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I've just bought a copy of The Sunday Times for this article and it's a challenging article to describe in brief. Basically it focuses upon how reserved Cojocaru is off stage and how she transforms on stage, she is presented as timid and the most unlikely of performers to have switched companies. There are also some interesting details in the article such as Cojocaru starting her warm up at 8.30am before everyone arrives for barre and not leaving until 7pm, that she uses resistance training to help her. How she recovered from injury I'm not sure if there will be anything new in the article for fans but it is a lovely article to read and has made me want to see Cojocaru perform in Le Corsaire. She comes across as a genuinely nice and diligent person dedicated to her art and embracing change and the opportunity of new challenges.

When I was at first school in the early 90s there were music and movement classes which I loved, thanks for reminding me about those by mentioning it taxi4ballet as I had completely forgotten about my early introduction to dance! Over on dance.net there is a stickied thread on contemporary dance which I've always found interesting as there does seem to exist the snobbery that contemporary is something you do if you can't make it in ballet, or at least that's the impression I've seen not one I personally hold to. http://www.dance.net/topic/8660380/1/Ballet-General/If-you-can-t-do-ballet-you-should-do-modern-A-few-myths-dispelled.html In fact more and more ballet companies seem to require dancers to be more varied in their abilities, Tamara Rojo in a recent interview mentioned this In April when I went to a workshop with ENB the repetoire was much more contemporary and a real stretch for both mind and body. After only a few years of ballet training I find my body becoming more static and more inclined to the movements of ballet and less inclined to the freer forms of contemporary so when asked to think outside of the box it's more of a challenge which is why I'm finding that trying different dance styles helps.

I've taken contemporary class with two different teachers - both Graham/Cunningham based at least I think - at the same studio one more technique based learning the steps broken down and another more choreography based learning steps as part of a dance sequence. I recently took a workshop with NDT and that was completely different again to anything I've studied, amazing much more focused upon the emotion portrayed by movement and imbued in movement. From what I can remember from class there is a focus upon suspending movements but allowing movement to flow in Graham/cunningham there are key movements like the spiral, strike, gallops, and a backwards jumping step which I think is called a switch kick. Unlike ballet with the numerous Classical Dictionaries of Ballet on offer - Gretchen Ward Warren's work being a particular favourite there doesn't seem to be an equivalent for contemporary. Possibly due to all of the many different styles. Personally I've always held the belief that I think there is something useful to be learned from every teacher you may encounter. I've found this resource online which although it is for Scottish Highers I have found very useful: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/video/c/video_tcm4558643.asp The one thing I can say about contemporary is that it wrecks your body far more than classical ballet, or at least I ache in new muscles every time after class lol!

Thanks for the heads up Janet! Although I have taken one of the excellent masterclasses at BRB headquarters I've never seen a performance by BRB. After the Aladdin masterclass I really wish that I had managed to see Aladdin when it was on tour! Can't wait to see Sleeping Beauty now I hope there are some tickets left!

The speed at which Price performed struck me too it's breathtaking and must have required great agility. We seem to expect different things from dancers now, speedy footwork is something I have always associated with the Royal Ballet. Another interesting article on The Guardian 'Who are the world's greatest ballet partners?' http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/sep/27/greatest-ballet-partners-osipova-golding?commentpage=1 Without having ever seen them perform I instantly think - and belive a lot of the world who are not familiar with ballet - would think of Margot Fonteyn and Rudolph Nureyev. In terms of the modern day I think of Ivan Vasiliev and Natalia Osipova as inseperable with the exception of Hallberg and Osipova in Giselle! Zakharova and Bolle are one of my favourite partnerships for Giselle and Swan Lake too but after four years I am still too new to ballet to speak with any great authority on the subject.

I wish I had known about this earlier as I would have made the effort to travel down to London. I will already be there for the Nederlands dans theater workshop on Wednesday and I could have made a week of it. Ah well can't see every performance...and now there are no tickets left! Which is a very good thing for YBBS

I went to see this last night in Newcastle it was an amazing final night performance and a great introduction to the style of Northern Ballet. The costuming was also excellently done. Interesting choreography, filled with humour and very easy to understand if you were a ballet novice.

