Class Review - Hype Dance Company Revisited

Hype Dance Company, Beginners' Ballet, Instructor Anna Olejnicki, 4 Jan 2017, 18:30 - 19:30

I used to go to Hype a lot when Fiona Noonan taught there (see More than just Hype - Beginners and Improvers Classes in Sheffield 14 May 2014). Fiona taught the beginners and improvers classes while Emily Talks was on maternity leave.  After Emily returned to work I attended one of her classes which I enjoyed very much (see A Different Kind of Ballet Class - Emily Talks at Hype 28 July 2015).  Sadly for me Emily moved to Sydney. Shortly afterwards, I attended a couple of vacation classes in Leeds and an intensive workshop on Swan Lake with Jane Tucker in Manchester. Although Jane's classes are far from easy I like the way she teaches and I attend her classes whenever I can.

Northern Ballet are on vacation this week and my neighbour and contributor, Amelia Sierevogel, wanted to get a class in before Hannah Bateman's Ballet Retreat which starts tomorrow.  I asked Karen Sant whether there was anything in Manchester but learned that classes at KNT begin on the 8 Jan 2018. Amelia was resigned to pliés on YouTube until I received an email from Hype advertising a half price sale. As I also fancied a class I passed the information onto Amelia and we decided to give it a go.

Hype has moved since I was last there. They used to be near the Chinese quarter not far from the Moor. They are now at 60 Upper Allen Street  which is not far from Paradise Street where the Sheffield bar and most local solicitors are to be found.  I used to have a door tenancy in one of the sets there some 30 years ago.  Even though it has moved from the Chinese area, Hype now shares a building with a Chinese restaurant and it looked quite a good one from the outside. There is plenty of street parking and  I was assured that the traffic wardens are a lot less bothersome.

The new premises are something of an improvement on the old place.   There is a comfortable space to change with a chair and the studios look more like studios than corridors.  The loo does not look like a museum exhibit.  Alex was still there and I recognized at least one of the students from Fiona and Emily's classes.  There are even hooks for clothes and dance bags in the studio.  A nice surprise was that we were admitted for £3 instead of the usual £6.   Part of the January sale.

Our class was taken by Anna Olejnicki and I should say that there were about 12 of us in her class.  All of us were female and the others were considerably younger than me.  One student was completely new to ballet but most seemed to have done some.  All seemed to have a much better idea of what they were supposed to be doing than I did.  We started with some floor exercises. In one we split into teams one student lying face down on the floor trying to push up with the team member other encouraging her.  Karen does something similar in Manchester except she makes us hold our partners' feet and legs to the floor.  Anna gave us a lot of tips such as stand more on your toes than your heels.  She also had quite a store of jokes and anecdotes.

Barre started deceptively easily. Only demis in first and second.  We followed with tendus and ronds de jambe and then the fun started.  Still in teams of 2 we lifted each other's leg until it was quite high and then dropped the support while we struggled to maintain the position.  Not exactly a penché but quite taxing on my poor old bones and muscles.  It soon became clear that this class was not going to be a cake walk. Two particular exercises nearly knackered me.

One started as a glissade but we had to jump high enough so that the feet would connect while still in the air.  I have no idea what that is called but Amelia thought it was some sort of gallop.  We had to do these several tomes as we crossed the studio and then repeat it on the other foot.  Even Amelia exclaimed that it was horrible.

The other exercise that nearly did for me was to perform 4 sautés and then hop 4 times on one leg repeating the exercise on the other leg and then alternately.  The other students were alright but I was terrible.  Karen's exercise of making us stand on demi for several seconds after jumping is bad enough but that was worse.

However, I did get one thing right. I really love my ballet and can't believe my luck that I am still dancing at age 69. So I can't stop smiling. "What's your name?" asked Anna.  After I told her she replied "You were the only one who gave me a smile." I remember that Sir Peter Wright once said something very similar to Ruth Brill and that she dined out on it for ages.

