Sim

I am with @Odyssey on this one. If I leave SL feeling emotional and choked up, it is simply because of having witnessed such beauty, from corps, principals and soloists (combined with that perfect score). It's not that I engage with these fairytale characters and get sad at the end because she/they die. To quote Alison Moyet, I go weak in the presence of beauty. That's it, pure and simple. Like @Linnzi5 above, if I get emotional at the end of a MacMillan, or Onegin, it is because the characters are more real and I can relate to their weaknesses and tragedies. With SL, it is sheer amazement that human beings can create something so beautiful. When there is so much ugliness in the world perpetrated by humans, it always moves me when I am reminded in such a profound way of the good, positive side of our flawed species. I have always preferred the versions where Siegfried and Odette die, and then have an apotheosis of some kind. This is what the music is telling me at the very end......they will be together in eternity, and love has triumphed over evil (those final triumphant notes make this very clear). For me, the music is taking them on their final journey, and leaves those of us back on Earth with that feeling of triumph and positivity. That's why I loved the ending in Anthony Dowell's version.

Thanks Trog for that informative review. Great to hear from you!

Done.

I love the white acts for their sheer balletic beauty. I find it very moving to see a beautiful corps dancing in unison.

Gosh, just watching their curtain calls on Instagram almost makes me weep....I will be a mess when I see them perform the whole ballet!! 😄

@Ian Macmillan No, it has never happened to me, so hopefully Dave has now fixed the glitch. Much more importantly, I am so glad you didn't say "from whence". That drives me nuts!!! 😂

She was incredible in the last run. Those Odile fouettes! Those beautiful arms as Odette! Sigh.

Links – Friday, 15 March 2024 Review – Wayne McGregor Company, autobiography, Sadler’s Wells, Alastair Macaulay, Slipped Disc Review – NYCB, Mixed Bill, Sadler’s Wells, Rupert Christiansen, Spectator Australia (paywall) Review – San Francisco Ballet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Balanchine), San Francisco, Jim Munson, Broadway World Review – Houston Ballet, Bespoke, Houston, Adrienne Jones, Paper City Magazine Review – Alberta Ballet, Hansel and Gretel, Calgary, Leonie O’Sullivan, The Gauntlet Review – Carolina Ballet, The Little Mermaid, Raleigh, Megan Eesley, The Sea Hawk/ Feature – Czech National Ballet, La Fille mal gardee, Muscat, Staff, Muscat Daily Featurette/Video - Wayne McGregor/Ben Cullen Williams, A Body for Harnasie, Festival Hall, David Stock, New Scientist Interview – Kateryna Kukhar and Oleksander Stoianov of Grand Kyiv Ballet, Caedra Scott-Flaherty, Pointe Magazine Interview – Daniel Reca of Sao Paolo Dance Company, Lottie Hood, Press and Journal Interview – Simon Thew, New Music Director/Chief Conductor of Houston Ballet, Miranda Keating, Broadway World Preview – Ballet Rambert in Aberdeen, Death Trap, David Porter, Grampian Online Preview – Hofesh Schechter, Double Murder, Shanghai, Zhang Kun, China Daily Preview – Tucson Ballet Closes Season with The New and The Old, Staff, Arizona Daily Star News – American Ballet Theater Names Barry Hughson as Exec Director, Staff, New York Times (paywall) News – Ballet Theater of Maryland Announces 2024-2025 Season, Staff, MD Theatre Guide News – Salford Boy One of Only 12 Male Applicants Offered a Place at the RBS (coached by ex-RB dancer Tierney Heap), Paige Oldfield, Manchester Evening News Article – Top 12 Ballet Films, Leah Marilla Thomas, Cosmopolitan And the feelgood bit at the end…it’s never too late to learn something new! Wishing you all a lovely weekend. Article/Video – 90 Year-Old in Edinburgh Care Home Learns To Tap Dance, Daniel Lovatt, Edinburgh Evening News

No reason why he can't do both...as the company seems to be giving young dancers character roles, I can't see any reason why you can't be a Romeo and a GM, especially as it is unlikely that it would be in the same season. Siegfried and GM? Why not?!

Having seen Lukas BB as a very sinister Von Rothbart and an evil Gaoler, I think he could make a very nasty GM in the next run.

Great news for Northern Ballet. So happy to see what an impact Federico is already having on the company. Now....to save its musicians.

Someone who would definitely know has confirmed to me that Matty Ball is 5'11 1/2" tall. So, five foot eleven and a half inches.

Links – Thursday, 14 March 2024 Review – Northern Ballet, Romeo and Juliet, Leeds Grand Theatre, Geoffrey Mogridge, Wharfedale Observer Review – Dutch National Ballet, Oedipus Rex and Antigone (Amsterdam), Eleanor Knight, Bachtrack Review – NYCB, Mixed Bill, Sadler’s Wells, Kathrina Farrugia-Kriel, Gramilano. Reviews – Sao Paolo Dance Company, Mixed Bill, Lowry Theatre, Salford Danielle Roper, Manchester Evening News Flo Clifford, Mancunian Matters Review – Sydney Dance Company, Ascent, ROH: Theresa Guerreiro, Culture Whisper Review – BalletLORENT, The Velveteen Rabbit, Sadler’s Wells, Theresa Guerreiro, Culture Whisper Review – American Contemporary Ballet, Jazz (Los Angeles), Jillian Verzwyvelt, Ballet Herald Review – Dimitris Papaioannou, Ink, Sadler’s Wells: David Jays, Evening Standard Obituary – Steve Paxton, Lyndsey Winship, Guardian Feature – Artists or Athletes: Debunking Ballet Myths, Staff, South China Morning Post Feature – Hip Hop and Breakdancing to Feature in Olympics Torch Relay, Olympics News Feature – Chinese Street Dance Kemusan Going Viral: Staff, China Daily Previews – Ballets for Children at Easter: Goldilocks – Kenton Theatre, Henley Henley Herald The Tortoise and the Hare, Mansfield Palace Theatre, Steve Eyley, Worksop Guardian

Ticket now spoken for.

