Michaela DePrince to return to London

Michaela DePrince in "A Million Kisses to my Skin"

Author Angela Sterling
(c) 2015 Dutch National Ballet, all rights reserved
Licensed with the kind permission of the company

Danceworks has just announced that Michaela DePrince will teach at its studios in London between 23 July and 3 Aug 2018.  According to the studio's press release:

"Michaela will be teaching our young dancers at the Danceworks Ballet Academy Summer Intensive, a two-week programme that offers young dancers from ages 6 up to pre-professional, the chance to be coached by leading ballet stars. Students will perform at the prestigious Lilian Baylis Studios, Sadler's Wells on the final day of the course."

She visited the studios in 2015 and 2016 and on each occasion Lesley Osman sent me some lovely photos of her with her students, including an account by one of them who showed a talent for journalism as well as dance (see Michaela's Masterclass 8 July 2015 and Michaela DePrince revisits Danceworks 7 Aug 2016).  If you or one of your offspring would like to attend one of Michaela DePrince's classes you should email balletschool@danceworks.com for further information.

I first heard about Michaela DePrince when she was still in America.  I was interested to learn that she was born in Sierra Leone because my late spouse and daughter manquée also came from that country.  When she joined the Junior Company of the Dutch National Ballet I attended its first performance at the Stadsshouwburg in Amsterdam.   In my review of that performance I described her as  "quite simply the most exciting dancer I have seen for quite a while" (see The Junior Company of the Dutch National Ballet - Stadsshouwburg Amsterdam 24 Nov 2013 25 Nov 2013).  Michaela led me to the Junior Company who in turn led me to the mighty Dutch National Ballet which has been a source of great pleasure for me.

If you want to meet Michaela but are too old for her class at Danceworks you might do so at the opening night gala of the 2018/2019 ballet season.  The evening consists of a performance followed by a party in the Stopera and it was at that party that I encountered her (see The best evening I have ever spent at the ballet  13 Sep 2015).   Now there is quite a crowd at that party and I can't guarantee that you will meet Michaela as I did but you would be very unlucky not to make the acquaintance of at least one or two members of that brilliant company. 

Tickets for the gala will be on sale from the beginning of June and they are usually snapped up like hot cakes.  If any of my readers from anywhere in the world would like to join me at the Stopera on opening night do let me know and maybe we can form a party. If there are enough of us we may even be able to get some discounts and so some other fun things like take a day trip to IJsselstein for an adult ballet class at the Jos Dolstra Dance Institute.

Ballet Cymru in London

Criccieth, one of my favourite places on the planet

Author Ken Bagnall

Source Wikipedia

Creative Commons Licence

Ballet Cymru Triple Bill Lilian Baylis Studio, 30 Nov 2015

To the best of my knowledge and belief there is not a millilitre of Welsh blood in my veins. Such Celtic heritage as I can claim is Irish and Scottish yet I love Wales as much as anyone who was lucky enough to have been born in the principality. I guess one of the reasons I love Wales so much is that I spent much of my childhood on Black Rock Sands, the banks of the Dwyfor, the slopes of Swowdon and the towers and battlements of Edward I's castles. My parents could not afford continental holidays in the 1950s but Wales was as good as abroad with its own language and distinct landscapes and architecture, but nothing like as far away,

The Welsh language fascinated me and I longed to learn it. I even bought a phrase book called Welsh in a Week and must have tried the patience of every shopkeeper in Portmadoc and Criccieth (many of whom seemed to come from the Midlands or Lancashire) as I tried out my phrases. My mother once told me that my first words were in Welsh which is possible but unlikely as I don't know where I could have picked them up. Later when I learned Latin I saw lots of similarities like ffenestr for window (not too different from fenestra) and eglwys for church (apparently derived from ecclesia). Welsh is a naturally musical language with an "-ion" sound like a peel of bells. The language has lots of sounds that don't exist in English like the double "L" that seems to be produced by placing the tongue at the roof of the mouth and breathing over it.

