Sim

Mine has been completely clear, with the exception of watching the delightful Miyako and Steven do the grand pas on the Guardian page! A record for me, which is why I needed to be clear this year!

PS........ We are also very concerned about the ammount of noise during Stravinsky's magnificent Prelude to Firebird. It would help if members of the audience could stifle their coughs, with a hand or even a handkerchief.

 

Barry Wordsworth

Music Director

Barry, welcome to balletcoForum. How delightful to see you posting up with the 'view from the pit', as it were. Please keep it coming....and a very Happy New Year to you too.

I totally agree with comments above about the general trend for dark lighting these days. I was under the impression that the reason to go and watch live performance is to be able to do just that....watch it. I often struggle, even with my strong binoculars, to distinguish things happening onstage. And when a male dancer wears dark tights, I often just see what looks like a disjointed torso flying around the stage (especially in the prince's Act 3 variation in the RB Swan Lake). This is nothing to do with myopia or age; it is simply that the current fashion seems to be for semi-darkness. Come on directors and lighting folks....please think again. There are marvelous dancers out there and we actually want to SEE them, strange though this may seem.....

OK rant over. Wishing you all a very happy, healthy and fun New Year!

Thanks Pat....have now sorted it out. Seems it was a 'cookies' issue!!

Does anyone know what is wrong with the ROH website? I have been trying to get onto it since yesterday morning and it keeps telling me it is unavailable. maybe they are doing a big maintenance job, or maybe it' s just me?!

Hello everyone! As Chair of the BalletcoForum Committee I'm delighted to mark this, the first anniversary of the Forum. It was a year ago today that Bruce Marriott registered ballet.co.uk's offspring and we were up and running.

Ballet.co.uk was always going to be a hard act to follow, but one year later I think all of us are very happy with how BalletcoForum is going. We currently have 890 registered members with almost 28,000 posts made thus far. Each month the numbers are going up, and we are thrilled to see that. We are also very pleased to see members here from all corners of the globe, many of whom regularly post up and let us all know what is happening in dance in their part of the world, and for this we are very grateful.

I'm sure you will all join me in giving a huge thanks to the whole team of Forum moderators and admin folk who do so much work behind the scenes. Running a forum such as this one takes a lot of time, effort and dedication, and I can't think of a better team than the one that is in place now. So big, big, big thanks to you all. We don't always agree on how to approach things, but we always get there in the end! It is a pleasure working with all of you.

Finally, in turn, the whole Forum Committee would like to thank you, our members, whose thoughtful, fun and interesting contributions make BalletcoForum the thriving site that it is. We also owe all of you who contributed to our fund raising appeal earlier in the year a big thanks; as a result of your generosity BalletcoForum is secure for at least another year. I know that many a friendship has been forged through ballet.co.uk and through this site, and long may that continue. Even though most of us will never meet, we all come on here at any time of day or night and find the thoughts, opinions and advice of people we trust, admire, or just plain like. Of course we are all passionate about dance, and this leads to some very diverse opinions and points of view; on the whole, these debates are always conducted with respect for the views of those with whom you disagree, and this always makes for very interesting reading! So a huge thank you to all of you, and we look forward to the continuing success of BalletcoForum in the coming year and beyond....don't forget, it is only as good as you make it, so please keep all your postings coming in.

From all of us to all of you, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years, and here's to another wonderful year of dance, debate, reviews, links, the huge variety of non-dance related topics posted about, photos, finding tickets for those performances you thought you couldn't attend.....and fun!

With very best wishes,

The BalletcoForum Committee:

Alison, Annabel, Bruce, Dave, Ian, Janet, Julie, John, Lee, Sim and Trog

Hello everyone! As Chair of the BalletcoForum Committee I'm delighted to mark this, the first anniversary of the Forum. It was a year ago today that Bruce Marriott registered ballet.co.uk's offspring and we were up and running.

Ballet.co.uk was always going to be a hard act to follow, but one year later I think all of us are very happy with how BalletcoForum is going. We currently have 890 registered members with almost 28,000 posts made thus far. Each month the numbers are going up, and we are thrilled to see that. We are also very pleased to see members here from all corners of the globe, many of whom regularly post up and let us all know what is happening in dance in their part of the world, and for this we are very grateful.

