London in December

[Treefrog]

There's a chance will be in London Dec. 20-23. What's going on in the dance world at that time? I know Bourne's Swan Lake is showing (opinions, please).

We're not interested in Nutcrackers. Is anything else on?

[NextStage]

Wow... wish I could go! It looks like the Royal Ballet will be doing Ashton's Cinderella.

RoyalOperaHouse – The Royal Ballet

Hope this helps!

[Treefrog]

Thanks for the tip. But, oh my gosh, the cheapest tickets are $102! Do you Brits always have to pay so much?

[nlkflint]

Treefrog, I found seats for the Cinderella performances for as low as 15 pounds

Here is a link to the page of prices for upper levels. Now I have no idea how far up these are...

online ticket prices

Here is an interactive of what the stage looks like from different seats.

interactive

[grace]

i was fascinated by the idea of getting an impression of what the stage would look like from any seat, so i clicked on the interactive seating plan link.

however, as cute and as useful as it is, it actually just shows you the detail of the seating plan - not the view (which i THOUGHT was too much to ask!).

from my experience as a patron, and as an usherette in this theatre, about 15 years ago (but the seating appears to have changed very little):

cheap tickets are :-

the cheapest = standing room. this is behind the stalls circle and is FANTASTIC, especially if you know WHERE the BEST spots are to stand!

NEXT cheapest is UPPER slips - these are a TOTAL waste of time unless you are just there to HEAR the music (for example, at an opera performance). you CANNOT see the stage from MOST of these, as i recall...

NEXT cheapest is LOWER slips - the FEW seats closest to the centre of the theatre/furthest away from the stage, are BEARABLE - but only a FEW, literally 2 or 3. anything closer to the stage will have an EXTREMELY LIMITED view of the stage - you may only see one downstage corner! again, these seats are acceptable if you are there only to hear the music!

the NEXT price range is the BACK OF the amphitheatre - these are perfectly acceptable good seats, no matter where you are - although of course the more central you are, the better. you can see EVERYTHING; it just looks a bit small! these seats are very high though, and therefore not suitable for the giddy!

next range is the LOWER amphitheatre and these are pretty much all very good seats indeed, with the proviso again that the more central you are, the better. if you are way on the side, you will be missing the view of YOUR side of the stage, (especially the upstage corner). the FRONT row of the amphitheatre is FANTASTIC - but this would be getting a little bit pricey - comparatively speaking. the next couple of rows are also GREAT because all the amphitheatre seating is highly raked.

ADDITIONALLY, you might like to know that it USED TO BE that there were ONLY STAIRS to the WHOLE of this top level - no elevator. so you would not have wanted to have tickets up there, if you have any difficulty climbing stairs. HOWEVER - my guess is that this problem has probably been remedied, when the ROH was closed and renovated in the early 90's (but, with the british - maybe not!!! )

my first choice when i was buying CHEAP tickets: standing room, then central back of the amphitheatre (even if that means the LAST row!), then the end (only) of the LOWER slips (never the upper slips).

hope this helps. :blush:

[nlkflint]

Grace, if you click on one of the seats outlined in red, another window opens and shows you the view--try it. (Click on one area of the seating map first, then click oin a seat outlined in red).

[Treefrog]

nlkflint, thanks! I'm not sure how I missed that the first time around, except possibly my browser window was short and just happened to catch the first line and cut off the others. I am relieved to know that there are cheaper seats.

And grace, thanks for the detailed seating information!

It still strikes me that these prices are high -- due mostly to the exchange rate, I'm sure. It's not until you get to the middle or back of the Amphitheatre that prices reach our usual range here in Chicago. That is, $80 buys me Orchestra seats to the Bolshoi later this week, but the same $80 puts me in the middle of the Amphitheatre, in "Price Band 6" at the ROH.

grace, what is the Amphitheatre, anyway? Is it like a second balcony?

[Petra]

Treefrog, I'm not surprised no-one's replied to your query about Bourne's Swan Lake as it really isn't a ballet by BA standards. There wasn't enough choreography for my taste (I like lots of steps LOL) and for a more or less knowledgable ballet-goer, a rethinking or a psychological take on Swan Lake doesn't seem as amaxingly original as it does to a casual theatregoer. That said, it is a very effective theatrical event and with the right expectations, very enjoyable.

You mentioned the prices - I'm sure you know that the UK and London especially are very expensive for someone with dollars. When my sister and I compare prices (books and children's clothes are our common interests), she often pays in sterling what I pay in dollars. OTOH they have universal free health care... :rolleyes:

[Leigh Witchel]

I'm there this week - front row amphitheatre is quite decent and faces are visible. I'll be standing in the stalls circle tonight, so will report!

