Jump to content
This Site Uses Cookies. If You Want to Disable Cookies, Please See Your Browser Documentation. ×

rebekah

Member
  • Posts

    33
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by rebekah

  1. Oh No! :speechless:

    I hadn't realised they have got rid of it! I'm an Overture member too, and apart from not being able to afford £70 for the membership (that's like 11 tickets in the slips!) I'm not sure it's worth that kind of money.

    I mean, yes it is great to get advanced booking but I manage to augment by bookings with tickets I buy nearer the time, and don't really have any trouble getting fairly decent ones (not stalls or anything, but always lower slips or amphi.) And presumably you don't get any money off vouchers either! Oh well, I'd better make the most of my membership before it runs out. xx

  2. Thanks for that-I must have missed it! Not much in the way of promotions, though I am really pleased about Martin and Thiago.

    I thought there might be Edward Watson promoted to Principal but maybe it is too soon.

    Looking forward to next season already though! xx

  3. For anyone interested in choreography, or indeed the Ballet Boyz (Michael Nunn and William Trevitt) this 4-part series is worth a look.

    The first one was last week, but there are three more culminating in the performance of their first choreographed piece of dance which will be performed at the Barbican-you can also buy tickets for this performance through the Barbican website:

    https://www.barbican.org.uk/eticketing/pricebands.asp

    The 'Boyz' are hoping to show how new dance is made, and also to highlight the often difficult transition from dancer to choreographer (and in their case the added problem of running the company too). They are entertaining to watch and educational too!

    This is the Channel 4 link: http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/R/rough_guide/

    The next show is on Saturday at 7pm-Enjoy!

  4. Hi, I have the following tickets for sale as I am unable to go to these events:

    William Tuckett's 'A Soldier's Tale',

    Linbury Studio Theatre

    Thursday 17th June 2004, 2:30pm

    Seat G5 (Arena left)

    1 x student ticket @ £8

    'Inspired by Diaghilev'

    Linbury Studio Theatre

    Sinday 27th June 2004, 3pm

    Seat E18 (Arena right)

    1x student ticket @ £8

    The box office staff checked my student card when I bought the tickets, but I have never been asked to provide my card again when going into a performance so these tickets would be suitable for anyone.

    Post here if you are interested xx

  5. Hi-thank you again to everyone who posted on my previous topic about fantatsy literature for children. I discovered many new books which I enjoyed greatly.

    I have just returned from a meeting with my tutor who has suggested that I need to narrow my topic down further, therefore I would appreciate any suggestions of children's books concerning time/disruption of time/time travel.

    I have already looked at the more obvious one such as Peter Pan (not growing up/time not passing), Moondial (setting ghosts free) Children of Green Knowe (children from the past), Tom's Midnight Garden (the past again) and others, but would love to hear of any suggestions you have, as you all seem to be well-read :)

    Any suggestions will be much appreciated, thanks xx

  6. Hiya, I went on Wednesday, and it was great to see Onegin again. The cast was as follows:

    Eugene Onegin-Johan Kobborg

    Tatiana-Alina Cojacaru

    Olga-Caroline Duprot

    Lensky-Federico Bonelli

    Prince Gremin-Bennet Gartside

    Overall I thought the performance lacked some sparkle, especially for a first night. As much as I love Johan Kobborg I didn't find him a great Onegin, because he was dwarfed by Bonelli. I think pairing the two of them wasn't the best choice because (for me anyway) Onegin should have more presence than Lensky. I also didn't get any feeling of friendship between them, so the betrayl didn't have as much impact as it could have.

    However the scenes with him and Alina were superb especially the bedroom mirror/dream scene, thought some of the lifts make me wince because they look so terrifyingly difficult!

    Caroline Duprot was also lovely in the role of Olga-she was very bouncy and flirty especially in the dance with Onegin.

    Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing/hearing about the other casts, thought there have been a few changes from the original line-up. I know both Jonathan Cope and Tamara Rojo are out, and Thaigo Soares (who replaced Jonathan) is also injured, though he is still down for his other performances. xx

  7. Hi Dancing frog-I agree that the Discworld novels aren't for children but luckily Terry Prachett has more recently written fantasy books for children-Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, The Wee Free Men and just out, A Hatful of Sky. The last two are Discworld books for kids, which is great because it means I can include them in my dissertation! I've just finished The Wee Free Men and if you like Discworld books then you'll love it! A Hatful of Sky is the sequel to it. Enjoy! And thanks for the recommendation too xx

  8. I went last night to the Mixed Bill and thought it was excellent-certainly one of the best selected Mixed Bill (usually there is one ballet I don't like out of three or four, which I still have to sit through to see the rest!)

    Castings were as follows:

    Daphnis and Chloe:

    Daphnis-Federico Bonelli (replacing Inaki Urlezega)

    Chloe-Miyako Yoshida

    Lykanion-Laura Morera

    Dorkon-Martin Harvey

    Bryaxis-Jonathan Howells

    Pan-David Pickering

    I really enjoyed this piece, with its bright sets from John Craxton-they seemed to relfect the cheerful tone of the ballet. This was futher emphasised by the vivid cotumes, which I know not everyone has liked but I thought they really suited the ballet. The ensemble pieces were superb, with the corps really throwing themselves into the lively Ashton chreography-both in the village scenes and as pirates.

