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?

The Tempest

Birmingham Royal Ballet, The Tempest, The Hippodrome, Birmingham, 8 Oct 2016, 19:00

Even before the curtain rose I knew I was in for a treat. The clues lay in the blue curtain with its lines suggesting a swirling ocean with a tiny bejewelled model barque in the centre together with the cries of seagulls and a gentle lapping of waves. The lights dimmed and the silhouette of a seemingly floating figure approached the model and carried it away. The curtain rose and the scene changed to a ship's bridge with jolly, dancing mariners whose mood swiftly changed as flashes of light indicated that their ship was entering a storm.

It often takes time for me to get to like a new ballet. It took two years for me to appreciate Christopher Wheeldon's The Winter's Tale (see Royal Ballet "The Winter's Tale" 14 April 2014 and The Winter's Tale Revisited - Some Ballets are better Second Time Round 20 April 2016) and I am still not there with Jonathan Watkins's 1984 (see My First Impressions of 1984 12 Sept 2015 and 1984 Second Time Round 24 Oct 2015).  The Tempest is different in that it was love at first sight. I think it is my favourite work by David Bintley so far. In fact, I can't remember a time when I was as excited as I am now about a new British full length ballet since the days of Sir Frederick Ashton.

David Bintley's libretto follows Shakespeare pretty faithfully (see "The Plot" in Wikipedia's entry on The Tempest). It makes powerful roles for Prospero, Miranda, Ferdinand, Ariel and Caliban. Prospero's masque for Miranda and Ferdinand provides a splendid opportunity for a delightful divertissement that included charming dancers for Ceres and Juno as well as other classical deities. The antics of the drunkards provide another opportunity, especially when they discover the dressing up box in Prospero's cave after which they are set upon by a pack of dog shaped spirits. 

Although the ballet - like the play - is about raw human emotions such as greed, resentment, ambition as well as love it is leavened by those divertissements.  The need for such relief in the form of divertissements was understood by Petipa and indeed by Ashton and Bintley as it was by Shakespeare. The complete absence of such relief, as in Akram Khan's Giselle, makes for a very drab work indeed. As I noted in my review of the remake:

"At least in the traditional Giselle there are some happy bits such as the crowning of Giselle as harvest queen. There was nothing like than in Khan's. Just a morose folk dance for the landlords who were heralded by blasts that sounded like factory sirens or perhaps fog horns. Very intense and just a little depressing."

The freshness and exuberance of the work continued even into the reverence which was a little ballet in itself. The dancers did not simply bow or curtsy.  They danced into their applause. This performance really did deserve a standing ovation and I was one of several who rose at the curtain call.

Last night, Prospero was danced magnificently by Iain Mackay, Miranda delightfully by Jenna Roberts and Ferdinand plaintively by Joseph Caley. Mathias Dingman was a great Ariel and Tyrone Singleton a fine Caliban. It was good to see Michael O'Hare as Alonso and Céline Gittens as Ceres and Delia Matthews as Juno and Prospero's wife. There was superb character dancing from James Barton a the jester and Valentin Olovyannikov as the drunken butler.  As I say so frequently whenever I see this magnificent company, everyone in the show danced well.

Bintley's choreography was (as always) sparkling. There were spectacular chaînés and  fouettés for Ariel, beautiful pas de deux for Ferdiand and Miranda after they first met and as their love developed, delightful dances for Ceres and Juno and plenty of arabesques and opportunities to admire the corps. According to Gerald Dowler's programme note this ballet had been 30 years in the making and the reason for the long gestation is that Bintley had been waiting for the right composer. Quoting Bintley, Dowler wrote:

"I heard Sally Beamish's music in 2012 and it all seemed to fall into place."

It was well worth the wait. Beamish's score was enchanting. I particularly liked her use of the flute to indicate voices or underscore excitement. Equally impressive were Rae Smith's designs. The waves and ship were even more realistic than in The Winter's Tale. The peacock throne was especially impressive. All the more remarkable as the sets have to be portable as this ballet is to be taken on tour.  Combined with Bruno Poet's lighting, something close to magic was created on stage.

Now this ballet really will last. It was created in collaboration with the Houston Ballet Foundation and the Houston Ballet will present it to American audiences in Spring.  If I know Americans - and as a graduate of one of their finest universities and have made many trips to their shores I think I do - they will relish this production at least as much as I do. So, too, will audiences in the rest of the world.

