English National Ballet's other Giselle

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While I acknowledge the merit of Akram Khan's Giselle I am very glad that English National Ballet has revived Mary Skeaping's. Skeaping was the preeminent dance historian of her day, particularly on the early and romantic eras of ballet. I remember her recreations of The Return of Springtime and The Loves of Mars and Venus for the Royal Ballet's former outreach company, Ballet for All. Skeaping's Giselle was, as Luke Jennings noted in his review A Giselle to cry for (The Guardian, 14 Jan 2007)  "the product of several years of research." It is regarded as a particularly pure and authentic production of the ballet.

Skeaping created her version in 1971 and the English National Ballet has re staged it several times since. This production has therefore already stood the test of time and I am confident that it will be re-staged many times over the next 45 years and beyond. One reason for my confidence is that it has a strong, dramatic story in which the tension builds up steadily and relentlessly with its own logic, albeit premised on the strange belief system on which the romantic literature of the early 19th century was based. Another is that it retains Adam's hauntingly beautiful score that have been translated into the most beautiful movements with exquisite designs by David Walker and lighting by David Mohr as Patrick Baldwin's photos on the company's website show. It is easy to understand the critical press acclaim quoted on the trailer.

Would Skeaping's Giselle (or Sir Peter Wright's,  Rachel Beaujean and Ricardo Bustamante's or Yuri Grigorovich's for that matter) have stagnated or become a museum piece had it not been "re-imagined" by a leading contemporary choreographer for our times? I don't think so. As the website of the Dutch National Ballet notes:

"Giselle has no sell-by date. It’s timeless, just like the Night Watch’."

 A few sentences earlier the same web page explained the reason for the ballet's timelessness:

"Giselle is one of the most romantic works of the classical repertoire, but also one of the most challenging when it comes to dancers’ dramatic and emotional empathy. Its lively, colourful first act with the moving mad scene, and the ensuing unearthly, pure ‘white’ act, are still danced all over the world today. It is not without reason that Giselle is known as the ‘Hamlet of dance’."

Now just as there have been many versions of Hamlet over the years, new versions of Giselle are to be encouraged, and where they have merit, welcomed. I mentioned Mats Ek's and Dance Theatre of Harlem's Creole Giselle in Akram Khan's Giselle 28 Sept 2016 but I do not think that any of those interesting re-imaginings will ever divert the stream.

Those like me who have seen Akram Khan's Giselle on tour and yearn for Skeaping's have to make our way to London to see it. I shall be watching it with a friend from my adult ballet class in Manchester. It will be performed at the Coliseum between the 11 and 22 Jan 2017 and tickets are available from the box office and online. I shall review it after the 22.

Great News About Madame Kanikova

Author BenP
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In Never Better: Ballet Black in Leeds 16 Oct 2016 I acclaimed the return of Jose Alves and Marie-Astrid Mence but noticed that somebody very important was missing:

"But where was Kanika? She has such expressive features and a delightful sense of humour. Vlad the Lad will be devastated if Madame Kanikova has gone for good. So, too, will his granny. If she has indeed left Ballet Black I send her my best wishers wherever she is. I hope to see her back on stage soon - but even if that is not possible I wish her well."

Well actually I was told what had happened to Kanika Carr.  On 7 July 2016 Cassa Pancho posted the following announcement on Facebook that I together with 126 other people "liked":

"Our special #ThrowbackThursday is dedicated to Senior Artist, Kanika Carr who is leaving BB to join the Dance Theater of Harlem!
Kanika joined Ballet Black after graduating from Central School of Ballet, and was one of our first ever apprentices. During her six years she has performed in many, many ballets and worked with some of the best choreographers around - too many to name here! Here are just a few of her best moments...
GO GET IT, NEEKS!! ♥"

I became a fan of DTH when they first came to London nearly 40 years ago. I was in the audience on the opening night of their first season at Covent Garden and saw them perform on several other trips. They are a wonderful company with a great heritage. Several of my favourite dancers have performed with them. I am delighted that Kanika is now among their number.

One of Kanika's many roles was Madame Kanikova, the ballerina in Dogs Don't Do Ballet who managed to jam her head in a French horn. My little grandson, Vlad the Lad, attended the premiere of that ballet in Harlow and was very concerned at the fate of that distinguished artiste (see Woof 12 Oct 2014). He was delighted to learn not only that Madame Kanikova managed to extricate herself from her incumbrance as you can see from the photo above but also that she is still dancing. True, she will be quite a long way away, but we both have something to save up for. One little boy went to bed very happy ..... as indeed will his granny.

In the meantime ..............

Author BGVPipe
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............. congratulations and all the best dear Kanika!

A Ballet School for Freetown?

The Cotton Tree where the Sierra Leonean nation was founded

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Although ballet belongs to the world there are places where the muse makes its home. In the early 19th century that home was in Denmark. Later in the century the muse moved to Russia, Diaghilev brought it to Western Europe and in particular England and France. In the last century it made its way to the New World. Arguably it has now found a home in East Asia and in Latin America. I believe its next abode will be Sub-Saharan Africa.

