Jane Simpson

I have to disagree about the Wheeldon - I just saw it this evening and thought it was beautiful and also extremely moving!

I don't think there's any doubt about it being Miller: it's her face, and only she and Beriosova ever danced that role. Fifield's costume was different.

rg, Trumpet Concerto opened on 19 September 1950 and Patricia Miller danced the leading role (created by Beriosova) for the first time on Sept. 30th, according to Dance & Dancers. Peter Williams thought she looked better in the role than Beriosova (who he thought was too tall and too lyrical) but thought it would have suited Elaine Fifield better than either of them. (Beriosova was still a few days short of her 18th birthday at the premiere and I gather that was her first London appearance with the SW Theatre Ballet.)

Helene, I was delighted to get home and find all your comments on your trip - thankyou for taking the trouble. It's beyond me where you (and Leigh) find the stamina for these marathons, let alone writing about them as well! It's always interesting to read what a fresh pair of eyes makes of a familiar company, and also to compare views on a company like POB that neither of us knows very well. It was good to meet you - here's to the next time!

One of the pleasures of long-established sites like this is the way new readers dig up topics that you've completely forgotten about! I've never heard anything else at all about Mme Karina between when I asked the question and now, and it's really nice that new people can add information years later.

Nikolaj Hubbe gave his last performance as a dancer in Denmark last night, as James in his own production of La Sylphide (with Silja Schandorff as the Sylph and Sorella Englund as the witch). The first report in the Danish press talks of 'sublime dramatic trio' - you don't need to read Danish to love the must-see photographs: scroll down to the little picture of James and click on 'Hubbe danser af'. Another, equally ecstatic review also reveals the sad news that this was Schandorff's last Sylphide.

The bit about the mime in Diamonds is buried in the Wanted: new story lines for a 21st Century Swan Lake thread from last year - it starts at post #37.

I'd be quite surprised to learn that Mason has 'a vision' at all - she strikes me as a pragmatist rather than a visionary. Why isn't there more Ashton? Partly because there's not that much space left for anyone when so much of the season is given over to endless runs of the 19th century classics; partly because I'd guess Mason sees MacMillan as at least Ashton's equal and someone to whom she personally feels more connected; and partly because Balanchine seems to be the in thing at the moment and is taking up a lot of space in that section of the repertory. Should there be more? Of course: not because of the danger of losing the style or because it's the company's duty to preserve his work, but because he made great ballets which they should be proud to dance.

No - Monica Mason just happened to mention a couple of the casts for Ondine when she was going through the programme at the press conference. (Rojo/Watson and Ansanelli/Hristov)

She's doing Ondine, Leigh - that might be interesting.

The Royal Ballet's plans for next season were announced today. Briefly, this is what we get: Swan Lake Manon Serenade/L'Invitation au Voyage (Corder)/Theme and Variations Voluntaries/The Lesson/new Wayne McGregor Ondine Nutcracker Bayadere Seven Deadly Sins (Tuckett)/Carmen(Mats Ek)/DGV (Wheeldon) Isadora/Dances at a Gathering Giselle Les Sylphides/new Alastair Marriott/Firebird Jewels Isadora is a one-act, 50 minute reduction of MacMillan's 1981 3-acter, devised and produced by Deborah MacMillan. You can see the full press release on the RB site

An interesting review, indeed. I saw this book on sale in Copenhagen this week - it's a handsome production and the photographs are easily worth the price even if you don't read a word of Danish. (I didn't buy it because I couldn't possibly carry one more thing home - next time I'll buy it first!) Bruhn in his prime was quite astonishingly beautiful.

Thankyou for all these pointers - London and New York have often seen each others' dancers (and ballets) very differently so it will be interesting to read reactions this time! But I'm really looking forward to seeing some of the younger women we've heard so much about.

The casting for the London visit is now up on NYCB's website - would anyone like to take a look and point out any particular treats in store for us? (As well as Hubbe's appearance!) I notice that Tess Reichlen is shown as making her debut in In Vento - who created that role? Kowroski? (who apparently isn't coming to London)

The RDB announced next season's programme at a press conference this morning. It's no surprise to see an all-Balanchine programme in Nikolai Hubbe's first season as director (Symphony in 3 Movements/Night Shadow/Symphony in C) but the complete absence of Bournonville is a bit unexpected. Apparently Hubbe said that he wants to put on new productions of the old classics but doesn't have the money to do it straight away. There's a new production of Giselle by Hubbe and Sorella Englund, and several Copenhagen favourites, including John Neumeier's Romeo and Juliet and John Cranko's Onegin; also a new Cinderella by Tim Rushton. Complete details of the new season are on the RDB website (in Danish, but not a problem for a list of productions!) (By the way the first week of the new season coincides with NYCB's appearance at the Tivoli Theatre in Copenhagen - a tempting combination!)

