Advent 16: Leg stories (2)
One of my favourite gigs of recent years is playing for the company of dancers that does the Raymond Gubbay Strauss Gala (choreographed by Christopher Hampson). In intensive rehearsal periods,…
Advent 15: Leg stories (1)
I think this is a Jackie Barratt-ism: describing a rather dull-looking arabesque, she said to the dancer concerned ‘that leg’s a bit…BBC2’
Advent 14: Brace yourself
Another from the incomparable Jackie Barratt, when she was ballet mistress at ENB. She was rehearsing two principals in Cranko’s Taming of the Shrew, which involves a lot of complex…
Advent 13: King Tut
It’s not polonaises that I hate, so much as polonais-ing. Playing a polonaise on the piano is on a par with sanding a dozen sash windows by hand, or scanning…
Advent 12: Being & Time
How an argument with Christopher Hampson turned into a total rethink of space and time. Well, in Tooting, anyway.
Advent 11: Rite and Wrong
Most of the time, my experience, education, instinct and what I’ve picked up from friends and colleagues serves me quite well when it comes to speculating and arguing about music…