hfbrew Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 (edited) As it happens they were very common in this country and many still exist for example the Empire in Sunderland, the Grand in Leeds, Liverpool Playhouse and a double whammy rake at the Opera House in Buxton to name some that I know of! The stages are also raked in Russia and I assume the rest of the Eastern Block. On holiday in Russia in 1986 we were told that all the rakes are the same (unlike this country) and the studios are raked at the same angle too. I remember seeing a BRB Coppelia rehearsal in Sunderland where the doll's chair in act 2 kept rolling towards the front of the stage. Fortunately the company had somehow managed to resolve the issue by the time of the performance. Dancers in professional touring companies in the UK have to get used to dancing on a variety of stage types including rakes at different angles! I believe dancers who dance mostly on raked stages have as much difficulty adapting to flat stages as dancers used to flat stages have in adapting to rakes.[/quote You are so right Janet. And Buxton is definately a challenge so Ive heard! At least these days dance companies can bring their own flooring. Not a lot one can do about a rake though! Edited February 10, 2015 by hfbrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletqs Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 All the best to him I think he has started a very promising and fantastic journey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pups_mum Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Sorry, going way off the topic now (but I love the way threads evolve on here sometimes!) but I have often wondered about dancers on cruise ships. OK, a rake might take a bit of getting used to, but at least once you have got used to it it stays in one place. Dancing on a stage that moves must be a real challenge. I know that the big modern ships have very good stabilisers but there must still be some movement. I'm very impressed that anyone can do that, especially if the weather is a bit iffy. I wonder if cruise ship dancers get injured more than average? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flit and float Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 I know a few cruise dancers, they don't seem to get many injuries but I know it's sometimes been a challenge if it's a particularly rocky night! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 The deleting was perfect thanks. I gave up on that post! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa O`Brien Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Agreed,Aileen. I saw a principal at the ROH come off pointe a few years ago and there was an audible intake of breath from the audience. The only time I have ever seen the Royal Ballet dance was when they came to the Palace Theatre in Manchester in the early 1980`s. Merle Park as Isadora was flawless [but then she was mostly,if I remember correctly,barefoot throughout]. A few days later I saw Lesley Collier and Stephen Jeffries in Sleeping Beauty. During the final act,at one point ,he almost dropped her .There was a gasp right around the theatre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harwel Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Lesley Collier was always my favourite dancer. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hfbrew Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Lesley Collier was always my favourite dancer.I loved her too. On my first starry eyed trip to the Opera House many years ago my fiance ( now dh!) was very bemused when I started jumping up and down in great excitement as we climbed the back stairs past a notice board telling us that she was replacing a dancer as Giselle that night. Id only seen her on much watched videos before then!I also saw her final performance which also happened to be Giselle! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Love her too. Her era is really my era and used to go to the ROH such a lot in those days usually standing in stalls circle for about 50p Loved her and that whole cast in Dances at a Gathering..........just typing that brings back so many slightly mad and happy memories!! Great news about your DS CeliB ......he can virtually pop home for the weekend from there! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Regards Miko I'm sure she went this year to get exposure to Company directors near the time she will be expecting to look for jobs. I'm pretty sure she has had offers before ......perhaps she has her eye on a couple of particular companies and just wanted to be seen by them!! She doesn't really need any more basic training I think ......needs to get into a Company now for more professional experience so hope she finds something she really wants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 Hi Lin What do you especially like about her? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted February 11, 2015 Share Posted February 11, 2015 I do wonder if so much media exposure is actually helpful. I can imagine company directors thinking that she might not be happy to be in the corps and might be pushing for featured roles as soon as she joins the company. Her mother is very involved with her career as well, isn't she? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Well her mother used to be but not sure now she is 17 how much she still travels with her these days. Sarahw I like her style because its very unhurried .....she always gives the impression that she has loads of time and doesn't look stressed when dancing. Her technique is reasonably what I call "clean" Her main prob is I think that she doesn't always project that well so not sure what she would do with a more "acty" type role ......but then she is still very young. She's not the best dancer Ive ever seen but a very good one and seems to take a lot of stick from people because of her mother when she was younger ....but in fact remains comparatively unspoilt in my view. Some seem to hold it against her that she was exposed at a young age in the film First Position but others were in this film too who don't seem to,be put down so much because of it.......one is now a very successful dancer with the young Dutch Company......which CeliB 's DS is interested in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pastel Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 I've seen/read a few interviews with her and I like the way she seems modest and unaffected by her public profile. I'm sure any of us mothers would be thrilled if our kids had her level of technical ability. She's certainly matured in her performance over the past few years. My dd is the same age as Miko and works extremely hard but is no-where near that level! I'm not sure how good or bad the media exposure is but I think we need to accept that it seems to be part of the road for many young dancers in our social media crazy world. From what I've read, Miko works terribly long hours and perhaps her biggest risk is burn out. None of my business though, that's between her and her family and I also accept that she comes from a different culture, living in the USA with an Asian mother. It appears that her parents are very strongly involved and that can come across to the public as 'pushy', however, she may just be extremely passionate. I'm constantly trying to get my dd to pull back just a bit here and there but she is driven by her love of ballet and pushes herself to extremes. Maybe Miko is the same. Anyway, she is a teenager on the same route as my dd and I wish her all the best for an amazing future. It will be interesting to see which company she starts with and to follow her journey over the coming years. Incidentally, there are plenty of other young dancers out there with huge youtube/Instagram/Facebook followings. My dd follows quite a few of them, learning from their stretching, strengthening, rehearsal techniques etc. Some of it is helpful and interesting, some of it is downright dreadful! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gottokeepworking Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Ps edited to say it's the Het pre professional programme DS is going to but they were fairly clear that this would lead to junior co... Many congratulations CeliB on your DS offers. Het pre professional will be fabulous training (and easier for visits!). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gottokeepworking Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 So what does RBS have in its timetable that none of these other schools around the world has, I wonder. It is most probably because they will be preparing for the Graduate tour which usually takes place around March time. However, Central do an extensive UK tour! A few years ago my DS friend, from another vocational school, entered Prix and made to the finals and won a prize. The results were that he was offered a couple of summer schools and an apprenticeship. He took the apprenticeship and is now a full company member. However, it was the company is was going to anyway so he only went a year earlier and missed 6/3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JulieW Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 He won the contemporary prize didn't he. We were all very proud of him! (Edited to change "we" to "he" !!) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gottokeepworking Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 Yes JulieW he did win the contemporary prize. It was wonderful being able to watch him live via the internet. DS went to that school from 11-16 so he was doubly proud. It is a shame that not more UK students enter this and other international competitions. However, I do understand why schools are reluctant as the amount of personal tuition is enormous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahw Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 I know what you mean Lin. She absolutely makes it look like she has all the time in the world, she is relaxing to watch. I also had noticed IMO that she didn't project as well now as when younger - and then I found a gorgeous pdd from Varna 2014 where she gives so much...... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dance*is*life Posted February 12, 2015 Share Posted February 12, 2015 I just wanted to add my congratulations to CeliB's son - fantastic news! I have a friend whose son went to train there and loved it. I also wanted to add to the comments about raked stages. Our local town theatre used to have a raked stage (I think they've got rif of it now in the recent remodelling) and I prepared one of my students in the Aurora 3rd act variation. There's a piece in that where the dancer steps back into arabesque as she moves backwards to the centre of the stage for the sissone sequence. Well my poor student had a terrible time of it, because those steps backwards were all going uphill! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Macmillan Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 The Australian papers are catching up with Harrison Lee: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/dance/ballet-dancer-harrison-lee-wins-prestigious-prix-de-lausanne-prize-20150213-13dqnd.html 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yetanotherdancemum Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 CeliB that is very exciting news! Like others, it's brought the Prix 'home' by having a couple of people in it who I have some vague connection with - I definitely rooted for your DS and the other UK candidate who was initially trained by a colleague of mine in Scotland. I wonder how she got on with schools etc..... The other british candidate appears to have sparked interest from some of the companies with at least one contract offer as I understand it based on Ballet West's facebook post. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Wasn't the other British candidate at Ballet West already anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Wasn't the other British candidate at Ballet West already anyway? Already? Ballet West isn't a company, it's a school - though its students do tour and perform. That's why it's on their Facebook page, I assume - their student must now have been offered a contract somewhere. Congrats to her. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 Yes I know Ballet West is a school! Sorry my mistake didn't read the post properly and see it says some ballet companies were interested in her......not the school itself!! Some of these younger Prix students do try for other schools first ....before companies.....which was why I was puzzled! Well a week later and have finally caught up with last Fridays Livestream of ALL the candidates solos so nice to see some not seen from the final and finally caught up with your DS CeliB. I thought he looked very good indeed in the contemporary piece so hopefully he was happy with that. This was the "stream" which didn't have the students names on as they came on to dance a bit frustrating. Although I love the "solo for Diego" piece to Greek music ...the other night I woke up with the tune of the other main work chosen by the boys going through my head....the one which the boy from Portugal won the main contemporary prize with and he did look really great in this piece. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletqs Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Apparently Rina Kanahara has been offered an ENB contract. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucinda Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 The Australian papers are catching up with Harrison Lee: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/dance/ballet-dancer-harrison-lee-wins-prestigious-prix-de-lausanne-prize-20150213-13dqnd.html Thank you for posting this Ian. A very down to earth article, I and probably many others, can relate to what his mum said: "But it's sad too to think of your child travelling so far away at such a young age," she admits. "A lot of people probably don't understand it – people who don't have a child with a passion or dream and the talent don't understand how you could see your child do that. We're happy to see him reach his goals." 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 I had no idea that the lovely Julian Mackay has been at the Bolshoi Academy since the age of 11, that his younger brother is also there (Mum is in Moscow with them) and that his 2 sisters are also ballet dancers. I love that 4 siblings of non ballet dancing parents have done so well. http://www.gramilano.com/2013/12/you-choose-it-out-of-love-dancing-with-the-khan-mackay-family/ 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Fabulous story, Ellie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harwel Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 Oh how fantastic! Thanks for sharing that Ellie. Very inspirational. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted February 14, 2015 Share Posted February 14, 2015 I was looking at the streaming yet again!! And decided that I really liked Julian Mackay in the Contemporary as well.....he seems to get a joy of dancing across. His classical was really professional and brill too. You can just see he enjoys dancing. Great stuff. So looks like we can expect the "Mackay contingent " then !! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 We already have a Mackay contingent at BRB!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
balletqs Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 He was lovely! Generally I felt the standard of the boys was fantastic. Massive congrats to your son CeliB what a huge achievement! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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