Up to t'Smoke

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Usually at this time of the year Northern Ballet takes a slot at the Linbury. Joanna Goodman saw them there last year and reviewed their performance in Mixed Programme with a Sweet Centre 14 May 2015. Unfortunately the Linbury is closed this year but Londoners can still see them in the capital.

On Mondayon 23 May 2016  Javier Torres will be the guest of honour at the London Ballet Circle. I will be in the front row of the audience to hear him speak.

Between 31 May and 1 June Northern Ballet will dance Jane Eyre at the Richmond Theatre. I am giving a talk on IP law and fashion in London on the 2 June so I will be in the audience on the 1st. My parents moved to Surrey from Manchester when I was very young and I spent most of my childhood and adolescence in that part of England. It is a lovely theatre overlooking the Green and I have fond memories of pantomimes in that auditorium.

One of the performances by Northern Ballet that I most enjoyed last year was Jonathan Watkins's Northern Trilogy and, in particular, Yorkshire Pudding.  For me that was one of the highlights of the Sapphire gala (see my reviews in Sapphire 15 March 2015 and Between Friends - Northern Ballet's Mixed Programme 10 May 2015). Watkins will be London Ballet Circle's guest on 6 June 2016. Here is a video of Watkins from last year (see Jonathan Watkins on Working with Northern Ballet).

After that interview Watkins created 1984 which I don't like anything like as much (see My First Impressions of 1984 12 Sept 2015, Watkins on 1984 14 Sept 2015 and 1984 Second Time Round  24 Oct 2015). However, Londoners will get the chance to judge for themselves as it will be at Sadler's Wells between 24 and 28 May 2016.

1984 Second Time Round

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Northern Ballet, 1984, Palace Theatre, Manchester, 17 Oct 2015, 19:30

As I had expected, I liked Northern Ballet's 1984 very much more the second time around. There are two reasons for that. The first is that I knew what to look out for having seen the show in Leeds on 11 Sept 2015 (see My First Impressions of 1984 12 Sept 2915). The second is that Isaac Lee-Baker and Dreda Blow came very close to my picture of Winston Smith and Julia.

There is only so much that the senses can absorb when one attends the theatre.  The first time I saw the show I concentrated on the plot in order to understand the ballet rather than the sound and movement through which the story was expressed.  There was a lot of movement in this ballet - the choreography, of course, but also spectacular electronic displays on a massive "telescreen". Knowing the sequence of the ballet I was better able to appreciate Jonathan Watkins's choreography, Andrzej Goulding's telescreen, Simon Daw's sets and costumes, Alex Baranowski's score and some exquisite dancing.

Lee-Baker as Smith and Blow as Julia were perfect casting in my recollection of Orwell's novel. Smith is a young chap, very impressionable and somewhat naive - the sort who might have been turned by Stalin had he worked in the Foreign Office in the late 1940s rather than the Ministry of Truth in 1984. Such a role requires a young dancer but one with considerable ability. A role tailor made for Lee-Baker who had triumphed as Friar Lawrence in Maillot's Romeo and Juliet earlier in the year (see Northern Ballet's Romeo and Juliet - different but in a good way 8 March 2015) and as Wilson in Gatsby last year (see Northern Ballet at its best: The Great Gatsby in Bradford 16 Nov 2014).

As I recall the novel, Julia is a temptress and I intend it as a compliment when I say that Blow was a very sexy lady. She is another dancer that I began to appreciate for the first time in Romeo and Juliet.  When I saw her as Juliet I wrote:

"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."

Julia is a very different role from Juliet but Blow was an excellent choice. She is perhaps Northern's best actor. She was sultry. She was seductive. She was my idea of Julia.

The third leading character in Watkins's ballet is O'Brien, the senior apparatchik who tricks Smith and Julia into dropping their guard and then betrays them. Javier Torres danced that role in September and he was excellent. He saved that show for me on that occasion.  Last Saturday it was Ashley Dixon who was a very different O'Brien but no less convincing. He projected menace and oiliness even in the privacy of his apartment when entertaining his young quaries with a silent telescreen.

