Daethon and Arundel - A New Four Act Ballet

April 26, 2018, 4:27 pm

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David Hotchkiss

Daethon and Arundelis a love story between a lowly young palace manservant and the prince he serves. It is set in the 18th century somewhere in Mitteleuropa. The young English composer, David Hotchkiss has written the score for a 4 act ballet around this story which you can hear on YouTube. He is now appealing to the public for funds to stage the ballet through GoFundMe. His target date for completion of the project is 14 July 2020 which is the 110th anniversary of the death of Marius Petipa.

David writes:

"In no art-form do I believe the beauty of love is better conveyed than in ballet. I have danced ballet myself now for almost two years, training in both England and Hungary three to four times a week, and I have seen many great ballets on the stage in England, Russia, Austria and Hungary."

One of the places where he trained was KNT Danceworks in Manchester and it was there that I made his acquaintance last year.

Most of the great 19th and 20th century ballets focus on love between a man and a woman represented on stage by a ballerina and her beau, Slowly this is beginning to to change. Last October, for instance, Lauren Lovette created Not our Fate for the New York City Ballet. Writing in the New York Times, the critic Gia Kourlas observed:

"Same-sex partnering on its own is not new, especially in contemporary ballets and in modern dance. And even at City Ballet, there have been instances of same-sex partnering in several ballets, including those by Ms. Lovette, Pontus Lidberg and Mr. Peck. What feels unusual in these two dances is their fresh approach: Full of abandon and brimming with romantic desire, they seem utterly natural." (see When Two Men Fall in Love on the Ballet Stage, and Why It Matters 10 Oct 2017).

"I am really keen to get this sort of work actually choreographed and produced" writes David. "My hope is that the New York City Ballet will take this on themselves but I am also trying my best to petition other ballet companies to take the piece on."

One of the reasons why David is so keen to stage this work is that he is gay. Love between persons of the same sex has been accepted in the UK and other countries since the Sexual Offences Act 1967 but it is still not mainstream. He longs for a world where, for example, at Christmastide families with young children might watch movies where two men fall in love and think it no different from movies where a man and a woman fall in love. To get to that place is still a long journey, and in writing this piece of work he hopes to take a step in that direction. His dream is that a ballet like the one he has written might one day be as popular as The Nutcracker, Coppélia or Swan Lake. To get there he needs to show that the love between two men or between two women can be as graceful, beautiful and meaningful as the love between a man and a woman.

Although I can think of other works that explore same sex love such as that subsisting between Siegfried and the swan in Sir Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake and perhaps between Simon and Anthony in David Nixon's version, I can think of no full length work on the theme of same sex love with a detailed libretto and a wholly original score. That is a significant enterprise and it is why David deserves every encouragement.

Crowd Funding
GoFundMe Daethon & Arundel - A Gay Ballet

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"Windrush" at the Peacock - "More than just art. It was an education."

April 28, 2018, 3:19 am

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Phoenix Dance Theatre Mixed Programme (Calyx, Shadows and Windrush, Movement of the People) Peacock Theatre, London, 27 April 2018, 19:30

I don't know whether any ministers, members of Parliament, journalists or other opinion makers have managed to make their way over to Kingsway to see Phoenix Dance Theatre's Windrush, Movement of the People but, if they didn't they should have done because they would have learned a lot. Yesterday's triple bill was more than just art. It was an education.

It took a remark from a member of the audience at the question and answer session after the show for me to understand why Calyx, Shadows and Windrush, Movement of the People were so poignant. The questioner pointed out the link between Shadows, which was about the "knock on the door". Something that members of the Windrush generation have had to fear. The persecution of human beings springs from hate. Hate is is a form of evil. Calyx, which is inspired by Baudelaire's Fleurs du Mal, explores how evil germinates, sprouts tentacles and spreads (see my review of Sandrine Monin's Calyx in There's a reason why Phoenix was my contemporary company of the year 11 Feb 2017). Sharon Watson mirrored that theme by her juxtaposition of Enoch Powell's rivers of blood speech with the toxic alphabet soup (or laundry) that the masked landladies were stirring.

Yesterday's show went very well. The dancers in all three works were brilliant. I have never seen them perform better. Everybody clapped enthusiastically and more than a few members of the audience rose to their feet. But the atmosphere in the Peacock last night was somehow different from the first night at the West Yorkshire Playhouse. That was as much a party as a performance. As I wrote in Windrush: Movement of the People 8 Feb 2018:

"The final scene is a church with stained glass lighting, a pastor and his choir. It's a service but this service is almost a party. The cast invite those in the front seats onto the stage. The audience claps rhythmically and euphorically then rises to its feet as one. A triumph indeed!"

What was the reason for this change of atmosphere? I think the answer is that February was a time for celebration whereas last night was a time for reflection. How could it be anything else with David Lammy's speech ringing in our ears and all the revelations in the news so fresh in our memories?

In the questions and answers Sharon Watson was asked what had inspired her. She replied unhesitatingly that it was the experiences of her mother. She discussed the juxtaposition of Jim Reeves with Ska. "That was my Sunday morning" Sharon explained. A lady to the right of me chuckled: "yes, I remember that." And so do I, though, in my recollection, it was two tellies - one with football and the other with Songs of Praise - lashings of jollof rice or plasas, Guinness and, occasionally, if someone had recently returned from Freetown, a bottle of Star Beer.

As in Leeds and in the previews the most moving part of the performance for me was the arrival "You called and we came." A member of the audience mentioned it in the Q & A. "So often we hear the words, 'you came over and ..............' But it was not like that. We answered a call and we should never let anyone forget that."

Phoenix are giving just one more performance in London at 19:30 tonight. If you want to see them after today you will have to travel to Barnsley. Birmingham or Newcastle. But having nipped down last night to see them in London I would say that they that they are well worth the effort.

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Scottish Ballet's "Highland Fling" in Gurn and Effie Land

May 1, 2018, 4:19 pm

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Scottish Ballet Highland Fling Atlantis Leisure Centre, Oban 29 April 2018 19:30

Almost exactly a year ago I saw Ballet Central perform the greater part of the second act of Highland Fling at the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre. I reviewed the performance in Triumphant 1 May 2018. In that review I wrote that I had not always been a fan of Sir Matthew Bourne but I loved that work. I tweeted that I would love to see the full work. Sir Matthew noticed my tweet and replied that Scottish Ballet would perform Highland Fling again this year adding that I would have to go to Scotland to see it as if a trip to that enchanting country could ever be an imposition.

Taking Sir Matthew's advice I chose to see it in Oban because that is the only venue on Scottish Ballet's tour that is actually in the Highlands. Well, to be accurate, Oban is a port with many of the attractions and facilities of much larger towns but hills and mountains surround it. Oban is famous for its fish and chips (see Moira Kerr Rick Stein, two rival fish and chip shops and bitter battle of the signs that has left behind a very bad taste 19 June 2013 Mail Online). I spotted an abundance of purveyors of that delicacy near the waterfront and was looking for somewhere to park when I spotted a small group of individuals with the words "Scottish Ballet" emblazoned on their backs.

I wound down the window and greeted them cordially - probably gushingly. Acknowledging my greetings and compliments with exceptional grace they asked me whether I was going to the pre-performance talk that was due to start in 15 minutes. I had not been aware of that talk and abandoned my quest for supper. I made my way to the Atlantis Leisure Centre where Highland Fling was to be performed.

The talk was chaired by the education officer who asked how many of us had seen a performance by Scottish Ballet. A few hands rose including mine. She then asked whether any of us had seen a work by Sir Matthew Bourne. A much larger clump of hands rose though still a minority of the room. She asked which works those individuals had seen and the names Cinderella, The Red Shoes and Swan Lake ran out. She told us the story of August Bournonville's La Sylphide and then Sir Matthew's adaptation. She introduced us to the rehearsal director who mentioned some of the technical aspects of the choreography. One big difference was the absence of pointe work. The women perform in bare feet. "Surely that is something to be welcomed" the education officer suggested but apparently not because the rehearsal director replied that dancing without shoes gives rise to other problems.

There was a short Q & A in which I observed that La Sylphide was performed regularly abroad but infrequently here. "Surely it should be Scotland's national ballet if not the United Kingdom's" I suggested. This year is different in that English National Ballet has a beautiful production which I saw in Manchester (see Always Something Special from English National Ballet: La Sylphide with Song of the Earth 18 Nov 2017) and London (see Tamara Rojo at Last! Le Jeune Homme et la Mort and La Sylphide 22 Jan 2018) but they have yet to perform it in Scotland. The speakers speculated on possible reasons and referred me to Christopher Hampson who was to give a post performance talk.