    Bonelli was a bit non-descript as Daphnis but I think that is partly because it is quite a minor role-I was really surprised that he didn't go and rescue Chloe (I hadn't seen it before, or read the synopsis before the performance) but instead was asleep!

    However Miyako's Chloe more than made up for it in vibrance and joyful dancing, coupled with genuine terror of the pirate chief, played very menacingly by Jonathan Howells.

    The Spectre De La Rose:

    Leanne Benjamin

    Ivan Putrov

    I loved this despite the garish hat the rose was wearing-luckily Ivan's dancing is so beautiful I wasn't distracted by the slightly daft cotume-and I think all the boys who wear it deserve a medal for doing their curtain calls without a big coat over it!

    Fokine's choreography fits so perfectly with the music for this ballet, and it is such an enchanting story. Leanne Benjamin was excellent as the girl asleep-I was sat up close for this for the first time, and I had never realised how much time the girl spends dancing with her eyes shut! Scary!

    Ivan's dancing was, as I said, beautiful, and I feel he really suits this dance because of his slighter build to someone such as Acosta-though I haven't seen Acosta yet but I agree with someon on ballet.co.uk who said he seemed to be more of a tiger lily than a rose!

    L'Apres-Midi D'un Faun

    The Faun-Viacheslav Samodurov

    Leading Nymph-Gillian Revie

    I think I need a few more viewings of this before I judge it too much-I loved the music but some of the actions of the nymphs and Faun struck me as very mechanical which I found off-putting.

    Unfortunatly the programme notes didn't have any useful background material on this ballet-for example Mallarme's poem would have been interesting to see where Debussy got his inspiration from.

    Les Noces

    The Bride-Christina Arestis

    The Bridegroom-Valeri Hristov

    Parents- Genesia Rosato, Alastair Marriott, Gillian Revie, William Tuckett

    Friends and Villages- Laura Morera, Ricardo Cervera, Isabel McMeekan, Vanessa Palmer, Jonathan Howells, Brian Maloney

    I loved this! It was so good, and I loved the really precise choreography coupled with the singing. It may be portraying a joyless wedding but there was immense power behind the rituals of peasant Russia. The dancing from the corp was superb and I think this was one of the best perfomances I have ever seen by the Royal- I was completely mesmerised by the different rituals shown to prepare the Bride and Groom-definatly worth going to see this bill just for Les Noces! xx

  9. Hi, I'm doing my MA dissertation in Children's Literature on fantasy writings. In particular I'm looking at books which feature other world or alternate realities. I have the most obvious 'classics' down (Alice in Wonderland/Peter Pan/Wizard of Oz) and some more from my readings as a child (Tom's Midnight Garden/Moondial/ Wizard of Earthsea)

    Basically I was wondering of anyone had any recommendations of any fantasy books which they loved/hated because I keep going to the library and bookshops but there is such a huge choice of fantasy that narrowing the selection is taking a long time : )

    Thanks for your help! xx

  10. There is also The Ballet Twins by Jean Estorial (author of the Drina books)-not surprisingly it is about twins who audition for the Lingeraux School of Ballet (a fictitious school which is mentioned in the Drina books too, Drina meets Madama Lingeraux on one of her many holidays!)

    I love children's books-still re-read them all now and I'm 24! xx

  11. There is a review of Robert Altman's film 'The Company' (starring and produced by Neve Campbell) by Judith Mackrell, featuring comments on the film by Royal Ballet dancers Christina Arestisi, Edward Watson, Jonathan Howells, as well as by William Trevitt, Trevor Nunn and Christopher Saunders.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/features/st...1209518,00.html

    The overriding comment seems to be that they feel the film does not reflect 'their world' in any way, and the choreography wasn't up to much.

    I went the other day (it isn't showing in many London cinemas) and was pretty disappointed. I really thought there would be better choroegraphy but it wasn't great. The film is motivated towards the new ballet called The Blue Snake which features some astonishing cotumes which seemed to made of multicoloured rubber-think Carabosse's attendents in technicolour!

    The film is quite detached from the action which is perhaps typical of Altman's direction, this is especially true in the scene where a dancer snaps her achilles tendon-the company and the director (played by Malcom McDowell) look on and provide no support-Christina Arestis comments on this in the above review. I thought this wasn't very realistic.

    There were some better moments, but I felt you never got enough detail or insight. Maybe I'm an old softy at heart but I wanted to know more about Ry (Neve Campbell) and her boyfriend, and how they coped with her rising career etc.

