jude

hi! ist of all went to see the cojocaru/steifel performance the other night and althought im never a great sleeping beauty fan the dancigmn throughout the ranks was superb. on another point i would love to see a giselle or a swan lake some time this year, does amyne know where i can find a decent one? (i cant make the kirwov swan lake) if not does nayne know when the RB announce theri enxt season? thnx

thanks a lot jane!! Im really looking forwards to seeing Tewsley , im not sure if ive seen him in a leading role for a while? wat do u all think of him? Any thoughts on the lilac fairy thing?

ok so ive just got my tickets for 10th march. i think i remember booking for the cojacaru/kobborg cast but cant seem to find leaflet and its not online..does anyone know who is dancing that night? Who are u all hoping for as lilac fairies. i know id love to see lara morera, marianela nunez and jamie tapper in the part, wat about the other supporting roles? OK so anyway write back people!!

what a shame that even though hes resigned we still have to love through a whole season of rather unapealing programming!!

What a wonderful evening of dance!! Covent garden could learn a few lessons from this programme! There were uncomplicated costumes (besides from In the Night) little scenery only a few musicians but with fantastic music, wonderful dancing and ingenious choreography the evening was a blazing success!! Its amazing how Balanchine can still seem to alive, fresh and modern even today, the Millepied work was fantastic, reflecting the music perfectly and the Wheeldon was of course stunning, although a little gimmicky in parts perhaps. As for the dancers I thought the pair who danced the Millepied piece were astounding especially in their brief solo variations. I know the Balanchine trust is awkward, but its about time that the RB got round to using more work in the style of what was displayed at the wells this week. Who needs so called modern work such as Baynes and all those other bits of nothingness when there are young fresh choreographers out there like Millepied!! This has turned into a bit of a rant..sorry!! Anyway I urge everyone to go to see this exhilarating programme. For me its right up there on my list of all time fave performances!!

yes i did and isnt it just GREAT!! unfortunatley i wont b here to see it but please DO tell me how it goes!

well well!! i think im going to have to sidw with sylvia on Ivan, he is a wonderfull dancer but not quite there yet, i think he need another season top mature as a dancer and perfect his partnering before he is promoted(wich i believb he will be) after hes mastered a sloghtly more mature style. I definately agree about johannes stepneck and also there are a few more very musical delicate dancers from the corps such as Natasha Oughtroad, Iohna Loots and Francesca Filipi that i would say are worth considering for soloist status. from the 1st artsist i would assume that Martin Harvey,and Bennet gartside will be promoted due to the many roles they have danced this seasoon. There are only a few soloists that really stand out to me. They are Ricardo Cevera( talk about phrasing!!) and Laura Morera, i think she is just delightfull and i hopes she gets really stretched next season!! Btw is Vannessa Palmer going to remain a soloist forever??!! IMHO all of the 1st soloists are excellent in particular Mara Galeazzi, Belinda hately and Jamie Tapper All wonderfull dancers... but is there really any room for them in the overcrowded principal ranks?! in regard to marianella Nunez, she is a really wonderfull dancer and most certainly principal material but not quite yet, maybe one more season with a few few more role that will really push her right up there!! I know principles cant be promoted but may i take this opportunity to point out how criminally underused Miyako yoshida is these days... i absolutely love alina and undoubtledy she is soemthing truly remarkable (ditto tamar rojo) but there are other principlas!! o yes and as and afterthought..it will be interesting to see what becomes of Gemma Bond after her olga Sorry this turned out so long!! jude xoxoxox

i read a really ecstatic reveiw of last nights performance in the times today. In particulatr it praised robert tewlsley. Did anyone see it? wat are your opinions on him? thanx xoxoxox

Unfortunately, after finishing my exams last month and sitting round twiddling my thuimbs for the past few weeks while the RB was on tour i am now vvv busy with preparations for a 3 and a half week holiday wich i leave for on sunday so no i wont be able to go!! It is really such a shame as although i did not particluarly love onegin when i saw it last november, there some really interesting pieces of casting on offer this time round. And then theres bayadere wich i have never seen and of course copelia with miyako wich i was really dying to see as its one of the few roles shes been given this year and if im not mistaken Marienela nunez is also dancing the lead and after seeing her masterclass last year i would really love to see her actual performance. Anyway sorry this has turned into a big complaining rant but its really such a shame! Please do all post all of the RB news, and plenty of reveiws, hopefully i will be able to have some access to a computer! LOLLY!! good luck with your exam, grade 6 is a nice sylabbus but grade 7 is even nicer so you have got a lot to look forwards to!! Let us know how it goes jude xoxoxoxox

ive only seen mIyako dance once live, and on a few videos, but i can asure that she is an extremely special dancer. She doesnt have any huge charismatic stage presence but she is extremely sweet and charming and is a good actress, very subtle but convincing. Her technique is a impecible and she is a supremely deliacte and graceful dancer. Unfortunately shes been given very few roles this season, and it looks like the trend will continue next season so you are very lucky to have tickets to see her! (and of course Johnathan cope is wonderful) When is the performance? Where are you sitting?

