JMcN

I had the misfortune to see this production at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1986. I was only a couple of years into my ballet-watching passion and this could have put me off for life! I found it incredibly slow and boring. There was a British entertainer who used to sing a song "I'm a pink toothbrush you're a blue toothbrush". The incessant repeating of an "I'm a seagull, I'm not a seagull" motifs reminded me of that silly tune. I suppose the one thing that I could say after I had seen it was that I had seen Maya Plisetskaya performing live on stage.

I seldom go to see the Royal Ballet these days but have seen Tamara Rojo dancing since she was a whippersnapper principal at Scottish Ballet. In those days she was a glorious Juliet, a role she reprised with similar success in a different production with ENB. I've not seen her in the MacMillan production at the RB but can only imagine that she has further deepened her interpretation. The last time I had the privilege to see her dance was a couple of years ago at the RB when she was The Chosen One in MacMillan's Rite of Spring. She was utterly magnificent and totally sensational. I think that she is a wonderful interpretative (if such a word exists and I hope you know what I mean) dancer as well as being a fine technician. She is most definitely one to watch if you get the chance.

Are you referring, perhaps to Noelani Pantastico, recently of Pacific Northwest Ballet? Yes - apologies for mistyping her name - my fingers weren't listening to my brain!

NORTHERN BALLET THEATRE – 40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS NBT’s Autumn Season opened in Leeds in September at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. This theatre complex was built in the 1980s and is not a conventional ballet venue; the audience is very close to the action! This mean that the range of works that can be performed there is limited. This year David Nixon’s production of Dracula was revived. I would describe this production of Dracula as a chamber ballet. It concentrates on the emotions of the leading protagonists and there is very little corps work (a party scene for Lucy and her suitors; this scene has the first meeting between Dracula and Mina – an almost Romeo and Juliet feel to it). The piece really brings out the ambivalence that Mina has towards Dracula where she seems simultaneously attracted to him and repulsed by him. They have a fabulous, very sensuous duet in act 2 before she is rescued by Harker and the chase across Transylvania begins. We saw three wonderful interpreters of the eponymous role in this run – all different and all equally valid in their portrayal – Chris Hinton-Lewis, Kenneth Tindall and Tobias Batley. Martha Leebolt, IMHO one of the best actress dancers around at the moment, gave a very eloquent account of the role of Mina. Pippa Moore was superb as the flighty and wanton Lucy, really enjoying her transformation as a vampire. The tour continued with more performances of Wuthering Heights and I enjoyed a wonderful week of performances in Bradford. We were able to enjoy the deepened portrayals of the three Heathcliffs (Chris Hinton-Lewis, Kenneth Tindall, and Tobias Batley). Georgina May was the only remaining Cathy from the Spring and again she had deepened her interpretation giving performances of glorious wild abandon. The two Cathy’s new to me were Julie Charlet (who gave a beautifully nuanced performance) and Martha Leebolt who was totally subsumed into the role and absolutely unmissable. And so to these past couple of weeks in Leeds, the culmination of a glorious year. This year’s Christmas treat was a revival of Christopher Gable/Massimo Morricone’s seventeen year old production of A Christmas Carol, based very closely on the Dickens story. Lez Brotherston’s wonderful set and costumes really evoke an atmosphere of the cold winter in Victorian England. I saw a couple of “ordinary” performances before one very special one on 5th December in Leeds, which was an “alumi” performance, which as many ex-company members as possible were invited to come and participate in or just watch. I must admit that when this was first mooted I assumed that the alumni would fill the crowd scenes and sing the carols (yes, the dancers sing carols in this production!). How wrong I was! When the cast was announced a surprising number of the role creators or noted interpreters from years gone by were performing! What can I say, Saturday 5th December was one of the most magical evenings I have ever spent in a theatre. The audience was cheering when old favourites appeared from the very second of Jeremy Kerridge’s appearance as Scrooge at Marley’s funeral. Some of the production may have been slightly modified to accommodate the numbers of dancers on stage and, perhaps, the passing of the years but it looked absolutely wonderful. As we knew he would be, the one and only Jeremy Kerridge was utterly wonderful as Scrooge; he held the audience in the palm of his hand and every tiny gesture had meaning. He showed he is still deft of foot in the terrific twirly solo when he awakes on Christmas morning. William Walker also showed us a clean pair of heels as Bob Cratchitt and Omar Gordon was really disdainful and parsimonious as Young Scrooge at the Fezziwigs’ ball. He and Shannon (Lilley) Parker were incredibly moving together in his duet with Belle when she breaks off their engagement. Matthew Hunt and Fiona Beale showed that they had lost none of their sense of comedy and timing as the hilarious Fezziwigs. The hags stealing Scrooges’s possessions in act 3 were three of the most glamorous dancers who have graced NBT – Chiaki Nagao, Graciela Kaplan and Charlotte Talbot – and they really relished their rags and blackened teeth and again were hilarious. The current NBT dancers took all the corps roles and during the final carol more and more people were pouring on the the stage. I don’t think I will ever forget this wonderful evening. The following Saturday (12th December) there was a gala featuring dancers from most of the main British companies as well as international guests. NBT’s dancers performed new choreography by Gillian Lynne and David Nixon and there was a spectacular and unannounced classical finale for NBT too. Highlights for me were Victoria Sibson, NBT, dancing Wayne McGregor’s quirky solo Ossein – she was sensational. I also very much enjoyed seeing Asier Uriagereka and Nicolena Pantastico from Les Ballet de Monte Carlo dancing the balcony duet from R&J. Again it was a tremendous and exciting evening. Overall, I think NBT’s 2009 has been a wonderful year culminating in two magical events. I’m looking forward to the next 40 years now! The company are ending the year with David Nixon’s Peter Pan in Leeds. It is a superb production for families with young children. I’m seeing it this weekend.

