Festive fun; part 2

I know it's taken me forever, I meant to write this post about 3 weeks ago- sorry!!! 

Anyway; Nutcracker. I first saw BRB's Nutcracker three years ago and it was amazing, so I was excited to see it again- it certainly didn't disappoint!!! 

The technical aspects of the performance were superb; Drosselmeyer appeared in a puff of smoke and sparkles, to perform magic tricks, and then of course repair Clara's doll- the doll's head slid effortlessly back into place, without even being touched! 

The set was luxurious, with lavish burgundy curtains and furnishing, that made the Staulbaum home seem like the perfect place for a cosy Christmas party. In Act 2, the corps de ballet showed good unison and artistry in the Snow Dance, also in the second half the Arabian dance was particularly dynamic and graceful. (As the music began, someone behind me loudly whispered "is this the Turkish dance? Yes, it's the Turkish one!!" I believe you are mistaken.....)

However, I felt that at times some of the principals lacked expression, particularly in the sugar plum fairy pas de deux. 

The coda wasn't quite as dazzling as one would've hoped- the dancers seemed tired, as such their fouettés weren't quite of Principal standard, also the gargouillades in the sugar plum solo lacked precision and height at times. All in all though, it was a lovely festive treat, that seemed to get everyone in a Christmassy mood! 

Festive Fun (Part 1)

On Sunday 13th December, me and my friend Chantelle went to Birmingham, to see Birmingham Royal Ballet's production of The Nutcracker. Also, as a special treat, the assistant director, Marion Tait, had very kindly allowed us to watch Company Class before the show. When she introduced herself to us, I was completely in awe of her; she was tiny and neat, yet had an amazing sense of quiet authority; a non-dancer walking past her in the street probably wouldn't give her a second glance, but in our world, she is like royalty.

Class was absolutely fascinating; we watched as around twenty five female dancers stretched, dressed in a dazzling assortment of warmups. Miss Tait gave class; she taught the enchainements very quickly, and the dancers looked, surprisingly, as if they were barely paying attention, yet they danced exquisitely. It was interesting to see how each dancer adjusted the class very slightly to fit their own needs; for example, First Artist, Ruth Brill, (who, to my delight, having taught me two years ago at Midland Theatre Ballet, still recognised me!), took all of her barre exercises on a croise alignment to the barre, so that she could see herself more clearly in the mirror. There were four dancers in Royal Ballet School uniform; judging by their burgundy cap-sleeved leotards, I believed they were in the Graduate Year of Upper School. They danced beautifully, the epitome of the British style. One girl in particular had spectacular feet, her demi pointe was phenomenal!

In the centre work, it was hard not to be captivated by the graceful lines and confidence of Soloist, Celine Gittens. Her pirouettes were amazing; her projection and dynamics made her seem as if she could effortlessly dance Principal roles with any company in the world. 

However, it was reassuring to see how all of the dancers messed up a step once or twice; even the best dancers in the world make mistakes occasionally! 

It was also comforting to see that even though the enchainements were long and complex, the steps were no more difficult than those that I regularly do in class- although the brises and entrechats six in the very fast petit allegro looked challenging! To my surprise, not every dancer did every enchainement in the centre- my instinctive thought was that if I were in their position, I would be very tempted to miss out the petit allegro every day, but I then realised that I would need to be a lot more strict with myself, or else my batterie steps would begin to look even worse than they do now! ;)

The class finished with a dazzling grand allegro enchainement with one of my favourite steps, sissones, that I wished I could join in with!!!

We had a while to explore the very busy German Christmas Market, before heading back to the theatre for the Nutcracker performance.

We took our seats, in the upper circle- the view of the stage was a lot better than I had expected! The overture began, and the curtain rose, to take us on our Christmassy adventure....