Thoughts On: Birmingham Royal Ballet's Variations Triple Bill

Or how I ended up going to the ballet twice in a week.

After having a bit a A Week at work (though I guess you can never accuse politics of being boring) I spontaneously booked tickets to see Birmingham Royal Ballet's 25 year celebration production of a Triple Bill of ballets. This opened with Balanchine's Theme & Variations, followed by a new piece choreographed by Alexander Whitley called Kin and ending with Enigma Variations a piece choreographed by Frederick Ashton to Elgar's famous piece of music.

Theme & Variations is a very classical piece of ballet, which has a clear principals, soloists, artists breakdown in terms of staging and dance. The two leads were the same that I saw in Swan Lake, Momoko Hirata and Joseph Caley. Their partnership was so lovely to watch and Hirata is just so graceful on stage. Celine Gittens, a dancer that has been used in the publicity for Swan Lake, performed as one of the soloists and is someone who you can't help watching on stage. The piece was just beautiful to watch, with so much graceful technicality I couldn't quite get my head around it all.

The next piece, Whitley's Kin was a pretty dramatic change to the previous piece. Whilst Theme & Variations was bright and sparkling, Kin was a lot darker. It combines some of the classical ballet steps; and there is one pas de deux danced en pointe, with the sort of expressionism seen in modern dance. It was really technically impressive, Elisha Willis and Joseph Caley as the lead pair were really great; but all the other dancers in the piece were excellent too. Particular standouts were the pairing of Brandon Lawrence and Yijing Zhang; and the solo by Tzu-Chao Chou. I will also give Peter Tiegen's lighting design a shout-out because it was the first time I've ever really felt the impact of good lighting.

Finally was the Enigma Variations piece. This was a more character-driven, acting ballet and was both laugh-out-loud funny and also really moving. The general arc is Elgar (Jonathan Payn) is struggling with inspiration, much to the sadness of his wife (Samara Downs) and his friends who are all attempting to cheer him up. The central duo of Downs and Payn was really lovely, and the pas de trois to the famous 'Nimrod' movement alongside Valentin Olovyannikov was surprisingly moving. I also really enjoyed the youthful pas de deux between Richard Arnold (Jamie Bond) and Isabel Fitton (Arancha Baselga) and anyone who thinks ballet lacks 'real' acting should see Elisha Willis' transformation from the lead female in Kin to the young Dora in Enigma Variations, as it is really something.

This was a really entertaining night at the ballet, and although its run has finished at the Hippodrome now, a similar programme is touring to London and Plymouth so if you live near there I'd recommend checking it out.

Amy

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All photos from the Hippodrome website

Top 5: Books

Oh hi laundry

If you haven't picked up by my monthly book posts, I am a big fan of reading. Whilst I've been blogging about the books I've read in the past few months, I thought I might mention some previous reads that I've really loved. I also have way more than five favourites, so this is probably the beginning of a series!

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

I picked this off my GCSE English teacher's classroom bookshelf and just immediately fell in love. From it's famous opening line 'Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again' du Maurier just sucked me straight into this gothic tale. It tells the story of an unnamed narrator who is working as a ladies companion in Monaco when she meets widowed Maxim de Winter. A whirlwind romance later, she accompanies him home to his large estate, Manderley. It is there that she realises things may not be all that they seem with Maxim, and that some people-especially the delightfully wicked Mrs Danvers-are keen to keep the ghost of Rebecca haunting the house. Du Maurier is now one of my favourite authors and I really recommend reading this as a 'classic that doesn't feel like a classic'.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
I very rarely cry at books, but I sobbed through the last few pages of this novel. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is the story of Max, a young boy whose father is killed in the 9/11 attacks. He discovers a key inside an envelope which is convinced will explain to him why his father died. Interwoven into Max's story is the story of his grandfather, still dealing with the aftermath of surviving the bombing of Dresden. This is beautifully written and moving without (in my opinion) being manipulative. It deals with love and loss and family and urgh it's just a really beautiful book. I'm impatiently awaiting Safran Foer's next novel.