[ami1436]

Hi friends,

Well, I'm a 'young friend' of the ROH and go all the time, booking early

to suit my student tastes.... I often get tickets in full view from

between £4-£15 - the cheapest are standing in the back of the Amphi (you

can see everything - and I'm very short!), or standing in the stalls

circle (the best) or the back of the balcony (sometimes obstructed).  The

back of the Amphi, although high, is totally suitable.  Also, while there

might not be a great many tickets left at the moment, they do keep about

65 tickets for sale on the day, which includes some of the cheaper seats

in the back of the Amphi.  You'd have to go in the morning and line up

though.  Also, the Amphi sides aren't bad, and I find that the box office

staff are very helpful in choosing the best seats for you.  Let me know

if you need help from this end!

I'm going to see Bourne's Swan Lake next week here in Oxford - will

report back.

Ami

[Treefrog]

Thank you all for your help. The briefly hoped-for trip seems like it's not going to happen after all :blush: But these are great tips for the next time I jump the pond.

[Alexandra]

Treefrog, I'm not surprised no-one's replied to your query about Bourne's Swan Lake as it really isn't a ballet by BA standards. There wasn't enough choreography for my taste (I like lots of steps LOL) and for a more or less knowledgable ballet-goer, a rethinking or a psychological take on Swan Lake doesn't seem as amaxingly original as it does to a casual theatregoer. That said, it is a very effective theatrical event and with the right expectations, very enjoyable.

Just a quick Administraotr's Note, as I'd missed this -- it doesn't matter whether one thinks that Bourne's "Swan Lake" is good or bad, or somewhere in between. It can certainly be discussed on the site, but on the Modern Dance forum, please.

[Ann]

Leigh, you're spot on in identifying the two best affordable viewing points in the ROH - Stalls Circle standing and front row middle seats of the Amphi. Stalls Circle standing tickets are usually about $14 (£8) and front row seats in the Amphi are approximately $67 (£38).

As far as the Stalls Circle standing is concerned, I'm lucky at my age to be able to stand comfortably for a full performance, but of course it's always better if one can nip into an empty seat as the house lights go down. In the Amphi front row, the view down to the stage is excellent and of course the overall view of the dance patterns is actually better than the seating on the lower levels. The drawback to the Amphi for me, however, is its height - it seems so high that making my way down the steep steps to the relative safety of the front row is a bit of a nightmare. I actually keep my eyes shut until I'm safely seated! But that's just me.

If you still in London at the weekend, Leigh, I'm going to the matinee of the Ashton triple bill on Saturday, standing in the Stalls Circle at D34.

[Leigh Witchel]

I need to apologize - in trying to do some housekeeping and delete a duplicate post - I accidentally deleted my post that Ann was replying to. Here it is out of order, but in full.

Quick report from the Stalls Circle (longer report on the ballet to follow) - it's quite a savings, but I wouldn't want to be there exclusively.  If you're past the first group of places (on my side #39) and moving past the bend of the horseshoe seating, you will start to lose a portion of the stage.  All of the standing places in stalls circle cut off the top of the seating.  And the house is quite full - you should assume you'll be standing the whole time.  I'd mix stalls circle (if you can get it, it sells out very quickly - most of this week was gone within two days from the beginning of the booking period) with cheaper full view seats.

Ann - I'm front row of the Amphitheatre for both Saturday performances.

[Kate B]

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.

[Lynette H]

At the ROH - Swan Lake (Rojo / Acosta) on 22nd, Cinderella on 20th and 23rd. The Swan Lake performance is the opening night.

At the Royal Festival Hall, Moscow Stanislavsky Ballet have their opening night of the Nutcracker on 22nd December. ENB are doing the Nutcracker at the Colisseum from 21 December. (I think you can book these online via the South Bank Centre and ENB web sites respectively)

Tickets for the Royal will be rather more expensive and harder to come by than for the other companies.

Bourne's Swan Lake has a lot of fans, but it is not a bellet, whatever the posters tell you. I can't remember how many times this production has returned - this must be its fourth of fifth time in London, maybe more ? New casts this time, so don't expect Adam Cooper.

[grace]

leigh: please, i did not understand THIS:

All of the standing places in stalls circle cut off the top of the seating.

thanks in advance for explaining?

to treefrog (i think), who asked 'what is amphitheatre?' ("amphi") :-

stalls are the seats on the 'floor' at the bottom of the auditorium. (stalls CIRCLE is the horseshoe of seats surrounding this). limited (and good view) standing is allowed at the back of this.

next level up is grand tier = the best for ballet, IMO (and this is where the queen sits! ) no standing at back of grand tier.

next level up is balcony.

NEXT level up is what they call the amphitheatre - as someone else has said here, the amphi is highly/dizzyingly raked - back of this = "the gods"! there is standing at the back of the amphitheatre, BUT - unlike 'ami1436', i personally found this TOO far back, and the people TOO tiny - unless i was REALLY desperate to get in/be there, 'no matter what'. (it was fine for opera, IMO. )

(lower and upper slips are really NOT worth mentioning - they are pretty much so useless for dance, as to say: they might as well not BE there.)

[Leigh Witchel]

whoops. slip of the keyboard. Cut off the top of the scenery.

[grace]

thanks, leigh. and i WILL try that clicking thing, on the seating plan, again.