There are already signs that that is happening. Arguably the most exciting company in the British Isles is Ballet Black. In America there is the magnificent Dance Theatre of Harlem and Alvin Ailey. In just over a week London audiences will be thrilled by the Sierra Leonean born dancer Michaela DePrince as I was when I saw her last November (see "The Junior Company of the Dutch National Ballet - Stadsshouwburg Amsterdam 24 Nov 2013"  25 Nov 2913), Finally there are initiatives like Anno's Africa's remarkable class in the back streets of Nairobi (see "What can be achieved by a good teacher" 3 March 2014),

According to The Guardian's Africa correspondent, Michaela DePrince "plans to return to Sierra Leone one day to open a school" (see "Sierra Leone war orphan returns to Africa en pointe for ballet debut" 16 July 2912).  DePrince has achieved so much in her short life that I have every confidence that she will realize that plan. We in this country are particularly well placed to help her to do so.

Sierra Leone is an English speaking country which was administered by our government until 1961. It is a member of the Commonwealth and many of its political, educational, commercial and cultural institutions are modelled on ours. There is a large Sierra Leonean community in this country two members of which will be accompanying me to the Linbury to see De Prince dance when the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company visits London on the 28 and 29 of the month.  I have a personal link with Sierra Leone in that I was married to a Sierra Leonean for nearly 28 years.

If children from DePrince's school wish to complete their training we have great ballet schools in London, Leeds, Glasgow and elsewhere where they can do so. The Royal Academy of Dance which accredits teachers and examines students is here.  Above all we have a massive and sophisticated audience for dance and out great companies have always been open to, and attracted, the best dancers in the world.

There must be a massive reservoir of talent in Africa and the prospect of watching it develop is exciting.

David Lister's Post on Ballet Black

I had intended to leave ballet alone this week. After all I have seen quite a lot of it lately - Ballet West's Swan Lake on 1 March, Matthew Bourne's on the 4th and Northern Ballet's Cleopatra on the 6th - and I have also written about Peter Darrell today. But I really must respond to David Lister's article "Ballet Black is a wonderful company. But it's a shame on the arts that it still exists"  7 March 2014 Independent Voices.

In that article Mr Lister wrote:

"Ballet Black has been delighting crowds and critics at the Royal Opera House this week. The company, founded in 2001 to create opportunities for dancers of black and Asian descent, has, according to our critic’s review, “never looked better”. They are good, so good that I want to pay them the ultimate and richly deserved accolade – they should be abolished."

He continued that Ballet Black's website states 

“Our ultimate goal is to see a fundamental change in the number of black and Asian dancers in mainstream ballet companies, making Ballet Black wonderfully unnecessary.”

And concluded

"Well, I’d say that after the reviews that this week’s performances achieved, it already is wonderfully unnecessary. If there is evidence that the big companies really are not recruiting talented black and Asian dancers, then it is imperative that we are given the evidence, and that the heads of these mainstream, and indeed national, companies are forced to explain themselves in public. The danger is that Ballet Black, understandably delighted with public and critical reaction, will strive less to make themselves unnecessary."

It is clear that Mr Lister abhors racism like all right thinking people. His article is no doubt written with the best of intentions but he is wrong. Ballet Black has never been more necessary than now. Not because black or South Asian dancers cannot get into other ballet companies as, clearly, they can and do. But because Ballet Black is claiming an art form that began in the courts of renaissance Italy and developed in imperial Russia for all cultures including (but by no means exclusively) kids from Bradford, Brixton and Moss Side.

The company is doing that in two ways. First, by bringing new audiences to the ballet.  I have seen Ballet Black three times at the Linbury, Leeds and Tottenham.  At the Linbury and Leeds there were perhaps a few more folk of African or South Asian heritage in the audience than one might see for a performance by the Royal Ballet or Northern Ballet but it was very much the same ballet going crowd. At the Bernie Grant Arts Centre there were very many more folk of African and South Asian heritage and from some of the conversations that I overheard in the queue for the loo and in the Blooming Scent Café it seems that it was for many their first experience of ballet. I might add that Ballet Black brings ballet not just to districts like Tottenham where there are many people of African and South Asian heritage but to places like Exeter, Southport and Guildford where there and relatively few.

The second way in which Ballet Black is claiming ballet for all cultures is through its school. That school like every other good ballet school in the UK is open to kids of all races, cultures and nationalities but it is clear from the photo on the website that a high proportion of its children are of African and Afro-Caribbean heritage. Why do such kids not audition for White Lodge, Elmhurst, the Northern Ballet Academy or some of the other fine schools of the country? Well some of them do but without dancers like Cira Robinson and Isabela Coracy to show those children and their parents that it is possible for folk who look like them to achieve excellence in ballet not to mention the inspiration of the wonderful Cassa Pancho they would do so in far fewer numbers.

