JMcN

I believe there was a dancer who had learned the role. I do not know why he was not used (but he would have been brilliant IMHO!).

Momoko Hirata has returned to Birmingham Royal Ballet.

I was reading earlier today that the choreography had to be really simplified at the last minute because of the rake and slipperiness of the performance surface. A lot of British ballet lovers are bemused as to why the BBC thinks that the RB has 200 female dancers. I also read that the only RB participants were Darcey's cavaliers. Apart from that there were some dancers from ENB, some students from RBS and the rest of the dancers had been chosen at auditions held all over the country. I thought the extinguishing of the cauldron was very moving. My personal favourite moment was right at the end when the cameras were panning around the departing athletes and there was the wonderful Mo Farah trying on one of the bowler hats with the light bulbs on top. For those of us suffering from post-Olympics depression, Adidas have issued a small film of some of Team GB singing "Don't stop me now"! A tweeter has also posted a link to this article about the BBC commentary of the Olympics: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-08-10/the-bbc-goes-gaga-for-the-olympic-games I must admit that I hadn't really been looking forward to these Olympics as much as usual because I felt quite remote from them. Train fares and hotel prices in the London area were sky high and I just decided not to bother. I have, however, been glued to the TV for the past 2 weeks and loved every minute of the Games. I feel quite bereft today and am not sure how to fill in the time till the Paralympics start on 29th August!

Mo Farah - double gold medallist. It's been one of the most fantastic races I have ever watched. It must have been one of the most awesome experiences ever to have actually watched the race in the stadium.

A magnificent afternoon in the velodrome for Team GB with two golds and a silver. The final gold was won by Sir Chris Hoy in the Keirin - an incredibly emotional moment. I doubt there was a dry eye in the UK when he was presented with his gold medal. At the age of 36, this is his final Olympics but he is carrying on competitively until the Commonwealth Games in 2014. Our Royal family have been enthusiastic supporters of these games turning up all over the show. The Princess Royal was at the dressage to see our wonderful gold medal there before attending the final events at the velodrome with Princes William and Harry.

I've just watched an interview with Dave Brailsford who is the performance director of British Cycling. Apparently the French want to know how the British cycling team has been so successful over the past 4 years. To paraphrase - the British use round wheels on their cycles! Absolutely priceless.... Seriously though, he explained that they worked out the target and worked back to where they are now and then planned to bridge the gaps to reach the target. He also said that they broke down performance into all aspects and aimed for tiny improvements in each aspect so that overall there was a big improvement. He even mentioned things like washing your hands properly to ensure that there was a reduced chance of illness. He also stressed the importance of everyone in the team, whether riding or backroom. One example he gave was that one aim had been to have a British winner of the Tour de France within 5 years and that had been achieved within 2 and a half years.

It has been reported that Richard Cragun has passed away at the age of 66 in Rio. Here is a Brazilian obituary: http://www.jb.com.br/cultura/noticias/2012/08/06/morre-no-rio-o-ex-bailarino-richard-cragun/ I was fortunate to see Richard Cragun dance a couple of times. It was his performace with Marcia Haydee in Onegin (guesting with ENB) on 26th May 1984 that converted me to watching ballet. Condolences to his family and friends at this very sad time.

I hate to sound cynical but who are the amateurs these days?

Another golden day so far for Team GB with a 4th consecutive gold for sailor Ben Ainslie in the Finn class and a wonderful win for Andy Murray in the tennis singles. The BBC has published a lovely clip of their anchors reactions at the end of last night's 10000 metres won by the wonderful Mo Farrah: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19134764

WHAT A DAY!! An unprecedented 3 golds for Team GB in the athletics stadium as well as two golds in the rowing regattah and one in the cycling. The pressure on the athletes to win has been unbelievable and they have stepped up to the plate! Congratulations to Gregg Rutherford, Jess Ennis and Mo Farrah. And, as so many tweets have pointed out, what a celebration of multi-cultural Britain.

The cycling has been poetry in motion. I just wish I understood the rules. Congratulations to the British Men's sprint team and Victoria Pendleton for their gold medals.

Congratulations to Michael Phelps on winning his 20th Olympic medal - surely the greatest of Olympians.

I've just watched (on TV) the British Men's Sprint Team win gold in the cycling velodrome. It was breath-taking to watch! Having watched a couple of hours this afternoon, I can't make head or tail of the rules though!!

I've just finished reading The Thread by Victoria Hislop and found it a superb read. This is the third book of hers that I have read, the other two being The Island (about Crete and the Leper Colony of Spinalonga) and The Return (set in the Spanish Civil War). The Thread is set in Thessaloniki and covers the period from the early 20th Century to the 1970s. I knew a bit about the history of Thessaloniki but hadn't realised just how bad things had been during the second world war. Victoria Hislop does seem to do meticulous reseach on her subjects.

CONGRATULATIONS to our ladies on the pairs rowning team. What a fantastic row and our first gold too. It was such a convincing row that I didn't even have to stop breathing....

Was thrilled watching the men's team gmnastics final yesterday afternoon. I forgot to breathe during the final rotation. Well done Team GB for your bronze medal. JUst watching on the television the atmosphere was electric - it must have been awesome to be there.

I never saw the RB in its Ashton heydey but the two dancers who currently move me most in roles in his ballets are Nao Sakuma and Natasha Oughtred, both of BRB.

Thanks Christian.

Quiggin, Thanks for your most interesting and informative post. So there are several different versions of La Fille Mal Gardee - all in their own way rooted in the original from 1789. As it goes with any of the other classics including, as mentioned in a previous post, another French ballet Coppelia. We can celebrate the differences and enoy them all!

England's Northern Ballet used to do this production and I would love to see it again!

Tamara Karsavina, who also danced in the Petipa version, was influential in the creation of Sir Frederick Ashton's version which contains sublime and complex choreography. I can cope with you preferring the production you know well but please do not underestimate the grace, virtuosity and subtle characterisations contained within the Ashton version. I'm afraid the clips you have included in your posting have left me cold, probably because they are out of context.

Whereas most British people see Fille as the quintessential English ballet, even though it is a French story! In general, Ashton's choreography may look simple but is fiendishly difficult to do well. Fille, IMHO, contains some of the most sublime choreography ever created. Ashton also has the ability to make you really care about the characters he has created. When you see Fille done well, you come out of the theatre on a cloud of euphoria! As my geographic knowledge of the US is atrocious, I don't know the feasibility of you going to see Sarasota Ballet. Looking at their latest season, Iain Webb is keeping the Ashton flame alive in the US. Given his and his wife's background I am sure the productions are impeccable. I saw POB do Fille a couple of years ago and enjoyed them very much although, in places I thought they struggled with the fiendishly fast footwork for Colas and, indeed, some of the lifts we Brits take for granted (particularly in the Fanny Essler pdd). I am sure they have sorted that now. Christian, please don't ever review Two Pigeons!!!

I've got no specific knowledge but as Kevin O'Hare is already a member of the organisation I would guess that he has had more input than most incoming Directors would.

We suffer from a shortage of the full length Don Q in the UK!

I've just found this article about Michaela dePrince via Twitter: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2012/jul/16/sierra-leone-ballet-mchaela-deprince