I'm sure you will all join me in giving a huge thanks to the whole team of Forum moderators and admin folk who do so much work behind the scenes. Running a forum such as this one takes a lot of time, effort and dedication, and I can't think of a better team than the one that is in place now. So big, big, big thanks to you all. We don't always agree on how to approach things, but we always get there in the end! It is a pleasure working with all of you.

Finally, in turn, the whole Forum Committee would like to thank you, our members, whose thoughtful, fun and interesting contributions make BalletcoForum the thriving site that it is. We also owe all of you who contributed to our fund raising appeal earlier in the year a big thanks; as a result of your generosity BalletcoForum is secure for at least another year. I know that many a friendship has been forged through ballet.co.uk and through this site, and long may that continue. Even though most of us will never meet, we all come on here at any time of day or night and find the thoughts, opinions and advice of people we trust, admire, or just plain like. Of course we are all passionate about dance, and this leads to some very diverse opinions and points of view; on the whole, these debates are always conducted with respect for the views of those with whom you disagree, and this always makes for very interesting reading! So a huge thank you to all of you, and we look forward to the continuing success of BalletcoForum in the coming year and beyond....don't forget, it is only as good as you make it, so please keep all your postings coming in.

From all of us to all of you, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years, and here's to another wonderful year of dance, debate, reviews, links, the huge variety of non-dance related topics posted about, photos, finding tickets for those performances you thought you couldn't attend.....and fun!

With very best wishes,

The BalletcoForum Committee:

Alison, Annabel, Bruce, Dave, Ian, Janet, John, Julie, Lee, Sim and Trog

Hello everyone! As Chair of the BalletcoForum Committee I'm delighted to mark this, the first anniversary of the Forum. It was a year ago today that Bruce Marriott registered ballet.co.uk's offspring and we were up and running.

Ballet.co.uk was always going to be a hard act to follow, but one year later I think all of us are very happy with how BalletcoForum is going. We currently have 890 registered members with almost 28,000 posts made thus far. Each month the numbers are going up, and we are thrilled to see that. We are also very pleased to see members here from all corners of the globe, many of whom regularly post up and let us all know what is happening in dance in their part of the world, and for this we are very grateful.

I'm sure you will all join me in giving a huge thanks to the whole team of Forum moderators and admin folk who do so much work behind the scenes. Running a forum such as this one takes a lot of time, effort and dedication, and I can't think of a better team than the one that is in place now. So big, big, big thanks to you all. We don't always agree on how to approach things, but we always get there in the end! It is a pleasure working with all of you.

Finally, in turn, the whole Forum Committee would like to thank you, our members, whose thoughtful, fun and interesting contributions make BalletcoForum the thriving site that it is. We also owe all of you who contributed to our fund raising appeal earlier in the year a big thanks; as a result of your generosity BalletcoForum is secure for at least another year. I know that many a friendship has been forged through ballet.co.uk and through this site, and long may that continue. Even though most of us will never meet, we all come on here at any time of day or night and find the thoughts, opinions and advice of people we trust, admire, or just plain like. Of course we are all passionate about dance, and this leads to some very diverse opinions and points of view; on the whole, these debates are always conducted with respect for the views of those with whom you disagree, and this always makes for very interesting reading! So a huge thank you to all of you, and we look forward to the continuing success of BalletcoForum in the coming year and beyond....don't forget, it is only as good as you make it, so please keep all your postings coming in.

From all of us to all of you, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years, and here's to another wonderful year of dance, debate, reviews, links, the huge variety of non-dance related topics posted about, photos, finding tickets for those performances you thought you couldn't attend.....and fun!

With very best wishes,

The BalletcoForum Committee:

Alison, Annabel, Bruce, Dave, Ian, Janet, John, Julie, Lee, Sim and Trog

Hello everyone! As Chair of the BalletcoForum Committee I'm delighted to mark this, the first anniversary of the Forum. It was a year ago today that Bruce Marriott registered ballet.co.uk's offspring and we were up and running.

