DavidW

The USA still isn't perfect - I lived in New Jersey when I first started ballet and was a bit surprised to find that the Capezio flagship store (just off Times Square) didn't have any dance belts in Large or men's tights in Large! But in NYC, there is also the (über-expensive but über-awesome) Yumiko store which has loads of colourful and awesome menswear (I'm planning on getting some of their knee length tights/shorts when I'm calling into NYC for a conference this summer!).

One option I (25yr old guy) use is to buy things from an American site: www.boysdancetoo.com It's an amazing site that offers a huge range of clothing for guys - they collate stuff from the big dancewear companies and also produce their own stuff. They also have a few gift options (I love my duffel bag) but the obvious problem is that it isn't cheap to ship over to the UK (especially if over the customs limit for tax exemption). Still worth checking out - I really like how they ask professional dancers (like Eric Tamm of ABT) to create a 'look' from their stuff to give you ideas of what to wear. No need to be stuck with black tights and white t-shirts! I keep asking them to open a UK branch - fingers crossed they'll become an international company soon!

If anyone else went to see the recent cinema screening of Wheeldon's Cinderella with DNB, Nadia played the nicer of the two stepsisters and I thought she was fantastic - both technically and her acting. And, much like everyone else on here, I'm very relieved to hear Zenaida isn't retiring!

I saw H&G twice yesterday - in hindsight a bit too much of an emotional rollercoaster for one day! Need to lie down and watch something like La Fille to recover! Personally, I thought this was a great piece - utterly gripping and disturbing in equal measures. It can be easy to be overwhelmed by the set and storyline, but underneath this I found some very interesting choreography. In particular, the various Pas de Deuxs of the different relationships were brilliant. The Act I father/step-mother PdD was electric and riveting (even more so with the opening night cast of Morera/Gartside) and the Act II PdD between the son and witch was creepily affectionate (from both parties). I can't think of a single current choreographer than can touch Scarlett for PdD work - he reveals the very heart of his characters in a way that is reminiscent of MacMillan to me. Sat on the front row (so close I nearly got hit by a teddy bear wielded by Leanne Cope!) I was worried that the acting and dancing would lose something by such close inspection but this was not the case. Some people seem to have found the piece cliched - maybe I just haven't seen enough horror movies because I didn't. In particular, the ending to Act I was one of the most spine-chilling moments I've seen whilst watching a dance piece. **SPOILERS** My two cents on the body in the oven. I thought that perhaps the witch was a captive himself and the body represented his previous captor. I thought this theory might have been trashed when he was so empathetic with Hansel and the picture of H&G's dead mother, but when the picture later transformed to the witch... perhaps this is just a vicious cycle... Oh, and does anyone know why Yanowsky didn't play the witch in the end? Having a woman in that role would completely change the piece... Edit: turns out I don't know the difference between 'yesterday' and 'tomorrow'!

Sorry to randomly revive an old thread, but I thought this was worth sharing for anyone who has seen Cranko's Onegin - Stephen Fry is offering a free download of him reading the Pushkin novel (translated of course!). Well worth a listen! http://fryreadsonegin.com/

Don't think my route to becoming a ballet watcher is particularly normal, but I've never been one to do things the usual way! I decided to start taking ballet classes randomly at age 23 while living in the States and thought I should probably watch the pro's before giving it a go myself. I ordered the ABT Swan Lake DVD with Murphy/Corella and was enthralled. I then bought some cheap fourth ring tickets to see New York City Ballet in a triple bill. Before this, I think an ex had taken me to see a touring production (maybe Moscow State Ballet?) of Swan Lake whilst an undergrad at Oxford and whilst she had loved it I can remember not being hugely enthralled. Other than that I was a complete ballet-novice and so wasn't really sure what to expect from a Triple Bill. I completely lucked out with the bill - the opening piece was Serenade and I was immediately in love. It was a true revelatory moment - such fragility, strength, emotion and beauty all in one piece. I couldn't believe how much could be told through dance and it suddenly all made sense. I can't recall if I had started classes by this point (I think I had taken a couple) but my whole viewpoint on what ballet could (and should) be was irrevocably changed. The middle piece of the bill was Martin's Magic Flute (a bit 'meh') but the final piece was Stars and Stripes which was so joyous that I left the theater with a huge smile on my face! I saw quite a bit of NYCB rep along with ABT's Giselle and Bright Stream before leaving the US. Moving to Bath, my first experience of the Royal Ballet was in Jewels with the incomparable Marianela Nuñez and Thiago Soares in the Diamonds PdD. I was hooked on Nuñez's dancing immediately and have since tried to catch her in as much as I can. As I have watched the Royal Ballet more and more I've found myself noticing dancers through all ranks and rooting for them as they get big breaks (e.g. Trzensimiech in La Sylphide, Cowley in Carbon Life, Gartside in Mayerling). Having only ever 'properly' watched ballet whilst dancing myself I wonder how it must be to watch ballet without being a dancer. Often I find myself concentrating on some of the technical details (especially during tricky partnering sections!) and wonder if this improves or detracts from the experience. I guess it doesn't matter either way!

