Bruce Wall

I think it is somewhat distressing that there wasn't more made of the fact of his personal professional association. Surely that must be taken into consideration. If ENB had approved this, might there not have been a younger dancer - say in the corps - for whom the publicity might not better (and longer) serve both the the individual dancer and the company whose employ he/she is in. The association with the Olympic statement is fine, but remember that if there was to be an Olympic category for, say, 'dance' no one professionally EMPLOYED would be able to join in other than as, say, a judge. These competitions skew perspectives I think in the minds of many. When will we see 'Got to do Brain Surgery' I wonder?

Ann, I booked at the Ritzy in Brixton for Sunday's Bolshoi relay with no difficulty at all ... although this is still listed as a Picturehouse cinema (although I understand from Alison's note that they have been taken over by the Odeon chain) .... I will give you a link which you can directly book your ticket on: http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinema/Ritzy_Picturehouse/Category/Ballet/film/Bolshoi_La_Bayadere_Live/ By my count there are 24 (so plenty) of seats left. To wit, if you wished to save the booking fee you could either call (expensive) or wait until the day and book at the cinema. I'm sure you would have no problem - There never seems to be. That way you would save yourself the expense.

At the Ballet Association (BA) Meeting in response to a question I asked Ms Rojo said that soon ENB may 'ONLY' be able to consider 'EUROPEAN STUDENTS' for the school ... (and, I suppose on anything but a long term basis, the Company ... although the latter was not immediately specified by Ms. Rojo.) She said that she might suggest 'that they get married' ... and the BA Host said (jokingly) that perhaps the BA could develop a new arm in this regard.

I was at the reception for the opening of new Mariinsky 2, and Gergiev said that there would be much less foreign touring of the Mariinsky Ballet and Opera in future as they now (with three theatres) have 500 performances a year to attend to in St. Petersburg and that their commitment was serving audiences in Russia. (It seems that money too seems to have reverted to other locations. He gave the example of Japan where he said that he, himself, had travelled for work on five or six occasions each year for decades. He said the company's next commitment IN JAPAN (and all the support has has been so vocally built there) was for three year's hence and it would only be on on specific journey in that year (2016). Enough said. He did say the enhanced Mariiinsky would have a renewed focus on electronic touring to satisfy international audiences and they gave examples (largely opera) of the same at this launch reception. The Mariinsky 2 (beautifully designed) opens in May of this year. (I think is also clear as he, himself, has greatly reduced his conducting commitment to the Metropolitan Opera where once he was very busily employed indeed. He certainly is very proud of the commitment of Russian artists there which he made a point of more than a few times over. No mention of the Royal Opera - let alone Ballet - was made.) This may, of course, not be the case with the Bolshoi and they may well travel, (in addition to their electronic commitments in cinemas) and perhaps go into the Coliseum as they have done in the past. (This may in the end prove difficult if the repertoire is not expanded - which is already proving a problem as we have seen in this current season with the Royal Ballet. That said, the powers that be at the RB seem to be effectively addressing this issue (or attempting such) and, hopefully, will be building audiences to ensure health long into the future.) Times are changing; and so is the artistic world in its tow.

If this is truly caused by the Company in-fighting then I very much hope that those responsible for the planning of such horrific activities are reprehended and punished to the fullest extent of the law. This is OUTRAGEOUS. Imagine how other crucial leaders - indeed all - within the Bolshoi ranks must be feeling. This is not, I think, the best environment within which to create art.

Bless you for this, John. Wendy Whelan is - as she ever was - and I remember her as a student at SAB - the personification of glory.

Thanks so much for letting me know, Janet. Bless you.

Sorry, meant 'filled' ... and, of course, can't go back here and correct ..... or at least don't know how ... Still, I hope you can get my drift. I think you can. This is one of those days where NOTHING seems be going right. Bring on tomorrow I say.

Just got a note back from the said ROH after I fill out the form after one of the many failures I received this morning. It simply said 'sorry' ... that they were 'experiencing difficulties with the site' .... and suggested that I 'phone fhe box office'. As my mother was wont to say: it speaks for itself.

