News from Chelmsford

Chelmsford Shire Hall

Source Wikipedia

I am very proud to be a non-dancing associate of the Chelmsford Ballet Company. As I noted in The Chelmsford Ballet  16 Dec 2013 it is one of the oldest ballet companies in the UK tracing its history to 1947 which is well before Festival, Scottish, Northern and just about everybody except Rambert and the London and Birmingham Royal Ballet companies. I saw a wonderful production of The Nutcracker in March. The company's patrons are my favourite living British choreographer Christopher Marney and one of my all time favourite dancers, Doreen Wells, or perhaps more properly The Marchioness of Londonderry.

I have just received the company's newsletter and they are in jubilant mood as well they might. They had an excellent run at The Chelmsford Civic Theatre when they danced to packed house at every performance. They can now look forward to dancing in their own Marney ballet between 18 and 21 March as well as John Cranko's Pineapple Poll. Before then they can look forward to the Lets Make a Ballet workshop for young dancers on 19 Oct 2014 and the annual Music for Christmas concert of the Hutton and Shenfield Choral Society at the Brentwood Centre on 20 Dec 2014.   I might also add that they have yet another treat from my part of the world in that Northern Ballet Academy's Cara O'Shea will take the next company class. I have been lucky enough to take a class with Cara and I learned a lot from her.

The company has just stated to market its own merchandise which includes ladies and gents' dance wear at very reasonable prices, I think I may get myself some of that.