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OnePigeon

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  1. OnePigeon
    I’m the same - it gets so stressful reading these glowing reviews😆. There are too many dancers whose interpretations I would love to see, plus the partners have been changed about a bit from the past few production pairings. Often there is a dancer I would like to see but am not as keen on their partner, so I end up going with the pairing who tick more boxes for me. I just can’t financially or time wise see more than the two I’ve booked, but I have huge regrets to not see Naghdi and Bracewell - I have a feeling theirs will be very special- especially as Laura Morera is coaching William Bracewell in his debut and she proved how amazing she is at coaching in the insight event! I’m already wondering if the FOMO will get too much and I’ll end up booking a Friday Rush for them. I think I might be afflicted with some kind of post-lockdown frenzy to see as much performing art as I can when I can, lest it be snatched away again.
  2. OnePigeon
    Wow, that’s a very safe way of ensuring you get your preferred dancers! I’m jealous. The ‘cheaper’ seats are actually quite affordable for this triple, but I can’t keep travelling into London and I’m having to rein in my spending so have taken a punt on one of the performances they’re filming and used my Xmas present gift card to treat myself to a stalls seat. I hope they release some casting info before it’s too late to swap a ticket if I’ve booked the wrong date.
  3. OnePigeon
    Just rub some salt in the wounds there @Sim for those of us who booked to see him on Friday! 😭 No disrespect to Arrieta who was great and whose performance I really enjoyed. I’m glad to hear he was as wonderful as we expected, hopefully we’ll get to see him one day.
  4. OnePigeon
    Guests aren’t necessary and I feel our principals are under used as it is, but I would welcome the opportunity to see some world class dancers who I may otherwise be unlikely to get to see. Seeing as the RB dancers seem to be guesting all over the world, it might be nice to have some reciprocal arrangements on occasion. The best situation would be for our principals to have more opportunities on their home stage and to have the occasional guest.
  5. OnePigeon
    I haven’t booked my Macmillan triple tickets yet as I’m still not sure about casting. I seem to recall triple bills I’ve seen in the past have had the same cast for every performance, whilst others have had alternate casts. I haven’t seen a RB triple for a good number of years though - is there a pattern to these things these days? I see two of the performances are being filmed and feel one of these might be the date to book, but there’s no guarantee my preferred dancers (basically, my decision will hinge on if and when Vadim is dancing 😄) will be filmed. I wonder if the lack of information on dancers indicates it will be the same dancers for all performances and therefore all uninjured principals will be cast in one of the works, or is that just wishful thinking?
  6. OnePigeon
    It’s incredible, I wondered if they were on some kind of wheel contraption, but I did briefly get a glimpse of some feet under a dress when I saw it a few weeks ago and saw they were in fact moving along on flat feet.
  7. OnePigeon
    Despite being very interested in her, I’ve seen very little of Seymour, especially in classical roles - but my goodness, what an incredible performance that was! She breathed something very fresh and special into that performance, really inhabiting the music and dancing with her entire body, not just doing a set of steps. Her arms and hands were so expressive and interpreted the phrasing of the music so beautifully. It was one of the most musical performances I have seen by a ballet dancer and possibly my favourite interpretation the Sleeping Beauty pdd I have seen. She had a real style of her own, I only wish I had been born in time to see her dance. Nureyev wasn’t bad either. 😉😆
  8. OnePigeon
    I also noticed the laughter in strange places, glad I wasn’t the only one who was bemused by what they found so amusing. I’m not usually a massive Giselle fan, but I really enjoyed this production and loved some of the beautiful Cecchetti style footwork and epaulement. It was frustrating not to see either of the principals I had booked to see, but enjoyed Khaniukova’s fragile beauty and innocence and Arrieta’s charm. My reaction to his Albrecht was that he was a charming but spoilt and thoughtless young man behaving just like the entitled nobleman he was, indulging his whims without thinking about the consequences. He had a very rude awakening when she died as the result of his behaviour and realised too late the gravity of his dalliance with this beautiful young girl, who I do believe he cared for, though wasn’t desperately in love with. I can see why he came across as just a bit of a nice young man though. I thought Henry Dowden made a great Hilarion and his acting and mime made the story really clear - even his stance and the way he held his arms conveyed a person with an internal rage and frustration. The corps were beautiful and I didn’t mind the lighting as I found it atmospheric, but I wonder if it depended on where you were sitting?
