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 Old Mini-PollsJune - September 1999 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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It's nice to reminisce and revel in our old polls be they very serious or a little more frivolous even. Hopefully we all learn something new. Enjoy....
20 September 1999 While I'm with the majority I'm secretly pleased that so many think it a stupid question! I'm not sure why but I think it means that many dance goers take what comes with new work and have no wish to cramp the style of those who create fresh things.
All that said I guess for those who put new work on it might be helpful to know that by 2 to 1 this audience would like to see inspiration from some other directions a little more often (if possible, please etc)...
13th September 1999 An interesting poll given that the weakest support was given to what many (ballet) companies actually end up doing - spending money on 19th century classics. I guess in the real world they are the earners and need to change from time to time. And from this audience anyway there was no strong wish to lower seat prices - investing in performances is very much the order of the day.
The biggest response, to bring back heritage work, would seem to indicate that many want to see new things but with the security of knowing it was a winner once and also that potentially important works are not just loss. It's a fine balance though and personally I wish that new work had come out with a few more supporters. Everything is new once and the less we do now potentially the lower the overall quality of what we are leaving for the future.
6th September 1999 Well if nothing else it shows the power of AMP's Swan Lake on some people! It won by a mile. Personally I'm surprised that Lescaut's Mistress did so much better than Manon herself, but I guess Manon is something of a pain when it comes down to it..
Juliet not getting a single vote seemed strange but not as strange as the voting for Will Mossop (from the BRB production of Hobson's Choice). The web is indeed an odd place!
30 August 1999 Well a bit of slicing and dicing reveals that over 40% of respondents go to performances more than 16 times a year and nearly 30% go 30 or more times. Alternatively.. 46% of respondents go more than one a month. Without wishing to be any more London biased then perhaps we are already it will be interesting to run this poll again in a year when Covent Garden has been open sometime. I suspect that lack of RB performances may have coloured the results a little.
23 August 1999 Despite the cost of tickets the Bolshoi seem to have walked this 'contest' by a mile. There were more than a few caveats about their recent season, but most people came away feeling they had seen some unique dancers and repertoire. It's nice to see Ballett Frankfurt coming in joint second, about as far away from the Bolshoi and Pacific NorthWest Ballet (PNB) as it is possible to go and yet still be called ballet. They thrilled everybody, as did PNB during their two visits over the last year (not to mention TV coverage!). Cullberg Ballet and Pina Bausch have come in at joint 4 showing that voters are not so afraid of the new. In fact only 2 of the top 5 slots are filled by what you might call traditional ballet companies.
It's also heartening to note that 3 of the top 5 played at Sadler's Wells - the new theatre is fulfilling its promise.
16 August 1999 Sound levels obviously upset us most with nearly 40% either hating too higher levels or complaining of no sound at all. Children (and animals) can obviously be ghastly, but personally I think they can be absolutely charming also - as in the many schools performances there are.
Bejart and Wagner faired better than perhaps they might, but I'm pleased that "unique interpretations" of the classics, by small companies that really ought to know better, chimed with a few of you.
9 August 1999 A clear win for MacMillan, perhaps no surprise given many people's love of his dramatic works. An interesting fight for the second, third and fourth slots - thank goodness Ashton came in number two or as a site we would never have lived it down!
Cranko and Ivanov are perhaps the surprises - both choreographers with, from the UK perspective, limited repertoire. That Ivanov should come in ahead of Petipa is amazing and perhaps more of a reflection that he was thought to be held back by the latter. Cranko died aged 46 and in many respects he should come back to fulfil all his considerable promise. It's a shame that ENB are not (now) able to bring back his Onegin for the 99/00 season.
26th July 1999 Well we are amazed that the company nearest too us is the one you most want to see. It's never been easier or cheaper to get to Paris, but of course few of us go. We probably need a magazine piece on this because there are no rumours of POB coming here... The NY Ballet Stars visits these last 2 years have pleased some in London, but obviously are not the full company and we have to agree it would be terrific to see NYCB in all its glory. Perhaps sometime in the next century!
At least the Kirov voters will be pleased - they are coming next summer.
19th July 1999 A mixture of the old and not so old...
It's pleasing that the man who gave us many of the 19th Century classics still holds fascination for us nearly 90 years after his death. To the immediate runners up - Lesley Collier, Sylvie Guillem and Anthony Dowell we say don't make the same mistake - plan your autobiographies now!
12th July 1999 Well it looks like the vast majority of people prefer the traditional (Western) Swan Lake with the unhappy ending - though a life of eternal bliss in the other world could be quite attractive I think...
Interesting that less then 10% took the "is this really relevant anymore" option. Somehow it's comforting to know that come what may a ridiculous story can still stir us.
5th July 1999 What interesting results! Over 40% of those who responded have been seeing ballet and dance for over 20 years and only about 12% have been going for less than 5. It might be that many respondents are, legitimately given the question, counting in the trip made with parents when they were 10 - and then did not go again for 10 years! Whatever, those who get to Postings seem a confident bunch who know a thing or two!
Of the thousands of visitors we get not all find or are necessarily interested in Postings and we continue to believe that a goodly proportion of visitors need guidance and support on the basics.
28th June 1999
Well it looks like the most distracting thing is noise, be it talking or surreptitiously easting sweets, rather then problems of having your view blocked by somebody tall or with a silly hair do. Obviously not enough of you have suffered the foot stamping student brigade though!
21st June 1999
Another tie and certainly a surprise to me to see Giselle proving so popular - I thought Swan lake or Sleeping Beauty would take it by a mile. Interesting that nobody much likes the Nutcracker and Coppelia coming in at 4 must mean that ENB and BRB are onto a good thing.
14th June 1999
A tie for first place. Perhaps not a surprise for those who know Viviana and Sylvie. Nice to see Miyako Yoshida doing so well - her Juliet is much more dramatic then many imagine before they see it. I suspect that Jayne Regan, from NBT, would inevitably have done better had she come from a major company.
7th June 1999
Our first poll and the results re Irek Mukhamedov are not a fair reflection of what RB fans might want. See this posting for more details. A bit of a shame in the circumstances. We will be polling again in a few months.
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