MaddieRose

I ordered mine through Waterstones at least a month ago and haven't had mine yet, it still says the order's processing, and has taken longer than the 15 days they estimated it would take to get the book from the publisher.

I'm in the East Midlands, and from what I've seen Nottingham Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall are trying to get back to normal. They had Rambert2 in June and are having Northen Ballet for Merlin in September, along with things like Riverdance and musical theatre. Over in Derby I think the theatres have been a bit more impacted, although from my experience there's not a theatre in Derby that's really suited to 'big' dance groups. The Assembly Rooms have been closed since 2014 because of a fire, and due to mounting costs they voted in April to demolish it and rebuild something else. The Guidhall, a smaller theatre, has been closed for refurbishment since 2018 or 2019, and I imagine COVID must have had a bit of an impact on the refurb process. Derby Theatre has no dance on the program, but I don't think it's ever been a 'dance' theatre. Over in Mansfield the Palace Theatre is doing a lot more film screenings than it used to, but will probably stay afloat because of it's Christmas Pantomime, which from my own experience as a child always does well by getting in the school groups. They are the opening theatre for Ballet Theatre UK's Tour of The Snow Queen in October. Pushing the definition of 'small company', but my old dance school and a friend's old school have both been booted out of theatres they've had their yearly show in for many years because of funding issues. Both the schools and theatres have lost funds, but the theatres have cut off the priority booking for the weekends the studios always had, so they can try and get shows in that will both have longer contracts and sell more tickets. I can't really blame the theatres for wanting to make money, but both studio's have been doing their yearly shows there for at least 10 years, so it is a shame. Most people I know will go to the theatre for pantomimes at Christmas and maybe for any popular musicals or shows, like Riverdance. I have my fingers crossed when I say this but hopefully the theatres near me won't lose out on another panto season, because then I think they might fare a bit better financially and have more variety on the line up.

That sounds like Tom Fletcher yes. His wife Giovanna won reality show I'm a Celebrity... last year, so that could've helped him be plucked out of the 'eligible ex-boyband lineup' for this years show. His sister Carrie is also an author and musical theatre actress (she was Eponine and later Fantine in Les Mis on the West End), so they seem to be a very well-cultured family.

I'm pretty sure I know the names of 6, but could only recognise 4. My Mum loves Strictly though, so I'm sure I'll know who everyone is by the end of the show, even if I don't watch a single episode

I loved the talk with Iain and Margaret. It was wonderful to hear them speak about Ashton and their approach to Ashton's works in such a enthusiastic way. You could tell he was someone they really admired, and Margaret spoke about de Valois the same way. And I do hope in the future the Sarasota Ballet can get over to the UK, to, as someone (I can't recall who) said in the talk 'Bring Ashton home'. Back on topic, I hope they stream the Ashton insight, it would be a valuable experience for those of who can't get down to London

I thought I'd missed a few months and we were doing Spooky Halloween Stories. I have a mixed but overall negative opinion of reimagining the classics. Some of them have been alright, a few good, but I think I approach them with lower expectations than the actual classics. I can't speak for others but I'm not expecting the most incredible thing I've ever seen, I'm expecting to compare it to the version I already know, which in my opinion takes away from the overall experience. And as for electronic music, particularly a full-length ballet, that petrifies me. I think I'd get a headache.

Maybe I should be putting said blame on my sister then. Wouldn't necessarily be her fault, but we just like blaming things on each other

That is really frustrating. I had something similar once, where I stayed home while the rest of my family went out specifically to collect a package that was coming. I sat waiting for the package, and after a while I went to inspect the letterbox, which had a missed delivery card in it. Turns out because there was no car in the drive they hadn't even knocked. I just wish I had heard the missed delivery card being posted so I could go and chase them down. Luckily it wasn't something we needed urgently, but I was more than a bit miffed on missing a family day out for no reason

As someone who's studying Gatsby for A-Level, I don't remember any description of Daisy's hair, but I find the book so boring that I might've missed it. And as for wigs, I'd much rather see the dancers comfortable and with their own natural hair. I'm not bothered whether a role was originated by a brunette or a blonde or whatever. The only exceptions I can think of is if they need a particular hairstyle to evoke a certain period that couldn't be achieved with natural hair, or were playing a historical figure, but even then I wouldn't be that overly fussed if wigs were removed from the equation.

