Local Hero

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Huddersfield Station

 

The Birmingham Royal Ballet's website and programmes used to state: "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."  After attending  Deborah Weiss's online interview of Andrew McNicol for the London Ballet Circle on 7 May 2025, I looked up the McNicol Ballet Collective and found that it was based in Huddersfield.   IMHO the Collective counts as another significant contribution from Huddersfield to the world of classical dance.

Andrew McNicol is a freelance British choreographer and Artistic Associate at English National Ballet School.  He has created work for companies and ballet schools around the world, including the Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet, the Royal Ballet of Flanders, the Joffrey Ballet, the Tulsa Ballet, the Royal Ballet School and the English National Ballet School.   He founded the McNicol Ballet Collective in 2021.

The McNicol Ballet Collective describes itself as "a creation-based ensemble of extraordinary artists at the peak of their creative powers, alongside emerging talent primed to showcase their brilliance and artistry."  They create works for the stage and screen and have launched a learning programme called "Compositions and Configurations."

I discovered that the Collective has a mailing list, so I subscribed to it.  Yesterday, I received my first newsletter.  It started with a note of thanks from McNicol to those who had attended the Collective's shows, made donations or engaged with it on social media.  Since its formation, the Collective had presented 4 ballets to critical acclaim, premiered a new ballet called Liquid Life and commissioned a new score from Jeremy Birchall. There is also a link to the Collective's Insight Event with the Royal Academy of Dance.   

For those who want to learn more about McNicol and his project, I recommend Trevor Rothwell's write-up of Deborah Weiss's interview on the London Ballet Circle website and the Insight Event video.  Apart from asking McNicol why he chose Huddersfield as his base during that interview, my only contact with him was at the Tell Tale Steps Choreographic Laboratory  10 years ago.  I remember struggling to get a word in edgeways at the panel discussion.   I welcome McNicol's initiative in setting up the Collective and I will do my best to support it.

The London Ballet Circle talks to Bonelli

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Leanne Benjamin will interview Federico Bonelli for the London Ballet Circle at 19:00 tonight and members of the public can watch them over Zoom  If you are not already a member of the Circle you can learn how to book a place on the call in Conversation with Federico Bonelli ...... (via Zoom).`

I shall join the call for the reasons I set out in Northern Ballet's New Director on 2 Feb 2022.  I have been one of his fans for many years.  He is now Artistic Director of Northern Ballet which I have followed ever since its formation and have supported financially and in other ways ever since I returned to the North in 1985.  Bonelli has only been in post since May but he seems to have worked some kind of magic with the company.   The performances of Made in Leeds: Three Short Ballets at the Leeds Playhouse on 14 and 17 Sept 2022 were the best I had seen from the company since Christopher Gable danced with Moira Shearer in Gillian Lynne's A Simple Man,  Both casts danced with a flair and engagement that I had never seen before.

The three short ballets were Mthuthuzeli November's Wailers, Stina Quagebeur's Nostalgia and Dickson Mbi's Ma Vie Live.  They were very different but nonetheless complementary works.  Wailers is set in rural Africa against a background that appeared to be parched earth to a score created by November.  Like his other works, Wailers successfully merges classical steps with African dance and rhythms. Nostalgia features two couples both clad in red and an ensemble in brown.  The music is by Jeremy Birchall.  Ma Vie reminded me of both Kenneth Tindall's Casanova and Nixon's Wuthering Heights.  It had the most elaborate sets, costumes and lighting.  It finished with a rumbustious reverence where each of the dancers demonstrated his or her virtuosity,

There was a well-deserved standing ovation on both nights.   Indeed, Gita and I who were sitting one row back from the stage led the one on the 14,  I enjoyed all three works but particularly the first. Possibly that is because I have seen November's work before and understand it better.   He is one of the senior artists of Ballet Black.  I first noticed him in 2015 when he toured with Ballet Central (see Dazzled  2 May 2015. He is an impressive dancer who showed his talents for choreography almost as soon as he joined the company

On Monday Northern Ballet announced that it had appointed David Collins as its new Executive Director. Collins comes from Opera North, another important regional touring company.  I wish him every success in his new role.  

Everything Happens on a Tuesday!

