News - Birmingham Royal Ballet, Sleeping Beauty, Spring Tour 2024

[Ondine]

1 hour ago, SheilaC said:

It is the biggest theatre in the NE, with a huge stalls.

 

And utterly gorgeous!

 

 

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/theatre-news/sunderland-empire-invites-theatre-lovers-27496087

 

(Also the Rosslyn babes danced there, I so, so wanted to be a Rosslyn Babe but my mother refused to allow me to audition!! 😊 I did have the hairdo though.)

 

https://www.sunderlandecho.com/heritage-and-retro/retro/another-selection-of-tunes-from-sunderlands-very-own-rosslyn-babes-and-it-was-last-heard-40-years-ago-3090488

 

 

[Jan McNulty]

4 minutes ago, alison said:

Now, that *is* a surprise.  Mind you, I suppose BRB's Auroras will have had quite a tiring run by that stage.

 

 

I see it's not on sale yet, but I'm surprised Friends etc. haven't already been notified.

 

BRB usually have 4 or 5 casts for SB so given the small number of performances in a couple of the venues I doubt the BRB Auroras will be that tired to give wonderful performances at SW!

[San Perregrino]

1 hour ago, Dawnstar said:

This article says that Cojocaru will be guesting for the Thursday & Saturday evening performances at Sadler's Wells. I guess I'll have to re-think my intention of not booking until nearer the time as I would like to see her & her performances will probably sell quickly.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/westend/article/Birmingham-Royal-Ballets-THE-SLEEPING-BEAUTY-Will-Tour-The-UK-In-Spring-2024-20231024

Her dancing say in Birmingham would have made more sense but perhaps Sadlers is a harder sell to the public. Or it may just be a question of availability. Anyhows Sadlers is closer to home for me so I’m not complaining.
I wonder if she’ll be paired with a BRB Prince or whether there’s to be a further guest announcement….

 

Edited October 24, 2023 by PeterS

[Jan McNulty]

And the press release:

 

PRESS RELEASE

24 October 2023

 

 

BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET’S THE SLEEPING BEAUTY
TO TOUR THE UK IN SPRING 2024
 

 

• SIR PETER WRIGHT’S CLASSIC STAGING TO TOUR TO SOUTHAMPTON, BIRMINGHAM, SALFORD, SUNDERLAND, PLYMOUTH, BRISTOL AND LONDON
   
• 2024 MARKS 40 YEARS OF SIR PETER WRIGHT’S BELOVED PRODUCTION
   
• ALINA COJOCARU TO GUEST STAR IN SELECT PERFORMANCES AT LONDON’S SADLER’S WELLS
   
• TICKETS FOR ALL VENUES NOW ON SALE - BRB.ORG.UK 

 

Following a sell-out success and one of the most talked about theatrical events of 2023 with Black Sabbath - The Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet returns to the beloved classics with a 2024 UK tour of Sir Peter Wright’s sumptuous staging of The Sleeping Beauty in the production’s 40th anniversary year.

 

The UK tour will visit the Mayflower Theatre, Southampton (8-10 Feb), Birmingham Hippodrome (21 Feb-2 Mar), The Lowry, Salford (7-9 Mar), Sunderland Empire (14-16 Mar), Theatre Royal, Plymouth (20-23 Mar), Bristol Hippodrome (18-20 Apr) and London’s Sadler’s Wells (24-27 Apr).

 

The acclaimed Royal Ballet and English National Ballet Principal, Alina Cojocaru will return to the London stage for special guest star performances at Sadler’s Wells at evening performances on both Thursday 25 April and Saturday 27 April 2023. Throughout her illustrious career Alina Cojocaru has received acclaim for her performances in classic roles such as Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Giselle and, perhaps most famously, Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty - for which she won the Critics' Circle Dance Award for Outstanding Female Classical Performance in 2017. Alina is a regular guest artist with the Hamburg Ballet as well as appearing with companies across the globe. In 2020, she presented her own programme “Alina at the Wells” at Sadler's Wells.

 

The 2024 tour of The Sleeping Beauty follows on from the 2023 UK tour of Sir Peter Wright’s Swan Lake - BRB’s most successful spring tour to date, having been seen by over 53,000 people.

