Yaffa

Some nice recommendations in the thread on the ROH afternoon tea: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/7448-afternoon-tea-at-the-roh/. Edited to say oops, I didn't see Alison's post... Great minds :-)

Any mention yet of whether there'll be a Nutcracker or something else in December/Jan?

One April 1st, a friend who lives in Sao Paulo said that he would be unable to run an errand that evening 'because his numberplate ends in 3.' Thinking this was some kind of April Fool's Day prank, I jokingly asked if another friend would be arrested if she ran the errand instead. 'Yes, probably,' he said, 'because her numberplate ends in 4'. Well, turns out that it was no joke - In Sao Paulo, to reduce congestion and pollution, all cars are banned from driving in the rush hour for a couple of days per week - the specific days being determined by the last digit of the car's number plate...

That also drives me nuts. There are some workarounds at http://www.spiceography.com/too-much-pepper/ Personally I usually drown whatever it is in tahini (sesame paste - the real stuff, 100% ground sesame seeds, not the diluted sauce which often comes with a strange combination of strong spices). Mind you, I usually drown everything in tahini anyway :-)

Definitely - When I read the article itself, it was clear that the matter is real and serious. But from skimming the BBC headline 'Musician sues Royal Opera House over ruined hearing' I initially assumed it was a 1st April joke.

I also initially thought it was an April Fools thing - sorry to hear it wasn't. From a quick Google search there seem to be products specifically designed for musicians, which can be customised to filter out only certain types of sounds e.g. http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection/erme.html, No idea how well they work...

Good to see in the latest (2014-2015) RBS annual report that as well as making more material available online, they "propose to lend some objects to other museums, so they may be seen by a greater number of people than those who could get to Richmond Park." http://www.royalballetschool.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Royal_Ballet_School_Annual_Report_201415.pdf

Paris Opera Ballet School gives weight and height restrictions for candidates at https://www.operadeparis.fr/en/artists/ballet-school/admission But it now says "These criteria are only given to be advisory." There's an interesting Polish video with English subtitles from 2007 called "52 per cent" - this being the ratio of leg length to height that the Vaganova academy considered /considers ideal. It follows a candidate through the entrance audition process, including her attempts at home to change this ratio...https://vimeo.com/121017289

I also thought it must be that everyone knew everyone, and most of the examiners shown in the Russian videos do come from the school. But you also see e.g. directors of schools in different cities who appear to be grading the students, not just observing.

Watching some of the amazing videos of Vaganova annual exams over the years, it just struck me that candidates never wear numbers or other identifying details on their person, though there are usually at least a couple of outside examiners on the panel who, I would assume, would not recognise most of the students. At the start of some exams, candidates' names are read out individually and they curtsey, and I would guess that the examiners are given a list of which candidate is at which place at the barre. But I'm curious to know if British examiners would be ok with that system? I think I'd find it very confusing. Just looked quickly at a couple of Bolshoi and Perm exams and again can't see anything visibly identifying each student. Am I missing something? Is this a cultural thing?

Thanks for this info, celb. The gala at http://elmhurst.monadticketing.com/Sales/Theatre-Performances/Summer-Gala-7th-July-2016/Ticket---Gala-Performancelooks really exciting. Too bad about the £60 price tag, but hopefully they will raise a lot of money for the school.

Speaking of carrier bags,I pick up a lot of them on my travels and used to be able to tell (by label and by feel) how robust they were, and which would be best for rubbish, storage, trips etc. Now, for some reason it's much harder to know. I just reached up to retrieve a bag of USB cables from a shelf and all the papers on my desk have been sprayed with the confetti remains of the bag. I did actually retrieve the cable I needed but unfortunately it landed in my cup of coffee. Grr...

Thanks, not sure I'll be able to make it but good to know that these are different from RBS' summer performance dates(30th June-2nd July and 9th July).

Grateful to know the dates if these have been announced. The Elmhurst website and other places appear to refer to last year's performances, which unfortunately clashed with RBS' summer performances.