A little glimpse at the multimedia used throughout the novel.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I didn't read this in school, so was probably pretty late to the Fitzgerald party. In case you have no idea what happens, The Great Gatsby follows Nick Carraway, a young man who moves in next door to a sprawling estate owned by the enigmatic Jay Gatsby. No one knows anything about him, aside from the fact that he throws hugely popular parties; which could be aimed at winning back a lost love. Gatsby is pretty bleak; everyone is pretty awful and the final message of the novel isn't particularly upbeat. However, it is pretty darn perfect when it comes to the writing. Every word feels perfectly chosen and those famous opening and closing passages are famous for a reason. If, like me, you haven't picked this up yet-you really, really should.

My edition is the gorgeous Tiffany's designed edition; which narrowly survived water damage when my room flooded at uni (really).
The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan
David Levithan is a pretty popular Young Adult author, but The Lover's Dictionary is his first foray into adult writing (although it is still accessible for mature YA readers). It tells the story of a relationship in the form of non-linear dictionary entries. It's brilliant and makes up about 95% of my Goodreads quotes.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain
I figured I would throw in a non-fiction title to this list as well. Susan Cain first came to my attention after her TED talk on the differences between extroverts and introverts. I, as well as a lot of people, always felt that the former was the thing to aspire to and as an introvert myself desperately wanted to avoid the 'people-hating' label that the term seems to have. Quiet tackles this division head on, by first explaining how introverts don't hate everyone, they just lose energy when interacting with people rather than gaining energy from this. Cain explores different societies and the positives that can come from being an introvert, as opposed to using it is a character trait that needs to be changed-I'm sure I'm not the only one who had school reports telling me I was too quiet in class, something that Cain tackles head on. This book was a bit of a welcoming hug for me, and I recommend it to introverts and extroverts alike.

What are some of your favourites? Or do you have any recommendations based on these?

Amy
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A Month in Books: September

I cannot quite believe that we're in October! September was another fairly good reading month for me, especially as I ticked off a few books that have been on my TBR for a while.

Astonish Me by Maggie Shipstead (2014, Blue Door)
I picked up Astonish Me knowing nothing about it other than the blurb mentioned the Cold War (a favourite period of history) and ballet (a favourite thing in general). It tells the story of Joan, a dancer in the corps de ballet, wholly aware of the fact that she will never be a great dancer. A chance encounter with Russian dance star Arslan Rusakov leads to a love affair and to Joan helping him defect to the US. However, when their affair fades Joan turns her back on the world of dance and returns to the familiar arms of her childhood best friend Jacob and decides to raise a family. However, when their son Harry exhibits signs of being a dance prodigy himself all the characters converge again.

Shipstead writes a really compelling version of ballet which is not romanticised but still contains enough sparkle for the reader to understand why people would be drawn to it. However, the characters-whilst vivid and incredibly 'real'-are almost universally unlikeable, to the point that a lot of the time I almost didn't want to pick up the book as I didn't really want to know what the characters were going to do to each other. Plus, the plot contains very few surprises.

Upstairs at the Party by Linda Grant (2014, Virago) 

This was another totally cold purchase, I think I was attracted to a story being set at university. This is a purchase I definitely don't regret. Upstairs at the Party follows Adele, who through sheer luck manages to escape her humdrum and tragedy-riddled youth in Liverpool, to get to university at the new University of York (never named, but it's clear that it is that uni). Whilst there, she becomes fascinated by Evie, a fellow student, a fascination that becomes lifelong after the titular event takes place.

I loved Grant's writing style and the way she really captures the self-assured nature of teenagers and students; especially at a time when uni was free and leftist ideas were brand new. As with Astonish Me none of the characters but are particularly likeable, but I was invested in finding out what happened with all of them. I especially liked how the novel follows the group of friends over the years; as they enter the workplace and how their lofty ideals fall apart or strengthen. I really recommend this.

