Ballet Black post Johnson - Still a good performance but something was missing

Author Jynto
Reproduced with kind permission of the author

Ballet Black Dopamine (You make my levels go silly), Captured, Red Riding Hood 18 Nov 2017 Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre Leeds

If anyone is interested, the photo above is a model of a molecule of dihydroxyphenethylamine or dopamine. It appears above because I can't use a lovely photo of  José Alves and Marie-Astrid Mence in Michael Corder's House of Dreams that I received just after I had published my review of Ballet Black's triple bill in Nottingham and which I had been saving for my review of their performance in Leeds.

I should begin this post by congratulating Damien Johnson on joining the Suzanne Farrell Ballet in Washington DC. I wish him every success with that company. Damian was my Outstanding Male Dancer of last year. Ironically, the last time I saw Ballet Black coincided with Damien's tenth anniversary in the company (see All Hail to the Lone Star Dancer 23 June 2017). Had I known in June what I know now, I would have queued at the stage door to shake his hand as he was one of the most exciting dancers on the British stage. He is an American so I suppose it is only right that he will now delight audiences in his native country as he delighted us. I am told by David Murley who attended the Red Riding Hood workshop in February that Damien is a good teacher.  I had several opportunities to attend one of his classes.  I now feel like kicking myself for letting those opportunities slip.

I surmise that one immediate impact of Damien's departure is that the company no longer had a second man for House of Dreams.  It substituted Dopamine (you make my levels go silly) which is a duet. It was danced beautifully by Cira Robinson and José Alves. I had last seen it four years ago when José partnered Sayaka Ichikawa on a previous visit ti Leeds (see Ballet Black is still special 7 Nov 2013). The rest of the programme proceeded as advertised with Martin Lawrance's Captured and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Red Riding Hood.

It was a good performance. Ballet Black retains excellent experienced dancers and has a very promising recruit in Ebony Thomas.  Mthuthuzei November wowed us with his flirtatious virtuosity as he had wowed the Nottingham Playhouse and the London Barbican.  Sayaka was an excellent Red Riding Hood adding a soupcon of fun and naughtiness to her veneer of innocence. Grandma was as funny and dazzling on pointe as ever.  The cast danced their hearts out and they were rewarded with hearty applause.

Yet something was missing and that something was Damien.  Ballet Black has lost some fine dancers in the past such as Sarah Kundi and Kanika Carr who seemed irreplaceable at the time but it always recovered stronger than ever.  The company will no doubt get over the loss of Damian in time but he will be the hardest gap to fill.

This is Ballet Black's last performance in the North. They will appear in Portsmouth on the 21 which seems to be the last stop on their current tour. If you live or happen to be in Hampshire or Sussex on that day I urge you to see them.  They will then work on their 2018 season which will include a revival of Arthur Pita's A Dream Within a Midsummer Night's Dream. The company was recently nominated for the best creative artist in the Black British Entertainment Awards. They have recently achieved National Portfolio funding from the Arts Council England.  They are still a fine company and those like me who wish to support them can do so by subscribing as a Friend.

Beautiful Ballet Black

Yesterday I received this very welcome message from Cassa Pancho:

"Dear Jane

We are delighted to be returning to the main stage of the Barbican in March with our new triple bill!

This year, we are presenting a new ballet by the celebrated British choreographer, Michael Corder who has created a sparkling new quartet, House of Dreams to the music of Debussy, a re-staging of our 2012 audience hit, Captured created by Martin Lawrance and our story ballet is Red Riding Hood, choreographed by the multi-award winning Annabelle Lopez Ochoa who gives us a fairy tale with a surprising twist (and helium balloons!) with costumes from Yann Seabra who designed our fabulous Swarovski tutu for Cristaux last year.

We have over 3000 seats to fill, so please help us spread the word! If you can't make it to London, take a look at our Spring tour dates at the end of this email.
Barbican triple bill premiere: 2nd-4th March 2017: https://www.barbican.org.uk/theatre/event-detail.asp?ID=20245

We look forward to seeing you at a show soon!

Best regards from Cassa & all at Ballet Black"

There followed a list of venues where they are going in the first half of this year.  The list includes Finchley, Winchester, Worthing, Birmingham, Ipswich, Salisbury and Nottingham (see the Performances page of their website for full details). Nowhere in the North as yet but they usually visit Leeds in the Autumn and there is every hope that they may be tempted back to the CAST and Lowry.

Michael Corder is described by the Birmingham Royal Ballet as "one of Britain's most successful choreographers and directors" who has created over 50 original works which have been performed by The Royal Ballet, The Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, The Royal Danish Ballet, The Dutch National Ballet, The Boston Ballet and The Norwegian National Ballet and many others. He studied at the Royal Ballet School and joined the Royal Ballet in 1973. As a dancer, he performed many leading roles with the Royal Ballet and also as a guest artist with other major companies.

