lotts87 - Tumblr blog

[lotts87]

Early mornings with the Household Cavalry...

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This takes me back to an incredible afternoon at a local jineteada in Fortin San Pedro near Buenos Aires - a baptism of fire for a horse lover!

Read more here: http://lottiespost.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/the-gauchos_1.html

[lotts87]

It was an absolute privilege to be involved in this shoot. We filmed Royal Ballet stars Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov just before they went on their mid-Season break, capturing an intimate performance of Frederick Ashton’s Symphonic Variations. 

[lotts87]

For some reason, the Orpheus myth always makes me think of Nick Cave’s particularly gloomy The Lyre of Orpheus, in which Orphée’s music makes ‘birdies detonate in the sky’, God smashes the musician on the head with a giant hammer, and the two lovers happily abandon daylight to live in the abyss of the underworld.

Needless to say, talking to directors John Fulljames and Hofesh Shechter about their vision for the great musician Orphée, I was offered a very different interpretation. Combining the forces of Hofesh Shechter Company and John Eliot Gardiner, The Royal Opera’s Orphée et Eurydice is something to look forward to in September!

http://www.roh.org.uk/news/watch-john-fulljames-and-hofesh-shechter-on-their-new-production-of-orphee-et-eurydice

[lotts87]

The #ROHWoolf Instameet –  in the ballet studio for an Act II-run-through rehearsal of Wayne McGregor’s new ballet Woolf Works. 

An incredibly intense 45 minutes that gave me goosebumps all over!

http://www.roh.org.uk/news/rohwoolf-instameet-exclusive-pictures-offer-glimpse-into-rehearsals-of-wayne-mcgregors-woolf-works

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Backstage with the ROH costume department: from gem-encrusted leotards to authentic period corsets, the department is responsible for up to 10,000 costumes each season. 

http://www.roh.org.uk/news/backstage-with-the-roh-costume-department

[lotts87]

Netia Jones’s production of ATTHIS opens at the Linbury Studio Theatre this week - ‘As much a visual installation as it is a work of theatre.’

http://www.roh.org.uk/news/director-netia-jones-on-atthis-darkness-and-light-are-instruments

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Rising star Luis Gomes on what it’s like to perform alongside singers he used to watch on DVD, sing a lead role on opening night with less than an hours notice, and convert his non-musical family to opera.

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Celebrating 45 years of Northern Ballet, and two forthcoming productions at the Royal Opera House, I got the low down on the company from Artistic Director David Nixon:

http://www.roh.org.uk/news/we-can-never-underestimate-the-effect-of-any-choreographer-on-the-next-generation-an-interview-with-northern-ballets-david-nixon 

[lotts87]

What do cricket and ballet have in common?

http://www.roh.org.uk/news/what-do-cricket-and-ballet-have-in-common

[lotts87]

Rachel Canning's designs for The Devil's Horse, just one of a host of dangers to face Lemminkäinen in his quest for a bride...

Swanhunter, a co-production from Opera North and The Wrong Crowd, opens in the Linbury Studio Theatre this April: http://www.roh.org.uk/news/swanhunter-how-the-wrong-crowd-use-puppets-to-bring-mythical-beasts-to-life

[lotts87]

Rehearsal room goosebumps, the pressure of a live cinema broadcast and coping with challenging costumes…

After four months gallivanting as a gaucho, it's back to the 9-5 with the Royal Opera House. It's a long way from beautiful Bariloche, but it's certainly not a bad office to come back to!

[lotts87]

From Buenos Aires to Bariloche, the adventures continue... Blogs about polo ponies and Patagonia here: www.lottiespost.blogspot.com

[lotts87]

It's been just over a month since I waved farewell to the Digital Media team at the Royal Opera House and swapped the office for this motley bunch of polo ponies in Argentina. It has been a crash course in Argentine horsemanship and stable-yard vocab (hose, gate, water-trough, head collar...), and, after a tough start, I've relaxed into life as a polo groom: instead of emails, web updates and blogs, it's mucking out, tack cleaning and riding. Bizarrely, I work long hours at the stables grooming for players, but return home to a luxury house with a maid to cook, clean and make-up my room - a taste of both upstairs and downstairs in Argentina! However, grooming for my first polo game, and my first attempt at wielding a polo stick, was enough to convince me that the game (fast-paced, frenetic and aggressive) is not for me. Next week, I'll be saying a sad farewell to my little herd of polo ponies and moving on to pastures new... For more on the polo ponies, I've been posting on Instagram (@lotts87) and have been sporadically writing about my trip here: http://lottiespost.blogspot.com

[lotts87]

Back in June, I spent half an hour in the ballet studios filming rehearsals with choreographer Charlotte Edmonds, watching as she explained her inspiration for the piece, directed a nuanced power play between dancers Claire Calvert and Eric Underwood, and discussed the different camera angles she envisaged.

Charlotte was in the first stages of rehearsals for The Indifferent Beak, a short film inspired by Leda and the Swan. She has since spent a few days shooting in Richmond Park, and the final piece will be screened for the first time this weekend at Deloitte Ignite.

Not to be missed!

Watch Charlotte in rehearsals.

[lotts87]

Wendy Whelan’s Restless Creature will have its European premiere in the ROH's Linbury Studio...

A quick chat on speaker-phone with America’s greatest contemporary ballerina revealed what it’s like going from the ethereal leaps of classical ballet, to the earth-bound movement of ‘liquidy’ modern dance.  

[lotts87]

‘I discovered Beethoven’s 7th when I was six. I heard it playing in the kitchen, picked up a fork...

A quick half hour with Italian conductor Michele Gamba: conducting with forks, the 'Pappano sound', Strauss and his genius, working with the stars, and why learning new music is like using a good marinade...