 

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Since Northern Ballet moved its improvers' class from Wednesday to Tuesday in September I have had to make the heartbreaking choice between joining my improvers class in Leeds or my pre-intermediate class in Manchester.  Neither of those classes is to be missed. Northern Ballet is not taking any new registrations at the moment.  However, you can sign up for KNT's in Manchester by following the instructions in the last paragraph of Dancing Outdoors in Castlefield on 2 June 2021.  

Since the London Ballet Circle has started its "In Conversation" interviews on Tuesday evenings my heart has often been broken three-ways.  They have had some really interesting guests recently.  This Tuesday they will welcome Cira Robinson of Ballet Black, one of my all-time favourite ballerinas. Here she is in conversation with Helen Pickett last September (see YouTube Helen Pickett and Cira Robinson 20 Sep 2020).   You will probably have to join the Circle to get a link to the interview but you can join online at https://www.tlbc.org.uk/.

And this Thursday my heart risks shattering to smithereens because the Dutch National Ballet plans to live stream Beethoven on 8 June 2021 and David Dawson's Four Seasons on 15 June 2021 at 19:15 our time. Tickets can be obtained from the box office at +31(0) 20 625 54 55 or through the website ay www.operaballet.nl.  

So what is the Dutch Style?

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That was a question that I put to Ernst Meisner in the Q&A following his interview by Graham Watts in the London Ballet Circle's Zoom call last night.  I asked Ernst that question because the Dutch National Ballet will perform a mixed bill entitled The Dutch School between 12 and 26 June 2021 to which he is one of the contributors.  Thinking also of Balanchine's Jewels in which emeralds were attributed to the French, rubies to the Americans and diamonds to the Russians, I wondered what would be the Dutch jewel if Mr B could plan a sequel.

Ernst replied "simplicity" when Graham Watts read out my question.  That is certainly true of Embers and No Time before Time, two of the most beautiful short pieces that have ever been created for the stage.  It is quite impossible to watch either of those works dry-eyed.  But what about the others?  Van Dantzig, van Manen, van Schayk, Ochoa and Brandsen?  To name just a few?  "Simplicity" is not the first word that comes to my mind when contemplating Mata Hari or In the Future.

Yet there is undoubtedly a quality of Dutch dance that makes it recognizable anywhere and that is its fluidity. That is the characteristic that I think all the works that I have seen in Amsterdam have in common.  It is the je ne sais quoi of Embers and No Time that tugs at my emotions. But it is the one quality that I think the maker of abstract historical ballets shares with the creator of moving architecture.  I might also add another word that is close to fluidity, namely fluency.

Don't all successful works of choreography have that quality? Many will ask.  Yes, but in the same way as all male dancers jump spectacularly but perhaps not quite in the same way as the Russians.  Similarly, there is a certain lyrical softness to say Lise's solo as she is locked up with the sheaves of corn that all dancers display but perhaps not to the same extent which perhaps explains why I have never seen Ashton performed outside England quite as well as his work is danced here. 

If I were thinking of awarding the Dutch a jewel I think it would be mercury, the only metal that exists as a liquid at room temperature.  Not a gem that can be worn on a ring or in the hair but something equally rare, just as beautiful and much more elusive.

A Ballet Circle for the North

Photo Gita Mistry
© 2018 Gita Mistry: all rights reserved

The London Ballet Circle was founded in the year that the company that was to become the Royal Ballet returned to Covent Garden for its legendary performance of The Sleeping Beauty.  Dame Ninette de Valois was the Circle's first President.  At the 70th anniversary reception I learned that Dame Ninette regarded the Circle as her third great achievement alongside her company and her school.

I first joined the London Ballet Circle when I was an undergraduate. When I went to graduate school in Los Angeles I allowed my membership to lapse. It took nearly 50 years for me to rejoin,  But since I rejoined I have made full use of my membership attending talks by Cassa Pancho, Christopher Hampson, Li Cunxin, Ernst Meisner and Javier Torres.   The Circle also arranges visits to companies and ballet schools although I have only managed to make it to Ballet Cymru in their new premises in Newport (see Ballet Cymru at Home 5 Oct 2015). 

