Meetmeatthebarre

Unfortunately due to illness, a friend won't be able to join me tomorrow at the "Dance with the Royal Ballet" insight event so I have a single ticket available for £10. 

This is a participatory event: basically a 1hr 15min barre and repertoire class in the Lindbury Foyer, led by a Royal Ballet dancer. Last time we had Gary Avis! The standard is suitable for all except absolute beginners. 

Please note that this is a daytime event, starting 14:15. I can meet you and hand over the ticket before the event starts. 

It's not quite a "class" and very hard to obtain tickets as only ~20 are released for every (~3 weekly) session, but ROH has an Insight event called "Dance with the Royal Ballet". I was lucky enough to go last month, and it was only GARY AVIS leading and Kate Shipway on piano! 

It's held in the Lindbury foyer and consists of a short-ish barre followed by choreo from a ballet currently in repertoire, which in this case was the peasants' courtship dance from Act 1 of Onegin. My session was a real mix of levels, but there didn't seem to be any "absolute beginners" and the rep seemed to have been chosen to be generally accessible. 

I don't think I'll get over Gary complimenting some of my barre, even if just being nice. And he is such a lovely person, giving us lots of time for questions and pictures after 🙂

I think just by virtue of some of the information being several years old, that might be helpful. And we know that classes and teachers change, studios close and open etc.

I agree, this is a very kind gesture and so nice of you to do for her 🙂

I have no idea about her visa situation, but this article about adult summer intensives just popped up on my feed. Whilst it's US-centric, there's also one in Croatia here: https://www.chatballet.com/. If your girlfriend can travel through the Schengen area as part of her French residency, then I believe that Croatia doesn't require a visa - even though it's not part of Schengen itself. Do check though! https://www.pointemagazine.com/summer-intensives-for-adult-dancers-2645151370.html

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but could I ask about the hip position of the *supporting* leg when en pointe? Conventional wisdom suggests that a turned out leg is correct, but I have seen so many pictures of even high-level professionals where the supporting leg appears barely turned out, if at all. 

PS I've always thought of the arabesque with the opened hip/turned torso as a very Balanchine move - it certainly appears a lot in his choreo. 

I just finished watching this tonight and it's definitely worth the two hours. The storyline is predictable; it is not a film that explores why we dance; but explores dreams and divisions in a way that left me feeling incredibly lucky, and incredibly inspired. 

There were some wonderful, subtle touches. From a female director, some of the key plot turns are delivered by minor, female characters. And without giving away the ending, do notice the unfamiliarity that the two leads have in the last few minutes with a simple procedure that all of us I imagine have done multiple times. Watching the parting shots in their shoes makes it even more uplifting.

Hi there, 

No idea about the programme, but I am a former Swissie who has spent many a summer weekend in Lugano so perhaps I can help with transport 🙂

There are three options I can think of to get to the main station at Lugano, after which it's a short tram or bus ride. Here would be in my order of preference. I would say all are safe and accessible for an older teen to travel alone. 

1. Fly into Zurich. Trains run several times an hour to the main station (10 mins) and then the Intercity to Lugano. Tram to the school. 

       Pros: the most scenic option by far, running through the alps and by lakes. Zurich airport and main station are very easy to navigate.

       Cons: An hour longer than flying from Milan. Can be expensive if not booked in advance (though you can book the train directly added onto the flight via Swiss airlines). Try to avoid Saturday mornings going to Lugano and Sunday PM coming back, as the trains get PACKED.

2. Fly into Milan Linate. Similar to Zurich, it's a quick train ride to Milan Central, an intercity to Lugano, then a tram ride. 

3. Fly into Milan Malpensa. It's either a bus to Milan Central before the train, or a regional train to cross into Switzerland before picking up the tram from Lugano. 

      Pros: Faster and likely cheaper if not booked in advance, as you're mostly on Italian train stock. 

      Cons: Not as pretty 🙂 it's the other way round to avoid the Zurich-Milan weekend crowds on the Intercity: don't arrive Sunday afternoons and evenings or leave Friday night or Saturday morning to noon.

The Zurich to Lugano flight no longer exists. 

Lugano is gorgeous in summer and there are some wonderful hiking routes around the lake or up the mountains (or take the cable car). It's very safe and I think English is quite widely understood. It is, however, quite expensive. Accommodation is often less pricey than its Italian lake counterparts just because it has less of an international draw, but eating out can be jaw-dropping when you first get there!