 

Last seen on UK stages over six years ago, The Sleeping Beauty continues Birmingham Royal Ballet’s legacy of presenting the acclaimed heritage classics and celebrating the beloved work of its founder, Sir Peter Wright. The Sleeping Beauty is the fourth of Sir Peter Wright’s productions to be presented by the company since autumn 2022, following Coppélia, The Nutcracker and Swan Lake. The acclaimed Royal Ballet Sinfonia performs Tchaikovsky’s glorious score live, with designs by Philip Prowse and lighting design by Mark Jonathan. 

 

Sir Peter Wright said: “I find it hard to believe that this tour marks the 40th Anniversary of The Sleeping Beauty. This has always been the most opulent of ballets, but Philip Prowse’s incredible design created a unique fairy tale world (with almost 30 fairy character tutus alone!) that allows dancers to really inhabit some of classical ballet’s most famous roles.”

 

Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet Carlos Acosta said: “I am thrilled to be reviving Sir Peter Wright’s production of The Sleeping Beauty in the Spring of 2024.  The Company is excited to be delighting audiences once more with this definitive version of one of the great classical ballets, welcoming people of all ages to our performances throughout the UK.

 

"I am also honoured that the acclaimed Principal Ballerina, Alina Cojocaru, will be joining the Company for selected performances at London’s Sadler’s Wells, sharing her celebrated interpretation of the role of Princess Aurora."

Listings:

 

Southampton Mayflower Theatre
8–10 February 2024
 

Birmingham Hippodrome
21 February–2 March 2024
 

The Lowry, Salford
7–9 March 2024
 

Sunderland Empire
14–16 March 2024
 

Theatre Royal Plymouth
20–23 March 2024

 

Bristol Hippodrome
18 - 20 April 2024

 

Sadler’s Wells, London
24 - 27 April 2024

 

Choreography: Peter Wright, Lev Ivanov, Marius Petipa

Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Production: Peter Wright

Designs: Philip Prowse

Lighting: Mark Jonathan

Notes to Editors: 

Birmingham Royal Ballet

 

Based at Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham Royal Ballet is the United Kingdom’s leading touring ballet company performing a range of traditional, classical and heritage ballets as well as ground-breaking new works with the aim of encouraging choreographers of the future.

 

The Company’s Director since January 2020 is the internationally renowned Carlos Acosta.

 

Birmingham Royal Ballet standardly performs at Birmingham Hippodrome for approximately ten weeks of the year and the remainder of the year tours throughout the United Kingdom and overseas. On average, the Company performs 100 shows a year nationally and internationally.

 

The Royal Ballet Sinfonia

 

The Royal Ballet Sinfonia is Birmingham Royal Ballet’s permanent orchestra, it is also Britain's busiest ballet orchestra. The Sinfonia also plays frequently for The Royal Ballet and other leading ballet companies, including performances withParis Opéra Ballet, New York City Ballet, Australian Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, the Kirov, Norwegian Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and La Scala Ballet.

 

Alina Cojocaru

 

Born in Bucharest, Alina trained in Kiev for seven years before joining the Royal Ballet School in 1997. Upon completion of her training, six month later, she returned to Kiev, to join the company as a principal dancer. A year later she joined the Royal Ballet Company (November 1999) and at the end of the season she was promoted to Soloist. On 17 April 2001 Sir Anthony Dowell promoted Alina to the rank of principal dancer after her performance of Giselle. Alina performed as a Leading Principal Dancer with the English National Ballet from 2013 until 2020. She continues to perform as a guest artist with companies worldwide, and is a regular guest with the Hamburg Ballet. Alina has organized Gala's in Romania and in London (Hospice of Hope) over the last few years. In February 2012 Alina premiered her Alina Cojocaru - Dream Project, in Tokyo, Japan, which she directed and staged, while performing along side friends and colleagues from the Tokyo Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, ENB and Royal Ballet. Alina's second Dream Project took place in July 2014 and 3rd in February 2020. In 2015 Alina presented a charity Gala at the Lincoln Center NY. In 2020 she presented her own programme “Alina at the Wells” at the Sadler's Wells Theatre in London.

