Sophie_B

I saw tonight's performance - a wonderful 90 minutes that went by really really quickly! A word of warning if anyone is still booking tickets - G is the first row being sold, and that's because F is basically still IN the orchestra. This means if you're going for one of the cheaper side stall seats close to the stage (right), prepare to be blown out of your seats by the brass section during most of the classical variations... It almost goes without saying that Playlist (Track 1, 2) put a massive smile on everyone's faces and even had the ushers dancing as they were waving us out. What a brilliant ensemble piece showcasing the ENB men. Among my other highlights were the "modern and sad" duets of Dust (Erina Takahashi / James Streeter) and Hollow (Emily Suzuki / Victor Prigent). Medora Pas de Trois was brilliant especially from Shiori Kase and Francesco Gabriele Frola, very enthusiastic audience there. Black Swan PDD was beautiful - as expected, Isaac Hernández made it all look easy, and Natascha Mair made a very good Odile. I'd seen her once before in Vienna and also in the recorded ENB Nutcracker and wasn't blown away, but I thought she played the Flirty Ice Queen well here. I hadn't seen Three Preludes before but thought it was lovely from Emma Hawes and Junor Souza. Was a bit confused by the PDD from Broken Wings - the dancing seemed a bit too flirty and lovey to sit well with such an intense and tragic song (La Llorona sung by Chavela Vargas), I couldn't really get into it. It probably worked better as part of the full ballet? I could live without most of the Coppélia extract but Jeffrey Cirio was great in it.

I agree, it wasn't what I was expecting but I'm excited for it - they're broadening out from last year's gala style performances and if anyone wants traditional, they do after all get Sleeping Beauty.

I wasn't going to see two casts of this but caved and bought one of the last remaining amphi tickets for opening night - great cast and seeing Beatriz one last time

Beatriz Stix-Brunell posted that she'll be dancing After the Rain PDD on June 26, 30, July 8, 9, 11. She says "full casting on ROH website". It's definitely not up yet but it sounds like it should be soon!

Thank you for the photos Rob and thank you everyone for your reports of previous evenings. Really enjoyed the performances today, what a treat to have all these star-studded casts! Apollo was completely new to me and I enjoyed it and fabulous dancing of course. I didn't expect it to feel so "avant-garde", not sure that's the right word, just that the little Balanchine I've hitherto seen was of the quick-fire-steps show-off kind, and I didn't get round to reading up on the piece until later. It blew my mind a little when I realised it was from 1928, as you can tell I'm not very familiar with dance history but I enjoy learning about it every time I see something new. Tchaikovsky Pdd - what a shame about Osipova, I hope it's nothing serious. Wonderful to have Nuñez step in last minute, although unsurprisingly without rehearsal time together the first fish dive was a bit of an awkward aborted hop. Of course it hardly took away from the quality of the performance - sparkly Marianela and what elegant jumps from Reece Clarke! Is it churlish to say that I just realllly want to see someone "nail" those jumped fish dives on stage - the only other time I've seen it live was between lockdowns last year (Nuñez / Montagirov), where again that was the one moment that I suspect was hampered a bit by lack of rehearsal time together. Ah well - something to look forward to in the future! Dances at a Gathering - I saw it in early 2020 when it was last on stage, but I think I was more moved by it today because these "simple" encounters and joy of dance resonate quite differently after the past year. I think last year I would have agreed that it can feel a little long in places, but today I didn't really want it to end. So many small details and a lovely flow to the whole piece. It's all serene and gently playful until suddenly the women are being thrown through the air! Pretty impossible to pick any standouts in a strong cast, but Campbell, Nuñez, Kaneko, Bonelli were predictably wonderful.

I'll just jump in here with a mini-report from today - how utterly lovely to be back at the ROH, and while I wait for the antibodies from that vaccine to kick in I'm doubly grateful for the generous spacing and strictly enforced masking policy. Still buzzing from the whole evening! Still buzzing from the whole evening. Such different works and depth of talent. Within the Golden Hour was the "cast of all recently announced promotions" (Fumi Kaneko, Meaghan Grace Hinkis, Joseph Sissens in the male duet and Leticia Dias in the ensemble), also Hay and Clarke in the main couples. Akane Takada and Alexander Campbell mesmerising - I haven't seen Takada dance that much, but she's always grace and loveliness personified for me. I don't think the Kyle Abraham piece will particularly stay with me, although I'm certainly not complaining about watching Sambé and Osipova dance, and the voices in the beginning passive-aggressively fighting were amusing. The Crystal Pite pieces were both very enjoyable and different from each other. I didn't read the reviews in advance so did not know the first one (Statement) was mostly based on spoken word. Not sure I've ever seen something so in-between dance and theatre, brilliant acting from Matthew Ball who brought out both the absurd and the existential angst in his character. The second one (Solo Echo) didn't seem to have a particular story, but I enjoyed all the dynamics going on, and thought the choreography worked well with the Brahms (I'm afraid my ears are not fine enough to comment on the quality of the cellist - I am just fond of both Brahms and cellos). Very much an ensemble piece but the most central were Mayara Magri (another promotion news of course), and an impressive Luca Acri.

I was also there tonight - how wonderful to be back, and you could see how much it meant to the dancers, too. (Long time reader / lurker, I guess I better start posting sometime?) I did enjoy the Purcell / Electronica mix in Laid In Earth, found the choreography very moving and all four dancers (Erina Takahashi, Precious Adams, Jeffrey Cirio, James Streeter) were fabulous. Thought this one had a lovely balance of everything - even the "writhing on the floor" part which I'm not usually a fan of was beautifully done. My favourite of the night. Echoes started slow but really grew on me as the sounds, light and dancing got more intense, found it a real experience. Jolly Folly was just sheer fun with lots of quirky little surprises, what a great way to end the evening. Did anyone else feel slightly uncomfortable in a fairly packed theatre after lockdown though? Compared to some very positive experiences at the ROH in October and December, the denser SW seating plan and the surprising number of maskless people in my immediate vicinity (I'm guessing to sip their bar drinks, which is of course perfectly legal now, I just wasn't expecting it) did make me wonder about the risks. No good answers, are there - personal unease and wanting the ENB and SW to have lovely sold out runs are rather opposing feelings. Can't wait for Solstice in June though.

@RuthE thank you for the tip, I just got £70 seats in the Dress Circle for £45. Much better than the £45 option in the Upper Circle I was originally looking at.