Cerys Matthews has made an album of folk songs  called TIR most of which are in Welsh. I was led to her album by Ballet Cymru's YouTube video and yesterday I actually bought it. Indeed the artiste actually signed it and shook my hand. I think I have become one of her biggest fans though I regret to say I am also one of the most recent ones and I am grateful to Ballet Cymru for introducing her to me. She is a patron of the company. Yesterday she disclosed that she used to study ballet as a child and actually did very well in her RAD exam. She mentioned that fact between the songs that Darius James and Amy Doughty had choreographed for their dancers.

The dancers come from every part of the world other than Wales but they interpreted Matthews's words eloquently. Some bits of the performance were exuberant like  Bugeilio’r Gwenith Gwyn while other songs such as Myfanwy (danced by Emily Pimm-Edwards) tugged at our heart strings. The Rev Eli Jenkins's prayer in memory of Mandev Sokhi was particularly moving. Those members of the audience who had seen him dance were close to tears. For the dancers who had worked with Mandev it was so much harder. However, they are pros and though we could see their emotion in their faces they never missed a count or movement. TIR finished with Sosban Fach where each of the dancers did his or her turn. Each and every one of them impressed us but I have to say a special word for Tim Hill who thrilled us with his entrechats.

Ballet Cymru welcomed back Daisuke Miura and Suzie Birchwood as well as Pimm-Edwards for TIR. Birchwood is artistic director of ActOne ArtsBase. I first saw her in Stuck in the Mud where I was impressed by her grace and technique. The beauty of her dancing lies in her port de bras whether lifted in a pas de deux or sitting in a wheelchair. I never tire of watching her and I try to imitate her arm movements in my own dancing.  Miura and Pimm-Edwards delighted me in Romeo a Juliet and is was a treat to see them again.

Stuck in the Mud had been choreographed by Marc Brew whom I met in Llandudno. He created Traces Imprinted which I had admired in Newport. I had seen that work from the dress circle at the Riverfornt theatre in Newport where I appreciated its form and the movement of the dancers but missed much of the detail.  I caught all that detail yesterday from the second row of the stalls in a much more intimate auditorium. It was though I was seeing a different ballet. There was harshness with one dancer literally treading on the back of another but also tenderness as in the final duet. I think I understood the ballet a little better second time round.  Traces Implanted suggests memories and in particular memories of people who are no longer with us. Some of those memories we overwrite - hence the treading - others we keep alive and build upon - as in the duet.

I had missed Celtic Concerto in Newport for various reasons that I explained in The Pride of Newport and the Pride of Wales 8 Nov 2015 which was a shame because this ballet tuned out to be a gem. Choreographed by James and Doughty to a Catrin Finch's it begins with the company on stage and then some delightful solos and duets. You can get the idea from this video. I admired the stained glass projection and the costumes - simple black tutus for the women and shorts and translucent tops for the men.

The evening in Newport was very special but so was yesterday. Matthews asked whether there were any Welsh folk in the audience yesterday and it transpired that they were several.  They must have been so proud of their nation's ballet company. Also in the audience were several members the London Ballet Circle who had visited the company in October (see Ballet Cymru at Home 5 Oct 2015). We are certainly proud of our association with the company.

Other Reviews

Judith Mackrell   Ballet Cymru review – Cerys Matthews joins dancers for mercurial performance 1 Dec 2015 The Guardian

Chantry Dance Associates: Lots of Promise

Sadler's Wells Theatre

Source Wikipedia

Both Mel and I have written about Chantry Dance recently (see Jane Lambert "Chantry Dance Company's Sandman and Dream Dance" 10 May 2014 and Mel Wong "July News from Chantry Dance Company" 6 July 2014). One of the company's activities is an associate programme for "young dancers of a pre-vocational or pre-professional level, who aspire to have a career in dance." That programme

"exists to nurture, develop and inspire the country's most talented young dancers, and to encourage them to be courageous with their dancing in order to reach new levels in their technique and interpretative skills."

Yesterday, the associates (participants on the programme) showed what they could do in the Lilian Baylis Studio of Sadler's Wells.