 

Repertory includes:

Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Princess Aurora and Princess Florine in Sleeeping Beauty, Julie in Liliom, Marguerite Gautier in Lady of the Camellias, Vera and Natalya in A Month in the Country, Kitri in Don Quixote, Olga and Tatiana in Onegin, Cinderella, The Sugar Plum Fairy and Clara in Nutcracker, Titania in Dream, Titania and Hippolyta in a Midsummer nights dream, Ballerina in Etudes, Nikiya in Bayadere, Diamonds in Jewels, Marguerite in Marguerite and Armand, Symphonic Variations, Mary Vetsera in Mayerling, Manon, La Sylphide, In the Night, Las Hermanas, Swanilda in Coppelia, Nina in Seagull ,Scenes de Ballet, Gong, Masquerade, Polyphonia, Symphony in C, Chloe in Daphnis and Chloe, Lise in Fille Mal Gardee, Student in The Lesson, Duo Concertant, The Leaves Are Fading, Other Dances, Voices of Spring, Beyond Bach, Tombeaux, Ondine, Virtiginous Thrill Of Exatitude, Fest Polonaise, Stars and Stribes, Raymonda act 3, Flames of Paris, Medora in Le Corsaire, Flower Festival, Napoli act 3, Grand Pas Classique, Tjakovski Pas de Deux. Musorgski Waltz, Dances at a Gathering, Dying Swan, Rushes, Two Footnotes, Chroma, Bird as a Prophet, No Man's Land, Sylvie in In the Middle somewhat Elevated, Spring and Fall, Approximate Sonata, Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Mahler 5th and many more.   

 

 Created Roles includes:

Musketeer and Valse (Rubina Alla Davidovna), Swanilda(Anatolyi Shekera's Coppelia), Ad infinities (Vanessa Fenton), There where she loves (Christopher Wheeldon), This House will Burn (Ashley Page), Les Saisons(David Bintley), Two Footnotes, Bird as a Prophet, Rushes(Kim Brandstrup), Engram and Chroma(Wayne McGregor), Les Lutins and La Sylphide (Johan Kobborg), Julie in John Neumeier's Liliom, Laura in John Neumeier’s Glass Menagerie,  24 Preludes (Alexei Ratmansky), Solveig in John Neumeier's Peer Gynt, Giselle in Akram Khan's Giselle, Second Breath (Russell Maliphant) and others.

 

As a Guest Artist: 

She appears with the Kirov Ballet, Paris Opera, Bolshoi Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Hamburg Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Hungarian National Ballet, Viena State Opera, Zurich Ballet, National Ballet of Portugal, La Scala, Nacional Ballet Of Cuba, Teatro Colon, National Ballet of Romania, South African Ballet Theater, Kremlin Ballet, Sarasota Ballet, Zagreb Ballet, NBS, The Tokyo Ballet, New National Ballet Company, Zurich Ballet Company. Galas with Hamburg Ballet, La Scala Ballet, National Ballet Of China, Ballet Basel, National Ballet of Latvia, Munich Ballet, Dortmund Ballet, National Ballet of Finland, Morphoses Company, The 10/11/12/13 and 14th World Ballet Festival (Tokyo), Fall for Dance Festival 2016 and 2018 as well as galas in South Korea, Portugal, Italy, Sweden, USA and Denmark. 

 

Prizes and awards includes: 

Critics' Circle Dance Award ( 2002 Best female dancer, 2018 outstanding female classical performance Aurora in Sleeping Beauty, 2017 Giselle in Akram Khan)

 

Dance for You Magazine (2014 Best dancer (Juliet and Giselle / Ch. Neumeier)), Taglioni-European Ballet Award (2014 Best female dancer), German Dance critics award (2012 Dancer of the year),  Benois De la Dance (2012 Best female dancer, (Liliom)), "Ballerina of the Decade" Award (Moscow 2010), VIP Romanian music and performing arts Award (2010). The Nijinsky Award (2004 Best female Dancer). Benois De la Dance (2004 Best female dancer, (Giselle)), 1 Internationaler Movimentos Tanz Preis (2004 Best female dancer), Nagoya International Ballet Competition(Gold Medal), Prix De Lausanne (1997 Winner), April 2002 she was given by the president of Romania Ion Iliescu, the medal of Cavaler of Romania (Ordinul national "Pentru Merit"in gradul de cavaler).