I am writing this as an audience member (I know nothing technical about dance). I once saw the dancer performing Tatiana in Onegin completely lose the plot in the Mirror pdd (ENB at the London Coliseum). I saw the look of panic cross her face as she seemed to realise she did not know what to do next. Her partner (Canadian dancer Paul Chalmers) guided her so skillfully to the end of the pdd that if you had not known the work you would never have realised something was amiss. Well done to him! At a performance of David Bintley's Seasons (Spring) the male partner was injured and Ambra Vallo did the coda on her own. Again, if you hadn't prior knowledge of the piece you never would have realised something was wrong. I'm sure most audience members (including me) must see dancers having "memory lapses" without ever realising what has happened unless they are very well acquainted with the work.

I never saw Margot Fonteyn dance live but friends who saw both her and LORENA VIDAL (ex-Northern Ballet Theatre) said that Lorena reminded them of MF in the way she moved and looked. There are two dancers at Northern Ballet Theatre - Julie Charlet and Micaela Paolacci who have a striking resemblance to each other. When they first joined the company (at the same time) we were always getting them mixed up. One of the young ladies actually told us recently that their colleagues also sometimes still get them mixed up!

Birmingham Royal Ballet's version by Sir Peter Wright is ABSOLUTELY THE BEST EVER!! He made the ballet for Christmas 1990 as a gift to the City of Birmingham for the city's funding and support for the company to move from London to Birmingham. This production has only been seen twice outside Birmingham - once at the Lyceum Theatre in London and once at the Lowry in its opening season. I've seen it every year from 1990 to 2009 and have never got tired of it. It has absolutely the best transformation scene EVER. The moment when the Rats appear from the fireplace never fails to send tingles down my spine. The duet for the awakened Nutcracker and Clara is so beautiful that you do not even realise the set has changed from the giant Christmas tree to a winter wonderland until the dancers realise it themselves. This production is available on DVD with Miyako Yoshida and Irek Mukhamedov. It would be wonderful if it was filmed with some of the current casts. Carol-Anne Miller, Nao Sakuma and Chi Cao opened the season on Friday night (27th November) with a truly sublime performance. As one of my friends said the following day. Chi was not only on the music "he was the music". Lucky ballet fans in Houston have a couple of opportunities to see Chi Cao in their Nutcracker season as he is guesting for four performances just before Christmas. The RB production, also by Sir Peter Wright, is some years older. I find it hard to believe that these productions have been produced by the same person. I saw the RB one in 1986 and have never wanted to see it again! Here is a link to a review of Sir Peter Wright's two versions: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culture...Nutcracker.html Northern Ballet Theatre have been touring Christopher Gable/Massimo Morricone's production of A Christmas Carol. This is a real festive treat with gorgeous Victorian sets and costumes, a commissioned score by Carl Davies, some beautiful choreography and the dancers singing carols. It remains very close to the Charles Dickens story. (David Nixon has also made a delightful production of the Nutcracker for NBT, which I am hoping we will be able to see again next year). NBT will also be performing David Nixon's Peter Pan in Leeds over the Christmas period. This is a fantastic production for families with younger children. JMcN - edited to add link to review

Have you tried contacting him through the newspaper? Another alternative may be to try through the company. I know, at the very least, that BRB have used his services.