ms leigh, i dont mean this sarcasticly at all, but i wonder if u could tell me wat it is that is so terrrible about the production. i live in london and therefore have had no exposure to this production but im intigued to hear that the production made by such a senior person was seen to be such a disaster. (very much i assume like antony doweels swan lake 4 the RB)

well having seen Jewels last year when they came to london i can highly reccomend it, its such a contrast to their big 3 act classics but still a wonderfull memorable performance. Then again i assume you are in ny where there is no shortage of this style of dance (ie balanchine!!) and u might want to stick with a full on classical ballet!

brilliant thanks so much for the information, its such a shame that i live in england and hardly ever get to see balanchine or robbins, let alone a peice such as this!!

ill 2nd that nomination for Maria tallcheif. wat would i give to see the ballerina that started it all off!

wow sounds v v v cool!! so do all the dancers have to sing the full songs? can they hack it? how long is it overall?

hey! ok this is u very dumb simple question, can enayone tell me anything about west side story suite, ive seen the film but ive never seen this ballet and i would love to know how it has been adapted, is it just the dance numvers from the musical linked together or is it longer that that? and wats this about singing??!! any info would b much appreciated!! thanx !! xx

o dear. it turns out i had the wrong night!! im going to see Guillem and le riche. What a shame i was really looking forward to seeing bussell and cope. O well at least putrov and cevera are in that cast...and im not about to satrt nocking guillem!

im going next thursday for the Bussell/cope performance. I probaly would have booked tickets to see Cojocaru/kobborg but it wasnt up to me!! I havent seen Darcey dance since she did those swan lakes beore she ernt on maternity leave so i cant wait to see her dance again! Not being much of a macmillin fan i dont think i would have chosen to book for this, but since the tickets were a gift and im going now anyway hopefuly i will be converted! (other wise i will be very bored next season!!)

can anyone tell me where he is dancing at the moment??

hope its ok to sart off this topic here. its not very original but i think it will be fun!! Which dancers of the RB do you think will really break through this year? Who would you like to see in the various roles of the season? MY OPINION!! alina cojocaru has already won great aclaim in the tutu roles. I would love to see her being pushed so she doesnt get type cast i wonder how she would cope with the mark morris piece? I would also like to see miyako yoshida in some more leading roles this year. I predict that marianella Nunezs will be used a lot this year along with mara galeazzi. it will; be interesting to see what comes of gemma bond after that unexpected part in onegin last year. on the male side of things, i can well see martin harvey being given some new roles to deal with, like wise i would be interested in seeing Ivan putrov partnering alina cojocaru as i feel they are very well suited. It will also be interestingf to see how the 7 new RBS students cope in the company and follow their progeess. sorry to ramble what does everyone think about this?? xxx

well i can see that this repetiore does match the plee for more "british heritage" work But since im not really such a huge fan of macmillan im not too pleased!! its not bad though im very pleased to see some mark morris and the christopher wheeldon. In a perfect world i would like there to be some robbins or balanchine on the bill as there was none this year either but i knwo they are foreign choreographers etc..! anyway overall its ok i will keep an open mind and try some more macmillan! hopefully the wonderfull standard of the dancers will continue and that will of course be the key factor that will contribute to the sucess of the seasons. waht do u guys think, is this fair enough outlook? what does evryone else think of this season?

yes he was musical just looked v nervous. i can see them all becoming really great dancers if they continue to develop through opportunities like this anyway let me know waht u think maybe it waws just 2st night jitters!! xx

i saw: jamie tapper, mara galeazzi and laura morea, Justin meisssner, martin harvey and ricardo cevera. i thought all of the girls danced very well. In particular laura morera offered a very sweet and musical performance. I felt the men were not as strong. Although their performences were good and they partnered well, in their solo variations they did not seem very secure and seemed to be 'heaving' slightly when they jumped. they did all seem to have a lot of potential and martin harvey had a lot of stage prescence. overall they all danced well though and it was a charming pas de six. It cant have helped that Alinas feather light dancing managed to quite unreasonably make everyone else on stage resmble oxen!!

i only saw the 1st night alina and johan cast but has anyone else seen any of the others. i would love to hear how they were, especially benjamin and steifel thanx xxx

was anyone else there last night? i dont think im really qualified to do a proper refiew but all i can say is Alina Cojacaru is a legend in the making. Every cliche applys to her light as a feather etc...!! she made everyone else on stage look like oxen. Her musixcality and phrasing also were outstaniding. I have been to see many ballets and quite a few giselles and enjoyed them all, but i really felt that last night was a monumental performance. does anyone else agree? By the way, johan kobborg was also excelent and i was very impresses with jamie tapper !!