Missfrankiecat

Fumi's beautiful smile lights up the room.

I believe Vadim wrote in his book - I hope I haven't imagined this because I have lent my copy so can't check - that he wore lighter makeup if the performance was being filmed, but otherwise there was no difference to his process.

I don't think it's 'picky' to point out the areas where improvements could be made. The standard Nunez (and Osipova) sets is very high indeed. I was struck during Apollo in the 50th Costa celebration, where you can view principals side by side how clearly Nunez was in a class of her own.

Sae Maeda really impressed as Amour the other night so interesting to see her as a friend.

I will be very interested to hear how Anna Rose tackles Kitri. She is a very precise, elegant dancer.

Excited to hopefully hear how that went.

It was Marienela surely.

I didn't read anything he wrote in his book as indicating a dissatisfaction with his use at the RB - rather the opposite. While he wrote a lot about the difficulties of lock-down at career prime time, I didn't translate that time of total inaction as having parallels with the current timetable. He wrote of how much he enjoys guesting elsewhere - the experience and the money - and how grateful he was that Kevin and the company were open to his schedule of working with other companies. He also made it very clear he did not want to work with any contemporary works as he feels it interferes with the classical technique and leads to injury. I suspect the sparring use the RB makes of Vadim and Nela (and Osipova) serve to keep them here rather than the opposite. All are now British citizens as well, I believe. Sorry, I've digressed from DQ too.

I was so disappointed not to be able to see them in Nutcracker before Christmas. The cynic might say TPTB know that pairing will shift tickets even in January when the holidays are all but over and hope that seasonal pressure will sell the less well known pairings before.

At least they do not have to adjust to different partners which must make rehearsals easier. But it can't be great for the muscles, lungs and skeleton to spend so much time cramped in planes before such arduous exercise.

I have never seen such a throng outside the stage door and crowding out Floral Street in years. [Late career visits from Nureyev were similar within my memory]. That may have been in part accounted for by a lot of overseas folk. Slightly surprised that there were, up until very late, odd tickets available for this performance.

Great choice. If you are on Instagram, I bet the real Vadim would love to see a photo of his namesake!

I am still enjoying a serotonin rush after last night's season opener. It really was a lovely feel-good night, with a lively, appreciative audience apparently spurring on outstanding performances. There will be far more technically detailed reports than I have capacity to give but my impression was that everyone was on top form. There is always something new to notice and I couldn't believe that I had never clocked that Don Quixote's lance is one of the posts of his bed, seized in the prologue by Sancho Panza. Christopher Saunders was the Don and, my programme instructs, also responsible for some corps coaching and Philip Mosely was Sancho - his being tossed in the air (very high) in Act One was one of two places where I heard very audible gasps from the audience. [the other were the two one-armed lifts by Vadim]. It was touching to hear welcoming applause for the first entrances of Kitri and Basilio - I like to think it was a particular 'welcome back home' after Summer travels for two very loved principals. Ryoichi Hirano also got a ripple of applause on his first entrance. It would have been deserved for his costume alone - he looks great in his Matador gear - but he danced a wonderful Espada, achieving effortless lines. His Mercedes was Mayara Magri who was typically strong and zestful. I am sorry not to be booked (currently!) to see her Kitri. Of the matadors, Jospeh Sissens stood out to me. The corps were excellent, especially the women in the Kingdom of the Dryads. I particularly enjoyed Sae Maeda's vivacious turn as Amour. But the stars were Nunez and Muntagirov. I booked to see this pairing, yet again, in part because, at Nunez' age and the relatively lengthy RB cycle for classics, you can't be too sure how many more Kitri's there will be for her. But she is apparently ageless - a technical dynamo and master of artistry. She seems both to hold her transitions in suspension and move seamlessly at the same time, her timing and the articulation of her footwork and her upper body are exceptional. The Act 3 fouettés had the audience clapping along to her metronomic precision. Above all she conveyed a warm, witty, playful Kitri with every smile, eye-roll and accent to the music. An audience member sitting by us and explaining to novice ballet attenders what the ballet was about told them that Vadim was sometimes considered too classic a dancer to fully embody the bravura of Basilio. Judging by their vocal enthusiasm, the first timers didn't agree and nor do I. He was on majestic form with gravity defying leaps, beautiful lines and elegant partnering. I was misty eyed at the Grand pas de deux, in part because I watched their lockdown version filmed on a bleak empty stage so often and it was wonderful to see it placed properly in the wedding scene. From reading Vadim's book, I am aware he didn't feel he danced the lock-down version immortalised on film very well (!) so I hope he got satisfaction from last night's version. He certainly looked pleased with his flowers at the end (Hirano jokingly indicating he was a bit miffed not to receive a bouquet too). Carlos Acosta was reticent about being dragged on to take a bow by Marienela but he had every reason to be proud of how his production is looking, and he was very gracious with the fans leaving by the stage door after the performance.

