lartiste

I attended the Swan Lake workshop over easter and everyone - to my knowledge - was over 18. It may be worth giving City Academy a call to check though http://www.city-academy.com/contact_us as there doesn't appear to be an age limit given on the website. As for level I would say it is adapted based on observation of dancers at the barre so if everyone is taking class at an advanced level then the steps are more advanced and vice versa. I wouldn't worry though the workshops are for enjoyment rather than assessment and I messed up quite a few of the steps - the dance of the 4 cygnets argh, epaulement and legs moving and the changing of direction and just argh fun but so complex!

Thank you both I have updated the entry for workshops. I was unaware that RAD do workshops too so I ill definitely look out for these

For children and adults please see link below October-November 2013 https://www.brb.org.uk/Insight-Taster.html I went to the Aladdin insight day earlier in the year and it was amazing I would thoroughly recommend these masterclasses. We took class and learned some repetoire it was brilliant fun! Also I have created a journal dedicated to ballet which I update regularly with any masterclasses, places for pointe shoe fittings, places to purchase dancewear online etc. If anyone has anymore info on any of the above topics that I could add to the journal please PM me as I want to create a resource that people can use that I wish had been around when I first started out in ballet http://balletomane1.livejournal.com/

I was unable to access the internet when tickets for the Osipova/Acosta performances came on sale for Romeo and Juliet this autumn I was just wondering if anyone on the boards has managed to secure tickets and if anyone has experience of booking restricted view tickets as advised in the FAQ? Do the ROH operate a waiting list policy for returns or is it literally pot luck and if you are lucky and call up on the day you will be able to purchase a ticket? Thanks in advance for any advice http://www.roh.org.uk/productions/romeo-and-juliet-by-kenneth-macmillan

Ivan Vasiliev posted information on his facebook page this morning about the debut of Kings of the Dance in the UK at the London Coliseum. Le Jeune Homme et La Mort was my favourite ballet in ENB's Ecstasy and Death so I can't wait to see Vasiliev's performance. http://www.eno.org/see-whats-on/productions/production-page.php?&itemid=2444

Thanks for the info Michelle I will sign up for this one as well as I will be in London during this time period. Giselle is one of, if not my favourite, ballets. I'm unsure of how to get to Jerwood space though as it is in an area of London I am unfamiliar with.

I am now even more annoyed that I returned my ticket for last night's performance as I did not think I would be able to attend. I knew it was going to be amazing Ah well I'll just have to wait until Osipova and Vasiliev dance Flames with another company!

Thanks for the heads up Michelle I have booked a place for the workshop looking forward to seeing you again in December - we met in Birmingham at the Aladdin workshop So exciting to dance at the ROH in the ROH studios! As an aside I am so jealous of everyone who was able to attend LAB I am hoping to attend next year. The Sun King Dance camps held in North America also look amazing so if those don't clash timetable wise I would love to attend one of those too.

I have found out about this rather late as I am currently in hospital and without regular Internet access and I am relying upon newspapers for ballet info and not the wonderful ballet co forum however should I be well enough I would love to see Sergei perform in coppelia! There appears to be only restricted view tickets remaining though:(

