bridiem

I did think it was worth replying to that ROH post, so I have just posted this: 'Just to say that I agree with many of Jakegee's comments above, but 1) I love Hofesh Shechter and I loved Woolf Works but I still had reservations about Carmen, and 2) it's legitimate to question the quality of a work even if it has proved to be popular. So I don't think it's fair to label anyone who criticizes a new work as a 'fuddy-duddy'; it's often the people who go to ballet most often and/or have been going for the longest time who care most about it as an art form. That said, I enjoyed Carmen and thought it had a lot to recommend it.'

After reading the reviews here I went to the bill last night with very low expectations of Carmen, though I tried to keep an open mind; and I found that although in places the expectations were unfortunately matched, I found the work as a whole quite a lot better than anticipated. Colourful, fun and at the end even moving, though also sometimes both boring and baffling. Frankly I had no idea what was happening or why much of the time (didn't buy a programme and the plot summary on the Opera House's website was short to the point of being useless, as it turned out), but the central relationships were at least clear and Laura Morera was really wonderful. It has a different tone and taste to the rest of the Royal Ballet's repertoire, but I found that quite refreshing. I thought that some of the crowd scenes were tedious and some of the choreography derivative, and I agree that it would benefit from editing/cutting, but those criticisms can (unfortunately) be made of many new works. I loved the sets and even the sooty bull! And I thought the work had a certain charm about it. The only other version of Carmen that I've seen is Mats Ek's, a long time ago, and I loathed that; so for me this was a big step up. Acosta himself has such presence that he holds the piece together whenever he's on stage; without him I suspect the faults would be even more of a problem. I thought the rest of the bill was excellent. My only reservation about Viscera was the lighting which was annoyingly low a lot of the time, for no apparent reason; I loved the choreography, music and costumes. And Muntagirov was sensational in the Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux. So all in all a very good evening.

If Osipova has recovered more quickly than anticipated, perhaps the lesson for all concerned is not to cancel performances for such a long period ahead unless it's absolutely clear that a dancer won't be able to do them. We all know that dancers get injured and that recovery times can be unpredictable, so if nearer the time of a performance they still aren't ready of course we accept that. (And many younger dancers have got their big breaks by standing in for a senior dancer who has got injured, often at short notice.) But Manon is a big role, not a try-out, so it is quite frustrating if she is able to perform that but has cancelled all her RB performances. But the important thing is that she is (or is getting) better, which is excellent news.

Energetic, loud and brilliant! (I thought.) I didn't enjoy Hofesh Shechter's recent work for the Royal Ballet - toned down to the point of being tedious. But for me this was back to his unrestrained and gripping best (as in Political Mother). Fascinating images, reflections on love and relationships, a powerful statement about what it is to be a human being.

Thank you Janet. It's a great forum!

I hadn't seen The King Dances and deliberately haven't watched the TV programme yet because I wanted to see it live first. So I had no idea what to expect. I thought it was spectacular! Visually stunning, beautiful choreography and powerful, interesting music. Because the back of the stage was so dark and the stage so reflective it almost looked as if they were dancing in space, so it really conveyed the sense of timelessness (as well as a specific time in the past). And, to me, it seemed to speak of not just the birth of ballet but the birth of life itself. William Bracewell was terrific and so charismatic. Congratulations and thanks to David Bintley and BRB.

I'm so sad to hear this. David Drew was a wonderful dancer, actor and teacher and he epitomised the Royal Ballet at its best. May he rest in peace.