On a mildly tangential note - there's a chance to see Golding in cinemas tonight/Sunday. Showcase de Lux cinemas are screening Wheeldon's Cinderella with DNB -> http://www.showcasecinemas.co.uk/events/arts-and-events/dutch-national-ballet-cinderella Golding will be dancing the Prince, alongside Anna Tsygankova as Cinderella. There's a trailer on YouTube here:

Unfortunately the Awards weren't being shown on TV live this year - instead there's a 'highlights' show. I'll be interested to know if either of the Dance Awards get shown (my guess is they won't!). I'm also amazed how quickly they dress up/down the ROH - they had Bayadere and Zauberflöte performing on Saturday (I didn't notice any Oliviers stuff - all I saw was an HD video van outside the piazza entrance to the ROH), and Zauberflöte again tomorrow night so it'll all have to be done in under 48 hours. Impressive stuff!

The Olivier Awards for dance this year have just been awarded. The winners are... *drumroll* Best New Dance Production - Aeternum (chor. by Christopher Wheeldon) Outstanding Achievement in Dance - Marianela Nuñez A huge congrats to both!

Completely agree with Coated, but would also like to add that Clare Calvert looked stunning in the second Shade Variation yesterday. Made me very disappointed to be missing her Gamzatti performances. Yuhui looked every inch the Principal on stage yesterday - commanding it just as well as Nuñez as Gamzatti - can't wait to see her get some big roles next season (Giselle, Rhapsody,...?) and I really want the Royal to revive La Fille soon so we can have Yuhui and Alex Campbell as Lise and Colas (their Voices of Spring PdD earlier this season was glorious!)

I agree that the Coliseum is a great venue but I don't know if it is right for ENB. However, all potential venues are flawed so I guess it is up to them to make the most of it! One thing I can't get my head around is why ENB don't actively promote their student (and concession?) standby tickets. When you are struggling to fill the theatre on a Saturday night then letting people know you are offering £15 tickets to get bums on seats should be a big priority. I've seen ENB a few times and had no idea of these tickets, nor did any of my (mainly London-based) ballet-going student friends. They have a much better standby scheme than the ROH, offering any spare tickets to any performance with spare seats (the ROH have only offered student standby tickets to at most 5 performances this season). As the students fit the demographic they are wanting to attract maybe they should advertise this more on their posters or in student newspapers - I looked around their new website and couldn't find any mention of these tickets at all.

I think part of the point is that they probably weren't aiming for 14-yr old girls already into ballet for this programme. Indeed, I don't think the bill would be suited for children in the slightest! I personally think the name was an excellent choice, along with the advertisement campaign. There was certainly a wider range of people at the Coliseum on Saturday night than I have seen at any ballet since Carbon Life at the ROH. I think it's important to realise that ENB probably weren't aiming for us balletomanes with the ad campaigns! This bill was a great introduction to ballet for newcomers - abstract, narrative and classical all in one evening (in fact, a similar mix to the Carbon Life triple at ROH last year). I know a lot of my friends said they'd prefer to go see this bill than, say, Swan Lake and Sleeping Beauty.

One thing that I was completely unaware of until yesterday was that ENB (and most visiting companies to the Coli) offer student standby tickets on the day of performance. I had originally planned to buy the cheapest ticket available (£8 or so - student budget!) but ended up paying £15 for a standby ticket that put me in the Dress Circle. Obviously this means that ENB didn't make the full £65 on the seat I used, but they doubled what they would have made from me. It seems like if they are aiming to attract a young audience they need to publicise offers like this. Perhaps something like offering £20 tickets for under-30's would be a good idea? Sure, offers are costly to a company, but discounted tickets are better than empty seats (of which, unfortunately there seemed to be quite a lot of in the Dress Circle last night). Oh, and on a separate note, I thought the programmes looked fantastic last night. Modern, fresh, fashionable and reasonably priced (£6, like the ROH).

Saw this triple tonight (or rather 'last night' as I've only just got home!) and thought ENB were fantastic. It's a risky bill, requiring the company to meet a very high bar in terms of technique, drama and intelligence. I think they pulled it off with great aplomb. Having seen Petite Mort on YouTube many times it was fantastic to see it live. It's a very fragile piece at times, making you almost hold your breath to avoid breaking the spell, and I thought the ENB dancers pulled it off. To me, James Forbat and Ksenia Ovsyanick stood out. I saw Le Jeune Homme et la Mort in the Petit triple bill a couple of seasons ago and was impressed by Jia Zhang then. She again played the role of death with an erotic intensity, matched by Putrov as an emotional artist. It was the first time I'd seen Putrov dance and was very impressed; his dancing had a controlled recklessness to it that seemed to fit the piece well. Etudes was a showcase for the company and proved that under Rojo's reign the company are thriving. Tamara herself danced the lead female role and showed the audience exactly why she's one of the biggest names in ballet. Her initial solo sections were charming, her pas de deux beautifully musical, and then her later sections were just gobsmacking. Her first set of fouetté turns had every fourth fouetté staying en pointe (don't know if this is standard choreography for Etudes - never knew it was even possible!); she ended her first fouettés with (I think) a quadruple and her second set of fouettés with (again, I think) a quintuple - eking out one final turn with a cheeky smile. The whole company was in fine form, James Forbat again excelling in the men and dancers like Nancy Osbaldeston and Lauretta Summerscales standing out for the ladies. A great triple bill and whilst the Coli wasn't exactly full, it got a rapturous reception. I was particularly pleased to see much younger audience than you usually get at a ballet. It certainly seems like ENB are trying to attract the twenty-somethings and it seems to be working (and they all seemed to thoroughly enjoy it!).