I've studied Cecchetti, RAD, BBO, Russian and other styles with various teachers so I have an eclectic mix of knowledge that I don't always remember which belongs to which method until I am dancing. It's a challenge to describe the differences because it's all stored in muscle memory and it's usually just an automatic unconscious adaptation a case of I'm in RAD class, doing RAD now and automatically adopting that style and then having a transitional moment of adopting to say Russian method in the next class. I could be completely wrong on this one but I think Ian Knowles - who teaches at Pineapple - and definitely Simon Williams -Matthew Bourne, Michael Clark Company -studied at the Royal Ballet school and I was instantly able to tell this by taking their classes that they had trained at RBS as the exercises they taught were very similar, so I think the method at RBS is very different to RAD. The difference is something you have to see rather than something you can tangibly describe, but once you see it there's a light bulb moment of 'Ah ha I know where you trained!' RAD tends to be much more structured teaching, it's all about putting technique together piece by piece. I studied RAD locally with a few different teachers and with a RAD teacher at The Place for a summer intensive a few years ago. Following RAD even for a short time helped to iron out some of the creases that had crept in to my dancing and helped me to focus on the tiniest attentions to details. Cecchetti is all about the arms, there is a lot of port de bras in Cecchetti which I quite like. The positioning of the arms in Cecchetti is also different the line is up but stretched out, as in this image for second arabesque http://balletclassroom.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/ballet-arabesquea-large.jpg. I'm finding this hard to explain as it's more of a thing you know and feel by doing than being able to put into words but your whole line is different in Cechetti to BBO for example.The arms in Russian are slightly different too. It wasn't something I noticed until I had it pointed out to me by a teacher when doing a grand jete that I was using 'Russian arms'. I think this was something I subconsciously picked up from watching performances by the Bolshoi rather than something I picked up in class. Russian is very turned out, and from the very beginning you concentrate on presenting the whole package I learned to focus on epaulement with Russian method. At beginner level classes are slower paced so that you can really focus on solidifying technique,demi plies and plies are in 8 counts for example. There is also a wrapped frappe exercise where the foot wraps around the ankle and then strikes out from a wrapped position rather than the flexed foot position used in other styles. I've used both frappe styles in Russian classes it depends upon the teacher. Also Russian tends to be more hands on - again teacher dependent - if you are in the wrong position you will be physically corrected in to the right position which I think is a good thing. Pirouettes from 4th derrière, in Russian method the leg flips straight in to retire for the pirouette no going a la seconde and then whipping in. BBO - i remember doing lots of glisses, this probably not representative of the method at all, but as it has been years since I've been able to take a British Ballet Organisation class. I've generally found on the whole that the steps are the same but the execution is different and then there is the added complication that execution changes by choreography, going back to glisses I have seen them taught for height, run very quickly over the floor for speed or stretched out and languid. Even in one method with a different teacher the whole delivery of a step can change. I would say taking an eclectic approach can be helpful as all styles have their strengths and weaknesses so by experiencing the different methods you can become more well-rounded as a dancer. On the other hand it takes a lot of focus to switch between the different methods and not allow RAD arms to sneak into a Cecchetti class and vice versa.

Russia Beyond the headlines Ballerina Natalia Osipova moves to London to join the Royal Ballet http://rbth.ru/arts/2013/04/18/ballerina_natalia_osipova_moves_to_london_to_join_the_royal_ballet_25177.html - a very good article which clarifies Osipova's move to the Royal Ballet Thanks for sharing the quote chrischris I noticed in a few reviews for the Mikhailovsky season at the Coliseum that Vasiliev was compared adversely to Osipova which I found to be unfair. Vasiliev at around 24 has 2 years less experience than Osipova he also started his ballet training far later and yet he is the powerhouse that he is today. I am pretty sure that I read in an interview that he started out with traditional Russian dancing and then moved in to ballet. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/3666548/Ivan-Vasiliev-the-boy-who-can-fly.html His command of English has also always been impressive, I remember way back in 2010 when he appeared on Andrew Marr for the BBC and from the first attempted to give a full interview in English. I thought from this moment that he and Osipova would move to the either the UK or the USA so I can't say I am surpised by this move. However I agree I think it is his breakneck style that may not fit with the Royal Ballet aesthetic, the dancers du jour of the RB tend to be less bravura in comparison to Vasiliev so I do agree that this may be a factor but on the other hand I know of people who were surprised by Osipova's appointment for the very same reason that Vasiliev would not be considered to fit. I've been following the careers of Osipova and Vasiliev since they were still training at the Bolshoi and Ilya was posting videos of their rehearsals on youtube and in terms of temprament they seem to balance each other out Osipova more serious and Vasiliev more playful which is why if I see one on stage with someone else my instant thought is - but where is the other? I think of them as one entity which is why even if working in separate companies within the UK I would prefer for both to grow and not stagnate as that would be a hideous waste of skill. Dance careers are so brief that for the fleeting moments that there are power couples such as Osipova and Vasiliev in the world they should be utilised to the full. I think there becomes a level of attainment in dance which is too great to be restricted to one company, to one style of ballet but there is also a need to strike a balance between not eclipsing others who you are working alongside you but being able to showcase their talents alongside your own while not hiding your light under a bushel. With the Mikhailovsky this year it appeared that they were part of a cohesive whole, in the Bolshoi in the 2010 performance of Don Quixote I sensed an almost palpable resentment from the other company members on stage. I don't believe I would have noticed a difference if I had not seen the same ballet with a different cast the day before. In the first performance the whole company gave their all, in the second and final performance with Osipova and Vasiliev it seemed like an 80% effort by everyone else, a shoulder shrug of why bother you're not here to see us. Which is why the move from the Bolshoi didn't come as a surprise either. I sometimes wonder if it is the same with Polunin in that if he had people to work alongside to challenge his skill, whether what could be achieved on stage would be the kind of performance still being talked about 50 years from now.