As we had only 60 minutes class was over far too soon. "I'm very old school" said Anna "and I expect a proper curtsy in the reverence."  We all did our best to give her one.   Anna is a very good teacher and I warmed to her a lot.  I would love to attend her class regularly.  Alas, time can't be spent twice and I already spend quite enough tome on the M62 commuting to Jane's class in Leeds and Karen's in Manchester.  I leaned quite a few useful things from her yesterday.  It was a very good start to be New Year,

A Different Kind of Ballet Class - Emily Talks at Hype

Sheffield

Author Tpxpress

Source Wikipedia

Every ballet class that I have ever done, whether in Huddersfield, Leeds, London. Manchester, Sheffield or (half a century ago) St. Andrews, has followed a pattern. Usually there is a warm followed by 20 to 30 minutes barre consisting of pliés, tendus, glissés, ronds de jambe, fondus, cloches and either grands battements or développés, then a port de bras which is my favourite part of the class, followed sometimes by pirouettes (which still defeat me), sautés, grands jetés  or temps levés and cool down. We did most of that yesterday as well as several steps that were quite new to me - but in a different way - and it was a lot of fun.

The class took place at Hype in Sheffield which I mentioned in More than just Hype - Beginners and Improvers Classes in Sheffield 14 May 2014. Our teacher was Emily Talks who has been on maternity leave over the last year. Mel had spoken very highly of Emily and I can quite see why. Emily and I had met briefly in August when Mel did her grands battements and we have been friends on Facebook for a while but this was the first time I had taken one of Emily's classes.

It was not a big class. Less than 10 of us. All women except for Ian (the gent I introduced in my review of Hype's Frightnight contribution (seewas Out of this World 3 Nov 2014)). Emily's warm up consisted of getting us to walk in random directions, then backwards trying not to turn round which resulted in my barging into Mel with great velocity, then walking forwards curtseying or bowing to each other as we passed.

Instead of pliés and tendus at the barre Emily called us into the centre and taught us a delightful enchainement consisting of pliés. rises, arms in open 5th, glissé, piqué, point, several steps forward and finally a port de bras all carried off with a smile. She drilled us several times at this exercise until we got it more or less right.

She sent us back to the barre briefly to practise glissés (3 in front followed by a plié, 3 to the side followed by another plié, 3 to the back followed by yet another plié, 3 more to the side followed by a snappy relevé). We did that in both directions a couple of times.

Next we tried fondus in the centre bending our left leg and raising our tight, then our tight raising our left, bending our left and stretching our right, bending once more and balancing on left in relevé running a few steps and balancing on our right legs in third arabesque. We marked it once without music and then with music. We divided into groups and had a go at the exercise several times. We then tried the exercise on the opposite feet. I have had trouble with my right foot for over a year and just can't hold demi-pointe for more than a millisecond which can't have impressed Emily. On the other hand I could make a much better stab at third arabesque balancing on my left leg. Emily drilled us in that exercise several times and I do think I improved slightly. Seeing my struggles Mel slapped me on my back by way of encouragement.

Our last enchainement was a weight shifting exercise for which we were given props. There was a big bag of toys and other goodies on one of the racks from which Emily selected some coloured wands with streamers for each of the women and a Union flag for Ian. My wand had green and white stripes with a green ribbon. The exercise consisted of waving our wands (or flag) in the air from left to right and back again as we shifted our weight from one side to the other pointing our unengaged toe a couple of rapid soutenus waving our wands (or flag) below our tummies, pliés, rising in the air, running (and then for me the new bit) jumping a  rassemblé changing step and direction and ending with our rights arms and wands in the air and our left arms forming a continuous line. Or at least that was the idea. I don't think I ever got there but I did my best. Again, we tried that exercise in groups several times.

Finally. we did some conventional jumping - sautés and changements ending with some temps levés. Again we tried each of those exercises several times.

Then it was all over.

Emily's cool down consisted of some stretches on the floor followed by some stretches on out feet.  We curtseyed to Emily, then to each other and we were on our way.

I don't think a class has ever gone so quickly. I have to think back to my first class with Annemarie to recall one that has been as much fun. The hour was more like a rehearsal than a class. By combining the exercises into enchainements we were able to understand the exercises in the context of a performance. By repeating them more than once each of us we improved a little - or at least (in my case) I thought I did. We were all bouncing and chatting as we exited the studio.

