MaddieRose

Yes, Dominic Heale of East Midlands News. I don't know much about him but his biography said he's interested in music. Most of his jokes (relying on referencing things I'm not aware of) went over my head, but my Mum and the lady next to me thought they were funny so I'll assume they were funny. He didn't say much about each piece, just giving a brief history, and for some of them talking about what was going on in the world of dance and opera at the time of their premiere. He also managed to pronounce everything correctly, so he'd obviously done his research. I think he was happy to be there and I think it was a wonderful idea to have a compère, especially for those who hadn't bought a programme.

I do not know whether any her works are still in existance, but there is an out-of-print book by Ms Inglesby called Ballet in the Blitz. It's unfortunately not a book I've been able to find copies of myself, but there are libraries copies floating about: https://www.worldcat.org/title/ballet-in-the-blitz-the-history-of-a-ballet-company/oclc/278274339&referer=brief_results (if you type a postcode into the box it will tell you the nearest library copies) In my personal collection I have at least 3 International Ballet programmes (those three are from 1944, 1947 and 1951). One has a synopsis of Mona Inglesby's ballet Everyman which I would be happy to type up and send over to you.

I agree with your whole post Emeralds, but this snippet the most. When we brought tickets the two advertised pieces were Bluebird and the Pas de Deux from Winter Dreams. I don't mind a programme change, or casting change, but there wasn't much indication as to what would actually be happening, or how weighted it would be between music and dance. They did do a family 'introduction to ballet' show in the afternoon, which I think had pieces like the Chicken Dance from La fille mal gardée, Bluebird and Majisimo. I don't know how well attended that performance was. I didn't mind as much as it's my local theatre and wasn't a long way to go, but I don't think I would've booked if it were in Birmingham (they're doing two performances there next week), because of the lack of information initially given.

