Mary

It would be great if they made it a live screening next year.....

Better than nothing. The best attitude to adopt to ballet on TV these days seems to be - not to expect much, in order not to be disappointed..

It would have been appropriate, and nice,  to have something on the year's Macmillan celebrations, featuring all the UK ballet companies.

Lots to look at/read.  That's the rest of the afternoon gone! Thanks JohnS.

There are indeed those who seem to go to the ballet on occasion just because it's 'the thing to do' - and some of them do unfortunately seem to be the most crashing snobs.  I have certainly been on the wrong end of a sharp elbow in a fur coat at the ROH main entrance ( don't remind me)  and  Janet's examples are perfectly horrible: it is a sad state of affairs that there is so much snobbery in this country still.

But I would imagine the people who criticised some aspects of Polunin's show were not being 'ballet snobs', they were just ballet lovers who didn't like what they saw or parts of what they saw.

Opinion on his latest show seems pretty evenly divided on this thread.

Perfect choices Balletfanp, just perfect!

But the Marguerite and Armand cast has to be right - in keeping with original topic- I am not sure they all make me cry. .I do wonder whether it should have died with Fonteyn /Nureyev but- Cope/Rojo were pretty good.

That is very bad, and indeed sad, and ignorant behaviour Janet. But I would say they were snobs rather than ballet snobs....

Whatever one thinks of his dancing or choreography these days, he is in an excellent position to become a sort of impresario or producer- indeed, ambassador- for ballet.( Perhaps Polunin as the next presenter of live screenings? or perhaps not-but why not a TV show introducing some ballet?) and that's much needed.

The phrase in the review quoted above 'there's no snob like a ballet snob' is a silly remark -what does it mean? Snobbery doesn't come into it; people are entitled to make aesthetic judgements about the show. Parts of it do sound good and I only wish I could have gone.

Great to see Lauren Cuthbertson on such good form tonight: I think possibly the best performance I have seen her give-  relaxed, confident, and sparkling, as required by this demanding role: super.  I must say I did find her characterisation somehow more convincing and meaningful than Nunez's, superb as Nunez's dancing was.

Reece Clarke seems to be fulfilling all the promise as one might have hoped; what a good debut in the role- and what stage presence this young man has. Must mention David Donnelly as a very elegant Eros, certainly looked right in the part. Kish's Orion seemed appropriately menacing.

I thoroughly enjoyed this lovely production again and only wish it were a longer run or coming back next year...and if only there was a live screening to enjoy it up close....there is so much to enjoy. I love all the costumes and scenery and especially the slightly kitsch extravagance of some of it..

The over crowded, boiling hot train packed with dishevelled 'revellers' rustling Macdonald's and pastie boxes was a sad contrast to the beautiful scenes at ROH!

My Picturehouse is doing an encore screening on Monday 11th.

If anyone has a fuller cast list than the hopelesly inadequate one supplied by the Picturehouse I'd be v grateful to see some more names..

What a great evening.

Gary Avis doing his usual magic, Hayward a most charming, lyrical Clara and Campbell was better than ever I thought, looking dashing in his red coat, really oomphing up the ante tonight ( that's a technical term)   ( and gave a sweet interview) : they are an ideal pair; McRae and Lamb were wonderful -hard to believe she had all that injury time so recently ( she  did have a slight stumble  but it hardly registered after a really exciting pas de deux, and she looks so beautiful)-they go together so well and feel so right:  and the whole evening was a treat really ( even though I do have reservations about this production and could do with a bit less business here and there etc)

Oh the Rose Fairy..where do I sign to join that Naghdi fan club? She was sensational.  Barry Wordsworth's conducting is always so sensitive, bringing the best out of the orchestra to show off that perfect music.

Thanks RB.

For me it is just marvellous to be able to cycle down the road to see this, with an - almost- perfect view  (if only the camera wouldn't cut away at certain points grrr) and a comfy seat,  instead of slogging to London on the train (£20+) for an amphi seat  with someone's xmas shopping digging into my leg, and at this time of year suffering an often pretty horrible train back too, full of drunken people spoiling the experience and getting home past midnight.......