Ballet.co.uk was always going to be a hard act to follow, but one year later I think all of us are very happy with how BalletcoForum is going. We currently have 890 registered members with almost 28,000 posts made thus far. Each month the numbers are going up, and we are thrilled to see that. We are also very pleased to see members here from all corners of the globe, many of whom regularly post up and let us all know what is happening in dance in their part of the world, and for this we are very grateful.

I'm sure you will all join me in giving a huge thanks to the whole team of Forum moderators and admin folk who do so much work behind the scenes. Running a forum such as this one takes a lot of time, effort and dedication, and I can't think of a better team than the one that is in place now. So big, big, big thanks to you all. We don't always agree on how to approach things, but we always get there in the end! It is a pleasure working with all of you.

Finally, in turn, the whole Forum Committee would like to thank you, our members, whose thoughtful, fun and interesting contributions make BalletcoForum the thriving site that it is. We also owe all of you who contributed to our fund raising appeal earlier in the year a big thanks; as a result of your generosity BalletcoForum is secure for at least another year. I know that many a friendship has been forged through ballet.co.uk and through this site, and long may that continue. Even though most of us will never meet, we all come on here at any time of day or night and find the thoughts, opinions and advice of people we trust, admire, or just plain like. Of course we are all passionate about dance, and this leads to some very diverse opinions and points of view; on the whole, these debates are always conducted with respect for the views of those with whom you disagree, and this always makes for very interesting reading! So a huge thank you to all of you, and we look forward to the continuing success of BalletcoForum in the coming year and beyond....don't forget, it is only as good as you make it, so please keep all your postings coming in.

From all of us to all of you, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years, and here's to another wonderful year of dance, debate, reviews, links, the huge variety of non-dance related topics posted about, photos, finding tickets for those performances you thought you couldn't attend.....and fun!

With very best wishes,

The BalletcoForum Committee:

Alison, Annabel, Bruce, Dave, Ian, Janet, John, Julie, Lee, Sim and Trog

Brilliant photos as always, Dave....and how wonderful to see Mara back!

As Chair of the BalletcoForum Committee I'm sure all the other Committee members will join me in wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and fun 2013...it is all of you wonderful people on Doing Dance who make such a large contribution to making this forum the vibrant, fun and interesting place that it is. We look forward to reading all your posts in the coming year, and wish all of you who dance or whose children dance all the best of luck for your endeavours in 2013.

Warmest wishes, and thanks, to you all.

Indeed....thanks Valentino. I hope to the see them at the Coli, but in the meantime lovely to see them online.

I was there but I didn't see him either. I totally understand that these are 'inside' jokes, but I'd have loved to have known in advance so I could have kept an eye out for him! However, he was lovely in both the lead role in the Act 1 waltz and the czardas, so am very glad to have been at his last show. He will be missed as a dancer, but I so look forward to what he will offer in future as a choreographer.

I thought it was a lovely touch at the curtain call that each member of the wonderful corps was given a red rose. I've never seen that before and am so glad that they were publicly thanked for their consistently high and incredibly important contribution to this run of Swan Lakes. Well done to them and to all the different casts.

Hi Sheila....that is fine with us. Good luck with the sale!

Sim

My huge teenage crush throughout my teenage years was Robert Plant. Sigh. And Led Zeppelin still my favourite group after all this time!

Having said which, the only fan letter I wrote was when I was 10, to David Cassidy. Strangely, he never replied!

Maybe she has some advance information!! Or a classic case of wishful thinking

It always amazes me how music can transport you back to such different places and times in your life. Memories come flooding back, and although most of them are happy it makes me feel melancholy for times gone by, lost youth, etc. The important thing, though, is that I am lucky enough for most of the memories to be lovely ones.

Funny how, back in the late 70s, I really liked "Blinded By The Light" - and later, Patti Smith's "Because The Night", too - they were so different from the music I usually liked at that time that I never understood it, until it finally made sense when I eventually discovered what they had in common. (And that's your starter for 10 ...)

The Boss!!

Agreed, Alison....very good indeed.

