Sue S.

I had vertigo for many weeks before I was eventually referred to the Balance Clinic. The staff there carried out the Epley Manoevre and I was instantly cured! It was quite painless; I lay on the couch and they moved my head and neck into various positions. The vertigo has not come back but if it does I would definitely return to the Balance Clinic. Hope this is helpful.

I must have watched ballet on TV when I was growing up as I remember names like Christopher Soames and Nadia Nerina, but I didn't see Ballet "live" at a Theatre until my own children were grown up and I saw BRB's Nutcracker in Birmingham. After seeing this afew times I started to get "hooked" and my sister and I saw an advert in the programme for BRB Friends. We decided to join Friends and the first Studio Rehearsal we saw was "Hobson's Choice"; Christopher Larsen was rehearsing Will Mossop and we were totally enthralled. Then we watched a Mens Class one Saturday morning and started to appreciate the sheer effort and energy that goes in to being a Ballet Dancer. From then we were soon booking to see all BRB's productions in Birmingham,and like most people on this Forum soon wanted to see different Casts performing the same Ballet.The next stage was going to watch BRB perform on Tour, usually at the Lowry or Coliseum but once in Virginia, USA. It has been a wonderful 10 years or so when I have learned so much about Ballet and made lots of like minded friends along the way. It's an expensive hobby, but so worth it!

I have seen Cinderella several times now but the Matinee on Wednesday 5th December was a very special, and joyous, performance. I think I am right in saying that the roles of Cinderella and the Prince were debut performances for Maureya Lebowitz and Mathias Dingman, and what stunning debuts they were. Maureya danced with such confidence, grace and beauty and her acting and facial expressions were wonderful. Her entrance to the Ball in Act 2, as she came on pointe to the front of the Stage was a spine tingling moment. She was superbly partnered by Mathias Dingman, who looked sparkling in his marvellous costumes. Again some lovely, often moving, facial expressions and acting, accompanied by exciting jumps and lifts. Such a joy to watch. I don't know enough to comment on the technical content of the dancing of this couple, but I do know that they are capable of "moving the soul" of the audience ( memories of their performances in Madding Crowd earlier in the year) and that to me is great dancing. It seems unfair to pick out individual dancers to comment on from such a great overall performance by everyone, but i do love it when we see "junior" dancers being given solo/leading roles and watching how they perform them. At this matinee we saw Karla Doorbar dancing the Spring Fairy, and very good she was too; so graceful and with wonderfully precise footwork. The solos danced by the Seasons Fairies look incredibly difficult and she seemed to manage it with ease. Then amongst the Princes Friends we had Max Maslen. I have noticed him before in various small roles but this time we got to see him showing us some fine classical dancing. And then partnering Karla Doorbar when the Fairies came on. Perhaps a very exciting future partnership, who knows? The other relative newcomer who continues to shine is William Bracewell; beautiful line and stunning jumps. ( and he looks so like Jamie Bond) Although I have mentioned those Dancers this was a wonderful performance overall, from the little Mice to the main Dancers, to the magnificent Orchestra. Thank you all for a very special afternoon. The young people sitting behind us had not been to a Ballet before and were talking about the Disney Cinderella before the performance started; even singing the Disney music! I was abit worried about what they would make of the Ballet of Cinderella, not to mention Prokoviev's music, but I needn't have worried, within minutes they were totally wrapped up in the ballet, laughing at Skinny and Dumpy ( Carol-Anne Millar has really perfected this role) and clapping and cheering at appropriate times. Hopefully some young Ballet fans were created!

It was Gala Night at Elmhurst School for dance last night. This is the Schools' main Annual Fundraiser and tickets are quite expensive, but it was a great night. It seems to be largely attended by Friends of Elmhurst and other financial sponsors, and I think afew parents. My son in law was very thrilled to see Dion Dublin there! Apparently he is a regular supporter of the School. The evening started with a Reception with drinks and canapes. We actually missed the canapes as we had been held up in heavy traffic and driving rain on the M6, but arrived just in time for the Dedication of Studio 1 to Sir Peter Wright. Desmond Kelly and Sir Peter said afew words and a plaque was unveiled. There was also some musical entertainment from Mr.Robson and several pupils; and other pupils were on the Doors and indeed outside the building ( in the rain!) to welcome you as you arrived. Raffle Tickets were being sold - again quite expensive but with excellent prizes; including 2 tickets for the CBSO at the Symphony Hall which I was very thrilled to win! Other people won Vouchers for Harvey Nicholls, for Waitrose, Tickets for the cricket at Edgbaston and tickets for a BRB performance. At 7.45pm we went into the Theatre. The programme was similar to the Summer Rendezvous Concert which has already been written up, but with the addition of a Tap Trio. I can't comment too much on the Tap Trio because it was choreographed and danced by my grandson so I am bound to be biased! But it was good to see yet another genre of Dance represented in the Show. I just wished the boys could have been given costumes which were a bit more "Hollywood". The other addition was a contribution from BRB Dancers and each year some of the Dancers seem to volunteer their services to the School. Last night we had Laura-Jane Gibson, James Barton ( both of whom trained at Elmhurst) and Jamie Bond dancing 2 excerpts from La Fille Mal Gardee, with the help of some of the older girls from Elmhurst. The last performance was again Le Rendezvous which I thought was very well danced and then the wonderful Defile with all the pupils still smiling even though it was getting quite late for the youngest ones. Mr. Kelly said afew words to close a very enjoyable evening. If you are reading this and have never been to Elmhursts' Gala night, it's well worth a visit next year. The School need the financial help and you will have a great evening!