It was good to see some of my favourites in the company - Hiranao Takehashi as Charrington, Jeremy Curnier as O'Brien's assistant, Victoria Sibson as the lead female prole and Rachael Gillespie, Abigail Prudames and Mlindi Kulashe who danced in the crowd scenes as party faithful and proles but still shone - as did all in the cast last Saturday night.

Orwell's satire is not an obvious choice for a ballet. In the Q & A that followed the show in Leeds on 11 Sept 2015 Watkins was asked why he had chosen that work as the subject of a ballet. He replied that

"he had read the book as a teenager and had been affected by it. He had contemplated how it could be translated into dance for some time. The same had happened with the Ken Loach film Kes which he first saw about the same time. That film resonated with him because it was set in the area in which he had spent his childhood. Last year he had the chance of stage it for The Crucible in Sheffield. By staging Kes and 1984 he had achieved two longstanding ambitions."

As you can see from the synopsis Watkins followed Orwell pretty faithfully. The sets, costumes, music, choreography, dancing came together beautifully. I don't think that this will ever be one of my favourite ballets but it it one that I now understand, appreciate and recommend.

The company will perform 1984 today in Sheffield for one last time in the North before they take it to the rest of the country. I had hoped to see it in Sheffield with Giuliano Contadini and Antoinette Brooks-Daw in the leading roles but they were dancing on the nights when Jane Tucker teaches the improvers and I was due to see Rambert at The Alhambra. Perhaps I can catch that cast at Sadler's Wells in May. Londoners tend to like Northern Ballet perhaps even more than we Mancunians and I am sure they will enjoy this show.

Watkins on 1984

The world in 1984

Author MichaelsProgramming

Source: Wikipedia

After Northern Ballet's performance of 1984 at the West Yorkshire Playhouse on Friday Jonathan Watkins agreed to answer questions from members of the audience.  The session took place in the Quarry auditorium where the ballet had been informed.

I had read up about Watkins earlier in the year because I liked his A Northern Trilogy and seen a number of videos in which he had appeared on YouTube. I was aware that he came from South Yorkshire, that he had trained at the Royal Ballet School and that he had danced with the Royal Ballet between 2003 and 2013. It occurred to me that Ernst Meisner, one of my favourite choreographers, would have been one of his contemporaries.

The session was opened by a lady whose name I forget but who I believe must have been Selina McGonagle for she introduced herself as Northern Ballet's Director of Learning. As she was chairing the session she reserved the right to ask the first question which was on how the concept of the ballet had changed since her first discussion with Watkins about the ballet several months ago. Watkins replied that there had been change largely to reflect the input of the dancers whom he praised very highly and the other members of the creative team. I got the impression that he had an outline in his mind but the ballet had developed organically.

As the chair had warned us that we had time for only 3 or 4 questions I stuck my hand up next.  As I said in My First Impressions of 1984 12 Sept 2015 the ballet had a very retro feel and I asked him whether that was intentional. I am not sure whether he asked for amplification or whether I volunteered it but I was thinking specifically of Miracle in the Gorbals and Job. Watkins knew Job but not Miracle even though it had been re-staged recently by Gillian Lynne.  He replied that that had not been his intention but he had been exposed to many influences through his training at the Royal Ballet School and his work in the company. If he was influenced  by anything it was the cinema. He mentioned several films that he admired including Kes which he had translated into dance and the Lego Movie. Indeed he mentioned the Lego Movie several times in different contexts in the Q & A.

The next question was on why Watkins had chosen 1984  and whether he had any other works in the pipeline. He replied that he had read the book as a teenager and had been affected by it. He had contemplated how it could be translated into dance for some time. The same had happened with the Ken Loach film Kes which he first saw about the same time. That film resonated with him because it was set in the area in which he had spent his childhood. Last year he had the chance of stage it for The Crucible in Sheffield. By staging Kes and 1984 he had achieved two longstanding ambitions. He did have other projects in mind but he did not want to announce what they were for the time being.