When there's a charge or something that seems ridiculous, I've found it can be helpful to search/Google the matter on the MSE site e.g. a Google search on "site:moneysavingexpert.com BT sports charge" gives you the following: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/utilities/2015/08/bt-agrees-to-refund-customers-for-unwanted-new-sports-package. Usually doing this can make you feel less alone and you can pick up some useful tips on what to do. Yaffa (with no ties to MSE, just passing on the info)

In case anyone's in London this weekend, there are still tickets available to watch the competition on Sunday (20th March): https://www.rad.org.uk/events/phyllis-bedells-bursary-2016. PS: - and I think that Belijul still has a ticket for sale on the Ticket Exchange: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/11979-for-sale-4-tickets-to-the-rad-phyllis-bedells-bursary-on-sunday-20th-rad-headquarters/ [edited for clarity and to add the info about Belijul's ticket]

There's a nice blog post about the options for ballet shoes free of animal products (with specific shoedetails) at http://www.bigtentvegan.com/blog/2014/3/5/vegan-ballet-slippers-and-pointe-shoes The writer points out that canvas shoes without leather soles can be washed (though preferably not dried) in a washing machine.

I was happy to read that Claudia Dean is now very active in the Australian ballet scene. See http://www.claudiadeancoaching.com.au/ There's an interesting article about her at http://balletnews.co.uk/professional-ballet-dancer-to-business-owner-claudia-dean-coaches-for-success/

The link at the beginning of this thread is for the 27 minute documentary. They just put up an extended version (with some interesting additional footage at different points of the video) at: https://youtu.be/_3J5adKwAKg (mentioned in another thread about this film in Doing Dance at: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/8809-vaganova-academy-training-lower-grades/)

The link I gave in the post below is for a 27 minute documentary. They have just put up an extended version, 48 minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3J5adKwAKg [Edited for clarity]

The Vaganova Academy continues to put out a wealth of fascinating material on their website, social media channels etc. Today rt.com released a 30 minute documentary focusing on children who auditioned for this year's intake. It has a rather different slant from earlier audition videos (though there are still the tears of sadness and joy as children are told their audition results on the spot and in public) - I found it particularly interesting to follow the case of a small girl who had formerly studied rhythmic gymnastics rather than ballet. https://rtd.rt.com/films/dance-of-the-little-swans/ Wishing all the best to families awaiting audition results...

I've also acquired a huge collection of biros, none of which I recall buying myself. For some reason, whenever I try a bunch to give away, I hear later that none of them worked... Once, before an important meeting, I grabbed an impressive looking heavy ballpoint pen instead of my usual bank-branded biro. The lady I was meeting with watched me carefully as I tried unsuccessfully to get the thing to open and she suggested that I twist the top a bit further to the left and then press extra hard. It worked! I asked her how she had known how to get the pen to start. Her reply: 'Because it's mine...'

Virgin now also has a particularly good offer with trains between London and Birmingham £4 one way Liverpool £10 one way Manchester £10 one way, and Glasgow £14 one way. You need to book by 3rd March for seats between 18th March and 20th May. at https://www.virgintrains.co.uk/ Right now there seems to be good availability. There are also a lot of other very good deals on accommodation e.g. until 4th March, Easy Hotels are offering some Croydon rooms for £15 and central London for £24. Those are going fast. No connection to either of the above, just hurriedly passing on info, will send some more later. [edited for clarity and to add Liverpool]

The prices for the 2016 tickets can be found here: http://www.prixdelausanne.org/competition/2016-tickets/ Of course, you have to add transport and accommodation costs etc. Next year's Prix will apparently be from 29th Jan. to 5th Feb. 2017, with the final on Saturday, 4th Feb.

Their website at http://www.iroomuk.com/leads directly to their Facebook page where their 'about' tab explains what the company does. [Edited to add that I have no connection to the company, just passing on the info.]