Linnzi5

I hope those at the rehearsal have a lovely time! I was unable to make it because of prior commitments, unfortunately. I am so happy you get to see Kaneko/Bracewell. Can’t wait to hear the general feeling about it! Enjoy!

This has happened to me. Yes, it is disappointing but injury/illness is common and I do accept that, when I book a cast, I may not get to see who I booked for. I have always still enjoyed myself very much.

I'd take that over flowers! 🤣

Oh no! I hope it isn't too bad and he recovers quickly. Thanks for passing this on.

That is very disappointing for Osipova/Clarke fans. I hope they are ok. Nunez/Muntagirov are very high profile, popular dancers and I hope people will not be disappointed - I certainly wouldn't be.

Ditto!

Totally agree. I live in East Herts, on the border of North London. Door to door, ROH is about an hour. However, I don't like coming back too late. Waiting at Tottenham Hale for National Rail can be a bit daunting! I did laugh about the 'night out' bit. Going to ROH IS my night out!

My ballet wishes are simple. Giselle, Manon (please!), more Nutcracker (this is the start of Christmas for me). Alice appeals to me. More Ashton. I'd happily see Swan Lake again. - rather unlikely next season, I know, but I just adore Liam Scarlett's version. Though I appreciate my taste is classical ballet orientated, I don't mind more modern dance (in a mixed programme), but wouldn't choose to see too much and am fussy as to what I like. For example, The Carousel 'If I loved you' PDD (Ball and Magri) was delightful and I'd watch that over and over again - oh wait, I do that on YouTube! I'm still undecided about the Tanowitz 'Dispatch Duet' I saw at the Diamond Celebration. Loved the dancers, who were absolutely brilliant, though interesting, I just didn't love it. I wouldn't choose to see that sort of dance again, but wouldn't mind in a mixed programme.

That is true - then again, I used to book tickets on the aisle so we could make a hasty retreat, if necessary. I would feel terrible for the rest of the audience and would be very embarrassed. I have taken my youngest, from five onwards, to the ballet. She always behaved but if she hadn't have I would have taken her outside.

I hope the child was taken outside? As a mum, I would never let my child crying disturb a performance.

I watched this when it was aired. It was lovely. I've watched this each year since I was a child. I thought the costumes were particularly lovely this year. Though the Strausses' music (which is primarily featured each year) is not my favourite, the concert has become a New Year's tradition for me and the dancing is lovely. It's well worth a watch, in my opinion.

Lovely words, Sim ❤️ Wishing you, all the mods and other forum members a happy, safe and healthy New Year, full of amazing ballet/dance experiences. Summoning up the courage to emerge from lurking, to joining the forum and posting was one of my best decisions of 2022 - I have enjoyed reading all members' ideas, thoughts, reviews, considerable knowledge and experiences so much. Thank you again for all you, and the mods, do.

Thanks for this, Floss. Very interesting insight and thoughts. I saw the 'insights' rehearsal with Richardson and Dias. Both of these dancers impressed me. I love Dias's smile and her stage presence. Richardson is very elegant, in my opinion. I think they have a promising future. I am surprised, as you say, about putting two inexperienced dancers together for such a demanding PDD - just because many dancers talk about how demanding both physically and technically (particularly for the Sugar Plum) this PDD is. Usually, it seems to be that a fledgling Sugar Plum is partnered with a more experienced and often senior male (who has performed the PDD in a public performance previously) and vice versa. From the insights, though I thought both dancers were delightful, I did wonder if they were both ready to be dancing such a demanding PDD together. Certainly, though I am no technical expert, would never claim to be and understand it was a rehearsal, I felt they had a way to go to perfect some of the choreography and to present it in a way that I felt was similar to that of more senior dancers. I would happily have seen them dancing in a performance, and mishaps occur, of course, but I would not have wanted that to be my only visit to Nutcracker. I also would not have purchased my usual seats, but some cheaper ones, I think. When I see performances, I do want to see Principals in technically demanding roles, on the whole. There have been notable exceptions, of course. I am sure these two dancers will go a long way.