One of the advantages of attending the pre-performance talk was to be allocated reserved seats in the first few rows of the auditorium. I bagged what was probably the best seat in the house, namely the centre of the fifth row. The stage was set for the opening scene, namely the ladies' and gents' of the "Highland Fling Social Club" located somewhere like Castlemilk or Drumchapel. On the wall above the urinal appeared a heart with "James 4 Effie". As the audience took their seats we were regaled with all the songs we used to sing at Celtic Society ceilidhs when I was at St Andrews such as Cambletown Loch and Wild Rover. Even though I am a proud Mancunienne I know all the words to all those songs and can't hear them without tears welling up.

The work opened with a kilted James (Nicholas Shoesmith) staggering into the gents' bog appearing to snort some sort of hallucinogenic substance and collapsing against the wall of the urinal. "This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'pas de bourré'" I thought to myself ("bourré" meaning "to have a skinful" among other things). A sylph (Sophie Martin) clambered through the venting and tries to revive the recumbent James. Then the other revellers pile into their respective loos. The girls in their finery with Effie (Roseanna Leney) wearing head boppers.

My favourite character in Bournonville's ballet is Madge, the witch, She appears as an old bag lady who tries to warm herself by the fire. James, the laird, meanly sends her packing. That is why she has it in for him. She gets her own back for her rough treatment by poisoning a scarf that she sells to James. James gives it to the sylph whose wings fall off the moment she puts it on. Madge (Grace Paulley) is very different in Sir Matt's version. She is an attractive young woman who has the hots for James. There is no coven scene in Highland Fling though Madge does quite enough mischief with tarot cards. She predicts that Gurn (Barnaby Rook Bishop) will hook up with Effie which is what happens in the end in both Bournonville and Bourne versions.

I can be very prickly when a well loved ballet is reworked the wrong way (see Up the Swannee 17 March 2018 and Akram Khan's Giselle 28 Sept 2016) though I can be very sweet when it is done well as Ted Brandsen did with Coppelia (see Brandsen's Coppelia 12 Dec 2016) and David Dawson with Swan Lake (see Empire Blanc: Dawson's Swan Lake. 4 June 2016). On the whole I think Bourrne got it right, For a start, I appreciated his calling his work something other than La Sylphide. I think I would have been kinder and more receptive to Nixon and Khan had they done the same with their works. There are a few git wrenching moments in Bourne like the sylph staggering on stage with a bloody back and James's hands, arms and shears dripping in the red stuff and, in a different way, James's collapsing in the wee. But then wrenching a few guts was probably the object of the exercise.

I am glad that Sir Matt used Løvenskiold's score. I love that music. So much better than anything Adam, Delibes or Minkus ever wrote. Second only to Tchaikovsky in my book. I may be imagining things but I thought I spotted some quotations from Giselle in his choreography. The sylph tossed some flowers at James just as Giselle does in act 2. The death scene where the sylph tries to keep going despite her wound just as Giselle rises to her feet and staggers briefly before collapsing. The way the sylphs turned on James after they had carried away their dying companion reminded me very much of the revenge of the wilis.

During the interval I glimpsed Christopher Hampson whom I had met in Newcastle after Hansel and Gretel (see Hansel and Gretel - a bit like falling in love 4 Feb 2017) and at a talk he gave to the London Ballet Circle. I wondered whether he would remember me and, to my delight, he did. He thanked me for coming to the show and I thanked him for making a dream come true. He looked puzzled so I told him that ever since I saw La Sylphide back in 1970 I had longed to see a version of it in Scotland. I told him that I had even asked his great predecessor, Peter Darrell, to consider staging that work when Scottish Theatre Ballet (as it was then called) performed in the Buchanan theatre at St Andrews on 15 Feb 1971.

Hampson discussed that topic in a talk that he gave with Nicholas Shoesmith and Sophie Martin after the show. He stressed that Scottish Ballet's tradition had always been to create new work. Highland Fling had been created by one of our greatest living choreographers. I hasten to add (and I intend no sycophancy) that so, too, is Hampson. He said it was certainly possible that a new version of La Sylphide might one day be created. If it is, the creator of a beautiful Cinderella and a gorgeous Hansel and Gretel would be just the man to do it,

I don't think that I have every been in the company of a more appreciative audience than the crowd n the Atlantis Leisure Centre on Sunday night. The dancers took their bows to the strains of "I love a lassie" to which the audience clapped in time. It was a brilliant performance. The dancers sparked the crowd and the crowd fired the dancers. Many members of the audience had travelled enormous distances. The chappy on my right had driven all the way from Nottinghamshire. A lady in the refreshments queue told me that she had come from Fionnphort which is opposite Iona. To get to Oban she would have had to drive along a bumpy single carriageway road to Craignure and then take the Macbrayne ferry.

At the pre-performance talk the education officer said that education and outreach was at least as important as performance. A company that thinks like that is very, very special.

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Visiting Taynuilt

May 4, 2018, 3:35 am

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Ballet West's Grounds

In my very first blog post I wrote:

"I was intrigued to receive a mailing for a performance of "The Nutcracker by Ballet West". Now I had heard of a company by the name of Ballet West in the United States which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year but if that company ever came to the United Kingdom I would have expected it to tour major cities rather than towns in the Highlands of just over 2,500 souls. It occurred to me that there might be a company from the West Country which is where Scottish Ballet originated, I googled "ballet, west, uk" and was surprised but delighted to find a company and school in Taynuilt. Delighted because where could be more idyllic to study dance than by the banks of a real lake (or more properly loch) which might even host the occasional swan?"

I attended that performance and enjoyed it so much that I returned to Scotland the following and each subsequent year to see other shows by that company. Over the years I have made the acquaintance of the school's principal Gillian Barton, her children Jonathan and Sara-Maria, the choreographer Daniel Job and teachers, alumni and students of the school.

When I was in Greenock to see Giselle and the Rossini Cocktail earlier this year I told Gillian Barton that I would be in the area at the end of April. The reason for my visit was to see Scottish Ballet's Highland Fling in Oban on 29 April and the St Andrews University Dance Club gala on the 30. Gillian invited me to call in to Ichrachan House on the way which invitation I readily accepted.

When I first made contact with the St Andrews Dance Club just over a year ago I asked whether I could attend one of their classes 50 years on. I was told that I would be most welcome. I checked the Dance Club's Facebook page and found that there was a beginners' ballet class between 16:00 and 17:00 on Sundays. As St Andrews is only 120 miles from Oban I thought there would be ample time to dash along the A85 and arrive in time for Scottish Ballet's Highland Fling at 19:30. When I checked it out on Google maps I found that the journey would take at least 3 ½ hours with expected traffic and roadworks delays. Sadly, I had to abandon that idea and I tweeted my disappointment.

Gillian Barton picked up my message and invited me to one of her classes. Even though I am old and slow and fat with no real aptitude for ballet, her invitation was irresistible. I had often thought of attending one of Ballet West's outreach classes when next in the area (see Taynuilt - where better to create ballet? 31 Aug 2016). I had even asked about private lessons because the leading contributor to BalletcoForum who has also attended my over 55 class in Leeds makes regular visits for that purpose. However, I had never thought in my wildest dreams that I would ever attend class with exceptionally talented students who were training for the stage. It would be like meeting Roger Federer on the tennis court. I consulted Fiona Noonan, the teacher who had led me back to ballet after a break of 45 years, and my good friend, Mel Wong, who know my limitations. "Go for it and enjoy it" they replied as if in chorus adding their personal tips on how to survive.

I very nearly fluffed the opportunity.

The hotel that I had chosen because it seemed to be the closest to Ichrachan House turned out to be worse than Fawlty Towers, The description on Booking.com was idyllic. The rate of £65 for a twin (I had intended to travel with a companion and had made double bookings for everything) seemed reasonable enough. When I arrived after driving from Ecclefechan I found the place deserted. There was a sign stating that check in was between 16:00 and 18:00 with a mobile number to ring for arrivals outside those hours. "Not to worry" I thought "I'll take tea at the Robin's Nest." When I arrived at the nest I found that the redbreast had flown that day. The tea shop normally opens on Sunday but not that particular day. "Roosting perhaps with my landlady" I thought.

Loch Etive

I drove down to the pier and to my relief and joy I found that Loch Etive and its majestic, surrounding hills were still there. Indeed, there was even a swan on the loch.

I returned from the pier and found my landlady who was lovely. She was also interested in dance and thinking of attending Highland Fling. I told her the story and the story of La Sylphide from which it was derived. I thought I had encouraged her though she did not like the idea of cutting off wings with garden shears.

As I mentioned in Scottish Ballet's "Highland Fling" in Gurn and Effie Land 2 May 2018 I skipped supper to attend Scottish Ballet's pre-performance talk and I had skipped lunch in anticipation of Oban's legendary fish and chips. By the time the post-performance talk was over all the purveyors of that delicacy were closing and I did not fancy a curry or chow mein the night before a ballet class. Breakfast at MacFawlty's did not begin before 08:00 which was when I was supposed to be at the barre. Pangs of hunger, heavy lorries on the Oban road, strange groans from the bathroom fan and the failure of the radiator to take the chill off the air kept me awake all night The result was that I was half comatose when I should had had my wits about me on Monday morning.

