Jane Simpson

I tried searching for Svetlana Beriosova and found these: Princess Margaret opens the Royal Ballet School (Ninette de Valois teaching the RB company class, talking to Beriosova and Nerina) Edinburgh Festival 1960 (Right at the end, Beriosova and Macleary rehearsing) Ladies Day at the Savoy Hotel (Lots of beautiful close-ups of Beriosova - what a pity there's no sound!) Royal Ballet 1969 (RB preparing for an American tour - only about 2 seconds of Beriosova but more of Sibley and Dowell (who looks all of 17) rehearsing the pd2 from the last act of Sleeping Beauty, and some shots of Michael Somes. But WHAT does the commentator call the pas de deux?) These are only snippets but given how little film of Beriosova there is, they are priceless.

Maybe it's a UK only thing - not something I can test! But don't fret about missing it.

There's now a trailer for this programme on the BBC's website. It may help you to decide whether or not this will be something you want to watch...

Presumably this (from NYPL catalogue): Produced In Denmark, U.S. Description 1 film reel (52 min., 1870 ft.) : sd., b&w ; 16 mm. Note Originally filmed in 1948; sound version produced in 1980 by John Mueller and Neelon Crawford, University of Rochester, New York, from silent version in Dance Collection, *MGZHB 16-1000, no. 286-290. Music synchronized by Niels Bjørn Larsen, performed by William Hicks. For complete casting and descriptive material about this film, see *MGTZ (Symphonie fantastique) 82-4205. Performer Danced by the Royal Danish Ballet: Niels Bjørn Larsen (the young musician), Mona Vangsaae (the beloved), Kirsten Ralov and Erik Bruhn (scene 3 pas de deux), Stanley Williams (jailer), Toni Lander, Inge Sand, Fredbjørn Bjørnsson, and others. Credits Sets, Pierre Roy. Event Filmed during onstage rehearsal with sets, in practice clothes, in April 1948. Summary Royal Danish Ballet production with revised choreography, presented under the title Episode af an Kunstners Liv. Wow!

Jodie Thomas makes her debut as an RDB member tonight in the fourth movement of Symphony in C, which forms part of a preview of the new season's opera and ballet productions, given in the open air at the Rosenborg Eksercerplads in Copenhagen and also transmitted live on a big screen in the city centre. She'll be dancing with Ulrik Birkkjaer. Also included is an extract from Jerome Robbins's West Side Story Suite, wih a cast including Gitte Lindstrøm as Anita.

Rather late, but perhaps the most interesting of all the articles about the RB's visit: Cuba Libre! 20 photographs as well.

I think the weak link is perhaps that word 'intelligently' in the second paragraph you quote - he hasn't justified that in his preceding argument, unless he's talking about commericial rather than artistic intelligence.

There's a piece about Somova in the Financial Times today, written by someone who makes no claims to be a ballet specialist - I think he states the problem for both sides quite interestingly. (On the subject of the RB's R&J video - there was no chance it would star Kobborg, injured or not - it was made as part of Acosta's contract with Decca.)

It is available on DVD - see the RAD site - but still only in PAL, apparently.

The BBC dance catalogue shows a broadcast of this programme on 17 Feb 1979, under the title In Performance: An Evening at the Russian Ballet. It ran for 133 minutes but included interval discussions of the ballets with Ninette de Valois and David Vaughan. However there are several differences betwwen the casts listed for this showing and the one rg reproduces from the NYPL holding, even after allowing for differences in spelling, and the running order is different, so maybe this was not the same performance? The catalogue has no listing for a 1978 showing, but that might just mean they didn't keep the tape.

The RDB has posted changes to the company for next season. Principals: - Rose Gad and Silja Schandorff have retired; Schandorff is now listed as an Instruktør Soloists: - as is already widely known, Jodie Thomas joins from Pacific Northwest Ballet - Kizzy Howard is now Kizzy Matiakis Corps de ballet joiners: - Caroline Baldwin (won a scholarship to the RDB school at YAGP 2008) - Carling Talcott (SAB, MCB apprentice) - Alexandra lo Sardo (RBS, Dresden Ballet) - Mads Eriksen returns to the company after a couple of seasons' absence New Aspirants: - Oda Grøner (Norwegian, just graduated from the RBS) - Andreas Kaas (RDB school) - Oscar Nillson (RDB School)

Carling Talcott has joined the corps de ballet of the Royal Danish Ballet.

