bridiem

Great review!

??! I get Haller and 1966 - but Dying Swan? Clarification needed!

I didn't notice any sponsor name/s (but then I wouldn't!).

I'm amused to see that the intro to ITV's World Cup programmes use an adaptation of the Swan Lake music and feature ballet quite prominently! Clearly Russia/Ballet are still deemed to be inextricably linked.

I'm sorry to hear this. But as has been noted, there really is a surfeit of ballet in London at the moment. Even for enthusiasts, it's just not possible to go to everything. It seems poor co-ordination of the part of the companies (in so far as they can/do co-ordinate). And I wonder if SW now markets itself so much as a contemporary dance venue that it no longer has much of an audience for classical ballet?

Given how well he managed Des Grieux and Lescaut, I think he would have coped. And in terms of experience, he's no longer a (very) young dancer and has proved himself to be very reliable in a wide range of roles, so I don't think matching him with a debutante O/O (if relevant) would really have been a problem.

I think there was some speculation when next season's rep was announced that the reason SL wasn't on again could be because it would give time to review any changes that may be wanted (by the choreographer!) after the first run. I agree that any changes - if indeed there are any - would probably please some people and displease others. But hey, it would give hours of fun and a whole new thread!

I think that it's because he 'sells' the role so well that it only really works with him in it; otherwise the amount of dancing for Benno vs Siegfried is even more inexplicable.

Seen on Twitter: Cast change: due to injury Aaron Robison will be replaced by Isaac Hernandez in the role of Prince Desire on Friday 15 June. Maria Alexandrova will perform in the role of Princess Aurora as advertised.

Nunez sensational. Muntagirov beyond sensational. I have no more words.

Just seen on Twitter: Cast change: due to injury Aaron Robison will be replaced by Joseph Caley in the role of Prince Désiré on Tuesday 12 June. Maria Alexandrova will perform in the role of Princess Aurora as advertised.

Baritone, who was knighted. (Maybe one day she'll be a Lady in her own right too! Wonder if she'd then be Lady Lady Keenlyside Yanowsky? Perhaps not. )

I like that idea very much - that they retain a swan element for ever more! So I'm happy for the maidens to remain swan-like, as long as their liberation is clear. I do agree with DrewCo and the inner logic of this ending. It is a bit of a problem for me that Odette's body back in her dress (which as you say we have never seen except in the 'prologue', and Siegfried of course has never seen at all) whereas her 'spirit' is in a tutu even though now free from the spell, and all the other maidens are still in tutus even though now free from the spell. Which sounds nit-picking, but I think these symbolic uses of costumes do affect how you understand and respond to the story.

Yes - we did wonder if that was about to happen! (My niece's husband said he would have been happy to volunteer his banjo version. ).

He does have a CBE though, so he can't be entirely unenamoured of the honours system.

Completely agree on all counts! Thrilled and delighted about Kenny. (Sorry - Sir Kenny!). The King is knighted.

And I take a lot of pleasure in knowing that Zenaida Yanowsky can now be called Lady (Keenlyside)!

Yes, I was wondering this. If he really on the cusp of being promoted, as many people are hoping, it seems strange timing to be going elsewhere for months.

Yes, I've noticed that! I've booked for her next Friday and am now wondering if that was a good choice...

Back from seeing Sarah Lamb dance Odette/Odile for the second time this week. Absolutely bowled over by her beautiful, pure, crystalline dancing, her absolute commitment to the role, and her brilliant fouettés! I find her a truly thrilling dancer. Not a hint of showiness or histrionics, but real drama and feeling expressed in every inch of her body. I was less keen on Bonelli's Siegfried. I thought his dancing was mainly good but I found the characterisation weak and he only occasionally really seemed to engage with what was happening around him. Hirano on Tuesday evening was much more interesting - a mature, reserved prince who found himself swept up in this unexpected passion. Lots of wonderful dancing in other roles. Tonight, I was constantly drawn to watch the grave, beautiful, sorrowful big swan of Tierney Heap. Such grace and musicality. I'd love to see her do O/O. And P.S. - the harpist was indisposed, so the performance tonight started late and by Act 2 still no harpist, so the harp part was played on a piano in the wings!! Kevin O'Hare made 2 rather harassed announcements about this, one before the performance started and one between Acts 1 and 2 (when there was an unscheduled stop). The pianist did an amazing job - but it was all very strange!

I'd be very surprised if such a thesis hadn't already been written. If I really thought that Swan Lake - for me, the ultimate ballet - was 'only' a fairy story used as a framework for ballet I would have long ago stopped going to ballet performances. Yes, it's a fairy story; but it's SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT!! And deserves as much analysis as we may wish to give it. (Yes, sometimes you need to suspend disbelief; but any given interpretation of a fairy tale should have its own inner logic.)

Not too much for me! I thought it was brilliant and clarified for me some of the problems with the ending that I either hadn't registered or hadn't been able to articulate. So I'm very grateful to DrewCo.

Rothbart's outfit is only quasi-military, and as you say he doesn't salute back. Maybe he's just someone with so much authority at court that he's treated as a military person would normally be treated. Either way there's clearly a power struggle between him and Siegfried from the outset - Siegfried salutes him, and reluctantly complies with his wishes/orders in the early part of Act I, but when Rothbart tries to stop him going off hunting/to the lake (can't remember exactly) Siegfried does hold his ground and effectively dismisses Rothbart. I find that interesting and it all works for me (even if I can't quite work it out!).

Well there can be some good, for the reasons you list above; but I don't think only good. And I just think it's strange. This is a performing company, and good dancers will get opportunities and coaching and tests of nerve and plaudits etc in due course anyway. That's what the company exists for - to perform for audiences, not to compete with each other. But, if the dancers do like it (including those who aren't nominated, and/or don't win) I suppose it's OK. Not that they have any choice in the matter, presumably.

Impressive work, Saodan! Many thanks. Calvert (with Kaneko) was a Big Swan for Lamb on Tuesday. I see that all the Bennos are on the short side, and yet the sisters include quite a few tall dancers and sometimes taller and shorter in the same pairing. Seems a bit odd to me. (Not that the man always has to be tallest - but in partnering terms it obviously matters, and the choreography for the sisters seems to me to be less suited to tall dancers.) Or, Benno could perhaps sometimes be danced by someone taller. (Though maybe then there really would be confusion with the prince, who has generally been on the tall side.)