Ian Macmillan

I do recall the first run of William Tuckett's Seven Deadly Sins for the RB some years ago, and being quite put out at what he did with Ms Yanowsky. I'm sure I wrote something on ballet.co along the lines of the choreography consisting of little more than the same sin, seven times over in different cities, involving her being manhandled in an extremely inelegant fashion - and I passed on it when it was revived a couple of years or so later as a result. By comparison, for examples of erotic situations handled convincingly and without such display, Cathy Marston's work has several.

In fact, the ad itself runs just over 2 minutes, and I imagine that the 'extravagant' description used in the covering Marketing Magazine article speaks volumes for the production costs. But it's not alone by any means as we approach the Christmas retail season - see the ads for John Lewis, M&S, and others, all of which may have cost more.

Links – Saturday, November 16, 2013 Feature – The Nureyev Collection at CNCS, Moulins: Paul Arrowsmith, DanceTabs Feature/Interview – Michael Clark, Choreographer/Director: Liz Jobey, FT Magazine --- A perfect pas de deux between ballet and fashion: Charlie Porter, Financial Times Reviews – Liang/Maliphant/Wheeldon with Fang-Li Sheu & Yuan Yuan Tan, London: Judith Mackrell, Guardian Sarah Crompton, Telegraph Neil Norman, The Stage Vera Liber, British Theatre Guide Review – Hofesh Shechter Company, Sun, NY: Brian Seibert, NY Times Review – Pacific Northwest Ballet, “Kylian + Pite” Mixed Bill, Seattle: Helene Kaplan, Danceviewtimes Film Preview – Siobhan Davies, All This Can Happen: Emma Crichton-Miller, Financial Times Review – Richard Alston Dance Company, Mixed Bill, Edinburgh: Kelly Apter, Scotsman Reviews – Garth Fagan Dance, Lighthouse, No Evidence of Failure, Prelude, Gin, NY: Robert Johnson, NJ Star-Ledger Deborah Jowitt, Arts Journal, DanceBeat Feature/Preview – Rubberdandance, Quotient Empirique, Montreal: Victor Swoboda, Montreal Gazette Preview – Currency at The Place, London: Carmel Smith, Londondance Review – Cédric Andrieux, Cédric Andrieux, Seattle: Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times This week in London – Stuttgart Ballet, Phoenix Dance: Judith Mackrell, Guardian Bolshoi Trial, Day 6 – Vorontsova & Iksanov no-shows: Izvestia via Ismene Brown Blog And well worth seeing: A Nutcracker TV ad to watch for tonight (Channel 4) Marketing Magazine …. With a Behind the Scenes feature: YouTube

Janet: I expect you're right on that - it really can't be for any other reason. At any rate, the video has caught Judith Mackrell's eye on Twitter and I see she's already promised a MoveTube feature on it for Monday's Guardian ..... so there's a Link for you!

Naomi just beat me to it on this link - but be aware that I discovered it to be Age Restricted to over-18s. Can't see why, I must say.

Links – Friday, November 15, 2013 Are bold revisions of the classics less contentious in ballet than opera? Robert Everett-Green, Globe and Mail Review – Suzanne Farrell Ballet, Mozartiana, Episodes, DC: Oksana Khadarina, DanceTabs Review – American Ballet Theatre, Bach Partita, Gong, The Tempest, NY: Carol Pardo, Danceviewtimes Review – Matthew Bourne/New Adventures, Sleeping Beauty, DC: George Jackson, Danceviewtimes Review – Akram Khan, DESH, Ottawa: Natasha Gauthier, Ottawa Citizen Reviews – Wim Vandekeybus/Ultima Vez, booty Looting, London: Lise Smith, DanceTabs Vera Liber, British Theatre Guide Review – Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Concerto for Two Violins, Writing Ground, SF: Aimee Tsao, DanceTabs Review – Nederlands Dans Theater, Sehnsucht, Schmetterling, Berleley: Aimee Tsao, DanceTabs Review – De Oscuro, Mac//Beth, London: Howard Loxton, British Theatre Guide Nikolai Tsiskaridze & the Vaganova – Where power lies in Russia? Tatyana Stanovaya, SLON via Ismene Brown Blog Mao’s Last Dancer, Li Cunxin, is Australian of the Year finalist: Natalie Bochenski, Brisbane Times Review – Will Rawls, The Planet Eaters, NY: Gia Kourlas, NY Times Review – Ryan McNamara, Meem: A Story Ballet About The Internet, NY: Brian Seibert, NY Times

