Jane Simpson

I've just been reading the Wikipedia article about La Bayadere, which says that when Makarova made her version for ABT in 1980 she had to change the way the corps de ballet stood at the side of the stage during the solos from tendu derrière effacé to tendu derrière croisé because western dancers didn't have the Russian "arched back, torqued hyper-extended supporting legs, and severely arched feet".

Please could someone explain why she would need to do that? - and also, would she still need to do it today, 30 years later?

Kevin McKenzie should still pursue prying Muntagirov from Tamara Rojo's grasp.

Please not! ENB needs him a lot more than ABT does.

La Bayadere has just finished its first run - there are more performances to come in the spring.

Read all about it:

Eva Kistrup on the first night and on later casts

Alexander Meinertz on the ballet as a whole and the second cast

My own review of the two later casts

One nice add-on in one of the foyers was an exhibition of jewellery inspired by Bayadere and specially made by Danish gold- and silversmiths - some lovely, elaborate pieces but you would need a certain lifestyle to even imagine being able to wear most of them! Though there was a very simple, elegant gold tiara which might just go with jeans and a nice jumper.

The Nureyev panel discussion is now available on YouTube:

My own piece is now online at DanceTabs

(Any similarity between one of the pictures and Helene's photo above is because we were standing side by side when we took them!)

Thomas Lund made his last appearances as a dancer with the RDB last night, dancing the Teacher in Flindt's The Lesson and James in La Sylphide. It was a highly emotional evening all round, ending with a huge ovation, lots of tears, a loving speech from Nikolaj Hubbe - and later a big back-stage party. Several people who post here were lucky enough to be there - Eva Kistrup is the first to file a report.

Apparently the Stones were invited to take part and said no.

There's a video on YouTube of some of the rehearsals for the ballet section (not Bussell):

Also one of the dancers involved has written a long piece about it - i believe it's on BT4D now but not on a bit I can see.

Were the Great Britain team uniforms supposed to be ironic? Why did the US uniforms make them look like members of the Canadian military?

I wondered if Stella McCartney designed the uniforms as a throw back to glam rock (all the lame').

The GB parade uniforms were designed by the clothing chain Next, not by Stella McCartney - she did the 'performance' kit.

The official retirement age is 40 - Massot had reached that age but Lund has apparently chosen to go although he could have had two more seasons.

Anne, I agree with everything you say. At least he says that he may still do things like Viderik in A Folk Tale and we can hope that Ratmansky will make a wonderful role for him for his last creation!

The RDB has just announced that Thomas Lund will dance a farewell performance on September 29th and will then retire to take over as head of the RDB School.

There are details on the RDB site, and Eva Kistrup has a piece about Lund on her blog.

For his last performance he will dance both the Teacher in The Lesson and James in La Sylphide; before then he will do the first 5 performances of Ratmansky's new Golden Cockerel.

The only time I ever saw her was when she danced the Black Swan with Nureyev at his first appearance in London - I think it would be fair to say that she was not the centre of attention that afternoon. She took it very well, though - I remember admiring her (apparent) acceptance of the situation.

Thank you so much for this, Anne - I've been longing to know how the evening went. I agree with you that there is no-one currently who can replace him for his particular type of presence and strength.

I'm glad that he ended with Onegin as I think it's probably the best thing I saw him do (though of course I've only seen him in the last six years or so).

Carling Talcott put a photo on Twitter of one of his final curtain calls, taken from the stage - I think it gives a wonderful feeling for how it must be to see a whole audience (including the Queen - in the box on the right) standing to applaud you!

I would swear I've seen somewhere recently that the first cast Fille film is going to be released on DVD, but I can't find any reference to it when I look. Maybe someone else remembers?

The new season's programme was announced today and Eva Kistrup, who attended, notes in her DVT Blog that it looks as if Kameliadamen may return in the season after that - the company has been approached by foundations keen to help!

The RDB has just announced its programme for next season. Only 6 different programmes but some interesting things:

Den gyldne Hane (Le Coq d'Or)

Alexei Ratmansky

Designs - Richard Hudson after Goncharova

15 Sept - 16 October

La Bayadere

Produced by Nikolaj Hubbe and Eva Draw

Designs - Richard Hudson

10 Nov - 15 March

Sleeping Beauty

Christopher Wheeldon's production from 2010

30 Nov - 16 Dec

Dans2Go

The Unsung (Limon)/ Chroma (MacGregor) / new Patrick Delcroix

!5 Feb - 1 March

Romeo and Juliet

Neumeier

22 March - 7 May

La Ventana/Kermessen i Brugge

New productions by Gudrun Bojesen (La Ventana) and Ib Andersen (Kermessen)

Designs - Jerome Kaplan

30 April - 21 May

Also:

Kom Bamse (Thomas Lund's ballet for children)

Hubberiet x3

Guest appearances by:

Dansk Danseteater (Tim Rushton's Love Songs)

Aben Dans

Akram Khan (Desh)

NYCB

Serenade/Four Temperaments/Symphony in C

NYExport: Op Jazz/Les Carillons/Concerto DSCH/ new Martins

4 - 8 April

_______________________

Full details are online (in Danish) in the Season Catalogue - ballet starts on page 62.