Most importantly the London Ballet Circle raises money for prizes and scholarships for outstanding young students.   One of its prize winners was Xander Parish who is now a principal with the Mariinsky.   According to its  website

"The London Ballet Circle provides financial support to student dancers. Typically, we pay for children to attend dance summer schools such as the Yorkshire Ballet Summer School, Dutch National Ballet Summer School or Newport Summer Dance & Wales International Ballet Summer School. We ask school principals to select naturally gifted students who, without the London Ballet Circle's financial support, would be unable to attend such specialist coaching sessions."

The Dutch National Ballet Academy, Ballet Cymru's Summer School and Yorkshire Ballet Summer School are three of my favourite causes.

As it is not easy for everybody to get to London I have long thought that we needed a Ballet Circle in the North. The visit by Ballet Cymru to Leeds at the end of November is a very good opportunity to set one one. Powerhouse Ballet is hosting a workshop for Ballet Cymru at Yorkshire Dance between 18:00 and 19:30 on 28 November to which everyone taking regular ballet classes will be welcome. After the workshop there will be a chance for everyone to meet members of Ballet Cymru over a glass of wine

If this meeting proves to be successful we shall hold others with choreographers, dancers, teachers and others from our region and beyond.

Chase Johnsey

Civil Service Club

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On 9 July 2018 at 19:30 Gerald Dowler will interview the American dancer Chase Johnsey at the Civil Service Club for the London Ballet Circle (see Chase Johnsey, in conversation with Gerald Dowler on the "Events" page of the London Ballet Circle website).

Johnsey has been in the news for appearing in a female character role in the English National Ballet's recent production of The Sleeping Beauty even though registered at birth as a boy (see Roslyn Sulcas How Sleeping Beauty got woke: Meet ballet's first male ballerina 12 June 2018 Independent). Earlier in the year Johnsey left Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo which also gave rise to a lot of press attention.

Those news stories may fascinate some but the most interesting press report for me was the announcement on 6 Feb 2017 that Johnsey had won the Dancing Times Award for Best Male Dancer in 2016 (see 2016 National Dance Awards – Winners Announced 6 Feb 2017 Dance Tabs). This was a very interesting decision because the obvious candidates for such an award would be athletic male dancers in such roles as Siegfried or Albrecht. Johnsey appears to have won that award not for technique but for pure artistry in dancing not just a female role (Ashton and Helpmann did that hilariously as the step sisters in Cinderella) but a female artist dancing such role.

Because I live in Yorkshire I cannot attend many London Ballet Circle events so it is unlikely that I shall make this one.  But if you live in, or happen to be passing through, London next Monday you could learn a lot from this one.  A lot of horrible things are said (and even worse things thought) about gender fluid or indeed trans folk in the performing arts and society generally. Johnsey's interview may not shift any prejudices but it should enlighten those of a receptive mind.

The Civil Service Club is at 13-15 Great Scotland Yard, London, SW1A 2HJ. It is next door to the Nigerian embassy near the corner of Great Scotland Yard and Northumberland Avenue. Look out for the green and white flag and colours which often adorn the embassy's shopfront. The nearest tubes are Embankment and Charing Cross. "Can't miss it guv!" as they say (or at least used to say) down there

Best News All Day!

York Grand Opera House

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A lot of anniversaries fall on 29 July. It was my father's birthday. It was the day I was called to the Bar. It was the day I was married.  And it was also the day almost 10 years ago that I first saw two outstanding young students from Hull who turned out to be brother and sister at the Yorkshire Ballet Seminar Gala at the Grand Old Opera House in York.

I am talking, of course, about Xander and Demelza Parish.  I did not blog about dance in those days so I have to rely on Charles Hutchinson's Review: A Summer Gala of Dance and Song, Grand Opera House, York, Sunday 31 July 2007 The Press to remind me who else was there. Samara Downs, Marianela Nunez, Wayne Sleep, Anthony Dowell, Lauren Cuthbertson. Big names! But the two that stick out in my memory are still Xander Parish and his sister Demelza.