  9. OnePigeon
    I would hazard a guess that the Arts Council would prefer anything that isn’t really ballet, especially not anything traditional or classical and I wonder if this may explain some of the appointments given to people without any actual ballet background. I would imagine the chances of the RB being allowed to do a year of revivals would be nigh on impossible and very much against their Arts Council funding remit. The AC are obsessed with organisations finding young new audiences, forced innovation at all costs, levelling up and eschewing anything that might be perceived as elitist - even when what is being offered isn’t actually innovative, commercially sensible or desirable for the vast swathe of audience members, but these are the times we live in.
  10. OnePigeon
    Aha, I didn’t know that! Well I have a strong suspicion that we have our answer as to which production they’ll be using then. 🧐
  11. OnePigeon
    They’ll still be performing the Nutcracker, but obviously want to retire this version for whatever reasons. I personally didn’t mind it, but it seems to be unpopular in some quarters, so it will be interesting to see which version they choose to perform. I too wonder about the Semperoper’s or if there was a preferred ENB version from Aaron Watkin’s time as a dancer? Time will tell. I’m sure to Joe Public having a Christmas treat at the ballet it’s not a huge deal, as long as it’s not some crazy new version.
  12. OnePigeon
    I believe they will be using a different version of Nutcracker next year, though I’m not sure if it’s an existing ENB one, a new to the ENB but existing elsewhere, or they will be staging a brand new version.
  13. OnePigeon
    Not to mention a RB premiere of Ronald Hynd’s Merry Widow, which several of us have already cast....
  14. OnePigeon
    I’ve only ever tried to watch his works via the streaming service and haven’t managed to get through a single one without giving up. God knows I’ve tried to get it, but it’s very much not my cup of tea and on that basis will not be spending my hard earned cash to take a chance on a live performance.
  15. OnePigeon
    I was a little underwhelmed at the Nutcracker I attended - not that it was bad, it just wasn’t one of those electrifying or magical performances that really sweep you away - and several audience members in front of us stood up, meaning in the end we also had to stand as we couldn’t see. I do wish this trend would stop as it cheapens those special performances that really do warrant a spontaneous standing ovation. I think at this point in time, they don’t really mean anything. I too am in the slightly younger age bracket and can think of nothing worse than enduring MaddAdam. As others have said, I feel like I’m living in a dystopian nightmare as it is, the last thing I desire is to fork out a load of money I don’t really have to sit and be further depressed. Give me distraction, joy, beauty, hope - not a gang rape and ugly body contortions (probably).
  16. OnePigeon
    For me, Dowell and Sibley were on a whole other level - pure artistry bringing a special kind of magic which touches the soul. What an incredible and special pairing they were, which shines through even on grainy old footage.
  17. OnePigeon
    You can find Ballerina online, I started watching it a few weeks ago but need to finish it. Seeing Makarova visit a physio coach in New York to get into shape for Swan Lake and the exercises she did to strengthen specific muscles for the role was interesting and awe inspiring. I imagine things are even more sophisticated now. I’ve only seen Darcy’s introduction to The Magic of Dance so far, but am dying to find the time to watch it unimpeded. It sounds like a treasure trove.
