JaneD

When I saw Baryshnikov in R&J with the Royal Ballet he looked EXACTLY like Cagney running up and down the stairs in the market place.

Canbelto No, people have stopped doctoring photographs to make dancers look more etherial! Jane

In Britain we also had the (now sadly defunct) London City Ballet, which spent most of its time on tour outside London. There was also a company formed by some ex-Royal Ballet/Sadlers Wells RB dancers called Dance Advance, which I liked - both the name and the company. They are probably most famous for having Sir Kenneth MacMillan create "Sea of Troubles" for them (based on Hamlet). We now have a small and worthy London-based company called Ballet Black, which is a reference to the dancers' ethnic origins. Jane

A good few years back, during an interval at Covent Garden, a stranger approached me (presumably because I was holding a programme) and asked "Who was that just dancing? Was it anyone special?" Until that point, I would have though ANYONE would have recognised Rudolf Nureyev! Jane

It was indeed Graham Fletcher, and he was proud of it. It appeared in his ROH biography for some years. JaneD (who was taught by him - just once)

[Yes, marketing jobs in dance are very poorly paid... and yet, impossible to get apparently unless you have dance credentials other than simply 'liking' it.] Quite a few years ago, Friends of ENB were asked to volunteer to run a stand at the Coliseum over the Christmas period. I clearly recall spending one entire interval trying to persude a Royal Ballet dancer to join Friends on English National Ballet. I didn't succeed, but it was fun. Too often, large companies seem so interested in the big, corporate money that they quite forget individual audience members and enthusiasts. Unfortunately, they also know (in London, at least), that they can sell seats at almost any price as "corporate entertaining". Audiences may not be shrinking here, but I would say that knowledgable audiences are. Jane

Dancers do it with a number of variations

I think I've found a source here. http://www.tvdata.ru/catalog.php?dir=14〈=eng Jane

Correction to the above (having slept on it) Eteindre - to use lightening make-up before appearing in the corps for Swan Lake after sunbathing.

Ostrich I can get an answer for you, but not for a couple of weeks as I'm about to go on holiday. My jazz dance teacher - who is a former Royal Ballet dancer - also teaches ballet to the British Rhythmic Gymnatics team! Jane

Thanks for these ideas. The Perez sound good for holiday reading. If I can find any tomorrow, they will go to France with me on Frday. It's been a while since I read any Shakespeare - I used to know the non-historical plays quite well, but realised when I saw "Merry Wives of Windsor" a few weeks ago just how long it's been since I read any of them. I'm not much of a fan of Larkin, but the idea of reading an antholgy is a good one - will see what I can find. I know the Herriot books quite well. If you liked these, you might also like th "Village School" books by Miss Read - written by a lady who taught whithin twenty miles of where I now live. The good news is that, after a few jorrendous weeks at work, I'm now off until 20 September!

A good few years ago, the Royal Ballet did the ultimate themed triple bill: Gloria Valley of Shadows Requiem Yes, a death-themed evening, which opened the day after my grandfather's uneral, and left me somewhat traumatised.

My attendance has been a little erratic lately (courtesy of the Chancellor of the Exchequer who has seen fit to make announcements that both put me out of work in about nine months time but also increase my workload about 75% for the present). It was good to see this subject again. Remembering my "Seven movements of dancing" - Plier - to make amenable by means of alcohol Eteindre - to be promoted into the company proper Relever - to change syllabus, e.g. from RAD to Cecchetti Glisser - to assist a stage smile by rubbing vaseline over the teeth Sauter - to fry in butter Elancer - to complete a medical procedure Tourner - to switch from ballet to musical theatre Which reminds me ... here in Britain, stage plays are referred to as "the legitimate theatre". This left my jazz dance teacher and me wondering what musicals and ballet were. And the following have also come to mind Ecarté - to be ejected from the theatre Effacé - falsely modest Soubresaut - the big fry-up for breakfact after a hard night of drinking

Most of my reading is done during my journey to/from work. My journey is in two parts - 20-25 minutes on the bus to the station, and 17 minutes on the train into London. This means that the books have to be something that's worth carrying around with me, but that I will be able to stop reading at the end of that part of my journey (anything too absorbing and I tend to miss my station). I only took The Da Vinci Code in once - nearly missed my stop! Crime novels (Donna Leon's Venetian set mysteries are good), plus historical fiction (Lindsay Davis and the like). Much as I love Terry Pratchett, he has to be read at home - falling about laughing on public transport gets you strange looks. Any ideas, anyone? Jane

Off at a tangent, I had a colleague who claimed to have won an argument with a restaurant manager after he lit up under a sign which read "No smoking allowed". He argued that, while "no smoking" was a permitted option, there was nothing at all to prevent him smoking. Jane