Bruce Wall

A fascinating article in the WSJ on the designer, Bob Crowley, the "the first nonproducer to receive four [Tony] nods in a single year" http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-designer-who-is-dominating-the-tonys-1430257636 I was particularly taken by one comment that Mr. Crowley made about his scenic design for AN AMERICAN IN PARIS: Two Sentence Article Quote: "Because the show is so dance-driven, Mr. Crowley avoided mechanical sets that move on and off the stage on tracks in the floor. “There is no way the dancers could pirouette if there were tracks on the floor,” he said. “They would injure themselves.”" This made me think of C. Acosta's production of DON QUIXOTE for the Royal Ballet that was revived this season in London and the injuries that have occurred on/in/around the tracks of that set both in its revival presentation and in its original outing. (This made me especially think of Ms. Osipova who injured herself when falling on the first act DQ set while doing diagonal pirouettes.) I very much hope this injury count is not repeated when the RB present this production on the upcoming tour as the sole offering in Chicago and the nation's capital, Washington D. C. I also hope that scenic lessons have been learned so as not to be repeated within the physical production of Mr. Acosta's CARMEN next season.

Eleonore Duse ... Sounds quite fitting somehow.

How interesting, Geoff, that you chose your example from the Bolshoi Theatre production of the Ashton master work which sadly is no longer in the Bolshoi rep. I'm sure Mr. Yanin would be much honoured at your compliment.

There was an item on Woolf Works - with brief interviews with McGregor, Ferri and Richter - on the BBC Radio 4 TODAY SHOW just before 8.00 am. I'm sure it will be on the radio iplayer and/or accessed through the well captioned TODAY SHOW web pages.

Was the full name of 'Virginia Woolf' actually ever mentioned by McGregor in that almost 15 minute clip? I am uncertain. Liked the Sibelius suggestion of the Richter.

Would this not be better placed under 'Doing Dance' rather than 'Performances Seen & General Discussions'?

A second glowing review from The Public Reviews this time from this NB production's opening in Milton Keynes. (Janet kindly posted the first - Southampton - one in item number 3 above.)

Here is a succinct breakdown of all of the AiP nominations across the major theatrical awards in the Broadway calendar: http://us9.campaign-archive2.com/?u=6a438960d306f9082e909be1c&id=d0c32c0ca3&e=291c73591b

With a total of 12 AIP is tied with the Broadway Musical 'Fun Home' for the most 2015 Tony Award nominations over ALL categories.

At 0844 am in NYC (1344 GMT) Leanne Michelle Cope [stet], currently on leave from the Royal Ballet, received her inaugural Antoinette Perry (Tony) Award Nomination in the category of Best Actress in a Broadway Musical for her performance in RB Associate Christopher Wheeldon's production of AN AMERICAN IN PARIS. I'm sure we all send our congratulations to her on the occasion of this achievement. Robert Fairchild got his nomination but seconds earlier in the category for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in An American in Paris. RB Associate Christopher Wheeldon received a nomination for Best Choreographer of a Musical for An American in Paris at 1347 GMT and for Best Director of a Musical for the same at 1349. Bob Crowley who has designed a number of ROH productions has received two Tony Award AiP nominations for both costumes and scenic design. He also received a nomination for The Audience. Most crucially An American in Paris is nominated in the category of Best Musical. There are other AiP nominees. Here is the list in full from the Daily Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/theatre-news/11568167/Tony-Award-nominations-2015-list-in-full-live.html

Here is a very moving promo for a 'Dancing Against Cancer' Gala last night in NYC.. I include it here as the first image you see is of R. Fairchild of AiP/NYCB dancing with his wife Tiler Peck (NYCB) in a piece choreographed for them by C. Wheeldon of AiP/RB note. Gailene Stock's memory is also honoured here by ABT's Hermann Cornejo who will be appearing opposite Ms. A. Ferri (of RB's Woolf Works) in Cheri in the Lindbury in the RB 2015/16 season. https://player.vimeo.com/video/118718377 As a survivor myself I must confess I am not particularly taken by much of what is oft put out in the name of the cause. I found this, however, touching in the extreme. Somehow the dance itself seemed to be enhanced in the vitality of its purpose.

The NYT's ArtsBeat reports that AiP has brought in "more money than any of this season’s other new Broadway shows". http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/04/27/an-american-in-paris-outsells-other-new-shows-on-broadway/?ref=arts&_r=0 The Tony Award nominations will be announced tomorrow. All the various indicators have bode well for AiP nominations.

That is outside the specific remit of this page, Frog. I will send you a PM so that the page can keep on course.