That's terrible Michelle I'm so sorry to hear that your dance school has closed It's always more challenging to discover adult classes outside of London, not only in there being enough adult interest to make the running of a class viable but also many adults find it diffiicult to commit week on week to regular attendance due to outside commitments. I hope you find a new class to attend soon. The ENB classes are great fun I've only ever attended the summer taster sessions in 2010 and I think 2012 but those were excellent. In 2010 we learned repetoire from Swan Lake, Giselle and as ENB were performing Romeo and Juliet that year the Nureyev choreography for Dance of the Knights which is still surprisingly embedded in my brain! I am fortunate that there is so much adult ballet provision where I live however as the classes tend to be pitched at more of an intermediate/advanced level from the very beginning I have had to take classes way outside of my comfort zone in order to take enough classes to improve. On occasion I have sneaked in to the professional classes, it's not something I've ever dared do in London but I seem to get away with it locally, which tend to be smaller although not as easy to appear inconspicuous in- I do barre and then run away before centre work kicks off because that's generally when it starts to get scary!.One of the things I like about the packed classes in London is it is easier to hide at the back Also with the cuts to the arts budget some of my weekly classes have been cut which does not best please me. I ponder why £11.6m has been cut from the arts budget, a whole year investing in the futures of many, when this week apparently we can quite easily afford to expend £10m on an hour or so of bread and circuses. Priorities boggle the mind. Congratulations on your one year anniversary Fiz! Welcome to the forum LinMM! My very first ballet teacher taught the BBO syllabus and her classes were a most enjoyable introduction to ballet. The City Academy workshop is aimed at adults and is mixed level, the 3 hour workshop a few weeks ago was an amazing experience so I would thoroughly recommend it Today was the first day of term at my main ballet school, Thursday is my busiest ballet day I normally take 3 classes back to back which works out at around 4 hours - and will be closer to 5 if we manage to negotiate for our choreography/pointe class too. However when I was around 500yds from the studio today a bird decided to drop a present in to my hair which wasn't brilliant. I have therefore had to spend the evening washing my hair when I would far rather have been in class, especially as I am losing my 180 degrees of turnout that I worked hard for last week which is decreasing by the second as I am unable to spend as much time in class. I really could have done without missing all of the class today I'm going to look like a badly turned out duck by the weekend. If I remember correctly Susan Zalcman who teaches at Pineapple on a Thursday and Saturday also teaches at the Urdang Academy, her class are a good introduction for beginners. On the topic of Pineapple Denzel Bailey's classes are fun - I took a summer intensive at The Place while he was teaching there and I thought he was hilarious - and whenever I am in London I always try to take one of Ian Knowles 3pm classes, there's a great cohort of regulars who attend every class. Maggie Peterson's classes on a Sunday are also a great end to the weekend and throughout the summer all of the other teachers who cover for her classes tend to be very good. I generally don't dare to take higher than an elemetary/intermediate class in London because the levels are completely different and pitched higher, I once accidentally booked myself in to an open class at London Russian Ballet School which is more like a professional class and by the end I was like woah you have blown my mind, let's not do this again I think I am broken now! It was an eye opener in a good way but only if you actually have solid technique, of which I am not in possession - excellent for people who are up for a challenge though! Brigitte's classes on a Sunday at LRBS are also not to be missed!