The Moscow News piece was in yesterday's Links. Ismene Brown had a piece in this morning's Links in which, as has been suggested, others have begun to qualify what we first read: http://www.ismeneb.com/Blog/Entries/2013/11/13_American_dancer_says_Bolshoi_tried_to_extort_%2410%2C000.html The basic story has been picked up globally by papers and sites in the intervening 24 hours. And for Jules, it would appear that she has already accepted a place with another Russian company. There may be a salutary lesson in all this for youngsters (and their parents) going to Russian schools in the hope of securing places in Russian companies.

I suppose that American troops on patrol in Afghanistan are excluded on geographic grounds?

Links – Thursday, November 14, 2013 Review – Warsaw Dance Days: Laura Cappelle, Financial Times Baltic Dance Theatre, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Rite of Spring (both Weiss) Opera Nova, First Flash Kielce Dance Theatre, Rite of Spring (Preljocaj) Lithuanian National Ballet, Čiurlionis Review – Royal Ballet, Chroma, The Human Seasons, The Rite of Spring, London: Giannandrea Poesio, Spectator Review – Houston Ballet & Lang Lang, Sons de l’âme, Paris: D L Groover, Houston Press Interview – Sylvie Guillem in Tokyo: Ayako Takahashi, Japan Times Reviews – Garth Fagan Dance, No Evidence of Failure, Gin, NY: Brian Seibert, NY Times Apollinaire Scherr, Financial Times Review – Matthew Bourne/New Adventures, Sleeping Beauty, DC: Sarah Kaufman, Washington Post Review – Richard Alston Dance Company, Phaedra, Lachrymae, Hölderlin Fragments, Les Illuminations, London: Jaime Robles, One Stop Arts Tour Review – Earthfall, Chelsea Hotel, London: Louise Levene, Telegraph Review – Wim Vandekeybus/Ultima Vez, booty Looting, London: Judith Mackrell, Guardian Video Feature – Batsheva Dance Company: Mat Heywood, Guardian Reviews – De Oscuro, Mac//Beth, London: Sanjoy Roy, Guardian Catherine Sutherland, One Stop Arts News – Royal Winnipeg Ballet building gets $1m facelift: Kevin Rollason, Winnipeg Free Press Review – Shanghai Ballet, The Butterfly Lovers, Minneapolis: Caroline Palmer, Star Tribune Review – Allegra Kent’s Ballerina Swan, NY: Claudia La Rocco, NY Times Review – Hungarian State Folk Ensemble, New Jersey: Robert Johnson, NJ Star-Ledger Review – Kunst-Stoff, Mixed Bills, SF: Paul Parish, Bay Area Reporter Preview – San Francisco International Hip Hop DanceFest: Lauren Gallagher, SF Examiner Bay Area Holiday Dance – Mainly ‘Nuts’ of course: SF Examiner Bolshoi extortion allegation – Director Urin says “Go to Police”: Izvestia via Ismene Brown Blog

Links – Wednesday, November 13, 2013 Reviews – Royal Ballet, Chroma, The Human Seasons, Rite of Spring, London: Gerald Dowler, Classical Source Zoë Anderson, Independent Neil Norman, Express Review – American Ballet Theatre, Piano Concerto #1, The Tempest, New York: Barnett Serchuk, BWW Review – Stanislavsky Ballet, La Bayadere, Moscow: Raymond Stults, Moscow Times Review – Ballet Preljocaj, And then, one thousand years of peace, New York: Brian Seibert, NY Times Reviews – National Ballet of Canada, Swan Lake, Toronto: Dana Glassman, National Post Andrew Moran, Examiner.com Review – Pacific Northwest Ballet, Kylian + Pite Bill, Seattle: Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times Review – Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, milonga, London: Sanjoy Roy, Londondance Review – National Dance Company of Wales, Water Stories, Noces, British Dream, Edinburgh: Kelly Apter, Scotsman Review – Yat-Sen Chang Dance Company, Mixed Bill, London: Laura Dodge, Londondance Review – Kunst-Stoff Dance Company, Solo for Yannis, 98-13, Those Golden Years, SF: Rita Felciano, SF Bay Guardian Interview – Margie Gillis, 40 years dancing & still blazing strong: Deirdre Kelly, Globe and Mail News – New Contemporary Dance Performance Lab in London: Carmel Smith, Londondance Bolshoi Trial Latest: Shaun Walker: Guardian Izvestia via Ismene Brown Blog Rehearsal Diary: Claudia La Rocco, The Brooklyn Rail at its esoteric best. News – Young American dancer accuses Bolshoi of extortion: RAPSI, Moscow News

