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Emeralds

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  1. Emeralds
    I hope Sarasota audiences know how lucky they are.....they're getting not just Ashton's R&J but also Peter Wright's traditional Giselle (the one with the brown and yellow costumes for Act 1 and actual Romantic era tutus for Act 2)! I thought that Giselle had gone forever!
  2. Emeralds
    Wow- from serving wine to the Prince in Sleeping Beauty at RB in 2023 (as I recall seeing him in) to being the Prince in Swan Lake the following year! Well done Darrion! His Odette-Odile is Maya Schonbrun (a familiar name to those who followed dance pages on social media during Covid lockdowns) - that's wonderful that Nicolas le Riche is giving such fantastic opportunities to talented youngsters in the corps de ballet. Their Rothbart is principal dancer Calum Lowden, ENBS and RBS graduate from Oxton, Scotland. If I recall correctly this version (Nureyev's 1984 one), has quite a lot of dancing for Rothbart as well. Maya and Darrion obviously have a lot of support among the Stockholm audience- both their performances are sold out. Toi toi toi to both of them!
  3. Emeralds
    This month, Dance Europe magazine had a feature on the company taking their production of Swan Lake on a tour to Italy. The company had three ballerinas dancing Odette/Odile : Nino Samadashvili (who trained at the affiliated school), Laura Fernandez-Gromova (a Swiss born Vaganova Academy graduate of Spanish and Ukrainian heritage),and Maria Kochetkova (familiar to ENB, SFB and ABT regulars). Soloist Filippo Montanari was mentioned as Fernandez-Gromova's partner in the role of Siegfried on the Italy tour, but nobody else was mentioned. I know Xander Parish has danced with the company as a guest artist in the past but there's no mention of whether there will be guest artists dancing Siegfried or who their other Siegfrieds were. The production was described in the article as being quite traditional and the corps de ballet well rehearsed and well synchronised. It sounds like Fadeyechev and Ananiashvili are aiming for a traditional, pleasing, reliable Swan Lake that does what it says on the tin, with no radical concepts or unexpected reworking. The writer didn't say what sort of ending it had - I guess we'll find out in August! The company didn't have live music on the Italy tour, but glad to see that the versatile ENO Orchestra (who have recently been performing ballet scores magnificently- from Giselle to Tchaikovsky pas de deux to Don Quixote pdd to Le Corsaire pdd etc - despite being primarily an opera orchestra!) will be playing for the company in August.
  4. Emeralds
    I love that we can now just click and it is sorted out instantly! No need to wait ages for someone to answer the phone or to keep checking my inbox to see if the box office staff have replied to my email yet and the uncertainty of what they might say/not say. The £4 fee per ticket is worth it for the speed and elimination of hassle. Great system. More venues should do something like it- I think it would improve their box office income.
  5. Emeralds
    Casting on the website currently showing that Lauren Cuthbertson will dance in Requiem tomorrow. 😊 Really tempted to go again tomorrow. Such beautiful dancing.....
  6. Emeralds
    I don't have offspring looking for ballet/dance jobs but am very familiar with this scenario from friends who went through it. There are unfortunately a lot of dance schools, a lot of very good graduates and not enough jobs or dance companies in the UK and around the world, and that's always been the case. I'd advise parents and graduates to expect a lot of rejections when starting out, and not to pay much heed to the "too tall, too short, wrong whatever" feedback- if the feedback doesn't pinpoint anything to do with the actual dancing or technique, it usually means that she (or he) was very good but so were 30 (or more) other dancers and they only had the funds to hire one, so a lot of very good candidates will have to be rejected for no good reason unfortunately. One approach that some have said reduces the pressure at auditions was to go to them and use the auditions as an opportunity to perform for someone new (even if it was barre work only or even if just tendus) and not to care if you get the job or not. Somehow, being under less pressure made them stand out from the other equally good candidates, who looked too anxious or too eager to please, and led to a job being offered! That might work for some. Best of luck to all the DDs and DSs auditioning for jobs!
  7. Emeralds
    Thinking about whether to go as it's been very successful in the US (earned a second Tony Award for Christopher Wheeldon) but it's obviously very different to the first musical that Wheeldon won a Tony for- An American in Paris. Actually, what I would really like is a revival of An American in Paris, I think 😀 (with Leanne Cope and Robert Fairchild)!
