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York Grand Opera House

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A lot of anniversaries fall on 29 July. It was my father's birthday. It was the day I was called to the Bar. It was the day I was married.  And it was also the day almost 10 years ago that I first saw two outstanding young students from Hull who turned out to be brother and sister at the Yorkshire Ballet Seminar Gala at the Grand Old Opera House in York.

I am talking, of course, about Xander and Demelza Parish.  I did not blog about dance in those days so I have to rely on Charles Hutchinson's Review: A Summer Gala of Dance and Song, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday 31 July 2007 The Press to remind me who else was there. Samara Downs, Marianela Nunez, Wayne Sleep, Anthony Dowell, Lauren Cuthbertson. Big names! But the two that stick out in my memory are still Xander Parish and his sister Demelza.

"Those two will go far," said my late spouse who was an even bigger ballet fan than I am. "Especially the lad. In 10 years time, he will be topping the bill at Covent Garden".  Today I read Zoe Anderson's review in The Independent:

Swan Lake, Royal Opera House, London, review: Xander Parish reaches stardom

The first British dancer to join the Mariinsky Ballet was promoted to principal after his performance on the opening night of the St Petersburg company's 'Swan Lake'

Well, how about that! 

Sadly, my spouse did not survive long enough for that prophesy come true. Very shortly afterwards symptoms of a disease developed which was later diagnosed as motor neurone or Lou Gehrig's disease and my spouse died in March 2010. But I have lived to see it and while I am not in the least surprised by Xander Parish's elevation I could not possibly be more delighted.

The 29 July used to be a day of joy. After many of the people associated with the good times died it became an anniversary of sadness. And what with missile tests in Korea, the US government practically tearing itself apart, the Russians imposing sanctions, the Chinese building fortresses in the South China Sea not to mention Brexit there's precious little joy about.

But Xander Parish's news made me smile and not for the first time. I once had the pleasure of meeting him at the London Ballet Circle and I hope to do so again at 19:30 on Wednesday 2 Aug at the Civil Service Club at New Scotland Yard next door to the Nigerian embassy, The meeting is open to the public and only costs £5 for members and £8 for the rest. See you there.

First Impressions of The Little Mermaid

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Northern Ballet  Beneath the Surface  26 July 2017 18:00 Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre

I attended David Nixon's presentation of extracts from his new ballet, The Little Mermaid, which, ironically, Northern Ballet will premiere at one of the most southern venues in the United Kingdom on 21 Sept 2017. From the little bits on show last night, it looks quite promising.  The presentation was recorded and is available on Northern Ballet's YouTube channel which I have embedded above so you can make up your own minds about the show.

What I enjoyed particularly last night was the music which is by Sally Beamish. As Nixon said. she wrote the score for David Bintley's The Tempest which I described as "enchanting" in my review of the 8 Oct 2016, I also liked some of the extracts, particularly the solo when the mermaid. danced by Abigail Prudames, discovers her new legs. Stranded on the shore she experiences pain for the first time. Prudames communicated that sensation chillingly. Much as Edvard Munch does in The Scream.

Yesterday's presentation was very different from Casanova Unmasked in Feb when Kenneth Tindall appeared with Nixon and his dramaturge, John Kelly., with Kerry Muzzey listening in from Los Angeles. Except for the dancers and the Q & A at the end, it was very much a one man show. I guess that is because Nixon is his own librettist as well as his own costume designer.

Hans Christian Andersen's stories have inspired at least two other works this year: Sir Matthew Bourne's Red Shoes which has recently finished its UK tour and Paul Chantry's Sandman for his own company which will launch in September.  I know of at least one other version of The Little Mermaid, namely Christopher Moore's for Ballet Theatre UK which I reviewed in Pure Delight - BTUK's Little Mermaid in Southport 27 April 2014. This is not a happy story but then not all ballets are. La Bayadère is not exactly a bundle of laughs and nor is Giselle, Romeo and Juliet or Swan Lake.

