Ondine

The sweat and feather problems!

For those who have not seen it. Magnificent costumes and masks, imagine dancing in them!

Amy Harris says goodbye in one of the most gorgeous costumes ever! The poshest of posh frocks.

Costumes and sets by Cecil Beaton I think? Not my favourite ballet but the frocks were divine!

I am not posting this to be political. However, I agree wholeheartedly that 'culture' and the arts in this country are battered by cuts and other issues; I'm always pleased when a major newspaper publishes a column such as this. Charlotte Higgins is the Guardian’s chief culture writer No paywall. Free to read. Culture is not trivial, it’s about who we are. That’s why Labour needs a plan to save the arts | Charlotte Higgins https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/nov/26/culture-labour-plan-save-the-arts-tory-cuts?CMP=share_btn_tw It is about giving people back public space – space in which they can exit their digital echo chambers and together confront unfamiliar, difficult ideas. It is about offering people ideas beyond their immediate experience – ideas that can bring delight, hope and joy, but also spark individuals’ ambitions, or suggest possibilities beyond their immediate horizon. It is about offering people the chance to live with dignity, to be better citizens who treat each other with decency and understanding. It is the stuff of being fully human.

Were they offered a place at the RB and turned it down?

Glowing review in today's Observer from Sarah Crompton, which will presumably be in tomorrow's links though it is online now if anyone wants to read it (no paywall).

I think the Royal Ballet would be wonderful in this. Ham it up, great fun, a bit of pathos. It's not intended to be serious. Lots of opportunities for younger dancers, great music.

It's quite the co-incidence that the DanceWithMaryNYC channel has just put a 'how to' up on this very subject. However, these all seem very brutal on those poor tights and way over the top to me. I'm sure others will have their own opinions.

'. I note the links above to the Nijinska Insight on YouTube now say 'This video is private'. It is now here. I think it's been edited down slightly.

Strangely, Poppy Frankel is listed on the Norwegian National Ballet site. This is where Gina Storm-Jenson is currently. https://www.operaen.no/en/about-us-oslo-operahouse/the-norwegian-opera-and-ballet/norwegian-national-ballet/

Well we know Tomas Mock is leaving, there could be others I suppose.

She's listed as a leaver at ENB. I think she hails from the NE of England originally. https://www.ballet.org.uk/blog-detail/promotions-new-joiners-departures-2023-2024-season/

They are listed alongside other Artists. I don't think the RB works on a temp contract basis. Any extras for the corps usually come from the RBS students.

Both so new there is as yet no bio on the RH site! A photo but no link. Is this a different dancer to Poppy Frankel at ENB? It could get confusing! If it's actually Poppy Frankel then she was at White Lodge then three years with Vanessa Palmer then with ENB. https://www.vanessapalmer.co.uk/menu/student-achievements.html

Russian State Chamber Orchestra conducted by Christopher Moulds Tchaikovsky Concert Hall Moscow, Russia Recorded live on September 15, 2021

I haven't actually seen the movie. She's bad enough as Emma. A blackface Othello, a man dressed as a woman as his wife. Shakespeare as originally performed? More of Shakespeare and blackface, both historically and now, which is getting away from ballet but has relevance. https://www.folger.edu/podcasts/shakespeare-unlimited/othello-blackface/ https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-10-20/blackface-othello-lawrence-olivier-bright-sheng Remember, Peter Wright altered his RB Nutcracker Chinese dance and Arabian himself. In his lifetime, ideas of presentation, representation, on stage have altered so much.

Though he did have to concede to the fact women couldn't act in his plays and Othello's wife Desdemona was played by a man for decades.

Here we are. Men playing women, women playing men. https://theconversation.com/why-werent-women-allowed-to-act-in-shakespeares-plays-177804 Perhaps we should mention Coppelia here. The part of Franz was originally danced en travesti by Eugénie Fiocre, who was yes, a woman.

Of course his women were played by men... and boys.

If ground to a fine powder it's OK. It goes nicely sticky with heat from feet. I know many places don't like it nowadays as it's not kind to rubber etc floors. The water can and rosin tray perhaps relics of old wooden floors & stages. Times change. Sad to think that lovely pine forest smell and the satisfying crunch of the rosin tray (especially the lumps to grind your shoe into) are joys denied to the modern generation.

An issue to which no-one has responded. 'Traditional 'male & female steps (including pointework) now being danced by all? Leaving aside the Trocks, how soon will we be seeing a male Aurora, I wonder?

Yet reading that history, how Fokine envisaged the characters, the Moor didn't need to be a Moor at all! Sleeping Beauty? Aurora is presented at 16 with a choice of suitors. While not quite an arranged marriage, it's problematic in several ways!

All three I think. Depends on the ballet of course. Les Sylphides... if done without the fairy frocks & poet in white tights, the music played beautifully, I'm sure would be fine with a modern audience? (I love the whiff of the past, but I can see many won't.)

As far as I'm concerned, the pony is the star of Fille, but the pony and animals in general 'performing' is a subject that has been discussed here. Pigeons. Two. Should we, should we not?