I can't stop smiling. Such a beautiful evening. More tomorrow.

I'm about to set off for drinks and food before tonight's performance. So excited to see the company in action after the Summer and especially Nunez and Muntagirov. I feel very lucky.

I would only mention a couple of roles/performances which, in my memory, transcend all others. But I have many other favourites and I would say my overall definitive performer is Nunez - never seen her in anything where she didn't shine; Don Q - Baryshnikov [only time I saw him live in a full length classical role] Mayerling - Muntagirov [left me feeling completely different about the character] Giselle - Osipova [completely heart-breaking]

Me neither. The last times I saw it at CG, it still looked enchanting. It's a wonderful piece, suitable for adults and children alike - also for 'first timers' who are reticent to watch any classical ballet beyond Nutcracker at Christmas. I have taken several reluctant/uncertain friends to see Fille over the years and it has always been greatly enjoyed. At the same time, it contains all the Ashton tropes and some of the fiendish choreography which looks so easy to those of us who don't have to do it. I really hope the concerns that it may be being 'cancelled' or otherwise neglected, are unfounded. Ashton and MacMillan are the jewels in RB's crown as far as I am concerned and the powers that be are mad if they don't recognise how influential the chance to dance these works regularly, coached by those who worked in a direct line from the originators, has been in recruiting great dancers to London, as well as delighting audiences.

I realised I was thinking of Bonnelli with Nunez, not Bolle, so I am more uncertain about wanting to see that pairing, which is a shame as there cannot be that many more Manon's for Nunez and Lamb.

I raise you a woman wearing a brimmed hat in front row of the SC on Sunday - fortunately the side view meant she did a lot less damage than she would have in the Stalls but who sits in a hat at the theatre?!

Thanks for posting this. Not sure how I feel about the Bolle/Nunez pairing - I think there's a filmed version of them I've seen. I quite wanted to see Muntagirov with Lamb (I think Manon is one of her great roles) one last time but nice to see the Kaneko partnership I guess.

No just one page listing basics - choreo, music, staging and design - not even lead dancers. The programme is entitled Jewels and I didn't expect anything about the gala in it when I bought - I found it informative on Jewels, which I wasn't very familiar with and hadn't had time to look up before, and with lovely photos - for which I'm a sucker! But it's a shame there wasn't one for the gala - I guess not cost effective.

Thanks for that Janet. I thought I'd tried pretty much straight away after reading through but I obviously got distracted - not for the first time - and missed my opportunity!

No it was my mistake in saying Concerto when I meant the Tchaikovsky pdd. For some reason I couldn't edit my post. It was Kondo's timing I felt was off and their lift that was fluffed.

Yes, you're right - the programme was mainly geared to Jewels. I suspect they were re-cycling some of the articles and the gala programme probably came together later. I didn't know much about Jewels so was happy for what was on offer.

I think I must be a bit cranky today as, while I greatly enjoyed the gala, I was less enamoured with some of the classical dancing in the programme than the vast majority seemed to be. In particular, I felt, long before they fluffed the final lift that Ako Kondo's timing was off in Concerto and the stumble was an accident waiting to happen. Don Q is always a huge crowd pleaser but I was baffled by the cheers for those barrel turns when Basilio's upper body positioning was so forward. I also thought there was a distinct lack of chemistry between Caley and Bernet in the wedding pdd. She was a very pert Kitri but the vivacity was projected away from her groom and he was amazingly solemn and made no eye contact at all. I couldn't but think of Nunez and Muntagirov's contentedly complicit facial exchanges when they performed this in Covid times in comparison. Which is probably very unfair given the relative experience. More positively, I enjoyed more of the modern offerings than expected - especially I Knew Then, which I would happily have watched through again and I thought was danced excellently. I also loved Jewels on Friday night - a first time viewing of the whole work for me. Typically controversial, I enjoyed Emerald a lot more than Rubies (those ugly Balanchine hands!) and found the languid and mysterious story telling intriguing. Diamond glittered. Kudos to the company for a very spirited and interesting programme, a very informative actual (as in paper) programme to buy and digest - there was a lot of interesting information and some great photos (including of people not actually there!) and really great to see a company with diverse heights and healthy body types. Thanks to those on the forum who have posted such informative pieces and reviews and lovely photos.