I was intrigued by at least one aspect of the scenario which Nixon did mention in his speech and I was surprised that nobody asked it in the Q & A.  I did get the chance to put it to Nixon at the reception which followed the presentation. The questions that were asked were not all that probing. Patsy-patsy stuff about whether dancers really do feel pain - try one of the Academy's adult ballet classes, madam, then you'll know. Another question seemed to be about the health and safety issues of doing Macmillan and some other choreographer.  Nixon responded by discussing the artistic challenges in shifting from one choreographer to another which was much more interesting, The questioner intervened to say that he had answered the question that she had intended to ask. "I know you so well," he replied kindly.

The Little Mermaid will snake its way round the country between opening night and Leicester on 8 May 2018. No plans to open in London or Manchester (or even Salford) and it will not hit Yorkshire until the 26 Nov when it will open in Sheffield followed by a stint in Leeds.

Dance and Diplomacy: Britain's IP Attaché to China will visit Northern Ballet

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Ever since Northern Ballet moved from West Park to Quarry Hill I have been looking for an opportunity to introduce the company to my connections in intellectual property (see Ballet and Intellectual Property - my Excuse for reviewing "Beauty and the Beast" IP Yorkshire 31 Dec 2011).

The opportunity arose when Mr Tom Duke, our IP attaché in Beijing, asked me to recommend a venue for a talk that he plans to give in Leeds on 19 Sept to business owners and their professional advisers entitled Succeeding in China - Mitigating the IP Risk. I could think of no better place than Northern Ballet' boardroom in its premises at Quarry Hill.

I suggested that venue for several reasons.

First, the building is magnificent, one of the finest new structures in the city. The view of Leeds from the boardroom is breathtaking.

Secondly, Northern Ballet creates a lot of intellectual assets such as choreography, costumes, musical scores, performances, properties and set designs which are protected by copyrights, rights in performances and unregistered design rights and the Northern Ballet brand is a valuable trade mark for all kinds of merchandise. The company performs regularly in China where it uses all those intellectual assets. It, therefore, exemplifies the topic of Mr Duke's talk.

The third reason for my suggestion is that letting fees and catering services are a source of revenue for the company. It helps to fund dazzling new productions.

Finally, I hope that some of the business owners, lawyers, patent and trade mark attorneys and other professionals may be tempted to return for a show at the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre or even a class at the Academy which I am sure they would enjoy enormously.

If any of my readers would like to attend the talk on 19 Sept it is free. Give me a ring on 020 7404 5252 or send me a message through my contact form.  The event starts at 09:30 with registration and networking.  Mr Duke will deliver his speech at 10:00. I will also speak briefly about the things you should do here before you leave for China. There will be opportunities for one-to-one discussions with all sorts of business and professional advisors. The event will end at midday so that Mr Duke can grab some lunch before his next appointment in Barnsley.

I have also written about the event in NIPC News and IP Yorkshire if anybody is interested.

23 July 2017	Jane Lambert	IP Rights in China	NIPC News
21 July 2017	Jane Lambert	Meet our IP Attaché to China	IP Yorks

Citrus Arts Savage Hart

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Citrus Arts Savage Hart 22 July 2017, 19:00 Oakwell Hall, Birstall 

To stage an open air performance of a show combining aerial displays and dance in the grounds of an Elizabethan manor house using the building as a backdrop was an ambitious project and risky one given the uncertainties of the British climate. Most of yesterday was delightful in Yorkshire in contrast to the previous two days, but at 19:00, just as the artists in Citrus Arts's Savage Hart were mounting the stage a dark cloud appeared and refused to shift for the whole performance. To its credit, the cloud retained most of its moisture until the last few minutes of the show but then the heavens opened and the monsoon began.

Nobody moved throughout the performance despite the constant dripping even when those drips turned into drizzle. That says all you need to know about the quality of the show. The audience was charmed.  Our attention did not stray once until the performers took their bow.

The story was very simple. A bullet headed baron (Zeph Gould) was in the habit of hunting deer and sticking their heads above his mantelpiece much to the chagrin of his wife, Marianne, danced by Krystal Lowe. The spirits of those deer, danced by Luke Bradshaw (the stag), Hannah Darby (the doe) and Charlotte Dawson (the buck), revolted against this slaughter of their species and haunted tne baron. In that scene, the British weather actually assisted the artists because the flashing of the lights in Oakwell Hall combined with spooky music and a breeze that made the bare flames flicker under a threatening sky actually made my nerves tingle and my flesh creep. The haunting seemed to have worked for the baron and his wife donned deer heads in the last scene and danced with the spirits while moss, twigs and wild flowers enveloped the stage.

