seeing how you guys are so informative my question.<BR>As going to the ballet is so expensive here $60 each.<BR>what would you recommend seeing for young dancers.<BR>mine has seen the Nutcracker by royal winnipeg, Les miserables put on by arts high school, beauty and the beast,<P>here are our choices<BR>romeo and juliette by monte-carlo ballet<BR>don quixote by national ballet of canada<BR>butterfly by royal winnipeg<BR>carmen by les grands ballets de montreal<BR>nutcracker by les grand ballet de montreal<P>i was thinking on butterfly and don quixote<BR>what do you think<BR>charlene

what a fun question! others will know more than i do about the various merits of these companies/these productions/these dancers - since i am not familiar with your part of the world......<P>sounds like your daughter has done pretty well already. as a critic, i rarely have to pay for a ticket - but i DO find it quite shocking the amount it costs - often i simply can't go, if i have to pay....even to things i 'should' see.<P>can you tell me anything about this 'butterfly'?

Charlene,<P>Here's a tip. Have you tried standing room tickets? Most of the time, the ushers allow you to take any empty seats a few minutes before the curtain rises. These tickets can be had for as little as 10 USD at major ballet companies.<P>Or, if you don't mind seating far away and bringing binoculars, you can sit way up in the balcony for little $ also.<P>As for which ballet to see, if you are not too picky about quality, I would think R&J would be a real treat for a young dancer. In my non-expert opinion, I think there's more continuous dancing in R&J than in the other ballets you mentioned. NBoC has really very good dancers but I am hesitant about recommending them to young dancers if the choreography is by Kudelka. The few works of his I've seen have been more "adult" in nature.<P>I also know the perfect person to answer your question; someone who used to dance in Canada. I'll get her opinion.<p>[This message has been edited by Azlan (edited September 30, 2000).]

grace here is what i know<BR>madam butterfly, drama about the collision of two cultures. choreographed by balletmet columbus artistic director david nixon. puccini's score, danced by royal winnipeg<BR>supposed to have exotic sets and costumes<BR>charlene

just looking at some of the company sites that you mentioned, charlene.<P>here is NBoC's Madame Butterfly - this is stanton welch's version, which i have seen, choreographed originally for the australian ballet. i notice that in this program it is being danced with balanchine's beautiful serenade.<P> <BR> <A HREF="http://www.national.ballet.ca/current/currentset.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.national.ballet.ca/current/currentset.html</A> <P>there is just a little info about the NBoC Don Quixote on that page also (chor: Beriozoff).<P>now here is the royal winnipeg 'butterfly', choreographed by david nixon, who i don't know of at all.<BR> <A HREF="http://www.rwb.org/butterfly/butterfly.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.rwb.org/butterfly/butterfly.html</A> <P>here is some info on rwb nutcracker (real cute bear!):<BR> <A HREF="http://www.rwb.org/nut/nut.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.rwb.org/nut/nut.html</A> <P>all i can hazard a guess at here is that the 'butterfly' just might be a bit full-on tear jerker for your young daughter.....anyone else got more ideas?<P>

the 'carmen' might also be a bit too adult. i think i'd go for the nutcracker, romeo & juliet and don quixote (which can be a bit long and drawn out), in that order - but i am just judging on the ballets, not the companies, as i'm not familiar with their standards.<P>if she hasn't seen nutcracker, then at her age that definitely is a must! <P><I>later note: oops! i notice now that she HAS seen the nutcracker...</I><p>[This message has been edited by grace (edited October 01, 2000).]

You guys certainly have a great choice!<P>I would go for Don Q. I would stay away from Carmen for now...I took one daughter to the opera a few years ago (actually recommended by the piano teacher), but I found it WAY too suggestive for a child. She was probably about 10 at the time.<P>The NBOC Madam Butterfly is new I believe this year...so we have to wait and see what the opinions are about that one. <P>We are seeing Don Q the middle of November. When are they bringing it your way?<P>Is NBOC not doing Swan lake in your area? That would be a good one too. We are seeing it in Toronto in February.

don quixote is in march and there is no mention of swan lake <BR>charlene

mom2, i have seen the NBoC Madame Butterfly as it is the version stanton welch (australian) choreographed for the AB. it's not UNsuitable for a child, but of course it IS a very sad heart-wrenching story, so it wouldn't be my choice for a young child - maybe for a teen with a taste for dramatics! it's a very balletic form of dance-work, traditional in that sense.