While perusing the Houston Ballet website, I noticed that Chi Cao is due to guest as The Prince in four performances of The Nutchracker: http://www.houstonballet.org/Ticketing_Sch...racker_Casting/ Chi Cao stars in the film of Mao's Last Dancer. I have seen him perform The Prince in The Nutcracker many times over the years with Birmingham Royal Ballet. He is fabulous in the role. Houston ballet-goers are in for a real treat. I would love to hear reports of his performances.

Birmingham Royal Ballet have been touring their 2007 production of Cyrano this Autumn. I was just re-reading my reactions from the Spring of 2007 and thought I'd add some more thoughts, I adored this production of Cyrano first time round and my feelings towards it have not lessened. Iain Mackay came back as a guest reprising his creation of Christian and (obviously not in the same performance!) his interpretation of the eponymous hero. We also had two new Cyranos to look forward to. Looking back at my diary for the last two months, I've just realised that I managed to see 11 performances and I still want more! The original cast of Robert Parker, Elisha Willis and Iain Mackay have all deepened their interpretations and given us some truly breath-taking and heart-breaking memories from this season. The first performance I saw at the beginning of October was Alexander Campbell as Cyrano, Ambra Vallo as Roxanne and Joseph Caley as the hapless Christian. In four short years with the company, Alexander Campbell has established himself as one of the best actors and he gave a beautifully nuanced performance of our large-nosed hero. Oh how we laughed at his duel with Valvert and cried at his disappointment in realising that Roxanne loves Christian. Ambra Vallo is glorious in the role of Roxanne, she is totally immersed within the role. I was reduced to uncontrollable sobs (as was everyone around me) at their final duet as Cyrano is dying. Joseph Caley was able to convey his inarticulate love of Roxanne beautifully and again, there was a moment of magic on the battlefield as he realised that Roxanne loved the writer of the letters. His whole face and body language told tmore than a whole book could have of his feelings. I fell in love with the bakery scene, with its nods to some famous ballets, all over again. Chris Larsen created a comic masterpiece in Rageneau and within this scene he brings David Bintley's affectionate nods at Orpheus, Apollo, La Sylphide and the Rose Adagio to life. I would love to know how the baker boys manage to look so totally gormless. Of all the superb performances that I saw, the one that stands out was on Friday 7th November in Sunderland with Robert Parker, Elisha Willis and Joseph Caley. There really was magic dust in the air that night and I am starting to choke up again just thinking about it! I know BRB are bringing Sir Peter Wright's magnificent production of Swan Lake to Virginia next May but how I wish American audiences could see and enjoy this Bintley masterpiece.

Just a reminder to keep an eye on vimeo, where BRB are posting video diaries by David Bintley and lots of other clips. http://vimeo.com/7204489

Here's a review of the film from Australia: http://www.catholic.org.au/index.php?optio...&Itemid=320 And here's some info from the BRB web pages, including a link to see the trailer: http://www.brb.org.uk/MLD-Trailer.html

Simon - your words are music to my ears! Both BRB and NBT have a company style and look like a company when you see them on stage. A friend of mine told me off a while ago for being disparaging about RB and she is correct. I never really go to see them (ticket prices and rep) so I can't comment too much on the current company. I just like to shout from the rooftops about BRB and NBT. In case anyone thinks I am being too parochial and biased about those companies, I do try to see as many visiting companies as possible, usually at the Lowry. In fact, I saw an exhilerating performance from Rambert there last night. Rambert have got some sensational dancers at the moment.