Worse. My landlady had directed me along a road that ran parallel to the road I should have taken and Google maps seemed to back her up. Then Google maps led me a merrier dance than any ballet teacher could have done. I eventually found the entrance to Ballet West a few hundred yards from my hotel with the result that a journey that should have taken a few minutes actually took more than half an hour. Instead of arriving at the studio 15 minutes before time which I had always been taught to do, I arrived right in the middle of glissés.

The class was taken by Jonathan Barton who had danced the lead roles brilliantly in The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and Romeo and Juliet. Graciously he admitted me to his class despite my tardiness. The students welcomed me with smiles. I recognized some of them from Rossini Cocktail which I had reviewed in Fizzing! Ballet West's Rossini Cocktail 6 Feb 2018.

I rattled through the warm up exercises facing the barre that Karen had taught me. I rather prefer Jane's warm up of running round the studio, suddenly changing direction on a sixpence, skipping facing in, skipping facing out, jumping jacks and stretches but obviously that was not possible on that occasion. I followed it up with my own pliés and side bends in 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th, tendus with foot flexes and glissés before joining the class exercises.

The class was unlike any that I had ever attended before. First, it lasted two hours although 30 minutes was pointe work which I did not do. With the benefit of hindsight I could have participated in a lot of that on demi but I never thought to ask. Secondly, it was much faster than any class that I had ever attended before. Normally, in adult ballet classes there are breaks in exercises from stage right and stage left but on Monday the pianist kept playing and we kept dancing. Thirdly, the instructions were more complex than anything I am usually asked to do. I don't think that we were asked to do anything that I had not been taught at some point or other though there was plenty that I had never mastered. Fourthly, there was not much actual teaching though I did learn a lot as I will explain blow. The experience was very like the company classes that I had seen in Amsterdam, Leeds and Oxford. Jonathan was more like a ballet master putting his cast through their paces than an adult ballet teacher.

I learned a lot by observing the regular students. For instance, between barre exercises they stood in 5th with their arms in bras bas and their faces inclined towards the centre. "I can at least do that" I thought. In fact, they may have taught me something much more valuable and that is to concentrate on the instructions and get on with the exercise in hand. Miraculously, despite my lack of sleep I woke up in class. I forgot my hunger, The aches and pains that usually start after 40 minutes didn't bother me. I normally want to rest on the barre. Nobody did that on Monday so neither did I. The result was that I attempted everything. Even the exercises where I did not have a clue winning a round of applause for trying at one point.

Of course, I also learned a lot from Jonathan. In particular, never look at yourself in the mirror when trying to dance. As he put it: "You can watch a performance or you can do a performance but not both at the same time." This is a very bad habit that I had acquired and it will not be easy to break but if I can crack it I am sure it will improve my dancing. Jonathan is an inspiring teacher. In a grand jeté en tournant exercise he pointed to the surrounding hills urging us to "soar like the mountains". Even I cleared a few inches with that exhortation ringing in my ears.

I have had two lessons since Monday. One with Karen Sant in Manchester on my way back from St Andrews and the other with Jane Tucker in Leeds on Wednesday. I doubt if my dancing can have improved much from just one class but my mental attitude and self-confidence certainly have. I emerged from both classes much happier than usual feeling as though I had achieved something.

After the class Jonathan invited me to watch him coach Joseph Wright and Uyu Hiramoto for the grand pas de deux in Paquita. I had seen both of them in Giselle earlier this year and they both impressed me. Particularly Uyu. In Ballet West Amplified 11 Feb 2018 I wrote:

"The last scene was enchanting. Mist (dry ice) wafted across the stage. Lights flashed. Myrtha (Uyu Hiromoto) glided onto the stage. She was as regal last night as she had been the week before. I have been a fan for some time and yesterday I had the chance to meet her. It is as hard to pick stars in dance as it is winners at Aintree but occasionally a student or member of the corps seems to stand out from his or her peers. Xander and Demelza Parish did so at the Yorkshire Ballet Summer School gala in York on 31 Dec 2007 (see "Review: A Summer Gala of Dance and Song, Grand Opera House, York"31 July 2007 The Press) . So, too, Michaela DePrice did in Amsterdam in 2013 (seeThe Junior Company of the Dutch National Ballet - Stadsshouwburg Amsterdam 24 Nov 2013 25 Nov 2013). I saw the same signs in Hiromoto yesterday. Now I could be wrong but I was right about the Parishes (especially Xander) and I was right about DePrince though she was already in the Junior Company and on her way to great things when I first saw her."

Grounds of Ballet West

I also saw a contemporary class after that session.

As I wanted to spend some time at my alma mater, my visit to Ballet West was necessarily brief. I did not see any of the students' quarters or dining or recreation facilities so I won't attempt to discuss the learning experience or compare it to other ballet schools. All I will say is that the surroundings are magnificent and the teaching staff that I have met - Gillian, Jonathan and Sara-Maria Barton, Daniel Job, Natasha Watson inter alios - have impressed me greatly. Students and alimni have brought back an impressive haul of medals and trophies from the Genée and other competitions (see the Student Achievement page of the Ballet West website) so Ballet West appears to be doing something right. They have also trained some of my favourite young dancers such as Isaac Peter Bowry and Sarah Mortimer.

However, none of them are in the Royal Ballet or other great national companies so I asked Gillian Barton why not. Actually I already knew the answer because a very similar situation exists in my profession. The bench contains a disproportionate number of judges because they are recruited from the best chambers and the best chambers tend to recruit from the Russell Group and particulalry Oxbridge because any vacancy can be filled many times over with good candidates from those law schools. That is not to say that there are not even better candidates from the other universities but they are harder and require more resources to find. If you can fill a vacancy immediately with excellent candidates from the Royal Ballet School (and possibly a handful of other schools) there is very little incentive to spend time and money looking further. Rather unfair perhaps but perfectly understandable. There are ways round the problem. Ballet West has set up its own touring company which will provide some opportunities for its alumni and it is developing ever closer links with the big companies but these are long term projects that will take time to achieve.

As Ballet West is already training an adult ballet student I asked Gillian Barton whether she would be prepared to train any more of us to which she replied that she would. I asked about costings and she replied that she charged £600 for a week's summer school which includes accommodation. She could probably do the same for adults or less if they found their own accommodation and transport. I asked about content to which she replied that she would give us anything that we needed - repertoire, technique - anything. I suggested talks on putting ballet in a cultural and historical context. She said that Daniel Job is an authority on dance history and theory. I also asked about day courses to bone up on something awkward as pirouettes and other turns are for me. She said that she could do that for £40 per hour.

Argyll is breathtakingly beautiful and if I could learn some ballet there I would be in 7th heaven. If anyone would like to join me on an adult ballet residential course, do let me know.

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St Andrews University Dance Club's 50th Anniversary Gala

May 5, 2018, 4:40 am

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St Salvator's College, St Andrews 30 April 2018

St Andrews University Dance Club 50th Anniversary gala 30 April 2018, 19:30 Byre Theatre, St Andrews

I wrote about how the St Andrews Dance Society was formed in Ballet at University 27 Feb 2017. Last Monday I attended the 50th anniversary gala at the Byre although I think the celebration is slightly premature as I did not go up to university until October 1968. I think we set up Dance Soc in 1970 or 1969 at the earliest. I say that because our first outing was to see Scottish Theatre Ballet perform Peter Darrell's Beauty and the Beast at the King's Theatre in Edinburgh and that was not staged until 1969 according to the Peter Darrell Trust.

Never mind! It was still a long time ago and the 50th anniversary (more or less) provides a good excuse for a celebration. And what a celebration it was with a programme comprising nearly 30 different pieces in dance styles ranging from ballet to Highland fusion. When Sally Marshall (our founding chair) and I were about to graduate we discussed the future of the Society. "Oh it'll just pack up after we leave" suggested Sally. Sadly I had to agree. Well it didn't. Congratulations to the present members and all the other generations of students for keeping the Club and dance alive in St Andrews over all those years.

The Byre Theatre

The Byre Theatre was packed to the gunwales. Many of those present were students but by no means all. There was at least one contemporary of mine in the audience who is now a distinguished Scottish lawyer. Although I don't think she was ever a member of the Dance Society she certainly remembered it. She has seen a lot of dance over the years and her opinion counts. When we met for drinks in the interval we were both greatly impressed by the quality of the work that we had seen so far. We were unable to compare notes at the end because we lost each other in the crush but my admiration grew right up to the last piece.

On entering the auditorium the stage was lit with a soft purple glow. Purple and gold appear to be the colours of the Club because many members of the audience wore purple tee-shirts and hoodies with the words "Dance Club 50th Anniversary" in gold characters. About an hour before the show I met several students wearing those garments in South Street on the way to the theatre. I introduced myself to Katie who now does the job I used to do as Club Secretary. "Oh are you Jane?" she asked. I was flattered to find that at least somebody in my alma mater reads Terppsichore. Not only that but I was acknowledged by the Club president at the start of the show and thanked for helping to set up the Club.

