chrischris

I don't know. I've always been a bit perplexed that he has stayed at the RB. Other than McGregor and Wheeldon casting him in new stuff, he usually has to wait for Macmillan ballets to be revived to get a really juicy part, and in the case of Mayerling, in my opinion his best role, they don't come around often.

Christ, what a challenging start Golding has had at the RB

I've heard him say he hates dancing Giselle so doesn't want to do it, so it could be more his choice than an issue of not being cast, but it is weird. I get that he's not a conventional 'prince' type of dancer, but he's so talented, it would be interesting to see him in them. He's 38 now too, so there won't be that many opportunities.

If Bussell can get people interested in ballet, or even get programmes commissioned, then surely that's a good thing? She may not be to everyone's tastes, but the majority of the general public don't care or have a great deal of knowledge of ballet, so someone like Bussell explaining that she had once danced this role probably provides a bit of context, or conveys that she at least has experience of it.

I really like Bull, but find Rojo a bit pretentious to be honest. I love ballet, but from the way she talks about her job, you'd thinking she was working on an ebola vaccine or something.

Ah Manon!!!! Yes!!!!!!!!!!

Really intrigued to see who they cast with Cuthbertson, and who Watson is cast with now his two obvious partners are retired.

O'Hare better cast Lamb and Pennefather together too.

I guess the guy's shoes will last for ages?

Cannot wait for this

It's also common if you have one injury in one part of your body, to get injured in another part, as your body naturally overcompensates.

Apparently Sarah Lamb injured herself during the filmed performance the other night. Not sure whether it's a serious injury or not.

Cuthbertson looks really different. Yanowsky is so, so beautiful.

So many of these events at the coli (not just ballet) end up barely half full. They must run at such a loss.

A 2014-15 leak on the ROH website has just been reported by a ballet fan on Twitter. The following appeared under "you may be interested in":

Alice (4 Dec- 16 Jan)

Onegin (24 Jan - 27 Feb)

Swan Lake

Interesting. I hope if Manon is on, it is on this year and not in 2015. It's been too long........

Shame. Hopefully he, and Kish, will be ok for the triple bills in May.

Wasn't Bussell supposed to be a really great Aurora? I think I remember reading somewhere that she though it was her best role and the one that changed her career.

I understand that the 2014-2015 season will be announced soon (probably around the end of march), and I would be interested to hear what ballets people would like to see performed. For me, i'm hoping for Manon, Mayerling (though there isn't a chance of that being on again so soon), Macmillan's Somnambulism and Laiderette (not sure if they are even in the rep still but I can hope), a new Scarlett full length narrative, Fille, and perhaps a new version of Swan Lake.

I have a feeling that you figures are a little out of date, chris chris! But your point is well-made.

The soloist salary figure? I have no idea how much they earn.

They do get 3 months off in the summer of course, so could do internships and work experience and short courses in that time.

A lot of the issues the article dealt with could be helped by paying dancers, or anyone in an industry with a short work life, better. If you a soloist for a company you will probably be earning around £30,000 a year (I guess), and if you are in a city like London, Paris or New York, you are not going to be able to save much on a salary like that. Even principals won't be earning loads, so when they come to retire they haven't in many cases been able to build up any investments or reserves. Same with sportspeople, who in most cases usually earn enough to cover living expenses and not much else.

Love Latitude. They often do ballet stuff there.

Such a hilarious story.

What a fascinating, quite sad article. Thanks for posting. I think it must be so difficult for people in any profession which centres around your physical performance or your appearance, to suddenly find yourself out of a job at about 40. Although you know it will happen, most of these professions are so all consuming and comparatively poorly paid that you probably don't have the time to pursue other options or build up any savings.

Not sure if this has been posted already, but details of the RB Taiwan tour in June.

http://www.ntch.edu.tw/program/show/2c90814043d7947e0144258ecb4e0466?lang=en

Am I the only one to think that it's a bit off for dancers to agree to appear and then pull out close to the date for reasons other than illness, injury or pregnancy? 

This happens all the time with tennis tournaments and it drives me crazy

Cheers. You can't skip the adverts on ITVplayer (or 4 on demand). It's annoying, but that's how they fund the service.

Sorry that's what I meant. Didn't read it before I posted it. In the UK we stress the 'lo', instead of the 'pav'.