

No it's fine, it doesn't matter. Glad it made you laugh.

Sorry for Basin read Vadim - I hate autocorrect sometimes. 

3 hours ago, capybara said:

 

 

Good to glimpse emerging stars like Antonio Casalinho but the hype which preceded Giorgi Potskhishvili led me to expect to see something quite extraordinary from him not the ragged ‘tricks for tricks sake’ he produced alongside a seriously under-powered Osipova (despite her obviously new shoes!). Don Q has been on the Icons programme for as long as I can remember and this rendition was just about as bad as it gets.

 

 

Yes I was surprised. I normally love the classic highlights like Don Q and Corsaire and they were my least memorable bits. I actually likes the Sergio Bernal and Roberto Bolle works better which was rare for me.

I also definitely thought Nela and Vadim do Swan Lake much better. I think they've spoilt me for others. Is it me or is the RB choreography of that sequence more complex than last nights? I'm not an expert but I did wonder. 

36 minutes ago, art_enthusiast said:

 

I find it bizarre that people like this exist - you can see them at the ROH as well. They clearly have more money than sense. I hope they get didn't any kind of discount on their tickets.

Yes me too. I mean you either go for love (either of the work or the people you're there with) or you're paid to be there. In either case it's really rude to leave halfway through.

I left once at the interval (and it was a very bad play with bad actors) and I felt terrible about it.

5 hours ago, TSR101 said:

It was a sellout - so presumably some people spent £175 for stalls tickets and then didn't come! 

I was in the balcony and there were seats next to me unoccupied and some others in the balcony not occupied along with some of the boxes.

So I guess some people don't come given it was billed as being sold out.

I don't think it was filmed but I may be wrong.

Also even with a cold you'd probably be better behaved than some of the audience. Quite a few people had their phones on and were not engaged with the show. And one person nearby was so engaged he started singing along to Swan Lake. Which did not improve the coda. 

And the people on my left didn't clap once.

Audiences are weird!

6 minutes ago, capybara said:

Proximity or Closeness was switched with Diamonds and opened the second half.

I liked that and also thought the pianist and the cellist did a great job - but then I love Mahler. 

Thanks so much @TSR101 for posting.

Oh boy some of this was amazing. Some less so.

I absolutely loved everything with Vadim in especially the Jewels pdd. Having not had much rehearsal time I thought the chemistry between him and Olga was great and she was beautiful to watch. His pdd with Fumi also delighted me. She's got such lovely arms.

I loved The Thinker. I'd not seen Sergio Bernal before and I loved the flamenco roots and the guitar. It was brilliant. Just seen @TSR101 comment I agree on the beige undercrackers - a let down but amazing piece of dance.

I also really liked Taming of the Shrew. Camilla and Osiel had such great chemistry and the choreography and music suited each other.

Caravaggio was also lovely, beautiful music and lovely dancing.

Interestingly for me I liked some of the more unfamiliar work better. 

I still don't like Wayne McGregor (Qualia did nothing for me despite Reese and Yasmin best efforts - awful music and not good choreography) and the Forsythe had lovely choreo and performance but terrible music.

Having heard about Giorgi Potshkishvili I was interested to see him. I thought he was interesting, lovely attack on the jumps and great flair but heavier on the landings. I fear watching Vadims jumps has spoiled me for everyone else.

Overall though a really fun and varied evening. Great range of talent and some lovely new discoveries.

Just starting a topic for reviews and comments on tonight's gala because I couldn't see one.

I thought it was good with some real standout items. There wasn't an online cast list anywhere and programmes were £10 which is more than I can afford. If anyone can post the list of items if appreciate it as I would like to know what everything was. So I can review better.

24 minutes ago, TSR101 said:

 ‘Caravaggio’ 

That's interesting, I've not seen that before and it will be a treat to see something new with Roberto and Melissa.

14 minutes ago, Linnzi5 said:

I'm not sure I would like the latter ending. I mean, it is interesting, but I'm not sure it would work for me as I can't imagine Siegfried would do that after losing Odette, but I'm sure it would be interesting! 

 It's not my favourite either, I just think the concept is really interesting of the prince being required, after losing his love, to keep the promise he'd given at the ball despite hating every minute of it.    

3 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

I'm wondering because the most moved I've been by SL was when I saw ENB's production with Salenko & Frola last season. I don't know if the ending of that, with them being united in death, may have helped. Or if it was due to the performers. Or what.

I think the performers can make a big difference to me.  I find it more moving when I'm bought into the relationship and chemistry between the characters and a lot of that comes down to the way they interact and how they work together as a couple.  I mean my favourites are Zenaida and Nehemiah (first time I saw it)  and Nela and Vadim (last time) and in both cases it was the chemistry between the character that was the thing that really moved me.  If that's not there, I don't really care what happens to them.  

Yes there's a few productions with a happy ending.  I think the Marinsky has one where they defeat Rothbart and go off together, there may be some others.  There's also a rather interesting Danish version where Siegfried is required to keep his promise and marry Odile after Odette dies which I think is a curious take on it.    

1 minute ago, FionaM said:

It’s unusual to have anyone performing twice at the Ivons gala.  I assume it’s Vadim to the rescue here … Diamonds with Smirnova and Grand Pas Classique with Kaneko.  Bravo, and lucky us in the audience. 

 

My concerns about galas in general is that there is often very limited rehearsal time of these last minute pairings, and it often shows.  Though I suspect Vadim and Olga are such proficient dancers that this may not be the case. 

As a related tangent, there was a gala in Japan in December last year where Alina Cojocaru volunteered to replace an injured colleague to perform this same Diamonds pdd.  She had one night to remind herself of the choreo … last performed 12 years prior … and one rehearsal with a new partner, Jakob Feyferlik.  Sometimes the organisers and dancers have to take risks! 

Vadim is definitely worth seeing twice I agree.  I mean I could watch him dance or teach all day and be happy.

I agree limited rehearsal time can be a risk but sometimes it works and can be rewarding.  I also really like seeing pairings you don't usually see and people from different companies dancing together.  So I'm really excited about the mystery programme for tomorrow.