Sim

Gutted I had to miss this, but it was mitigated by the fact that I was watching Sir Simon Rattle conduct the LSO in a wonderful performance of The Cunning Little Vixen. So a bit of a Brum connection! So pleased it was such a wonderful farewell to Mr Bintley.

Love it! Thanks for posting it.

Me three.

As far as I'm aware, you pay for the trip just like any other, and it's open to Friends and other supporters (I am neither, and I remember receiving an email about going to Madrid last year, but nothing about going to Japan....unless I deleted it without reading it). Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Oh poor Reece. I hope he’s ok. Thanks Jenny and Jam Dancer for your lovely reports. Jam Dancer I hope you have cooled down now! 🤪

If only.....

Thanks John!

Great review Nogoat, thanks so much. What is TLDR?!

Fille The Dream Onegin Two Pigeons The King Dances Rite of Spring (Bausch) Giselle

I would put it the other way round....Fumi is almost ready with Mayara following behind! Very different dancers, but I think (and hope) they will both go all the way!

I am Chair so yes, I do speak for the other mods in matters of how the forum is run. Apologies accepted.

We don’t need a glossary, nor to start splitting threads. As with verbal discussions, it’s natural that threads veer off course. When they do, a moderator or member usually pulls it back on course. It is a moderator’s job to be fair to everyone, and we try to do that as well as we can. Jan’s comment was simply a reminder that not everyone is privy to nicknames, no matter what company is being discussed. She certainly wasn’t trying to offend anyone, or indeed stir such controversy. She was simply doing what a moderator should do and see the bigger picture. Personally I was glad of the reminder because a couple of days ago I, a mod, referred to a dancer by his nickname without thinking. I will remember now that there are lots of people who probably have no idea who I was talking about, so going forward I will use proper names, and we ask that everyone else do that too, to avoid confusion or causing people to feel excluded. I hope this matter is now closed, and that we can move on to discussing what we all love.

Many thanks, Naomi and Jenny, for your wonderful reports about the Royal Ballet in Tokyo. Japan is a country I have always wanted to visit, and to be able to go there AND see the RB at the same time is just a dream scenario for me!! However, since my Lottery win still hasn't happened, I have to experience it via kind people like you who take the time to post. Naomi, I especially appreciate you taking the time to write your reviews. Not only are they in a foreign language, but with a totally different alphabet. I know from experience how difficult it is to write in another language, and I am full of admiration for you. Never think that your English isn't good; it's excellent, and certainly much better than our Japanese, which in most cases here is non-existent!! It must take you a long time to write your reviews; please know how much we appreciate them. I have always been in awe of what amazing ballet fans the Japanese people are. The crowds waiting for the RB dancers at the stage door treat them like rock stars. It's incredible! I know that the dancers love the responses they are getting, and the appreciation. I can certainly see why! Naomi, I hope you will continue to write for the forum. No-one meant any offense to you, and even I, as a moderator, referred to 'Vadream' in a post the other day! It is so common that sometimes we all forget that some people aren't familiar with dancers' nicknames. It isn't a big deal, so please don't worry about it at all. I hope you continue to enjoy the RB's performances. Jenny, a huge thanks to you too; I am looking forward to hearing more from both of you. I think everyone has now made their points about the direction this thread has taken, so please let's move forward and celebrate the joy that the RB is taking to the people of Japan, and the reciprocal joy that the people of Japan are giving to the RB. Thanks all.

We usually get the announcement at the end of the tour.

Her Manon was wonderful, as was her Juliet. I loved her Nikiya; so soft, vulnerable and heartbreaking. I didn’t used to go and see her because I felt like Dawnstar, but this season she has really blossomed dramatically and now I want to see her in everything!

I have been watching every night on BBC 2 Wales, to get the whole picture. Another sad thing is the amount of empty seats that I have noticed every night. A real shame, and not sure what that says....people who can get there easily have really missed some great talent.

What happened was magic , pure and simple. I remember being stunned at the depth of Osipova's Nikiya. I wasn't expecting to like her much, and she really got under my skin in this role. I preferred her Nikiya to her Gamzatti, and this surprised me very much. Nunez was a haughty, imperious Gamzatti and Vadream was, well, Vadream. A wonderful night.

Yvonne, our AUP is posted to the site on the 'About' section. If you have a read of it, it explains about the use of lengthy quotes, copyright, etc.

I hope it will be with Vadream....Japan needs to see him in this ballet!

You haven’t contravened any rules Dawnstar, nor is there anything offensive in your post. I think most people could see it was a joke. Joking is a risky business these days.... Please don’t worry about it.

I couldn’t have made up what I said as it’s so funny ..but I defer to you as the writer!

Yes he is the one!