A lady behind me congratulated him on his love scenes which she described as "erotic". He acknowledged her praise and remarked that those are scenes that many people like best.

He was asked about his collaboration with the composer and whether he specified the music he needed. He confirmed that that was the way he worked.  He described the music as "a character in itself."

A gentleman congratulated him on his use of colour.  Watkins replied how the colours of the party members and proles had been chosen. They started with brown and developed into orangey reds.

A lady with a North American accent who was there with her daughter mentioned her daughter's amazement that the story had been told without a spoken word. I couldn't help reflecting that was the whole point of ballet and indeed all dance drama.  Watkins accepted that praise graciously.

He was asked several detailed questions about the transposition of the story and the characters from the book, why there were no children in the ballet and how he had maintained the tension of the story in the ballet. The last question prompted him to ask whether the audience felt he had maintained tension and he was told that he had.

All in all I found Watkins a very likeable chap with a good sense of humour. Because my senses were still overwhelmed by the marvellous gala I had seen in Amsterdam three days earlier (see The best evening I have ever spent at the ballet 13 July 2015) I probably didn't do justice to his work. Indeed it is unlikely that I would have done justice to anybody's work. Maybe I should have stayed away until Amsterdam had worn off but then I would have missed this Q & A with Watkins.

My First Impressions of 1984

George Orwell, Author of 1984

Source Wikipedia

Northern Ballet 1984 West Yorkshire Playhouse, 11 Sept 2015


In many ways Jonathan Watkins's 1984 was a howling success. Literally for there were whoops and cheers from the audience as well as lots of clapping. Several individuals rose to their feet.  And it was easy to see why for Watkins pressed all the right buttons.  Act I ended with just about the most explicit sex scene I have ever seen in ballet. The bedroom scene in Macmillan's Romeo and Juliet is demure in comparison.  A lady in the audience described that scene as "erotic" in the question and answer session with Watkins that followed the show and she was right. There were also brilliant visuals with the telescreens and an easy listening score from Alex Baranowski. Not quite sex, drugs and rock and roll but the nearest you can get in classical ballet.

No wonder this ballet has received such positive reviews:

"This is gripping storytelling" according to The Stage

"Northern Ballet's terrific new production" gushes The Guardian

"...an ambitious, compelling and, ultimately, moving new ballet" says The Telegraph.

And the tweets on the first night from members of the audience whose opinions I trust were even more generous.

So why aren't I searching my vocabulary for superlatives? I desperately want to do so because I love Northern Ballet and its dancers. Knowing how hard any dancer has to work from my feeble efforts at the barre I feel the deepest gratitude for their just stepping onto stage. I also have warm feelings towards Watkins - particularly after seeing his Northern Trilogy at The Sapphire gala and the mixed programme (see Sapphire 15 March 2015 and Between Friends - Northern Ballet's Mixed Programme 10 May 2015). There was definitely excellence in the choreography and the dancing by Tobias Batley, Martha Leebolt, Javier Torres and the ensemble. I have already commended the designs and score. And yet I left the West Yorkshire Playhouse asking myself "Is this it?"

It is horrible to write such things for I feel disloyal to the art form, company and dancers I love. I felt very much the same after seeing Christopher Wheeldon's The Winter's Tale for the Royal Ballet the first time (see Royal Ballet The Winter's Tale 14 April 2014) but eventually warmed to it after seeing it in the cinema and on TV (see The Winter's Tale - Time to eat my Hat 29 April 2015), I hope the same will happen with 1984 after I see it again in Manchester with the Swiss friend who brought the ballet to my attention (see Für Andrea - more Information on 1984 26 July 2015). Like The Winter's Tale the advance publicity that this ballet has received raised my expectations to impossible heights. I was also spoilt on Tuesday by watching some of the best dancers in the world at the Dutch National Ballet gala in Amsterdam and actually speaking to some of them at the party afterwards.