  8. Emeralds
    The first night often moves about a bit - usually late September or early October. Last year, ie this season, the first night was 30 Sept 2023 (Don Quixote). For the previous season it was 5 Oct 2022 (Mayerling). I am waiting a bit to book Fille as it's easier for me to move ROH tickets if there is a clash with Sadler's Wells than to move Sadler's Wells if ROH programming/casting clashes with a Sadler's Wells booking. A big thank you to whoever/the people at ROH who thought of putting the advance ticket return option on the website and implemented it successfully! 👍 👏
  9. Emeralds
    My sympathies, @emmarose- what a horrible person to have to encounter at a lovely occasion like a ballet. If it's any consolation I have encountered a similarly unpleasant individual at ROH and it's definitely worth reporting the incident and individual to ROH Customer Services, if you have the time. Nowadays they have a record of the person buying the ticket as well-even if the ticket was given away or resold to a friend, they can warn the ticket buyer that this person is no longer welcome.
  10. Emeralds
    Without wanting to dictate to others whether they should refrain from ever giving standing ovations at ROH or indeed any other theatre, nor to dismiss those who can't easily stand up/move during a standing ovation to get a better view (wheelchair bound, child, etc), I would say it's a tad churlish to tell people (especially with a forceful poke!) that they're not allowed to give one. If one can stand to walk in and out of a building, one can stand up for a standing ovation to get a better view. I have been with elderly or shorter companions who couldn't or preferred not to stand up for a standing ovation- that's their choice and they weren't offended that other people stood up. I've also been in standing places in the past and had my view blocked in a full house (standing places full as well) if there's a standing ovation- because the seats in front of us in Stalls Circle are elevated. A few of us just chuckled and shuffled along somewhere else to get a more unimpeded view (obviously being mindful you mustn't block an exit route in any emergency). I also do take curtain call photos and yes, standing ovations can temporarily block my shot until I stand/move to get a clear view- but it's not a great disaster to move. (Front row of course avoids that problem.) But hey, the performers have worked hard, often in pain with an existing injury, audiences want to show their appreciation - let them have their standing ovation (including brief ones).
  11. Emeralds
    There won't be any additional recent recordings of Fille and Rhapsody aside from the recent ones of Natalia Osipova with Steven McRae as those two ballets are generally not big sellers on the DVD market (it is likely that Osipova's performances were chosen as her international fame would help improve sales of both cinema relay seats as well as DVDs). Yuhui Choe and Valentino Zucchetti's performances in Fille were not filmed. As far as I can recall, Choe wasn't cast in the Rhapsody lead. Many of Choe's other performances were filmed-she can be seen in the Swan Lake DVD with Osipova and Matthew Golding in the lead roles (she dances in the Act 1 pas de trois) and the Concerto,/Judas Tree/Elite Syncopations DVD where she dances the 1st movement female lead with McRae. She's also one of the four visiting Princesses in Act 3 of the Nunez/Muntagirov Swan Lake DVD, but that's a small role compared to the ones on the other two DVDs. With regards to Fille scheduling, oversaturation with visiting or other UK companies is not generally an issue for RB, eg RB is performing Swan Lake over 4 months while 2 other companies will be performing it at the same time (ENB in June) and in August (State Ballet of Georgia). But they don't generally perform the same classics (eg Don Quixote, Coppelia, Sleeping Beauty, etc) as BRB in the same season. I suspect this is a) out of courtesy to a sister Royal Ballet Companies organisation, b) on a practical level they can have communication with BRB about repertoire but no day to day obligation to communicate with several other domestic companies or multiple international companies, who could have programming or visits to London altered with no obligation to RB either. This pattern doesn't apply to Nutcracker, as audiences have consistently shown they are more than happy to support and sell out two or even three major national companies performing Nutcracker at the same time in the capital.
  12. Emeralds
    If anyone is able to go today (matinee or evening or both), do report back! Whether it's just a few lines, or a few paragraphs!
  13. Emeralds
    Really looking forward to this in late May after reading all these reviews. 😀
  14. Emeralds
    Had I known in advance, would have booked to go and see him with Emily Suzuki et al last week before the rail strikes began (even though I don't like the production at all). Had ENB announced it earlier, it would have boosted ticket sales as well (as Laura Morera's farewell did for a sluggish-selling triple bill). I found his social media posts- very sweet photos and messages of thanks to his colleagues. He will be greatly missed by fans.
  15. Emeralds
    I agree anything flashing in a theatre is inappropriate. I think I'm the only person to point this out repeatedly, but wearers of Fitbits and other wrist items that flash when the arm moves must turn them off in a theatre performance- if that means a lot of hassle turning them back on, put it in a pocket or bag during the show. It's extremely disruptive to have them flashing in fellow audience members' faces every time they clap, scratch their nose or whatever. Not to mention the potential danger to dancers spotting their pirouettes and fouettes. Brandon Lawrence, principal dancer at BRB and now Zurich Ballet, has also spoken out against devices like these flashing in a darkened auditorium.