The show is not new as you can see from the video above. It was first staged for the theatre and it toured Wales to big audiences and critical acclaim as I mentioned in my preview, Juicy, yesterday. The video suggests that there was a choir in the theatre. There were no singers yesterday but there was a live band consisting of Simon McCorry and James Minas Blight. I liked the music although I could only see one of the musicians from my position on the path a few yards to the left of the stage.

My only regret is that I did not get a chance to express my appreciation of the show to the performers in person. I particularly wanted to say hello to Krystal whom I have followed ever since I first saw her in Romeo a Juliet at Kendal over 4 years ago (see They're not from Chigwell - they're from a small Welsh Town called Newport 14 May 2013). I was so pleased to see her in the cast list that I blurted out "Krystal Lowe is dancing tonight" and "Toi toi Krystal" on Facebook which drew an immediate "like" from Anna Pujol, another fine dancer who deserves to go far, and the chair of the London Ballet Circle who is at least as much a fan of Krystal as I am.

Incidentally, yesterday was not the first time that I had seen Krystal in an open air show. She danced with Ballet Cymru and Gloucestershire Dance in Mark Brew's Stuck in the Mud through the streets and on the beach of Llandudno which I reviewed in An Explosion of Joy 21 Sept 2014. That review contains a very precious photo of her dancing with Mandev Sokhi, another very special dancer whom I was lucky enough to meet a few days before he died.

Just like the storm at the end of the first act of La Fille mal gardée everyone including the Creative Scene and Oakwell Halls officials scattered in the rain. I couldn't find a stage door or anyone who could take a message to the artists so this blog post will have to do. Well done Citrus Arts. I knew you were good from your work with Ballet Cymru but I now see what you can achieve on your own. I will follow your website and attend more of your shows whenever I get the chance. I hope the weather did not spoil your visit, that you had (or will have) a comfortable and speedy journey back to Wales and that we may welcome you back very soon.

Juicy

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In two of their most successful productions, The Light Princess and Cinderella, Ballet Cymru have collaborated with Citrus Arts. They are another Welsh company that contribute circus skills to dance and other performing arts. Right now they are in my neighbourhood - Oakwell Hall to be precise - where they are performing Savage Hart in the walled garden.

The show is staged by an organization called "Creative Scene" which describes itself as the Arts Council England Creative People and Places project for West Yorkshire. You can find out more about them from a report by Professor Steve Swindells of Huddersfield University. According to Creative Scene's website, Savage Hart is about some deer that have watched over the dining hall of a cruel man of his times and are now putting their antlers together to form a plan.

According to the blurb

"aerial artistry, ballet and circus combine to create this bewitching tale of a 19th century aristocrat, haunted by the ghosts of his past."

The production has been nominated for "Best Dance Production at the Wales Theatre Awards" which says a lot.

I learned of this show quite by chance from Krystal Lowe who announced it briefly on social media. Krystal is already one of my very favourite dancers and her career seems to be blossoming in akk directions. As well as dancing for Ballet Cymru, she teaches at the University of South Wales and is now branching into choreography. I believe she also teaches ballet to adults on Monday evenings.  I have been badgering my clerk for months to fix a hearing at the Patent Ofice or the Cardiff Business and Property Court on a Monday so that I can attend Krystal's class.

I don't know whether Krystal is dancing tonight but, if she is, it will be the icing on the cake. The week started out well with a brilliant class from Karen, gathered momentum with another great one from Fiona and coincided with my 1,000th post to Terpsichore. What better way to end a week than watching one of my favourite dancers!

My Thousandth Post

A thousandth post is something of a milestone I think you will agree.  It deserves a special article to celebrate the occasion.  I have been thinking about the best way to do it and I think a retrospective of the most memorable performances of each of the last four and a bit years would be appropriate. So here goes.

Without a doubt, the most memorable performance of 2013 was the launch of the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company's tour of the Netherlands at the  Stadsshouwburg in Amsterdam on the 24 Nov 2013 (see The Junior Company of the Dutch National Ballet - Stadsshouwburg Amsterdam 24 Nov 2013 25 Nov 2013). I had come to Amsterdam to see Michaela DePrince who had joined the company a few months earlier. I had already heard of her because of her success at the Youth America Grand Prix in 2010 and the critical acclaims she had received in South Africa and New York but I was particularly fascinated by her Sierra Leonean origin as I had been married to a Sierra Leonean national for nearly 28 years.

