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Thanks so much for your insightful review! I really enjoyed reading it.

You didn’t to me!

Exactly.

Thanks so much DonQ. Reminded me of something I forgot to mention in my review: call me old fashioned, but I really, really, really do NOT like to see tattoos on ballet dancers. It seems to be becoming more normal, and it really puts me off. Footballers, ok.....but not ballet dancers. Just my own personal opinion and preference.

Ouch. Get well very soon, Anne.

Have a look at the photo at the end of my review, RuthE.

Thanks so much for sharing this, Anna. I remember Kev emailing me and asking me for some song suggestions for this show. I gave him a few, and he did use a couple. He then sent me this link and was very pleased with it! I now look forward to listening to it again.

I thought that the design of Aurora's tutu was strange in that it made poor Mayara look a bit barrel-chested, which of course she isn't. I also think the prince's outfit is very bizarre....it looks to me a bit like something out of Star Trek. Not that Matthew didn't look good in it....I just think they are strange costumes for such a classical ballet.

Yes....how dull it would be if they interpreted things the same way. A bit like Manon; we can have the naive innocent, or the little vamp who knows just what she is doing. This is why I go to see many casts in the same ballet, because I expect, and usually get, such varying interpretations of the same characters, so it makes me think.

At the end of my review there are three photos....

Thanks Bruce!

No, they were taken by Andrej Uspenski, as credited at the top of the photos.

There are variations in the original choreography, but I guess they just cut it out for time purposes perhaps. We did have the full pdd in Flames of Paris.

Against the Stream London Coliseum 7 April 2019 As many of you might know, I long ago stopped going to galas because they became repetitive and ridiculously expensive, and seemed to be less and less about the art itself. If only all galas were as thoughtfully put together, and as beautfully danced, as Ivan Putrov's Against the Stream. Designed to illustrate how the best choreographers swam against the artistic tides of their eras and took risks (risks that paid off and still loudly resonate today), this was a showcase of what ballet can do in all its different variations. The dancers were matched perfectly with each piece, most of them having a direct connection to the piece they were dancing, thus ensuring intelligent performances that were in the DNA but emanated from the soul of each person on that stage. For those who didn't have a programme, I will put the original cast for each extract danced because it is interesting to see who today's dancers are up against. I will say that with these large ballet shoes to fill, every dancer on that stage acquitted themselves beautifully and can be proud of how they are perpetuating the artistic legacies they have inherited. The evening opened with Suite en Blanc by Lifar; danced with joy by Mathieu Ganio and Hannah O'Neill of Paris Opera Ballet. This paean to the classical pdd should be seen more often. (1943, Chauvire/Lifar) For those wanting balletic fireworks, most of these were provided by Dimitry Zagrebin and Katja Kaniukova (Royal Swedish Ballet and English National Ballet) in Flames of Paris (Vainonen) and the Diana and Actaeon grand pdd (Vaganova). Zagrebin has a huge jump, by turn forceful and languid, and covers a lot of air whilst he is up there. Khaniukova has a beautiful line and her Ukrainian training is evident in her whip-like turns (starting, at one point, with a triple or quadruple with no build up). Although she is a bit tall for Zagrebin when en pointe, it didn't matter a jot. (1932, Iordan/Chabukiani) Suite of Dances, to four of Bach's cello suites, was danced with subtle wit by Joaquin de Luz. This could have dragged for some people, but its slow build up and humour kept me very interested. Originally created on Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1994 toward the end of his career, de Luz was a worthy successor. Immediately following Suite of Dances, we were treated to another rarely-seen Jerome Robbins piece: In G Pas. It was danced with grace and class by Maria Kowroski and Tyler Angle of NYCB. These two understand Robbins as a Royal Ballet dancer understands MacMillan. He is there, always present in much of what they do, they have grown up with him from their smallest balletic steps, and here they were displaying Robbins' take on formal classical walks and steps. Danced like this, with such clarity and finesse, it was a joy to watch. The first half finished with MacMillan's Images of Love. I have never seen it (nor any extract from it) before, and the fascinating choreography as interpreted by Matthew Ball, Mayara Magri (both Royal Ballet) and Ivan Putrov makes me itch to see more. The piece was made in 1964, and continues the MacMillan theme of jealousy, sexuality, and other human emotions (not all of them good) that he later became so adept at portaying through dance. The urgency with which it was danced fascinated me and I have since been imagining how incredible the original cast (Seymour, Gable and Nureyev) must have been in it. Part Two began with Ivan Putrov dancing Frederick Ashton's Dance of the Blessed Spirits. It was another treat to see Putrov dance again. He is in good form and having spent so much time at the Royal Ballet (school and company) he really gets Ashton. He has the epaulement and the bending flexibility required to pull off the choreography properly, and this he did. (1978, Anthony Dowell) Diamonds (from George Balanchine's Jewels) was expertly danced by Maria Kowroski (again, Balanchine is in her blood and in her soul) and Marcelo Gomes, who partnered ably. (1967, Farrell/d'Amboise) Rudolf Nureyev's Cinderella was created on himself and his then protegee Sylvie Guillem for Paris Opera Ballet in 1986. I have never seen this version before, and Mathieu Ganio and Hannah O'Neill, once again representing POB so beautfully, captured the joy of young love to such an extent that I would like to see the whole ballet (as a rule I don't like Cinderella so that is quite an achievement!). O'Neill seemed a bit nervy at the beginning of this piece, but both dancers soon relaxed into it. It is only fair to mention that O'Neill was a replacement for the only advertised dancer who did not turn up. The two Royal Ballet dancers, Matthew Ball and Mayara Magri, were lovely in Ashton's Awakening Pas de Deux (1970, Sibley/Dowell) and again made a good fist of the choreography. One of the things I really admire about Ashton's choreography is its subtle difficulty, and I admire even more the dancers who can really interpret it. These two did a fine job.....but I must admit I was a bit baffled by the costumes. Twyla Tharp's Sinatra Suite was danced with the appropriate cool and pizazz needed to accompany The Voice. Here Marcelo Gomes had his chance to shine, and shine he did, both in his partnering of Kate-Lynn Robichaux of Orlando Ballet, and especially in his solo to "It's a quarter to three, no-one in the joint except you and me...." Any song that begins with that line has to have something cool, classy but not exaggerated accompanying it. Tharp understood this and made a really smooth solo on Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1983. With his Latin good looks and American-influenced flair, Gomes carried this off perfectly, and I really wished I could have watched it again. The programme finished with the fireworks of the Diana and Actaeon grand pas (Agrippina Vaganova, 1935, Ulanova/Chabukiani). As mentioned earlier, this was a fun and uplifting way to end a fascinating evening. Such jumps! Such quick maneges around the stage! Such amazing fouettes! It was much appreciated by the audience, as was the whole evening. There were huge cheers for all the dancers at the curtain calls. This gala was such a success because it was thoughtfully put together, it was clever the way the dancers all had a direct connection to the pieces they danced in, it opened the eyes of a London audience to ballets we haven't seen for a long time (if ever), and to dancers that many of us haven't seen perform live before. And even better, all of them except one turned up! I for one will definitely attend Against the Stream Part Two. Let's just hope that we don't have to wait too long for it. Below: Mayara Magri, Matthew Ball and Ivan Putrov in Kenneth MacMillan's Images of Love All photos by Andrej Uspenski Centre: Ball and Magri in Frederick Ashton's Awakening Pas de Deux Bottom: Dimitry Zagrebin in Flames of Paris

