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Kate B

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Everything posted by Kate B

  1. But is that a matter of opinion or do you think that there is some kind of gold standard choreographers have to reach before they can truly be considered 'great'? Is Forsythe only considered 'great' (present company excepted, of course ) because of the hype? Is hype what creates great artists? Was Mozart any better than Salieri or did he just have better PR?
  2. Why do you dislike Forsythe so much? I've only seen Kammer Kammer performed by Ballett Frankfurt (which was multi-platformed with dance, video and text) and I loved it. It was the weirdest thing I had ever seen. Do you not like postmodern art? What is wrong with a classical company performing Forsythe or any other modern choreographer? Should they only dance story-based ballets to classical music?
  3. I love the entrance of the shades, and I'm not exactly new to ballet, although I'm no big expert. It's probably because it is hypnotic that I love it, a time you can just sit back and relax and reflect on things. Of course, some companies do it better than others.
  4. I found an interesting article in the Independent today about the Kirov doing Forsythe's In the middle, somewhat elevated. I am going to see this and am very interested to see what it will be like. If you'd like to read the article, if can be found here: Independent Article I was particularly interested in the link they made between Forsythe, Balanchine and Kirov, suggesting that Kirov are well suited to the choreography. I'm not a big expert, but I am interested to see what anyone else thinks about this, and whether someone has a bit more background.
  5. I have succumbed and bought a ticket for R&J on the Saturday. I am very excited now...
  6. I don't know about casting, but I am really looking forward to July. I'm going to see La Bayadere and the Forsythe programme. I promise to report back.
  7. How deadly that tickets go on sale on pay day! I will certainly be going to see them, but how to choose? They were excellent 2 years ago.
  8. A round of applause... No, a standing ovation! Good luck and thanks for everything you have done, Alexandra!
  9. Wallpaper your sitting room with them?
  10. I saw Democracy in London, and enjoyed it very much. I think perhaps the Willy Brandt character did not seem so charismatic to modern viewers because the play was very much set in the past, in another era, so what would appeal in the 1960s would be very different to the political leaders we have today.
  11. It's a shame you're not interested in Nutcrackers. The English National Ballet are doing Nureyev's one with Gerald Scarfe design. And it's at the Colisseum, which is in my opinion, a much more accessible theatre.
  12. Dance Scholar - too true! Alexandra, I think there has been a lot of interest in this group because they are very different from a lot of the programmes and companies that come through London. It's probably one of the top cities in the world to see dance, and yet somehow, for me, a lot of what's on offer is nowhere near as exciting as dancers such as these. I was thinking about what I wrote last night, and, while there are some big European dance 'personalities' and technicians around, I don't know if there is any single company or touring group that has quite the same collection of people as Danses Concertantes. They are just so good at their craft, but do not let being great technicians get in the way of also being, well, human. Each has a different kind of presence on stage, and it is this that I find so alluring and compelling. I think also it helps that each part of the programme had interesting choreography, and beautiful, live music (or extremely interesting music in the case of 'porte & soupir'.) There was nothing in this programme that let it down in any way, in my opinion. And something I forgot to mention before - I think it is a shame that the theatre was nowhere near full last night.
  13. I don't have any figures to hand, but I think that the increase in ticket prices in the West is largely due to increasing disposable incomes. Twenty years ago people had to spend something like a quarter of their incomes on food, while today, the proportion is more like 10%. Other costs of living (e.g. property and travel) have increased relatively, which would make tickets more expensive. Conversely, I also think I remember reading that in pre-Revolutionary Russia, tickets for the ballet cost something like 2 months' income for a labourer, which made it inaccessible to all but the richest people in the land. Anyone with more substantial figures than this?
  14. I've just come back from Sadlers Wells with my partner (not a ballet fan at all) and a good friend (who likes dance but doesn't know a lot about it.) We were all very much impressed by the whole programme, particularly the Balanchine, the Wheeldon and the Millepied, perhaps in that order. As a person who has been injured for the best part of the year, this has been the programme that has made me want to get back into class more than anything else I have seen for months. I saw this 'company' two years ago at Sadlers Wells and thanks to Alexandra, we got backstage to meet Millepied and the dancers. I was starstruck then and I am still starstruck now! I am tempted to post a poll now, just for fun, to ask, 'Has Europe as much to offer in terms of exciting dance as the United States?'
  15. I went last night - not quite a full house but the audience were very enthusiastic. The programme was Allegro Brillante, Paquita Pas de Trois, '7 for 8' (music by Bach, choreographed by Helgi Tomasson) and 'Rush' by Christopher Wheeldon. It is a while since I saw a company who seemed so highly polished and well-rehearsed, and so in time with each other and the orchestra. No one particularly stood out for me, although I thought Guennadi Nedviguine in the Paquita PDT a very good jumper - light, high elevation, really on the beat, and really tight batterie. Also, in the '7 for 8' Yuan Yuan Tan seemed to be just about the only dancer from the whole evening who seemed to be putting any of herself into the performance. I thought that 'Rush' was just one of those ballets that companies put on because they have to - I didn't find it very exciting or different, and I thought the music was awful. I was quite disappointed because the other things I have seen by Wheeldon did excite me, and I wondered whether it was because the company seemed to have so few 'personalities', because the music was boring, or because this just wasn't very interesting choreography. Anyway, that was just me. The rest of the theatre seemed to love it. '7 for 8' was really the best piece in the programme for me. It was beautiful and, as I said, danced with feeling. I do like going to see a mixed programme like that. There is generally always something that stands out and sticks in the memory.
  16. I'm currently reading 'Cousin Bette' (Balzac) on my commute. It's marvellous - full of scandal and really horrible people in 1840s Paris. It's not too absorbing in that I haven't missed a stop yet, but I really do look forward to reading it at the start and the end of the day. I'd also recommend 'Star of the Sea' by Joseph O'Connor. It's about things that happen on a ship taking Irish people to the States during the potato famine. The chapters are quite short so you can usually read one chapter per journey.
  17. I'm going next Saturday. I am very excited, as I've never seen them before. I'll let you know what it's like.
  18. Aha, thank you, Alexandra. I'll just have to keep my fingers crossed it doesn't change too much!
  19. Is the company definitely being disbanded? I thought (I don't know where I heard this) they had been saved somehow.
  20. I think you were spot on, bunhead. I hated The Company for all those reasons, and more! There was just NOTHING fun about it at all. At least Center Satge made you want to go and have a go at dancing.
  21. I would strongly recommend 'The Other Boleyn Girl' by Philippa Gregory. Set in Henry Viii's court, it is about Anne Boleyn's sister. It has a fabulous amount of historical detail, but more importantly, it is really thrilling and very hard to put down!
  22. Good point! I went thinking, even if there isn't much of a story and it is full of cliches, there will at least be an opportunity to see some interesting dancing. But no, I agree with a lot of what Simon G said. I didn't like the swing dance! And Blue Snake! I just can't understand why the Joffrey would allow themselves to look so clunky and old-fashioned. It's not going to impress dance fans or ordinary film-goers.
  23. I just saw it last night. I think it was one of the worst films I have ever seen. My muscles are aching this morning from cringing so hard.
  24. I'd like to go to Frankfurt to see some more William Forsythe! And of course, to New York, for some more Balanchine. *far-off dreamy look*
  25. I loved Vanity Fair. It's amazing when something that was written 200 years ago can have really recognisable characters and be laugh-out-loud funny too.
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