The BBC have posted a short video interview with Tamara Rojo which include snippets of each piece: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-22210400

Just a note that the London Dance offer here : http://londondance.com/articles/features/english-national-ballet-special-ticket-offer/ is offering £25 Upper Circle and £35 Dress Circle tickets *except* for Saturday night (the one performance I can make!).

Yes and no. The Royal are losing three major female principals this year (Rojo, Benjamin, Galeazzi) and have lost a couple of male principals in recent years (Polunin, Makahteli) without any replacements and have needed guest stars for three productions this season (one due to injury, one due to Rojo leaving, one pre-scheduled). I would like to see some internal promotions (and keeping my fingers crossed for certain dancers in the announcements later in the season) but think they run the risk of being thin on the ground if struck by a few injuries...

The ROH press release has her dancing R&J with Acosta as her first performance with the Royal Ballet. I assume therefore that she will not be dancing Kitri (would be highly unfair on Kaneko if Osipova replaced some of her performances)

It's available on iPlayer for the next week: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01rp5h1/CBeebies_Ugly_Duckling/ Certainly thought it came across great on TV - now just need to 'borrow' my little cousins to go see it live

I think Rojo is making a great start at making English National Ballet a better known name and has been getting great press recently (national press too, which is key for their touring presence). I personally applaud the new image and their attempt to be a company in line with current fashion and marketing - it can sometimes seem like ENB live in RB's shadow when they are performing in London and the new approach seems much more like the situation in New York with ABT and NYCB. There, two companies happily cohabit the same plaza (at least, when ABT have their Lincoln Center season) and it is quite clear by advertisement and repertoire that they are quite different companies and you will have two very different experiences watching them each perform. This makes neither seem to be in the shadow of the other, and certainly when I was in NYC I thought nothing of watching as most of both companies as I could. Also, I think Corsaire is a great acquisition for ENB and will be a fantastic tour piece - a showstopper classical ballet that most audiences will not have necessarily been exposed to. I personally just wish that ENB had somewhere other than the Coliseum to perform whilst in London - would Sadlers' not be a better choice? I always find the Coli seats uncomfortable and most ballet companies (i.e. Mikhailovsky this week) seem to struggle to fill it, even with startling offers (like £10 stalls tickets).

There's certainly some big roles that I'm hoping to see some exciting debuts in this season - I've got a few R&J and Giselle pairings I'd love to see happen! The triple bills all look interesting (especially the Serenade/SV/DGV one) and although I wont be going to see Nutcracker, I understand why O'Hare has scheduled it and appreciate that he's putting on Jewels as a "grown-up" Christmas treat. Not so keen on Sleeping Beauty - would have preferred something like Coppelia or La Fille in its place!

Thanks so much guys! I'm definitely looking forward to writing my name under Cope's... swanprincess - Yeah, Rothbart is a really fun part to play It's a bit harder than I thought - I'm not used to playing an evil and arrogant character!

I'm not sure many of my classmates knew Cope's name (most of the girls are around 16) but once I mentioned he was Darcey Bussell's partner their excitement kicked in!

Hey guys - couldn't resist sharing this story! My Russian Ballet School and Russian Youth Ballet Company are doing a production of Swan Lake in April, and I have been lucky enough to be cast as Rothbart (Acts II-IV), Spanish (Act III) and the Tutor (Act I). Tonight we were getting different parts of our costume: for me it was my Act III dual Rothbart/Spanish costume. I tried on my black and ruby top (one of those ones that come down to midriff level) and my teachers told me to try on a few pairs of ballet boots to see which fit. I ended up with a knee high pair that look pretty awesome (and rather in character). I then proceeded to look at some writing on the inside of the cuff which said who the previous owner was.... Jonathan Cope! I nearly fainted with shock! Turns out my ballet teachers have bought a few boots from the Royal Ballet and Mr Cope's were the best fit for me Needless to say, the boots have inspired me to work even harder to try and remotely do them justice in the performances in April. Just thought I'd share!

I'd be really intrigued to see Lauren's interpretation of Tatiana - I'm always blown away by her acting and depth in dramatic roles. Has she ever danced Tatiana (I presume not) or Olga?