Bluebird

For the last two years (i.e. the years in which a recording has been made of the performance) there has been a short period during which the Friends of the School have had internet access to the recording.

A friend has just let me know that the programme and cast list are now on the ROH website: https://static.roh.org.uk/digital/cast-sheets/Royal-Ballet-School-Summer-Performance/RBS-Summer-Performance-cast-sheet-16.07.23.pdf

I've just checked an old RBS programme. The class lists, in these programmes, used to have an asterisk by the names of the students who, before joining White Lodge, had been Junior, Mid or Senior Associates of the RBS. Caspar, Beth and Blake all have asterisks - i.e. they've been associated with the School for more than 8 years.

Yes, she's a Second Year student.

I've sent you a PM as I'm not sure it's OK to name students on a public forum.

Katie was Amour in the June 20 performance of Don Q. https://static.roh.org.uk/digital/cast-sheets/NextGenerationFestival2023/NGF2023RBS20June-v3.pdf

I just checked the website and October 28 evening is now showing as Takada/Acri. Maybe a 'clerical error' caused the website casting to be changed?

She’s going to Semperoper Ballett Dresden.

If it helps, I seem to have saved the link to the price maps for all opera and ballet productions for the 2018/19 Autumn season. The ballets for that Autumn season were Mayerling. Bayadère. a mixed bill and Nutcracker https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/static.roh.org.uk/for/pdfs/seating-plan-price-mapping-tool.pdf?utm_source=wordfly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2018_apr_pricing_widget_friends&utm_content=version_A&emailsource= Edited to add that I believe 2018/19 was the first season where the productions didn't all have the same price bands. I'm pretty sure that, until then, all productions had shared the same price bands. Having said that, the prices within those bands had, of course, varied from production to production.

and, as I've already posted, the restricted view front side amphitheatre seats are still showing at £52 (£32 for Nutcracker!) Edited to add that I imagine it was quite easy for them to change the £26 band to £14 as this price applied mostly to stalls circle standing and upper and lower slips. The £52 and £67 bands apply to seats in a number of areas of the House and it would be really complicated for them to change only some of these areas. The email I posted above was sent to me as a reply to an earlier email I'd sent to the Friends' office. I got the impression that they only sent it to Friends who'd complained to them by email. i.e. it was not received by a friend of mine who's a Premium 2 Friend and who had complained by telephone rather than by email.

They were always £36. It's the front side amphitheatre (restricted view) in rows B-E which have gone from £34 for Beauty and Cinderella to £52 for Don Q

Just received from the Friends: We have recently made a small number of mis-steps, brought to our attention by our valued friends and patrons, with regards to ticketing for Don Quixote. Upon reflection, we agree that the price increases for a small number of tickets have been disproportionately too high, and so have made the decision to change our approach for certain Don Quixote seats and standing places. We will be re-imbursing those who have already paid more for the small number of tickets affected through account credit. We would like to thank those who have brought this to our attention, and apologise for any inconvenience caused. Edited to add that there's no sign that they've reduced the restricted view amphi seats. They still appear to be £52.

I’ve just noticed another large price reduction in an area which has a full view of the stage. The seats in the amphitheatre, in the central part of row H, were £91 for Beauty and will be £67 for Don Q. To be fair, for Beauty, they were then in the same price band as row G (which is now £83) and are now in the H to N price band. Nonetheless, it’s another case of higher prices being considerably reduced.

I've just checked the price of my 2018 Don Q seat - side front amphitheatre: £19. It has now gone up to £52! An unbelievable increase. I thought £34 for Cinderella and Beauty was a lot but £52 is bordering on the ridiculous. (Edited to add that all of these front side amphitheatre seats have a restricted view and, for some of the seats, particularly those in row B, the view can be very restricted) Assuming the seating chart is correct, this increase in front side amphitheatre prices (from £34 for Cinderella and Beauty to £52 for Don Q) is accompanied by a lowering of the higher prices elsewhere. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, some stalls circle side seats that were £70 for Cinderella and Beauty have been reduced to £52 for Don Q. Some of the stalls circle side seats which were £112 for Cinderella and Beauty have been reduced to £67 for Don Q. It's hard not to suspect that they've raised the price of the cheaper seats so as to compensate for the reduction in price of these more expensive seats.