I admired all the works. I have no particular favourites. I commend all the choreographers, dancers, set and costume designers and makers, lighting designers and other technical and support staff equally. However, a review has to be selective and in singling out particular pieces I intend no slight to those I do not mention.

I was very impressed by the pointe work in Jessica Linde's Nouvelle Liberté which she described as "choreographed predominately in the Balanchine style of ballet." In the programme notes she explains that Balanchine had brought an angularity and looseness to ballet allowing his dancers to be more expressive. I had always thought of Balanchine as being a pretty strict and demanding choreographer but after considering some of his early works such as Serenade I think I know exactly what Jessica means and I agree with her. I should add that I loved all the ballets and, in particular. Ailsa Robertson's setting of Colour of Love to the Bollywood film song Gerua. It was an ingenious juxtaposition of two art very different art forms that worked brilliantly. I also cheered and shouted "Brave!" for Catherine Mitzen's Sospiri by the beginners' class. That was my class when I was at St Andrews though I never reached the high standard I saw on Monday night. I was hoping to rejoin that class briefly on Sunday for the first time in nearly 50 years but time constraints made it impossible. However, I did get a class at Ballet West which I mentioned in Visiting Taynuilt 3 May 2018.

One genre of dancing that was new to me was Highland fusion I loved the choice of music and the multicoloured costumes in Holly Alexander's From Here On. When I was at St Andrews Highland dancing was largely the preserve of the Celtic Society and the OTC and performed to bagpipes. It has moved on. Holly wrote in the programme notes:

"Highland dancing s no longer just about old tradition. It is no longer about sticking to strict rules and regulations. It is no longer just about the sole dancer competing alone. It is no longer solely danced in Scotland. Highland dancing is now about modernizing old traditions."

Holly's was the furthest departure from my perception of Highland dancing but all the pieces in that genre were innovative and interesting.

Dance is now a competitive sport and the University dance team, the Blue Angels, have distinguished themselves at the Loughborough University Dance Competition before Steven McRae. Members of the team presented different genres all of which I enjoyed tremendously, Stuart McQuarrie's Minions impressed me with its wit, Clair Davison's Mamba with its sense of fun and Charmaine Hillier's The Tide Can Hold You Out with its polish.

All the jazz, tap and contemporary pieces were danced with energy and passion, the Irish with precision and the theatre and lyrical with flair. In the finale wave after wave of members came on stage. They were magnificent. I am so proud to be a St Andrean.

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Manon in the Cinema

May 6, 2018, 1:53 am

≫ Next: Dreda Blow

≪ Previous: St Andrews University Dance Club's 50th Anniversary Gala

Standard YouTube Licence

Royal Ballet Manon 3 Nay 2018, 19:30 Royal Opera House (streamed to cinemas)

Although Manon is probably Sir Kenneth MacMillan's most popular ballet after Romeo and Juliet I have yet to see it live on stage. I have seen a recording of it once before in the cinema (Manon Encore at the Huddersfield Odeon 20 Oct 2014).

I missed the ballet when it first appeared in 1974 because I was at graduate school in Los Angeles but the reports that I read in the British press to which my university subscribed were not particularly encouraging. As Wikipedia reports:

"Critical responses to the opening night performance were mixed. The Guardian newspaper stated, "Basically, Manon is a slut and Des Grieux is a fool and they move in the most unsavoury company", while the Morning Star described the ballet as "an appalling waste of the lovely Antoinette Sibley, who is reduced to a nasty little diamond digger". The opening night audience gave the ballet a standing ovation."

I doubt that they would have put me off as I often find myself in disagreement with ballet critics. I think it is more a question of inertia. I don't live in London. My time and means are not unlimited. There has always been something I have wanted to see more. Right now, it is Liam Scarlett's Swan Lake.

I leaned a little bit about the ballet from Dame Antoinette Sibley in an interview that she gave to Clement Crisp at the Royal Ballet School in 2014 (see Le jour de gloire est arrive - Dame Antoinette Sibley with Clement Crisp at the Royal Ballet School 3 Feb 2014). Dame Antoinette produced a copy of the book by Abbé Prévost which Sir Kenneth had sent to her and she read from his note in the cover. Kevin O'Hare mentioned that story in an interview that he gave to Ore Oduba and Darcey Bussell before the show. The libretto does not follow the novel exactly but it is close enough in essentials.

MacMillan created some striking choreography for this ballet. Vadim Muntagirov who danced Des Grieux referred to lifting the ballerina behind his back. Particularly memorable, in my view, was a pas de trois in the first act in which Sarah Lamb (as Manon) appeared to be contorted into positions from which I feared she would never recover. More contortions in the party scene at which Manon's brother, Ryoichi Hirano, who is very drunk, attempts to dance with his mistress.

One of the advantages of watching ballet in the cinema are the closeups of the dancers' facial expressions. For the first time I appreciated Lamb's genius as an actor. She expressed every emotion, every state of mind, almost every thought through her eyes. The character that she dances is not a nice woman. Greedy, capricious and deceitful, she richly deserves her comeuppance, yet she somehow wins the audience's sympathy. What greater proof could there be of her dramatic qualities.

Tall, slender, athletic, dreamy, passionate and at times explosive, Muntagirov is exactly as I would imagine Des Grieux. Also impressive were Gary Avis as the louche aristocrat who first makes and then breaks Manon, destroys her brother and disgraces her brother and Yorkshire's very own Thomas Whitehead as Manon's thuggish and lascivious gaoler.

Anyone who has seen his Romeo and Juliet will agree that MacMillan does fights better than almost any other choreographer. There is one good sword fight in Manon in the second act but the knife fight in which Des Grieux dispatches the gaoler is particularly exciting.

The sets and costumes were designed by Ncholas Georgiadis who also designed the sets and costumes for Romeo and Juliet. I am sure that on the stage they must have been magnificent but except for vines of the mangrove swamp in the very last scene they were barely visible which is a pity.

I doubt that Manon will ever be my favourite ballet but I have resolved to see it live next time it is staged which I did not do after the last screening of this work.

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Dreda Blow

May 6, 2018, 4:44 pm

≫ Next: Another Goodbye

≪ Previous: Manon in the Cinema

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It is always sad to say goodbye to a dancer - especially a leading lady - but I for one will miss Dreda Blow prticularly. According to Northern Ballet's news item, Saying Farewell, she will dance with the company for the last time at the Lowry on 9 June 2018.

I have chosen a clip from Romeo and Juliet because it was the work in which I first appreciated her qualities. In Northern Ballet's Romeo and Juliet - different but in a good way 8 March 2015 I wrote:

"I also saw another side of Dreda Blow. I had last seen her as Mina in Draculain which I had admired her dancing but did not warm to her. ......... Casting Blow for the role was an inspiration. She was a perfect Juliet. Playful and feisty. Loving but conflicted. Brave but fearful. Blow is elevated to my pantheon of favourites."

I was of the same view when I saw her in that role a second time in Bradford 18 months later (see Romeo and Juliet after the Shrew 18 Oct 2016).

Dreda Blow is a joy to watch. She is of course a virtuoso but also so much more. She has a lovely face with wonderfully expressive features. Qualities that make her one of the finest dance actors that I know. Some roles she has made her own. I cannot imagine any other Jane Eyre but her. When I first saw her in that role in Richmond, I remarked:

"Hannah Bateman had tweeted that Blow was lovely in the title role and she was right. Blow is a fine dancer but I have never seen her dance better than she did tonight." (see Northern Ballet's Jane Eyre: the best new Ballet from the Company in 20 Years 2 June 2016)

I said very much the same when I saw her again in Sheffield last month (see Jane Eyre Second Time Round 18 April 2018). I have tried to think of the work in which I have liked her best, The beautiful but vulnerable Bellino, perhaps, in Kenneth Tindall's Casanova perhaps or maybe her cheeky and playful role in Demis Volpi's Little Monsters (see Sapphire 15 March 2015).

The news bulletin does not say where she will go or what she will do after 9 June 2018 but I wish her all the best. I thank her for all the pleasure she has given her audiences in her 11 or so years with the company.

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Another Goodbye

May 8, 2018, 12:57 am

≫ Next: Michaela DePrince to return to London

≪ Previous: Dreda Blow

Author: Mtaylor848
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Another departing artist who will be greatly missed is Northern Ballet's first soloist Victoria Sibson (see Saying Farewell 3 May 2018) . Like Moira Shearer who was the subject of my Christmas Day appreciation in 2016, Sibson has the most beautiful hair and features that must be a choreographer's canvass. I have never had the good fortune of meeting her. Now that she is about to go I don't suppose I ever shall. But if dancing is any indication of personality, I imagine she is full of fun and just lovely in every possible way.