Martin Lawrence is an associate choreographer with Richard Alston Dance Company.   He trained at Coventry Centre for the Performing Arts and London Contemporary Dance School. He danced with Richard Alston Dance Company from 1995 - 2007 and was appointed rehearsal director of that company in 2007. His first commission was  Thimble Rigging for the Meltdown Festival in 2000. Since then he has created work for Richard Alston, Scottish Ballet and Ballet Manilla as well as Pendulum, Captured and Limbo for Ballet Black. I reviewed Limbo in Extra Special - Ballet Black at the Linbury 26 Feb 2014 27 Feb 2014 and mentioned it again in What could be more thrilling than a Ride on a Roller Coaster? A performance by Ballet Black! 24 May 2014, Best Ever - Ballet Black at the Nottingham Playhouse and Ballet Black at Home in Leeds 7 Nov 2014.

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa is a freelance choreographer based in Amsterdam. She trained at the Royal Ballet School in Antwerp and danced with various Europen companies before specializing in choreography in 2003 (see her Biography page on her website). Her works include A Streetcar named Desire for Scottish Ballet which I reviewed in Scottish Ballet's Streetcar 2 April 2015.  Cassa's description of Little Red Riding hood is intriguing and I look forward to comparing Lopez Ochoa's version with Darius James and Amy Doughty's for Ballet Cymru which I saw in Newport on 21 May 2016 (see Ballet Cymru's Summer Tour 22 May 2016) and Cardiff (see Ballet Cymru's "Sleeping Beauty Moment" 5 Dec 2016) and which David Murley reviewed in Little Red Riding Hood comes to London 2 Dec 2016).

On 25 Feb 2017 Lopez Ochoa will hold a one-day practical workshop on Red Riding Hood for students in higher education and training, emerging artists and professionals which will explore ballet technique generally and the repertory of the new ballet.  The cost is only £65 plus a 60p booking fee and the fee includes a ticket fo the show. There are also a number of bursary places.   To apply for a place

"Please send a CV (feel free to include images/video links) and a short written statement (200 words) on how this Weekend Lab will benefit your practice to: weekendlabs@barbican.org.uk
The closing date for applications is 5pm on Friday 27 January; you will be notified one week later if you have been offered a place."

That seems like a golden once-in-a-lifetime-never-to-be-forgotten opportunity to me and I wish everyone who applies for a place the very best of luck. If I were an able young dancer I would jump - nay perform grands jetes en tournant, tours en l'air and any number of entrechats - at that chance.

Finally, I could not leave a discussion of Ballet Black without reminding my readers that Damien Johnson was one of my outstanding male dancers in 2016. As it is not easy to compare a principal in a company like the Royal Ballet, Dutch National Ballet or the Bolshoi with a senior artist of a specialist company like Ballet Black I divided the award into two, one for principals and soloists of major companies who dance leading roles in full-length ballets and the other for the rest.

I did not draw a similar distinction for women dancers but partly because I did not have time but mainly because I could not decide between Cira Robinson, Sayaka Ichikawa and Isabela Coracey all of whom are outstanding.  All I can say is that it would have been one (or more likely all) of them.

I don't think I would be flattering them or exaggerating by saying that Ballet Black is one of the most attractive companies in any of the performing arts that I have seen in over 60 years of theatregoing.

Ballet Black at the Barbican

Barbican Centre

Author Tom Morris (Talk)
Creative Commons Licence
Source Wikipedia

                  

Ballet Black, Triple Bill, Barbican, 19 March 2016

Since 2008, I have followed Ballet Black. Every year since then, I have attended their Linbury season at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Without fail, Ballet Black always continue to amaze, inspire and leave me with an effortless feeling of elation when I leave the auditorium post-performance. This year marks Ballet Black’s first season at the Barbican in The City, London while the Linbury undergoes refurbishment. The company executed a programme from commendable and accomplished choreographers, Arthur Pita, Christopher Marney and Christopher Hampson – each choreographer bringing something unique and palatable to the table.

Pita’s piece, Cristaux, began the show. After the curtain went up, Ballet Black company Senior Artist, Cira Robinson, melted across the stage with her fluid bourées. Robinson, adorned in a blinged-out eye-catching tutu designed by Yann Seabra, was the star of Pita’s choreographic celebration. Noticeable Balanchine influences ran throughout the piece, which were utterly beautiful to watch. Unfortunately, I, personally, feel Pita’s creation needed to bake a bit more. All the necessary ingredients are there for success, choreographic and dance talent. However, Pita’s goal by not always having the dancers match the music to Steve Reich’s Drumming Part III needed tightening up. For the fresh observer, this did not always translate. Crisper transitions, which can still be done subtlety, from rhythmic footwork to intentionally off-beat attack (which is much more difficult to rehearse than one would imagine) would help the metamorphosis of this piece into the jewel it is meant to be.