Aileen, sadly you won't be seeing NYCB in London. Peter Matins in an open forum made that perfectly clear given his disappointment with the presenters during the Company's last London visit in 2008. (NYCB hadn't been in London at that juncture for a quarter of century.) However, please know Aileen that NYCB has a three week season at the Chatalet in Paris in summer 2016. Seats there are much less expensive, especially if you buy them at the Chatalet Box Office itself. Still, this is entirely off the stated topic. Just wanted to respond to Aileen's point. Best now to return to matters specifically pertaining to the RB's 2015-16 season.

Again I would like to express my keen thanks to both Bill Boyd and Bluebird. Your kindness in this regard has been HUGELY appreciated I'm sure not only by myself - as it most sincerely is - but by many on the BcoF site. Bless you for ALL.

I know of several SC standees who have friends who are ROH Premium Friends who now book their tickets for them.

Thanks so, Bill and Bluebird. Your largess is much appreciated. So it seems if you have a Raven Girl Amphi standing place and need to return that ticket for re-sale the ROH administration charge will equal the price of the ticket itself. (Or the ticket itself may be in negative equity if those ROH charges have themselves gone up.) What is it they say about sparing your breath to cool your porridge??? It would certainly seem to be apt in that specific case. Something tells me that there may be a goodly number of seats left unsold for those performances - as indeed there were the last time round I seem to recall ... at least in the upper Amphi ... and that on a double bill with Balanchine's triumphant Symphony in C.

Can anyone with the information tell us what standing room costs are for the high ticket items both for SC and the Amphi? Much thanks in advance for your time and kind consideration ... Signed 'Fearful'. I saw someone asked on the ROH site but was answered only that it would be revealed in good time.

Well, that is refreshing to hear. I have only I must confess seen the first one and enjoyed the way it was presented. That said - and the point I was hurriedly trying to make - is that the prize itself - given that it is for ALL DANCE - must be seen - I think - in its intent as being 'general' in itself as opposed to specific ... Correct me if I am wrong but the BBC Musician of the Year such as it is presented on BBC4 is pretty well concentrated on 'classical musicians' isn't it? (This is a question.) I may be wrong as I fear I have not seen it for some time now. Perhaps now it has different categories, (e.g., folk, western, pop, rock, etc.) Certainly the Cardiff Singer of the Year Award - also shown on BBC4 - is for singers of operatic or lieder fare only. It is in this way I think the dance competition would be different from those certainly. That is what I was trying to reference in terms of 'variety'.

In reference to the above review you may like to watch Mr. Corrado dance a segement from MacMillan's R&J with the RB's electric M. Nunez as performed at La Scala here and there is a brief interview with him in English here.

I very much enjoyed many elements of this presentation not least - as Coated suggests - the design of the scenery, costumes and lighting. Each was clean and clear in cherishing the movement each was assigned to highlight. Happily nothing got in the way and all aspects - baring the delightful puppet dumb show which I too adored - were depicted through the artistry of dance itself. I saw this presentation by Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo twice. I went on the the first night because I wanted to see the two leads: Noelani Pantastico and Lucien Postlewaite (who still wears the speed of his SAB training with pride). Both have been principals with PNB under the direction of the extraordinary Peter Boal. Having read so many glowing reports of that company since that time - and given the relatively rare exposure to such balletic components in London - I was hungry to at least in part taste of their skill - in whatever guise - for myself. Happily I was not disappointed. You can see an interview with both when first dancing this production with PNB here. George Oliveira also stood out in this performance through the determined glint of his aerial taunting Mercutio. I was delighted to see a different selection of artists from this fine company last night. Things really came together and the audience voiced their excitement in extended curtain calls at the end. The adulation was rife with a far greater volume than the reduced capacity might initially have indicated. Canadian Stephan Bourgond's Romeo was voiced with a wonderfully humane accent throughout and Gabriele Corrado dazzled as Tybalt; a colt constantly wearing a perspective grin at the various challenges he obviously delighted in inspiring ... until that is he caught sight for himself of cruel - almost accidental - death of Christian Tworzyanki's Mercutio via the unwitting head of a puppet king's crowned rod. Consciousness suddently slapped him in the face at that juncture. The use of slow motion during his demise was ripe. Throughout Corrado was nothing less than impactful and Mr. Tworzyanki wore the precision of his NYCB (of which he is recently late) zeal with deserved pride. While I was not always convinced that the conceit involving Friar Laurence was carried through as well as it might - especially at the end - I did so enjoy many of the ideas proffered through Jean-Christophe Mailot's oft inviting/intriguing marriage of the contemporary and balletic languages. I, too, would be most happy if Les Ballets de Monte-Caro might wend their way back to London in the not too distant future. Of course, I will completely understand if they do not given the sad lack of support in terms of audience numbers. (As a side note it was lovely to see Luca Acri and Matthew Ball from the Royal Ballet in the audience on Saturday.)