 

Video,TV and live relays include: 

Kennedy Center Awards 2012, Swan Lake, Cinderella, Nutcracker, Onegin, Daphnis and Chloe, Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, The South Bank Show, The Dream, Manon, Cinderella, Romeo and Juliet,Mime Matters, Don Quixote and pas de deuxs in various galas. 

[San Perregrino]

6 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

TICKETS FOR ALL VENUES NOW ON SALE - BRB.ORG.UK 

not 100% true as Sadlers Wells isn’t listed at the time of writing 

Edited October 24, 2023 by PeterS
Detail

[Jan McNulty]

31 minutes ago, PeterS said:

not 100% true as Sadlers Wells isn’t listed at the time of writing 

 

 

See new thread on Sadler's Wells 2024 productions.

[San Perregrino]

14 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

 

See new thread on Sadler's Wells 2024 productions.

Thanks @Jan McNulty 

the point I was trying to make is that by following the link in the press release which says ALL venues now on sale, you get to the BRB website which does not have Sadlers Wells. 
Perhaps I’m being old and nitpickity but I used to work in PR and all details of a Press Release were checked and double-checked before being released to the public. There’s plenty of comment all over the Forum of errors and inconsistencies. This is just another example.

[Jan McNulty]

5 minutes ago, PeterS said:

Thanks @Jan McNulty 

the point I was trying to make is that by following the link in the press release which says ALL venues now on sale, you get to the BRB website which does not have Sadlers Wells. 
Perhaps I’m being old and nitpickity but I used to work in PR and all details of a Press Release were checked and double-checked before being released to the public. There’s plenty of comment all over the Forum of errors and inconsistencies. This is just another example.

 

Sadly, as I process the PRs for the Forum I have noticed that many of them contain errors.  I have, before now, written to the issuer and pointed out very glaring errors (eg one containing the wrong dates for performances!).

 

In this instance I think that the writer was between a rock and a hard place as the PR from Sadler's Wells (which lists the BRB date) and the BRB PR came out at more or less the same time and perhaps the BRB PR person (they seem to use a company these days rather than having their own PR officer) had not realised that the SW tickets were not yet on sale.  

 

I have noticed that the BRB website seems to be very slow at being updated at the moment.

[Emeralds]

Great job, thank you @Jan McNultyand @Dawnstar- that really helps us to plan. No secret that I always look forward to seeing Alina Cojocaru dance in the UK again (easier than flying to Hamburg) and thank you, Alina and Carlos, that it's the weekend that I can attend! I notice that all being well, this means that Alina will have danced in all three major Sleeping Beauty productions in the UK: Royal Ballet (Monica Mason's after Sergeyev and de Valois, but also briefly, Makarova's), ENB (Kenneth MacMillan's), BRB (Peter Wright's)....and also productions all around the world. It's a role very much associated with her and so, members who haven't seen her dance Aurora, I highly recommend seeing her on Thursday or Saturday night (and at least one other cast...or more!) It's a gorgeous production.  Roll on April! 

Edited October 25, 2023 by Emeralds

[annamicro]

1 hour ago, Emeralds said:

This means that Alina will have danced in all three major Sleeping Beauty productions in the UK: Royal Ballet (Monica Mason's after Sergeyev and de Valois, but also briefly, Makarova's), ENB (Kenneth MacMillan's), BRB (Peter Wright's)....

 

Not an addition to her repertoire: if I remember well, Cojocaru has already danced BRB Sleeping Beauty in 2018 (with Dingman)

[Dawnstar]

Can anyone say if BRB's production has a similar "floorplan" to the RB's? What I mean is whether the stage is arranged in a similar way so the thrones in the Prologue are stage left/audience's right, the staircase in Act I stage right/audience's left, Aurora's bed upstage more to the right/audience's left at the end of Act II, etc.? I'm not sure yet where I'll be able to afford to sit, as it doesn't seem to be possible to see the price bands in advance on SW's website, but if I have to go for a restricted view seat then I would like to know if it's like the RB production where I find it's better to sit on the right side of the auditorium than the left.