When I saw DePrince dance I described her as "quite simply the most exciting dancer I have seen for quite a while." I have watched her progress in the Dutch National Ballet from élève to soloist with enormous satisfaction for I get the impression that she is a very likeable young woman as well as a fine artist.  I once had the pleasure of meeting her at the opening night gala of the 2015/2016 ballet season and "I left the Stopera thinking how that exceptionally talented young dancer was as gracious off stage as she is magnificent upon it" (see The best evening I have ever spent at the ballet 13 Sept 2013).

DePrince led me to the Junior Company and its remarkable artistic coordinator Ernst Meisner whom I featured a year later (see Meet Ernst Meisner and his talented young dancers 6 Dec 2014) and he, in turn, led me to the Dutch National Ballet which is one of the best companies I have ever seen. That company performed the most memorable performance of the 4 1/2 years that I have been keeping this blog, namely Natalia Makarova's La Bayadère with the excellent Sasha Mukhamedov in the title role on the 13 Nov 2016 (see Dutch National Ballet's La Bayadere 14 Nov 2016). Once in a while, a ballerina shines in a role with such brilliance that she makes it her own. Fonteyn did that for me many years ago in Marguerite and Armand as did Sibley as Titania in Frederick Ashton's Dream.  For me, Nikiya will always be Mukhamedov.

Of course, Fonteyn might not have shone so brightly in that role had it not been for Nureyev. Sibley was always partnered magnificently by Sir Anthony Dowell. Similarly, Mukhamedov had the most gallant Solor in Jozef Varga. There were many other fine dancers in that matinee including Daniel Robert Silva who danced the bronze idol. He is a man to watch. He first came to my notice in Meisner's No Time Before Time on 14 Feb 2016 which is the best birthday treat I have ever had and he impressed me again on 26 June 2017 in Cristiano Principato's Purcell Variations (see New Moves 2017 27 June 2017).

The shows that impressed me most in 2014, 2015 and 2017 were all by the Birmingham Royal Ballet. They were Gillian Lynne's atmospheric reconstruction of Sir Robert Helpmann's Miracle in the Gorbals which I saw at Sadler's Wells on 18 Oct 2014 (see A Second Miracle 23 Oct 2014, David Bintley's The King Dances at the Birmingham Hippodrome on 20 June 2015 (see A Special Ballet for a Special Day 23 June 2015) and Ruth Brill's Arcadia also at the Hippodrome on 21 June 2017 (see Birmingham Royal Ballet's Three Short Ballets: Le Baiser de la fée, Pineapple Poll and Arcadia 22 June 2017).

The first two of those works were reconstructions though I suspect Miracle in the Gorbals would have been quite an accurate one as Dame Gillian had been in the original production even though she and Henry Danton have said that they cannot recall a single step. However, the score has survived as has the libretto and images of the sets and costumes. The ballet would have evolved had it remained continuously in the repertoire so I think we are as close to the original as we are to the original of any other ballet. We have Dame Gillian to thank for another great work, namely A Simple Man which marked the centenary of L S Lowry's birth.  It was the first work by Northern Ballet that I saw after I returned to the North in 1987 and it remains my favourite offering from that company. One of the reasons why I love it so is that it was the last time I saw Christopher Gable and Moira Shearer on stage. I hold both of them in the highest possible esteem. Shortly after I saw that ballet, Gable became artistic director of the company and his term of office was unquestionably its golden age.

Bintley's The King Dances was quite different. Less of a reconstruction because the original pageant lasted all night. More an homage. But an impressive one all the same. Several 17th-century conventions were observed in that nearly all the female roles were danced by men and the stage appeared to be lit at times by torches. But the score was new and, of course, so was the lighting at the end of the ballet that radiated Louis's majesty more effectively than anything available to the royal household at the time. The premiere of the show coincided with the 25th anniversary of the company's move to Birmingham and the 20th of David Bintley's appointment as artistic director. It was danced with Carmina Burana, one of Bintley's most popular ballets.