I would definitely suggest seeing Les Ballets de Monte Carlo. The dancers are phenomenal and I believe that "Romeo and Juliet" is a must see for ballet students. Second, I would recommend Don Quixote. I've seen many versions by numerous ballet companies and you can't go wrong. The music, the story and the dancing make this ballet one of my favorites.

thanks grace! I was thinking that the story might be even darker with the "JK" touch.<P>As for Romeo and Juliet, I agree that it is a "must see" for dance students, but I also think that the younger ones would need considerable preparation as to the story...it can look like a bunch of indiscriminant homicides to them. When we are going to a ballet that is "new" for my younger one I like to play the music at home for several weeks before hand, to sort of prime the mind I suppose. I just remember that when I was a child things made more "sense" if I knew where the music was going.

Here is a link to a showing in Australia of Les Ballet de MC 'R&J'. It is not the MacMillan version, which I would have recommended whole-heartedly, but is by their Artistic Director, Jean-Christophe Maillot. I've heard him mentioned, but the owrk is an unknown quantity to me. The Company is good and I'm sure the performance standards will be high.<BR> <A HREF="http://www.festivals.on.net/brisbane/Les_Ballets_de_Monte_Carlo.htm" TARGET=_blank>http://www.festivals.on.net/brisbane/Les_Ballets_de_Monte_Carlo.htm</A> <P>'Carmen' is Les Grand's version of the work by Didi Veldman, which is a modern dance version made for Northern Ballet theatre. It is very enjoyable and has been well received in the UK. It is set in a cigarette factory in a down market area of Buenos Aires and is appropriately steamy. So whether it is suitable for your daughter will be a consideration. Here is the link to our coverage of the piece in the UK press and my own thoughts. <BR> <A HREF="http://www.criticaldance.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000095.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.criticaldance.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/000095.html</A> <P>This gateway site has links to the three Canadian Ballet companies you have mentioned. it's nice to be spoilt for choice.<BR> <A HREF="http://www.vkool.com/dancentre/links.html#ballet" TARGET=_blank>http://www.vkool.com/dancentre/links.html#ballet</A> <P>I agree with Azlan about standing places. Definitely worth a thought.<P><BR>

i agree with you, stuart, that the ballets de monte-carlo has an excellent reputation dancer-wise, but i am unfamiliar with the maillot production, and i also frankly would not take an 8/9 year old to macmillan's R&J - or anyone else's, unless the child was fairly unusual.<P>i agree with mom2 that it can just look like all-bad-news! and that the child would proabbly be crying at the end, and have nightmares for a week....<P>tried to have a look at the brisbane site you recommended, but it was taking ages just waiting for a reply, so i'll try again later - haven't heard much about that company for a long time. thanks for that link.<P><p>[This message has been edited by grace (edited October 05, 2000).]

p.s. i also wonder whether standing room is any use to a parent with a small child? - not meaning to be a dampener on your excellent advice, here - which in general i completely agree about - but a child is short/can't see over the seated people (maybe) and also gets fidgety fast, and whiny when tired of standing! these ballets are long affairs!

Ticket prices can certainly be a problem for a family attending a performance. Sometimes a matinee is less expensive. Also, though it is not a live performance, video can be great. Libraries often have video tapes of ballet as well as the larger video stores. <P>How about performances of "Midsummer's Night's Dream?" There's a great solo in there with a male dancer on pointe doing the role of "Bottom". And, I would also suggest Royal Ballet's "Tales of Beatrice Potter" There were parts of that I thought were very funny. Both of these ballets are Royal Ballet productions, and I know they are on video. Basheva<P><p>[This message has been edited by ORZAK (edited October 03, 2000).]