I shall certainly try to return to Sheffield for another of Emily's classes. Unfortunately, I don't know when. Emily's class clashes with meetings of the London Ballet Circle. Ernst Meisner was the guest last week, Marcelo Gomes the week before that and Li Cunxin is coming next week. There is no way I would miss the opportunity to listen to and afterwards shake hands with them.  Moreover Sheffield is not a city I visit often. Traffic is terrible. Public transport is no better.  Trains from  Brockholes take forever and the tram does not go anywhere near Hype's studio. Off-street parking is outrageous and the council has the cheek to charge £1 for parking outside the Lord Nelson after 18:30. The only reason I was able to take yesterday's class was that I had a business meeting in the city followed by an invitation to the Wong Ting. Nevertheless, I have an incentive to return and return I will just as soon as I can.

Out of this World

Hype Dance Academy's advanced ballet class

Photo Jane Lambert

I mentioned Frightnight last week. Yesterday my friend, Andrea, and I visited Sheffield to experience its  annual Halloween festival.  Andrea is a Dr Who fan and she had been attracted by the images of the Tardis on the local authority's website and news that the Daleks were about to invade Sheffield.  I had come to see Hype Dance's show and in particular to support my teacher, Fiona Noonan, and fellow students in the advanced and intermediate ballet classes.

The weather was glorious yesterday. Very different from July when Chance for Dance had been rained off.  Many visitors - particularly the children - were in fancy dress.  Some had painted faces.  The pedestrian precincts in the city centre were occupied by stalls and fair ground rides.   Half way along The Moor, a street in the City centre, a space had been railed off for live performances.

Hype Dance Academy was given three 30 minute slots in that space.   The Academy teaches different styles of dance to students of various ages and different levels of attainment. These ranged from very young children dressed as witches and Harry Potter lookalikes to the ladies and handful of gents of the advanced ballet, contemporary, jazz and street.   Everybody performed well and my friend, Andrea, who is no balletomane, appeared to enjoy the show as much as I did.

Having seen a rehearsal of Paint it Black a few weeks ago I was looking forward to seeing it on an outdoor stage.  I am glad to say it worked very well.   It was very fast which must have been exhausting for the dancers but I guess it would have been a lot of fun for them.  The dance began and ended in a circle. One of the dancers was my friend, Mel Wong, who donned the tutu she had worn in Big Ballet. Ian, to whom I had recommended Hype when I met him at another studio in September, was dressed as a pirate. He had to execute a simple lift during the routine which he and his partner did well.

It would be invidious to single out  any of the classes for special mention but the advanced adult contemporary class danced with considerable spirit.

After the show Andrea and I scoured Sheffield city centre for Daleks. We found that Dr Who had visited the Winter Gardens the day before but he had disappeared by Sunday taking his phone box with him. Not to be downhearted we enjoyed a very good lunch at the Wong Ting followed by tea at Yummy Yorkshire on our way home.

Post Script

Mel has drawn my attention to a YouTuve video of Paint it Black and Hype's advanced jazz class's performance which you can see by clicking this link,

Frightnight

@nipclaw are you planning to come to #FrightNight to watch us take on @finoonan04's @Rambertdance-influenced Stones choreo?
— MelSkydancer (@MelMAOW) October 14, 2014

I must admit that I had never heard of "Frightnight" until I had received this tweet from Mel.  I asked her what it was and this is what she told me:

@nipclaw @finoonan04 @Rambertdance Sheffield's annual Halloween Festival. But it's called something else this year & no-one seems to know!
— MelSkydancer (@MelMAOW) October 14, 2014

Apparently it is a Sheffield institution -  Britain's biggest Halloween party.

As Mel says, the festival is called "Out of this World - Sheffield's Festival of Sci-Fi, Magic and Horror" and I suspect the reason for the change of name is that it was announced in January that there was not to be a fright night this year (see "Sheffield Fright Night to take year off over funding worries" 16 Jan 2014 The Star). But there is a little matter of an election before Nov 2015 and as Oliver Cromwell found out when he tried to abolish Christmas nothing is more unpopular than spoiling someone's fun.  So we will have Frightnight on Sunday the same as always albeit under a different name (see "Horror-themed fun to be unleashed at festival in Sheffield city centre" 28 Oct 2014 Sheffield Telegraph).