How Arts Council England supports Dance

Ballet Rambert performing "Peter and the Wolf" at a wartime aircraft factory

Author Ministry of Information
Source Imperial War Museum

Reproduced under Imperial War Museum Non-Commercial Licence

In Dancing in the Blitz: How World War II Made British Ballet David Bintley explained how how the Second World War was the making of British ballet. In that programme Bintley focussed on the work of Ninette de Valois and the Sadler's Wells Ballet which is understandable as he is artistic director of one of its successor companies but it should never be forgotten that the Ballet Rambert also contributed considerably to maintaining morale by visiting military installations and factories as the above photograph shows (see Our History on the Rambert Dance website).

Even though we faced invasion, nightly bombing and scarcities of all kinds the preservation and promotion of the arts were considered sufficiently important for the wartime government to establish the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts in 1940.  Under the chairmanship of the economist Lord Keynes, the Council supported performances by dancers and other artists throughout the second world war. According to Arts Council England's website, the Council funded 46 companies in 1945 (see John Maynard Keynes and English Ballet 3 March 2013).

The Council changed its name to the Arts Council of Great Britain in 1946 and continued to support the arts in peacetime until 1994 when it was replaced by Arts Council England and its counterparts in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Arts Council England was established by a royal charter dated 30 March 1994 which has been renewed and amended several times.  It receives money from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the National Lottery which it invests in accordance with its framework agreement of 29 Oct 2012. Between 2015 and 2018, we will distribute £1.1 billion from the government and some £700 million from the National Lottery to the performing arts. Its funding programme is  summarized in the YouTube video Arts Council England - Our funding ecology and explained in detail in Great Art and Culture for Everyone its strategic framework for 2010 to 2020. The bulk of the Arts Council's funding goes to national portfolio organizations and major partner museums and a spreadsheet which can be downloaded from this page shows the distribution to those organizations and museums.

Approximately 22% of national portfolio funding goes to the Birmingham Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Northern Ballet, Opera North, the Royal Opera House and the Welsh National Opera. Arts Council England has published an analysis of its investment in large-scale opera and ballet (see Arts Council England’s analysis of its investment in large-scale opera and ballet Briefing and Outline). The ostensible purpose of that analysis is

"to understand how these organisations could best be served by likely future levels of investment ..... to be sure that investment decisions would represent best value for public funds, in order to address the needs of the companies and to meet the expectations of audiences."

The paper acknowledges that opera and ballet bring together large numbers of skilled artists, technicians and craftspeople which make a significant contribution to the economy. The Arts Council found that audiences for large and mid-scale ballet increased between 2008 and 2012 while those for large and mid-scale opera decreased during the same period and that new audiences for ballet were developed by works for children and live streaming to cinemas.

The Arts Council reported tensions between companies and theatres:

"In general, the companies are frustrated by what they see as a lack of support from venues for their attempts to broaden their repertoire, the refusal to share detailed audience data and the imposition of booking fees and restoration levies. The venues for their part often feel that the companies regard certain weeks to be ‘theirs by right’, do not value the venues’ expertise in selling tickets, and do not consult over repertoire, prices and education programmes."

The paper considered that there was "considerable scope to build audiences for the full range of opera and ballet repertoire" which can be achieved by venues and touring companies working more closely and effectively together. Arts Council England stated that it will  expect companies and venues to agree ambitious audience targets. There is scope for companies to pay more attention to the role that repertoire plays in attracting audiences but at the same time theatres must recognize that all parties have an interest in developing audiences for less familiar work. Funding is to be conditional upon such co-operation and if theatres are not prepared to co-operate the companies will be encouraged to find alternative venues.

Arts Council England recommended an overall decrease in funding for opera and ballet by 7.3% reducing their share of national portfolio investment from 22% to 21% although Birmingham Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet will actually get an increase. All the opera and ballet companies will be required to plan for live screenings and the Royal Opera House is expected to work with other companies to make the most of opportunities presented through digital broadcasts. The inclusion of Birmingham Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet in World Ballet Day may be an early manifestation of that policy.

Another general recommendation was for "dance hubs" to be developed in Birmingham and Leeds.  In its recommendation to the Birmingham Royal Ballet, Arts Council England said:

"We are proposing that, in addition, we ask the company to work with the City of Birmingham, Dance Xchange, the Hippodrome and other interested parties to make Birmingham into a regional dance centre, building a broad dance culture in the City, capable of increasing audiences and attracting and retaining talent in the city."