A new interview with the Metro today with a similar theme to the earlier Guardian article http://metro.co.uk/2013/04/17/tamara-rojo-the-english-national-ballet-artistic-director-is-putting-sex-back-into-ballet-3618388/ http://metro.co.uk/2013/04/17/tamara-rojo-her-greatest-dance-moments-from-juliet-to-marguerite-3618247/

Thanks for the info capybara, I had forgotten the reason behind his appearance! if Vasiliev is moving to London to be with Osipova he won't want to be resting on his laurels so he must have something hidden up his sleeve! It may just be a case of which company he would be with compatible with. A new article from the Guardian today: Guardian The Natalia Osipova Effect Comes To The Royal Ballet http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2013/apr/17/natalia-osipova-royal-ballet

Yay Just Ballet we can match! I'm sure your leotard will look fabulous! I have just been informed by my friend that 2nd August is the evening of our Swan Lake performance. This is also the evening that I happen to have booked a ticket to see Zakharova in La Bayadere as I misread the timetable and thought we wrapped at 4pm on Friday, apart from that is not the case the rehersals end at 4pm on Friday and the performance is in the evening. This is not one of my better plans and now places me in an interesting position. The Bolshoi only visit London every 3 years so if I don't go on 2nd I may never see a Bolshoi Bayadere featuring Zakharova as they will most probably change the repetoire for the 2016 tour, on the other hand it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to perform - cough make a fool of myself on stage cough - in Swan Lake. Decisions, decisions. Thanks for the PM Just Ballet! If I had known that you also stocked tutus I would have ordered this http://www.justballet.co.uk/shop/adult-1/just-ballet-4-layer-romantic-tutu/ as the tutu I have only has a waistband and not the full shorts underneath http://s1324.photobucket.com/user/1balletomane/media/002_zps705dee4c.jpg.html

Normally I would stay with family and commute in to London but it's just too much hassle so my friend and I are staying in the docklands for the duration of the intensive. We booked a hotel as soon as we knew that we had secured a place as the prices seem to increase week on week - for the same hotel room - the later you leave your booking. As I learned to my detriment when my friend secured her room for the week £100 cheaper than I did by booking a few days later! A few other people who attend one of our weekly classes have expressed an interest in attending so if there are any spaces left to snap up there may be a contingent of us arriving from the North! I have my Swan Lake costume sorted: my friend attended Move It and ordered one of the gorgeous white Intermezzo Leotards from Just Ballet for me which arrived last week, I have to say the order was so beautifully presented I loved the attention to detail and the tissue paper packaging! We also ordered the same romantic tutu using the link that Tom from LAB provided for the company on ebay. They are very much like the Royal Ballet Swan Lake tutus that the corps sport. I'm tempted to buy one of the Intermezzo tutus which are more Giselle like too!, http://www.dancedirect.com/uk/Products/Ballet/TTRA/romantic-ballet-tutu-dancewear-plume-ttra/ I think I need one of those ticker tapes that count down so I know that's LAB is getting nearer apart from its still 100 and odd days to go!

My guesstimate is that ENB is moving towards a more contemporary ballet route, based on the choreography I learned at the ENB workshop last week with Laura Harvey and George Williamson and the type of dancers they were looking for, for the youth company. Also the latest video of the choreography at the The Place to be showcased 3rd-4th May this seems more contemporary than purely classical this may be Tamara Rojo's vision for the company to differentiate it from the other companies based in the UK and to ensure longevity. ENB Choreographics - A Letter to... http://www.theplace.org.uk/16927/whats-on/english-national-ballet.html I have always appreciated ENB's outreach programmes for dancers young and older alike, to me as a company it has always seemed more accessible and innovative than some others and for this among many other reasons I would prefer for its success to continue in to the future be that 10, 20, 50 + years from now. I

I am green with envy that Bolshoi fans will be able to see Zakharova and Polunin sharing the same stage, this is one of those moments where I wish more ballet was recorded for cinema as this will be spectacular!