Well, I'm not entirely sure you can take this competition seriously in any particular aspect. It is, i think, skewed towards more entertainment value than a genuinely focused consideration of any one particular element of dance a la the Prix de Lausanne or YGAP say. I have a feeling this is on the BBC schedule primarily to try to balance the success of Strictly Come Dancing much as the competitions vis a vis musical theatre - (i.e., those featuring ALW in association either with his own work or his Company's ultimate theatrical productions) - had been made to measure based on the early success of a competing channel's X Factor. Happily the latter has now largely gone out of fashion. Even ALW himself has said that they are past their sell-by date. I know that many in the profession often looked at the latter with some considerable distaste as did key theatrical training institutions. Ultimately it seems the public too were able to see through it - or at least became so bored that they let it wisely drop. I don't think any of this ilk are meant for particularly serious consideration much as I am sure the producers are wanting to emphasise your enjoyment primarily from the variety aspect.

The Joffrey Ballet have had Ashton's Fille since the 80's when I so fondly remember Stanley Holden's immortal Simone holding an enchanted sway and certainly delighting audiences. What a gem of a performance it was. The NYT's chief dance critic at the time, Anna Kisslegoff wrote: "Mr. Holden's widow is blustery and rollicking. It is a treat to see him make every detail theatrically important. "

NYC Arts Interview with RB Associate C. Wheeldon: http://watch.thirteen.org/video/2365467031/ AiP announces National (USA) tour in the autumn of 2016: http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Magnifique-AN-AMERICAN-IN-PARIS-to-Launch-National-Tour-Next-Fall-20150424# This should virtually ensure AiP a goodly number of Tony votes as many League voters are regional USA theatre owners/managers. This too is a good indicator that there may well be a London production in the AiP producers' mix. Hopefully Ms. Cope will be permitted a further limited period of RB leave in order to open that production were it to occur. [Ref Item No. 95 above: Lyn, I think the announcement of the AiP national tour is as good an indication as one can get at this point for a commercial Broadway show with an open-ended run that it will still be running in November. I would imagine by that time R. Fairchild will be appearing on a split week Broadway schedule in order to allow him to fulfil his continuing role as a NYCB principal. Certainly he did dance with NYCB during the production break after Paris and during the rehearsals for the AiP Broadway opening. Ms. Cope may well have contractually returned to the RB.]

Here is an article (amongst a number today) which points out that AiP - with its 12 60th Annual Drama Desk Nominations - is the BROADWAY show with the MOST nominations. (This is only really important because this is seen as the prime indicator prior to the Tonys whose nominations are ONLY open to BROADWAY shows as opposed to the Drama Desk which allows/celebrates those shows contractually both ON and OFF BROADWAY). Many shows that have won a Drama Desk one year and then are moved to Broadwaygo on to win Tonys for that season - although they are, obviously, not again allowed to have a second Drama Desk nomination. http://emertainmentmonthly.com/2015/04/24/snubs-and-surprises-at-the-2015-drama-desk-awards-nomination-announcements/ Here are a couple more celebratory reviews ...; http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2015/apr/23/american-paris-has-been-reinvented/ http://www.courant.com/entertainment/arts-theater/hc-broadway-review-american-in-paris-20150426-story.html There are, of course, more where these came from ... If Leanne Cope does return to the Royal Ballet after her year's leave (which would be due in the Autumn) I very much hope that she might be in line for a Juliet. She certainly will have deserved it. She is appearing on Broadway on an Equity exchange programme - which balances working weeks on a fully fair contractual basis between American and British performers in terms of working rights in the two countries and between the two theatre [performance] unions. (I only know this as I had a hand myself in helping to set up the precedent for the original 'fully fair contractual exchange programme between the USA and the UK' in 1983. Happily this has since not only persevered but prospered.) An end date will have been attached by the USCIS to Ms. Cope's permit and they are usually (at least in my experience) very strict about honouring these. (That's not to say, of course, that the producers could not seek an extension for 'extraordinary merit' - or an alteragtion to her overall status - which in this instance would be unquestionably richly deserved). Perhaps the balance of her USA working weeks might be (or have been) promised to R. Fairchild towards, say, an AiP London production. That would have been a selling point I know to the 'Alien Committee'. [in Paris the AiP company were playing under AEA contracts as a 'unit company' and so the exchange agreements would not have applied in that instance for the vast majority of the performers. Leanne Cope would, of course, have then been performing there under her AEA contractual agreement so her Paris weeks would apply towards her overall exchange count as would her earlier NYC rehearsal/workshop ones.)