bangorballetboy

Choe, Crawford, Kobayashi, Lamb, Marquez, Morera

Campbell, Cervera, Hristov, Maloney, Stepanek, Whitehead

 

(that's alphabetical order only - no indication of who partnered who)

Variations are:

1. Choe

2. Morera

3. Lamb

4. Marquez

5. Kobayashi

7. Crawford

6. Rojo

Julie, where did you get that bit of information?

I thought it was quite well known that there's a largish ballet piece in the closing ceremony - Cindy Jourdain is the co-ordinator.

Some casting has come up on the ROH website for Titian 2012, same for all performances,

 

Benjamin, Rojo, Acosta, Watson, Stix-Brunell, Lamb, Hamilton

Click through for more details:

Credits

Choreography (Machina) Kim Brandstrup Choreography (Machina) Wayne McGregor Choreography (Trespass) Alastair Marriott Choreography (Trespass) Christopher Wheeldon Choreography (Diana & Actaeon) Liam Scarlett Choreography (Diana & Actaeon) Will Tuckett Choreography (Diana & Actaeon) Jonathan Watkins Music Jonathan Dove Music Nico Muhly Music Mark-Anthony Turnage Artist Chris Ofili Artist Conrad Shawcross Artist Mark Wallinger Librettist Alastair Middleton Lighting design Lucy Carter

Performers

Conductor Dominic Grier Conductor Thomas Seligman Conductor Barry Wordsworth Principal (Machina) Leanne Benjamin Principal (Machina) Tamara Rojo Principal (Machina) Carlos Acosta Principal (Machina) Edward Watson Principal (Trespass) Beatriz Stix-Brunell Principal (Trespass) Sarah Lamb Principal (Trespass) Melissa Hamilton Principal (Trespass) Nehemiah Kish Principal (Trespass) Steven McRae Principal (Diana & Actaeon) Marianela Nuñez Principal (Diana & Actaeon) Federico Bonelli Orchestra Orchestra of the Royal Opera House

How do you know there's an elephant in your fridge?

Great big footprints in the butter.

Having put what I assume was a considerable amount of effort in the evening I think that it is a shame that the Royal are only showing this programme once. Like John, I am wary of anything gala-esque and so I didn't book for it (I think that the tickets were also expensive) and missed out on what seems to have been a very absorbing evening.

Nothing to do with the Royal (other than some of their dancers appearing). This was a London Jewish Cultural Centre organised event.

A pity Zoë Anderson didn't see the cast change slip for An Intimate Evening with Anna Pavlova. She would have found out that there was a printing error in the programme and that Bacchanale was choreographed by Ursula Hageli (and not Liam Scarlett). In addition, Meaghan Grace Hinkis was not Pavlova in this piece. She had been replaced by Emma Maguire.

We didn't get a cast change slip either but had spotted the changes of dancer. Thanks for the head-up on Hageli's choreography.

He confirmed he is leaving.

It was said that Tuesday Sylphide was his last "dancing" show, so I assume he could be on stage in less relevant roles again before the end of season.

Indeed, he was a "doctor" in Pagodas on Wednesday.

As I understand it, Friends Priority Rehearsals booking was in April for Premium 1 and 2 Friends only. Rehearsals booking for all other Friends ( Supporting, Senior, Joint and 'ordinary' Friends) starts next Wednesday June 20th at 10.00am.

I think Margaret was talking about "In Rehearsal" rather than FGRs.

Some luck on the telephone but after eventually getting through to be regaled with the message "you are no. 39 in the queue" was a little dispiriting. - and like the old online waiting room it did seem to take for ever ...

But at least you get some nice music to listen to as you wait...

Wulff, are 60% of the RB's dancers really British, as opposed to British trained?

I think the figure is more like 40%, though it depends what one means by British (for example, Pietra Mello-Pittman has lived in the UK since she was 5)!