Alison, you are not alone. I have had many of the experiences you describe above --- and am it must be said DEEPLY, DEEPLY FRUSTRATED with the (forgive me .. but bloody) ROYAL OPERA HOUSE. I had an excellent selection in my opening basket - having been there on the dot of 10.00 am and having my requirements neatly detailed on paper sitting next to me. My take even included two Don Carlos tickets. I was delighted. But, no, the computer said their (e.g., the ROH) figures did not agree so I must pay - and had NONE, nulla, NOTHING at all. Finally, .... after MANY efforts --- and after much screaming at my innocent computer .... I went back and booked each ticket individually and signed into the ROH website again individually between each booking. I did get places for all the dates I wanted but I got nowhere near as good places as I had originally thought I had got having been dutifully primed... and honestly so ... and, as it happens, I spent HOURS - to wit THREE ... undertaking all of this. The price I fear ALWAYS rises. Good thing I took the morning off, huh. I did in the end get one Don Carlos standing ticket - to the opening as it happens - so I suppose I should not complain. I look forward to hearing the experiences of others. RANT NOW OVER.

I bet he does it without the Bard's fourth act ... which would make a lot of balletic sense - given that it is virtually a different play.

"I look to the London visits of the Mariinsky and Bolshoi as setting the gold standard and I have seen enough to know which of them is in the doldrums and which riding high – and how that changes over the years" We ALL change over time. My mirror reminds me of this fact daily. This is I should think as true, for ballet companies as it is for governments who, in the larger picture, are known to change rapidly. Our memories - especially when witnessing things that are informative for us - tend understandably to be much more rooted in time. Surely that makes all comments (as indeed it does lives) relative. Time is the great boundary in which we must ALL live with. A list of greatest dancers is usually made up of those one has in some fashion seen (bless Youtube). Myself, I have on occasion seen VERY good performances by the Pittsburgh Ballet - and just look at the lineage there including Franklin, Gilpin (British) and, especially - when I think of it - Patricia Wilde for whom Balanchine created so many key works including his incisive one act Swan Lake. Perhaps the 'American lady's' comment was a compliment. I have, on occasion, seen some underwhelming dance performances in New York ... but then I lived there for 17.5 years and saw some life-altering ones - which remain vivid in my memory - as does the wonderful Robbins Dance collection (OPEN FOR FREE TO ALL) which was forged long before the internet became a reality. The idea of Albert being a 'dance legend' is - as young people today might put it - 'rare'. Having known him a little bit, I can in my mind's ear hear him guffaw even now.

Perhaps Wheeldon is going to tackle one of the long narrative poems like 'The Rape of Lucrece', 'Venus and Adonis' or, most interestingly, 'The Complacent Lover'.

Laurencia is dance packed and, although the plot is more than a trifle silly - no more so than Don Q. Both are made in heaven for this pair.

Guess Laura was last year's muse, huh? .... LOL

Tempest sounds great .... It already has a great masque inbuilt .... Not Othello please ... If that's wanted I suggest the Jose Limon Moor's Pavane ... and, of course, a version was done not all that long ago for ABT. I think a ballet surrounding the Wars of the Roses would be ripe. Think too it would be just up Talbot's street.

Oh, I do hope it is not Shrew as (a) it is not a particularly good play and ( it has already happily done by Cranko which, if the RB wished to have it, is ready made (especially in a year following Cragen's death.)

I'm with Alison on this one .... Her Giselle was - in the truest sense - magical .... Never have I seen a ghost most ghostly whilst wrapped in a human frame. It was absolutely 'outer-worldly'. I think it would be shame to miss this on a second go round. You might never get the chance again.

I have seen them in Sofia at their beautiful opera house and quite enjoyed the performance I saw of Don Q. It is a very solid regional company.

Does anyone know what and when he will be dancing? (December? ... Has it happened already ... I am unclear.)

I well remember Cynthia Gregory's almighty claps in performances of Nureyev's Raymonda - and the magnificent performances by Fernando Bujones as her partner. I also remember one New Year's Eve where Ms. Gregory chose to do the clapping solo whilst smoking a cigar. A different kind of balance methinks.

Forget the cost of ballet .... Has anyone seen yet that the current price for the Metropolitan Opera LIVE opera performances has risen to £30 per seat ..... That is a substantive leap. Still I see that the Parsifal at the Ritzy is almost already entirely full. There is obviously no lack of demand so, who knows, the prices may well increase again in the future.

Saw the full casting for the Mikhailovsky season at the Coli on their website and it looks very exciting indeed. Does anyone know WHEN THE TICKETS AT THE COLI go on sale? It's not on line - certainly not at the moment.

How exciting as O/V dance Giselle, Laurencia and Don Q. Excellent ... and then to see them at least in Flames with the Bolshoi .... Wonderful .... Great if they could do the Bayadere as well.

That is FANTASTIC news ... Even if the Mikhailovsky do not come - we have seen Vasiliev and Osipova in Don Q many times .... Well, more than anything esle. How exciting then that they will be appearing in Flames (in a production that they created) and possibly other works which we have not seen them in here. A Happy New Year INDEED!!! A VERY happy one.