[ChrisG]

On 24/10/2023 at 16:50, alison said:

I see it's not on sale yet, but I'm surprised Friends etc. haven't already been notified.

They have now! Priority booking email came today

[capybara]

1 hour ago, ChrisG said:

They have now! Priority booking email came today

Yes - 48 hours behind the pace. Not good.

[Jan McNulty]

4 hours ago, Dawnstar said:

Can anyone say if BRB's production has a similar "floorplan" to the RB's? What I mean is whether the stage is arranged in a similar way so the thrones in the Prologue are stage left/audience's right, the staircase in Act I stage right/audience's left, Aurora's bed upstage more to the right/audience's left at the end of Act II, etc.? I'm not sure yet where I'll be able to afford to sit, as it doesn't seem to be possible to see the price bands in advance on SW's website, but if I have to go for a restricted view seat then I would like to know if it's like the RB production where I find it's better to sit on the right side of the auditorium than the left.

 

There is a good album on BRB's website here.

 

The crib is at the back centre.  The King and Queen sit at the back on either side but not too close while the fairies are dancing.  Carabosse enters and exits left back as you are looking at the stage.

 

Aurora enters left back (as you are looking at the stage) down shallow steps that go right across the stage.  The King and Queen sit on the right hand side of the stage.  The Princes amass on the right hand side.  Aurora is laid to sleep centre back.

 

In the hunting/vision scene Gallison (the Prince's aide) sits on the left hand side of the stage as you are looking at it.  Some Gallisons can be well worth watching - for me Michael O'Hare reigns supreme in stealing the scene with a small role.  I absolutely LOVE the vision scene the way SPW almost uses the corps as the forest.

 

In the celebration scene most of the action takes place centre stage.

 

Don't forget that this is a touring production that has been performed at all BRB's current and some previous venues so although incredibly sumptuous the set size is altered to fit the stage.  I can't wait to see this gorgeous production again.

 

 

 

 

 

[Dawnstar]

Thank you very much @Jan McNulty. I had looked at the photos on Sadler's Wells website but they only had dancer close-ups & not any full stage ones. Seeing full stage photos on BRB's website has made me realise that I have in fact seen a video of the production, danced by Dutch National Ballet, one of the myriad of lockdown streamings. I remember there being a lot of gold!

Edited October 25, 2023 by Dawnstar
Typos

[alison]

5 hours ago, ChrisG said:

They have now! Priority booking email came today

 

Not to me, it hasn't.

[FionaM]

21 hours ago, annamicro said:

 

Not an addition to her repertoire: if I remember well, Cojocaru has already danced BRB Sleeping Beauty in 2018 (with Dingman)

yes she did … on the BRB tour to Japan.  
 

His social media post about it with photos:

 

Maybe they will partner again 🤞

 

In addition, she has performed various versions abroad … at the Mariinsky in 2006 (Vikharev production) with Andrian Fadeev (subsequently AD of Yakobson), Neumeier’s version in Hamburg many times, and most especially her debut as a principal with Kiev National Ballet aged 16!

 

Alina in Kiev aged 16

https://www.instagram.com/p/CALOW4SgRWV/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

[Emeralds]

On 25/10/2023 at 15:14, annamicro said:

 

Not an addition to her repertoire: if I remember well, Cojocaru has already danced BRB Sleeping Beauty in 2018 (with Dingman)

Yes,  that was abroad in Japan.  I was referring to performances in Britain - "danced in all three.....in the UK".  😉 

[Jan McNulty]

Casting for the whole tour has now been announced.  I'm very pleased to see that Cesar is dancing the Prince (with glorious Miki) but am devastated that I will not be able to see Beatrice and Tzu-Chao.

 

https://www.brb.org.uk/shows/the-sleeping-beauty

 

Scroll down for venue/date/cast - no easy way to reproduce.

[capybara]

1 minute ago, Jan McNulty said:

https://www.brb.org.uk/shows/the-sleeping-beauty

 

Scroll down for venue/date/cast - no easy way to reproduce.

