It’s an unusually balmy day in London, sun is shining between the clouds and we are promised 15C at lunchtime!
Makes one want to go and relax and reconnect with nature. And i came across this during my grumpy morning coffee and now i feel very relaxed, you should try it too đđđđđ
World Ballet Day 2016: watch live on 4 October 2016
World Ballet Day returns on 4 October 2016 with a day-long live stream from five of the worldâs leading ballet companies â and we’d love you to be involved:
WATCH:Â The live-stream, broadcast around the world on Facebook live and on this page
LIKE:Â Our Facebook page and sign up to receive exclusive World Ballet Day news and videos
SHARE:Â A short video of you in your dancing shoes as you dance along with our live class, using the hashtag #WorldBalletDay
During the marathon 20 hour live-stream, The Royal Ballet joins The Australian Ballet,Bolshoi Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada and San Francisco Ballet to give you exclusive rehearsal footage, a chance to see how the different companies warm up for the day and interviews with choreographers and leading figures in the dance world.
I’ve finished listening to ‘Clarissa’ this morning and i am so frustrated i could explode. I’ll let it stew and churn for a bit and once i’ve had a chance to collect the scattered thoughts i’ll let you know what i thought of it. Until then, here is something vastly more satisfying, believe me, you’ll enjoy it! It’s an extract, the version i saw live in the show was slightly longer but this is most of it.
Steve McRae and Ed Watson, as you surely know by now are my favourite principals in the Royal Ballet đ  I am in fact going to ballet again tonight, for a repeat of the evening i had a week ago. I loved it so much i HAVE to see it again! So while i am away i want to leave you in good company  đ It’s quite likely i have shared this with you before, sorry if this is the case.
Principal of The Royal Ballet Steven McRae performs his tap solo CzĂĄrdĂĄs with violinist Vasko Vassilev as part of World Ballet Day 2015
Aren’t they fantastic?
In case this is a repeat there is a slightly longer rehearsal of another modern piece i love.
Royal Ballet Artist in Residence Liam Scarlett rehearses his new ballet The Age of Anxiety with dancers Laura Morera, Steven McRae, Bennet Gartside and Tristan Dyer. This piece was just… ‘scrumptious’.. it was fun and sad and melancholic and thoughtful
I’ll talk again about Liam Scarlett, the choreographer, in a few months’ time when we’ll see his new full length ballet, Frankenstein, about which we are all very excited here. Until then the rehearsal for Age of Anxiety. Liam Scarlett sets Leonard Bernstein’s Symphony no.2, ‘The Age of Anxiety’, inspired by W.H. Auden’s epic poem. In a New York bar in wartime four lonely strangers attempt to find spiritual meaning in an industrialized world.
I had to pick a few from their beautiful collection, click for bigger images and have a look at the gallery above as well for more:
The finale of the pas de deux in the video you have below from After the Rain/Wheeldon. The incredible Marianela Nunez and Thiago Soares (photo by DanceTabs)
The new ballet, Strapless was fabulously decadent, beautiful costumes and shallow people depicting a world of self-indulgence and conceit đ
 She was beautifully frivolous and ultimately so vulnerable, great portrayal.I have to share with you the scene which was part of the painting process: the painter John Singer Sargent, searching for inspiration, imagines the presence of his lover and muse, Albert de Belleroche:
Matthew Ball as Albert on the left and the intense painter, Ed Watson on the right đ Photo by DanceTabs
 If you click through the gallery in the link above the last photo is of Sarah Lamb and Steve McRae frolicking sprightly in the woods. Within the Golden Hour, the last of the 3 ballets last night had a deep sense of connection with nature which was a great ending.
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It has been a full on week, but it ends beautifully with a night at the ballet. A celebration marked by 3 pieces of one of my favourite contemporary choreographers, Christoper Wheeldon. The music of the pieces is perfect and all my favourite dancers of the Royal Ballet will be on stage tonight. I feel incredibly lucky and am very much looking forward to this! So i wanted to share with you a few videos of the ballets i will see tonight, via news article from the ROH which talks about the works, enjoy!
After the Rain / Strapless /Within the Golden Hour
Our quick introduction to The Royal Balletâs mixed programme celebrating choreographer Christopher Wheeldon.
Christopher Wheeldon, Artistic Associate of The Royal Ballet, is a familiar figure to Covent Garden audiences â but this is the first time the Company has presented an all-Wheeldon mixed programme. It offers an opportunity to see just how widely his choreographic talent ranges. Two acclaimed abstract ballets, created for American companies, bookend a new narrative commission from The Royal Ballet, bringing together different sides of Wheeldonâs career.
Music and Dance
For the three ballets in this programme Wheeldon has used the music of three very different contemporary composers. The beautiful simplicity of Arvo PĂ€rt comes first, a haunting setting for Wheeldonâs After the Rain. Italian minimalist composer Ezio Bossoprovides the score for Within the Golden Hour, incorporating music by Vivaldi. And in-between comes a dynamic new score from Mark-Anthony Turnage, specially written forStrapless. Turnage has previously collaborated with Wheeldon on âTrespassâ (Metamorphosis: Titian 2012), co-choreographed with Alastair Marriott.
Wheeldon created After the Rain in 2005 for New York City Ballet. This abstract ballet for three couples has become most widely known for its deeply affecting pas de deux, set to PĂ€rtâs profoundly moving Spiegel im Spiegel. The pas de deux has often been performed on its own, including by The Royal Ballet in a 2012 gala performance, and was famously captured on film with NYCB principals Maria Kowroski and Ask la Courdancing at dawn on the roof of a skyscraper on the World Trade Center site. This is the first time the work has come to the Royal Opera House in its entirety.
Within the Golden Hour was created in 2008 for San Francisco Ballet, to mark the companyâs 75th anniversary. Wheeldon choreographed the work for 14 dancers, and includes much of his characteristically inventive handling of ensembles. Three centralpas de deux lead to a finale in which the whole cast comes together in a single, shimmering formation.
After the Rain / Strapless / Within the Golden Hour runs 12 Februaryâ11 March 2016.
Original article by PAUL KILBEYCcontent producer- ballet Royal Opera House
A good way to end the year âș
Not with anything about myself but with a gorgeous reminder of things that make life beautiful – ballet and art in general.
This once again unites photography and my favourite dancers in images which surprise and awe me and make me feel grateful for the humanity and creativity in people around me. And grateful for living in London and being privileged to have art like this in my life.
May the new year bring you all many special moments to touch, elate and enrich you.
‘Frieden, Liebe & Schokolade’ to all đ