The show that I want to see is my Paint it Black choreographed by my ballet teacher and good friend, Fiona Noonan, for the students of Hype Dance Academy one of whom is Mel. I watched a rehearsal of that show when I attended Fiona's ballet class the Monday before last.  I think I know everyone who is taking part in that piece as I took class with them for most of the summer. They are very nice people and I wish them all chookas or, if they prefer, toi-toi.

If you are in Sheffield

@nipclaw @finoonan04 @Rambertdance Things are kicking off for Hype at 12.30pm on Sunday 2nd Nov outside Debenhams on the Moor.
— MelSkydancer (@MelMAOW) October 14, 2014

Post Script

Here is a link to a YouTube video of Christopher Bruce's "Paint it Black" for Rambert. Noonan's is quite different but to my eyes just as enjoyable.   See Rooster ................ :-) 4 Oct 2014 for my review of Rambert's version.

Fat Chance - Rained Off!

Right now I should have been reviewing Hype Dance Company's contribution to Chance to Dance. It would have been my chance to reciprocate the support that Mel showed me and my classmates at Northern Ballet Academy when we performed in the end of year show three weeks ago (see "The Time of My Life" 28 June 2014 and Mel's generous review "The Dance DID go on - Northern Ballet Academy Show 2014" 29 June 2014). It would have been a great show and I can say that with some conviction because I took part in the rehearsals for both Fiona Noonan's Sugar Plum Fairy and Lucy's Stay with Me. Fiona and Lucy and their students, Andrew, Blessing, Mel, Rose, Verity, and all the others whose names I can't recall just now worked so hard for the show.

The show was called off because the weather in Sheffield yesterday was like the storm scene in La Fille mal gardée - only worse.  The dancers were understandably disappointed. Andrew tweeted

A bit peeved not have taken part in @ctdsheffield today but very nice to enjoy lunch and blether with @nipclaw. Thankyou for the invite x
— Melony Klein (@MelonyKlein) July 19, 2014

Mel added

@strawbini @MelonyKlein It's so crappy! Weeks of rehearsals for nothing :/ Performing it in a studio in Hype just won't be the same
— MelSkydancer (@MelMAOW) July 19, 2014

And it was a real cri de coeur because she plans to start her advanced training in London soon:

@strawbini @MelonyKlein And it was my last @ctdsheffield event since I'm leaving in September :/
— MelSkydancer (@MelMAOW) July 19, 2014

The organizers, who must be just as disappointed, have promised to do what they can:

@nipclaw @finoonan04 thanks Jane we will regroup and work out what we can do next - I will be sending a letter to all groups soon - Mark
— Chance to Dance (@ctdsheffield) July 19, 2014

I make no criticism of their decision to cancel the festival. There were probably public liability, health and safety or other considerations that left them with little choice. I did criticize them on twitter a few minutes ago for not making contingency plans for the weather because thunder storms in summer are by no means unusual in North West Europe - that's part of the plot of the oldest ballet in the modern repertoire for goodness sake - but, on reflection, that criticism was unkind and I withdraw it.  I have the advantage of hindsight which is always 20/20. But I do think that the organizers of Chance to Dance and other outdoor dance festivals can learn from yesterday by making wet weather contingency plans of some kind and I hope that they do.

If there is another chance to dance this year and Mel can't take part then I shall take her place if the choreographer and other dancers will have me.

Ballet and Bollywood - why they don't meet more often

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of welcoming Raj and Mel to our adult ballet class at Team Hud. Raj had danced with Mel in Big Ballet and it was great to see them both. After the class the three of us together with another friend crossed the road for a coffee and a chat.