I'm happy to dig up some options on the Swiss train if you go down that route. It can be quite difficult to find the best prices if you don't (or haven't) lived there before!

That's Franziska who teaches at Danceworks, London. Her videos are great!

Mrs Brown, it's an ISTD grade 5 and RAD Advanced Foundation step, I believe 🙂

3 minutes ago, Bluebird said:

 

Just checked the class lists in the 2019 RBS Summer Performance programme.  He is listed as Second Year Upper School.  Some students leave at the end of the Second Year. Does anybody know if he stayed on to do the Third Year? 

Thank you so much! Argh, I forgot to add the "school" in quotes when searching, and when I did, it threw up this: https://www.royalballetschool.org.uk/2019/11/22/lynn-seymour-award-for-expressive-dance-2019/

Joint 3rd in the Lynn Seymour in November 2019, so I assume that he did stay on!

I just found the original documentary (officially) on Youtube. It's shot in Virtual Reality so you can watch on a phone or tablet and see in 360 degrees! Quite amazing even without the ballet component!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU718R9JBzs

Netflix notified me about a new ballet film released this Friday, about two working-class teens from Mumbai who discover ballet. Digging deeper, it seems like it is based on a 2017 documentary by the same name and that the two featured boys were winning international scholarships after only two and a half years of training!

Amiruddin Shah in particular, seems to have done well. He should be around graduation now, and I'm wondering if anyone has information as I'd love to see him at the RBS performances in summer - if he is indeed there. Unfortunately, the reporting quality is quite poor, and there are conflicting suggestions that he took up offers at the ABT JKO or Joffrey instead of the Royal Ballet School.

Here are some links:

https://scroll.in/reel/952814/yeh-ballet-trailer-two-male-dancers-chase-an-impossible-dream

https://scroll.in/reel/840658/a-dream-becomes-a-virtual-reality-in-sooni-taraporevalas-yeh-ballet

Mods, as I had other questions I started a new thread, but please merge with the existing "non-terrestrial" thread if more appropriate!

I just wanted to add to this old thread as I had read it as reference in my own pointe shoe search.

I had a lovely fitter in Dancia this week - I didn't catch her name and I didn't want to ask as she seemed a little shy - but who was very, very thorough and left me with a pair of Merlet Cloes which feel wonderful. I think I made an audible "ooo" when I tried the first pair on, and they felt perfect when we got the size and width right.

I had mentioned that I'd always struggled (before I took a break) to find shoes narrow enough at the start - the Grishko Vaganova X was the only shoe that ever felt perfect in fit, if it weren't for the tiny platform. However, she noticed that I've started wearing spacers since then, and jumped me straight away to a XXXX(!) Grishko, which was the second favourite, before we settled on a B-width Merlet because the crown was a bit more compressible, the wings a bit softer but still supportive, and could take my very low profile toes whilst having space for bunions. 

Bonus, the Merlets make me look like I have banana feet en pointe, whilst maintaining the support. Just about to take a class in them this week, but very happy so far.

16 minutes ago, The_Red_Shoes said:

I returned to ballet three years ago after a 25 year break and went straight back into an Intermediate class. Like you, I had really wanted to do IF but there wasn't a class available so Inter it was. I had been working beyond Inter level as a teen and as a "young" adult (through my 30s), so I was familiar with the vocab and everything at a theoretical level but the difficulties were general stamina, and getting pirouettes especially doubles and beats back up to scratch - - in fact doubles are still hit and miss two years later! And pointe work - that was the bane of my life. If I could do it again I would try to do IF first, but if I couldn't I would relax and take my time over it. I passed but not with a good mark - it could have better if I hadn't rushed to keep up with the teens.

Thank you for calling me a "young" adult 😆 This is really encouraging, thank you. I just saw a few of your other posts about your exam journey and it's pretty inspirational! 

32 minutes ago, MAK said:

My daughter said she wore soft blocks but they weren't compulsory (when she did the Intermediate classes).

Hope you enjoy the class - it's drop in/pay as you go so you could always just try it out! Honestly, Clare couldn't be nicer 😃

Thank you so much once again. I'll report back 🙂

55 minutes ago, MAK said:

Hi, is Clare not teaching those classes now? My teenage daughter did them for a while when she could fit them in and really enjoyed them. Clare was really good at working with each individual and was really supportive. The classes were usually quite small so plenty of individual attention. I was thinking of suggesting she go back when she turns 16 (and can be left) to do the Advanced 1 classes.