Brill's Arcadia is a masterpiece. I knew she was talented from Matryoshka but Arcadia reveals brilliance. It is a complex work full of historical, mythical and literary allusions. Any choreographer would be proud of such a work but when one takes into account Brill's youth it is nothing short of prodigious. I am impatient for Brill's next new ballet....... and the next ... and next.

These were the five best shows I have seen since I started the blog but they are not the only precious moments. I have met some lovely people through ballet - great teachers in Manchester, Leeds, Huddersfield, Sheffield, London and even Budapest, delightful classmates at all those venues and particularly those in Manchester, knowledgeable ballet lovers in person through the London Ballet Circle and the various friends groups to which I belong as well as many more online through Facebook, twitter and BalletcoForum. I have listened to some impressive presentations and interviews by dancers, choreographers, composers, designers and administrators many of whom I have interviewed for this blog. I have had the opportunity to dance before a living, breathing and paying audience in Leeds and Manchester (see The Time of my Life 28 June 2014 and Show 14 May 2017) and thanks to the ever patient Jane Tucker I have had a go at dancing cygnets, Juliet, knights, shades, Siegfried, sugar plum, swans, guests at the Stahlbaums' party and even a golden idol.

All that within months of the expiration of my three score years and ten expiring. Could anyone wish for anything more?

Just as most Adult Ballet Classes are folding up for the Summer, here's one that's opening

Photo Huddersfield University~
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At a time of the year when many adult ballet classes are winding down for the summer, it is great to hear of one that is opening up. Today and for the next four Thursdays, Fiona Noonan will run an open adult class at Huddersfield University Sports Centre between 11:00 and 12:00.

Fiona is an excellent teacher. She trained at Queensland Ballet Academy in Brisbane which is the ballet school for Li Cunxin's company that made such a memorable impression on critics and audiences when it brought La Sylphide to London in 2015 (see A dream realized: the Queensland Ballet in London 12 Aug 2015). She then danced with a number of companies around the world before settling in the United Kingdom. She, therefore, brings two rare qualities to her teaching. A rigorous pursuit of excellence and an attention to detail which I have noticed in other Australian trained teachers such as Adam Pudney at Pineapple and more than a little stardust from the stage that some of my favourite teachers at Northern Ballet Academy and KNT also scatter.

I have attended Fiona's classes at The Base Studios and Team Hud in Huddersfield and at Hype Studios in Sheffield (see More than just Hype - Beginners and Improvers Classes in Sheffield 14 May 2014).  They are not easy.  She pushes her students to their limits and then some. But that is exactly what a ballet student needs whatever his or her age or natural ability. I have also learned some important lessons from her. "Ballet is a harsh mistress", I once heard her tell a promising young student " and she is wanting and waiting for you to fail."  Like most balletomanes, I had associated dance with tiaras and gravity defying leaps but the reality is graft, sweat, pain and on more than a few occasions physical danger. Something that requires will, determination and resilience even if you are just taking an adult ballet class. Transferable qualities, incidentally, if you are lucky enough to enjoy your job and have no plans to quit just because you have reached pensionable age.

So if you come to her class this morning you had better pack a towel with your leotard or sports kit because you can expect to sweat. If this is your first class you will be allowed to dance barefoot. However, if you plan to stay the course and invest in some shoes there is a dance shop in the Byrom Arcade called "Mr Frog Dancewear".

For those who do not know the campus, the Sports Centre is in a new building called "Student Central" where you will also find the students' shop and cafeteria. It is almost opposite Sainsbury's car park and there are two multi-storey car parks on the other side of Queensway. The Sports Centre is one floor down and you have to report at the front desk. I don't yet know how much Fiona will charge for her classes but it was £5 two years ago. Most other ballet schools in the North charge between £6 and £8. Well worth it for a fair dinkum touch of stardust, mate. Gooday.

Jumping for Joy

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I described Jump two years ago in Jump 11 July 2015. It's a fan club for young ballet fans with its own website but it is also an open day called Dansdag when kids take over the Stopera. This year it fell on 24 June and I am told by people who were there that it was particularly good this year.

Judging by this film it certainly seems to have been. Most ballet companies run special activities for children and young people but this must be one of the best.