The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer (2013, HarperCollins) 

I expected to really, really like this. The Shock of the Fall received loads of buzz and awards upon its release. Filer has a background working as a mental health nurse and this novel follows the story of Matthew, a young man struggling with his declining mental state after the tragic death of his brother when they were children. As an insight into someone struggling with mental illness, and one that is not usually covered in literature, The Shock of the Fall is great. Matthew is an undeniably sympathetic character who you just wish someone could get through to. I did feel that the writing was a little clunky and the central 'reveal' wasn't really that surprising. It is always good to see mental health tackled in writing, and I'm keen to see what Filer's next works will be like.

Why I Write by George Orwell (2005, Penguin)
Having ticked off both of Orwell's most famous novels, I really wanted to read some of his non-fiction. Why I Write is part of the Penguin's Great Ideas series and is a collection of four of Orwell's essays. There's the self-explanatory title essay, 'The Lion & The Unicorn' which is an exploration of socialism in England, 'A Hanging' based on Orwell's travels in Burma and 'Politics and the English Language' which is again pretty self-explanatory. I found these really interesting, and it was different to see Orwell really weaving a biting humour through his pieces. I will say that unless you're really interested in politics or language you probably won't be that interested in this; but it is well worth a read if you do like those things.

The Female of the Species by Joyce Carol Oates (2005, Quercus)
This was a bit of a downer to end the month on. Joyce Carol Oates is a really prolific author and I was really intrigued by her work so picked up this collection of short stories a while back as I thought it could be a good place to start. The blurb claims that these stories show that women are just as capable of men of committing evil; but pretty much all these stories feature women being pushed into desperate situations...by men. Plus all the stories had pretty much the same narrative voice which got a bit repetitive. I did like the two longer stories-'Hunger' about a woman sucked into an affair with a handsome stranger; and 'Tell Me You Forgive Me' about a woman divulging a dark secret. But I can't say this really sold Oates to me.

Amy
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Thoughts On: Birmingham Royal Ballet's Swan Lake

I'm going to preface this by saying I know very little about the technical aspects of dance; someone has to fall over before I realise that something has gone wrong. However, I adore watching ballet. When I was little I poured over a DK guide to ballet, trying to teach myself the various foot positions. Yesterday, I was lucky enough to watch a matinee performance of Birmingham Royal Ballet's production of the classic ballet Swan Lake with my friend from uni, and it was just lovely.

The ballet is the story of Odette (Momoko Hirata), a princess cursed by the evil Rothbart (Valentin Olovyannikov) to spend her days as a swan and only becomes a human in the early hours of the morning. One night, Prince Siegfried (Joseph Caley) spots her whilst fleeing from his mother's (Ana Albutashvili) wishes to see him married and ascend the throne. They fall in love, but are torn apart by a cruel trick by Rothbart and this version of the story does not end well.

As it's a pretty traditional ballet, the only thing I found a little odd was the constant solo dances that didn't seem to do much to further the story of the dance; although this may just be a reflection of the fact that the last ballet I saw was Romeo & Juliet which is known for being a more story-telling ballet. 

That being said, the sets and costumes of this production are just incredible-there was even a moment the audience applauded the dry-ice! The principal performances were all really good-Caley is apparently 30 but looks younger than me and was a really great partner to Hirata. She was a beautiful dancer as Odette, but I literally gasped at her dancing as Odile-where she executes numerous turns without any kind of pause.

Really for me though, the stars were the chorus of swan maidens. The choreography requires them to be completely in sync and the BRB chorus truly were. There were stand-out dances by the 'cygnets' a quartet made up of Ruth Brill, Laura Day, Reina Fuchigami & Beatrice Parma; they perform a short solo holding hands and it's incredible. There was also really good solo spots from Yvette Knight and Yijing Zhang as the lead swan maidens. Knight's other appearance raised the one big laugh out loud as the Polish Princess facing off to Delia Mathews' Hungarian Princess for the affections of Siegfried.

I really loved my time at the Hippodrome, this is such a beautiful ballet completed by a simply gorgeous score by Tchaikovsky. It's on in Birmingham until Tuesday and then on tour so I will link further details here. I'm definitely going to try and utilise having such a brilliant company on my doorstep. 

