chrischris

Yeah the Order of Merit is a pretty big deal, and, I believe, personally awarded by the queen. I think the honours are really good for recognising unsung people who do really important work in their field or community, it's just annoying that the focus is always on the celebrities or politicians who get them.

I don't really understand the honours system (is an MBE better than a CBE etc) but good to see worthwhile people being honoured.

Lauren and Rupert replaced by Thiago and Marianela for tonight's Diamonds due to Rupert being ill.

This run was Acosta, Bonelli and Pennefather, but Mcrae may have danced it previously.

I do prefer narrative ballets, though I have also loved all of the Macmillan non-narrative work I have seen, and Mcgregor too. I have also enjoyed Ashton, though I do find some of it quite twee, and not dissimilar to Balanchine in some ways. I saw Bonelli in Apollo, a dancer I like, and was impressed by him, but people in the know told me I should have seen Acosta in it, so maybe I need to see the right casts.

Well, different strokes for different folks and all that, and iconic things can still be boring.

I believe you have to register. I imagine all online newspapers will be heading that way.

I've seen Apollo and Symphony in C as well and i've found all three quite boring. I wouldn't write him off but it does make me wonder whether he is a choreographer I just can't get in to. Aileen, I was also surprised at how many children there were, and also how well behaved they were. Even I was struggling not to fidget at times. Also agree that Diamonds was the audience favorite. You could feel such a lift in the auditorium as soon as it started with the corps on stage, and they got the loudest cheer at the end.

Went to the matinee of this today. I enjoyed it, but it's definitely not a favourite of mine, and I think after this I have to accept that Balanchine works aren't for me. I thought Emeralds was beautifully danced, especially by Stix Brunell, but I found it quite dull, and the PDd's weren't particularly interesting, though it did pick up towards the end. I enjoyed Rubies, though it is completely bizarre (what's with all the running around the guys do?) and I thought Choe and Hamilton were great. Diamonds was gorgeous, and Cuthbertson and Pennefather were really lovely together.

No, but I don't really need a full overview/ review of a production, though I find them interesting to read. There are a few people I follow on twitter and I know from experience that we tend to like the same things and dancers, so I look out for their views and they do tend to chime with mine. Similarly there are people on here who I have noticed I tend to agree with, so if I am going to a ballet I haven't seen before, and want an idea of what to expect, I look out for their posts. It's rare that i read a review in a newspaper and pay much attention to it, and I don't always feel this strive for objectivity in journalists, particularly amongst those that have been covering ballet for ages; in fact I tend to find those ones a bit pretentious and smug and generally ignore them. I have stopped reading Crisp (thank you to those who reminded me of his name) because it felt like all his reviews were lamenting how today's dancers weren't as good or today's choreographers were a betrayal of Ashton and Macmillan etc etc. Maybe I just have a dim view of journalists because i've had to work with quite a few.

Completely agree. I like those two journalists, though I also just have a look at twitter to get a feel of whether I will like a show or not. I also find a lot of the other critics and commentators quite pretentious.

I agree it is interesting to see articles like this and hear other people's opinions, particularly when they have been watching the company for decades. The only reservation I have about such commentators is that they often appear to view the past with rose tinted glasses, harking back to supposed 'glory days' which in reality probably never existed (the guy who writes for the FT is guilty of this IMO) so I tend to take some of these articles with a pinch of salt, interesting though they are. I'm sure there were journalists covering Fonteyn and Nureyev lamenting that they weren't as good as the previous generation.

Loved it today. God I love Sarah Lamb. She is stunning. For me the star of the RB.

You really don't rate the male principals do you?

I think also their own costumes must irritate the skin, particularly with the amount of sweat they must produce. I know during the summer I often get home from work and I have horrible red marks round my neck from where my shirt and suit jacket have been rubbing against the skin. Can't imagine dancing in those types of costumes.

I've never noticed that with Cuthbertson but i've noticed a few times that Pennefather will often finish the performance with some kind of rash. Sylvia a few years ago, by the end it looked like someone had gone at him with sand paper.

I didn't realise Fonteyn lent Jacqueline Du Pre her house in London to live in after the latter developed MS and had to stop her cello career, as it had already been adapted for a wheel chair user (her husband). She seemed like a very compassionate person.

Yeah thought the Kish comment was a bit bitchy, and why do people always point out that Watson is ginger and pale?

And Helen Crawford being an up and comer who has shown recent promise, and Cuthbertson doing Swan lake last year. Still, I do agree that Lamb and Nunez are its best ballerinas, though I feel that does a disservice to Yanowsky, and some of the comments about the male principals made me think. I have never heard anyone imply Soares was in decline before.

Yeah I thought that, what with ending it by saying he hopes they come to America more frequently.

I'm sure most people have seen this article in the links section, but I thought i'd post it here as the author mirrors some of the points others have made in this thread. Agree with some of the points he makes about certain dancers, but disagree with others. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/22/arts/dance/royal-ballet-has-slipped-a-little-from-its-peak-form.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&pagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1387656606-Hn48AcFwYm9zRAWrw+WOiw

Seems a weird role for a guest. It doesn't strike me as the most challenging role and it's not like the RB is the only company that does the nutcracker. It's hardly Mayerling.

Is Cory Stearns dancing with the RB again? It seems odd to get someone over from the States just to get them to do a couple of nutcrackers.

I heard that Lamb slipped on Saturday

I didn't realise they did those kind of events. Good idea.