This evening I was at Nottingham's Royal Concert Hall to see the BRB's Evening of Music and Dance. I was lucky enough to be sitting in the front row of the stalls. It was an evening that had it's ups and downs, but with more ups than downs. Coppélia: Céline Gittens and Brandon Lawrence danced the Wedding Pas de Deux from Act III. I thought they were both brilliant, and did well conveying their characters outside of the framing of the full ballet. What I noticed first was that they were that harmonised it was like one dancers was moving across the stage, not two. There was some very shaky arm-holding in the part that resembles the Rose Adagio balances, but I couldn't say whether it was normal, nerves or just based on how close I was sitting. All in all they did a brilliant job and were beaming ear to ear at the end. I hope they get a chance to perform together in the October run. The next dance piece was due to be the Red Pas de Deux from Our Waltzes danced by Momoko Hirata and César Morales, but it was unfortunately announced that Hirata was injured. Luckily it seemed to be something they'd planned ahead for, as the piece was replaced by the Act III Entracte of Carmen. I was a bit sad, but what can you do? Bluebird Pas de Deux: When I saw the BRB for the first time, the lady next to me pointed out Miki Mizutani, who was dancing one of Juliet's Friends. This evening she was an elegantly exquisite Princess Florine. Her posture was brilliant, and it was easy to believe she was a lightweight princess. The Bluebird was Max Maslen, who looked somewhat Nureyev-esque in the wig (though I wouldn't call them lookalikes in daily life). He was brilliant, making the jumps look effortless, and making the most of the fact that the stage was his. There was a little stumble, but luckily it was right before a partnering step, so Maslen covered it by just moving to Mizutani's side a bit quicker. it was wonderful to see the pair. End of Time: This is a Ben Stevenson piece from the 80s, inspired by an apocalypse film, and has the dancers in skintight long-sleeved unitards. 'Oh well', I thought, 'at least I can listen to Rachmaninoff (his Sonata in G minor for Cello and Piano specifically)'. But this piece blew me away. It was danced by Brandon Lawrence and Yijing Zhang, and they were both spectacular. The movements show the survivors of the apocalypse coming to terms with the fact that they only have each other. There was a bit of dragging, but not in a horrible way, more in a 'come on we have to live' way. And there was a moment, when both dancers are lay on the floor, and Zhang cups Lawrence's face with her hands. All the distress in his face melted away. To see that up close, about 6 feet away from you, was amazing. They got the biggest applause of the night, and they deserved it. Majisimo: This piece is to music from Massenet's Le Cid, and was choreographed by Jorge Garcia (who's name is spelt at leat three different ways in the programme). It's a Spanish-infused piece. It was due to be performed with Hirata and Mathias Dingman, but Yaoqian Shang (who is second cast) stepped in. The other soloists were Tzu-Chao Chou, Shuailun Wu, Alexander Yap, Karla Doorbar, Yu Kurihara and Beatrice Parma. It was an excellent choice to end the night on. There's elements of the Spanish flamboyance, with pirouettes across the stage, and leaps for the men, solos which all received applause. Dingman, Chou, Wu and Yap were having a lot of fun. I couldn't pick a standout from the latter three; all of them were jumping in sync and beaming. Shang was excellently fierce in the lead role, especially as I don't think her and Dingman would've had much rehearsal together. Doorbar deserves particular mention for perfectly pulling off the diagonal pirouettes across the stage, and the fan work and the Spanish claps were to be found all over this piece. It's pieces like this when you can see just how much fun the dancers are having, and it was the best choice to finish the evening on. In between there were music pieces by the wonderful Sinfonia. My favourite was Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries, but the pieces were the Nabucco Overture (Verdi), Carmen Act III Overture (Bizet), Eugene Onegin Waltz (Tchaikovsky) and Samson et Dalila Bacchanale (Saint-Saëns). There were also two soloists (Helsa Townsend and Samantha Lewis) from the Birmingham Conservatoire, who performed the Evening Prayer and Pantomime from Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretl, and the Lakmé Flower Duet. The End of Time piece, set to Rachmaninoff, is just piano and cello, and Jeanette Wong (Piano) and Antonio Novais (Cello) was excellent (my musician Mother was singing their praises all the way home). The conductor Paul Murphy was not only doing his job but also having fun, and the compère, Dominic Heale of East Midlands News, was surprisingly knowledgeable. The biggest problem of the evening was not one on stage, but the fact that a lot of the seats were empty. The Royal Concert Hall is a big theatre (roughly 2,500 seats), but it was still sparse. While the audience did make up for it with loud applause, I hope it doesn't mean that BRB won't tour to Nottingham for another six years. A lot of the people around me were theatre regulars who just thought it would be an interesting evening, and I'm happy to report they enjoyed themselves as much as I did.

Going to post this here as this is the most appropriate thread I could find. Northern Ballet have released a video with Federico being interviewed by First Soloist Rachael Gillespie:

Thank you for this! I have a signed photo of Madame Inglesby and some old International Ballet programmes from the era, and it's nice to see the company in action.

I'm all for Giselle every season, I'd be there. Another one I'd stick down every season is Symphonic Variations (I haven't seen it live, but if it's that magical on tape I can't imagine how magical it must be in real life). They're the two I'd race to the theatre to see if they were announced. I don't know how much her works hold up (because nobody seems to program them), but de Valois deserves more than just the 'Founder' title. I'm sure there must be at least one of her works they can do, or at least a part of one of them (like they do with the Winter Dreams pas de deux). My realistic season would be very similar to Lizbie's. My fantastical season would be all my personal 'Why are the lights coming up? I want to see it all again!' ballets. But I am very very glad that the Ashton bill has received such praise, and seems to have been attended by an audience of a diverse age range. I'm really hoping this means another one will be programmed for 23/24.

Sumin Lee has got a scholarship with the Boston Ballet School, per the update to the announcement. https://www.prixdelausanne.org/schools-companies-chosen-by-the-2022-prize-winners/

It's been announced that Joseph Caley, a Leading Principal with the English National Ballet, will be joining the Australian Ballet as a Principal Artist.

