NiniGabriel

Last but hopefully not least (!): BBC Four Sunday 21st January 9.00pm Russell Maliphant's Vortex BBC Four Sunday 21st January 10.00pm Coppelia (with Michaela DePrince and Daniel Camargo, repeat from 2022) BBC Four Sunday 21st January 11.15pm The Magic of Dance Episode 6 😍

Christmas is over, but we continue to receive gifts from the BBC (-: BBC Four Sunday 14th January 9.00-10.30pm Royal Ballet All Star Gala BBC Four Sunday 14th January 10.30-11.30pm The Magic of Dance Episode 4 BBC Four Sunday 14th January 11.30-12.30pm The Magic of Dance Episode 5 I am really looking forward watching these gems on TV!!!

If I'm correct, there will be also "Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby" on BBC4. It's mentioned in the "TV Series" section...

The Stuttgart Ballet also streamed a recording of last Saturday's stage rehearsal of John Cranko's 'Initials RBME'. Artistic director Tamas Detrich explained that the theatres in Baden-Württemberg are closed today because of the holiday. The same could apply to Munich, for example.

As announced today on the Instagram channel of the Stuttgart Ballet, they will be streaming part of a stage rehearsal for 'Initials R.B.M.E.' on their YouTube channel, next Wednesday at 1pm, as part of the World Ballet Day 2023.

You are absolutely right that Elisa Badenes IS a big name in Stuttgart. Here she is certainly the leading ballerina after the retirement of Sue Jin Kang and Alicia Amatriain (although I wasn't necessarily a fan of the latter...). What I meant by "not a big name" was more related to her standing in the ballet world, compared to, say, Nunez or Cojocaru.

I couldn't have said it better. Thank you!

My personal choice for the Dancer of the year 2023 in the Critics Choice of Dance Europe Magazin: Elisa Badenes. Not a big name - yet. But a wonderful dancer and ARTIST!!! Deeply touching in every single performance. She is very well presented by the critics: Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CxiGeOAILlS/ It's just a bit of a shame (in my humble opinion!) that the YouTube video shows her in a clip that doesn't really emphasize her skills. For example, the final pas de deux from "Onegin" (or at least an excerpt from it) would highlight it much better...

I've only been to Stockholm once for a weekend. In any case, it is worth taking a trip to Drottningholm to visit the Royal Castle. In particular, I warmly recommend a guided tour of the Slottsteater (the palace theater), which is one of the best-preserved baroque theaters in Europe. The stage technology is still almost original.

Tonight a new episode of Dance around the World with Eric Gauthier was shown on 3sat. This time it was about London. Among other things, excerpts from a rehearsal for "Jewels - Diamonds" with Marianela Nunez as well as excerpts from a rehearsal and the performance of MacMillan's "Mayerling" were shown (if I saw that correctly, probably Ryoichi Hirano and Natalia Osipova as Rudolf and Mary, also Marianela Nunez as Mitzi). There was a brief visit to the Royal Ballet School, Ballet Rambert, Wayne McGregor Studios, Hofesh Shechter and Akram Khan. If you want to get a taste of it and are not put off by the fact that it is a German documentary, here is the link to the 3sat media library, where you can access the program until August 4th, 2024: https://www.3sat.de/kultur/kultur-in-3sat/dance-around-the-world-london-102.html The show is not aimed specifically at a ballet audience, but aims to introduce the culturally interested viewer to various people from the contemporary dance scene in each location, so please don't expect in-depth discussions. I found it very entertaining nonetheless.