I can testify from my own experience how important that is. Although I am white I was married to a Sierra Leonean for 28 years. During the vicious civil war we looked after a young Sierra Leonean girl who was fortunate enough to be born in London and could therefore take refuge in this country. That young girl is the nearest I have to a daughter and her 3 year old child is the nearest I have to a grandson. I love both of them to bits. The boy has a beautifully expressive face and in his play he has shown signs that suggest that he may have a talent for ballet. I suggested to his mum that we ought to take him to a ballet teacher. She replied by asking me whether ballet was really for Africans. I might add that she had already seen quite a lot of ballet by companies like the Royal Ballet and English National Ballet and loves the art. I answered her by taking her to the performance of Ballet Black that I reviewed on the 26 Feb. Having seen Ballet Black she has agreed to let me take the little boy to the Peacock on 13 April to see My First Ballet: Coppélia. If he likes the show she will let me take her boy to a mini-mover or baby ballet class and we shall see how he gets on from there.

For most of this article I have justified Ballet Black for their role in generating new audiences and education but there is an artistic reason why the company will never be wonderfully unnecessary. There are some ballets that people of African heritage can do particularly well either because the are based on African or Afro-Caribbean music or legend or simply because of features of their physique or countenance. That is why companies like Alvin Ailey and the Dance Theatre of Harlem continue to thrive in the USA. That is why there will always be a need for a company like Ballet Black in this country.

Related Articles

6 Oct 2013  "Ballet Black: 'we don't talk about stuff, we just do it.'"
12 Mar 2013  "Ballet Black's Appeal"

Some Unalloyed Good News: Dance Theatre of Harlem returns to Lincoln Centre

This short video from today's New York Times tells the story of the closure and revival of the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

I first saw this company when it performed at Covent Garden over 30 years ago and fell in love with it.   I was deeply saddened when it had to close its doors in 2004.  I am overjoyed that it is coming back to Lincoln Centre with a programme that includes Balanchine's Agon. With ticket prices ranging from US$25 to $125 I urge my US readers (and anyone else who can spare the time and cash for a flight to New York) to see them.

Their stars include Michaela DePrnce, an exciting young dancer who is not yet known in this country, about whom I blogged on Friday ("Michaela DePrince" 4 April 2013).

Like so many businesses in Silicon Valley this wonderful company was started in a garage.  Maybe I should clear out mine.

Ballet Black's Appeal

Writing in the Independent ("Dance review: Trouping the colour - Why Ballet Black puts on such a jolly good show" 9 March 2013) Jenny Gilbert opined:

"There should be no need for a company called Ballet Black, just as there should be no need for all-female political party shortlists. But there is, and for two reasons: to offer a platform for classically trained dancers of colour, particularly women, conspicuously absent from Britain's big ballet companies; and to provide role models for a rising generation of talented kids. But in the 12 years of Ballet Black's existence, it has found itself a third raison d'être. It's hard to think of another small company that even comes close to its turnover of new work."

I can think of a fourth reason and that is that there are some works that black dancers can do better than anyone else. I realized that when I first saw Dance Theatre of Harlem in London many years ago.

I have yet to see Ballet Black on the stage but I fell in love with the company just by watching this film of  Depouillage by Jade Hale-Christifi and Sarah Kundi on YouTube: Ballet Black, an associate company of the Royal Opera House, has just finished a successful season at the Linbury with a quadruple bill by Robert Binet, Ludovic Ondiviela, Javier de Frutos and Christopher Marney. The company is now taking the show on tour to Bracknell, Cambridge, Exeter and the Bernie Grant Centre in Tottenham. It has a school in Shepherd's Bush where the children are lucky enough to be taught by Cassa Pancho, the founder and artistic director of the company.

It is sad that the appearance of Tyrone Singleton and Celine Gittens in Swan Lake made news not just for their virtuosity which is self-evident but for their ethnicity (see "Birmingham Royal Ballet to make history" ITV website 4 Oct 2012) but that will change as the kids from Harlem, Shepherd's Bush and indeed Nairobi  come on stream.

Ballet Black is hoping to raise £60,000 for its 2012/13 season to help it  continue to support

• its brilliant and inspiring dancers, 
• its new choreographic work, and 
• its junior school and associate programmes, where it will develop the dancers of tomorrow.   

Apparently it costs £350,000 a year to run Ballet Black and any donation of WHATEVER size can make a difference to the future of the company, whether it's £1 or £1000. The company emphasizes that any support we the great British public can offer will be greatly welcomed.

Contributions can be made through Ballet Black's Just Giving web page.  Please dig deep.

Related Posts
"'Dépouillement' - another beautiful Pas de Deux by Kundi and Christofi" 22 May 2013

"What Makes Ballet Black Special" 20 May 2013