Angela Essex

3 hours ago, LinMM said:

Alex Simpkins is my teacher at the City Lit! I really love his classes he has a nice balance between technique and artistry though exam classes may be different of course! 

Lucky you Linn I really liked the way he taught. Yes in the RAD intermediate foundation class he really focused on dynamics and musical  interpretation as well as being very thorough about technique. I felt like I wish I’d have been able to get to his class for more than one term as he was such a great teacher - he wasn’t trying to be everyone’s mate and was quite strict with us about technique which was a real gift. We had a really great live pianist at RAD too his name was Jeremy. 

I do my grade 6 class with a 16 year old and a 20 year old and I’m 47. It’s a case of making your desire to do exams known upfront and dancing at a studio that can facilitate that. Last year I did my intermediate foundation via private lessons and a once weekly class at RADHQ. Like you I have family commitments and initially couldn’t think about going to London for class, but I found that since I’d not danced as a child intermediate foundation needed more than my once weekly private lesson so I did a term at RAD HQ doing one class a week on a Weds night coming up to the exam. Since the class was an evening one (1940-2110) hubby was back from work and was with the kids. I’d highly reccomend that Weds night class - the teacher is Alex Simpkins and he is really next level. Even if you can only get into London for class once a week for a term coming up to the exam it is so worth it. 

Hello @LinMM and thank you for your reply. Yes I do half an hour of pointe before the class as my teacher has other time commitments directly after. The other girls in the class are not wanting to do pointe so we do it at the start before they arrive. 

Please could somebody recommend a ballet physio in London or Essex for painful swollen ankles?

The pain is on the outside of the ankle just in front of the lateral malleolus. I have just re-started pointe work after a 6 month break from it and I feel it may be related to that. I am only doing 30 mins of pointe with my teacher before class, but we have started doing things on one leg now. I have tried ice, elevation and daily calf raises and doming exercises.

I stopped the calf raises and doming as I did not know if it was this was aggravating the ankle pain. I have been doing them daily since I had an episode of Achilles Tendonitis last year that has now mostly resolved.
 

Many thanks in advance. 

1 minute ago, Blossom said:

@Mariana Freire looks set to take the ticket, will let you know if it becomes available.

Thank you for your reply Blossom - luckily a spare ticket appeared on the roh website yesterday though so I’m sorted now - hooray! 

Thank you for the updates Michelle. What a traumatic time you and Adrian have been through of late. I was so sorry to hear of your heart attack and angioplasty and I wish you a speedy and complete recovery. Your dedication to ballet and keeping up pointe is such an inspiration. I can identify with pointe being a hard hill to climb though. Im back at it for just half an hour a week after a 6 month break and even that little bit is hard. I’m glad Adriana eye tumour is shrinking. Will be thinking of you both. 
 

PS I agree with your assessment of the ache/left arm pain being angina (I’ve been a medical doctor since 2001, but I’m in pathology so don’t deal with cardiology but I think your assessment there and use of GTN for the arm pain is spot on)

Hopelessly in line please if this hasn’t already gone x

I was there tonight and I preferred the cast of the cinema relay. I looove Marianela, she danced beautifully, but for me Osipova/Clark evoked more feeling in their portrayal. Agree with what others have said in this topic. Nunez was a cheekier, more willing participant as Manon, whereas Osipova really conveyed a sadness and desperation that was missing from tonight’s Manon. 

@Nogoat agree with you about Reece Clark being dramatically amazing last night. I really felt his desperation at Manon being passed around and abused  with him feeling powerless to do anything about it yet enraged at the same time. A few people mentioned he came across as not having much depth dramatically, but for me watching the cinema relay that was far from true. I thought he was fantastic. 

I’m doing grade 6 at some point. My teacher has said this summer, but we will see. There feels like an awful lot to learn and I’ve never done character before, so it’s slow going. We’ve been working on the syllabus since September.

@EverHopeful how are you finding preparation for IF? I did it last summer and found it hard work. 

I was at the cinema relay. 

Osipova/Clark are a magical partnership.  The utter desolation and wretchedness they portrayed in Act 3 was awesome and unsettling. I left feeling emotionally drained and I really felt for Manon. What a phenomenal performance.

Not gonna lie I found the treatment of women disturbing - violence, sexual assault, rape. MacMillan was definitely not afraid to confront those subjects. 
The principal cellist was top notch too. As was the whole orchestra. 
Going to see Nunez / Bolle on Friday so it will be interesting to compare how the two couples interpretations. 