Now that the Royal Ballet's season has just come to an end, and those of ENB, BRB and others will be ending soon, now is the time to reflect on what we have seen this past year. What have been your favourite moments? Revelations? Disappointments? This question is aimed at those who watch companies outside of the UK too; we would be very interested to hear your thoughts. My starter for ten (although much more will occur to me, I'm sure!): Postives: - Seeing La Bayadere again. It is beautiful and gives good dance opportunities to many company members. Loved it. - DonQ. Joyous, great dancing, and sent me home with a smile each time. - Ivan Putrov's Against the Stream - this is how a gala evening should be done. - Ditto the tribute to Margot Fonteyn. - The Hayward/Corrales partnership in R&J. This was a dream cast and knocked me for six all three times. - Matthew Ball's Tybalt....a revelation and a truly magnificent interpretation of the role, in a way I had never seen before and was incredibly effective. - Marcellino Sambe's Mercutio....probably the best I have ever seen. - Beatriz Stix-Brunell's portrayal of a feisty Juliet. - Naghdi/Ball's R&J, especially the broadcast performance. - Two Pigeons. 'Nuff said. - ENB's She Persisted triple bill. Let's hear it for the girls! Negatives: - Meh-dusa

INTERVIEW WITH RUTH BRILL, JUNE 2019 Ruth Brill has announced her departure from Birmingham Royal Ballet so that she can concentrate on choreography. BalletcoForum talked to her about her future plans, the most immediate of which is re-staging Cathy Marston's Ballet Shoes to celebrate the 25th anniversary of London Children's Ballet (LCB). Ruth, let's go back before going forward. How did you start dancing? When I was a very small girl, I would always be dancing in the living room at home. My parents have a huge record collection and there was always music around. So lots of dancing! Finally my mum sent me to a ballet class in the village hall in Kent where we lived. I was sent to expend energy. After that I went to theatre school so did other things such as singing and acting. I just found myself dancing all the time. I loved it, and went to Tring at 15. I loved it. I was a year ahead of my age group. I got maths, biology and dance A Levels. I didn't want to stop learning academically. After that I went straight to the 2nd year at ENB school. I was then accepted into the company, and from 2007 to 2012 was living the dream and dancing with ENB. Then I was asked to perform Dorabella from Enigma Variations at a Cecchetti gala. It wasn’t in the ENB repertoire so I went up to BRB to rehearse it. I immediately loved the atmosphere at BRB. To dance repertoire such as Ashton and MacMillan was such a pull. I was very lucky and was offered a place in the company, and joined in 2012. That year I participated in an in-house choreographic workshop. It snowballed from there. So, more recently you have been concentrating on choreography rather than performing? Arcadia was my first piece for the main stage - a full production with designer, composer etc. Once I had seen how it all works on the other side of things, I now can't un-see it. I feel like I have more to give as a choreographer than as a performer now. I've had such a brilliant and busy year, what with Peter and the Wolf and LCB rehearsals and dancing, so something had to give. I love dance but my passion for choreography has now taken over. I’m also getting married this summer, so it is the right time for a change. I don't feel scared to make the jump; I feel this is the right moment! It feels very natural to go now. I am not scared, just excited for new challenges. I will miss equally the other dancers, and performing. I have so many lovely friends in the company, and I will miss the camaraderie. You get really closely knit as a group when you tour so much. Being out there on my own will be very different. But I will still be around as Peter & The Wolf returns to BRB in the Autumn. A lot of people have supported me here on my journey, for which I’m so grateful. But it will also be good for me to do things outside the BRB bubble. In the near future I have the remaining Peter and The Wolf shows for BRB, LCB Ballet Shoes performances and the New English Ballet Theatre Choreographic Lab. I have taken on an interim Artistic Director role (together with Drew McOnie and assisted by Carrie Johnson) of National Youth Ballet and will also be choreographing a new piece for them. How did you get involved with re-staging LCB's Ballet Shoes for their 25th anniversary performance? Well, I danced in Cathy Marston's Ballet Shoes 18 years ago when I was 12. I danced with them for four years. Since then, I have gone to see their show every year unless I've been away on tour, and have danced at some of their fund raising galas. For this anniversary, they asked Cathy to re-stage it but she is very busy so suggested that perhaps I could do it. It's been great re-connecting with her, she’s been really supportive. Ex Royal Ballet soloist Laura McCulloch has been the ballet mistress and she’s brilliant. There is a good company spirit and ethos at LCB. It's free to the participants and open to dancers of all backgrounds, so everyone can audition. We look for all sorts of different dancers, regardless of whether they are going to go on and dance professionally; they could be a good fit for someone in the story. LCB is funded by lots of loyal supporters and we have a great fundraising team, and high profile patrons such as Darcey Bussell and the Royal Ballet's Lauren Cuthbertson. We were lucky to have the Royal Ballet's Marcelino Sambé come and help the boys too. That was so inspirational for them. How have you gone about the re-staging process for Ballet Shoes? Most of the choreography is just from videos taken at the time of the original piece 18 years ago. I've tweaked some of it. The standard of dancing has gone up a lot, and we have more boys now, so I am able to give more weight to some of the roles. There is still the same score, scenario and scene structure, but I have just elaborated on some of the choreography to reflect the higher standard we have now. I have completely re-done the Midsummer Night’s Dream scene to put my stamp on it. Cathy Marston has given us her blessing. So what can the audience expect to see if they go to the show? The audience can expect to see a very professional production. A lovely story as well, which is inspirational to young people. Kate Ford, who is wonderful, has designed the costumes. She has designed costumes that I have worn at Birmingham Royal Ballet. LCB create new narrative work based on classic stories, to newly commissioned musical scores, and always perform to live orchestra, in the West End, and every year it sells out, all of which is incredible for a youth company. But most of all, you will see lots of passion and energy on stage from our bright young dancers! Ruth Brill Photo: Tina Frances Ruth Brill rehearsing LCB in Cathy Marston's Ballet Shoes Photo: Tina Frances Ruth Brill rehearsing LCB in Cathy Marston's Ballet Shoes Photo: Tina Frances

Looks great....but sadly way over my budget. Enjoy!