Bouquets on way for men of ballet? - and flowers in general

[Norman Reynolds]

At the end of last night's live streaming from Vienna of 'Mayerling' all the flowers went to Gregor Hatala who had danced Kronprinz Rudolf . This was in fact a special occasion, being his farewell performance 25 years after joining the Wiener Staatsballett. There were a good dozen bouquets, thrown from the stalls and presented on stage and numerous curtain calls.

 

'Mayerling' has been reintroduced into the Vienna repertoire after an interval of four years by Ballet Director Manuel Legris, and was staged by Grant Coyle.

[Janite]

On 04/12/2014 at 15:05, Sim said:

Sadly, many ballerinas don't seem to do that anymore.  Sarah Lamb ALWAYS does, and I love her for it. 

me too

[penelopesimpson]

Love the idea of flowers for men.  I have twice taken flowers for Ed Watson - not big showy affairs for on stage but small bouquets for his dressing room.

[Sophoife]

When AusBallet finally got Onegin back, all the dancers in the lead rôles (Onegin, Tatiana, Lensky, Olga) were naturally making débuts and I thought it Wrong And Against Tradition that the company doesn't have a début recognition policy. So four nights in a row I bought four bouquets and took them to the theatre. Cost me a fortune even though I got a discount from the florist for volume and the fourth lot were almost free, but every single dancer who received one made a point of thanking me and expressing their pleasure at the reason (the cards all said "on your début as X"), most in person but a couple in actual handwriting.

 

None were presented on stage as that isn't company policy except for retirements and company-provided bouquets on opening nights.

 

Since then I've restricted myself to retirements. It's cheaper! 😊

[capybara]

I wrote on this thread in 2014 about the "no" I received from the RB when I raised the possibility of flowers being presented to male dancers on stage.

But it's 2020 now, so someone who feels strongly about this might like to have another go.

[ninamargaret]

I watched Le Corsaire from the Vienna State Opera last night and was amused to note that there were no flowers presented on stage, but two or three bunches were thrown from the audience, but only to male members of the cast. 

[Dawnstar]

@bangorballetboyMay I be frightfully nosy & ask how one sends a dancer flowers? I know many ballet fans do so but have no idea how it is done.

[bangorballetboy]

1 minute ago, Dawnstar said:

@bangorballetboyMay I be frightfully nosy & ask how one sends a dancer flowers? I know many ballet fans do so but have no idea how it is done.

 

Get them delivered to the stage door in good time for the performance.

[Dawnstar]

3 minutes ago, bangorballetboy said:

Get them delivered to the stage door in good time for the performance.

 

Oh, so people are allowed to just turn up with bouquets & hand them in? I thought maybe everything had to be ordered via an official florist or something like that.

[Meetmeatthebarre]

27 minutes ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Oh, so people are allowed to just turn up with bouquets & hand them in? I thought maybe everything had to be ordered via an official florist or something like that.

Yes  I don't think there's a guarantee that they'll be brought onstage, however. I remember one performance (can't remember the dancer) when mine were left out, but there were 5 or 6 separate stage deliveries to her that day, so maybe they were overwhelmed...

[capybara]

1 hour ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Oh, so people are allowed to just turn up with bouquets & hand them in? I thought maybe everything had to be ordered via an official florist or something like that.

Bloomsbury Flowers arranges most of the amazing large bouquets but their lowest price point is over £50, except for a small posy, with the sky being the limit.

 

Most fans buy bunches elsewhere and deliver them themselves. The Stage Door staff are used to this.

 

Usually, all the bouquets get brought onstage but you need to be prepared for yours to get lost in a sea of flowers.

 

[maryrosesatonapin]

10 minutes ago, capybara said:

 

 

Usually, all the bouquets get brought onstage but you need to be prepared for yours to get lost in a sea of flowers.

 

For female dancers, yes.  If you send flowers to a male dancer they get left in their dressing room.

I find Bloomsbury are very good at carrying out one's instructions - on the few occasions I have sent flowers I recognised which bunch was mine.

[Sim]

1 hour ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Oh, so people are allowed to just turn up with bouquets & hand them in? I thought maybe everything had to be ordered via an official florist or something like that.

Not at all.  When M&S was still around in Covent Garden I often used to buy bouquets there, and a card, and deliver them to the stage door.  There are  buckets in the corner of the reception area for each dancer.  You do need to get them there latest half an hour before curtain-up because the buckets are then taken down to the backstage area to await distribution.  I can't think of a time when mine were not delivered, especially when they were for one of the dancers who wouldn't be receiving many, if any, flowers on a particular evening (late replacement, small role, etc.).

 

However, since M&S closed and there is unbelievably nowhere similar in CG to buy flowers, I now use Bloomsbury Flowers, who are fabulous and run by two lovely chaps (ex RB dancers).  They know many of the dancers personally or have been delivering them flowers for so long that you can ask them what colours/types of flowers so-and-so likes and they will gladly advise.  However, because of the price differential I am now much more choosy about who gets flowers and when!!   

[capybara]

2 minutes ago, maryrosesatonapin said:

For female dancers, yes.  If you send flowers to a male dancer they get left in their dressing room.
 

Admittedly before the current management arrived, I got a big NO when I suggested that flowers for men should also come on stage as it was “not the ROH’s practice”.

 

I think that’s why a number of male dancers come out holding presents of food.

 

But times have changed massively in the last 10-12 years. Does anyone feel like raising the subject again?

[maryrosesatonapin]

Just now, capybara said:

Admittedly before the current management arrived, I got a big NO when I suggested that flowers for men should also come on stage as it was “not the ROH’s practice”.