I am no longer able to attend this event. A very generous person kindly gave me this ticket and would not let me pay for it, so I in turn will do the same for anyone who wants it. Please DM me. Seat is Clore E32.

Now that a few days have passed since the emotional final night of Manon on Friday, I have been trying to collect my thoughts about the whole run. Which was my favourite? Which moved me the most? The answer is...I can't answer!! I saw seven of the nine casts and each of them brought something wonderful to the MacMillan table. Both debutants and established interpreters of the roles moved me beyond measure, and each brought their own touches and interpretations to their performances. Part of MacMillan's genius is that he leaves so much room for just such variances in portraying the characters that they are all interesting; none are right or wrong. 50 years after its premiere, Manon never fails to touch my heart, and the constant roster of RB artists who dance it never cease to amaze me with how deeply talented they are. And I never stop being awestruck and grateful for how lucky we are to have these incredible artists in our midst.

Links – Wednesday, 13 March 2024 Reviews – Royal Ballet, Swan Lake, ROH London : Graham Watts, Bachtrack Fiona Maclean, London Unattached Review – Pichet Klunchun, Cyber Subin (Taipei): David Mead, Seeing Dance Review – Alfonso Losa Flamenco Company (Boston) Espacio Creativo, Jessica Lockhart, The Arts Fuse Preview/Interview – Mark Bruce, Frankenstein: Sanjoy Roy, The Guardian Preview – YAGP Returns to NY for 25th Anniversary Programs: Jerry Hochman, Critical Dance/ Preview – 22nd Chicago Flamenco Festival: Staff, Choose Chicago Preview – Seattle International Dance Festival, Staff, Seattle Times Preview – Strictly’s Anton du Beke and Giovanni Pernice in Spain: Alicia Liberty, Daily Express News - 2024-2025 Season Announcements: Ballet West Announces 2024-2025 Season En Face Magazine Atlanta Ballet Announces 2024-2025 Season En Face Magazine News – Ex Student Reaches Settlement with Hammond After Body Shaming, Hayley Hassall, BBC Article – Learning to Dance in the Bavarian Alps: Steve King, The Telegraph And here’s the feelgood bit at the end: Video – CDK Dance Collective (Netherlands) Somebody That I Used To Know Boing Boing

Gosh @Carol you don't waste any time....two minutes. Must be a record!

I have booked for the first night.

They were brilliant in the last run. Just as I was mourning the retirement of Roberta Marquez, one of my all-time favourite Lises, along came those two and made me feel a whole lot better!

Alex has just posted a lovely tribute to Frankie Hayward on his Instagram. Brought a tear to my eye.

Thanks so much, Roberta. So the composer wrote some music to celebrate the photographer and Tanowitz liked the music so in turn made a piece on it. I had never heard of Gustave, so this was very interesting (except the bit where he abandoned his wife and children).

I felt like that sitting in the theatre on Friday night. I actually felt very annoyed.

They are really going to miss each other.

I was at the Saturday matinee. I really didn't like Rotunda. Bland, boring, uninventive and unoriginal. I quite liked the Peck piece that Australian Ballet performed here last August, but this just didn't hold my attention at all. The costumes were hideous and the music dull and repetitive. I am glad it was first; had I stayed until the end and was served this I would have been very annoyed. Duo Concertant was very well danced, as one would expect from this company, but it was as much a live concert as a piece of dance, and it was way too short. This was almost a cursory nod to their founding choreographer before they could get on with the rest of it, and I felt cheated. Much to my surprise, because I couldn't stand the Tanowitz that the RB did last season, I liked Gustave . When the curtain rose to reveal four tall ladies in long red costumes, I thought 'uh oh, the Hand Maid's Tale.' But no. I thought the costumes here were interesting and the choreography quite clever and really well danced. Not sure about the moving piano, but maybe it signified opposites or the circle of life or something. Who knows?! What I WOULD like to know is who (if anyone) Gustave Le Gray is! Love Letter (on shuffle) - I liked this much more than I was expecting to. It was nice to see a costume that was actually a costume, that brought some fun and colour to the stage. The choreography had quite a lot of classical ballet steps in it, but I agree with others that perhaps hip hop and classical ballet don't blend too well. If I ever, ever, even think of going to a piece of dance using James Blake's music again, please tie me to a chair. It is whiney, sameish, and here played way too loudly. A real assault on the ears. I am sure I would have liked this much more if it had been choreographed to different music. NYCB was the company that first hooked me into ballet. When I was a little four year-old girl, my mother took me to see The Nutcracker, which she then did every year. I loved it, and when I was older started seeing them in many more things. My parents were at the premiere of Jewels (I was too young at the time). So, seeing this company again after such a long time should have been an emotional and exhilarating experience for me. Instead, 'meh' was about the most positive thing I could come up with. To be back in London after such a long absence, and to serve up this programme, was a real disappointment for me. Why not do a Balanchine that shows us more of the company than two dancers? Why not bring a Robbins? I had an American lady sitting next to me and she was also really disappointed. Of course it is always wonderful to see these great dancers, but this programme did nothing to show them at their best, and what they are really capable of. But hey, I am obviously not the target audience for this kind of show at Sadler's Wells.