Amy
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Blogging Fail & Clicklist #7

I had many a good intention regarding writing posts. Firstly I planned to do a week in outfit posts, which was undone by the fact that book tripods aren't the best at being able to include a whole outfit. Then I thought I'd do a post about a couple of restaurants I visited and then promptly forgot to take any photos (though The Picture Cafe and The Winterbourne Arms are both recommended).

So I figured I'd put together a list of people whose blog/general internet game is far better than mine.

-Rosie's wedding just looks beautiful

-I love this post by Amber in defence of make-up, even if I do find it a little depressing that there is a culture that women have to defend the fact they enjoy wearing make-up

-I'm still suffering from missing Italy. A lot. Gala went to Florence and uploaded a ton of photos of a city that is becoming one of my favourites.

-These no-bake peanut butter bars look to die for. Chocolate + Peanut Butter = Love

-These pancakes look so bad, but also so good

-24 Reasons to be Pretty Damn Excited About Autumn

-Rose went to Saint Lucia, and I would now like to go to Saint Lucia

-Emma's article about being courted through MySpace was a nostalgia fest

-The Importance of Surrounding Yourself with Strong Women

-21 Things I've Learned About Success from Failing Many Times

-23 Life Lessons We Learn as Teenagers

-I really liked Charlotte's post about the things she feels down about and the reasons why she shouldn't feel bad. I'm super guilty of comparing myself to others constantly and this is a good reminder that that is not a good thing to do.

-I'm certainly guilty of using my weekends to get everything done and feeling like I need another weekend by the end of it. Selina's post about a spa in Birmingham (which I'd never heard of) sounds lovely. Also if you know of any other Brum-based bloggers, let me know!

-Emma's guide to surviving London Fashion Week made me literally lol in the office.

-Meg on the fringe benefits of confidence.

-If You Don't Have Savings in Your 20s You're a Fucking Idiot. Obviously a click-baity title that doesn't take into account a lot of the nuance around the issues around having savings; however, sometimes I feel like the internet is a bit too ~treat yourself, travel everywhere, no regrets~ to be actually practical.

-I've been loving Lily's moving vlogs, they're very 'real' if that makes any sense and it's so nice to see someone else doing this ~living alone~ thing. The first one is below.

-Another vlog series that I've been liking has been the behind the scenes look at the new production of Spring Awakening on Broadway. It's a production that uses both deaf and hearing actors, and seeing the behind the scenes interactions is fascinating.   

Right, I'm off to schedule some proper posts!

Amy
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picture source

Current Favourites

Favourite posts tend to be a monthly thing within the beauty community both in the blogosphere and on YouTube. I don't really try enough new things each month to do these monthly (stick with what you know, right); but this is a sneak peak of the things I'm liking right now.

(Apologies for how grim the Ren bottle looks-at least you know I use it!?)

This is basically a bit of an insight into my skincare routine for the past few months. I picked up the Ren ClearCalm Clarifying Clay Cleanser after reading many good things about the brand and spotting it stocked on the M&S website (that link here) which meant a discount. I use this in the morning which always feels a tiny bit luxurious. A long time favourite is the Soap & Glory Peaches & Clean Deep Cleansing Milk, which is so good at removing make-up and lasts forever. Whilst I wouldn't say they totally cure my skin issues, but any break-outs do get dealt with quite quickly. I've also been loving the much-loved Soap & Glory Hand Food, I've previously been really lazy with hand cream but living somewhere where I have to wash-up means that I've been reaching for this loads to stop my hands feeling all weird and prawny.

If I do get a monster zit that all the positive thinking in the world won't diminish, the Soap & Glory Dr Spot Super Strength Breakout Clearing Gel is amazing at reducing a spot pretty much overnight. Though it can really sting if you apply it to a particularly sensitive spot, as a word of warning. In terms of make-up I've been enjoying anything that helps me look more awake. The Revlon Powder Blush in Haute Pink is bright without being scary, but definitely makes you look more alert. Rimmel's Scandaleyes Waterproof Kohl Liner in Nude is a) a complete bargain and b) amazing in the waterline to make you look like you have actually slept.