If only BRB didn’t make it necessary to look at every performance individually in order to see the casting.

[Dawnstar]

I'm pleased to see Dingman is partnering Cojocaru. I've been holding off booking until her partner was announced. I'm also pleased to see Samara Downs is dancing, as someone said on here a while ago that she might have retired. Not that I can see her though as she's only dancing in Plymouth & Sunderland, the two venues that are furthest away from me.

[Jan McNulty]

8 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

I'm pleased to see Dingman is partnering Cojocaru. I've been holding off booking until her partner was announced. I'm also pleased to see Samara Downs is dancing, as someone said on here a while ago that she might have retired. Not that I can see her though as she's only dancing in Plymouth & Sunderland, the two venues that are furthest away from me.

 

In respect of Samara it was announced by the company ages ago that she would be transitioning onto the ballet staff but that doesn't seem to have happened yet ... or at least is not reflected on the website yet.

[Dawnstar]

58 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

In respect of Samara it was announced by the company ages ago that she would be transitioning onto the ballet staff but that doesn't seem to have happened yet ... or at least is not reflected on the website yet.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I regret that I can't see her, given time is evidently rapidly running out, but I'm not going to embark on a 4+ hour journey to Sunderland or a 5+ hour journey to Plymouth given how difficult it is just to get the train an hour to London so often at the moment.

[Emeralds]

Well done to BRB that casting is out.

 

Am very pleased that Samara Downs and Cesar Morales are back dancing Aurora and Florimund respectively, but very disappointed that I will have to get on trains on long distance journeys plus forking out for overnight stays if I want to see Shang, Chou Downs, Morales and Mizutani, which is very tough as that's too many dates across long distances and a busy spring schedule to squeeze in. I can't see Singleton down for any venue/date at all- very sad about that. Is he injured or indisposed? 

 

Has anyone seen Yasiel Hodelin Bello dance yet? He joined BRB as a soloist this season from Cuban National Ballet and the only thing I know so far is that he is very, very young (I didn't see him listed on any of the Nutcracker lead casting or featured solo roles, but instead was in Arabian Dance, Waltz of the Flowers Consorts, etc). He is listed to partner Celine Gittens in London and other venues. He's going to have to be exceptional if he is dancing at Sadler's Wells instead of Chou/Parma, Maslen/Shang (although Maslen is dancing with Hirata for one date with her usual partner Dingman busy dancing 2 dates with Cojocaru) and Morales/Mizutani. Maybe he is! Anyone here remember his dancing in Nutcracker? He wasn't in the featured or lead roles in Black Sabbath when I attended. 

[Emeralds]

32 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Thanks for the clarification. I regret that I can't see her, given time is evidently rapidly running out, but I'm not going to embark on a 4+ hour journey to Sunderland or a 5+ hour journey to Plymouth given how difficult it is just to get the train an hour to London so often at the moment.

I'm disappointed that Samara Downs isn't even getting a date in Birmingham  as I can at least travel to that- Plymouth and Sunderland will require a 2 night stay instead of one night! (And in fact Birmingham or Southampton could even have been done as a day trip if Downs/Feng were cast in a matinee). @SheilaC will be very surprised that Sunderland has trumped London in the casting! Am sure there were good reasons, but rather sad that the audiences in BRB's home won't get to see audience fave Samara as Aurora [unless they travel a long distance].

Edited January 10 by Emeralds

[Dawnstar]

40 minutes ago, Emeralds said:

I'm disappointed that Samara Downs isn't even getting a date in Birmingham  as I can at least travel to that- Plymouth and Sunderland will require a 2 night stay instead of one night! (And in fact Birmingham or Southampton could even have been done as a day trip if Downs/Feng were cast in a matinee).

 

Yes, if she'd had a matinee in Birmingham then I would have considered going, as that's under 3 hours on the train. I'm slightly surprised that not everyone is performing in Birmingham, considering that has the most performances. In fact, looking at the cast combinations for the different venues, anyone who wanted to see every pairing of dancers would have to visit a minimum of 3 different venues with one being London. Or 2 venues, Birmingham & Plymouth, would cover all the BRB dancers minus Cojocaru. (No, I don't have anything better to do than to work this out!)

