Ginny

Great. Thank you! I’m so pleased to hear this. I will definitely go see it with my daughter. I wasn’t sure if the wartime setting might be too bleak for her, but this sounds lovely & right up her alley. Plus, I think the traditional character dancing in Act 3 is replicated - which is always fun to see live. Marking it in my calendar now! So it seems Raymonda is intended as the “family-friendly” ballet for next season. SFB will just REALLY need to market it well as intended for families, because many people will not know what to expect & the title is much less familiar.

I personally am thrilled with all of the English ballet Rojo is bringing to SFB, and I don’t miss the Balanchine (I’ve never been a fan. Eek - there, I said it out loud! 😆). I am especially over the moon about the chance to see MacMillan’s Manon, having never seen it live before. And also Raymonda - I have always wanted to see this as a full length ballet. I know Rojo’s reworking at ENB has gotten mixed reviews, but I will happily give it go. My only gripe with this new season - there is no light-hearted, family-friendly story ballet, other than Nutcracker. I would have liked to have seen Coppelia, Sleeping Beauty, or even a Don Q or Cinderella repeat from last season. This 2024-25 season announcement, along with SF Ballet exceptionally high ticket prices at WMOH, pretty much solidify my opinion that SFB doesn’t have much interest in marketing to families/children. (Maybe they never really have!). It’s too bad, because an afternoon basking in the beauty of the WMOH and the beauty & talent of the SFB dancers on stage is something to behold. It certainly was a formative memory for my daughter the first time we took her when she was maybe 8 or 9. Re: Rojo’s Raymonda - if you have seen it, would you consider it suitable & enjoyable for older children and/or teens?

My money is on Coppelia for another full length in 2025 - along with Alice, Cinderella, Maddadam and R&J for the 2024-25 season. I was hoping for Sylvia or La Fille, but seems very unlikely with Cinderella already in the mix. Is 6 full-lengths a possibility? I haven’t followed RB closely long enough to know. Throw Onegin in there also and I’d be pretty happy with that line-up!

Yes, I missed it then, and now am hoping $60M can bring us the entire thing!!

Yes, ABT does have Le Corsaire in its rep., but last time may have been 2019? Note interview with AD Susan Jaffe in 2022 on subject of Le Corsaire: https://spectrumnews1.com/ap-top-news/2022/05/09/former-ballerina-susan-jaffe-to-lead-american-ballet-theatre

Thrilled about this!! Have already put in my request for updated versions of La Bayadere and/or Le Corsaire. These ballets are not performed in the US anymore. Revised versions that keep all the amazing classical choreography & eliminate some of the problematic storyline elements would be a huge win in my book. Otherwise, these ballets are going to die out. Rojo was a gorgeous Nikiya herself (have only seen the RB’s DVD with Acosta as Solor). I am hoping she will want to pass that legacy on. 🤞🏻

Kathryn Morgan (former NYCB & Miami Ballet soloist) really had embraced adult ballet and has so much to offer online for adults - both those just beginning ballet & advanced students. She is even offering ballet weekend workshops focused on adults, to learn technique and also classical ballet choreography. I think it’s brilliant! She has a lot of online classes & tutorials available also - some are free and others you do need to subscribe for the content. She posts a lot of technique tips on Instagram. Definitely recommend checking out her site: https://kathrynmorganonline.com/

Definitely check out Medici TV. It has a big focus on symphony and opera, but a lot of ballet as well. I had Marquee TV for a while, but maxed out what I wanted to see there, so switched over to Medici to get some different things. I did notice that a lot of the ROH things in Marquee are the same as what you can see on ROH streaming, so that wasn’t a plus for me, as I had ROH as well. And I also check out Amazon Prime for the occasional rental when I can’t find something on any other service (e.g., full length classical Raymonda. Hard to find! I did find it on Prime by POB).

Well, you were quite right! SF Ballet announces Yuan Yuan Tan’s retirement and her final performance will be as Marguerite on (appropriately) Valentine's Day. https://www.broadwayworld.com/san-francisco/article/Principal-Dancer-Yuan-Yuan-Tan-to-Give-Final-Performance-with-San-Francisco-Ballet-in-MARGUERITE-AND-ARMAND-20240112

If your question is about what is available to watch on the ROH stream when watching from the US, it appears to be the same as what you see in the UK. I am not aware of any of the US ballet companies having launched anything remotely like the ROH or POB streaming services, so I turn to Europe to get all my streaming content!

It is already available to watch for subscribers! Enjoy

It was a live relay from Milan. I haven’t checked to see when/if it will be available to replay.

I just watched this streaming live on Medici TV - it was glorious! Please, does anyone the back story to the Act 3 variations in Ratmansky's new version? I was a bit unclear on who the woman in dusty rose red, the man in the blue Greek/Roman-style costume, the male gypsy-style character, etc. were supposed to be portraying? I am not familiar enough with this ballet to know who these characters are historically. Thanks!

I just subscribed myself when I saw this offer - early Xmas present to myself! So far have only watched one thing, but no issues so far. The number of full length ballets by a variety big name companies worldwide is impressive, including many full-length productions no one seems to perform much anymore here in the US (Raymonda, Paquita, La Bayadere, Le Corsaire). Seems worth a try in my book.

I did the ROH behind the scenes tour earlier this summer with my family (visiting from the US) and really loved it. Even my husband who doesn’t know/care much about ballet! We happened to see Francesca Heyward warming up to rehearse, multiple principals’ pointe shoes on display (cool even for me, the adult, to hold a pair of Marianela Nunez’s shoes!), and many stunning tutus on display. To me, the Freed shop was a little underwhelming (in comparison). Hope you enjoy!