Montpellier Danse

Hans van Manen by Bibi Neuray

Reproduced with permission of the Dutch National Ballet

Tonight, Hans van Manen will be created a Commandeur des Arts et Lettres, France's highest distinction in the arts at the Montpellier Dance Festival. That festival, which runs from 23 June to 7 July 2017, is an annual festival of contemporary dance which started in 1981 by the Montpelier city council and the National Choreographic Centre which was then run by Dominique Bagouet (see Festival Montpellier Danse in Wikipedia).

The festival attracts some of the biggest names in dance such as Lucinda Childs who is coming to Manchester on Thursday (see Manchester International Festival 3 July 2017) and the Dutch National Ballet who are performing tonight. To coincide with the presentation to van Manen, Dutch National Ballet will dance several of his works.

The Company's artistic director, Ted Brandsen, paid warm tribute to van Manen in an interview in Ted Brandsen / Dutch National Ballet : Hommage à Hans van Manen - Programme 1 & 2. In that same interview Brandsen was asked to say a few words about his company and where the company recruited its dancers.

I have been following van Manen for as long as I have been following ballet. Of the greats of my youth - Ashton, MacMillan, Balachine, Cranko - he is the only one who remains, Fékicitations to the new Commandeur but also to the company who will be dancing as I type.

Congratulations to Delia Matthews

Delia Matthews

Photo Andrew Ross
© 2016 Birmingham Royal Ballet: all rights reserved
Reproduced wth kind permission of the company: 

Ever since I saw have bravely and professionally she exited the stage of the Grand Opera House in York when she must have been in considerable pain or discomfort, I have been a fan of Delia Matthews (see Birmingham Royal Ballet in York 23 May 2015). I am therefore delighted that she and Tzu-Chao Chou, another favourite dancer, have become principals of the Birmingham Royal Ballet.  I congratulate both of them and wish them all the best for the future.

Heartiest congratulations also to Arancha Baselga and Yasuo Atsuji who become first soloists, Miki Mizutani who is now a soloist and Laura Day and Alys Shee who are now first artists. Best wishes to them too.

Welcome to  Elisabetta Formento and Lynsey Sutherland who join the company from the Estonian and Polish National Ballets and also to Haoliang Feng, Augustus Payne, Harry Wright, Brogan McKelvey,
Hamish Scott, Claudia Nicholson and Jade Wallace who have recently graduated from their respective ballet schools. I congratulate each and every one of them on landing jobs with a great ballet company. I shall follow their careers with considerable interest.


Joseph Caley and William Bracewell will leave the company - Caley to join English National Ballet as a principal and Bracewell the Royal Ballet as a soloist. I congratulate them on their new appointments and wish them well with their new companies.  Sadly, we sat goodbye to Jamie Bond who retires from ballet to take up a new career in sport in which I wish him every success,  Lewis Turner and Alexander Bird who will join the Berlin State Ballet and Emily Smith and Johanne Monfret. Many thanks to each of them for the pleasure that they have given us and good luck for the future

New Moves - The Photos No. 2

Dutch National Ballet, New Moves 26 June 2017 Amsterdam

Photo Michael Schnater |(c) 2017 Dutch National Ballet All Rights ReservedReproduced with kind permission of the company 

Another great photo by Michael Schnater from last Monday's New Moves by the Dutch National Ballet.  More to come in the course of the week

Manchester International Festival

Available Light                                                       Standard YouTube Licence


Manchester International Festival, our city's biennial arts festival, is in full swing. Between the 29 June and 16 July 2017, there will be a massive choice of events in the following fields:

• COMEDY
• DANCE
• DIGITAL
• FAMILY
• FILM
• FOOD
• FREE
• IMMERSIVE
• MUSIC
• RADIO
• TALKS/DEBATES
• THEATRE
• VISUAL ARTS

Albert Square has been transformed into a village of tents, pavilions and other temporary buildings and has been renamed "Festival Square" where almost every type of street food was on offer.  Gita and I checked out Festival Square last night and I can recommend Heathcote & Co. and Life Bakery (see  Five foodie questions: Heathcote & Co and Staff of Life Bakery on the Festival website).