I am naturally delighted to see Clemmie Sveeas nominated for her role as Anna Goeldi in Cathy Marston's Witch Hunt (Hexenhatz) brought to the LInbury from Bern back in May. It's been a good excuse to revisit Dave Morgan's photos from the show, so here she is airborne: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dancetabs/8779396249/in/set-72157633600994740

Lin: I tend to agree - but the turnover of companies/groups at the Wells, plus giving the staff a weekend, appears to mean that Tuesday or Wednesday to Saturday runs have to be the norm there.

I've opted to move this topic into 'General Discussions' as I feel it touches on something that seems sure to become more and more significant as regards theatre-going of all kinds. Kasper Holten, the Royal Opera's Director, raised it in an article for the New York Times on 30 October (in Links that day) and he too believes that the streaming audience will soon be larger than that in the house itself: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/30/arts/international/a-different-grandness-for-covent-garden.html?_r=5&pagewanted=all& The use of 'encore' screenings will certainly increase audiences for popular shows and, presumably, the revenues of the house concerned - I've seen both Hamlet and The Audience in these in the last few weeks. And it would be interesting to hear something of the NY Met's experience, as I think it started this trend.

Are there national aesthetic preferences also at work here? When Cathy Marston went out as Director to Bern, in the German-speaking part of Switzerland, her first production was a Firebird set in the immediately pre-revolutionary Romanov court, costumed as I suspect most of us here might expect for a narrative work in a historical setting. However, that was not the critical expectation out there. She took some knocks as a result and I think I'm right in saying that her subsequent work out there was clothed in pretty much neutral dress. That was certainly the case with the J&R that I saw in the following year, and applied too to the works she subsequently brought to London. By comparison, the Tale of Two Cities that she did for Northern Ballet back here whilst in Bern was fully costumed.

Alymer: I've been catching up on the Programme content tonight and I note that archivist Jane Pritchard confirms pretty much what you've just added as the provenance of the pdd that we now know so well. Many thanks, indeed.

I saw yesterday's matinee in Oxford. This ENB Corsaire is every bit as eye-catching as others have said and just a bit of fun, and I found it full of revelations. I've only known the ballet through the Nureyev/Fonteyn pdd trotted out for competitions and the like, so the first revelation was in Act 1 as it dawned on me that the Ali character wasn't the hero but an incidental servant. I then took him for Medora's chap, but the scenario said he's Conrad's. Then when the great pdd turned up in Act 2, it was as a pas de trois - who knew? Did Nureyev conflate the two male roles into a bigger part for himself? Some of you out there will know, I'm sure. And then, out of nowhere, all were lost at sea at the end - no doubt Byron's fault? But hold, a check with the scenario told me that two were just stuck on a rock. And there was something with folk in capes and caskets? And then there was Pasha, Michael Coleman, having a good time ogling his gorgeous purchases in a dream, entirely unrelated to anything else. So if that was the story, what about what mattered - the dance? The choreography struck me as a bit old-fashioned but, given its provenance, that's probably inevitable. It was, however, well put across by the company, whose younger members were heavily featured in this matinee cast. Our Medora was Erina Takahashi, but my eye was more taken by Crystal Costa's Gulnare and certainly by Yonah Acosta's Conrad. And recalling the 'First Postion' documentary of a couple of years back, it was good to see Joan Sebastian Zamora from Colombia live on stage as Ali, and demonstrating clear potential for a bright future. But all in all, it was a good show - and my younger grand-daughter, in the early stages of getting on pointe, thoroughly enjoyed it, as did her Mum and her sisters. I know that my preferred aesthetic has moved on, but I'd go again. Could it be expanded for the Albert Hall?