Raj has many interests one of which is Spice Entertainment with its Bollywood Dance Group. Over coffee we discussed Bollywood and ballet and one of us - almost certainly Mel - suggested a Bollywood version of La Bayadère. "Ooh! With Sarah Kundi as Nikiya!" I enthused. Anyone who reads this blog will know that I am one of Sarah Kundi's fans and I had just seen her for the last time in England for a while in English National Ballet's Romeo and Juliet in the Round.  We discussed ways in which we could make it happen and Mel and Raj decided that the first step might be a workshop exploring ballet and Bollywood.

Clearly great minds think alike for a few weeks later Mel and I attended the Tenth Anniversary CAT Gala at the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre where David Nixon presented some of the Northern Ballet Academy's recent alumni.  One of them was Joseph Poulton who has already begun to make a name for himself as a dancer with Ballet Black and also as a choreographer. Nixon mentioned that Poulton had the idea of combining Bollywood with La Bayadère. Mel sat up bolt upright in her seat. "That's my idea" she whispered. After the show Mel introduced herself (and me to Poulton) and told him about her idea for a workshop.

Such a workshop is actually going to happen at Hype Dance Company in Sheffield on Sunday 10 Aug 2014 between 14:00 and 16:30. According to the Eventbrite web page Mel and Raj will give an introduction to classical ballet and Bollywood techniques between  14:00 and 15:00. After a short break delegates will use the rest of their time devising their own Bollywood inspired improvisation.  It sounds tremendous fun. Tickets cost £12 and can be booked here.

Considering that La Bayadère is set in India and there are several other ballets with Indian dances as divertissements I wondered why there were not more workshops like Raj and Mel's including some in India as well as in England. Part of the answer may be that ballet has not taken off in India in the way that it has in Japan and China. Considering that English is widely used in business, government and education in India and the many ties between India and the UK and other European countries that is surprising.

There are, however, signs that that may be changing. I googled "ballet" and "India" and discovered the National Ballet & Academy Trust of India in Delhi, a School of Classical Ballet and Western Dance in Mumbai and the Imperial Fernando Ballet Company in both cities which show that there is some interest in ballet in India. I also looked up theatres and found the National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai which is a complex of auditoriums, rehearsal studios and outdoor performing spaces including the Godrej Dance Theatre. The Centre hosts The Symphony Orchestra of India, the country's first and so far only professional symphony orchestra whose repertoire includes Stravinsky's Firebird.  The performance of that suite was applauded warmly so there seems to be an audience for ballet and the National Centre certainly provides an infrastructure.

More than just Hype - Beginners and Improvers Classes in Sheffield

Sheffield Town Hall                                                                    Photo  Wikipedia

For the last year and a bit I have been taking Fiona Noonan's adult ballet classes at The Base Studios and Team Hud in Huddersfield (see "The Base Studios, Huddersfield"  2 March 2013 and "Team Hud Adult Ballet Class" 22 Jan 2014).  Recently she has been engaged to teach advanced, intermediate and pointe classes at Hype Dance Academy in Sheffield while the regular teacher is on maternity leave. For the next three weeks she will be covering Hype's beginners and improvers classes too.  Yesterday I followed her to Sheffield to take her classes at Hype.

The first thing to say is that Hype is not easy to find. I lived a mile from Hampton Court Palace between 1955 and 1982 so I know all about mazes but not even that labyrinth had prepared me for Sheffield's one way traffic system. I suspect it was devised in the days when Sheffield City Council was said to be slightly to the left of Fidel Castro and it was the local local authority's policy to drive motorists off the roads and onto the excellent trams.  Hype's address is 67 Earl Street, Sheffield, S1 4PY which my satellite navigation seemed to think was on planet Zog. The first time I tried to find it I missed the class altogether as I crawled around the city centre from one traffic jam to the next as the minutes ticked by. There are directions on the "contact page" of Hype's web site but these are not much help unless you know Sheffield well. It is no good calling the studio for directions because the switchboard is not covered for the whole of the day.

If you are a motorist the trick is as follows:

• get on the A61 (inner city ring road in the clockwise direction) which you can join at the Park Square roundabout from the Parkway which connects with the M1 (watch the cameras they are super-sensitive after the 50 mph sign), 
• follow the ring road past the station which should be on your left, 
• make a sharp right onto St Mary's Road, 
• then another into Matilda Street, 
• carry on down Matilda Road past the UTC college which should be on your right, 
• then a left into Sydney Street, 
• a sharp right on Arundel and 
• then left on Earl.