One of several dance events is Available Light which takes place at The Palace between 6 and 8 July. This is a collaboration between the choreographer Lucinda Childs, the composer John Adams and architect, Frank Gehry. The work is described as "a perfect fusion of music, movement and art," and as "a landmark in American dance." According to the website:

"Available Light beautifully unites the distinct visions of its three creators. Gehry’s designs playfully subvert convention, setting a backdrop of chain-link fencing against a stage split over two levels. Adams’ hypnotic soundtrack pulses out in waves, subtly blending acoustic brass with synthesisers and electronics as it anchors the movements of a dozen dancers. And Childs’ intricate, mesmerising choreography, playing with notions of space and time, is a brilliant distillation of the minimalist aesthetic that has long kept her work at the cutting edge."

I found the clip of the work on  YouTube which appears above.

Wikipedia describes Childs as a post-modern dancer and choreographer whose compositions are known for their minimalistic movements yet complex transitions.  It adds:

"Childs is most famous for being able to turn the slightest movements into an intricate choreographic masterpiece. Her use of patterns, repetition, and dialect has caused her to have a unique style of choreography that is often imitated for its ability to experiment."

Adams's work includes Nixon in China and The Death of Klinghoffer which has been the subject of considerable controversy because of its subject matter.

Duchy Ballet's Auditions for the Anniversary Nutcracker

Later today Duchy Ballet, Cornwall's classical ballet company, will hold auditions for its annual show at Poltair School in St Austell. The timetable and other particulars of the auditions appear on the Info page of the company's website. I hope everyone who takes part has a good day.

The company will dance The Nutcracker in March which it first performed in 1998.  According to the Performances page

"Duchy Ballet was formed to celebrate the opening of a long awaited theatre in Cornwall in November 1997. Our first production just three months later, with a live orchestra, and professional soloists was 'The Nutcracker'."

As it will be the 20th anniversary of that first performance, next year's show is likely to be special. I shall make every effort to attend and review it.

I wrote about the company in Ballet in Cornwall 17 Sept 2017 when I was on holiday near Looe last year. In that article, I discussed Cornwall's cultural identity based on a strong literary and musical tradition upon which the company has drawn from time to time for the subject matter of its ballets. At that time I had not actually seen the company but I took an interest in it because I have connections with Cornwall having spent two significant periods of my life there as well as many holidays.

I saw Duchy Ballet for the first time last March when it performrd The Sleeping Beauty.  I was very impressed as you can see from my review, Cornwall's Coup: Duchy Ballet's Sleeping Beauty 19 March 2017.  The lead roles were danced by Tom Thorne and Laura Bosenberg of the Cape Town City Ballet but, as I noted in my review

"....... the company had its own stars. Terence Etheridge, who choreographed the show, was a magnificent Carabosse in the tradition of Robert Helpmann. The lilac fairy (danced, I think by Alabama Seymour) was delightful. Matthew Phillips was a great bluebird and he was partnered well by Amy Robinson. Jasmine Allen was a charming white cat. I need to credit the wardrobe, those who made the sets, the lighting designer - I could go on but it's late and I have a long journey tomorrow. The company won a standing ovation for its performance and that is all I need to say."

I later learned that Seymour had been offered a place at Rambert's school which delighted but did not surprise me at all (see A Spark of Excellence 23 March 2017).

Even though Truro is not a big city and Cornwall does not have a large population, the performance that I saw was well attended and there had already been others earlier in the day and the day before.  I mention that because the info page mentions sponsorship and advertising opportunities which must be worth considering for businesses based in, or doing a lot of business, in Cornwall.

Finally, the company relies on volunteers for technical, wardrobe, chaperoning, front of house and other jobs. I can say from experience that preparing for a performance is always great fun.  If you live in Cornwall this is your opportunity to experience the excitement of the theatre.

KNT Summer Intensives

In her article "We’re a Bunch of Adult Ballet ‘Super’ Commuters!" 1 July 2017, Wendy McDermott wrote:

"It was about this time last year that I started to look for ballet Summer intensives for adults, as I had seen so many advertisements for young people to attend the same, for a week or more. Disheartened by what I thought was very little opportunity for adults to dance beyond their class of 60-90 mins per week, I tweeted a comment expressing my (I guess) frustration at becoming invisible as an adult dancer. This turned out to be one of the best things I did, as, through various new followers and chatting with other dancers (and more thorough research on the internet), discovered many more opportunities to dance than I could have imagined."