"Those two will go far," said my late spouse who was an even bigger ballet fan than I am. "Especially the lad. In 10 years time, he will be topping the bill at Covent Garden".  Today I read Zoe Anderson's review in The Independent:

Swan Lake, Royal Opera House, London, review: Xander Parish reaches stardom

The first British dancer to join the Mariinsky Ballet was promoted to principal after his performance on the opening night of the St Petersburg company's 'Swan Lake'

Well, how about that! 

Sadly, my spouse did not survive long enough for that prophesy come true. Very shortly afterwards symptoms of a disease developed which was later diagnosed as motor neurone or Lou Gehrig's disease and my spouse died in March 2010. But I have lived to see it and while I am not in the least surprised by Xander Parish's elevation I could not possibly be more delighted.

The 29 July used to be a day of joy. After many of the people associated with the good times died it became an anniversary of sadness. And what with missile tests in Korea, the US government practically tearing itself apart, the Russians imposing sanctions, the Chinese building fortresses in the South China Sea not to mention Brexit there's precious little joy about.

But Xander Parish's news made me smile and not for the first time. I once had the pleasure of meeting him at the London Ballet Circle and I hope to do so again at 19:30 on Wednesday 2 Aug at the Civil Service Club at New Scotland Yard next door to the Nigerian embassy, The meeting is open to the public and only costs £5 for members and £8 for the rest. See you there.

Hampson!

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Whenever the London Ballet Circle has a special guest such as Li-Cunxin or a special event such as the Circle's 70th anniversary celebrations last year, the Dancing Times's Gerald Dowler is asked to play a special role. Dowler has a profound knowledge of the ballet and a pleasant interviewing style that can coax the best from a guest. Dowler's services have been called upon tonight as he will interview Christopher Hampson, Scottish Ballet's artistic director and chief executive.

Hampson is a Mancunian like me and he is one of the artists I most admire in the performing arts. His work is also admired by my readers because my reviews of Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Storyville and other works attract a lot of page hits. In February of this year, I actually met him in Newcastle and seized the opportunity to tell him how much I admired his work.

For those who would like to learn a little more about Hampson, the London Ballet Circle has published this potted biography on its website:

"Christopher joined Scottish Ballet as Artistic Director in August 2012 and was appointed Artistic Director / Chief Executive of Scottish Ballet in 2015. Christopher trained at the Royal Ballet Schools. His choreographic work began there and continued at English National Ballet (ENB), where he danced until 1999 and for whom he subsequently created numerous award-winning works, including Double Concerto, Perpetuum Mobile, Country Garden, Concerto Grosso and The Nutcracker. Christopher’s Romeo and Juliet, created for the Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB), was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award (Best New Production 2005) and his production of Giselle for the National Theatre in Prague has been performed every year since its premiere in 2004. Christopher created Sinfonietta Giocosa for the Atlanta Ballet (USA) in 2006 and after a New York tour it received its UK premiere with ENB in 2007. He created Cinderella for RNZB in 2007, which was subsequently hailed as Best New Production by the New Zealand Herald and televised by TVNZ in 2009. His work has toured Australia, China, the USA and throughout Europe. Other commissions include, Dear Norman (Royal Ballet, 2009); Sextet (Ballet Black/ROH2, 2010); Silhouette (RNZB, 2010), Rite of Spring (Atlanta Ballet, 2011), Storyville (Ballet Black/ROH2, 2012) nominated for a National Dance Award 2012, and Hansel and Gretel (Scottish Ballet 2013). Christopher is co-founder of the International Ballet Masterclasses in Prague and has been a guest teacher for English National Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures and the Genée International Ballet Competition. Christopher’s work now forms part of the Solo Seal Award for the Royal Academy of Dance. Christopher most recently gave a talk on ‘Creative Thinking’ for TEDx Glasgow and developed and led the inaugural Young Rural Retreat for Aspiring Leaders, in association with Dance East last summer."

Even though I really do not have the time to swan off to London today I shall be on the 16:40 from Donny to London and the 22:57 back. I am traipsing down to the Smoke tonight mainly out of respect for Hampson but also partly out of love for Scottish Ballet which I followed even before they became Scottish and also partly as a minor act of defiance to those religious fanatics who have wrought so much harm to my native city and national capital.

