Bach Dances was OK, very pretty to look at but a bit incomprehensible. Yes, we figured out that Bach was the bloke in the wig and suit. What went on the rest of the time, apart from lots of running around for the corps (a la Mark Morris) was a bit of a mystery. Pretty courageous of North to precede Ashton with a piece of his own, tho.

As for Pigeons - I have seen better, BRB's performance especially.

Sarah I thought, seemed to slightly over-act the role of the daft, frustrating girlfriend in Act I and (I hate to say this) looked a bit "sturdy" . Maybe that fluffy costume didn't help. But maybe she just seemed to be over-acting against the slightly subdued presence of her partner.

Ivan Dinev (poor lad) did his very best and all credit to him, but there just wasn't that chemistry.

Lorna Scott, the Gypsy girl fared better, with some neat little dancing - but I sometimes think that the gypsy girl has more to get her teeth into as opposed to the saccharine young girl.

Sarah did, however, come into her own during the final scene, but I'm always a sucker for this. And again Dinev supported her bravely, but somehow there wasn't that spark.

I'm trying very hard not to be negative about this, and also not to be swayed by recent developments. The company tried its best, but just seemed to lack the verve and that special oomph which makes you feel that you've had a great night out.

I just hope Glasgow manages to raise a bigger audience.

The best I can say about Bach Dances is that is was charmingly danced, and unlike Beyond Bach, isn't pretentious. The decor was fresh and colourful. My favourite prelude to Pigeons was always the one act Bayadere.

However, I wouldn't have missed Wildor for worlds. She didn't look entirely happy in the very first scene - all that fidgeting about - but the 'competition' with the gypsy girl was very funny and in the reconciliation scene she was wonderful. If I had to choose one performance of that pas de deux I'd go for a more balanced couple - Thorogood/Wall or Seymour/Gable, probably - but Wildor danced it as movingly and beautifully as anyone I've ever seen. It is such a delight to see Ashton dancing like that again.

'Bach Dances' summed it all up for me. Yet another uninspired, soft-shoe ballet which challenged neither dancers nor audience. Bach alternately in harmony or discord with his Muse (the excellent Tomomi Sato who I have still to see in anything that uses her abilities in any kind of challenging way); and a corps of dancers for Bach to conduct.
Didn't we see this idea in 'Offenbach'? and what is it about men and muses anyway?
I feel churlish being critical of an outgoing AD, but I pay good money to see SB and we get precious little ballet in Glasgow. 90% of what we've had in the past 3 years has been Robert North's own, and we deserve better!

The company didn't even look that good in 'Bach Dances'. The choreography was so unchallenging that they should have looked great, but you get the impression they've been lulled into a complacent sense of security about their own abilities, and perhaps feel that they're "good enough".

OK Tirade over.

Sarah Wildor - What can I say - She was simply a delight to see, and I agree with all Michael's comments about her.
'Two Pigeons' is a lovely ballet, but I have to agree with Anne that though I enjoyed it, I thought it lacked a bit of verve and sparkle - even if it was a great antidote to 'Bach Dances'.
I thought Ivan Dinev and Lorna Scott did well too.
It's not that the rest were bad, it's just that I feel they can do better than this, and that they deserve to be given the chance.

I feel more than ever though that SB's very future lies in the balance. Quite a challenge for the next AD - whoever it is.

What keeps them out is, perhaps, (a) the title and (b) the fact that it appears to fall between two stools - it isn't a full length work but it isn't a third of a triple bill either.