The first time I noticed Sibson was when she poked her face through the curtain in Kenneth Tindall's Luminous Junc*ture which I reviewed in Angelic - Northern Ballet's Mixed Bill 9 June 2013. Although I can't remember her in any leading roles she has danced some very important ones. I think her performance that impressed me most was as Bertha (the first Mrs Rochester) in the wedding scene in Cathy Marston's Jane Eyre in Richmond (see Northern Ballet's Jane Eyre: the best new Ballet from the Company in 20 Years 2 June 2016).

Sibson has glowed (and occasionally smouldered) in so many roles: La Fée Magnifique in Beauty and the Beast, the mother in Las Hermanas, Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby and Ellen in Wuthering Heights to name a view. The last time I saw her was as Aunt Reed in Jane Eyre at Sheffield last month (see Jane Eyre Second Time Round 18 April 2018.

The notice announcing Sibson's departure does not mention where she is going or what she will do when she leaves the company but I wish her well in all that she sets out to do. She has given me a lot of pleasure over the years for which I am very grateful.

↧

Michaela DePrince to return to London

May 9, 2018, 3:38 am

≫ Next: Another Award - Terpsichore is now one of the Top 35 Ballet Blogs

≪ Previous: Another Goodbye

Michaela DePrince in "A Million Kisses to my Skin"

Author Angela Sterling
(c) 2015 Dutch National Ballet, all rights reserved
Licensed with the kind permission of the company

Danceworks has just announced that Michaela DePrince will teach at its studios in London between 23 July and 3 Aug 2018. According to the studio's press release:

"Michaela will be teaching our young dancers at the Danceworks Ballet Academy Summer Intensive, a two-week programme that offers young dancers from ages 6 up to pre-professional, the chance to be coached by leading ballet stars. Students will perform at the prestigious Lilian Baylis Studios, Sadler's Wells on the final day of the course."

She visited the studios in 2015 and 2016 and on each occasion Lesley Osman sent me some lovely photos of her with her students, including an account by one of them who showed a talent for journalism as well as dance (see Michaela's Masterclass 8 July 2015 and Michaela DePrince revisits Danceworks 7 Aug 2016). If you or one of your offspring would like to attend one of Michaela DePrince's classes you should email balletschool@danceworks.com for further information.

I first heard about Michaela DePrince when she was still in America. I was interested to learn that she was born in Sierra Leone because my late spouse and daughter manquée also came from that country. When she joined the Junior Company of the Dutch National Ballet I attended its first performance at the Stadsshouwburg in Amsterdam. In my review of that performance I described her as "quite simply the most exciting dancer I have seen for quite a while" (see The Junior Company of the Dutch National Ballet - Stadsshouwburg Amsterdam 24 Nov 2013 25 Nov 2013). Michaela led me to the Junior Company who in turn led me to the mighty Dutch National Ballet which has been a source of great pleasure for me.

If you want to meet Michaela but are too old for her class at Danceworks you might do so at the opening night gala of the 2018/2019 ballet season. The evening consists of a performance followed by a party in the Stopera and it was at that party that I encountered her (see The best evening I have ever spent at the ballet 13 Sep 2015). Now there is quite a crowd at that party and I can't guarantee that you will meet Michaela as I did but you would be very unlucky not to make the acquaintance of at least one or two members of that brilliant company.

Tickets for the gala will be on sale from the beginning of June and they are usually snapped up like hot cakes. If any of my readers from anywhere in the world would like to join me at the Stopera on opening night do let me know and maybe we can form a party. If there are enough of us we may even be able to get some discounts and so some other fun things like take a day trip to IJsselstein for an adult ballet class at the Jos Dolstra Dance Institute.

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Another Award - Terpsichore is now one of the Top 35 Ballet Blogs

May 10, 2018, 2:05 pm

≫ Next: Richard Chappell Dance to perform in Leeds

≪ Previous: Michaela DePrince to return to London

I have just received the following lovely email:

Hi Jane Lambert,
Congratulations! I am pleased to inform you that your blog has been included in our Top 35 Ballet Blogs which can be found on our website.
My team has been in constant search for the best top dance blogs and during my own exploration I stumbled upon your site. Your blog contains a lot of interesting blog posts, I especially enjoyed the article about "Windrush" at the Peacock - "More than just art. It was an education."
I hope you will enjoy being included in the list, and the extra promotion this creates for your blog.
We have also created a special badge for you that you can post on your blog:
I would like to answer any questions you may have, or hear your feedback about the list. Please feel free to send me a message.
Keep up the good work!
Sincerely,
Lisa Kok,
Junior Project Manager
cupondedescuento.com.co

I am particularly pleased that Lisa has singled out my review of Sharon Watson's masterpiece for commendation. It is another opportunity for me to congratulate Sharon and her beautiful dancers, Christella Litras, Eleanor Bull and everyone involved in that work.

↧

Richard Chappell Dance to perform in Leeds

May 12, 2018, 2:31 am

≫ Next: Hype Dance's Annual Show

≪ Previous: Another Award - Terpsichore is now one of the Top 35 Ballet Blogs

At the end we begin Excerpts Trailer from Richard Chappell Dance on Vimeo.

For many years I have been begging Richard Chappell to bring one of his shows to the North and he has finally relented. His company, Richard Chappell Dance, will perform at the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre in Leeds on 6 June 2018.

I first came across Richard's work in 2014 when he was still a student at the Rambert School. He had been commissioned by David Murley to create Wayward Kinship on the relationship between Thomas Becket and his king - a topic that TS Elliot explored in Murder in the Cathedral and Jean Anouilh in Becket. In MurleyDance's Autumn Tour 28 Oct 2014 I wrote:

"Chappell's Wayward Kinship was a complete change of mood. Like Gilian Lynne's A Miracle in the Gorbals which I had seen earlier in the day it considered the struggle of the temporal against the spiritual. It explored the friendship between Henry and Becket and its transition into hate with the eventual ridding of the turbulent priest. The knights who carried out the king's bidding were women and all the more sinister for that. The ballet ended with Becket nearing his cross triumphant in death. A remarkable work for any choreographer but all the more impressive for a 19 year old who has only just completed his training at Rambert. No doubt we shall see a lot of Richard Chappell in the years to come."

As Richard and I live and work at opposite ends of England it has mot been easy to catch his shows but David Murley was able to cover one of his performances at Chissenhale Dance Space (see Murley on Chappell 1 March 2015).

Richanrd's show, At the End We Begin, is described in Northern Ballet's newsletter as "a dynamic and compelling programme". It appears to be another work inspired by T.S. Eliot. This time it is Four Quartets. According to the company's website the piece takes four individuals "from a place of being lost to a state of empowerment and acceptance, where they have found their own voice by journeying through Eliot's text." The dramaturgy is by Neus Gil Cortes. Samuel Hall has composed a new score for the work with cello, piano and electronics. Hannah Taylor has designed the costumes. The work has already been performed in Oxford, Exeter and Doncaster and will proceed to Frome, Dundee, Newcastle and Falmouth later in the year.

With any luck this will be the first of many visits to Leeds. Richard writes:

"I love Leeds as a city and it's vibrant dance scene, and if we can sell well for the performance in the coming month, then this could really help me in developing a more regular creative presence in the city in the future."

I wish Richard a successful tour and hope he will include Manchester and other venues in the North West in his tours one day.

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Hype Dance's Annual Show

May 13, 2018, 2:11 am

≫ Next: Chantry Dance 2018 Tour

≪ Previous: Richard Chappell Dance to perform in Leeds

Hype Dance Annual Show Library Theatre, Sheffield, 12 My 2018 19:45

Performances are important to dance education because ballet and kindred styles of dance developed in the theatre and are intended for an audience. The experience of appearing before a living, breathing (and paying) audience is delicious. I well remember the charge of excitement I felt in my first show which I tried to describe in The Time of My Life 28 June 2014. Every dance student from toddler to pensioner can and should feel that charge no matter how inexperienced or incompetent he or she may be. Most get that opportunity because almost every dance school worth its salt offers its students a chance to take part in its annual show. Training and rehearsing for that show is what distinguishes dance classes from dreary keep fit.

Hype Dance Company is a dance school in Sheffield to which I was introduced in 2014 by Mel Wong. Mel and I had met through BalletcoForum when Mel appealed for a teacher to stand in for her regular instructor who was about to take maternity leave. I suggested mine in Huddersfield and I mentioned the vacancy to her though I think she had already learned of it from another source. However, my teacher got the job and I followed her down to Sheffield where I attended my first class at Hype (see More than just Hype - Beginners and Improvers Classes in Sheffield 14 May 2014). In that post I wrote:

"I have not met the other teachers but judging by the standard I found at Hype they must be good. I have no hesitation in recommending that dance school."