A really enjoyable evening. So good to see such different and interesting fare at a gala.

Can't wait!

I saw Corrales a couple of weeks ago and he told me that he fully intends to dance Romeo, unless the injury flares up again during rehearsals, which he was hoping it won't! Keeping everything crossed for him; it would be great to see him onstage again after his one main performance way back in the autumn.

Thanks Amelia. It looks like the Bolshoi has done a great job with this ballet. Oh, and I'm in love with Denis Savin!! 😀😛😍

Such a shame all round. I wish Vlad a full recovery.

Ditto...especially if Brandon Lawrence gets Basilio! Please hear me, Carlos!

Medical receptionists, especially in GP surgeries, have long had a poor reputation. I have often found them rude and unfriendly. Considering they are the first point of contact when someone is unwell, this attitude is unacceptable. Our local surgery had many complaints about this, and they must have listened and given some training, because things have improved a lot in the past few years. Luckily I haven't had to go to the doctor for two years, so I hope the trend is continuing. If not, I will complain again. WE are paying THEM, after all. A GP I used to know had a cartoon on the wall above his desk. It was of a man sitting in front of a doctor, and the latter was saying "so what seems to be the trouble?", and the reply from the man was "nothing....I just wanted to see if I could get past your receptionists." I told the GP that I could really relate to that, and he said so could everyone else, that's why he put it up there!

Lindsay echoes my thoughts exactly. A thoroughly enjoyable evening; a treat to see Francesca Velicu reprise her Olivier-winning performance as the Chosen Maiden, and a treat to see Pina Bausch's Rite again. It's my favourite version of the ballet.....it really feels and interprets the music, and conveys a sense of fear and foreboding all the way through. Feral, earthy and wonderful. It is so heartening that ENB has within its ranks such a talented choreographer as Stina Quagebour. I really liked her new piece, Nora, and the clarity with which the narrative was told. It was beautifully danced and interpreted by Crystal Costa and Jeffrey Cirio.....a partnership in the making? Broken Wings was very moving; since the last time I saw it, I have seen the Kahlo exhibition at the V&A and last night I derived much more from the ballet as a result. I understood her pain much more, as well as her relationship with Diego Rivera, and other aspects of her life and art. Tamara Rojo is a hard act to follow, but Katja Khaniukova did a great job and is definitely worth seeing in the role. A really enjoyable evening and a great showcase of where the company is now...and that's to say in a very good place indeed.

He was 61, just.

Yes I was there, and it was a lovely speech. It is such an honour that she dedicated this run of performances to him.

This wonderful-looking mixed bill opens tonight. All discussion here please.