Moving on to another one of my loves, food. As a former M&S employee it pains me to admit that a competitors Meal Deal could be as good as our Dine In, but Tesco runs their £10 meal for two all the time and I indulged as a pay day treat. These are great if you have someone to share with, but if you're a single pringle you can also use them to take care of at least two meals. Plus, they have these truly amazing chocolate & salted caramel pots. So naughty, but so good. In slightly healthier food recommendations, the Pret a Manger Teriyaki Salmon Salad is to die for. It's about £5 but far better than cheaper supermarket versions, and I could quite happily eat just wakame seaweed. It's a definite treat for me, but really worth trying if you haven't yet.

Finally, something a little bit different. You've probably heard of the website Snapfish, which I hit up when I realised all my physical photos date from my first year at university. Downloading the app meant that I got 50 free prints, and it's in some way easier to use than the website. You can view photos from your phone, Facebook, Instagram and existing albums online, and can pay through the app as you would normally. I just like well-made apps. So yes.

What have you been enjoying lately?

Amy
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A Month in Books: August

For some reason, when I was thinking about what I'd read this month I was under the impression that I hadn't read that much, but I still managed about a book a week. I will say that I didn't really read anything that was really brilliant, but here's what I read anyway.

Winter of the World by Ken Follett (2012, Macmillan)
Winter of the World is the second in Ken Follet's Century trilogy which is set throughout the 20th century. This novel focuses on the children of the charactersfrom the first novel during the run-up and events of World War Two, crossing the UK, USA, Germany and Russia. Unfortunately, I felt that the characters tended to be quite 2D-either being crazily brave & courageous or awful, with the only character that I really liked being killed off.  Plus, as I've studied this period of time both at school and at university, the pages of political developments were a little dull. However, I did like the insight into normal life in Germany, and the fact that Follett didn't shy away from showing the rising right-wing sentiment in the UK. I'll be picking up the final installment, mainly because my Mum assured me that it is really good.

Nothing to Envy: Real Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick (2009, Granta)
I've heard so much about this book which tells the story of citizens of North Korea, before they defected. Demick does a really good job at collecting individual stories and this is a really fascinating insight into the social structures and politics of a country that we in the West are far too good at dismissing as some kind of eccentric wasteland.

The Children Act by Ian McEwan (2014, Jonathan Cape)
McEwan's latest novel tells the story of Fiona, a middle-aged successful family law judge, whose husband tells her that he would like to have an affair-no doubt with a younger woman. Whilst reeling from this news she is given the case of a hospital wanting to intervene to give a teenager a blood transfusion-who is resisting due to the fact that he is a Jehovah's Witness. This is quite a small novel, if anything it's simply a character study of Fiona, who is a really interesting character. However, the novel does start to stretch reality in a way that I wasn't fully convinced by. Plus, the writing whilst good was pretty clinical. This was probably intentional due to the legal background of the plot, but it did mean that I felt quite separated from the action.

In the Woods by Tana French (2007, Hodder & Stoughton) 
I've heard nothing but good things about this novel across the book internet (here's Kate's glowing review), so I went into this crime novel with incredibly high expectations. In the Woods is the story of Adam Ryan, who years earlier was with his friends when they both disappeared. Now Rob Ryan, with an English accent and working in the Dublin murder squad, he is plunged back into the past when a young girl is discovered murdered in his old home town. I loved the relationship between Rob and Cassie Maddox, his partner on the case. Plus, I thought the case itself was pretty interesting. However, I found Rob a little irritating and I've read plenty of books featuring antiheroes so he didn't feel particularly new. Mainly, I think this was just a case of overly high expectations. I think the second in the series focuses on Cassie, so I'll definitely check that out.

And that's it! What did you read in August? September seems to be the start of all the major new releases and I'm excited.

Amy
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