Cojocaru /Kobborg coming up a lot- hardly a surprise.

I shall now cry because I no longer see them dance together.

32 minutes ago, BMC said:

Muntagirov in Sylvia on opening night - the sheer beauty of his dancing made me feel really emotional.

Ditto.

Me too, bridiem and what baffles me reading this is So why do I always seem to be the only one clutching a damp hankie to my face as I stumble out of the auditorium?

Not just dancers but, sheer spectacle, beauty makes me cry- Midsummer Night's Dream always. The end of Symphony in C. Anything with  a procession in it.

Not just sorrowful or touching scenes- Two Pigeons Muntagirov was a 3 hankie job-  but very intense fun such as Rubies- Acosta/Rojo and McRae/Lamb last time.

Looking round at a full auditorium humming with excitement before the performance.

Warm applause.

Curtain calls.

Flower throws.

Goodness, Sim, what must your Kleenex bill be!

That's a shame Fiz, I know what you mean: Picturehouse have encore screenings which are cheaper.

Hear, hear!

Abbreviations are far too obscure for me, but also, using first names alone  (let alone nicknames and short forms -like 'Nela') can be confusing too. Even those of us who are reasonably familiar with one company might struggle with the names of other companies, and we do perhaps sometimes, ahem, forget peoples' names.... not to mention lots of other things...

Thanks for the reminder trog, I spent a happy afternoon watching this - though speeding forward some of the daft plot business to the fabulous dance. To think he was - what, 56? - is quite amazing.  The 'Something's Gotta Give' sequence is great. Astaire is an under rated singer I think: he had beautiful phrasing,  timing, taste -and class. Caron is superb- and still with us which is cheering. The ballet sequence reminded me a bit of La Valse!

Anyway, the best way to celebrate the genius of Fred Astaire, and to enjoy Christmas, is to tuck up with a glass of Harvey's Bristol Cream, a mince pie, and a boxed set of Fred and Ginger ( start with Top Hat and Shall We Dance).

it doesn't get muhc  better than that.

Absolutely, bridiem.

I do take SMballet's points about unbelievable, even silly aspects.

But,  it is not meant to be deadly serious or believeable.

It is an entertainment, of a fabulously delightful kind. It is comedy, not tragedy, so unlike Giselle and SL we don't end the evening in tears -and it is fantasy- of which we do have a great deal in films and TV these days;   it is a type of entertainment people will perhaps always want and enjoy.

And within that framework, Ashton gives many moments of the most sensitive and moving depiction of human emotion. I wish I had time to write more but my short and stumbling words are very heartfelt.

It has certainly put me in the best mood for months!

Muntagirov was indeed stupendous. A perfect amalgam of grace and elegance with power and precision all delivered with 'effortless' joy.  Every time I see him I think, 'Now THAT was surely his best performance' , but, it happens every time.

Remarkable!

I am greatly looking forward to seeing it again, and just to add to Floss's excellent detailed post, that the beautiful sets present a marvellous frame for this  ballet. I like the costumes too-  (a nice change from old knickers that look like the 'before' in a detergent ad.)

Gorgeous.

So much wish I could be there. It seems to have sold well on Saturday in particular which is good- I did have a quick look and there are some lovely stalls seats left for - £500?????!

?

as well as some more modestly priced seats.

!

...and at the beginning he has to struggle with the most enormous roll of clingfilm I've ever seen, an all too familiar domestic trial of our times........(you know how it gets over everything except the thing you want it to go over....)

1 hour ago, capybara said:

 

I latched onto these two characters  representing the spirits of the wind and I see that Mark Monaghan in The Telegraph described Edward Watson as "the wind incarnate".

 

 

I thought he was the spirit of the wind too...if he wasn't the wind, what was the point of his presence?