  18. OnePigeon
    I too have chosen my imaginary casts. Did anyone ever see Marianela Nunez dance a Merry Widow pas de deux with Gary Avis at the Annette Page tribute in 2019? I’ve only just found out about this and would love to have seen it - she was a lovely Hanna with the Colon Theatre Ballet. I’ve never been to Glyndebourne, but I adore the Merry Widow and think John Wilson will be a brilliant conductor for it. Hmmm, better get saving. I so wish they would honour Hynd while he is still with us. Can we get our own company together and crowdfund or something? 😆 Another wish I have is to see Giorgi Potskhishvili in something like Le Corsaire or Spartacus.
  19. OnePigeon
    It was really disappointing. I thought the costumes were horrendous - the women looked like toilet roll holders and the men looked like the Tour de France was off to the disco. Individually the costumes were bad enough, but together they completely jarred in style. The choreography was, on the whole, ugly with some incredibly ungainly moves and some strange contemporary and street dance moves thrown in for good measure. Hopefully next year will improve. Top of my musical wish list is Vasily Petrenko, but I may have largely shallow reasons for this 😍😍🤣
  20. OnePigeon
    Onegin is top of my list too. I’ve never seen it live, but love the DVD of it so much I can only imagine how powerful it must be live - I’d love to see what William Bracewell could do with the role. Fille goes without saying and I’d love to see Coppelia too. Definitely more Ashton one or two act ballets and some of the lesser staged Macmillans, in particular Las Hermanas which I’ve never seen but have read about. In total fantasy land I would give anything for the RB to stage The Merry Widow, but I know it will never happen. Some different Balanchine and Robbins would be great - my dream would be for NYCB to come over properly and give us a program of their glorious catalogue of works, top of my wish list is to see a real first rate performance of Fancy Free. I’d love Stuttgart ballet to visit and present us with some more of Cranko’s works too. Finally, I would wish for less programming and prominence of Contemporary dance by established ballet companies (I’m looking at you RB) and the nurturing and seeking out of talented choreographers who can choreograph in a classical and/or neo classical style who don’t employ ugly gynaecological exam style lifts 😬😏.
  21. OnePigeon
    Good point. I read it was a harem, but I agree that it isn’t at all clear and it wasn’t necessarily how I interpreted it either as she is so in control and majestic. As you say, it’s not remotely authentic and is a fantasy in a ballet about magic, dreams and toys coming to life, so I don’t personally see the need to change it. I haven’t seen the Bolshoi version, but that sounds really beautiful - I’ll have to seek it out.
  22. OnePigeon
    I don’t really understand the removal of the other men. I’m assuming it’s because they feel it’s culturally insensitive and some sort of stereotype to portray an Asian woman as a sex worker in a harem, or is it a concern that a woman is being passed around three different men? I personally feel the way it’s danced, as an artistic representation of a harem, is in fact quite empowering to the woman: one woman dancing sensually with three men adoring her and presenting her while she looks like she’s in control is very refreshing. It fits perfectly with the beautiful, sensuous piece of music and the flow and dynamic is lost for me when it’s just a pas de deux. It used to be one of the highlights, but it fell flat for me this time.
  23. OnePigeon
    🙁 It’s a long walk on a dark, cold January night with my child after a long day at school. I bought the ticket through the MasterCard sale, so doubt it can be exchanged. I’m so sick of scrimping and saving to afford these lovely treats only to have them made impossible or super stressful by the trains. Attending ballet and concerts is part of how I look after my mental health and it’s not something I afford easily, but it’s increasingly having the adverse effect with the uncertainty/impossibility of getting to the events I’ve booked.
  24. OnePigeon
    Oh for heaven’s sake! I’m supposed to be seeing Giselle on the 12th. I give up.
  25. OnePigeon
    Thank you both - unfortunately the gift card is £39 for 3 months which works out terrible value for money in comparison to the year. I have far too many concerts that I can’t book just yet due to lack of funds, so I just can’t push the boat out for a streaming service, but I’d dearly love to see it. I’m so jealous @Dawnstar that you saw Andrijshenko in R&J! I’ve only ever seen him on video and think he’s just wonderful.
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