All Hail to the Lone Star Dancer

Texas is often called the "Lone Star State" because of the design of its state flag which harks back to the days when a number of English-speaking settlers adopted a flag that consisted of a single star for an insurrection that resulted in Texas's secession from Mexico in 1836 and its eventual absorption into the United States in 1846. Sadly when it joined the Union it did so as a slave state which prolonged one of the most egregious outrages of human history that ended only after a particularly tragic civil war and was followed by the systematic oppression and marginalization of former victims of that outrage and their descendants that have continued until our own times.

However, that is only part of the picture for that state of nearly 28 million people has contributed much to humanity in the arts, science, technology, government, industry and commerce. One of the more illustrious of those 28 million is the dancer Damien Johnson who celebrated his 10th anniversary with Ballet Black at the Nottingham Playhouse last night. We were alerted to the celebration by the cast sheet that urged the audience to

"celebrate our Senior Artist, Damien Johnson's 10-year anniversary with Ballet Black at the final curtain call after Red Riding Hood." 

We did indeed celebrate with a standing ovation for that fine dancer when the company's founder, Cassa Pancho, entered the stage and presented Damien with a massive bouquet of flowers. It was the first time in over 50 years of ballet going that I have seen such recognition for a premier danseur noble as opposed to a ballerina in this country (though it is often done in Russia and other countries) and, as a feminist, I hope it will not be the last.

Yesterday's performance was memorable for me not just for Damien's celebration or even the company's performance but because Cassa introduced me to Anabelle Lopez Ochoa as we were taking our seats for Little Red Riding Hood.  Annabelle had created that ballet for Ballet Black but she has also choreographed A Streetcar Named Desire for Scottish Ballet (see Scottish Ballet's Streetcar 2 April 2015), Reversible for Danza Contemporanea de Cuba (see Danza Contemporanea de Cuba at the Lowry 19 Feb 2017) and many other works. Earlier this year, she held a workshop at the Barbican in February which I was actually invited to attend and I was very tempted to do so. Had I been a stronger and more skilful dancer I would have accepted readily but I really did not feel up to the challenge. I am very grateful to David Murley for attending the event and reporting back to us in Red Riding Hood Workshop at the Barbican with Annabelle Lopez-Ochoa and Ballet Black.

As Is often the case, I enjoyed Ballet Black's mixed bill the second time even more than I did when I first saw the show (see Ballet Black Triumphant 7 March 2017). I think that is because I noticed details that I had missed before such as the humour in the show like the mewing of the wolf cubs as they harass Grandma, the swooning of the she-wolves as they encounter the Big Bad Wolf's, BBW's gestures such as the swinging of his pyjama string tail and Grandma's battering of BBW with the flowers that he had just given her, I also appreciated the other two works more, particularly Corder's House of Dreams as his Baiser de la Fée which I had seen in Birmingham the night before was still fresh in my memory (see Birmingham Royal Ballet's Three Short Ballets: Le Baiser de la fée, Pineapple Poll and Arcadia 22 June 2017). Indeed, I was going to compare and contrast the two works had it not been for Damien's celebration. I had even toyed with "Cordered" as a headline for today's post.

I look forward to seeing Ballet Black again in November when they will venture out of the Beautiful South for a night in Derby on the 15 and two in Leeds on the 17 and 18 where we shall ply them with Taddy Ales, Bradford naans (not all that different from Yorkshire puddings) and parkin. They won't get any of that in their other venues.

Ballet Black Triumphant

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Ballet Black, Triple Bill: Michael Corder House of Dreams, Martin Lawrence Captured and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa Little Red Riding Hood Barbican Centre, 4 March 2017, 19:45


We have already been treated to an excellent lead review by Joanna Goodman who attended the Barbican on Friday, 3 March 2017 (see Joanne Goodman Sexy wolf stole the show!  5 March 2016). I saw the show the day after and these remarks are my recollections of, and reflexions upon, that evening.