 

Gittens/Bello - Southampton, Birmingham, Plymouth, Bristol, London
Hirata/Dingman - Southampton, Birmingham, Salford, Sunderland
Kurihara/Monaghan - Southampton, Birmingham, Sunderland, Plymouth, Bristol, London
Mizutani/Morales - Birmingham, Salford, Sunderland, Bristol
Shang/Maslen - Birmingham, Salford, Plymouth
Parma/Chou - Salford, Plymouth, Bristol
Downs/Feng - Sunderland, Plymouth
Cojocaru/Dingman - London
Hirata/Maslen - London

[SheilaC]

1 hour ago, Emeralds said:

I'm disappointed that Samara Downs isn't even getting a date in Birmingham  as I can at least travel to that- Plymouth and Sunderland will require a 2 night stay instead of one night! (And in fact Birmingham or Southampton could even have been done as a day trip if Downs/Feng were cast in a matinee). @SheilaC will be very surprised that Sunderland has trumped London in the casting! Am sure there were good reasons, but rather sad that the audiences in BRB's home won't get to see audience fave Samara as Aurora [unless they travel a long distance].

I've no idea where you live, Emeralds, but if you live close to London you can do Sunderland in a day, to get to the Saturday matinee. There is a direct train to Sunderland from Kings Cross, that is fairly reasonable cost-wise (although not very reliable!) run by Grand Central, but only a few trains per day. You could leave London at 7.48 and arrive at Sunderland at 11.14 (the station isn't far from the theatre) and leave at 17.30 and get to London at 20.58. Also there are lots of LNER trains to Newcastle throughout the day and easy to get to Sunderland from there which offers much more flexibility albeit with changes of trains and probably dearer. Also, hotels in Sunderland are considerably cheaper than those in London.

[Pulcinella]

The only proviso I would say about booking any cast for BRB (the exception being Cojocaru in London, injury excepted) is that the cast may well change from that announced as I found out to my cost for the Nutcracker performances.

[alison]

47 minutes ago, SheilaC said:

I've no idea where you live, Emeralds, but if you live close to London you can do Sunderland in a day, to get to the Saturday matinee.

 

She doesn't, but the information may be of use to some people who live nearer.

[Tony Newcombe]

Most significant piece of casting to me is that of Yu Kurihara. She appears to be dancing at all the venues.

I first saw her at the annual RB School performance when they did the Prologue from Sleeping Beauty.

Another dancer for the Royal I thought. But no she went Birmingham and danced leading role in Tackett’s 

Azuli Sky at the Birmingham Rep. Pandemic had started. Promotion was rapid. Artist to Solost to First Soloist.

then she was out virtually for a whole year. My feeling is after Beauty she will become a Principal. It could happen earlier.

she is a wonderful talent and if can attend one of the venues do watch her. Of course Mizutani, Shang, Gittens, Hirata. And Parma

are also must see Auroras. And let’s not forget Samara Downs. I feel this might be a sort of farewell to the main stage.

anyone who saw her Snow Fairy at the Royal Albert Hall a couple of years will know what a fine dancer she is. Topic of conversation during the interval of that Nutcracker was “What is she on”. She was sensational!

[Emeralds]

14 hours ago, SheilaC said:

I've no idea where you live, Emeralds, but if you live close to London you can do Sunderland in a day, to get to the Saturday matinee. There is a direct train to Sunderland from Kings Cross, that is fairly reasonable cost-wise (although not very reliable!) run by Grand Central, but only a few trains per day. You could leave London at 7.48 and arrive at Sunderland at 11.14 (the station isn't far from the theatre) and leave at 17.30 and get to London at 20.58. Also there are lots of LNER trains to Newcastle throughout the day and easy to get to Sunderland from there which offers much more flexibility albeit with changes of trains and probably dearer. Also, hotels in Sunderland are considerably cheaper than those in London.