On 15/01/2024 at 10:21, Allbarone said:

 feel like I’m lifetime away from the strength needed for one footed relevés in the centre! 
 

Same here. The prospect of doing pointe involving anything on one foot scares me. Got a 5/10 on my IF pointe so I’ve got a loooong way to go before I can even think of doing intermediate here. 

Hello @Allbarone I’m an adult beginner and sat my intermediate foundation last summer. I started ballet in lockdown so I’m thinking that if you’ve danced before and since you’ve been dancing for 3 years, intermediate will not be that much harder than IF for you. As @NeverTooOld said the IF pointe was 2 exercises at the barre and one in the centre which did not involve anything on one leg so it was relatively straightforward. My teacher has said that intermediate will be quite a bit harder and take a long time (for me) on account of the amount of pointe, but I’m thinking for someone who’s returning to ballet having had prior training and since you’re comfortable with the IF work you’d be fine with the intermediate class.

However, it seems a pity to have done all the work for IF and not do the exam. Could you sit the IF exam are studio A later in the year but in the meantime start taking intermediate class at studio B? Or ask if studio B could enter you for IF sometime soon, maybe after some private lessons if they don’t have an IF class? 
 

Wishing you all the best with the move and good luck with your exam preparations. 

Happy New Year to you too! Thank you so much to all the moderators for running such an excellent forum. Thanks also for your patience and generosity in sharing your knowledge, especially with those new to ballet such as myself. Wishing you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2024. 

Thanks Linn - I’ve never sat at the front of the stalls circle before and this could be my one chance so I went for that one 😊

20 minutes ago, capybara said:

I’d go for the front Stalls Circle - definitely not Stalls row D.

Enjoy!

Thank you so much. Front SC booked.

Hello All and Happy New Year. I’d like to book to see Nunez/Vadim in Swan Lake on 6/4 and (thanks to a birthday present from my husband) have a choice of the following seats front balcony A49, Front stalls circle A64 or Stalls D12 or M20. Which seat would afford a better view? I’m hoping some kind forum member can comment please. Thank you. 

On 04/01/2024 at 10:52, Sim said:

I wish it were the Naghdi/Corrales cast....

That was the cast I saw at ROH with Megan Grace Hinkis as Gertrudis - what a night 

1 minute ago, oncnp said:

 

It is currently on the ROH stream. I think they are still offering 14 day free trial 

Thank you so much that is fabulous news -  keeping my fingers crossed it makes it back to the stage and the big screen too. 

Since I’ve only been watching ballet regularly since lockdown lifted I only know a few ballets, but my wishes would be:

1. RB Fille - I remember in the Gala film they released in lockdown on BBC iplayer - there was a pdd danced by AROS and Marcelino Sambe that was pure joy. Also it was the first ballet I ever saw as a child about 40 years ago at the ROH on a schools matinee. I’d love to se it again. I have the video of Marianela dancing with Carlos which is lovely.

2. BRB to come to somewhere in the East of England (preferably as near to Essex as possible) or London more. I really want to see them.

3. Lots more matinees. It’s so exhausting being out in the evening 😊. Also even morning ballets in London on weekdays so I could sneak a ballet in while the kids were at school maybe like a 10am start or something - I know this is totally unrealistic though. 
 

4. Russian companies to be allowed to come to the UK as I’d love to see the Bolshoi one day - I know they used to tour and come to London it’s just a shame they don’t nowadays. I’d even settle for a Bolshoi film being shown, but that never seems to happen either. 
 

5. Marianela to release her autobiography - I’d love to read it. 
 

6. LWFC to come back. I know it was only on recently but it was amazing and I so want to see it again soon or at least the film to be shown.

7. Lots more films. Lots. Of multiple casts of the same ballets too. I’d literally go every couple of weeks if there were showings. Also films of historical performances not necessarily all live ones.

2 hours ago, Sim said:

OK, so I said that last week was my final Nut of the season, but when a good ticket came up for today I just couldn't resist.  Best cure for a New Year's Day fuzzy head?  Seeing Annette Buvoli debut as SPF, accompanied by Marianna Tsembenhoi as Clara.  This made for a wonderful start to the New Year.  Annette was lovely, fluid and fluent and yes, it was all taken very slowly, as it was with Mariko last week.  I am guessing that the debutantes like it that way as it is such a difficult piece to dance, so until they are used to it and can whip around like the experienced dancers, it's safer not to rush.  So perhaps the fireworks aren't the same, but on the plus side we get to see the musicality and grace of the dancer, and this afternoon we saw that with Annette.  She looked like she was in a rapture; so happy to be there.  Nicol Edmonds was fine and on good form, but next time I would love to see Annette dance with Lukas or Reece, as the height would work better.  Brava to Annette; it is so nerve-wracking to debut as SPF.  I do feel so sorry that she put in so much work just to have one scheduled show. (I felt the same about Claire Calvert's one Swan Lake).  I very much look forward to seeing Annette do more big roles in the future, especially the classical ones.  She has such beautiful lines, and such grace.