I clicked to add 1 SC standing to my basket and have spent 25 minutes watching a circle spinning round - it's still spinning. I'm going to log off and start again.

I had that problem. Try the "back" button and then check your basket. The seating plan had crashed but my tickets were still in the basket.

I found Rojo and Polunin the only convincing couple I'd seen as Marguerite and Armand, and that included Guillem and Le Riche who I thought should have surpassed all.

Agreed.

I understand that Sergei has now joined the Mikhailovsky Ballet in Moscow. At least that's what the tweets - not his - say.

Well I've seen a number of tweets which suggest he has joined the Stanislavsky Ballet...

At last, the RB has taken a leaf out of Wayne Eagling's book at ENB and is showing itself prepared to field dancers in leading roles on the basis of their talent and unique suitability rather than their rank and time served.

???? The RB have been doing that for years (and since before London Festival Ballet even existed).

The ROH site now shows Beatriz Stix-Brunell replacing Lauren Cuthbertson in Prince of the Pagodas on the 9th and the 17th June, partnered by Ryoichi Hirano ...

9th and 27th

...it can take virtually 10 minutes each way just to get round to the recreational areas, shall we say.

Or even to get out of the auditorium in some cases!

...Elizabeth has the advantage of being ... more beautiful than Gary (!)

Harsh!

Thanks Alison. Wish I'd read this earlier!

Ah well, that's me done for!

I'm afraid most of the Marquez & McRae performance left me cold and unmoved. Not only were there times when Marquez couldn't manage the choreography (which sometimes happens when she's having a bad day), the lack of "Ashton" in their performance screamed at me. It was often like a Russian "look at me" show and there were a number of places where they weren't in time with each other or the music. I was, however, very impressed with McRae's solos (which are pure show-off territory anyhow) and Marquez's act 2 mime was simply delicious.

I thought Ondiviela's Alain was superb. I had the benefit of a front row seat and could see every tiny detail of his performance and felt he captured the right balance of comedy & pathos. Perhaps some of this might not have travelled further into the auditorium?

Mosley's Simone is kind and gently witty. Almost in time on the clog dance and precise everywhere else, his performance is very entertaining and warm.

Another great performance from the corps, barring a minor hiccup with the maypole ribbons when someone grabbed the wrong one but, hey! Peregrine also on fine fettle.

My final comment is on McRae's hair. I know Colas is a country boy but must he look like he's been dragged through a hedge backwards?

Unfortunately, since the RB rarely does Sunday matinees, and there seems to be a great keenness to ensure that the transmissions are live rather than recorded, I don't think you'll get your way. And I really can't see cinemas being prepared to sacrifice one screen for a few hours (bearing in mind that you need to clear plenty of time around the performance, rather than running another film which ends 20 miutes beforehand, so it's not a terribly cost-effective option) on their best night of the week just to screen ballet.

But the Met cinecasts are always Saturday evenings in the UK.

I'm always amused by how quickly the orchestra players disappear. They really don't hang around. I think that they're down the pub before the curtain call is over!

That depends on the players' contracts. For example, the ROH Orchestra are contracted to remain in the pit until the first orchestral curtain call (i.e. when the conductor and cast come forward to acknowledge them). The Ballet Ballet Sinfonia on the other hand (& IIRC) are contracted to remain until the second call.

Fascinating! As I shut down for the night, I've seen just one reaction on Twitter to the Rojo interview and, predictably in that case, it picks up her remark that ballet is 'tonnes of fun.' Nothing at all about Polunin - already it's as if he'd never been here.

Sergei who?

So do I. Much quicker to get out of the building than it is now. And I'm pretty certain the New Wimbledon Theatre still has them - and the Southampton Mayflower! (Both have the balcony entrance at the rear, just to make you climb even more stairs!)

Somewhat off topic but I recall (in the very distant past) a romantic assignation on the stone steps in the Wimbledon Theatre (as it then was). Ah, memories...

An excellent thread, thanks Alison.