zxDaveM

no, you didn't imagine the slight hiccups - I'm forever amazed they don't make more, more often! the yellowing - might be overcompensating for the blue tint for the 'midnight moonlit (?) lake scene'. Only a guess mind. I was going to say that perhaps the screen it was projected on wasn't that clean - back in the days when you could smoke in the cinema I don't think the screens were ever white - more like a mucky brown!! Can't imagine its that these days though.

I think i must have been almost the only regular here, who was actually THERE! :-) The yellowing, was probably an over-compensation for the lighting, would be my best guess. Many productions from many companies, have marvelous costumes, with beautiful colours - then the lighting turns them all sepia shades of brown. @Ann - Zen has for me always been one of the most emotionally satisfying of the RB's Swan Queens. Although they seemed to be dancing a bit cautiously last night, Zenaida always seemed atuned to the music, and resists the modern trend of 'playing' with the score (slowing down, then speeding back up to get back to the score - or vice versa). She also emotes very well - so her performances always seem to grasp you somehow. @Patsomerset - what did you get for the extra £1.10??

I was - thanks for sharing. I'll confess when I heard about it that I thought ALL the tickets were £200, so didn't look much further! I realise it wasn't aimed at the likes of me though - I can just about stretch to £25 at a push - beyond that, I'll admire with nose pressed the window glass....

oh - and they seem to b able to co-operate (at least, at dancer level) for charity galas and the like. Perhaps 'an evening with... ' type shows, with a selection of a few of the top names from 3-4 companies, might prove attractive. Maybe?

it would be great if they could avoid all doing Swan Lake or Cinderella or whatever at the same time (excepion being all doing Nutcracker at Christmas, which is a bit of a given really). Or one of the touring companies perhaps fitting in a run of shows in Sadler's Wells, when say the RB aren't doing anything, rather than when they have a full week on.

sounds groovy - lovely cast. Sadly, beyond he contents of my wallet (even for the 'cheap seats'), or I'd have been here!

He'll be Onegin surely (Valeri Hristov as Lensky)

thanks all - for the kind words about the photos :-)

Gosh, no - they have their own in-house photographers, and/or commissioned photographers to get those. Ours are independent of those - a sorta nice addition, as we can put up more than a few, and more of the company members, so capture more of the entire performance. Which is nice (I hope!)

No, sadly - she just popped into the auditorium to watch for a bit, and I didn't think swiveling the camera around would have met approval! ;-)

I was lucky enough to attend the dress rehearsal up in Milton Keynes, earlier in the week, and here are some photos from that. Looked great! English National Ballet's Sleeping Beauty - Daria Klimentova as the Lilac Fairy © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr English National Ballet's Sleeping Beauty - Vadim Muntagirov as The Prince © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr English National Ballet's Sleeping Beauty - Tamara Rojo as Aurora © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr See more... Set on Flickr - English National Ballet's 'Sleeping Beauty' Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

silly - the elephants are running the BBQ. Those trunks are nifty at flipping burgers...

Sarah is probably the most intelligent dancer in the company (especially now Tamara Rojo left), and for me, brings a lot to her performances in the 'story' ballets as she gives them a lot of thought, as well as dancing them brilliantly (OK, i'll admit i'm bisased, as he is one of my fave dancers). Her Manon was sublime, her Juliet was wonderful, her Odette/Odile magnificent. So I have no doubt her Tatiana will be worth watching (oh - and watch out for Yasmine Nagdhi's 'Olga' too - a young dancer with a big future, I'm sure)

is the fish one simply a red herring?

It is! The fashion seems to be 'gloom designers', rather than lighting designers. I'd much rather see the dancing, than the lighting effects, no matter how good and clever they are - and not just as a photographer, but as a punter too.

Rambert Dance Company are at Sadler's Wells this week. A brand new piece, Labyrinth of Love (chor by Marguerite Donlon) is included, and here are a couple of pics... Labyrinth of Love - Julia Gillespie and Adam Park © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Antonette Dayrit being shadowed (in Labyrinth of Love © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr See more... Set on Flickr - Rambert Dance Company's 'Labyrinth of Love' Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

just look at the Ballet Black booking, as a workaround. As for booking - dead easy, now there's nothing left to scrabble for!

I'm probably in the minority on ths one, but I love the swans' costumes. As they dance, they become very 'swan-like', much more so than with saucer's around their middles. So I'd keep those for acts 2&4, and most of the setup in Act 1 too. Act 3 though.... black costumes with black background - not nice. The 'national' dances need de-frilling (a lot) - the 6 Princesses would need differing costumes (imagine 6 women of any description turning up to a party in the same frock - there'd be WAR!)

Thanks Nina and 'Don'. Did anyone actually see the performance, and want to let us know how it was? The rehearsal was pretty good - but a performance is always up several notches...

(released on Facebook)

Karen Napier announced as Chief Executive. Speaking to English National Ballet staff today, Karen said: “I think that English National Ballet is the most exciting company in the UK arts scene today and I feel privileged to have the chance to lead it.” Read the full press release; http://bit.ly/OWmIRx.

Here is the correct link to the set of Swan Lake pics on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dancetabs/sets/72157631715750619 Sorry about that!

The Royal Ballet start the new 2012-2013 season with a run of Swan Lake this October. There was a family/first timers show on Saturday afternoon, but the accepted 'opening night' is Monday 8th, with Marianela Nunez and Thiago Soares in the leads. Here are some photos from their dress reherasal last week: Royal Ballet's Swan Lake - Odette and Prince Siegfried (Marianela Nunez & Thiago Soares) © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Swan Lake - Emma-Jane Maguire as a Cygnet © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Swan Lake - Odette (Marianela Nunez) and lead Swans © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr See more... Set on Flickr - Royal Ballet's Swan Lake Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr By kind Permission of the Royal Opera House

here is a smidgen of the impressive dancing of Richard Alston's dancers, appearing at the Place at the moment: Richard Alston Dance Company - Oihana Vesga Bujan © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Richard Alston Dance Company - Hannah Kidd © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Richard Alston Dance Company - Nathan Goodman © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr See more... Set on Flickr - Richard Alston Dance Company at The Place Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr

Continu - Sasha Waltz & Guests, at Sadler's Wells on the last weekend of September, 2012. Here are some example photos... Continu - Sasha Waltz & Guests © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Continu - Sasha Waltz & Guests © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr Continu - Sasha Waltz & Guests © Dave Morgan. Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr See more... Set on Flickr - Sasha Waltz & Guests in 'Continu' Courtesy of DanceTabs / Flickr