Apologies for the somewhat late reply - the first attempt via cell phone was "lost in transmission". Let me just add some additional aspects to the excellent answers given already. While there was some fine-tuning of the rules - again - this season, as a general principle, about half of the seats (i.e. around 700) are allocated through written advance sales. Sales for the other half opens exactly two months before the performance (in case this is Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the start date shifts to the working day before), at the ticket office in Stuttgart, by telephone and online at the same time of 10:00 CE(S)T. In your case, online sales for November 4th start on Monday September 4th. Regarding SEPA: SEPA direct debit normally only requires you to provide your IBAN, Bank name and Account holder. Despite the statement on page one, the form at https://www.staatstheater-stuttgart.com/tickets_service/booking-information/ticket-reservation/ however DOES show a statement on page two "I do not have a bank account with IBAN in a EU country, please contact me via my email address". Disclaimer: While I live in Switzerland - and thus technically even outside the EU -, I still hold a bank account in Germany, which makes things easier. So no first-hand experience about the potential process snags. To make things worse - the ticket office is on summer break between now and September 3rd. Which makes it unlikely for you to get any authoritative answers to questions you might have - at least not before the start of the online sales for the November 4th performance. When ordering online in the webshop, you also can pay by credit card. Demand for tickets to the "Remember Me" performances in summer was not extremely high (i.e. they did not immediately sell out, with some remaining tickets still available for most performances until a few days before). This might be a precedent for next season - but "Your Mileage might vary". My two cents: If you have the time, get your account set up in advance, preferably do a "dry run" - and select your own tickets at September 4th 10:00 CEST. Alternatively, do the written order - ASAP.

Unfortunately, last night I didn't get around to writing a short summary of the interview for all those who speak little or no German. And now I'm almost on my way to Stuttgart for the gala. I'd be happy to transcribe what John Cranko said, alas, I won't have the time before next week. (After all, a detailed report about the gala is expected here... 😉 ) Executive Summary: Much of what Cranko says should be known to us. However the interviewer does manage to elicit a few interesting statements, in an obvious attempt to bring the person and work of John Cranko closer to the broader German audience.

@ Ettore Thank you very much! It's so nice to see how many people around the world have been touched by John Cranko and his work. I just remembered that SWR (the regional television station of the state of Baden-Württemberg) recently opened up its archives and made available various reports of its regional news from the 1960s, including this portrait of John Cranko from 1965. There is an interview with Cranko - unfortunately in German -, and excerpts from some ballets are shown, including "Onegin" with Haydee/Barra and Cardus/Madsen, "Jeu de Cartes" with Egon Madsen, and "Swan Lake" with Keil/Cragun. This report can be found in the ARD media library: https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/swr-retro-abendschau/das-portraet-john-cranko/swr/Y3JpZDovL3N3ci5kZS9hZXgvbzExNTkxNzc In Switzerland I can watch the report without any problems so hopefully it will work in the UK and elsewhere. If not, I apologize in advance if I disappointed your anticipation!

I will do my very best!

@Sim Thank you for your extremely kind words regarding my posting and my English skills! I must confess that I could not have written yesterday's post without the help of my husband, whose English is far more precise than mine. I, too, had wondered for a long time how the dancers got through the first pas de deux in Cranko's Taming without bruising. A number of years ago I had the pleasure of seeing a rehearsal at "Behind the Scenes" where Marcia Haydee and Richard Cragun rehearsed the pas de deux with two younger soloists (Marion Jäger and Tamas Detrich). Well, it's all a matter of technique... If it's okay, I'll be happy to report on Friday's gala. I hope I can organize my thoughts well! It should help that over the past 40 years I've seen quite a few pieces from John Cranko's oeuvre, some of which were quite unknown, such as The Seasons (Autumn), for example. Or the narrative ballet Carmen, which unfortunately remained unfinished. The very first scene, however, is sensationally theatrical and quite simply perfect. Of course, I'm a bit excited to see whether exactly such pieces are among the surprises that have been announced. One must never forget that John Cranko made the pieces for his company, which he gradually built up over twelve years, and that he therefore adapted the requirements of the individual pieces to the capabilities of his dancers at the time. This is probably why he later revised some of the pieces, such as his Swan Lake. Other pieces had some dramaturgical weaknesses in the first version, which he then eradicated, as in his Onegin. But all in all, his creative output during his time in Stuttgart was so great that he rarely bothered to adjust anything again. You should always keep that in mind when you see his pieces. Nevertheless, originality and great musicality can always be seen in his steps and figures, and often enough a good pinch of his special Cranko humour...