The ROH news post here: https://www.roh.org.uk/news/tierney-heap-retires-from-the-royal-ballet

It was my first time at the ROH, and I left very happy! Scenes de ballet was excellent. I enjoyed seeing Ashton’s use of formations. Sarah Lamb and Vadim Munragirov were both brilliant and elegant. The four men (Acri, Donnelly, Richardson and Sissons) were brilliant. At the stage door Sissons said he didn’t think he jumped well, as if! There was a moment where the 6 of them synced up perfectly, and I thought ‘this is heaven’. Marcelino Sambe was impeccable! His turny-jumps onto the stage received well-deserved applause. Francesca Hayward looked light as a feather, and was flitting across the stage like it was nothing. And Month in the middle! Nuñez was heavenly, and her and O’Sullivan played off each other well. It was nice to see the difference in their choreography. Matthew Ball was in top form, and Luca Acri as Kolia nearly stole the show! I must specifically note how this programme made me realise the importance of head movements in Ashton’s choreography. His work is sublime. The orchestra was brilliant. Kate Shipway (Month) and Robert Clark (Rhapsody) were incredible. It was funny to think about all the times I’ve watched the streams, and then realising I’m now there! There was a good audience today, a range of ages, and all seemed very happy. I wish I could see it again (and more Ashton next season)!

Anna Rose O'Sullivan and Steven McRae both did Instagram takeovers on the ROH Instagram account. But I've not seen anything outside of that, even when a lot of the ads I get on social media are tailored towards theatre.

I'm very excited! I'm going to the 23rd matinee, and it will be my first time seeing the Royal Ballet, and going to the Royal Opera House.

Les Patineurs and Dante Sonata! Those Sarasotans are lucky. There's a nice interview with David Bintley about the performances of Dante Sonata and Spider's Feast, which happened before the April 2020 performances were cancelled: http://www.scenesarasota.com/magazine/sir-david-bintley-ballets-freelance-knight/ My biggest takeaway from the talk Ian Webb and Margaret Barbieri did with the London Ballet Circle was that you could tell they truly cared about the works of Ashton and MacMillan. It's inspiring to see people talk so passionately about those works, and I'm glad it shows in their programming. I do hope they'll tour to the UK, and bring these works with them.

The destinations of the 2022 Prize Winners have been announced: https://www.prixdelausanne.org/schools-companies-chosen-by-the-2022-prize-winners/ Darrion Sellman: The Royal Ballet Apprenticeship Tsukino Tanaka: Norwegian National Ballet Apprenticeship Luciana Sagioro: Paris Opera Ballet School Scholarship Mingyang Xie: Royal Ballet School Scholarship Dorian Plasse: Stuttgart Ballet Apprenticeship Maya Schonbrun: Royal Swedish Ballet Apprenticeship Amy Ronnfeldt: Forfeited Sumin Lee: TBC Scholarship

When the Casanova Tour started he posted about it being the 'beginning of the end' on Instagram, so I assumed that meant he'd be retiring. I'm glad he's got such a brilliant ballet to retire in, and I envy all the people who will be at Sadler Wells in May.

Dance for Ukraine will be streamed on Marquee TV, costing £14.99 with proceeds going to the DEC's Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal: https://www.marquee.tv/danceforukraine

I can't complain about train prices. I do think they're expensive, but I have a Disabled Persons' Railcard, so it's not quite as bad for me. Me and my Mum are getting down to London and back to East Midlands Parkway for £60, which is not as expensive as I thought it would be. What I can complain about is last minute platform changes. When I saw Casanova in Sheffield the return train's platform changed as it was coming into the station. I know it's difficult to schedule these but I feel like they could given us a bit more of a warning. And since the next train was in an hour I had to run up the stairs, over a bridge and down the stairs to make it onto the train, as did everyone else. I had used the lifts before, and my legs are still aching from that run nearly two weeks later, even though I haven't left the house since then.