Scottish Ballet is making one of its rare and highly valued visits south of the Tweed and Solway this week. Between Wednesday and Saturday, it will dance Emergence and MC 14/22 (ceci est mon corps) at Sadler's Wells. I will be there on Saturday evening.

If you are free tonight, the interview takes place between 19:30 and 20:30 tonight on the 1st floor of the Civil Service Club at 13 - 15 Great Scotland Yard, London SW1A 2HJ. The Club is next to the Nigerian embassy and on several bus routes. The nearest Underground stations are Charing Cross and Embankment.

Hampson & Parish

Hampson & Parish sound like a firm of patent agents but they are not, They are two fo the biggest names in ballet and they are coming to the London Ballet Circle on the 5 June and 2 Aug 2016 respectively.

Christopher Hampson will be there for Scottish Ballet's performance of Emergence and MC 14/22  (Ceci est mon Corps) at Sadler's Wells between 7 and 10 June while Xander Parish will be in town for the Mariinsky's season at Covent Garden.

Both events are open to the public. They will take place on the first floor of the Civil Service Club  at 13-15 Great Scotland Yard, Westminster, London SW1A 2HJ near Charing X and Embankment and right next door to the Nigerian embassy (identifiable by their green and white flag and pictures of Nigeria in the windows). Members pay £5 and non-members £8.

The Sleeping Beauty in Huddersfield

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The Royal Ballet, The Sleeping Beauty, The Royal Opera House, screened to cinemas, 28 Feb 2017 ay 19:30

It was great to see Dame Monica Mason and Dame Beryl Grey on the big screen last Tuesday. I saw Dame Monica on stage often when she was a principal of the Royal Ballet.  She is one of my favourite ballerinas. Nowadays I see her often at meetings of the London Ballet Circle. I have also met Dame Beryl but I have only seen films of her dancing.

Dame Beryl was in the Sadler's Wells Ballet's first performance at Covent Garden on 20 Feb 1946 which I referred to in The Sleeping Beauty - a Review and why the Ballet is important on 20 Sept 2013. Aurora's awakening has been likened to the country's recovery from war and also to the reopening of the Royal Opera House as a theatre. The restaging if The Sleeping Beauty this season commemorates that reopening.

There have been a few changes to the ballet since 1946. Additional choreography has been contributed by Sir Frederick Ashton. Sir Anthony Dowell and Christopher Wheeldon.  Dame Monica had produced the show with Christopher Newton. Oliver Messel's designs were supplemented by Peter Farmer's. The biggest change of all is that the Royal Ballet has grown considerably in size and international reputation.

The title role was danced by Marianela Nuñez. Her suitors in the rose adage included two of my favourites, Gary Avis and Thomas Whitehead. The other two, whom I also enjoyed. were Valeri Hristov and Johannes Stepanek. One of the advantages of watching the ballet on the big screen is that it is easier to appreciate the difficulties of this scene. Aurora's prince was Vadim Muntagirov, also greatly admired for his virtuosity.  Claire Calbert was a delightful lilac fairy. Alexander Campbell was a fine bluebird. Kristen McNally was a splendid Carabosse and richly deserved her flowers at the curtain call.

The HDTV transmissions from the Royal Opera House have improved though they are still mot perfect. It was a right to partner Darcy Bussell with an experienced presenter but I bristled when he called Dame Beryl by her first name and teased Darcy Bussell over her tracing the dancers' steps. The Royal Opera House's productions really need a presenter like the Bolshoi's Katerina Novikova.

Calling all Northerners and Fans of Northern Ballet

Civil Service Club, Venue for London Ballet Circle Meetings

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David Nixon, one of the Vice Presidents of the London Ballet Circle and Artistic Director of Northern Ballet will be interviewed by Esme Chandler on the first floor of the Civil Service Club at 13-15 Great Scotland Yard, London SW1A 2HJ from 19:30 on Monday, 28 Nov 2016, The event is open to the public for a fee of £5 for members of the Circle and £8 for everybody else.