To say you can't miss the studio would not be true because it is a very undistinguished two storey brick building which must have been a warehouse or other light industrial building in its heyday.  There is signage for the observant pedestrian and no doubt aspirant taxi driver if they have anything like The Knowledge in Sheffield but it is easy to miss.

One good point about the location is that there is plenty of street parking which costs £1 after 18:00.  Don't be fooled into using pay by phone because the app tried to charge me £2.40. Another is there are some very good Chinese restaurants and a grocery within a few hundred yards of the dance school. My favourite is the Wong Ting where I celebrated my 60th birthday.

Once you find Hype and get inside it is very nice. There appear to be two studios and Fiona's class was in Studio 1.  That is a long narrow room with barres along the right hand side and a mirror at the front. The walls are decorated with posters and playbills and Victorian schoolroom style exhortations such as dance is 20% talent and 80% labour. Yeah!

There must have been between 15 and 20 people in the beginners' class, mainly women nearly all of whom were in their twenties.   We filled the fixed barre and 4 of us spilled on to a travelling barre. They were a friendly crowd and most of them were well kitted out in leotards and soft toed ballet shoes.

Fiona introduced herself to the class and told us a little bit about her training in Australia and her career as a dancer and teacher. She then asked the students what they had learned from their regular teacher and how she had taught them. The answers suggested that her method was very much like Fiona's.

We had a warm up exercise in the centre for toes and legs.  I was dismayed to find that my balance was well below the class's because I had to let my feet touch the floor once or twice. We then sidled off to the barre for the usual exercises.

Fiona is a good teacher but I have never seen her teach better than she did yesterday. She likes a big class of enthusiastic students and she found them at Hype. Through the barre exercises she focussed on technique particularly on basics such as weight distribution and the use of abdominals and abductors. She has an eye for detail and I think we all had a correction to make. Once she was happy with our pliés, tendus and glissés we moved on to fondus and développés which do not come easily to this old lady but nevertheless have to be done.

In the centre we followed a port de bras exercise that I had already attempted several times in Huddersfield which consists of chassés starting on the right, then left and en croix, a lunge, a pivot, arabesque which is substantially repeated on the left.  Annemarie in Leeds has a similar exercise for us old ladies except that we soutenu rather than pivot and cut out the arabesque.  We marked it without and then with music and then tried it for ourselves.  To my joy I found that I could just about hold my pivot - at least for the first time.  The second was a bit of a dog's breakfast.

Fiona asked the class about travelling steps and two of the students set off with something that looked very much like temps levés to me.   That is certainly what we ended up with.  The long narrow room gave us plenty of space for building up some momentum.  We did that exercise in groups of three and loved it.  In the last few minutes we did a few sautés and jetés again making good use of the room's length.

All too soon the class was over. Fiona explained that another teacher would be taking over from her in a few weeks' time. That announcement elicited a few sighs showing how much everyone had enjoyed the class.

A few of us stayed on for the improvers' class which started immediately afterwards.  One of the students in that class was Mel with whom I had driven down to Lincoln the previous Friday (see "Chantry Dance Company's Sandman and Dream Dance" 10 May 2014). Mel is a good dancer and I had feared that I would find myself out of my depth.  Although she and all the other students were in a different league to me they were also friendly.  Everyone was keen to learn.   The barre and centre exercises were similar to those that we had done in the beginners' class but they were done by my fellow students even more slickly and elegantly.

The final class of the evening was beginners' pointe for which I did not stay. I doubt that I shall ever reach that standard because try as I might my ankles are weak and my core is jelly but you never know.  When I started ballet again just over year ago I couldn't do any of the centre work.   Now I am at least having a jolly good bash.

Before coming to Sheffield I had done two classes in Leeds and I had expected the Sheffield classes to be a bit of a slog but they weren't. They were a lot of fun and I could have carried on for more.  I have not met the other teachers but judging by the standard I found at Hype they must be good.  I have no hesitation in recommending that dance school.