I later took classes with Emily Talks and Anna Olejnicki who directs the school and attended Hype's open air Frightnight show on the Moor. I am glad to say that those other teachers and the school fully met my expectations.

Yesterday was Hype Dance's annual show at the Library Theatre in Sheffield. The Library is one of three theatres around Tudor Square which must place it in contention for one of the most theatre concentrated districts in England. The Library is an intimate auditorium seating 260 sprctators attached to the Central Library which is literally next door to The Lyceum. Hype has so many students and runs so many classes that it had to stage the show in multiple sessions. The kids and young people performed in the afternoon while the adult dance students performed in the evening. I attended the evening show.

Some 19 pieces were presented ranging from ballet to pole dance. I was impressed by all the performances. The ballet included some tricky pointe work by two soloists who impressed me with their precision and polish, a charming character dance from the RAD class and excellent contributions from the advanced, improvers and beginners' classes. I had shadowed the beginners' class in their rehearsal a few weeks ago and was impressed by it then but it was even better on stage. It was raised to a new level by a soloist who suddenly appeared and wowed us. A brilliant touch by Anna who had choreographed that piece.

Hype's jazz classes are particularly strong. All the dancers are impressive but I have to say a special word for the solitary male who showed great strength and virtuosity. As in most dance schools there are far more women at Hype than men, but all the men who took part in yesterday's show distinguished themselves. One showed particular wit and courage by taking part in SHE Heels mastering impossibly towering footwear with the grace of any of the girls The pole dancer was described as a guest in the programme. I know no more about her but she amazed me with her strength and grace particularly when she was suspended by her legs her luxuriant hair cascading about her. Contemporary, tap. street and all the other artists performed well too.

The jazz class led us into the finale each of the dancers showing off his or her party piece. Each of the other classes followed them onto stage to mounting applause. Finally the teachers with Anna acknowledging the cheers. She appeared as proud as Punch and had every right to be.

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Chantry Dance 2018 Tour

May 13, 2018, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: Chelmsford Ballet Update

≪ Previous: Hype Dance's Annual Show

Chantry Dance Company's 'DRACULA - Welcome to D's' (trailer) from Chantry Dance Company on Vimeo.

Four years ago almost to the day Mel Wong and I drove to Lincoln where we took part in Chantry Dance Company's Sandman and Dream Dance. It was a memorable day for me because it was the first time that I had danced in public and on film and it gave me the chutzpah to put my name down for Northern Ballet Academy's end of year show (see The Time of My Life 26 June 2014). It was also the first time I met Mel. I remember how our conversation took off like a rocket from the moment she entered my car and continued in that way throughout the day.

In those days the Chantry Dance Company was a very small and a very new operation. It has grown over the years staging its first full length ballet last year and offering three year diploma courses in ballet and contemporary dance as well as well as associate programmes, workshops, intensives and outreach events through its School of Contemporary and Balletic Arts. Dominic North, Clemmie Sveaas and Sarah Kundi are now patrons of that school.

Last year, Rae Piper and Paul Chantry of Chantry Dance built up their audience by visiting in advance several of the venues at which they were to perform and giving a talk with demonstrations about an aspect of the show that they were about to dance. I covered their visit to Halifax in More than "Dancing Bananas": Chantry Dance's Demystification of Contemporary Dance 30 June 2017 as well as their show (see The Sandman in Halifax 28 June 2017).

This year Paul Chantry and Rae Piper are creating a new work around Bram Stoker's Dracula. For some reason or other Dracula attracts choreographers like wasps to a honey pot. I have seen and reviewed David Nixon's for Northern Ballet (see Dracula 14 Sep 2014) and an extract from Michael Pink and Christoper Gable's which was performed by Ballet Central last year (see Triumphant 1 May 2017). I am also aware of Mark Bruce's Dracula and Ben Stevenson's for Houston Ballet (see the 1987 - 2003 Archive Page on the company's website) and I believe there are many more. It is not a topic that would attract me were I a choreographer as the story gives me the creeps but that is no doubt the creator's intention. Chantry Dance are performing their new work it in Grantham, Halifax, Worcester, Sale, Stamford, Andover, Lincoln, Horsham and Greenwhich between 21 Sept and 14 Oct 2018.

The company are preparing the ground as they did last year with a talk entitled Day in the Life of a Dancer. The strap line is "How do they do that" which is a question that Chantry and Piper propose to answer while giving some insight into a dancer's say:

"Learn what it takes to become a dancer, how they maintain fitness, strength and flexibility, and how they rehearse. Rae and Paul are among the UK’s finest dancers and West End choreographers whose work includes David Walliams’ OLIVIER NOMINATED GANGSTA GRANNY."

They will be at The Waterside in Sale on 27 June and The Victoria in Halifax on 6 July 2018. Tickets are free but must be booked in advance. Chantry and Piper will also visit Stamford, Horsham, Andover and Grantham.

I will mention the talk and the show to anyone who turns up to Powerhouse Ballet's first class at Huddersfield on 26 May 2018.

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Chelmsford Ballet Update

May 15, 2018, 4:43 am

≫ Next: Our Turn to Impress

≪ Previous: Chantry Dance 2018 Tour

River Chelmer

Author Roy Gray
Licence Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0
Source Wikipedia

Folk in the rest of the UK tend to be very unkind about Essex even though there is much to admire in that county. For a start it possesses some beautiful countryside as you can see from the photo of the River Chelmer from which Chelmsford derives its name. Also, it has one of the nation's oldest ballet companies of which I am proud to say I am a non-dancing associate member.

In order to graduate from associate to dancing member one has to be accepted at an audition which takes place once a year. Those who are accepted are considered for the annual show in March as well as special events and workshops.

This year's auditions will take place on 24 June 2018. There are three classes of membership and the criteria are as follows:

"GENERAL DANCERS
Age 13 years on 1st September in the year of the audition and holding a Grade 2 Ballet certificate (or above) or be working at an equivalent level.
SENIOR DANCERS
Age 13 years on 1st September in the year of the audition – Female dancers should be working “en pointe”.
JUNIOR DANCERS
Age 10 years and not more than 12 on 1st September in the year of the audition and holding a Grade 2 Ballet certificate (or above) or be working at an equivalent level."

Those who are accepted for any grade of membership are expected to show a reasonable degree of commitment to the company. Obviously I can't do all that from Holmfirth but I would have applied for general dancer membership like a shot had I lived in Essex. Those who can make the grade and offer the required level of commitment should apply by completing and lodging this application form before 10 June.

If you are accepted at the audition you qualify for all sorts of fun things like workshops with Ballet Central and Sir Matthew Bourne's company, New Adventures. Ballet Central's took place on 22 April and was aptly described in the notice to members as a "perfect after show treat." You can say that again. I am greenwith envy.

Chelmsford's joint patron is none other than Chris Marney who was a magnificent Count Lilac in Bourne's production of The Sleeping Beauty and is now Artistic Director of Ballet Central. The dancers from Chelmsford Ballet have an opportunity "to sample innovative and exciting repertoire and work on story telling and characterisation in dance" on Sunday 8 July 2018. The blurb from Chelmsford (appropriately on a lilac background) states:

"This is an amazing chance to participate in a workshop specifically tailored for the Chelmsford Ballet Company, which will allow all grades of dancing members an opportunity to understand the process of narrative dance and to work on characterisation."

Finally a note to my fellow Northerners. We could do this sort of thing if we ever get Powerhouse Ballet off the ground. In the short term Karen Sant has offered us a day's intensive training in Manchester, Ballet West a week in Scotland and Terence Etheridge a fantastic experience in Cornwall. We have got Northern Ballet and Phoenix on our doorstep. They would almost certainly be willing to help. We have excellent links with all the other leading companies in the UK and even beyond.

But in order to get off the ground we need a full class of dancers in Huddersfield on Saturday 26 May 2018 at 15:00. You have the opportunity of a FREE 90-minute class with Jane Tucker, one of the best teachers in the business, for which you would have to pay £7 plus a £5 registration fee in Leeds or £15 in Manchester. Opportunities live this do not grow on trees.

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Our Turn to Impress

May 15, 2018, 10:43 pm

≫ Next: Ballet Black's Standing Ovation at the Nottingham Playhouse

≪ Previous: Chelmsford Ballet Update

Last Saturday Hype Dance Company showed what it could do in its annual show and very good it was too, Next Saturday is the Dancehouse's opportunity to impress. Classes in different styles take place at the Dancehouse theatre's studios almost every day of the week. Many of those classes are given by KNT Danceworks which I have attended since August 2014. At least once a year, members of those classes show off what they have learned in Move It.

Move It! is described as "a dance show choreographed and performed by members of our various evening and weekend classes, giving them a rare chance to work with our professional technical team on one of the largest stages in Manchester." It is also great fun. I have taken part in two of those shows in January 2016 and May 2017 and also watched two more. I described one of those shows as "Better than Eurovision", In the other, my niece Shola nearly stole the show (see Pride23 Oct 2016).