 

I was so happy to see my favourite Columbine again today.  Ginevra Zambon is so convincing as a doll.  She even spots in doll mode!  And today's Chinese dance was the most synchronised as any I have ever seen.  Absolutely perfect timing from Liam Boswell and Daichi Ikarashi.  

 

Happy New Year to you all....I've started mine on a high, thanks to today's lovely cast.  

Thank you for a lovely review @Sim and for clarifying about the tempo - makes perfect sense as I can imagine the danger factor is very real in that section at any speed let alone the breakneck speed I’ve heard played on some performances. 
 

And yes wouldn’t it just be divine to see Ms Buvoli with Lukas or Reece - it’s on my fantasy Nutcracker cast now. 

4 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

Hoping some comments on Annette Buvoli's SPF will appear here soon. I would have loved to have seen her debut but no trains.

Ms Buvoli danced absolutely beautifully. A very gentle, kind and regal SPF. The pdd’s with Nicol Edmonds the SPP were stunning. She did have one little stumble in the first phrase of their first pdd but other than that flawless as far as my inexperienced eye could tell. I found her interpretation very graceful and musical, I’m just not sure how much the partnership with Nicol Edmonds really brought the magic for me though. I’d love to see her dance SPF again; since she’s a taller dancer I find it makes her lines all the more impactful. Not gonna lie the orchestra on her series of turns (I think it was maybe in the coda I don’t know for sure) went the slowest I’ve ever heard them go for that segment which I think robbed that part of the ?coda of a teensy bit of its fireworks for me. 

Shout out to Harry Churches for a magnificent Harlequin and to Sae Maeda and Daichi Irakashi for fabulous Vivandiere and Soldier respectively. Also Joseph Sissens - as a rose fairy escort love watching him dance so much. Isabella Gasparini was a lovely rose fairy too - so spritely, light and delicate. 
 

Marianna Tsembenhoi was an amazing Clara too - the height of her jumps and general strength and energy throughout was extremely impressive to me. Not being the most experienced watcher of ballet I can’t quite articulate why but I found her a more dynamic and lively, sparky Clara than some more sweet girlish Clara’s I’ve seen but I really liked that take - especially in act 2 she was just amazing her dance with Isabella Gasparini as rose fairy was 👌🏻

Full house at Basildon Cineworld - who knew there were so many ballet fans in Basildon!

The cinema relay went off without at hitch. Loved Darcey’s sequin green mini dress. Agree with @Tango Dancerone of the highlights was the interview with Gary Avis - that suit was some seriously crisp tailoring - he looked fantastic. I really enjoyed the clip of Darcey coaching AROS and Marcelino Sambe in the studio too.

Another highlight was Darcey and Petroc behind the curtain at the end of Act I when one could see all the snowflakes and Clara walking of stage chatting and hugging - such a privilege to see behind the scenes of this fabulous production.

Dancing wise a highlight for me is the Arabian as it takes me back to playing the music for it when I was at music school. Olivia Cowley dances it so beautifully too. Even more impressive since she’s come back from maternity leave too. Kudos for that. 
 

For some reason I just didn’t connect with the Nutcracker magic tonight overall though, possibly as it’s my first time watching in the cinema and I think it’s good to be able to see the snowflake formation from above a little which doesn’t come across in the cinema. Also the gargantuan size of the tree and the silk backdrop rushing down in act I aren’t as impactful on film. 
 

Side note: Any takers for a ‘fantasy nutcracker’ thread - a bit like fantasy football but the ballet version where one can describe their fantasy Nutcracker cast? I only have a very short ballet watching career, but Mine would definitely involve Gary Avis as Drosselmeyer, Isabella Gasparini or Francesca Hayward as Clara, I’d love to see Joonhyuk Jun as Hans Peter and Marianela Nunez as SPF.

On 09/12/2023 at 17:21, capybara said:

The whole of the second cast of Like Water for Chocolate (especially Naghdi, Corrales and Kaneko) completely transforming the ballet from a meh to a ‘knock out’ YAY.

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