Considering only those who are no longer dancing, my favourite - the most rewarding, the one I'd book tickets for first - was David Wall, because of his unfailing engagement with what he was doing, his transparent honesty, and his wonderful acting - he came across as a great communicator who happened to have chosen dance as his medium. It helped of course, that he was also a fine dancer and very easy on the eye.

rg, I think it's a pose from the second act pas de deux in Ashton's Cinderella - towards the end, just after the 'upside down' lift. If not, it's a very close imitation! (By the way I happened to notice that in the next issue of the magazine, they apologise for crediting the photo to Baron when it's actually by Hans Wild.)

Bart, checking what Martins said in Far from Denmark, it looks to me as if he loved photographs of both Alonso and Gilpin but he doesn't imply that they were dancing together. Gilpin certainly doesn't mention such a partnership in his autobiography, and I've had thought he would. "There were two dancers whose photographic images fascinated me, and these images fixed themselves in my mind. One was of Alicia Alonso... and the other was of the English dancer John Gilpin." I'm grateful to be reminded of Martins' admiration for Gilpin, though.

Me too. By the time I started going to the ballet Beriosova was already the one I most wanted to see, from photographs and television appearances, and she lived up to all my expectations and is still my standard of excellence in many ways. She was lovely in Coppelia as well as in more tragic roles. (And the only time I've ever waited outside a stage door was to see her, though I would not even have dreamt of speaking to her!)

Roland Petit also made a Cheri ballet, in 1996 as a sixtieth birthday present for Carla Fracci, with Massimo Murru (described somewhere by Petit as 'the greatest ballet dancer in the world'). There's a review of it here.

More photos here. (thanks to Dansomanie for the link)

the Royal Ballet has just announced that Rupert Pennefather is injured and will not be able to dance in A Month in the Country - he will be replaced by Jonathan Cope. From the press release: The Royal Ballet's Jonathan Cope sensationally stepped out of retirement yesterday for the opening night of the Company's tour of Cuba, to dance with Zenaida Yanowsky in Frederic Ashton's A Month in the Country. Rupert Pennefather, who had been due to dance, unfortunately had to withdraw at the last minute with a back injury. Jonathan Cope retired as a Principal at The Royal Ballet in January 2006, and was forced to miss his last two scheduled performances after breaking his leg in a motorcycle accident. He has since been a repetiteur with the Company, coaching other Principal dancers in the roles he made his name in. Speaking about the surprise turn of events Dame Monica Mason, Director of The Royal Ballet said this morning: "Rupert Pennefather was terribly disappointed he had to withdraw from A Month in the Country yesterday as everyone in the Company is so excited about dancing in Cuba. Fortunately, Jonathan has been doing class recently and he was thrilled to be asked to step in at the last minute. He danced the role a number of times in his career and has been coaching it in preparation for Cuba so he knows it inside out. Jonathan epitomises the spirit of The Royal Ballet and on such an historic night for the Company - our first ever performance in Cuba - was the perfect person to be up there on stage with us". In an amazing piece of timing, The Royal Ballet will tonight (Wednesday 15 July) present a tribute evening to the Director of the Nacional Ballet de Cuba Alicia Alonso, 63 years to the day since she first danced Giselle at Covent Garden with American Ballet Theater.

Maybe I should have made it clearer that my remembered remark about Kirkland was a sort of joke - I was approaching the end of my 3rd decade of RB watching at the time.

Well, maybe - but I couldn't disagree more! I saw her as Juliet and in both her Auroras, and I remember coming out at the first interval of her R&J and saying to someone 'So that's what a ballerina looks like!' Sibley and Park by then were guest artists, and the others - Collier, Penney, Porter, Paisey, Ellis, Brind - each had their own strengths, but to my eyes none of them was anywhere near Kirkland's level.

The best way of achieving that would be to go back to casting a very young, possibly completely unknown dancer as Vera, as Ashton did in his first two casts.

I don't think that was the reason, Natalia - even with two 25 minute intervals, the RB's version of Sylvia only lasts about 2 1/2 hours.

The RB's latest promotional push features up-and-coming Sergei Polunin - some excellent photos and video if you can make the trendy presentation stand still for long enough to click on anything... RB website

Can anyone tell us who staged and/or coached La Sylphide this time round?