Tattin

Has anyone else noticed that the French teachers and coaches abbreviate terms, using "développ" and "chass" (among others) instead of développé and chassé? Julio Bocca and Lakey Evans-Peña, however don't do it. It seems very strange that the French teachers do it when it is their language. It really shocks me but perhaps some of you who are training, dancing professionally or teaching can tell me whether it is common practice nowadays.

Many thanks Emeralds for the info about streaming.

Dawnstar, I was personally most relieved to see that the wilis had no wings. To my mind wings are for fairies, sylphs and other such spirits but NOT for ones that have been human beings.

Do any of you know whether this gala is going to be streamed, live or otherwise? I believe the first one was not.

Delighted that you have started a Prix de Lausanne section; I watch it all every year; I adore it . it's the best week of the year! Laura_ballet you can find it on Arte Concert a few hours after the live-streaming; this morning is already there. I think you will be able to watch it on YouTube at some point as well.

Many thanks Irmgard for the explanation of the first performance of Giselle (I was unaware of the politics of the situation) and all the composers involved at various times. I did, of course, know about the additions to Giselle made in Russia, perhaps dating from Petipa's 1884 production.

Exactly my immediate thoughts Alison!

Many thanks to you all for replying to questions/points I made: to FionaM for the names of the dancers doing the leading wilis; to Birdy for the information about the moon and the recording,and to Stucha for the composer of the music for the Act I pas de deux (in this case pas de quatre). I always felt the music was slightly different from the rest but, after seeing countless productions of Giselle over the years I have never seen Burgmuller's name added to that pf Adam, as it obviously should be. Was he Adam's assistant? Did he compose for any other ballets? I'll look him up.

I agree with most of the comments above. I liked the production enormously - it shows the narrative very clearly for those who are not familiar with it. My only minute quibble was that Bathilde should be wearing hunting dress. I also found the way the moon moved up and down distracting in Act II but I realise that was a question of camera angles & distances. As others have noted Potskhishvili was a superb Hilarion whose acting was clear and convincing -and so handsome he was certainly a valid suitor for Giselle! All the extra choreography for him in Act II is a great point in favour of this production. It's not the first time I've seen a pas de quatre in Act I but I can't remember the company or production. What I did notice was that some of the music for this, I think the first girl's solo, was very unfamiliar. Can any of you elucidate this point? Was it Adam music? FionaM, can your Dutch friend tell us who danced Moyna and Zulma? And nobody has mentioned Floor Eimeer's excellent Myrtha -very much in command of her band of wilis. Oh, and I love the very long, very full but wafting Romantic tutus in Act II. But, sadly, despite their exquisite dancing, neither of the principals convinced me. Like Dawnstar above I felt, "good acting but they didn't move me". I drove nearly 50 kms to see this and shall have the chance to watch a repeat screening in March. I may change my opinion as I often do with repeats.

I'm very envious of you too, Don Q fan, for having seen these performances. I never tire of watching Onegin and, as I mentioned elsewhere some time ago, the company is coming to Madrid at the end of May but, sadly, not bringing Onegin but Patrice Bart's La Bayadére. Strangely enough, the very first time I saw Onegin WAS with the Bayerisches Staatsballett in Madrid, in the open air many years ago, and I immediately fell in love with Cranko's magnificent choreography and the whole production.

Thank you so much Peanut68 for the link to The Telegraph interview. As stated above, a truly humble and honest human being as well as a great ballerina.

I am fascinated by all these comments about La Sylphide as I have just come back from Sevilla where I saw two performances, with completely different casts, down to the minor roles, of the ballet by the Compañía Nacional de Danza at the Teatro de la Maestranza!! It's a very good production, as I expected it would be, having been mounted by the Danish coach & stager Petrusjka Broholm. The sets were superb; the Italian dancer Giada Rossi (her last two years of training were at the RB School) was a lovely Sylph and the two casts of James & Gurn swept magnificently through all that wonderful Bournonville petit batterie. I very much regretted not staying for the third performance, with yet another completely different cast. I sadly never saw Evdokimova, though I read a lot about her. However the very best Sylph I have ever seen was Lorna Feijóo with Boston Ballet in Madrid some years ago. She was flirty, frail and completely ephemeral. Her performance is etched on my memory.