    Unfortunately I don't think this film is going to succeed in bringing ballet to a wider audience, which is a shame. Maybe they should do a film for British ballet companies? Has anyone else seen it? xx

  12. Well I went last night, and really enjoyed it! The cast were as follows:

    Tsar Nicholas II-William Tukett (replacing Christopher Saunders)

    Tsarina Alexandra-Zenaida Yanowsky (replacing Elizabeth McGorian)

    Grand Duchess Anastasia- MaraGaleazzi (replacing Tamara Rojo)

    Rasputin- Thaigo Soares (replacing Jonathan Cope)

    Mathilde Kschessinska-Jaimie Tapper (replacing Mara Galeazzi)

    Her partner- Federico Bonelli (replacing Inaki Urlezega)

    Anna Anderson's husband- Thomas Whitehead

    I went to watch this prepared to be disappointed and I'm so glad I wasn't! Though I think the structure of Acts 1 and 2 makes the ballet feel a bit odd-as there is little in the way of plot development it feels a bit static. But then in Act 3 you really appreciate how you were watching a snapshot of Anastasia's home life. This means that you are familiar with the people (her sisters, Rasputin etc) when they turn up as Anna Andersons delusions in Act 3.

    I was impressed with Mara's ability to contrast Anastasia and Anna Anderson so completely, and there was genuine love for her family.

    I found Rasputin a strange character-especially in Act 3 (I don't know if this is where his extra steps are, he doesn't do much before then) because I didn't understand why he was 'haunting' Anastasia, when he was obviously keen on the Tsarina. Despite this, Thiago did an excellent job-he was brooding, and sinister, as well as having great power.

    Jamie Tapper and Federico Bonelli we also very good as Mathilde Kschessinska, but I didn't like their piece very much-maybe because tutus seems too classical for Macmillan-it felt a bit jarring.

    I also thought Zenaida Yanowsky was superb as the Tsarina-though I'm biased as I think she is fab in most things :( She can carry off regal and proud so well.

    On the whole though, I think I prefer Act 3, maybe because I like more narrative based ballets, and I would happily watch Act 3 on its own, which I suppose was Macmillan's original intention anyway. I think I am going to have to buy a book about the Romanovs though,a shte programme notes were too brief.

    What did anyone else think? And can anyone explain why Rasputin haunts Anna/Anastasia so much in Act 3? Thanks xx

  13. Jane-what changes have been made to Rasputin's role? Do you mean recently?

    I think I'll have to go to watch this with an extremely open mind-especialyl regarding the 'electronic' score. I'll bear in mind seeing the third act as a separate piece too. Thanks xx

  14. Is anyone planning to go to see this? I'm going on 29th to see Mara Galeazzi with Federico Bonnelli-though I am still a bit dubious about this ballet as a whole.I'm not convinced about the plot structure, especially Act 3. But I have never seen it so I will reserve judgement until later :)

    I know its the Insight Evening tonight-I wish I was going as they are so helpful for explaining the thinking behind the ballets, but am stuck in doing essays. If anyone goes and discovers anything useful, let us know! xx

  15. I thought Cuthbertson and Watson were fab! From what I heard around me, people thought they were much improved from their first performance. My only criticism really is that their ppds looked a bit shaky but I'm sure that is a case of practice makes perfect! The best for me was the way they both came across as young lovers-something I find harder to imagine with Sylvie. I am really looking forward to seeing these two in other things. xx

  16. Thanks for clearing that up for me Jane. I thought Mara might have done Juliet before, but my memory is starting to fail me with who has done what! Will be interesting to see Bonelli as Romeo too. Ooh, can't wait! xx

  17. Is anyone planning to go to any Romeo and Juliets? I'm going to the opening matinee with Mara Galeazzi and Frederico Bonelli, who I haven't seen before (in fact is this their debut in R&J?) so I'm really looking forward to it.

    Am also going to see Lauren Cuthbertson and Edward Watson who are debuting in these roles on 12th April, which I'm really excited about. Apparently Tamara has been rehearsing them (she mentioned this in the talk with Johan Kobborg) and they were shown rehearsing with Johnny Cope on the brief Channel 4 documentary about Johnny. Is anyone going to see them?

    Will let you all know how they are! xx

  18. Well, Alina and Johan sound fabulous. I'm going to try and see them on 6th April, I'll be on Easter holiday then, and will need some time off from essays-can't think of a better excuse :wink:

    Danciegirlmaria-I hope you have some ballet planned into your revision plan, it isn't good to spend too long studying in one go. By the way, what are you studying? I'm doing an MA at King's College, London. xx

  19. Hiya Danciegirlmaria! I went on 17th and it was fantastic. Tamara Rojo and Johnny Cope were superb as Mary Vestsera and teh Crown Prince. The ferocity of their passion had me holding my breath. The scene with Rudolf and Princess Stephanie (Gemma Bond) in the bedroom was also excellent, and terrifying at the same time. Zenaida Yanowsky played Rudolph's mother, and she was also really well performed.

    Did Johan dance? I hope so

    Are you going to see Johan In Conversation at ROH on Tuesday afternoon?

  20. Sorry Juliet I don't think I was very clear-the crows were from before, they've gone. I think they were a backdrop that was pulled across the stage, but they looked like fish to me!

    Don't worry though, Cupid and the carriage aren't as bad as they sound! (Though I would have been happy if they'd axed Cupid totally!) Anya xx

×
×
  • Create New...