Yes, the catalogue I have lists the dance extracts from about 17 Gala Performance programmes. But... the listing is already over 20 years old, so who knows what may have disappeared since then.

Looking further through the BBC catalogue, I see they also have/had Bessmertnova and Lavrovsky in a Romeo and Juliet choreographed by Victor Smirnov-Kolovanov and Natalia Ryzkenko, set to Tchaikowsky's R&J Overture and shown in 1970 - did anyone see that? And Bessmertnova is also listed as a Rose Maiden in Gayane, in Margaret Dale's Stars of the Bolshoi Ballet programme from 1963.

The catalogue of the BBC's dance collection includes a Bessmertnova/Lavrovsky Romeo and Juliet, shown on television in March 1976, in a performance filmed at the Bolshoi and shown, with an introduction by Beryl Grey, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Bolshoi Theatre. Total running time 150 mins. Would this be the same one? If so, the cast was: Juliet - Natalia Bessmertnova Romeo - Mikhail Lavrovsky Mercutio - Yuri Papko Tybalt - Vladimir Levashev Paris - Vladimir Romanenko Benvolio - Alexei Zakalinsky Lord Capulet - Vladimir Golubin Lady Capulet - Irina Krasvina Nurse - Tatiana Stepanova Friar Laurence - Valery Zholtikov Duke of Verona - Yuri Medvedev Lord Montague - Ivan Smolzov Juliet's Friend - Tatiana Galikova Troubadour - Valery Lagunov Solo Jester - Shamil Jagudin Conductor - Algis Shuraitis

Bart, the Britney Spears piece had one performance last week as part of Rambert's annual showcase of choreography by company dancers. Ten pieces were shown over two evenings. Shows like this don't usually get many reviews, but there was one in the Telegraph, and you can also see some audience reaction on the Rambert site. I didn't see the programme myself so can't comment on the piece.

Thankyou, Helene: Nunez is so good, when she's properly on - truly 'beyond technique'.

The Royal Opera House has begun to add material from its archives to its website. Go to http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/ and you can see cast lists for all first night since 1946 (to be extended eventually to cover all performances!) and also the first photographic collection - pictures by Frank Sharman, dating from the late 1940s, and giving many more photos than I've ever seen before of, for instance, Ashton's Les Sirènes. Hours of fun!

By the way, the Denby piece about Ulanova in Florence is in 'Dancers, Buildings and People in the Streets', under the title Letter to Ulanova.

Edwin Denby, describing the evening in Richard Buckle's Ballet magazine, said 'The final Rubinstein waltz was an allegro with bunches of flowers and a very pretty saut de poisson, I couldn't find out by whom: but this also looks to us very demode in style. the style it resembles is a sort of super-dinner-dance adagio couple style: of course it's done so very prettily'.

From a photo in Dance & Dancers at the time, the piece was a Valse to music by Rubinstein, and Ulanova's partner, seen in the background, was Yuri Kondratov. I'll have a look in other mags when I have a minute and see if there's more detail. (The accompanying article, by Trudy Goth, says 'Ulanova, now 41 and in poor health, will probably not dance much longer. It is regrettable that we shall never have the opportunity of seeing her in the full length ballets such as Giselle and Romeo and Juliet for which she is celebrated'. Luckily she was wrong!) Mel, I don't think Ulanova had been seen in London before the whole Bolshoi company came here in 1956 - somewhere else, perhpas?

It was New York's own Golden Jubilee, the 50the anniversary of of the consolidation of the five boroughs of Greater New York. There was a report of the season in Richard Buckle's Ballet - they brought 13 ballets, 10 of them by Lifar, and there were anti-Lifar picket lines outside the theatre. the only dancers mentioned by Buckle's correspondents were Chauvire, Renault and Kalioujny and Mireille Bourgeois*. It sounds as if everyone loved Chauvire but there were very mixed reactions to everyone else and to the company as a whole. * wrong Bourgeois - as rg's post below shows, it was Denise of that name - Mireille came much later -sorry!