Another thing that bugged me is that 1984 was launched in the week that remotely controlled unmanned aircraft despatched two British citizens in Syria on the orders of the Prime Minister (see Cardiff jihadist Reyaad Khan, 21, killed by RAF drone 7 Sept 2015). That news followed by reports of surveillance by GCHQ (see GCHQ's surveillance of two human rights groups ruled illegal by tribunal 22 June 2015 Guardian) and the WikiLeaks revelations made me think that Big Brother has actually arrived. We even have telescreens nowadays for every laptop is equipped with a webcam and microphone. Orwell's novel was a satire of the increasingly authoritarian state of the 1940s where such things as targeted drone strikes and data mining were impossible but we are there now so why not update 1984 as a modern satire?

Watkins's ballet had a very retro feel. Indeed I was reminded of Gillian Lynne's re-staging of Helpmann's Miracle in the Gorbals  (see A Second Miracle 23 Oct 2014) and Ninette De Valois Job). I asked Watkins whether that was deliberate in the Q and A after the show. He replied that he knew Job but not Miracle in the Gorbals and if he was inspired by anything it was the cinema. He mentioned the Lego Movie several times in the session as well as Ken Loach's Kes which Watkins has also transformed into dance (see Kes on Jonathan Watkins's website).

Setting the ballet in 1948 rather than the present seemed to me to be a missed opportunity; but then who am I to say or even think such things. It was entertaining. As I said, there was excellence in the show. The folk who attended the Q & A took it at face value and really enjoyed it.  Don't let my reservations put you off seeing it.

1984 and All That - Northern Ballet's New Season

Sellar and Yeatman's 1066 and All That is one of the books that we all read at school.  George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four is another. Jonathan Watkins's arrangement of Orwell's novel for Northern Ballet opens to a full house at the West Yorkshire Playhouse on 5 Sept 2015 is the company's big ticket production for the new season. Northern Ballet has released this hour long video on YouTube with talks by Watkins, David Nixon, rehearsals, a pas de deux by Tobias Batley and Martha Leebolt and more.

After Leeds the production tours Nottingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Southampton culminating in a season at Sadler's Wells between 24 and 28 May 2016. My favourite venue for anything in Northern Ballet's repertoire is West Yorkshire Playhouse because it feels like the company's home. It is a stone's throw from Quarry Hill and the auditorium is so intimate. I have seen some lovely shows there in the past, notably A Midsummer Night's Dream on 14 Sept 2013 (see Realizing Another Dream 15 Sept 2013). Unfortunately, the West Yorkshire Playhouse season clashes with the Dutch National Ballet's opening gala in Amsterdam and professional commitments in London (see Triple Dutch 4 July 2015). If any of my readers would like to review the opening night I should be very grateful.  I will catch the ballet in Manchester or Sheffield with my Swiss friend who first dew it to my attention even though she does not go a bundle on ballet (see 1984 28 Feb 2015 and Für Andrea - more Information on 1984 26 July 2015).

Another new ballet in Northern Ballet's repertoire is the children's ballet Tortoise and the Hare which is choreographed by Dreda Blow and Sebastian Loe. Blow spoke briefly about her work for children in the panel discussion on narrative dance in ballet on 20 June 2015 (My Thoughts on Saturday Afternoon's Panel Discussion at Northern Ballet 21 June 2015). She told a delightful story about one child's reaction to one of her ballets. Although I had already admired her as a dancer I warmed to her ever more. Tortoise and the Hare opens at The Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre in Leeds on 22 Oct 2015. It will also be performed in Southampton on 6 May 2015.

Elves and The Shoemaker another children's ballet choreographed by Daniel de Andrade to music by Philip Feeney is touring Hull, Nottingham, Canterbury, Manchester, Woking, Newcastle and Bradford. I saw it in Huddersfield on 11 April 2015 and reviewed it in The Ballet comes to me 12 April 2015.

