Jane S Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 From the RDB Principals and Soloists Facebook pages: Make sure to tune in to BBC Radio London 94.9 tomorrow morning between 9-10am UK time, as they will be talking to principal Gregory Dean about the upcoming tour to London. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane S Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 If you missed this you can still hear it, for the next few weeks, at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02fhx8k The section with Gregory Dean starts at 2hr 16m and lasts about 10 minutes - it's not very deep stuff but Dean handles it very well (and gets in some nice publicity for Arts Educational, where he trained). And it's not every day you hear a battement sur le coup de pied being demonstrated on the radio. (Details taken from @Rdbprincipals at http://instagram.com/p/xeg0eQhPjk/ where you also get a nice photo of Dean with Ida Praetorius) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Given that it's 10 years since the Royal Danish Ballet's last visit and given that it's a very good company and given that we see very little of Bournonville's work in the UK, it's sad that their two day visit has been so little promoted and seems, so far, to have sold so poorly. If you go to the Sadler's Wells home page you won't see it (it's somewhere on page 2). Maybe SW management is diffident about giving prominence to ballet as opposed to dance. This will not encourage the company to come again. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 What on earth is it doing on Page 2?! The only things on before it are Edward Scissorhands and The Snowman, and I suspect the latter has probably finished its run. Why on earth bother hosting this gem of a company if you're not going to publicise it? FWIW, I actually bought my ticket pretty much the day booking opened 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I'm not even sure that I've received an e-mail about this from SW (other than the usual round-up type e-mail). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nottsballetlover Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 What on earth is it doing on Page 2?! The only things on before it are Edward Scissorhands and The Snowman, and I suspect the latter has probably finished its run. Why on earth bother hosting this gem of a company if you're not going to publicise it? FWIW, I actually bought my ticket pretty much the day booking opened Absolutely agreed Alison! I bought my Saturday matinee ticket the day booking opened and can't believe the theatre is still only half booked for that show, for such an absolute rare treat of a performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 (edited) can't believe the theatre is still only half booked for that show, for such an absolute rare treat of a performance. It IS hard to comprehend isn't it, Nottsballetlover? It makes one fear for future appearances by world ranked companies in London. Of course, education is key and that too has been eroding - and becoming ever more privileged - for some time. In the distant past the British Council helped subsidise such major company appearances in the name of the Nation's greater edification. In those instances the box office returns were not so keen a consideration. I was myself vastly enriched as a child by the World Theatre Seasons at the Aldwych - now all those many decades ago. ... I was thrilled to have an opportunity to see the Berliner Ensemble and the Moscow Art Theatre and such like. Sadly that subsidy has not been generally present in that way for some time - although theatrically the world fare continues to arrive on the Barbican's schedule which is much appreciated. One wonders of course if the further cuts as predicted may make the terrain even for the home based ensembles all that much more uncertain. Perhaps not now given the beginning of the tax incentive opening an additional window for support. (That's one good thing that George Osbourne has fostered.) I do wonder, however, with the fall of the Oil barrier below $50 dollars and the overall instability of the rouble if the considerable independent subsidy that Russian ballet/dance companies such as the Mikhailovsky enjoyed when in London in recent years will become but a yellowing item in our collective - albeit aging - memory banks. It would, of course, be sad if that were the case ... but certainly understandable. Perhaps it will open the path for other - then more prosperous cultures - to showcase their noted balletic achievements. One can only live in hope. We all need to learn and through that learning feed our appreciation. Edited January 6, 2015 by Bruce Wall 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Actually, I'm wondering whether it's partly because the venue is no longer (barring the Trocks and the odd dance school graduation performances) perceived as a ballet theatre. When you think that Johan Kobborg and co. managed to sell out (I think) the Queen Elizabeth Hall for several similar performances maybe a decade ago, and how well the RDB's last visit to Sadler's went, I'm not sure what has happened in the meantime. Having ENB and the RB performing at the same time probably doesn't help, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aileen Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 I don't think that it's the best time of year for them to come either, being so soon after Christmas and New Year. Having said that, this is probably a programme for fairly keen balletgoers rather than for most of the audience for Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Alice - and Edward Scissorhands is still on this weekend as well. It's ridiculous that it's on the second page of Sadler's Wells' website as it's clearly out of order date-wise. In the last couple of years the only overseas company which has 'sold' really well in London (other than the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky which both went to the ROH) is San Francisco Ballet. Why they sold so well I don't know but the city's cool image might have helped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 And I've just had an email through from Sadler's headed "Great prices, exceptional dance at Sadler’s Wells" which totally manages not to mention them, either. Grrrr. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 (edited) I just had a quick peek at the Joyce seating for this programme in New York between 13 and 18 January and it appears that there are sections 'unavailable' for every performance ... and with the opening and closing nights almost already full. Hopefully it will pick up even more steam there in the interim and help defray any losses for the presenters that may be occurred in the London round of three performances. (That said, I would imagine - indeed hope - that this ad hoc Company itself would be playing against a set guarantee and thus would not themselves ever be a victim of any lack of marketing prowess, etc.) Certainly it would be a shame indeed if this fine bill wasn't supported in both locales. I'm sure all of us would love to encourage them to return. Sadly I can't go to the Friday evening performance as I am in Munich for work (where I will catch the Ratmansky Paquita) but will be at both outings at the Peacock on Saturday (assuming no aircraft delays). I SO look forward to it. Edited January 7, 2015 by Bruce Wall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lgny Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 I stopped by the Peacock Theater earlier today. there was not one mention of the Danes. no flyers, nothing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 And I realised it might have helped if Sadler's had actually sent out the Spring booking programme this year, as well. I waited for ages before I decided it wasn't going to arrive, by which time I'd missed out on the chance to book tickets for Guillem's final performances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 I'd been thinking I might get tickets for a second performance, too, since it's such a rare visit, but there's no sign of anything appearing on tkts yet, and the bottom price have of course sold out, so I guess that's a no Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Did anyone go past Leicester Square today and see if there was anything going at tkts? There wasn't online when I looked this morning, but the list on there isn't always reliable, I find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnross Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Alison, Barton's review should be in Performances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mallinson Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Alison, Barton's review should be in Performances. It now is. Other comments on the performances should go there please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now