This year there are 21 different pieces ranging from ballet to belly dancing. The Chinese dancers are always worth watching. They move gracefully in gorgeous costumes. I am in the Pre-Intermediate Class which should come on stage just after the interval. We have put a lot of hard work into this show. Last night, for example, we had two rehearsals in the studio, a walk though, and two more rehearsals on stage and staggered onto Oxford Road at 21:00.

Move It! is fun not only for dancers but also for the audience. It is more like a party than a performance. There is a well-stocked bar which opens before the show and stays open long afterwards. There is a Tesco across the road and a Saisnbury's a few minutes walk away if you fancy some nibbles and more fast food restaurants and cheap eateries than just about anywhere else in Manchester. The NCP car park at Chester Street is literally round the corner and Oxford Road station 2 minutes away. If you want to stay the night in the area, there is a Holiday Inn Express almost next door and an Ibis a few minutes away.

So come along and support us. You can book tickets online or by calling 0161 237 9753 or 0161 237 1413.

↧

Ballet Black's Standing Ovation at the Nottingham Playhouse

May 17, 2018, 2:23 am

≫ Next: Ballet West's Showcase

≪ Previous: Our Turn to Impress

Anish Kapoor's Sky Mirror outside Nottingham Playhouse

Author Superhasn
Licence reproduced with kind permission of the copyright owner
Source Wikipedia

Ballet Black Double Bill (The Suit and A Dream within a Midsummer Night's Dream) 16 May 2018 19:30 Nottingham Playhouse

Ballet Black received a well deserved standing ovation last night. Such appreciation is commonplace in many parts of the world but not in this country - at least not outside political party conferences. There were whoops and cheers from the audience as well as claps. Ballet Black are obviously doing something right.

Yesterday's performance was very polished. As I said in my review of the company's performance at the Barbican, I had been worried that Damian Johnson might be irreplaceable but José Alves has performed the male lead roles in both The Suit and A Dream within A Midsummer Night's Dream admirably. Like Johnson he dances with authority but he does so in his own way and just as impressively.

I particularly admired his performance as Philemon in The Suit. Returning home to pick up his briefcase he finds his wife in bed with Simon. His countenance is like a book. First the disbelief. "Is this actually happening?" The the shock as he collapses to the floor. The surge of anger that leads to the cruel humiliation of Matilda. The role of Philemon was created for Alves and it is hard to imagine anyone else dancing it as well.

The wife was danced by Cira Robinson who is truly a ballerina in the traditional sense and I think this is her finest role. It would be impertinent of me to compliment her on her virtuosity or her dramatic skills for, as I say, she is a ballerina. What do I mean by that? The best way of putting it is that in most performances the artists portray their character but a truly fine artist - a ballerina - can become that character. And so it was last night as Tilly was pushed beyond endurance. My body shook as that beautiful woman in a simple blue dress convulsed and then hung still. Tears were welling up uncontrollably even though I knew she would snap back smiling and full or life for the curtsy just seconds away.

Seeing The Suit for a second time I noticed some interesting touches that I had missed before like dancers representing mirrors, wash basins or items of furniture. By focusing on details such as old lady crossing the street and bumping into passers by, Marston seemed to conjure a crowd. Mthuthuzeli November danced Simon, the owner of the suit. The rest of the company danced the chorus, commuters and passers by.

The Suit was a chilling but compelling work that left our emotions raw. Pita's Dream applied the balm. Yesterday must have been the sixth or maybe seventh time that I had seen that work and it never fails to charm me. I always find something new. Whereas The Suit focuses on Philemon and Tilly, everyone has an important role in Dream. Robinson was Titania, of course, and Alves became Obron. Isabela Coracy amused us as Puck in her scouts uniform and green beard liberally scattering her glitter and dragging dancers by their legs around the stage. Sayaka Ichikawa and Marie-Astrid Mence charmed us as Helena and Hermia. Their Demetrius and Lysander were November and Ebony Thomas. Grunting and swaggering small wonder the girls preferred each other. November also played the one role that Shakespeare never envisaged, namely Salvador Dali in the quest for his missing moustache.

Ballet Black are about to visit Scotland where I took my first ballet class and was introduced to what is now Scottish Ballet. One of their venues is Dundee Repertory Theatre which is just 12 miles from St Andrews where there is a Dance Club of over 100 members that I helped to found nearly 50 years ago (see St Andrews University Dance Club's 50th Anniversary Gala 5 May 2018). Should any of those students still be in town on 6 June 2018 I strongly recommend their crossing the Tay to see this show.

Fifty years after that first class at St Andrews, I attended class with the undergraduates of Ballet West (see Visiting Taynuilt 4 May 2018). A few days before my visit Scottish Ballet held a workshop at Taynuilt when they visited Oban to dance Highland Fling. Taynuilt is quite a trek from any of the venues where Ballet Black are to perform but I do hope that at least a few of the excellent young men and women I met last month can make it to Dundee, Inverness or Glasgow.

My next opportunity to see Ballet Black will be on 19 Nov when they will return to The Lowry. They can expect a very warm welcome there

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Ballet West's Showcase

May 17, 2018, 7:01 pm

≫ Next: Teac Damsa's "Swan Lake" - it may not have been Ballet or even entirely Dance but it was great Theatre

≪ Previous: Ballet Black's Standing Ovation at the Nottingham Playhouse

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In Ballet Black's Standing Ovation at the Nottingham Playhouse 17 May 2018 I mentioned that Ballet Black are coming to Scotland. They are not the only ones. I shall return on 27 May to see Ballet West's Showcase at the Macrobert Arts Centre at Stirling University.

The event is described as follows:

"This show is the culmination of the Ballet West students' year and the final assessment for the BA (Hons) in Dance students (awarded by the Open University). It demonstrates the breadth of experience the dancers have gained in classical ballet, modern ballet and contemporary and presents new works created for the students by Belgian choreographer Daniel Job. Degree courses at Ballet West combine training in technical dance skills with genuine performing experiences required by dancers working today."

The students will perform extracts from Paquita in Stirling. The video shows a rehearsal in a studio that looks very much like the one in which I attended class on 30 April 2018 (see Visiting Taynuilt 4 May 2018). Immediately after class I was allowed to watch Jonathan Barton coach Joseph Wright and Uyu Hiramoto in the grand pas de deux. It was looking good even then and I am looking forward to the performance very much indeed.

One of the reasons for my last visit to Scotland was to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the St Andrews University Dance Club t-shirt of which I was one of the founder members (see St Andrews University Dance Club's 50th Anniversary Gala 5 May 2018). The Club has commissioned some commemorative t-shirts to celebrate its first half century and one of my friends and university contemporaries was kind enough to send me one earlier today. The panel on the left shows my trying it on and the panel to the right is the back of the same t-shirt.

The other reason for my visit was to see Scottish Ballet's Highland Fling in Oban. Their newsletter reports:
"The company is back in Glasgow after a whirlwind tour of Highland Fling in Shetland, Orkney, Oban and Stornoway and our hearts are full."

I love that expression "our hearts are full". It a beautiful phrase which I shall try to remember and use in my own writing. It also reminds me of all the good things I associate with Scotland - some material like the beauty of the countryside but much more the intangible. In their Dancer's Tour Diary Scottish Ballet recount some of the places they visited and things they did on tour. In this hilarious video they challenge their non-Scottish dancers to repeat some Scottish phrases like "braw, bricht, moonlicht nicht" and "Lang may yer lum reek".

Our West Riding argot can be pretty impenetrable. I wonder how much of it our Gavin has picked up while he has been with Northern Ballet. Happen a'll ask him next time I meet l'lad.

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Teac Damsa's "Swan Lake" - it may not have been Ballet or even entirely Dance but it was great Theatre

May 19, 2018, 1:34 am

≫ Next: The Importance of Performance

≪ Previous: Ballet West's Showcase

Teac Damsa and Michael Keegan-Dolan Swan Lake (Loch na hEala) 18 May 2018 20:00 Lowry

It didn't start promisingly. A bare stage. A handful of musicians clutching their instruments. A chap in a tuque smoking a fag. A slightly flabby bespectacled middle aged gent in his underpants with a rope round his neck like a leash walking in circles and bleating occasionally. A lady in a wheelchair.

The house lights went down and sinister looking types in wide brimmed hats circled the semi-naked gent. After performing a ritual dance one of them tugged at the rope. The bleating quickened. They brought him to the floor, splashed water over him whipped him with towels but then they clad him in shirt and trousers. They led him to a chair with a microphone in the centre of the stage and sat him down.

"I won't say another word until I have a cup of tea" announced the man in the chair. Someone poured him a cup and handed it to him. The man in the chair asked for a cigarette and that was provided too. He began to tell his story and the man in the tuque and the lady in the wheelchair approached the front of the stage. From that point the story of Swan Lake emerged. My impatience and scepticism evaporated and I became absorbed.

