Mel's Record Attempt

My friend, Mel Wong, hopes to break the world record for the total number of continuous grands battements which was set by Jeanne-Carlin Cilliers in South Africa on 5 March 2005 (see the Guiness World Record website). As good a definition of a grand battement as any is offered by Wikipedia's glossary of ballet terms:

"a powerful battement action where the dancer passes through dégagé and "throws" the leg as high as possible, keeping it straight, while the supporting leg also remains straight."

"Battement" is itself defined as "beat" and "a beating movement of the working leg". I can tell you from bitter experience that grands battements are not easy - well I don't find them easy - and Ms Cilliers accomplished 1,199 of them before her leg crashed through the roof and entered geostationary orbit.

Mel aims to do 1,200 - rather her than me - at Hype Dance Studio in Sheffield on 22 Aug at 16:30. She is appealing for support on Kickstarter. She is raising funds to for her advanced training at Trinity Laban but she also hopes to contribute to the Cats Protection League and Macmillan Cancer Care.  By coincidence there's a photo of the cat with the longest feline fur on the Guiness website

I wish her all the best.

Dutch National Ballet Junior Company: "Twelve Outstanding Talents" and "Stars of the Future"

I just spotted this trailer on the Dutch National Ballet's Facebook page which I "liked" along with the entire population of the Netherlands from King Willem-Alexander downwards. However I have actually seen these dancers on stage and they are even better in real life than they are in the video ("The Junior Company of the Dutch National Ballet - Stadsshouwburg Amsterdam 24 Nov 2013" 25 Nov 2013). 

The video contains glimpses of the ballets that I saw in Amsterdam and reviewed in my post. There are a few words of Dutch which is not a language that I have ever studied but it is not very different from English and if you know some German you are well away.  My educated guess is that the first sign says "Twelve Outstanding Talents"  - or if it doesn't it could have done - and the second refers to "Twelve Stars of Tomorrow" and that is certainly true.

Although I am trying very hard to persuade the powers that be to invite them to England they seem to have their work cut out touring the Netherlands. They have already done Spijkenisse. Amsterdam and Heerelen and they are in Gouda tomorrow. After that they are taking a break until March when they are on the road again. It is well worth crossing the North Sea to see them. If you live anywhere in the near continent, what are you waiting for? 

Post Script 15 Dec 2013

Michaela dePrince and Sho Yamada of the Junior Company danced the pas de deux from Diana & Acteon at the Stadsschouwburg in Amsterdam as part of the Netherlands' tribute to Nelson Mandela early this afternoon. I really wish I had heard of it in time to be there.  I can think of no better offering for a remarkable leader who probably spared his country, possibly his region and maybe the world, from a bloodbath.