Bluebird

I have both of these Australian Ballet DVDs and they are 'all region' so can be played on any player.

Unless my memory is playing tricks on me, Beatriz Stix-Brunell also danced Lilac Fairy (during the last run of Beauty). Edited to add that Francesca Hayward was a prologue fairy and Princess Florine in that same run of Beauty

I checked availability on the day booking opened and, for most performances, they had held back almost all the stalls tickets and also those in the first circle (apart from the two back rows) Something similar happened when booking opened for Romeo and Juliet at the RFH in August yet they later released some of the rows which had been held back. Very irritating for those of us who like to book early!

My understanding is that it's only the cloakroom which will be at ground level. Apart from the facilities for the disabled, I don't think there will be any toilets there. Perhaps bangorballetboy could confirm?

Casting is now on the ENB website: http://www.ballet.org.uk/whats-on/giselle/

A number of new BBC ballet programmes have been announced. I've pasted in the summary below (the link is below the summary). The BBC today (Thursday 27 October) announced a new raft of dance programming for winter 2016. Darcey Bussell searches for the real Margot Fonteyn, for BBC One BalletBoyz present the first ever full length feature film to be made by a dance company – Young Men – for BBC Two BBC Two goes behind-the-scenes at the Royal Ballet’s renowned Christmas production, The Nutcracker BBC Four marks Sir Peter Wright’s 90th birthday with a documentary featuring his first major profile interview Plus, BBC Young Dancer returns on BBC Two and BBC Four, providing a platform for dancers aged 16-21 in a search for the next generation of dance talent Highlights include a Christmas special for BBC Two going behind-the-scenes at the Royal Ballet’s festive production, The Nutcracker; an exploration of the life, loves and career of Margot Fonteyn presented by Darcey Bussell for BBC One; and a programme marking the 90th birthday of a legend of British ballet, Sir Peter Wright, on BBC Four. The internationally acclaimed, all-male BalletBoyz present the first ever full length feature film to be made by a dance company. A world premiere on BBC Two in November, Young Men follows a group of young soldiers as they experience the indiscriminate brutality of warfare. Plus, following the success of BBC Young Dancer 2015’s inaugural competition, the search for the next generation of dance talent continues. Launching on BBC Four in March 2017, BBC Young Dancer 2017 will culminate in a Grand Final at Sadler’s Wells on 22 April 2017. More details here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2016/winter-dance-programming

According to the information on the website, we'll be seeing her Rose Fairy, not her SPF.

Here's the link: http://www.roh.org.uk/news/watch-nutcracker-rehearsals-to-be-livestreamed-on-27-october-2016 In answer to Sim's question, Leticia Stock, Marcelino Sambé and Claire Calvert

Woman's Hour has just started and Viviana Durante is to be interviewed about Anastasia. I think I've seen elsewhere that they'll also be talking to Lauren Cuthbertson

Do you mean that they are not appearing in Jewels? They are, of course, both scheduled to appear in Mayerling which is also in the Spring booking period.

Nutcracker casting is now on the ENB website http://www.ballet.org.uk/whats-on/nutcracker/

The prices are the same as the prices for La Fille Mal Gardée (i.e. lower than the prices for Beauty)

He's listed for three performances of Diamonds (with Lauren Cuthbertson).

Mayerling casting going up now................ http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/mayerling-by-kenneth-macmillan

Jewels casting is going up on the website as I write..... http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/jewels-by-george-balanchine

....or this one? (i.e. what fillebiengardée referred to as the 'drunken dance') - around 35 seconds into this extract

I just called the ROH Box Office to check the meaning of 'limited availablility' for the February 18 Beauty matinée. The information they have at the moment is that the amphitheatre is reserved for an invited audience. The rest of the auditorium will be available for the rest of us.

The last time 'limited availability' was in the Magazine (in the Autumn booking) it was for an opera matinée and only the amphitheatre was unavailable for booking. The rest of the auditorium was available to book. If it only mentions 'limited availability' there must be some places available. Edited to add that, when there are no places available, the phrase is 'not available for public booking'.

I've double checked with the Australian Ballet in Melbourne and they have confirmed the casting on this link: https://australianballet.com.au/romeo-and-juliet-melbourne-casting The remaining performances are, therefore as follows: Friday: Leanne Stojmenov and Kevin Jackson Saturday matinée: Amber Scott and Ty King-Wall Saturday evening: Ako Kondo and Chengwu Guo

That 'treat with caution' might have been prophetic. A couple of days ago I wrote to the Australian Ballet in Melbourne to try to get some accurate casting. They've just sent me the link to the full nightly casting but they have the Saturday casts reversed with Scott/King-Wall in the afternoon and Kondo/Guo in the evening. (The link says Romeo and Juliet Melbourne casting but it does take you to the London casting for Cinderella!) https://australianballet.com.au/romeo-and-juliet-melbourne-casting I would have thought the representative who's actually in London (and who gave me the casting in my original post) would have had the most up-to-date information but can't confirm that.

In answer to Bridiem's other question about the prince's journey by ship, train..etc, the original Prokoviev Cinderella had the prince travelling round the world to find Cinderella. I understand this is supposed to be because, since nobody knew who she was, he'd assumed she must be a foreign princess.

I've been given the casting for the rest of the week with the usual warning that it might have to be changed. Treat with caution: This afternoon Ako Kondo and Chengwu Guo Tonight Amber Scott and Ty King-Wall Friday Leanne Stojmenov and Kevin Jackson Saturday matinée Ako Kondo and Chengwu Guo Saturday evening Amber Scott and Ty King-Wall

The Swan Lake casting on their website was inaccurate for the two matinées. I'm currently trying to find out this week's Cinderella casting. I've left my email address with one of the Australian Ballet representatives. If she gets back to me I'll post it here.

They've already announced that it's Lana Jones and Daniel Gaudiello (who's, sadly, no longer with the company) http://www.cinemalive.com/index.php?p=view&id=201 (Scroll down to find casting)

I’m in complete agreement with what you say about Benedicte Bemet.. I was lucky enough to see her as Clara when the Australian Ballet danced Peter Wright’s Nutcracker in 2014. She was an absolute delight and I can’t put it better than Michelle Potter did in her review of the ballet when it was shown on Australian TV that Christmas. http://michellepotter.org/reviews/the-nutcracker-on-film-the-australian-ballet I hope it’s OK to quote the following extract from Michelle Potter’s review. “She commanded the role from beginning to end, never losing strength or characterisation. She showed off a wonderfully fluid technique and I especially loved her use of épaulement, her gorgeous carriage of the head, those beautiful arabesques that seemed to soar upwards, and the way she always, but always, stepped forward onto a turned out foot. Those technical matters came as if they were second nature and she looked every inch the dancer from start to finish.” I also saw Benedicte's impressive Aurora last December. The performance was at the Sydney Opera House. I think it was her debut in the role but can't be certain that she hadn't already danced it in Melbourne. She’s most certainly a great prospect for the future.