This is excellent news, I was too late to purchase tickets for the performances at my local theatre so a televised version over Christmas will be great!

I have never see Ivan Putrov perform before so I'm looking forward to seeing his interpretation of the role in Le Jeune Homme et La Mort next Saturday! James Streeter who will be dancing in Petit Mort will be teaching the male repetoire at the LAB summer intensive this year. Off topic - I was google searching ballet news and this article came up I attended a workshop with ENB this week and they do appear to be recruiting more young British dancers - at least to the youth company - through such workshops. http://www.ballet.org.uk/learning/enbyouthco-taster/ I don't quite understand why the arts are being targeted in a bonfire of the vanities and sciences promoted in current policy or why ballet should have to justify its existence we would live in a very poor society indeed with such a lopsided approach to national culture. Some of my favourite dancers are from other countries and as more are relocating to the UK - Osipova! hopefully Vasiliev and I am especially keeping my fingers crossed for Polunin to move to ENB, even as a guest artist... - I find this advantageous however I can understand concern that UK trained dancers are not developing the same opportunities. In a population of some 60 million people in the UK there should by the law of averages be those of an outstanding calibre with the talent that lights up a stage in amongst the cohort. The question is if people with outstanding talent and assiduous application to the study of ballet are out there why aren't they choosing ballet as a career, entering training etc? There are certainly some dancers who are one in a million who are the whole package but it can't be the case that only other countries have the advantage in developing and promoting these artists.

Hi Miss L! Second all of the recommendations so far there's also: London Russian Ballet School which I can't recommend highly enough one of my favourite places to take ballet when in London www.lr-bs.com Central School of Ballet http://www.centralschoolofballet.co.uk/aeccourseoutline.php The Place http://www.theplace.org.uk/17438/weekly-timetable/summer-term-timetable-2013.html http://www.theplace.org.uk/?lid=17646&bid=197 I've just wrapped a 5 day workshop with ENB - also a BRB Insight day on Tuesday - and I now have a renewed respect for professional dancers! By tomorrow after taking class in London I will have spent 27 hours in the studio this week!

Hi Miss Sparkle! I will be attending alongside a friend from ballet class we're both really looking forward to it!

I was so disappointed on Wednesday when I tried to purchase a ticket for Flames de Paris for 16th August to discover the performance was entirely sold out - I was in the studio all day on Tuesday 9th when public booking opened so I couldn't get anywhere near the internet to order tickets. I was feeling hopeful today and thought maybe someone has exchanged a ticket it's worth a look, lo and behold there was a single ticket available! So now I am all booked up for both performances of Flames de Paris, La Bayadere and Swan Lake currently debating Sleeping Beauty as I can't decide where to sit.

It was lovely to meet you Michelle I very much enjoyed the insight day I had such a good time learning the Genie dance and the teacher was so enthusiastic which made the class that much more entertaining . I really enjoyed all of the insights she gave about what it was like to perform the piece. It would be excellent if BRB arrange more of these workshops in the future. Also if the young girl I was dancing with isn't already on a pre-pro programme she should be - I fully expect to see her on stage with one of the big ballet companies at some time in the future, I've never seen someone so perfectly suited to ballet before!

Excellent news congratulations are due to Osipova! I would have liked to have seen Vasiliev join her however as he has previously danced with English National Ballet it wouldn't surprise me if he joined ENB. I long suspected since their 2010 tour at the ROH that they would like to appear alongside some of the British companies, I foresee many brilliant performances in the future - and a vastly depleted bank balance on my part!