Thank you for all the detailed research and posting it, SheilaC . I'm afraid I'm actually further south of London  so it's another 2h (to factor in 1 cancellation/delay) before I can even catch the 7.48am train! You are right about Samara & Haoliang's show actually being a Saturday matinee - so there's more options than if it was on a weekday. Admittedly cost isn't as big an issue as much as time, and the long distance means that any potential disruption or delay then has knock on effects on the next leg of the journey. 

 

I'm not sure how I'd feel if we went to all that trouble and got a cast change and Samara couldn't dance- obviously unavoidable in cases of injury or illness - although I wouldnt mind if it was someone I didn't already have tickets for. But if one doesn't book the likelihood of catching Samara is 0%. So....all this to think about.

 

Plymouth is further away for me as the crow flies as well as on train routes so Sunderland is still actually nearer and relatively quicker. I will keep looking at rail schedules and ticket availability for both, as engineering works or strikes or both could be announced nearer the date of the show. Theatre (Empire, Sunderland) looks comfortable-arm rests for every seat- wow! Do you know if that metal rail in front of the upper circle obscures the view very much? The website photos seem to suggest it restricts the view of most seats, even the "better" ones. Or could that just be the angle of the photos? 

 

13 hours ago, alison said:

 

She doesn't, but the information may be of use to some people who live nearer.

Thanks Alison! Gratifying, spooky and impressive in equal measure that you have such a good memory of what I posted.  😊

I agree, very useful info from SheilaC (there are a few more routes from the south as well)....I hadn't realised just how expensive the longest routes have become though (over £100 for a standard class return fare)! Eek. 

 

13 hours ago, Tony Newcombe said:

Most significant piece of casting to me is that of Yu Kurihara. She appears to be dancing at all the venues.

I first saw her at the annual RB School performance when they did the Prologue from Sleeping Beauty.

Another dancer for the Royal I thought. But no she went Birmingham and danced leading role in Tackett’s 

Azuli Sky at the Birmingham Rep. Pandemic had started. Promotion was rapid. Artist to Solost to First Soloist.

then she was out virtually for a whole year. My feeling is after Beauty she will become a Principal. It could happen earlier.

she is a wonderful talent and if can attend one of the venues do watch her. Of course Mizutani, Shang, Gittens, Hirata. And Parma

are also must see Auroras. And let’s not forget Samara Downs. I feel this might be a sort of farewell to the main stage.

anyone who saw her Snow Fairy at the Royal Albert Hall a couple of years will know what a fine dancer she is. Topic of conversation during the interval of that Nutcracker was “What is she on”. She was sensational!

I was very impressed and pleased to see Kurihara as Kitri in 2022 (and a few other roles since) and totally agree, Tony! If only my schedule and the casting will allow me to catch more Auroras and Florimunds!

[Jan McNulty]

For anyone thinking about going to Plymouth please be aware that the performances are already heavily sold.  I've abandoned my plans to go.

 

The lesson to self is that if I want to go to Plymouth in the Autumn I book the tickets when they go on sale!

[Emeralds]

42 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

For anyone thinking about going to Plymouth please be aware that the performances are already heavily sold.  I've abandoned my plans to go.

 

The lesson to self is that if I want to go to Plymouth in the Autumn I book the tickets when they go on sale!

Very impressive enthusiasm from Plymouth audiences! Well done! Still some seats left in all the tiers and several price points although it's true tickets are selling quickly (tickets at the lowest price of £25 have gone though). 

 

Paradoxically the train journeys to and from Plymouth for me are longer but cheaper than Sunderland although both are actually at eye watering three-digit prices. I think it's actually faster and cheaper for me to fly to Paris or Amsterdam to watch their ballets instead! Crazy but such is life! (And the Empire and Theatre Royal ticket prices are not exorbitant - the most expensive seat is still cheaper than my non-first class train fare with a railcard discount!) I think I've worked out why the Arts are short of funds while rail company bosses take home massive bonuses.....

 

Half seriously contemplating writing to Carlos Acosta and Caroline Miller to ask if they might consider adding 2 extra shows of SB in London (like they added extra performances of Black Sabbath The Ballet) - one for Samara/Haoliang, and one for Miki/Cesar! 😀  Interesting that  Plymouth is getting more performances than Sadler's Wells! 

Edited January 11 by Emeralds