In case anyone from the North of England wants to attend that event, the venue is easy to reach by tube from King's Cross, St Pancras and Euston Stations and the Victoria coach station.  Embankment, which is served by the District Line and Charing Cross are not far away.  Great Scotland Yard leads off from Northumberland Avenue which runs from Trafalgar Square to the river. Look out for the green and white flags of the Nigerian embassy which abuts Northumberland Avenue as the venue is right next door.  If you are driving from the North a good place to park is Luton Parkway. The station multi-storey is very cheap even by Northern standards and you can make the rest of your way into town by Thameslink. You can change to the District line at Blackfriars.

Those coming to the London Ballet Circle can order meals and drinks before and after the talk. Again, at Northern prices. I can particularly recommend the fish and chips and the roast dinner. If you want to combine Nixon's talk with a spot of Christmas shopping, Harrods and Harvey Nicks are within walking distance and Fortnums is even closer. There is, of course, also the whole of the West End to entertain you if you want to stay for any length of time.

Of course, you will have come mainly to hear about Northern Ballet. The season began with revivals of Nixon's Wuthering Heights (see Janet McNulty's review Northern Ballet's "Wuthering Heights" at the West Yorkshire Playhouse 9 Sept 2016 and my Northern Ballet's "Wuthering Heights" at the West Yorkshire Playhouse - about as good as it can get 10 Sept 2016) and Jean-Christophe Maillot's Romeo and Juliet (see Romeo and Juliet after the Shrew 15 Oct 2016) and will continue with Nixon's Beauty and the Beast which I reviewed in my law blog IP Yorkshire (see Ballet and Intellectual Property - my Excuse for reviewing "Beauty and the Beast" 31 Dec 2011 IP Yorks).

Happily, some new work is promised for the new year.  There is, of course. Kenneth Tindall's first full-length ballet Casanova as I mentioned on 24 May 2016. I will try to get an interview with Kenny before the premiere on 11 March. There will also be Daniel de Andrade's The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas that opens in Doncaster in May and will tour the rest of the country before finding its way back to Yorkshire and Nixon's own Little Mermaid  which opens in Southampton in September and trundles into Sheffield in November and Leeds in December.

There should be a lot to discuss with our company's artistic director. We don't get a chance to talk to him very often. It will be worth making the long trek south just this once.

Another Chance to hear the Voice of Dame Ninette de Valis

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Dame Ninette de Valois was born on 6 June 1898 and died on 8 March 2001. Even now she is referred to as "Madam" by dancers of the Royal Ballet and the Birmingham Royal Ballet who could never have known her and indeed by students who were born after she died.

I regret that I never met her even though I could have done had I ever attended any of its meetings as she was patron of the London Ballet Circle in the 1970s. However, I did at least hear her speak at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1971 at an exhibition to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the company that is now the Royal Ballet.

I am therefore extremely grateful to the Royal Ballet School for the opportunity to hear Dame Ninette's voice again by linking to a recording of her appearance on Desert Island Discs on 20 Dec 1991 from its Facebook page. The Royal Ballet School rightly celebrated Dame Ninette as the founder of the Royal Ballet School which everyone knows but I also learned that she also founded the Turkish Ballet and the Turkish Ballet Academy.

I gained that information from a lady called Gülen Tekebas who wrote on the Royal Ballet School's Facebook page:

"She is also the Founder of Turkish Ballet.. and I am the first child she picked for Ballet Academy when I was 5 y"

Later she wrote:

"I am very proud of this.. Dame Ninette said: Turkish Ballet is my child..We all love her and appreciate what she did for us.. Happy Birthday 'Madam'..."

That is a delightful contribution from Ms Tekebas and a timely one for Turkey's relationship with the rest of Europe is an issue in our referendum. We should never forget that Turkey has made and will continue to make a great contribution to European culture and serves as an important bridge between the Islamic world and the West.

Cuba

Alicia Alonso

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Javier Torres's appearance at the London Ballet Circle last Monday reminded me of the extraordinary contribution of Cuban dancers to British ballet. Torrres is for the moment one of two male premier dancers at Northern Ballet  the other of whom has just announced that he is about to take leave of absence (see Batley and Leebolt 10 May 2016). Carlos Acosta may have retired as principal dancer with the Royal Ballet (see Au Revoir but not Adieu 19 Nov 2015) but he is still very busy. Yonah Acosta and Alejandro Virelles are principals of English National Ballet.