 

I think that’s why a number of male dancers come out holding presents of food.

 

But times have changed massively in the last 10-12 years. Does anyone feel like raising the subject again?

I've never hovered round the stage door and don't intend to, but the vision of male dancers exiting holding food really gave me a smile!  What a strange idea.

[bangorballetboy]

For "own-delivery" I also recommend the flower stall outside Holborn station!

[bangorballetboy]

I have been known to deliver presents of a slab of beer to the gentlemen...

[JohnS]

I’ve found Bloomsbury Flowers if asked are happy to send a photo of the bouquet unless really pressed for time - helps identify the bouquet on stage as well as being a lovely memento.

[alison]

1 hour ago, bangorballetboy said:

For "own-delivery" I also recommend the flower stall outside Holborn station!

 

Yes, I was going to say that's quite a popular choice too, I believe.

 

However, if the flowers need to be there at least 1/2 an hour before curtain-up, I'm afraid that's going to rule me out.  Even yesterday, I only got into London at 10 past 7!

[Dawnstar]

2 hours ago, capybara said:

Bloomsbury Flowers arranges most of the amazing large bouquets but their lowest price point is over £50, except for a small posy, with the sky being the limit.

 

Most fans buy bunches elsewhere and deliver them themselves. The Stage Door staff are used to this.

 

Usually, all the bouquets get brought onstage but you need to be prepared for yours to get lost in a sea of flowers.

 

Thanks for the information. I was very tentatively thinking about trying to send a bouquet next months but flowers starting at £50 are beyond my budget & presumably if they start at £50 then its nearer £100 for most of the bouquets that appear on stage. Sending a small bouquet that looks cheap besides all the gorgeous, big, expensive ones seems worse than not sending anything.

[capybara]

1 hour ago, Dawnstar said:

 

Sending a small bouquet that looks cheap besides all the gorgeous, big, expensive ones seems worse than not sending anything.

It doesn’t to me. Mine are from M&S etc. and it’s the thought and the message which matter.

[maryrosesatonapin]

2 hours ago, capybara said:

It doesn’t to me. Mine are from M&S etc. and it’s the thought and the message which matter.

M&S do fab flowers though. £30 would buy a glorious bouquet.  I get them myself for home.  But @Dawnstar I am sure the dancer would prefer you to spend money on seats rather than flowers, if it's a choice between the two!

 

[Rob S]

14 hours ago, capybara said:

It doesn’t to me. Mine are from M&S etc. and it’s the thought and the message which matter.

 

Is your message a general one about how you great you've always found them etc, is it wishing them luck for that performance or do you write as though you'd just seen the performance?

[capybara]

3 minutes ago, Rob S said:

 

Is your message a general one about how you great you've always found them etc, is it wishing them luck for that performance or do you write as though you'd just seen the performance?

 

In my case, it depends on whether I've seen an earlier show or not. But it's usually general appreciation. Nothing gushy and I don't give my address or anything as that might look as if one is asking for a reply. [In fact, most dancers are good detectives and say 'thank you' via social media.] 

 

I guess that each one of us has his/her own way of doing this. For example, it is important to me to write the message myself but I know that a number of supporters who use florists to deliver their bouquets have cards written for them. Also, I sometimes deliberately send flowers for a second show because I have known occasions when a dancer has been overwhelmed with bouquets at the first one and had little or nothing subsequently.

 

I was lucky last night. My offering (very modest by comparison with the others) was actually handed to Anna Rose.

 

 

[bangorballetboy]

In the circumstances (and noting capybara's comment about second nights), it's probably worth providing the links to two not-so-recent newspaper articles on flower-giving:

 

Judith Mackrell in The Guardian

 

Roslyn Sulcas in The NY Times

[Candleque]

Sometimes dancers post pictures with their lovely bouquets going home via the Tube. Which always strikes me as an ironic mix of glamour and reality. I wonder if they might fancy a limo or taxi voucher as well as flowers 🚕 💐 😁

[Angela Essex]

22 hours ago, bangorballetboy said:

I have been known to deliver presents of a slab of beer to the gentlemen...

Such a good idea 🙌🙌🙌🙌

[Scheherezade]

I had no idea what a slab of beer was until I looked it up just now.

[Angela Essex]

@bangorballetboy Hope someone did this for Matthew Ball when I saw him with Yasmine Nagdhi in the Nutcracker. That man 💯 deserved a slab of cold beer after that performance 🙌🙌🙌 

[art_enthusiast]

On 06/01/2022 at 19:27, Dawnstar said:

Sending a small bouquet that looks cheap besides all the gorgeous, big, expensive ones seems worse than not sending anything.

I'm sure the intention behind them counts as well!
Incidentally, at the Nutcracker on the 5th, I think Romany got two/three bouquets and Mayara got one? Not really sure but I think they both deserved two/three each!

Edited January 8, 2022 by art_enthusiast

[alison]

There were a lot of bouquets for the RB Clara and the Rose Fairy this afternoon, it must be said!  (Wonder if anyone had been reading this thread?!)

[Rob S]

1 hour ago, alison said:

There were a lot of bouquets for the RB Clara and the Rose Fairy this afternoon, it must be said!  (Wonder if anyone had been reading this thread?!)

It took two people to give Sophie her flowers😆

[Dawnstar]

2 hours ago, art_enthusiast said:

I'm sure the intention behind them counts as well!
Incidentally, at the Nutcracker on the 5th, I think Romany got two/three bouquets and Mayara got one? Not really sure but I think they both deserved two/three each!

 

I assumed the shortage of flowers for Magri was because of the short notice cast change, which wouldn't have given would-be donors much time to order any.