Links – Thursday, October 31, 2013 Reviews – San Francisco Ballet, Cinderella, NY: Robert Greskovic, Wall St Journal Barnett Serchuk, BWW Review – Boston Ballet, La Bayadere, Boston: Alan Helms, DanceTabs Reviews– Matthew Bourne/New Adventures, Sleeping Beauty, NY: Robert Johnson, NJ Star-Ledger Robert Greskovic, Wall St Journal Diana Vishneva criticises Tsiskaridze appointment: AFP, Telegraph Review – Australian Ballet, Cinderella, Melbourne: Valerie Lawson, Dancelines Review – John Heginbotham, Dark Theater, NY: Alastair Macaulay, NY Times Hong Kong Ballet denies censorship allegations: Candy Chan/Danny Mok, South China Morning Post Review – Hofesh Shechter, Sun, London: Judith Flanders, Arts Desk Review – Susan Marshall & Company, Play/Pause, DC: Sarah Kaufman, Washington Post Review – Made at Sadler’s Wells, Afterlight, Faun, UNDANCE, Edinburgh: Mary Brennan?, Herald Preview – Shanghai Ballet, The Butterfly Lovers, Berkeley: Mary Ellen Hunt, SF Chronicle Review – Mora Godoy/Stephen Rayne, Chantecler Tango, Paris: Laura Cappelle, DanceTabs Interview – Amina Khayyam on Yerma: Unattributed, Londondance Review – Zhukov Dance Theatre, Enlight, SF: Allan Ulrich, SF Chronicle Preview – Rosanna Gamson/World Wide, Layla Means Night, SF: Andrea Pflaumer, SF Examiner Review – Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Writing Ground, SF: Rita Felciano, SF Bay Guardian Review – 13th Floor Dance Theater, Being Raymond Chandler, SF: Rita Felciano, SF Bay Guardian

Regarding "Which Way Now?" there's an interesting piece in today's New York Times that in strict terms lies outside our daily Links remit in that is exclusively about the same question as regards the Royal Opera: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/30/arts/international/a-different-grandness-for-covent-garden.html?_r=4&&pagewanted=all Nonetheless, a number of aspects could equally apply to the RB, also with a relatively new top management. For example, picking up the 'tipping point' remark quoted, how much of the RB's brand can be said to be the work they do, rather than the stage upon which it's done - ie as live-streaming increases, when does the wider audience away from the theatre become more significant than that within the ROH? My own impression is that both Opera and Ballet managements are pretty much in accord on these things. And is everyone ready for more 'democratised' foyer spaces? I've really no idea about just what that might mean but, in more general terms, as my visits to the ROH have recently become fewer, I've been struck each time I come back just how increasingly it has become a restaurant with auditorium attached - a "Different Grandness" indeed.

Links – Wednesday, October 30, 2013 Reviews – San Francisco Ballet, Cinderella, NY: Joan Acocella, New Yorker Robert Gottlieb, NY Observer Deborah Jowitt, ArtsJournal/DanceBeat Reviews – Matthew Bourne/New Adventures, Sleeping Beauty, NY: Robert Gottlieb, NY Observer Deborah Jowitt, Arts Journal/DanceBeat Tobi Tobias, ArtsJournal/Seeing Things More on the evolving Vaganova/Tsiskaridze situation: Ksenia Sobchak via Ismene Brown Blog Judith Mackrell, Guardian News – John Neumeier extends a further 4 years in Hamburg: AFP Staff via Yahoo Brief Q&A – David Hallberg, Bolshoi Principal: Marina Dzhashi, Voice of Russia Preview – Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, Sleeping Beauty (Mats Ek), Calgary: Stephen Hunt, Calgary Herald Tour Review – Made at Sadler’s Wells, Afterlight, Faun, UNDANCE, Edinburgh: Kelly Apter, Scotsman Review – Giordano Dance Chicago, EXit 4, Moving Sidewalks, Chicago: Laura Molzahn, Chicago Tribune Review – Pacific Northwest Ballet, AIR TWYLA Triple Bill, Seattle: Helene Kaplan, Danceviewtimes Review – Zahra Killeen-Chance, To Be Glorified, Auckland: Raewyn Whyte, DanceTabs Tour Feature – Earthfall, Chelsea Hotel, UK: Judith Mackrell, Guardian Review – Robin Becker, Into Sunlight, NY: Brian Seibert, NY Times Preview – Boris Charmatz, Flip Book, NY: Gia Kourlas, NY Times What’s On in November & December, from Bogota to Toronto: Elizabeth Farhi, NY Times Sergei Filin Attack – Trial opened yesterday: Natalya Krainova, Moscow Times & elsewhere, everywhere