A few thoughts on last night's opening of the MacMillan triple at the Royal Opera House:

The first of the three ballets, Concerto, opened with a joyous blast of sunshine from Yuhui Choe and Steven McRae. They were in perfect time with each other, no mean feat in the difficult opening sequence, and perfectly matched technically. In recent years Marianela Nunez and Rupert Pennefather seem to have made the second movement their own, justifiably so. However, last night showed that they have real competition in Sarah Lamb and Ryoichi Hirano (rapidly becoming one of the best partners in the company; tall, elegant and assured). Their pas de deux was beautifully and emotionally danced, and I had the same feeling that I always have watching Nela and Rupert in this....that I just want it to go on and on. However, it can't, so bring on the final movement with Itziar Mendizabal making a very good stab at MacMillan's very difficult, attacking footwork.

Las Hermanas, based on Frederico Garcia Llorca's dismal play The House of Bernarda Alba, is a long-awaited revival, and well worth the wait. One facet of MacMillan's genius is his ability to tell a clear story, be it in one act or three. Here, he has to distill a long play about repressed sexuality, jealousy and tragedy into 26 minutes, and to me succeeds admirably. I know the play well, but for anyone who doesn't, the storytelling is very clear. A virile, highly-sexed man is welcomed into the house of a domineering, controlling, bitter mother, ostensibly to marry the oldest daughter. Like Rudolf and his wife in Mayerling, the man is not attracted to the daughter and lets her know in a humiliating way that this is so. He is, however, attracted to the youngest daughter; the feelings are reciprocated with tragic results after a bitter, twisted sister reveals the deception. All three of the sister roles were interpreted with passion by Zenaida Yanowski (oldest), Melissa Hamilton (youngest, and wearing a dark wig which was strange at first but I really liked it) and Laura Morera (jealous). They imparted a sense of place, a sense of darkness, a sense of heat and most importantly, the results of repressing natural human emotions and desires. There were some quirky bits of choreography here, but I really enjoyed seeing something different. Ray Barra, who had danced The Man in the first outing of this piece for Stuttgart Ballet, has staged this for the Royal and has done an excellent job.

And so to Requiem, MacMillan's glorious and uplifting tribute to his friend John Cranko, who had died young a couple of years before the piece was made. The music is one of my favourite pieces of any kind, and here was sung beautifully by the Royal Opera Chorus, with lovely solos from soprano Laura Wright and baritone George Humphreys. I was saying to a friend afterwards that if we could be sure that this is what it is like at the end of life, and what lies ahead, none of us would fear death, or regret life. Leanne Benjamin(amazingly now in her late 40s), as the angel, soared and comforted. Marianela Nunez also stood out with her heart-rending solos. Excellent performance from Carlos Acosta, too....he really feels it, as does everyone on stage, and so does the audience. Perhaps it is because I used In Paradisum at the funerals of my mother and brother, perhaps it was the glory of the music and how it was sung, perhaps it was the beauty of the dancing.....but I found myself in tears at the end, just quietly rolling down my cheeks. But somehow, they weren't sad.

It is a sobering thought to today's choreographers that this triple bill was so incredibly diverse, but all created by one man. Last week's triple (Viscera/Infra/Fool's Paradise) was by three different choreographers but was very 'samish' in structure and intent. I don't use the word 'genius' lightly, but this triple bill, for me, is an excellent illustration of just what that word means.

I will write more tomorrow, but I thought this was a super evening. How wonderful to see Las Hermanas finally. Requiem moved me to tears. Can't wait to see it all again.

I also agree.....just about everyone has suggested seeking medical advice or going to see a physiotherapist. Those who have recommended temporary painkillers are merely making suggestions for temporary pain alleviation by using products that are all over the counter anyway. And quite frankly, I don't think any parent would rely on medical advice given over a website, no matter how well meant.

Thanks very much Bluebird. Alison, it usually takes a while for the link to turn up after broadcast, sometimes not until the next day.

You can hear it on iPlayer for the next 7 days, Taxi!

That could be the case, Aileen. I guess it shows the amazing talent of those who did/do manage to succesfully tell a narrative story in less than an hour....no mean feat!