The man in the tuque was the Siegfried of the tale though he was called Jimmy in this story. He was disorientated and depressed because he had lost his father and was about to lose his home where his family had lived for 300 years. He lived in the house with his disabled mother. It was his 36th birthday and she wanted him to find a nice girl and settle down. Instead of a crossbow she gave him his father's old shot gun. By now, gentle reader, you should be seeing parallels with the ballet. The parallels were not exact because the tale was set in modern Ireland but it was much closer to Petipa than David Nixon, Graeme Murphy or Sir Matthew Bourne.

The swans were four young girls who had been students at the local girls's secondary school. One of them, Fionnuala, had been ravaged by her parish priest who had also been the girls' divinity master and chaplain. Fionnuala's sisters caught him flagrante delicto. "If any of you breath a word of any of this", he threatened, "you will be turned into a filthy animal," That is what seems to have happened to the girls for they disappeared from home and were never seen again.

Jimmy went down to the lough with his gun one night with a view to shooting himself. Just as he was about to squeeze the trigger a swan swooped down and distracted him. A duet ensued between Jimmy and the Swan which was as tender as Petipa's.

Jimmy's mum threw a party for his birthday and invited every unattached girl in the neighbourhood plus the lecherous priest. The priest dragged a a big cardboard box onto the stage which contained a swan with black feathers that looked just like Fionnuala or the swan that had saved Jimmy's life at the lough. Jimmy tried to approach her but was repelled. He became distracted and retired to his home with his gun. A local councillor visited him. Jimmy appeared brandishing the gun. The councillor panicked and complained to the police. Firearms officers arrived at Jimmy's house. They ordered an unarmed Jimmy to place his hands above his head. When he failed to comply they shot him.

In the last scene the dancers tossed swans' down into the air. One of them menacingly swung a bin liner full of the stuff before emptying its contents over the front rows of the stalls. Clearly the audience loved the show for nearly everyone rose to their feet. Indeed, I loved it. Mancunians stand up for all sorts of shows for which I would never rise like Akram Khan's Giselle but they were right about Teac Damsa's Swan Lake. It may not have been ballet. It was not even all dance. But it was great theatre.

After the show the audience were invited to a dimly lit bar behind the stage that I never knew existed. It was furnished with cushions, easy chairs and lip-shaped balloons. Soft drinks were on sale for a pound and alcohol was not much more expensive. Three members of the band - a violinist, cellist and an electric viola player - serenaded us with traditional Irish music. At one point, a guest cellist called Mary joined the band on stage to sing a song about sorting socks. Many companies hold Q & A after the show which I always attend out of respect for the dancers. It is probably a mistake because it breaks a spell. I think audiences much prefer to remember the artists under the lights with makeup. Yesterday's after show concert was so pleasant. It will always remind me of this show.

Teac Damsa are at the Lowry for one more night. As I am in Move It! at The Dancehouse tonight (see Our Turn to Impress 16 May 2018) I can hardly recommend a rival show but if you get the chance to see this show anywhere else but the Lowry tonight you really must watch it.

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The Importance of Performance

May 20, 2018, 5:10 am

≫ Next: The Royal Ballet's Elizabeth at the Barbican: Where were her flowers?

≪ Previous: Teac Damsa's "Swan Lake" - it may not have been Ballet or even entirely Dance but it was great Theatre

I posted those words to Facebook just before we appeared on stage to give readers who have never danced in public some idea of the thrill of doing so. Possibly the anticipation of the performance is even more delicious that the performance itself. It is during those moments that the adrenaline begins to flow and a thousand thoughts slip in and out of the brain. We danced our piece. I don't think there were too many disasters. At least nobody shouted at us to get off or booed. We detected no flying tomatoes or rotten eggs. Or if any were thrown the aim of the person throwing such missile would have been worse than our dancing. We even got a clap at the end.

I didn't see any of the show because we were the third act of the second part but I did see the dress rehearsal and was very impressed. Particularly good this year were the repertoire class which presented their own original ballet entitled Pirates of the Caribbean choreographed by their instructor, Josh Moss. I do not yet have a clip of yesterday's performance of Pirates but here in a video of their entry into the kingdom of the shades in October 2016 which I reviewed in Pride. This film shows how good they are:

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That performance is all the more impressive when you consider that all the dancers have busy lives and meet only for a few minutes on Wednesday evenings. As usual, the Chinese dancers delighted me and the advanced ballet, intermediate and pointe classes thrilled me.

My Facebook post elicited a whole tas de merde, a "chookas" and several invitations to "break a leg" but also the following comment: "Sadly, I don't get to do an annual show, despite attending two schools." The student who posted that response was right to be sad because performance is so important to ballet education. As I said in my review of Hype Dance's Annual Show:

"Performances are important to dance education because ballet and kindred styles of dance developed in the theatre and are intended for an audience. The experience of appearing before a living, breathing (and paying) audience is delicious. I well remember the charge of excitement I felt in my first show which I tried to describe in The Time of My Life 28 June 2014. Every dance student from toddler to pensioner can and should feel that charge no matter how inexperienced or incompetent he or she may be. Most get that opportunity because almost every dance school worth its salt offers its students a chance to take part in its annual show. Training and rehearsing for that show is what distinguishes dance classes from dreary keep fit."

A flippant answer might be "Go find yourself another ballet school", but that would not be very helpful. I happen to know that one of the schools to which the dancer refers is rated as one the best in the country - at least for highly talented young students with the ambition and ability to make a career in dance. Also, that school is not the only fine ballet school not to offer its adult dance students a chance to perform on stage. Northern Ballet Academy did the same a couple of years ago which is why I spend at least one evening a week in Manchester even though there are outstanding teachers in Leeds and the Academy's timetabling is much more convenient

In Essex, Cornwall and other parts of the country, an opportunity to perform in public is offered by local amateur ballet companies. I think we need something like that in the North, That is why I hope we can launch Powerhouse Ballet. However, everything depends on whether we can get a reasonable turnout (in both senses of the word) at Jane Tucker's class in Huddersfield on Saturday.

If you want to come but have not already registered, now is your chance. This will be great class:

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The Royal Ballet's Elizabeth at the Barbican: Where were her flowers?

May 20, 2018, 5:28 pm

≫ Next: Grimm - an Interesting Collaboration

≪ Previous: The Importance of Performance

The Royal Ballet’s revival of Will Tuckett’s Elizabeth at the Barbican theatre starred Zenaida Yanowsky as Queen Elizabeth I and (her brother) Yury Yanowsky as her five suitors. A strong performance by both dancers was accompanied by Martin Yates’ score, which blended period and modern music performed by cellist Raphael Wallfisch and baritone Julien Van Mellaerts, and Alastair Middleton’s script read and performed by Samantha Bond, Sonya Cullingford and Katie Deacon.

The plot is a biography of Queen Elizabeth I portrayed through scenes of her personal and romantic life. The commentary, which blends contemporary texts and letters, including from the Queen and her suitors, has a refrain that tells us that Elizabeth loved little dogs, chess and dancing, and gives a detailed account of her last few days. The story takes us through five of Elizabeth’s relationships at different times of her life, continually emphasising how her commitment to her role and responsibility as monarch meant she did not feel she could also be a wife. However, it was interesting that despite depicting Elizabeth repeatedly prioritising her role as England’s Virgin Queen over several potential marriage opportunities, the script made only passing reference to the history and politics of the era that must have contributed to this decision. For example, I do not recall mention of the Spanish Armada, which historians have highlighted as her finest hour. To some extent it was ironic to see a strong female leader characterised by her love life, which by her own choice was unfulfilling and unfulfilled.

Having said that, it was an entertaining piece of theatre, with Zenaida Yanowsky portraying Elizabeth at different stages of her life with strength and sensitivity in scenes that were predominantly descriptive reportage rather than depicting actual events – although there were a few amusing acting cameos too.

Physically, as other reviews have said, Yanowsky was a fantastic casting, with her pale, delicate colouring perfectly suiting Fay Fullerton’s shimmering costumes, and her long, supple legs accentuating Tuckett’s lyrical choreography. Her performance of the aging queen was particularly strong. Yanowsky is a recently retired principal with The Royal Ballet, and a striking, exquisite dancer. I could see from the front of the stalls that the years have clearly taken a toll on her feet and her presentation of the decline of a beautiful, powerful woman was intensely moving.

Yury Yanowsky’s excellent interpretation of the witty and technically demanding choreography fitted the Elizabethan themes, readings and music perfectly and the unique characteristics of each suitor kept the audience smiling.

It was the final show of a four-day run at the Barbican theatre and it received a standing ovation, which Zenaida Yanowsky responded to with a short speech paying tribute to Tuckett, as well as the musicians and cast. I saw it with friends from my ballet class, and as amateur dancers we appreciated the demanding nature of the role and were sorry not to see her receive a similar tribute. “Where were her flowers?” asked one friend. I wondered too.

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