It's a real bug bear of mine that companies not based in London do not get nearly the same amount of exposure or plaudits as RB. When I first started watching ballet in the mid 1980s I mostly went to London and saw quite a lot at ROH. To be honest, I got quite disillusioned because too often I saw the corps standing on stage mostly looking bored to tears. You never get that at BRB or NBT. Perhaps if the film of Mao's Last Dancer takes off internationally there will be a positive effect for BRB and Chi Cao (whom John Percival described a couple of years ago as surely the best classical dancer in Europe and the US!). I've certainly enjoyed following his career from the day he joined BRB.

I speak from a position of bias as I follow two non-London based ballet companies in England. Maybe dancers choose BRB or other companies. For example, would Delia Matthews still be the equivalent of a "spear carrier" if she had joined RB or would she be getting good roles in mixed programmes as she has been with BRB eg the lead in David Bintley's Galantries and the girl on the hammock in Enigma? A number of dancers have joined both BRB and NBT from RBS in recent years and most of them are getting leading roles within two or three years (if not their first year).

Did anyone see the film at the Toronto Film Festival?

Irish and not guiness???

The Grand Pas from David Bintley's 2009 revision of Sylvia is absolutely sublime. I also love the Mirror pdd from Onegin. I've seen Diana and Acteon pdd a couple of times but the performance that stands out for me is Nao Sakuma and Chi Cao in BRB Sinfonia's Evening of Music and Dance at Birmingham Symphony Hall in 2007. As they only had a pocket handkerchief to perform on in front of the orchestra, the control they had to display to not end up in the audience was amazing but they still danced flat out and it was just jaw-droppingly awesome. Off topic, but next year's evening of music and dance has been announced for 20th February 2010. These evenings are always worth attending.

Here's a trailer for the film of Mao's Last Dancer. http://www.maoslastdancermovie.com/ The film is due for release in Australia on 1st October but I understand that it is due to be shown at the Toronto Film Festival next month. I'd love to hear reports.

Birmingham Royal Ballet will be giving 3 performances of Sir Peter Wright's splendid production of Swan Lake in Norfolk on 07-09 May 2010. http://brb.org.uk/News-2010-USA.html

Ex-BRB dancer Tim Cross is now a dance and theatre photographer. There are some super photographs of BRB on his website: http://www.tmcross.com/index.html

Following on from the Malakhov and "is it important for male dancers to be tall" threads, I have realised that all my favourite male dancers have fallen into the medium to short category. I think it's because I like dancers who are deft on their feet and smaller dancers seem to more fit into this mold. I loved watching Koen Onzia dance (LFB/ENB). I think, although I only saw him perform the role once, that he is still my favourite Lensky. I also adored him as the prisoner in Swansong and the Poet in Cruel Garden. Daniel de Andrade (NBT) seemed such a complete dancer and had a wonderful stage presence. He was fabulous as Jose in Didy Veldman's Carmen. I loved his footwork as Hilarion in Michael Pink's Giselle (he was also a very fine Albrecht) and as for his Pinkerton...... My friend and I were at a performance in Sadler's Wells. At the end of Act 1, Pinkerton carries Butterfly into the house. The line of Daniel's arms and back was so beautiful that we both burst into tears! I have adored watching Chi Cao dance since the day he joined BRB. It has been a privilege watching him grow into such a wonderful artist. Not only does he have a wonderful classical technique but he acts beautifully too. I always remember seeing one of his early performances as Romeo when he was visibly crying after he had killed Tybalt and realised the enormity of what he had done. He was also magnificent as Beenstock in Hobson's Choice. He really entered into the spirit of the comedy masterpiece and looked as though he enjoyed the wedding cake at every performance! Everyone will be able to enjoy something of his talent when the film of Mao's Last Dancer is released later in the year. I came to ballet watching to late to see Nureyev at his peak but have been watching long enough to have seen JM Carreno, Bocca and M. Guerra as whippersnappers at ENB.

Trinidad Sevillano caught my eye when she was a newbie (at the age of 16) at LFB and I was a newbie watching ballet. I saw her perform many roles over the few years she was with LFB but my two favourites were Juliet (Ashton) and Odette/Odile in Makarova's Swan Lake

Darcy Bussell is going to be a guest judge on Strictly Come Dancing this Autumn. http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressrele..._strictly.shtml http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics...ancing-act.html

Northern Ballet Theatre has announced a series of promotions. Several dancers, including principal Keiko Amemori, have left the company. http://northernballettheatre.wordpress.com...son-promotions/ Congratulations to all the promotees.