After missing the summer intensive this year due to illness this is brilliant news I am spoiled for choice now!

I missed all of the fantastic performances by the Bolshoi in 2013 even though I booked tickets however in 2010 I spent a few weeks in London around the time of the Bolshoi visit and I can remember London being a hubub of activity prior to and during the arrival of the Bolshoi and then it feeling dreary in their absence and being much quieter. I think visitors must come from all over the world to see the Bolshoi perform but I can empathise with exactly what you are describing the lull after a great high of an excellent visit or series of performances.

I've seen the live cinema screenings advertised when I go to see the cinema screening from the Bolshoi however my local cinema does not host NDT live screenings I've always wanted to see this company live as those little pathe teaser trailers look breathtaking. I've now signed up for the workshop I hope I can get the time off work as it's non refundable.

Thank you for posting this info Janet, much appreciated!

First class back after 4 months and 2 weeks absence great fun rediscovered the joy of ballet but have completely forgotten how to pirouette. Never my strongest ability in ballet to begin with although I did receive lots of good pointers tonight

There is an interesting article in the Guardian comparing Ellen Price of the 1930s to Natalia Osipova of the present day in the same/similar variation from La Sylphide: Ellen Price, ballet's first film star http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/sep/05/ellen-price-first-ballet-film-star I'm not sure if it is the recording but my initial response was amazement at the speed at which Price executes her steps and then the fact that at some points she barely seems to be over her box and does not have the most perfect feet as demanded of some dancers today. Yet she has that elusive IT factor,just like Osipova and I can't help but be transfixed by her performance even though it is so different from that which I would expect of a performance in the modern day, I thought we could have a general discussion and comparison thread of performances and training then and now as although I can name the big name stars such as Fonteyn, Nureyev, Pavlova, Shearer, etc my knowledge of other dancers from earlier periods is sadly lacking and as there are I am sure people who on the boards with far more knowledge of performances and training from other decades I thought it would be interesting to do a compare and contrast thread of not only performances but how ballet training differs now in comparison to the past. E.g. if there are any dancers who trained at the Royal Ballet School previously who have DDs or DS' at the same school now how would you compare your experience and the demands placed on a dancer today.

My thoughts are with your son Julie W I hope he has a speedy recovery!

I would have to say yes that flexibility can be improved upon. As someone who is hyper extended even down to my toes being hyper extended which is a whole set of problems in itself when it comes to pointe work and pirouettes - it has taken three years for me to be able to do a double pirouette due to my hyperextension and finding the right centre of balance, and that's en demi pointe - I think with correct training the body can always be improved upon. Being hyper extended actually makes ballet even more challenging so I would say having a degree of flexibility which can be improved upon may be the better position to find oneself in! I take classes at a place called the Barre in Newcastle which at lunchtime runs a class called re-flex which helped me immensely in terms of improving - or more precisely controlling - my flexibility. Flexibility training is also incorporated into the regular barre classes along with building core strength. These classes are for adults but I know that Pineapple in London runs regular body conditioning classes, is their something similar in your local area? The training technique is also referred to as LA Barre or Barre Core. Also I always think of auditions as looking for potential rather than a finished product far better to have someone who has room for improvement than someone who believes themselves to be a finished product who has picked up lots of mistakes along the way in training. And always far better to try than never to try at all because everyone brings something different to the table it would be a poor school indeed that had carbon hyper flexible student copies. Some students may be masters of the pirouette, others speed or height in jumps. Some rare breeds may have everything and be the whole package and there are a few dancers in the world who are currently at this level and also have that elusive IT factor but they all have the same thing in common: they all went to audition and they all tried their best and that's all that can ever be asked. Good luck to your daughter and to everyone going to auditions in the future!