Congratulations to all the winners! I especially love the Best Company Response to the Pandemic Award, and it was lovely to listen to Ronald Hynd's experiences and memories.

As a younger and new ballet goer I'd love to see more Ashton. Symphonic Variations is one of my absolute favourites ballets, but even just reading these posts there's a few that I haven't heard of. I've looked through programs from the late 30s to mid 50s and found Ashton works I had no idea existed as well. It seems such a shame that these works are being, perhaps not truly forgotten, but not programmed as much. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Ashton was the founding choreographer. It shouldn't come down to them to do anniversary programmes or All-Ashton bills every now and then, I think these works should be programmed regularly so the audience can see them and the dancers can dance them. While I'm all for new works, forgetting your heritage is, as a history student, the exact sort of thing I wish companies wouldn't do.

Congratulations to Olesya! 🎉

i've seen Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, I'm not taking anything from that trolley

She is

Guess I'll be off to see Macmillan's Romeo and Juliet then

Congratulations to Cathy! 🎉

Wonderful photos! Thank you

Thank you for this! It was wonderfully informative!

Wow. I too don't want to make any assumptions, so until we hear more on this matter I shall say it's news I wasn't expecting to read today.

I caught up on the stream from last night, and went in with a completely blank mind. I can't speak for any other interpretations of these works, but only for someone who is seeing them all for the first time. Apollo was probably the one I knew the least about, but I thought it was marvellously danced. Matthew Ball was incredible, and gave a performance that I can only describe with the words 'looked like he was possessed by the music'. I very much enjoyed Hamilton, Calvert and Kaneko, but Kaneko was a particular standout. I haven't seen much of her before, but I am now a Kaneko fan. Choreography wise I enjoyed Balanchine's use of interlocking hands, although I can only imagine how complicated it must be to learn. The ending on the stairs was absolutely sublime, and provided a wonderful ending to a wonderful piece. I must admit that at the end of the first portion of the Tchiakovsky Pas de Deux I thought it was over, and was very please when the variations happened. Anytime Nuñez and Muntagirov are onstage I am happy, but they had a radiant feeling that was infectious, even through the screen. I was rather awed by the solo parts, particularly when (forgive me for not knowing the technical names) Muntagirov did those spin-jumps around the stage. I enjoyed it so much I nearly found myself clapping at the end, like I was in the theatre with them. Dances at a Gathering is a wonderful showcase of the talent the Royal Ballet has, and after identifying what colour everyone was (I spent a short while before the piece trying to figure out what Brick meant), I very much enjoyed it. Again the dancing was brilliant, and I quite enjoyed seeing the different combinations of pairings throughout the piece. There's not much I can single out as I thought everyone was brilliant, and I hope this is a piece that remains in the active repertoire as it does show off the skill of the dancers. Particular praise must go to the piano accompanist, who I thought was excellent. Like the ending of Apollo, I very much enjoyed the ending where everyone was on stage. All in all I'm very glad this was streamed, as for someone who in in the Midlands and can't always get to London, it gave me a chance to see three pieces I'd never seen, along with being reminded of the talent the Royal Ballet has

As do I

Thank you all for your help! Rosalind Eyre does seem correct. One thing I always have to remember about these things is that if they were signed at the stage door they signatures might not always be as neat, which makes them harder to decipher sometimes. And as for the proximity, most have done that, but Fonteyn, Nureyev, Ashton and Mead all signed on the front page (the first page that's not an ad).

The Programme itself is dated as the 10th February 1969, so presumably one performance, but not sure whether they were all signed on the same date. There's a lot of principals represented, and I don't know enough about who would be in the theatre at any given performance to say if it could come from one night. And thank you for Gerd Larsen James, that does seem very likely. The final one that I have no clue who it could possibly be is this one. Again, any suggestions would be very helpful

Thank you, that must be it, as she's listed on the roster in the programme