Sorry, Jan. I call The Royal Ballet, TRB. I will try to remember to type RB

I have seen a lot of touring companies in my area over the years. I think many were Russian, but these visits were not in recent years (the last one was four years ago) as I am near to London and just adore TRB and support them whenever I am able to. I would say, generally, I got what I paid for - if that makes sense? Tickets were very cheap, comparatively. If you cannot make the journey to London or wherever a larger company is performing, then it is worth a visit, in my opinion. I did not expect RB standards, but I really enjoyed what I saw, all things considered. Obviously, the music was not a live orchestra and was a recorded backing track in the performances I went to, but that wasn't a problem for me.

Totally agree. I am disappointed, personally, because I have seen the majority of everything before - sometimes many years before! Including the behind the scenes material. I do hope this improves - very soon.

I was able to get a very good price for a year of Marquee TV - £44. I do watch a lot there and they have the Nureyev Gala there for me to watch when I like.

Thank you - that is very helpful. I need to make a decision very soon!

I’m a friend too but signed up for the year at a reduced price (with the first 3 months free). I have a feeling that once signed up (after the statutory 14 days to cancel, if I changed my mind) that, after that, I am signed up for the whole year no matter if my payment has been taken or not? That would mean, if I’m unhappy, that I don’t renew next year but am stuck paying £69.99 for the year? I just really want to see some of the things I thought I would get to see and I am growing impatient and disheartened. I do not particularly want to watch any of the operatic works available. I don’t dislike opera, but it doesn’t hold the same appeal as ballet does. I may be wrong and can cancel before my free period is up. TBH, i can’t remember what the terms and conditions said. I shall look. Anyway, I am feeling a bit negative at the moment. I do hope something I really want to see will be on offer soon.

I must admit, I am very disappointed with the streaming service so far. The only thing I’ve not seen before was Sleeping Beauty with Fumi Kaneko . I received an email earlier today and all that has listed in the ballet section for January and February are Romeo and Juliet and the Cellist. I have the latter on dvd. I can’t tell which Romeo and Juliet cast it is. I really would love to see some of the newer live cinema relays - the Cutherbertson/Bracewell Swan Lake, The Ashton triple bill, the recent Nutcracker stream - or any others. I really hope something more appealing is offered soon, or I will not be renewing. 😡

For me, an expressive dancer who I feel I have a connection with - someone who makes me ‘feel’ something, that is the most important magic ingredient I am looking for. I find technically impressive dancing exciting too, though I do expect all of TRB dancing to be of the high standard it always is. I am not familiar with technical terms or names of a lot of the steps, I’m afraid. One of my favourite moments from a ballet is quite strange. It’s the coda from act II of Swan Lake. The exact bit I love is the part where Odette comes to the front of the stage and jumps repeatedly - I have absolutely no idea which steps those are, but they are just lovely! i love the balcony PDD from Romeo and Juliet. Particularly the bit where Romeo kneels and extends his arm and then lifts Juliet and then she completes the ‘half-moon’ moves - also the bit where she moves her legs in ‘bicycle’ steps. Another favourite for me is from the Sugar Plum PDD where the prince lifts the Sugar Plum, she falls backwards, the prince catches her and she performs, what I call, ‘scissor legs’. I suppose my favourite of all ballet ingredients/steps would have to be anything in the Act II PDD from Swan Lake. It is just so beautiful when danced well. There does have to be a connection between Odette and Siegfried for me, but the choreography is just perfect for me.

I totally agree with you. I try and take photos or film the curtain calls and I see many people taking photos before a performance, which I think is unobtrusive and fine too. I have had people film, on their phones, around me during performances and I always ask them to stop, reminding them it is forbidden. So far, they have apologised and put their phones away. I dislike filming during performances for several reasons. Firstly, it is prohibited and therefore we should not do it. Secondly, it could be distracting for the performers and finally, it distracts me! Do I want my eyes to be drawn to a lit mobile phone waving around in front of me? Absolutely not. I pay a lot of money for good seats and I do not want my experience to be ruined by people breaking rules. I find it most annoying and inconsiderate.

Thank you and Merry Christmas! 😊

Goodness, me too! I loved my recent visit to see Nutcracker so much and would have been really upset to have missed it. I just hope the strikes don't affect my ballet performances in the future and I feel so disappointed for those that will miss their performances too (and anyone who commutes to work, too) . I was due to go away and stay with a friend that week but we have had to cancel now - I am so disappointed.

I am a super fan, I think! I have booked to see Will and Fumi in Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella! 😮 I will try and get to see other performers too though.