Definitely confirmed as that production - I found the same photo accompanying a review of the first cast - though, oddly, it was printed the other way round.

Interesting that the review (by Clive Barnes) says that David Poole as Dr Coppelius 'has gone back to Hoffman rather than to Helpmann, and decided to cut out the buffoonery and make our flesh creep'.

rg, I think it's actually from the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet's own 1951 production - Fifield and Poole were the first cast.

Anne, thank you for this long and detailed piece.! I've been holding back from replying till I'd seen this cast, and I did find they were overall not quite so moving as the Grinder/Lendorf performance the night before. I'm still trying to work out why - particularly as I thought Bojesen was very fine - before I write my own review! And my problem with the music was more with all the bits that I associate so strongly with Dances at a Gathering or Month in the Country. But I think there are some wonderful things in the ballet, too, and I was very impressed by the way the whole company puts it over. The reception at the end was very warm - lots of rhythmic applause and stamping - if not quite at the level of enthusiasm of the night before. The whole run seems quite close to a sell-out now, as were Nutcracker and Folktale and Dans2Go - which makes it all the more disappointing that it apparently won't be coming back!

Having just seen the Grinder/Lendorf/Hubbe cast, and happily joined in the standing ovation at the end, I have to agree that it will be very sad for both the company and the audience if these performances are the only ones there will be!.

Eva Kistrup's long and interesting review of the two casts is already up in her DanceViewTimes blog

It's sad though to read that for financial reasons this is a one-off run.

The RDB's first performance of Neumeier's Lady of the Camelias ('Kameliadamen' in Denmark) opens on Friday. Susanne Grinder and Alban Lendorf have the first night, alternating after that with Gudrun Bojesen and Ulrik Birkkjaer.

Nikolaj Hubbe returns to the stage to dance Armand's father in the Grinder cast, with Mads Blangstrup as Des Grieux; Jean-Lucien Massot and Gregory Dean take these roles in the Bojesen cast.

There's a nice video trailer too - it looks as if the ballet may fit the company very well.

I think this is for Tivoli rather than for the RDB, who have just this season staged Balanchine's Nutcracker (replacing Kenneth Greve's version - the Ratmansky one is long gone, Natalia!)

Programme details

Programme A

(Sept. 14,18 at 7:30pm; Sept 23 at 4:00pm)

Divertimento No.15

Choreography: George Balanchine

Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Divertimento No 15 in B-flat major

Staged by Elyse Borne

Costume Design: after Karinska

Lighting Design: Mark Stanley

Symphonic Dances

Choreography: Edwaard Liang

Music: Sergei Rachmaninov Symphonic Dances Op. 45

Costume Design: Mark Zappone

Lighting Design: Jack Mehler

Within the Golden Hour

Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon©

Music: Ezio Bosso

Designs: Martin Pakledinaz

Lighting Design: James F. Ingalls

Programme B

(Sept. 15, 21 at 7:30pm; Sept. 16 at 4:00pm)

Ghosts

Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon

Music: C.F. Kip Winger

Scenic Design: Laura Jellinek

Costume Design: Mark Zappone

Lighting Design Mary Louise Geiger

RAkU

Chorography: Yuri Possokhov

Music: Shinji Eshima

Scenic & Projection Design: Alexander V. Nichols

Costume Design: Mark Zappone

Lighting Design: Christopher Dennis

Trio

Choreography: Helgi Tomasson

Music: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Souvenir de Florence

Scenic Design: Alexander V. Nichols

Costume Design: Mark Zappone

Lighting Design: Christopher Dennis

Programme C

(Sept. 19, 20, 22 at 7:30pm)

Beaux

Choreography: Mark Morris

Music: Bohuslav Martinů Concerto for Harpsichord and Small Orchestra,

Two pieces for harpsichord, lento

Scenic and Costume Design: Isaac Mizrahi

Lighting Design: Michael Chybowski

Classical Symphony

Chorography: Yuri Possokhov

Music: Sergei Prokofiev

Costume Design Sandra Woodall

Lighting Design: David Finn

Video Concept: Yuri Zhukov

Guide to Strange Places

Choreography: Ashley Page

Music: John Adams Guide to Strange Places

Scenic & Costume Design: Jon Morrell

Lighting Design: David Finn

Number Nine©

Choreography: Christopher Wheeldon

Music: Michael Torke Ash

Costume Design: Holly Hynes

Lighting Design: Mary Louise Geiger

SFB goers - what would be your top recommendations?

In case anyone within reach of Danish television hasn't spotted it, there's a 1 hour programme about Thomas Lund on dk4 tonight at 22.30, repeated on Sunday at 13.30. I'd guess it will be available online for sometime after today, but possibly only for viewers in Europe.