Going to my first ever ballet…please help.

[FormerlySpeckledyHen]

I’m going to Sadlers Wells on my own on Saturday afternoon to see Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake.
I’m very excited but feeling a bit nervous-ageing rock chick festival goer.

Is there anything I need to know? When to clap 👏 for instance!?
Will I look silly on my own? (Too late anyway)
Will I be OK wearing good jeans and accessories?
Anything of note about the venue?

Anything really 💁🏻‍♀️

Thank you.

I just want to say how inspirational you are! It sounds like a perfect day. I've never been to a ballet, ever, let alone by myself and this thread - and you - has inspired me to rectify that.

It is so, so important to learn to do things on our own, isn't it? So few of my couple friends do and I worry about one friend in particular who I know will fall to pieces if anything happens to her (older, 70) DH. They do everything together which sounds very romantic but has its own set of problems.

Anyway - I love all this. And for the record, while my DH and I have shared interests, we have separate ones too (we do separately) which is very odd to said couple friends!

Has anyone ever pronounced it "wallet"?

You’re taking me right back. I saw it just after the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004, when some of the swans came out after the curtain call to collect money in buckets in the foyer. Though glancing at Wiki makes me realise that MB has changed quite a few things about the plot since the version I saw (and found very powerful). Hope you enjoy it!

Emaciated waifs???? WTAF... Do you have ANY idea what it takes to be a proper ballet dancer? Have a look at those leg muscles...

As it is a Saturday matinee do be ready to tell some little girls how fabulous they look in their tutus.

It's a feature of Saturday matinees that you get families and the little girls dress up.

Enjoy yourself.

OP and others, may I also recommend " Ballet Shoes" at the National Theatre? It's brilliant. ( Though they have turned Madame Fidelia into a man).
Cheap £25 tickets are fine at the NT because of the marvellous stage.

Very best wishes for you to have a really exceptional experience. I was never very keen on the Degas version of ballet dances by MB is something very very different.

Such power, such masculinity.

I recommend the DVD (of stream I suppose nowadays) to relive the experience and see the stage production first.

Just love going by myself, no one to distract me and I invariably fall into conversation with other people around for the briefest but such interesting conversations which would just never happen when already in company.

Yes. I once knew a French Canadian who insisted that was the correct pronunciation, and that he should know because it was a French word and he spoke French. He was also 8, so I wouldn't put too much stock in his reasoning.

OP, have a wonderful time. Just go with the flow re clapping. Clothes - layers! Theatre temps can be very variable so you could boil or freeze. Apart from that as long as it's clean, decent, and doesn’t intrude on your neighbour's seat or view (no massive hat) wear what you are comfortable in. Go to the loo right at the start of the interval in case of queues.

If you enjoy it and want to go on to try something a little more traditional (but not too stuffy), look out for La Fille Mal Gardée. Or if you fancy a bit of opera next, The Pearl Fishers is a good starter one.

My MB favourite is Sleeping Beauty.

Just back for my final ‘thank you’ to you all for the lovely support and encouragement.

I had a fantastic day, despite an hour delay and long diversion due to problems on the railway. As I was short of time I didn’t get to Exmouth Market but went straight to Duncan Terrace Cafe from the tube - but it was shut on Saturdays!
I had a coffee and croissant in the most lovely little French cafe around the corner, with the best customer service ever.

The performance surpassed my expectations by a long way, I was blown away by the swans. How do they do it?! I think I have been spoilt by seeing Swan Lake as my first ballet and hope I won’t be disappointed by Romeo and Juliet in May!

I needn’t have worried about what I was wearing, as there was downright scruffy though to tres chic and even top-to-toe sequins. The tip to take a scarf 🧣 definitely paid off as the temperature dropped somewhat during the show.

I’m so pleased that I pushed myself to do it, and started this thread. Good luck to anyone else who might be inspired x

Hooray! So happy for you and apologies for directing you to a cafe that was closed😂 although all's well that ends well and three cheers for a fantastic first ballet.

Glad you enjoyed it OP.

Advice for Romeo & Juliet: listen to some of the music first. I didn't take to it the first time I saw it and left during the interval - although I was sitting far away at the back of the amphitheatre which might have had something to do with it. I love it now though and have several performances booked for the upcoming run at the ROH.

The ROH is an amazing building. Get there early to have a look around. Only downside is the auditorium itself - it's very big and the sightlines from nearly all the seats are poor because they're so far away from the stage. It's why balletomanes take binoculars!

So glad.you enjoyed it.

Is Romeo and Juliet the Tchaikovsky or the Prokofiev? I'm not fully sold on the former, but I adore the latter (which I think is more often performed).

If you're going to become a regular, it pays to learn the mime. Most of it is fairly self explanatory, but some (like dance and death) aren't immediately obvious. sportmentary.com/ballet/ballet-basics/mime-meanings-ballet/

Glad you had a good time OP. I'm sure you'll enjoy Romeo and Juliet too but it will be very different. I'm assuming you're seeing the Royal Ballet's MacMillan/Prokofiev version of R&J? Matthew Bourne's work isn't strictly speaking ballet - and I don't mean that in a derogatory way, he's said the same himself, his style is a unique fusion of a variety of dance genres that doesn't fit neatly in any particular box - but R&J, though a relatively modern work very much uses the "language" of classical ballet. I would agree with the PP that it is worth learning some of the basics of mime as it does help you follow what's going on.
It's quite possible to enjoy more than one style of dance of course and I think it's good to watch a variety of productions. Personally I love that version of R&J and am very envious of you being able to go, but the PP who mentioned the music is quite right that Prokofiev's score is a bit "marmite" so it might be worth downloading some of it and familiarising yourself in advance. There are some absolutely outstanding dancers performing whichever date you are going on so I'm sure it will be fabulous. I'm hoping to get to the cinema live streaming but am very jealous of you going to watch properly!

Yes, it’s the MacMillan/Prokofiev version @MrsAvocet @NoBinturongsHereMate, although I didn’t know that when I booked it, as it’s part of my ‘Do New in 2025’ endeavours.

I’m in London for a few days in May, and had a bit of time to fill. I’ve always admired the ROH from outside and wondered if I could do ‘something’ there on one of days, and it turned out that Romeo and Juliet was on. I was Paris in the school play 😊 so at least knew the story which was a start.

I’d just booked Swan Lake which I knew wasn’t traditional, and thought R&J would fit the trad bill nicely (I hope)
I got a restricted legroom seat in the front row of the amphitheater at a cheaper price which clinched it!
You probably all think I’m a philistine by now 😂 which I am.

I’ll definitely listen to the music before, although I suspect I might know some anyway.
I’m not sure that I will become a regular, but who knows 🤷🏻‍♀️… stranger things have happened….

@FormerlySpeckledyHen Which performance of R&J are you booked for? We're hoping to go to one of them in May, but haven't chosen which one yet. I've told dd I want tickets for my birthday for her to book and pay so fingers crossed lol