I’ve found that different dates seem to have different availability so it could be that they are showing real time availability- especially as many of the unavailable seats are popular with patrons and premium 2 Friends (i.e. it could be that those who sent in lists have already had their lists processed). I am, of course, only speculating.

That’s strange. I copied and pasted the link from September 30! edited to add that your web address must be the November 7 one. This doesn’t explain why the September 30 link brings up November 7. The ROH website clearly has a mind if its own!

Rear amphi and lower slips standing are £9. Also £9 are the upper and lower slips closest to the stage: https://www.roh.org.uk/seatmap?performanceId=54536

Some of the seats in front in row B, which were £112 for Beauty and Cinderella, are £67!! Edited to add that these prices are so strange they might well be changed before going on sale

Last time I looked the cheapest row C side stalls circle were ‘only’ £52. Weren’t they considerably more for Beauty and Cinderella?

The only seats cheaper than standing are the very restricted upper slips and the lower slips closest to the stage.

F38 is in the £50 price band for Nutcracker

I just checked and, assuming you sit in the centre block, for Nutcracker, rows J-L are £68 and rows M-R are £50

Just received from Australian Ballet: "As a valued supporter, we write to you with reference to a matter you may have seen mentioned recently in media or social media commentary: the negotiation of a new Enterprise Agreement for our dancers. First and foremost, please be assured that The Australian Ballet regards its dancers as our greatest asset, and they continue to be treated with the utmost care and support. We invest heavily in our dancers’ physical and mental wellbeing, and through our world-renowned health facilities, provide optimal care and support to ensure they have extended and fulsome careers with the company and beyond. Since September 2022, the company has held ten good faith bargaining meetings with Dancer representatives - including the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (Union) - to update the recently expired Australian Ballet Dancer’s Enterprise Agreement 2020-2023 (‘Agreement’). Considerable progress has been made towards a new Agreement with agreed enhancements in several key areas including performance and rehearsal schedules, rest days, and livestreaming performance fees. We are continuing to work towards an agreement on the final level of wage increase our dancers will receive, which is clearly a sensitive issue given the cost-of-living increases that all Australians are experiencing. The wage offer we have made to our dancers would see them receive a 5.3% increase over what they were paid in 2022, once a new Agreement is adopted. Over a three-year period, our dancers would receive a minimum 11.3% salary increase, with potential for further increases under a capped CPI clause offer. This proposal is more generous than recent wage offers or finalised agreements in peer dance organisations, and it comes at a challenging financial time for our company with the closure of our home theatre in Melbourne from 2024 to 2026. We continue to await the union’s formal response to the offer before the dancers. A further matter we feel requires clarification relates to some public commentary regarding dancer wage cuts in 2020, at the height of the pandemic. The facts are that in 2020, The Australian Ballet performed just 9 of 155 planned mainstage shows due to pandemic disruptions, with box office revenue dropping from $32 million to $1 million. Nevertheless, dancers received a 2.5% wage increase effective from 1 February 2020, worked reduced hours and ultimately received 82% of their normal salary across the year. This was a good example of the company and dancers working together to find a solution to one of the greatest challenges The Australian Ballet has ever faced. Please be assured negotiations with dancer representatives are continuing. We look forward to concluding a new Enterprise Agreement that provides clarity and sustainability for both parties going forward, particularly as we continue to recover from the losses of the pandemic and navigate the challenges of the next few years when the temporary closure of Arts Centre Melbourne (our home theatre) for renovation poses further financial strain."

The prices that are there are exactly the same as they were before. The price tiers are again the same as the opera price tiers and SCS are still £26 (as opposed to £12 for Nutcracker)and front side amphitheatre are still £52 (as opposed to £32 for Nutcracker) Let's hope they just haven't got around to modifying them.

I just had an email from the ROH and the booking date does appear to be July 5 for some Friends. Further dates weren't in the email but I assume they will be the dates posted above by oncnp.