Bluebird

I was surprised by this comment as I'd remembered a season full of Ashton works in his centenary year (2004/5). I've just checked and found that the following ballets were performed that season: Wedding Bouquet Sylvia Scènes de ballet Diverts: Awakening pdd, Thaïs pdd, 2 variations from Devil's Holiday, 5 Brahms Waltzes, Voices of Spring pdd Daphnis and Chloë Cinderella La Fille Mal Gardée Rhapsody Marguerite and Armand Enigma Variations The Dream Ondine Symphonic Variations A Month in the Country I, for one, wasn't disappointed by that selection. Edited to provide my source which was the following press release (which was reproduced on the Critical Dance website ): Monica Mason Director of The Royal Ballet People often ask, 'what is the English style and where did it come from?' Without doubt the foundation of this style was laid down by Frederick Ashton and this Season, in honour of his Centenary year, we'll be paying homage to Ashton and celebrating his work. Ashton was a genius who knew what pleased him and how he wanted his dancers to look. Glamour, romance, instinctive musicality, speed and lyricism are probably the qualities that best define his choreography. He also loved expressive footwork; he would use the movement of a foot to signify the quickening of a heart. He couldn't bear anybody to be wooden or upright and insisted on the bending of the upper body almost to the point of exaggeration. Also, put simply, he liked women to be women and men to be men. We start the season with a mixed programme that includes one of his earliest ballets, A Wedding Bouquet, a wonderful work that has elements of farce but is also gentle and subtle. It's pure Ashton; a delicious piece about a husband who leaves a series of broken hearts scattered about him on his wedding day. The programme opens with Kenneth MacMillan's Requiem, a ballet made in 1976 as a memorial to John Cranko and here given as a paean from one great choreographer to another. The programme finishes with Bronislava Nijinska's Les Noces, a monumental work which Ashton acquired for the Company during his period as Director. In November, we revive Sylvia, a full-length ballet Ashton made in 1952 to Delibes' enchanting score. Painstakingly researched by Christopher Newton for this new production, it will be seen for the first time in its entirety since 1965, in its original designs by Robin and Christopher Ironside. The next mixed programme is devoted entirely to Ashton. It opens with Scènes de ballet, a work that Ashton himself regarded as one of his finest. The centre of the programme is a series of his Divertissements which include a recently reconstructed pas de deux from Devil's Holiday, a ballet made for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo in 1939 and first performed in New York. Daphnis and Chloë, to Ravel's symphonic score, concludes the programme. This Season's Christmas productions are Anthony Dowell's Swan Lake and last Season's new production of Cinderella. They are followed by the ever-delightful La Fille mal gardée, one of Ashton's best-loved and most characteristic works, famously described by Marie Rambert as 'the first great English classic'. Kenneth MacMillan’s Manon, now firmly established as a 20 th century classic, returns in February to be followed by a programme which includes the first new work of the Season, choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon. The influence of Ashton and Balanchine on Wheeldon's career is abundantly apparent. His new work will form the centrepiece between Ashton's Rhapsody, originally created in 1980 for Lesley Collier and Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Balanchine's Symphony in C, a glittering finish to the evening. At three performances the programme will conclude with Ashton’s Marguerite and Armand. Our next programme brings together Tombeaux, Enigma Variations and The Rite of Spring. David Bintley's Tombeaux was made for the Company in 1993 to music by William Walton, a close friend of Ashton's, with handsome designs by Jasper Conran. In choreographing Enigma Variations, Ashton was, I think, nervous of illustrating on stage the real-life characters on whom Elgar's music is based, in case he misrepresented them in some way. But when Sir Adrian Boult, who had known Elgar, came to conduct some performances in 1975, he declared the ballet wonderfully sympathetic to the composer¹s vision. The Rite of Spring was made for me by Kenneth MacMillan in 1962 and was a hugely important moment in my life. Ashton really liked the work and there were a couple of steps in it that he absolutely adored, in odd moments; he'd often ask me to do these steps for him. The second new work of the Season comes from internationally acclaimed choreographer Christopher Bruce, until recently Director of Rambert Dance Company. This will be his first time working with the Company, and I'm delighted that he and Wheeldon, who are both so firmly rooted in the traditions of British choreography, are able to make new works for us. Ashton's The Dream, which sealed the great partnership of Antoinette Sibley and Anthony Dowell, is also part of this programme, which concludes with three further performances of The Rite of Spring and three performances of Balanchine’s Symphony in C. Someone said to me recently, 'Ashton must be the only choreographer who could possibly have found a way to choreograph water.' They were referring of course to Ondine, his last three-act ballet, which he created for his muse, Margot Fonteyn, and which returns to the repertory in April. In June, as part of ROHToo we'll present another programme of new choreography in the Linbury Studio Theatre. 2005 also marks the Centenary of conductor and composer Constant Lambert, who with Ashton and de Valois was one of the chief architects of the Company's early repertory. I'll be inviting the participating choreographers to look to Ashton or to Lambert's music for their inspiration. The season closes with a mixed programme of Nijinska's Les Biches and two works by Ashton, Symphonic Variations and A Month in the Country. Ashton always said that Nijinska was his greatest influence. Les Biches, set at a French house party in the 1920s, is full of intrigue and innuendo and the challenge now is to convey the subtleties of the period to the dancers of today. With A Month in the Country and Enigma Variations, we will pay tribute to Julia Trevelyan Oman, the designer of both these ballets, who died last year. Lastly, we come to Symphonic Variations, a masterwork and a true distillation of Ashton's choreographic genius. This ballet rightly occupies a unique place in both his and the Company's choreographic history. Monica Mason, 6 April 2004. THE ROYAL BALLET 2004/5 SEASON http://www.ballet-dance.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=22053