Thanks for the link Janet! I haven't seen any advertisements for A Midsummer Night's Dream on my wanderings in Newcastle so that one completely passed me by, plus I've never seen Northern Ballet perform or a live performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream so it would be an ideal opportunity to do both. I have seen a recording of A Dream by ABT which was amazing

Thanks nottsballetlover! And congratulations on getting a ticket! That sounds like an epic trip you have planned. I live outside of London too so I have a 600 mile round trip every time I travel to London to see a ballet or opera performance or take class-which is often! I can't wait to see Romeo and Juliet I watched the live broadcast I think in 2012 of Acosta/Cuthbertson which blew me away. Glynedbourne are on tour this year so I plan to travel to London on 21st to see Romeo and Juliet and then to Milton Keynes on 22nd to see The Rape of Lucretia. Matthew Bourne will be visiting my local theatre in Newcastle so I hope to see Swan Lake live too as I have only ever seen a DVD performance. I have placed a ticket for the perfromance on my Christmas list!

I'm booked for the 21st I was tempted to also book for the 7th but by the time I asked my mum if she would like to go with me all of the tickets were gone! It should be amazing to see the last night of the performance

Thank you everyone for all of your advice. I've just purchased a ticket in the ampitheatre online If anyone would like to purchase a ticket for the formerly sold out Acosta/ Osipova performances there are now a few tickets back on sale. So excited to see these two paired together again after I saw their swan lake performance last year!

I wasn't sure about this until I saw the trailer and now I'm convinced that I need to attend the live cinema screening. All of the dancers from the RB in the video are injecting so much life into their steps, I've only ever seen the Bolshoi production so it will be interesting to compare two pieces with choreography new and old.

Osipova, Vasiliev and the Mikhailovsky performing Laurencia April 2013 it was a first for me as I very rarely emotionally react to ballet performances as I'm too busy concentrating but this gave me chills! Breathtaking performance!

When your every holiday for the past four years involves attending ballet intensives i.e. you used to be well travelled and now you can't remember the last time you used your passport - if a country doesn't have ballet then you're not going to visit When you are constantly checking balletcoforum for new ballet intensives to attend that you might not yet have heard of When your every purchase is ballet wear and pointe shoes and you're constantly clicking refresh to see when ballet online stores have new leotards When your internet browsing history is filled with ballet and not much else lol. When if your family or friends ask where you are 6 days out of 7 they know you will be in the studio or doing something ballet related When the only reason you go to the cinema is to watch live ballet broadcasts When you know down to the second when new tickets will be released for the performances you want to see When you plan everything months in advance, or sometimes years, based on new performances by your favourite dancers or favourite company When you make a 3-4 hour round trip every day to attend summer intensives and think nothing of it When every pound you earn goes towards ballet When you've tried every known style of ballet that you're aware of, and you're still willing to travel further afield and try modern and contemporary and jazz, salsa, tango, merengue and ballroom just in case there is anything that you can learn from these styles to incorporate into ballet. When you take classes with as many different teachers as possible to try and learn something new When you sneak in to professional class so that you can up your number of hours in the studio - even though you know you're going to be out of your depth When you're scared to calculate how much you've spent since you started ballet on lessons, performances, dancewear... When your book shelves are filled with ballet books and your library card is a who's who of the ballet world and ballet biographies When you can't imagine doing anything other than taking as much class as possible to become a better dancer When you can't imagine living without dance, it's what you get up in the morning to do and the last thing you practice at night

Congratulations and best of luck!

Thank you to everyone for all your help. I'm going to pester the box office/post on the ticket exchange section of the website and if that doesn't work I will try queuing on the day. Also I wasn't aware the link to show the view from all of the seats existed so thank you very much for posting it John! However I do remember that there was a time when the seating plan for the ROH auditorium online was interactive so you could see the view from a seat in each section.

Hello Balleteacher I've created an online journal to be used as a resource, please find below a link to a page for all of the online dancewear retailers that I'm aware of in both the UK and USA. http://balletomane1.livejournal.com/tag/ballet%20stores If anyone has any more to add for other countries or within the UK please PM me, thanks!