The Arts Council also believe that

"Leeds has the potential to become a major regional dance centre. We suggested that Northern Ballet should work with Phoenix, Leeds City Council, Yorkshire Dance and others to explore how they might work collaboratively to build a broad dance culture in Leeds, capable of increasing audiences and attracting and retaining talent in the city."

All good stuff though it should not be forgotten that a major city does not need a big ballet company to be a dance hub as Manchester proves with the Northern Ballet School, Dancehouse theatre, KNT, the Lowry and the Palace theatres not to mention the Chancellor's announcement of a £78 million investment in the Factory (see Let's bring the Royal Ballet to The Factory Manchester 11 Dec 2014).

This is the first of a series of articles that I plan to write about public funding for dance in the UK. In future articles I hope to discuss funding in other parts of the UK and guidance on applying for funding from Arts Council England and other bodies.

Happy Yorkshire Day

Today is Yorkshire Day. I believe the 1 Aug has been chosen because it is the anniversary of the battle of Minden when the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry distinguished themselves. Although I was born just the other side of the Pennines in Manchester which is where my first loyalties will always lie I have deep roots in this county. My mother was born in Leeds, brought up in Bramhope and spent her last years in Harrogate and I have lived in Holmfirth since 1985.

So today I want to celebrate Yorkshire and Ballet.

First up are Xander and Demelza Parish. I first saw them dance at the Grand Opera House York at the Yorkshire Ballet Summer School Gala in 2007  (see Charles Hutchinson's review for The Press 31 July 2007). There was a great array of that talent that night but those two stood out even then. It was obvious that they had great futures and so it has transpired. Whenever I see either of them dance (and nowadays it is more likely to be Demelza than Xander) I feel more than a little tug of pride. It was so good to see Xander in Romeo and Juliet  a year ago (see Reet Gradely: Romeo and Juliet, Mariinsky Ballet, Royal Opera House 29 July 2014 31 July 2014) and even better to see him in Ballet 101 at the Sapphire gala in March. I am also a cricket fan and I think Gita may be too. Should Xander ever tire of ballet we would still come to watch him at Headingley (The ballet dancer who could have played cricket for Yorkshire 11 Jan 2015).

The next village to mine is Honley and that is the home of David Bintley, one of the most celebrated choreographers this country has ever produced.  I had the pleasure of listening to him at the London Ballet Circle a few weeks ago and I was in the Birmingham Hippodrome on 20 June to celebrate his 20th anniversary as artistic director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet and the 25th anniversary of the company's move to Birmingham (see In Praise of Bintley 21 June 2015), One of the best nights I have ever spent in the theatre.

One of Bintley's most exciting dancers is Brandon Lawrence who comes from Bradford. When the company performed at the Grand Opera House at York his presence in Yorkshire seemed to give him a little extra pzazz. In my review of the performance I wrote:

"But if I have to single out anyone it has to be Brandon Lawrence, a Bradford lad who clearly relished his return to God's own county. He danced proudly and magisterially. There was no doubt that he was glad to be back on home turf."

Lawrence danced in The King Dances at the special double bill that I mentioned above (see A Special Ballet for a Special Day 23 June 2015) and again he shone.

Since I started writing this post a whole slew of names occurred to me. If I were to include them all this post would be as long as the Leeds telephone directory. I should like to wish all of those great dancers and the many I have missed out a very happy Yorkshire Day.

David Bintley

In their programmes and on their website Birmingham Royal Ballet wrote: 

"Huddersfield is not as famous in the world of classical dance as St Petersburg, Paris or London, but it was the birthplace of David Bintley - one of the most consistent and significant forces in British ballet."

Actually Bintley was born not in Huddersfield itself but in Honley near Huddersfield which is a place in its own right as anyone from these parts (estate agents in particular) will tell you.

Also, Huddesfield is not such a terpsichorean desert as Birmingham Royal Ballet would lead you to believe. Bintley was not the first great dancer to come from the Huddersfield area. Brian Shaw for whom Ashton created some of his most famous roles did so too. Nor, I hope, will Bintley be the last for there is a lot of dance going on in Huddersfield both for adults (see Team Hud Adult Ballet Class 22 June 2014 and The Base Studios, Huddersfield 2 March 2013) and children. I know of at least two very talented little girls in the next village to Honley one of whom has already performed at The Grand in Northern Ballet's Ondine and Gatsby.