I just noticed that cast changes for the Wheeldon triple bill were announced yesterday evening: http://www.roh.org.uk/news/cast-changes-after-the-rain-and-within-the-golden-hour-on-13-17-february-and-10-march-2016 "A number of cast changes for After the Rain and Within the Golden Hour have been announced for performances on 13 and 17 February, and 10 March 2016. Reece Clarke will replace Matthew Golding in After the Rain and Yuhui Choe will replace Laura Morera in Within the Golden Hour. In addition, Valentino Zucchetti will join the cast of Within the Golden Hour."

Tamara Rojo replaces Alina Cojocaru on January 13 (opening night) and, although I'm not sure of Alina's other scheduled dates, it looks to me as if she's replacing her in at least one of those as well. http://www.ballet.org.uk/whats-on/lecorsaire/ (Click on 'Principal Casting')

Re Les Sylphides, English National Ballet also danced it in 2009 and, in my opinion, their performances were vastly superior to those of the Royal. When I asked a member of the ENB staff about this, she told me that Maina Gielgud had been responsible for the coaching and that she, herself, had been coached by a dancer from the Ballets Russes. If my memory is correct, that dancer was Tamara Karsavina. I believe that Maina Gielgud is a reader of this forum. Maybe she could confirm or ask someone else to confirm on her behalf? I’ve just done a search and have found the following two extracts (from Barcelona performances that year) on YouTube.

BBC One December 8 10:35 - 11.45pm Imagine: A Profile of Carlos Acosta http://www.radiotimes.com/episode/dv7fc7/imagine--series-28---7-imagine-carlos-acosta---cuba-calls

We're the big group at the far table

You could come and find us in the intervals on the amphi terrace in front of the restaurant.

If you want to make sure this is seen by someone who might have it in their power to bring back any of these ballets, I suggest you post it on the ROH website. Arky gave the link in her post above.. Here it is again: http://www.roh.org.uk/news/pointes-of-view-which-rarely-staged-ballets-would-you-like-to-see-return-to-the-repertory

http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/9077-royal-ballet-season-2015-2016/?p=129442 It doesn't seem to have a thread of its own. It's in the general thread of the 2015/16 season

I've known people who upgraded on the day of the performance. As far as I remember, they were able to upgrade a cheaper ticket to a more expensive one..