In answer to Sue Bretts Question; no, I didn't think the Cast I described were necessarily "better", but I did enjoy their interpretation more. I thought they were generally more expressive and therefore for me more watchable. But definitely lots of fabulous dancing from both Casts.

I absolutely love David Bintley's narrative ballets and Far from the Madding Crowd was the best I have seen. It had so much content and left you with lots to think about afterwards.What a pity that the Theatre wasn't full; people don't know what they are missing. I read a comment on Twitter from Kit holder - maybe it should be called "The only way is Wessex" , that would have pulled the crowds in! I was lucky enough to see both Casts perform this Ballet and therefore saw very different interpretations of the various roles. I loved Jamie Bond's characterization of Sergeant Troy; so well researched, brilliantly acted and danced. I thought Natasha O's Bathsheba was probably a little softer and gentler than Thomas Hardy's Bathsheba, but as I read in one review, she was completely "irresistible" and she certainly was. Her facial expressions and smile just light up the Stage. Did anyone else just love Matthias Dingman's Gabriel Oak? Such a mature and sensitive performance and his dancing was stunning.His gentle expressions when he looked at Bathsheba were very moving. Another special moment for me was a little pdd between Fanny Robin ( Maureya L.) and a character danced by James Barton; just beautiful. Then James B. went on to dance the Clown in Act 3; again pefectly danced and acted with brilliant comic timing. Just a final little mention for Brandon Lawrence; he danced various roles and is another dancer with great comedy skills in one scene, but who can be dancing a wonderful, graceful waltz in the next scene. Always a joy to watch. I could go on and on; so many special moments in this Ballet. I do hope BRB do it again soon.

Final note on William Bracewell - I have just been lucky enough to see him dance the Don Quixote pdd again at an Elmhurst Concert. It was a Concert they put on as a Tribute to their artistic Director Desmond Kelly who retires in July, and as part of the concert there were guest performances from BRB dancers;William B. and Nao Sakuma danced this pdd. I can only say it was even better than at Buxton and he will be such an inspiration to the Elmhurst Students.

My sister and I have just returned from 24 hours in Buxton and I promised Janet McN. that I would write afew words! I love going to watch some of the Split Tour as it is great to get together with other BRB Friends, and there is always the chance that you might see young up and coming dancers being given the opportunity to dance big roles. We were not disappointed on either score! The highlight for me had to be seeing the wonderfully elegant and graceful William Bracewell dancing the Don Quixote pdd with Nao Sakuma. This young man is going to be so exciting for us to watch over the next few years. We were lucky enough to see 2 performances, so we also saw this pdd danced by Maureya L. and Matthias Dingman; also splendid to watch, and Maureya seems to throw her personality into everything she dances, so she is very watchable indeed. I have seen Lyric Pieces several times now ( Crescent Theatre) and it definitely grows on you. I found it particularly beautiful watched from the Dress Circle, having seen it from the Stalls previously. The piano music which accompanies it is wonderful. In the Bitesized ballet we saw Oliver Till dancing an excellent Will Mossop, full of charm and fun; partnered in the Lily of Laguna pdd by Ambra Vallo. Nobody does Maggie Hobson like Ambra Vallo! It was delightful and the audience loved it. Then Pineaple Poll, which was hugely popular with the Buxton audience. It's always interesting to listen to the comments of people who have never seen it before. And for those of us who have seen it many times, what a treat to see Benjamin Soerel as a splendid Captain Belaye. Great fun and beautifully danced too. All in all two excellent performances and I do hope BRB return to Buxton.

Moving to BRB - I would absolutely love to see Celine Gittins dance Odette/Odile.

My sister and I saw 2 matinee performances at the O2 on 29th and 30th December. We have seen Nutcracker many times in Birmingham, but had never been to the O2 Arena and were interested to see how the production adapted to the Arena and how it was received by the audience. The seats we had booked turned out to be behind the platform they had built for the cameras, and we were very quickly escorted to seats in Block 102, which although at the side of the stage gave us a pretty good view and although I have read in some reviews that the orchestra did not sound good, the sound was good from these particular seats. Previous people have already commented about the Proscenium arch and the extended stage; I thought the dancers made full use of the extra space and we saw some wonderful and exciting jumps from some of them. ( Brandon Lawrence, William Bracewell and Carol-Anne Millar in particular) It was lovely to see the children brought forward as well and often positioned right at the front of the stage during the party. We quite enjoyed Joe McElderry's songs ( 3 Christmas carols) although didn't quite understand why it had been decided that he should introduce the Ballet. Actually he didn't introduce it; that duty was beautifully mimed by the Magician's Assistant ( James Barton) and no help was needed from anyone else! The large screen above the Stage was useful for seeing close-ups of dancers and I liked the way the camera showed close-ups of the box of toy soldiers and the Nutcracker doll; all helpful in telling the story. It was surprising how quickly you adapted to glancing at the screen and then back to the stage; although I suspect that people sitting further away would have been very reliant on the screen. Another good idea was when a summary of the story was projected on to the screen before each Act. We certainly heard parents reading this to their children. We thought the Arena was about two thirds full for each of the matinees we attended. It was abit daunting to see people going to their seats with hot dogs, chips, beer etc. but actually the audience seemed fairly quiet with applause in appropriate places and certainly lots of cheering, whistles and afew Bravos at the end. We also heard lots of positive comments about the transformation scene during the Interval. For us some of the magic of Nutcracker was lost by putting it in this huge space, but alot of it was still beautiful ( The snow scene particularly) and benefitted from the extra space. We went knowing it was not going to be like it is at the Hippodrome and we enjoyed it. Well done to BRB for all the hard work it must have taken to put it on.