I have to pick my words very carefully when I write about Ballet Black. That is not because I denigrate them. It is because they seem to get better and better every time I see them. When I say that I risk prompting a response from their artistic director and founder, Cassa Pancho: "But you always say that!" To which I reply "but it's true." So I shall say the same again at the risk of a similar reprimand from Cassa. Ballet Black danced on Saturday night better than I have ever seen them dance before.

I enjoyed all three pieces very much.

I was charmed particularly by Michael Corder's House of Dreams because of its score, its choreography and its costume designs. The music was by Debussy: Prélude (1st movement od the Suite Berganasque for piano), Des Pas sur la Neige (Preludes for piano, book one, No. 6), La Fille aux cheveux de lin (Preludes for piano, book one, No. 8) and Passepied (4th movement od the Suite Berganasque for piano) recorded by Pascal Rogé. The choreography was very pure and reminded me a lot of August Bournonville. There were two couples: Damien Johnson with Sayaka Ichikawa and Jacob Wye with Marie-Astrid France. The costumes which had been designed by Yukiko Tsukamoto were elegant: each man's shirt was the colour of his partner's skirt and her top the colour of his breaches. Altogether, a delightful start to the evening.

Martin Lawrence's Captured was quite different and, I think, intended to be unsettling. The music was from Shostakovich String Quartet No 11 in F minor Op 122. Shostakovich has written some delightfully tuneful compositions but this was not one of them. As Lawrence wrote in the programme notes, the piece was written at a time was "fragile and nervously agile". He added:

"There are real moments of restriction and tension within the choreography and music, which tug the four dancers through the space."

Those four dancers were José Alves, Isabela Coracy, Cira Robinson and Mthuthuzeli November. The company had danced Captured in 2012 which was just before I started to follow Ballet Black. Lawrence wrote that the piece had originally been made for Robinson but that the addition of the other three had allowed him to view the work with fresh eyes and thus breath new life into it.

The highlight of the evening was Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Red Riding Hood. I am a bit of s fan of Ochoa having enjoyed her Streetcar Named Desire for Scottish Ballet (see Scottish Ballet's Streetcar 4 April 2015) and, more recently, Reversible danced by the Cuban contemporary dance company (see Danza Contemporanea de Cuba at the Lowry 19 Feb 2017). She will also contribute to the Dutch National Ballet's Dutch Doubles next year. I can immediately think of two other Little Red Riding Hood ballets, the divertissement in the last act of The Sleeping Beauty and Ballet Cymru's (see Ballet Cymru's Summer Tour 22 May 2016). Ochoa's work was nothing like either of those previous works. As Joanna said on Sunday, it was "a non-violent interpretation, no one is eaten, shot or cut open as in various gothic versions." It did not stop it from being tremendous fun and November with his ropey, rogueish tail had us in stitches. But there were two other stars in my book - Robinson of course in her red outfit and whoever danced granny. The disguise was so good I really couldn't tell. I think it was Johnson but it could have been Wye. Whoever he was deserved a medal for his pointework.

At the curtain call November treated us to an impromptu gallop that drove us all to our feet. British audiences are very slow to stand up - though at least we don't flounce out of the auditorium during the reverence unlike some folk (see Attending the Ballet in Florida: Miami City Ballet's Program Three 6 March 2017) - but this time we gave them a standing ovation, and did we roar.

Ballet Black deserved that applause. They are a national treasure. I can't praise them enough. Yes, maybe Cassa is right. I shall have to be more circumspect in my next review. But only because the English language has run out of superlatives.

Ballet Black has announced future performances of this programme in North Finchley, Winchester, Worthing, Birmingham, Ipswich, Winchester and Nottingham. No appearances in the North have been mentioned just yet but we usually see them in Leeds in November. I do hope they get round to somewhere in Greater Manchester or Merseyside with this programme this year as they have a growing fanbase here.

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.