Yes, it was 2004, during the Ashton Centenary year: http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performance.aspx?performance=1848&row=75

http://www.ballet.org.uk/whats-on/lecorsaire/ Click on 'principal casting' then on the 'show casting' link for the London Coliseum.

http://www.officiallondontheatre.co.uk/buy-tickets/special-offers/article/item340777/english-national-ballets-le-corsaire/ Offer states it's only valid for performances between Jan 13 and 20 Promo code is OLT Edited to add that I forgot to mention that these are, of course, the London Coliseum performances Also, I now notice that the offer mentions 'up to 50% off' but the Dress Circle tickets are definitely half price. I didn't ask about the Upper Circle tickets.

There were several performances of Les Biches in 2005 (part of a mixed bill) Here's a link to the first night cast: http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/performance.aspx?performance=2098&row=40

I won't go into detail either but I feel I ought to mention that not all members of the audience felt this way. It's interesting how many different reactions there can be to any one performance. I really enjoyed the evening, as did my companions. Early on I got the impression that Carè (the Kaufmann replacement) might be a bit nervous but, once he had warmed up, I thought he gave an excellent performance. In fact, two separate people told me that that they'd never enjoyed Carmen as much as they did last night

I'd be very surprised if you had a problem in row B in the centre block of the amphitheatre as the rake is very good there - i.e. row B is quite a bit higher than row A. In addition, people in row A in the centre block have no need to lean forward as, unlike those in the side blocks, they are not affected by the curvature of the amphitheatre tier ledge. I would have thought that, unless you are tall, you'd have more of a problem in row E of the stalls as, although I've never sat there myself, I've been told that the rake between D and E is not very good.

For a recent general rehearsal I sat in row B in the central block of the amphitheatre. Both the view and the acoustic were excellent.

You're right, Alison. I hadn't noticed that they're filming the first night as well as the two later performances. That's very unusual.

I don't have the winter season brochure but, according to the production page on the ROH website, only one cast is being filmed for each of the two ballets in this mixed bill: http://www.roh.org.uk/mixed-programmes/rhapsody-the-two-pigeons

I was also in the amphitheatre but, with powerful binoculars, I was able to see Francesca's nuanced and finely detailed acting. Suffice it to say that, despite the fact that I've seen this production on countless occasions, she made me feel I was seeing the last act for the very first time. As you say, ChrisG, a stunning debut.

http://www.ballet.org.uk/whats-on/lecorsaire/ Casting now on ENB website

He actually graduated two years later than Polunin. Polunin graduated in 2007, Muntagirov in 2009. 2009 was also the year that Shiori Kase graduated from the RBS and I remember Wayne Eagling saying, at a London Ballet Circle meeting that year, that he'd just taken on two potential 'stars'.

That's probably because they released the SCS places originally reserved for students

I think you may have misread the cast change slip, LinMM. Paul Kay was replaced by Sander Blommaert in the Mandolin Dance. Unless I'm having a very senior moment, James Hay did, indeed, dance Benvolio.on Thursday evening.

I'll try to explain: Some DVD players are region locked and will only play back DVDs encoded to their region. The UK and Europe are in region 2. The USA and Canada are in Region 1. Australia, New Zealand and South America are in region 4. Many DVD players are however multiregion and will play DVDs from anywhere. You'll have to check which sort of DVD player you have. Having said that, ballet DVDs are often region 0 which means they can be played anywhere in the world.. As for your other question, before the advent of wide-screen televisions, all video recordings were in the 4:3 format which fitted the old style almost square TV screen. It appears that some widescreen televisions can reformat this 4:3 picture to fit a modern television screen. If not, you will need to watch a 4:3 recording with black bars either side of the screen. Hope that's clear!