Anyway, chums, the reason I mention Bintley is that he is speaking to the London Ballet Circle at the Civil Service Club, 13-15 Gt Scotland Yard, London SW1 at 19:30 this evening. I am going down to London today specially to hear him. If you are a member of the Circle his talk will set you back £5.  If you are not a member you will be charged £8. Any profits go to a scholarship fund to support promising young dancers. Both Xander Parish and his sister Demelza have benefited from that fund. From now on any spare cash I may have will go to that fund rather than to individuals.  I would much rather my bounty went to outstanding young dancers like the Parishes than have companies like Northern Ballet, Ballet Black or Chantry Dance perform before unfilled but paid for seats however compelling the reason for such absences.

I shan't blog about tonight's meeting because I have been asked not to do so. If you want to know what Bintley has to say you will just have to turn up.

Lear with a Happy Ending - Birmingham Royal Ballet's Prince of the Pagodas 30 Jan 2014

Prince of the Pagodas  The Lowry, 30 Jan 2014

I have just returned from watching the first performance in the UK of David Bintley's Prince of the Pagodas. When I get back from a show at this time of night I usually make straight for bed and leave the review till at least the morning. But this performance was so good that a review won't wait until morning. I am so excited about it that I will not be able to sleep until I have written it out of my system.

The Prince of the Pagodas is not a new ballet. It was created by John Cranko in 1957, a choreographer for whom I have a particularly high regard (see "Cranko's "Taming of the Shrew": Now's our chance to see one of the Ballets everyone should see before they die" 21 Sept 2013) and has been revised by Kenneth MacMillan and Monica Mason. Bintley created the work that we saw last night for the National Ballet of Japan  in 2011.  He has now brought his work home to the Birmingham Royal Ballet. 

As you can see from the synopses of the National Ballet of Japan and the Birmingham Royal Ballet the story is based very loosely on King Lear. Bintley has made a number of modifications to the plot that distance it still further from Lear in that he substitutes a wicked stepmother for a wicked sister and the Cordelia character is called not Rose but Sakura which means Cherry Blossom. But the essentials from Lear of an ill used and ailing father and a devoted but alienated daughter are retained by Bintley.

Both the Japanese and Birmingham synopses omit important details.  Immediately before the curtain rose Tzu-Chao Chou sat in the centre of the stage.  He danced the jester or fool and was the link for each stage of the story from the welcome of the conductor to the rostrum to attending and supporting the imprisoned emperor in his confinement. A remarkable character artist  he brought humour to the ballet.  The kings of the cardinal points were dressed respectively as Uncle Sam, a Russian, a Zulu and something else which I am still trying to ascertain from the company's website, the "Creating Pagodas" blog and programme. Possibly a Pacific islander or a native American  Each bought a gift representing his culture: an elephant tusk from the African, a miniature oil well from the Russian, a cache of guns from the American and a long pipe from the fourth cardinal point.  Those characters appeared again as demons in red as Princess Sakura and her brother, the salamander, passed through fire on their escape from their wicked stepmother.

There is a lot of material in this ballet to which a review of a few paragraphs will never do justice so I shall focus on the essentials. First, Benjamin Britten's score has been the subject of more than a little criticism (see, for example, Judith Macrkrell's review of the Mason production in The Guardian of 6 June 2012).  I found it majestic, complex, delicate and varied.  I particularly enjoyed the gamelan sequences. I loved it all and would gladly listen to it again and again. I can see why Britten's music would be difficult to choreograph but I think Bintley has found the way.  The audience's attention was retained through a very complex story by some quite spectacular dancing from the entry of the four kings to a fight scene in the last act where the princess and the salamander rescue their father and send the wicked empress packing. Last but by no means least were Rae Smith's sumptuous designs - glorious backdrops of Mount Fuji, swirling elements and a salamander - and costumes with everything from sea horses to kimonos. I can't remember such a visual feast in any theatrical performance.

Bintley demanded a lot from his dancers but all were equal to the challenge: Joseph Caley and Momoko Hirata who danced the salamander and Sakura, Elisha Willis the wicked stepmother and Rory MacKay the emperor. Each of the four kings was splendid - Mathias Dingman as king of the north, Chi Cao the king of the east, James Barton king of the west and my favourite, Tyrone Singleton king of the south.

In the programme there is an article by Paul Arrowsmith entitled "Transforming and Unloved Prince". It notes that the ballet has never been popular with British audiences even though it was created and revised by a succession of great choreographers and considers why.  I think this version will be the one that sticks.  It certainly deserves to do so and I hope it will.