Yet more from Ismene Brown in translation - this time it's a blogger who appears to have an inside track on much of what's been afoot for about a year or so, it seems, and all independently of the Filin attack: http://ismeneb.com/Blog/Entries/2013/10/29_Blogger__Cherchez_la_femme_where_Tsiskaridze_is_concerned.html A full-length narrative ballet may be made from all of this one day!

Ms Asylmuratova's future is unclear, it seems. The very latest, via Ismene Brown: http://www.ismeneb.com/Blog/Entries/2013/10/29_Asylmuratova_said_to_be_still_considering_options.html

Links – Tuesday, October 29, 2013 Nikolai Tsiskaridze to head Vaganova School, Ulyana Lopatkina to be AD: Reports - Izvestia via Ismene Brown Blog Moscow Times Interview with Tsiskaridze: Izvestia via Ismene Brown Blog “Vaganova Staff in tears ….”: Fontanka via Ismene Brown Blog Bolshoi’s Plans for New York Remain Unclear: Michael Cooper, NY Times Reviews – San Francisco Ballet, Cinderella, New York: Marina Harss, DanceTabs Sondra Forsyth, BWW Wendy Perron – Season Overview, Dance Magazine Review – Houston Ballet, Pacific, Twilight, Solo, Play, NY: Marina Harss, DanceTabs Review – Matthew Bourne/New Adventures, Sleeping Beauty, NY: Meghan Feeks, Huffington Post Tour Preview – Made at Sadler’s Wells, Afterlight, Faun, UNDANCE, Edinburgh: Mary Brennan, Herald Review – Hong Kong Ballet, Dream of the Red Chamber, HK: Natasha Rogai, South China Morning Post Review – Janice Parker, Private Party, Glasgow: Kelly Apter, Scotsman Review – Edward Villella/Ice Theater of New York, Reveries, NY: Brian Seibert, NY Times Review – Chitresh Das Dance Company, Shiva, Bhakti, SF: Rachel Howard, SF Chronicle

Links – Monday, October 28, 2013 Obituary – Australian dancer, Laurel Martyn: Valerie Lawson, Dancelines Feature – ABT & Bringing Twyla Tharp’s Bach Partita Back: Marina Harss, DanceTabs Review – Sylvie Guillem, 6000 Miles Away, Melbourne: Chloe Smethurst, The Age Tour Preview – Made at Sadler’s Wells, Afterlight, Faun, UNDANCE, Edinburgh: Kelly Apter, Scotsman Tour Preview – English National Ballet, Le Corsaire, Oxford: David Bellan, Oxford Times Review - Royal New Zealand Ballet, Tutus on Tour: Flower Festival at Genzano, Don Quixote Wedding pas de Deux, Little Improvisations, FrENzy, Through to you, Peter and the Wolf, Auckland: Bernadette Rae, NZ Herald Review – Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Quad Bill, DC: Rebecca Ritzel, Washington Post Review – Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker/Rosas, Cesena, En Atendant, NY: Deborah Jowitt, Arts Journal/DanceBeat Review – Alonzo King Lines Ballet, Concerto for Two Violins, Writing Ground, SF: Allan Ulrich, SF Chronicle Review – Boris Charmatz, Levée des Conflits Extended, NY: Brian Seibert, NY Times News – Dance & Ballet in Sydney, 2014: Elissa Blake, Sydney Morning Herald Preview – Hong Kong Ballet, Dream of the Red Chamber, HK: Ysabelle Chung, TimeOut HK

Good news indeed for these two youngsters, and many congratulations to both - and interesting that Kevin O'Hare feels the need to bolster his Corps so relatively early in this season. And hearty congratulations also to Mr & Mrs Clarke up in Airdrie on the graduation from the RBS of their fourth and youngest son. That must be some kind of record?

Very odd - I'd say pointless, were it not that there are two of them dangerously in evidence - and could as well have been posted in 'Not Dance.'