Thank you so much! Yes it is Clare teaching - the only other reference I found on the forum to this class was another teacher, so I just assumed it was a recent change. It's really good to have some feedback from someone who has taken her class. Would you know if the class was taken in the "soft pointes" required for the exam? If so, I have some de-shanking to do this weekend!

36 minutes ago, SugarPlum2000 said:

Hi,

I jumped straight into doing intermediate without doing IF after having taken a 2 year break along with doing grade 7/8. There was nothing in the class that I didn’t know step wise, it was just the fact it is much more technical and the speed of the exercises for allegro were much faster than I was used to. 
As My teacher said to me when I suggested doing IF first, the RAD wouldn’t allow for students to miss IF if they thought that you needed it to do intermediate. 
I would suggest giving it a try, the worst that could happen is that you hate it and do want to do IF first. 
Good luck ☺️

That's a really good reference point, thank you. We've been covering Grade 5 with a bit of 6 in a local class, which I'm pretty on top of apart from the turns (having to rework their consistency after a recent foot issue). 

Argh, *logically*, I know this class should be fine, but the self-deprecating part of me doesn't feel like I belong. Time to put my big-girl tutu on and just give it a shot!

Hello, would you have photos or a link to the below? I can't seem to find online but it sounds lovely!

Wear Moi double bow back leotard. Turquoise. Ladies size M. Bust lining. Worn once. £10 inc p&p.

On 03/02/2020 at 19:36, Shade said:

I am sure that single use plastic cups will not be available in the future. I do try to remember to carry one if I can. But all food and drink should be banned from auditorium 

I mostly agree, but in the winter months with bugs going around, I think water and cough drops are almost unavoidable. Clearly if you're in the depths of consumption like a tragic operatic heroine, it's polite to stay away. However, I wouldn't expect people to give up seats (at ROH prices!) for a bit of a snivel, and would prefer a fumble then silence to someone having to leave their seat midway. It wasn't that long ago that the ROH had a supply of Grethers pastilles for just this reason. 

That said, quiet water bottles and unwrapping strepsils into a handkerchief in advance would be appreciated! 

P.S. I saw someone sneak fried chicken into the auditorium in December... 😬

I too have heard him on many an occasion, though it's definitely not just recently (unless there are a few of them)!

On 24/01/2020 at 21:24, LinMM said:

I know a few people who do the Improvers who really like his classes a lot but unfortunately don’t know anyone who does the beginners class but it’s the teacher who is important I think so I’m sure his beginners will be fine .....though be aware that ‘beginners’  classes in London are often rarely for real beginners especially if it has the word ‘general’ after it!! though you sound as if you have some experience anyway. I’d give it a go. 

 

Haha, yes, as if the labelling doesn't already vary enough! I'll assume that "beginner" and "general" average out to an "improver" or "elementary"... and report back when I have a chance to take  Thank you!

On 25/01/2020 at 13:25, Kate_N said:

...but the centre work isn't hugely challenging in terms of complexity of choreography or length of combinations.

 

...and he's particularly good on petit allegro. 

I really wanted to find a class with more allegro so this sounds brilliant! (Side note: why do most lower-level adult classes skimp on jumping?) Thank you so much!

Sorry to bump this thread, but have any of you taken Adam Pudney's "Beginner/General" class at Pineapple? I love the sound of his Improvers, but can't make it; nor can I figure out how the two are relative to each other! Thank you in advance

23 minutes ago, Richard LH said:

Yes welcome Meetatthebarre...it looks like you have found out pretty early on that a few of us on this Forum (not excluding myself) can be pretty pedantic!

Thank you for the welcome!

This is ballet, so I see precision is a virtue

31 minutes ago, RuthE said:

 

Her debut is tonight...

I should have been clearer - I meant her "debut run"! 

On 20/01/2020 at 12:06, pasdedeux said:

Late to the party, but I thought the Saturday evening performance was really memorable - not faultless, but very, very enticing.

 

...

Even later to the party (new to the forum and still exploring!) but I saw the same cast, and my comments were almost exactly the same as yours. It would be unfair of me to compare Reece's debut to dancers with much more experience in the role, but as a fan of his since his RBS days, I'm sure he will mature brilliantly into it. 

I'm hoping to snap up some tickets for Anna Rose's debut later in the run. 

Rather sad that Laura Morera's Tatiana and Yuhui Choe's Olga won't be seen this run