Tamara Rojo's last performance with the Royal Ballet was also as Marguerite - with Sergei Polunin as Armand. I happened to be in London, unexpectedly, at the time and queued from 11 a.m. to get two returns. I was thrilled to be there. So I expect the choice of Marguerite for the lovely Yuan Yuan Tan's last performance with SF Ballet has a lot to do with the company director's own memories.

Thank you FionaM for the link to the 2014 performance of Giselle with Vishneva & Polunin. The great Diana Vishneva was quite superb but I felt Polunin was uneasy & not at home in the role of Albrecht, though he did produce a few (not 32 in this production) nice clean entrechats six towards the end of Act II.

Many thanks FionaM for the complete cast. I have watched it twice now right through and parts of it - especially Shale Wagman and The Tempest- four times. It was supposed to have disappeared by now but I could still watch it (instead of going out & attending to the long list of things I have to do) at 11.30 a.m. European time. My only criticism is the dim lighting, especially in Hamlet and R&J and not helped by dark costumes, but I realise that it is the fashion these days and we just have to wait til tastes change. I'm going to see the company in Patrice Bart's La Bayadére in Madrid in spring but how I wish they were bring this to Spain instead! Incidentally, I have been following Antonio Casalinho's career since he was a student (before the Prix de Lausanne) so I am delighted to be seeing him doing so well. I even made a terribly complicated journey to Sintra in Portugal last summer to see him dance in person. And what a lovely surprise it was to see tutus in a new ballet!

I have just watched it twice and hope to able to watch for a third time while it is still available. I agree, by and large,with the two comments above: Shale Wagman was superb, incredibly expressive and musical, and Antonio Casalinho amazing; I kept expecting him to flake during that long, fast solo as Ariel, but no - he just kept going as strong as ever and really deserved the applause. I found it strange that, although they were announced as not being narrative works, the plot of The Tempest was perfectly clear. The only thing I really missed, however, was seeing Capulets and Montagues in different costumes in the R &J act. But what a joy it is to see Ratmansky's magnificent use of the classical idiom!

Thank you Odyseey so much for the links. How I wish we could see Melissa Hamilton as Aurora - she is such a beautiful dancer.

Many thanks, Emeralds, for your report of the New Year's concert from Vienna, especially for naming all the dancers as I only caught Ketevan Papava's name though I recognised Olga Esina from watching so many of the company's live.streams. I agree about the men's costumes; I liked the puffy tutus, however, but agree that they looked cumbersome and difficult to dance in. I agree that the choreography appeared simple, but then it nearly always is..

The RB definitely danced Les Sylphides in the early sixties as I saw Yvette Chauviré guesting in it then, but that is still an awful long time for it to be out of the rep!

I would be delighted to hear about it if you were able to watch it oncnp. I couldn't in the end as it was limited to viewers in Italy. I love galas as they give one the opportunity to see so many different dancers.

This is an absolutely fascinating thread. In my case I nearly always get weepy when Giselle dies at the end of Act I, although there have been exceptions - poor productions and/or indifferent ballerinas. But Act II, though I love it, rarely moves me in the same way. An exception was a performance with Alina Cojocaru, when she was still a RB principal, dancing as a guest with the Romanian National Ballet in Madrid about 20 years ago. But I never, ever imagined that I could possibly be moved to tears by the Act II pas de deux OUT OF the context of the whole ballet. However that is exactly what happened with Marianela, partnered by Kim Kimin (Mariinsky), at a gala in Barcelona in 2019. It was astounding -you almost see Myrtha and the willis on stage with them. And they had just danced the Le Corsaire pas de deux a few minutes earlier!!!

Five performances (yes FIVE!) of Patrice Bart's production of La Bayadère by the Bayerisches Staatsballett (Munich) at the Teatro Real in Madrid at the end of May/beginning of June.

Just received this fascinating book today as a Christmas present. I hadn't realised that the photographer is an ex-dancer. No wonder there are so many original images.