Owing to the closure of the M1 between junctions 21 and 22 yesterday (see "M1 motorway closed between junctions 21 and 22 following serious accident" 27 July 2014 Leicester Mercury) my journey was delayed by nearly 2 hours and I arrived towards the end of the show.  Gail Gordon, who must have formed a terrible impression of me because I was also late for the Dream Dance workshop, ushered me into a rehearsal studio and perched me on a piano stool in order not to disturb the associates who were dancing to Vivaldi or Paul Chantry who was filming them on an iPad.  They were all young women and I spotted immediately one I knew: Fiona who had taught me the dance in the Dream Dance workshop. After the show, Rae Piper told me that the dancers ranged in age from 11 to 24. At least one was at Elmhurst and two others were on their way to Trinity Laban.

The steps that the associates danced were not easy and demanded a lot of energy and stamina. The choreography to which Gail told me she had contributed was intricate.  It was executed with lightness, precision and obvious joy. The movement of those artists lifted my spirits and helped me forget my terrible journey.

After the Vivaldi several of the associates performed their own short solos. I had to take notes on the back of a VAT receipt because I had left my notebook in my car in my rush to catch a train at Luton Parkway. Consequently I was able to record my impressions of only a few of those pieces with the result that I am unable to do justice to the others. They were all good and I congratulate all the artists. I enjoyed their work enormously. However, those that I did record made a particular impression on me. An associate whom I know only as Jessica explored steps and movements beyond the positions of classical ballet to create novel and ingenious body shapes. She reminded me of two performances that I had seen recently: first, Ed Watson in the first act of The Winter's Tale where his body contortions represented his jealousy and irrationality; secondly, Daniel Montero's Ballet 101 in the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company's gala. Another dancer whose name I forget interpreted the story of Icarus and Daedalus. A human biology student represented heart beats and blood flows. Yet another one showed considerably dramatic promise in her improvisation.

The performance took place in a part of Sadler's Wells that I had not seen before. There was a plaque to Sir Frederick Ashton on the wall and busts of him as well as Fonteyn, Somes, Dolin, Lillian Baylis and Madam (I do hope real dancers will excuse my presumption in referring to Dane Ninette de Valois in this way) at the entrance. I had seen all of those great men and women except Baylis when they were alive and the flood of memories those busts triggered made my eyes water.

But I was also reminded that ballet is not all magic and involves hard work and sweat. I found myself in a lift with a troupe of Brazilian dancers including one who was naked except for a pair of sweaty underpants. They had obviously been dancing their socks off. Literally. That's about as up close and personal as most of us would care to get.

Talking about sweat, Chantry Dance is a company that works incredibly hard. On Saturday they had been performing The Sandman plus a new work in the Lincoln Drill Hall. Today they are starting a week long summer school in which Mel and Fiona are taking part. Later next month they are meeting local business. In October they will take their latest works which includes The Happy Prince on tour. One of the venues they will visit is The Square Chapel in Halifax on 20 Nov 2014.

Something to brighten up your Friday - MurleyDance is coming to the North

I must confess that I found out about MurleyDance only this morning which shows you how much I have to learn about dance; but I am a fast learner and I watched every one of the YouTube clips on the company's video page with mounting pleasure.  How could I have missed such a talented bunch of dancers? My pleasure increased all the more when I found out that one of my favourite dancers had recently joined the company.

According to the "Who we are" page of the company's website MurleyDance is a classical dance company. that "enjoys fusing classical technique with theatricality". Its work is "often described as colourful, full of character, passionate and sometimes comedic".  Well if they live up to the promise of their videos ....... 

The company made its début at The Robin Howard Theatre in 2012 and has performed at the Edinburgh Festival fringe in August of this year.  It is about to start its first tour at Lilian Baylis Studio in Islington on 22 Nov after which it perform at The Lowry on the 29 and 30 Nov and the Stanley and Audrey Burton in Leeds on 1 Dec.  

I shall tell you whether they really are as good as they look after I have seen them but with the accumulation of talent that I mentioned above I have high expectations.