Next on the programme was To Begin, Begin by Christopher Marney. Telling a clear story throughout of which begins with a woman walking under a wave to later be found by her soul mate who transcends from above is satisfying to watch. Ballet Black Senior Company Artist, Sayaka Ichikawa, has attack, tenderness, elegance and overall artistry from top to bottom. Her partner, fellow company member and Senior Artist, Jacob Wye, was strong and a compliment to Ichikawa from beginning to end. Seeing many of Marney’s works on Ballet Black and Ballet Central here in London and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, he has a gift to tell a story that is effortless to follow letting you get lost in the moment and enjoy the theatrical experience at hand. Marney has a craft for creating beauty. One suggestion I have would be to see this talent, Marney, begin to take a few more risks. He has a powerhouse of technicians at his disposal in Ballet Black. Clean and elegant are Marney’s forté. Going beyond what Marney is naturally good at and pushing to that next level would be intriguing and a must see.

Concluding the Barbican programme was Storyville by Scottish Ballet Artistic Director, Christopher Hampson. Storyville was first created on Ballet Black in 2012. Since then, Hampson has expanded the piece. This has worked and was just as enjoyable to watch in 2016 as it was in 2012. It is difficult to pin point particular character’s in Hampson’s choreography as every company member on stage brought their talents to the table and delivered. Each company member standing out in their own right in their own character, shining like the soloists they are. I would like to point out the pairing of Senior Artists Cira Robinson and Damien Johnson was pure magic. Both dancers are originally American with American training behind them. Their American technique became more pronounced as they whirled and dazzled through Hampson’s enchaînements and partnerwork in unison. This is absolutely a good thing. For a brief moment, I thought I was in New York City at Lincoln Centre when Robinson and Johnson would take the stage together. Thank you Cassa Pancho and Christohper Hampson for brining these two artists together.

Overall, the programme is strong and very enjoyable to watch. Ballet Black is a company of eight strong links where not a single one falters with each pulling its own weight bringing their technical and artistic delights to each choreographic creation. Lighting design by David Plater complimented all three pieces in the company’s triple bill, simply beautiful and tasteful. I would also like to mention First Year Company Apprentice, Joshua Harriette, is definitely one to watch. Keep up the good work, Harriette. Your charisma shines through. I look forward to the company’s next performance, and hope all involved have received a well deserved break before the next show! Go and see this fantastic company and support them. Well done!           

Le chien mal gardé

Another great performance by @BalletBlack. This time I studied the detail of @chrismarney's choreography and @Cirabesque's dancing.
— Terpsichore (@jelterps) April 19, 2015

I have always admired Cira Robinson's dancing ever since I first saw her at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre nearly two years ago. I have seen her in a variety of roles, most recently in Mark Bruce's Second Coming where I wrote:

"There was a pas de deux to Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor which had me reaching or a tissue. Partly it was the memory of Jacqueline du Pré but mainly it was the fluidity and delicacy of Cira Robinson's dancing. She is a wonderful dancer. A true ballerina in the strict sense of the word. I exchanged a few words with her too after the show and she is as gracious off the stage as she is when dancing. There were some spectacular turns and jumps which must have been fun to dance, I suggested. "Yes, so dramatic and different from everything else we have dome before" came the reply."

Last Sunday, she danced a red setter and she was magnificent.

Anybody who has ever kept a dog knows how endearing they can be but also how exasperating. They love having their tummies rubbed.  Bif's pleasure was palpable as she was petted by his mistress Anna. But they have minds of their own. They will stand immovable nose down at something unmentionable despite the entreaties and the commands of their owners. Bif did that too.  They are so affectionate in the way they wake a recumbent human. Ripples of giggles as Bif jumped into the lap of the dozing ballet teacher or licked her awake. They have minds of their own. If they want to follow their young mistress to a ballet class or even to a ballet there is no stopping them. Everything about Robinson's performance reminded me of Tiger, the border terrier with which I shared the first 11 years of my life.

There was some real dancing too. With the dalmatian preening himself in the mirror and of course the final pas de deux in which Bif saved the show. Even the stern Miss Polly who had no time for dogs at the barre - especially dogs in tutus rose to her feet at the reverence.

Although today's article is an appreciation of Cira Robinson it falls on the birthday of one of Ballet Black's other stars, Damian Johnson. I am sure all my readers will join me in wishing him many happy returns of the day.