The intensive to which I think Wendy refers was La Bayadère taught by Jane Tucker of Northern Ballet Academy. We both attended it last year and enjoyed it tremendously.  Here is my write-up La Bayadere Intensive Day 3: No Snakes 17 Aug 2016.

Not only did I enjoy the intensive but I also appreciated the Dutch National Ballet's performance of the ballet in which Sasha Mukhamedov danced Nikiya and Jozef Varga Solor so much more. In my review of that performance, I wrote:

"Having recently attended a three-day workshop in Manchester to learn bits of the choreography from Jane Tucker of Northern Ballet Academy I had a personal interest in this ballet (see La Bayadere Intensive Day 3: No Snakes 17 Aug 2016). As the experts performed the steps that Jane had taught us my fingers traced the steps. It was like the icing on the cake, the fulfilment of last August's intensive. I felt even more chuffed with myself for attending the intensive than I did in August,"  (see Dutch National Ballet's La Bayadere 14 Nov 2016).

Now KNT, which offers classes in the studios of the Northern Ballet School in  Manchester, proposes another series of intensives in jazz, musical theatre and contemporary as well as ballet in August. The ballet intensives will be taught by Jane Tucker again.  As I have noted more than once, she is an excellent teacher.  She has already taught me Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet and The Nutcracker as well as La Bayadère.  

These intensives tend to fill up quickly so if you want to join Wendy and me at the barre, get in touch with Karen Sant through her Facebook page.

We’re a Bunch of Adult Ballet ‘Super’ Commuters!

Wendy McDermott

If you live in a small town, chances are there are few opportunities to take part in adult ballet classes, let alone dance of any style. It would be my guess that most local dance schools focus their time and attention on dance for school age children and very little beyond that. Needless to say, those of us that have the freedom and facility to do so, travel many miles each week in search of classes to suit our age, level, ability and so on. Granted, an adult class may range in age from 18 to 70 years or more, however, it’s the love of the form that keeps us coming back for more. For some, it’s not just the chance to share a studio with their peers, but it’s a place where friendships are formed, nurtured and held dear. A recent straw poll amongst fellow adult ballet dancers revealed that some of us make a round trip journey of between 18-65 miles for our regular class, travelling up to an hour at a time per single journey.

The lengths we’ll go to for our art doesn’t rest there. Some of us have travelled from the North/Yorkshire to Manchester, Birmingham and London to take part in drop-in classes, one-day workshops to three-day intensives and rehearsals for shows. I think you’ll agree that’s quite a commitment and shows just as much dedication as our younger counterparts (not least by the number of leotards, ballet skirts, leg warmers and other dancewear we ‘need’ to buy – dear friend you know who you are and I’m doing my best to catch up).

It was about this time last year that I started to look for ballet Summer intensives for adults, as I had seen so many advertisements for young people to attend the same, for a week or more. Disheartened by what I thought was very little opportunity for adults to dance beyond their class of 60-90 mins per week, I tweeted a comment expressing my (I guess) frustration at becoming invisible as an adult dancer. This turned out to be one of the best things I did, as, through various new followers and chatting with other dancers (and more thorough research on the internet), discovered many more opportunities to dance than I could have imagined.

If you’re one of those people seeking new adventures in your personal ballet journey then I guarantee that those who’ve taken the plunge will say they wouldn’t miss it if at all possible. I’ve read blogs and had conversations at class where dancers feel that they’re not improving, but I believe (and I’m sure there’ll be some research somewhere to back up the belief) that the more you spread your wings; experience new environments, new teachers, you’ll soon start to notice some improvement in your dance. It might only be small – maybe better coordination of port de bras with the steps, or pick up a dance combination just that little bit quicker. But then return to your regular class and you’ll notice your improvement straight away.

Happy dancing folks!

New Moves - The Photos No. 1

New Moves 26 June 2017,

Photo Michael Schnater
(c) 2017 Dutch National Ballet All Rights Reserved
Reproduced with kind permission of the company 

I reviewed last Monday's New Moves gala on 27 June 2017. I have now received some lovely photos by Michael Schnater of the performance from Richard Heideman, the company's press manager which I shall publish over the next few days. Here is the first which I believe to be a shot from Clotilde Tran-Phat's In Limbo. More tomorrow.