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gdallas

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Posts posted by gdallas

  1. I enjoyed Anemoi this evening, though I was unfamiliar with the music. I’d kind of like to see it again. Abstract ballet can be beautiful and this was, in parts. And I really liked the staging. 
    the Cellist was powerful! Marcellino Sambé is wonderful and I thought that Lauren Cuthbertson danced beautifully, made a great trio with Matthew Ball. Big lump in the throat by the end. I would definitely like to see more work by Cathy Marston; it is so interesting to see a (to me) new choreographer’s work and she has a definite style. 
    Ages since I’ve been to the ballet. Should go more…. Best thing in the world
     

    • Like 12
  2. Some neighbours mentioned this recently   I hadn’t heard of it. 

    https://www.hatch-house.co.uk/covent-garden-dance-company

    Does anyone here know about it, or has been? It looks rather pricey but perhaps no more than stalls plus dinner at ROH. It could be a treat. Or … not?? Looks a bit cabaret and I am not sure I like the idea of eating and drinking while the dancers are on. 
    Would be very interested to hear any opinions
     

  3. We were at ROH last night 12th April. It was almost completely the same cast as for the Gala opening night but to me it seemed much more enjoyable. Everything was tighter, smoother and the orchestra was wonderful. Perhaps because I was in the stalls this time as opposed to amphitheatre but I think the production has settled down and I felt that MN had really developed the role. Dancing was superb of course! I loved it. I’m going again. One of my best evenings at the ballet. Thank you RB 

    • Like 10
  4. I thought the production was lovely. I enjoyed the new tech, including the lighting. It was by no means intrusive, just a bit fresher. Good stuff.
    The costumes were mostly beautiful, from where I was sitting in the amphitheatre. The Sisters well hmm. I quite liked the Molly Goddard outfit, but I guess they are supposed to look daft. 
    One interesting thing for me was that I’ve been listening to the music for a few weeks. It is much less familiar to me than many big ballet scores and some of it is quite challenging. But, in the theatre, with dancers on stage, I found it much much more approachable and enjoyable. The orchestra was excellent. 
    I am not an expert but I really, really enjoyed the Ashton choreography, so refreshing and somehow modern, though of course it isn’t really. Great to see. 
    I would like to see different casts. Of course VM and MN are wonderful, and I thought they were absolutely gorgeous to watch. But…. There’s a a slight sense for me, when Cinderella arrives and meets the Prince of  “ oh hi Vadim it’s always a pleasure to dance with you”. They have a great rapport and are a pleasure to watch, a real pleasure. But they  are SO good and so good with each other, and so familiar. I don’t know,  it just wasn’t quite surprising enough? 

    But this ballet is quite low key, in terms of plot, isn’t it? No peril,  no conflict. Cinders is amused by her sisters, not really too bothered by them. Not a complaint, just my opinion. 
     

    Finally, the Sisters. I wonder if this was a little too much of a good thing. They rather dominate Act 1 and I enjoyed Act 2 much more when they were off stage. I will be very interested to see the roles danced by women. If nothing else it will lay the ghost of Dick Emery who I thought I glimpsed once or twice. 
     

    it was a fabulous evening.  Lovely to look at, beautiful dancing, and stars! 
     

    (and the Paul Hamlyn hall was laid for a big banquet afterwards which looked absolutely fabulous. I’d love to hear what that was like )

     

     

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  5. Definitely use Citymapper to get around. I have worked in London most of my life, lived there for a lot of it, and Citymapper is still able to help me get around. Its good for public transport, walking and cycling.

     

    Kenwood House on Hampstead Heath has some beautiful paintings, is manageable, and if the weather is good a walk on the Heath is excellent.

    Primrose Hill is a small park with excellent views over London, and a few streets full of very instagrammable cafes and restaurants. 

    And for a look at London's hipsters take a walk around Redchurch Street and Brick Lane area.

     

     

     

    • Like 1
  6. What a long thread! 

    I am a Friend and didn't get offered any discounts- I actually have a single ticket for The Gala Opening (no black tie for me though) and then going with my wife in April.

    The website, marketing and general comms from ROH is very frustrating and has been for ages. I do not think this can be blamed on Covid any more, it just seems incoherent. But I have experienced this sort of thing in other (non-creative) organisations, and it is really very tough to think through a new approach - even harder to make it happen. There are usually people, whole teams of people, established processes, embedded software, even things like office layouts all of which combine to create inertia. But it would be good if they could somehow get hold of the issue. Other companies seem to.

    I've been listening to the score for weeks now. 

    I am stoked 

    See you next week!

    • Like 4
  7. We have fairly recently moved to Oxfordshire. We go to ROH fairly often and having lived and worked in London for a long time I know my way around this and other theatres and their surrounding areas. But I’m now only a 90 minute drive from Birmingham Hippodrome according to Google maps, and I’d like to go there to see BRB. Are there any good tips regarding seats, sight lines, sound lines (?) and parking? Also, what about food and drink - either inside the theatre or nearby. I know it’s only Birmingham not Caracas but I’d be grateful for any suggestions 

    thank you

  8. 18 hours ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

    I went to see the Varna company in Northampton last night (Giselle).  It was dire.  Myrthe was OK, and the Wilis weren't bad, but the company seemed to be a mish-mash of various unknown Italian, Spanish, French and English dancers (no Bulgarians).  Giselle was an English girl called Claire Gillard. She looked the part - young, fresh-faced, petite - and acted reasonably well but her dancing was only just passable.  They had various Giselles on different nights and I read a good review of another, Ukrainian Anastasia Lebedyk, but it wasn't possible to know in advance who one was seeing. Hilarion only seemed to have a repertoire of two moves and played more for comic effect, and Albrecht's part was much simplified and his acting was wooden.  The costumes in the first half were garish, and in the second, Giselle's garish tombstone looked like something out of a cartoon. And I don't want to be reminded of the back-drop film of ghostly floating ballerinas!

    I don't know whether it was the stage or the dancers (probably a bit of both - one dancer slipped and fell) but they all sounded like elephants.

    I like to support touring companies and am sometimes pleasantly surprised, but on this occasion was very disappointed.  I think it's the only performance of Giselle where I haven't been moved.  Having said that, they got a good reception from a full house at the Derngate theatre.

    Yes it wasn’t great in Oxford. I’ve no idea who was on stage, no cast list available. And the tombstone was very cartoonish. I thought the orchestra was ok before the interval….

    • Like 1
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