  16. Emeralds
    Thank you @LinMM. Just saw it a bit earlier on Facebook. This has come out of the blue! I put it on under News in case anyone knows more. Too short notice and unfortunately on a rail strike day- I'd have arranged to get there somehow if I'd known at least 2 weeks ago.
  17. Emeralds
    No plans announced, sadly. I haven't checked Fernando's own social media yet though- quite a shock!
  18. Emeralds
    Sad that ENB loses this popular and talented soloist- and on the day of a train strike (sadly I can't go)! Very, very short notice and quite a shock really. He is dancing Don Jose in his last show with ENB tonight. From English National Ballet's social media (couldn't find anything else on theur website)..... "Tonight we say goodbye to Soloist Fernando Carratalá Coloma, who will give his last performance with us in Johan Inger’s Carmen at Sadler’s Wells. Since joining the company in 2017, Fernando has shone in many productions, including Mats Ek’s The Rite of Spring, William Forsythe’s Playlist (EP), Kenneth MacMillan’s Song of the Earth, Tamara Rojo’s Raymonda and more. Please join us in wishing Fernando the very best in the next chapter of his dancing career!"
  19. Emeralds
    Thanks, @Bluebird- this was actually for two performances which the tickets were returned at least 3 days in advance. I suppose the box office employee each time was quick to jump on my suggestion of "exchange or credit voucher" and immediately suggested I do an exchange and ignored the question about the credit voucher. But anyway, it's now published in black and white on their website so no fudging to patrons. Thank you for your information! 👍
  20. Emeralds
    Sorry about my typo above: it should ready SWT (Sadler's Wells Theatre) and not SAT. I was always told (even last year) by the box office staff that there was no credit voucher system like the one at ROH - maybe things have changed now. (The website today does confirm they can offer a voucher certificate.)
  21. Emeralds
    SAT'S official policy is no refunds and any exchanges must be at least 24 hours' notice and also incurs a fee per ticket, unless you exchange for a more expensive ticket, paying the difference. Very very rarely they have agreed to attempt a refund when the whole run is sold out and it's more than 24 hours' notice (as there's obviously nothing you can exchange for); the booking fee and building levy are not refunded in that situation. If the ticket doesn't resell they will not refund you. (So your rhetorical - I presume! - question is correct, @Rob S). It's currently far from sold out.
  22. Emeralds
    Maybe In Paradisum works better with a real pipe organ at the back of a hall (like the ones at Albert Hall, Festival Hall, Barbican etc)? Like @Linnzi5 I too like Pie Jesu sung by a treble although Isabela Díaz did well too (MacMillan's ballet always has a soprano instead. I did consider switching to 9 April on the off chance of having Lauren Cuthbertson instead but the train travel looked like it might be worse next week with everyone back from Easter holidays and potentially worse congestion due to the ASLEF overtime ban. Plus there's no guarantee that Cuthbertson wouldn't be replaced again. I hope next time Yasmine Naghdi will be lead ballerina in one of the casts of Danses Concertantes - the ballet looks so right for her. Also James Hay. I agree -Lamb and Hamilton were gloriously perfect both times in Requiem, with 2 wonderful sets of partners in each cast. The Drum Major's mace is probably both I guess- one to show he is a drum major amd two, the obvious hint/suggestion of a phallic symbol (but without making it too obvious). Had forgotten how many jumps and difficult tricks with the mace he actually has to do! Not as much emotional acting as the role of Woyzeck but difficult in other ways. Very impressed with Serrano's performance!
  23. Emeralds
    Hope all is ok with Alina- wishing her well. (Got slightly confused by these posts as didn't realise at first that there were two parallel discussions about this on 2 threads!) I'm very happy with my replacement cast and glad that Max Maslen will still have one performance, with Miki Mizutani
  24. Emeralds
    For the ASLEF overtime ban yesterday on 4 April, Thameslink and other companies ran an amended timetable with about fewer trains than usual on my route. I ended up having to get a taxi to ROH from the train station so as not to risk being late for Danses Concertantes if the Tube trains (which I don't normally take) were too full or delayed, or the lifts were too congested. I didn't get stranded as the amended timetable meant I had enough trains to connect for the journey home, and there were no random unexpected cancellations. Phew! Fingers crossed it all works out well for everyone travelling for other RB, ENB, NB, SB, ENBS etc performances today till and including 9 April.
  25. Emeralds
    Thanks for the update Peanut68. I'm not an Instagram or X/twitter user although I can see the public posts on an online search.There's no mention of the BRB cancellation on her public Instagram posts, but she still has her post about her Taiwan appearances on 4 and 5 May up on Instagram. Hence I assume everything after April is currently OK to go ahead, unless she simply hasn't gotten around to announcing other cancellations. It looks hopeful for now that she will appear with LCB. Yes, she only had 2 dates with BRB.
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