Also coming to Hull is Madame Butterfly which I described as Nixon's Masterpiece in my review of the opening night in Doncaster. Another popular Nixon ballet Wuthering Heights which I saw in Sheffield on 18 March 2015 is coming to Canterbury in October and Bradford in November. Northern Ballet's take on The Nutcracker where the Stahlbaums become the Edwardses is coming to The Grand between 16 Dec 2015 and 2 Jan 2016 after touring Woking, Newcastle and Norwich. I saw it twice and sort of half reviewed it in my IP law blog for solicitors and patent agents in Manchester and Liverpool (Cracking Nuts - Copyright in Choreography 24 Nov 2011 IP North West). Even more liberties are taken with Swan Lake which is coming to Leeds, Norwich and Milton Keynes in the new year. I saw it in Leeds with my late spouse first time round. We both regarded it as interesting in the sense of "May you live in interesting times".

Northern Ballet's Recruits

Northern Ballet has just recruited 10 new dancers (see Lauren Godfrey Introducing our new dancers 3 Aug 2015).

The following go straight into the corps: Jenny Hackwell, Natalia Kerner, Kaylee Marko, Archie Sullivan, and Alexander Yap.  Diego Barbosa, Paris Fitzpatrick, Genevieve Heron, Harriet Marden and Grace Robinson are apprentices. I am sure I speak for everyone in wishing them well.

It is strange to think of the company without Kenneth Tindall but all my other favourites remain and it is good to see Rachael Gillespie, Isaac Lee Baker and Abigail Prudames doing well.

This will be an interesting season with Jonathan Watkins's 1984 (see Für Andrea - more Information on 1984 25 July 2015 and Nixon's Swan Lake with its original story line. I saw it some years ago and while I admired the choreography I couldn't accept the tinkering with a well loved narrative.

Für Andrea - more Information on 1984

I mentioned my Swiss friend Andrea who is into just about everything except ballet in 1984 on 28 Feb 2015. Last September she emailed me this link with the words: "This is one ballet I might actually want to see." I promised to look out for it and give her the dates as soon as they were announced which is what I din in February.

Now I can give her so much more information because Northern Ballet have recently posted the trailer to YouTube that you see above. They have also posted the story, photos, touring schedule and lots of other information about the ballet to their website. We now know that Tobias Batley and Martha Leebolt will dance Winston Smith and Julia and there will probably be at least one other cast. Also, meine liebe Andrea, Sie haben die Informationen. Wollen Sie diese Ballett sehen? Oder nicht?

I had some misgivings about whether Orwell would translate into dance but it is the same choreographer who made us laugh at Albert and the Lion in Sapphire. If anyone can pull this off it is Jonathan Watkins. So we await the first performance with bated breath. Where next for Watkins and Northern Ballet? Wigan Pier perhaps.

Not all my mates are balletomanes. I have a Helvetic friend in Golcar who is into cats, Dr Who, politics, mobile phones, brisk walks in the country, English literature, German conversation, cheese, meat free cooking  - you name it she knows about it - a real polymath - just about everything except ballet. So imagine my joy and surprise when she identified a ballet that she would like to see.

That ballet is 1984 by Jonathan Watkins to a score by Alex Baronowski which Northern Ballet will dance in  Leeds, Nottingham, Manchester and Sheffield this Autumn. I can't tell you much about it. Here is a quote from Northern Ballet's website:

1984

"Winston Smith lives in a world of absolute conformity, his every action is scrutinized by Big Brother. However, when Winston meets Julia he dares to rebel by falling in love.
Based on George Orwell's masterpiece and created by Guest Choreographer and former Royal Ballet dancer Jonathan Watkins, 1984 will change the way you think about ballet.
With a brand new score from Tony nominated Composer Alex Baranowski played live by Northern Ballet Sinfonia, see this iconic classic reimagined for a modern audience.
Tickets for the World Première at West Yorkshire Playhouse are on sale from Friday 27 February by calling 0113 213 7700."

I am eager to learn about the casting.

Who will dance Winston Smith? Poeung perhaps? Or maybe Broadbent or Bates.  Or possibly Watkins will bring on some of the younger talents like McCaig.

And who will be Julia?  My choice would be Bateman or Gillespie.

Tindall would have been an obvious choice for O'Brien but he will leave the company on 2 May 2015 (see Kenneth Tindall 28 Feb 2015).

Northern Ballet promises that "1984 will change the way you think about ballet". It has already done that with someone I know.