Rather surprisingly the Theatre in Paris website has recommended Mayerling for all ages. Not my personal recommendation for a family night out. https://www.theatreinparis.com/en/show/mayerling

The costume designer Alexandra Byrne has done a range of films- some of the Marvel superhero films, the Phantom of the Opera film adaptation, and some period pieces like Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet and the latest adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma. She won an Academy Award for one of the Elizabeth films with Cate Blanchett. Tom Pye has done set design for a lot of English National Opera productions (Akhnaten, Eugene Onegin, Cosi fan tutte and Aida), alongside costumes and sets for Joffrey Ballet and Australian Ballet's production of Anna Karenina. David Finn is perhaps the most familiar with the Royal Ballet, having lit Giselle, Sweet Violets, Symphonic Dances, Scarlett's Swan Lake and Frankenstein. It's definitely an accomplished team. What the results will be I have no idea.

Interesting to see Cinderella is a co-production with the National Ballet of Canada, considering the discussion about co-productions elsewhere on the forum. I'm excited for Cinderella, but was hoping for more Ashton.

In Gordon Anthony's Fonteyn photo book he lists Pavlova and Markova as others who substituted them, so anyone who does is definitely in good company. Edited to add that Gennady Smakov writes Plisetskaya substituted them with piqués en tournant.

Paradigma has replaced The Blizzard on the 31st March because of injuries and illness in the company.

https://www.athelhampton.com/events-1/stars-of-the-royal-ballet-10th-11th-september-2022-tickets-available-in-the-summer https://www.instagram.com/p/CbsuZVOA0JJ/ Per Instagram, funds will go to performing arts charities and helping people in Ukraine. Tickets go on sale 1st June, performances are 10th and 11th September.

I saw the matinee today. It was my first time seeing both this ballet and the Northern Ballet, and I'm glad I left with such good memories. The performance started with the Ukraine National Anthem. From what I could see from my seat in the circle, everyone stood. Lorenzo Trossello was outstanding in the title role. His mime, particularly in the scene where he relates his escape from prison, was clear and easy to understand. Through his acting you could see Casanova becoming more reckless. The choreography utilises a table throughout the show, and I don't think I've ever seen anyone leap off a table with more agonising passion. The second to last scene focus on Casanova being rejected, and haunted by his past. His dancing in this scene was brilliant. Other dancers I noticed were Harris Beattie as Father Balbi. His dancing in the scene where Balbi is tortured was excellent, and he was very acrobatic (but in the best way). Abigail Prudames as Bellino was another standout. There's a moment where, having just had her breasts binded to aid her disguise as a boy, Bellino walks forward to the mirror. Prudames walked with such sorrow, and created a true feeling of sympathy. Heather Lehan as Henriette achieved the same. Her miming (being pregnant, being a mother, and being shackled with an abusive husband) was wonderful. Alessandra Bramante as Manon Balletti was like a moving violin, and the Savorgnan sisters (Sena Kitano, Saeka Shirai) were playful and seductive. Bragadin was played by Ashley Dixon, who carried himself with such class you just knew he was aware he was better than everyone else. There's a brilliant moment where he uses one of his servants as a stool, and his comedic timing was good. Then, in the same scene, his character has a stroke, and Dixon switched to being incredibly moving. Trossello was an excellent partner to everyone he danced opposite, particularly with Prudames in their pas de deux. I also enjoyed the production side of it more than I expected. The score by Kerry Muzzey was cinematic, but it worked. It felt like the music was incensed with the emotion of the characters, and the action on stage. The costumes and set by Christopher Oram worked as well. I liked Bragadin's costumes, and the one's for Madame de Pompadour and her two handmaids. The lighting was good as well. From where I was sat (Row D of the Circle) it wasn't too dark on the stage, and I liked that the lights illuminated shadows of prison bars onto the floor of the stage when Casanova was recounting his escape from prison. All in all I had a very enjoyable afternoon, and I'd happily see this ballet again in the future.