I could go on and I could also find Cubans as principal dancers in many other countries around the world. That is impressive for a country with a population of just over 11 million whose gross national income is US$7,301 per head which ranks 67 in the UN's human development index (see UN Development Programme Human Development Indicators).

Clearly one reason for such success is that it has directed considerable resources to the development of the the art which is only possible in a command economy (see Michael Voss Passion fuelling Cuban Ballet Boom 7 Nov 2008 BBC).  According to Wikipedia the Cuban National Ballet School is the biggest in the world with over 3,000 students and there are several other schools and classes throughout the island. Another reason, however, is the genius, drive and vision of Alicia Alonso, the founder of the National Ballet of Cuba. Alonso, who had a glittering career in the USA, established the National Ballet in the name of the Alicia Alonso Ballet Company some 11 years before the present government came to power.

This blog has acknowledged Alonso's genius in two articles. The first is the review by Joanna Goodman of the National Ballet's Swan Lake in Havana on 27 June 2014 (see "We are the dancers, we create the dreams": Ballet Nacional de Cuba’s El Lago de los Cisnes in Havana 8 July 2016). Alonso took the curtain call and Joanna managed to snap that great dancer together with Viengsay Valdés who danced Odette-Odile that night. The second was my tribute to Alonso on her 95th birthday last December (see Alicia Alonso 22 Dec 2015).

For many years Cuba was isolated from its neighbours by diplomatic and economic sanctions imposed by the USA and other members of the Organization of American States. During that period Cuba depended heavily on aid from the former Soviet Union and its allies which would have increased Soviet influence in all areas of Cuban life including the performing arts. Happily there has been rapprochement between Cuba and the USA which means that Cuba will be open to other influences. Will ballet continue to flourish in ballet n changing times? I hope so and think there is every chance that it will if only because ballet is flourishing in Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and elsewhere in Latin America.

Torres

One of the highlights of Northern Ballet's 40th anniversary gala last year was Javier Torres's Dying Swan (see Sapphire 15 March 2015). Here is what I wrote about it:

"So there was a lot of emotion welling up inside me before Torres took to the stage. At first I was in despair because the cello was almost drowned by sound effects but then it shone through and so did Torres. He was as beautiful and as moving as Glurdjidze. And indeed as Pavlova so far as I can tell from my mother's description and the film. Again I was moved to tears. Now I am a hard nosed barrister specializing in patents and I don't cry easily but I couldn't help myself yesterday. Some of those tears were prompted by my associations with Pavlova and my mother's story but most sprung from Torres's dancing. And when the auditorium exploded with applause at the end of his piece I felt sure it was the latter."

Torres is my favourite male dancer with Northern Ballet by a country mile and with Batley and Leebolt's recent announcement he appears to be the company's only remaining male premier dancer for the time being.

He trained in Havana and joined Northern Ballet after a glittering career in Cuba.  In the words of the London Ballet Circle:

"Javier joined Northern Ballet in 2010 as Premier Dancer. He has performed leading roles in The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Ondine, Beauty & the Beast, Hamlet, Madame Butterfly, Cleopatra, The Great Gatsby and Hans van Manen's Concertante. His performance as Caesar in Cleopatra was voted one of the top hundred favourite performances by the UK dance critics in Dance Europe Magazine for the 2010-2011 season."

Tonight Torres will be the guest of the London Ballet Circle  at the Civil Service Club, 13-15 Great Scotland Yard, London, SW1A 2HJ 19:30 where he will be interviewed by Susan Johnson.  Members of the public will be admitted to his interview upon payment of an £8 admission fee (£5 for Circle members).

The Circle's next guest. Jonathan Watkins, also has a connection with Northern Ballet in that he created the delightful Northern Trilogy for the Sapphire gala as well as 1984 for the company. He will be interviewed by Allison Potts at the Civil Service Club at 19:30 on the 6 June 2016.

Up to t'Smoke

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Usually at this time of the year Northern Ballet takes a slot at the Linbury. Joanna Goodman saw them there last year and reviewed their performance in Mixed Programme with a Sweet Centre 14 May 2015. Unfortunately the Linbury is closed this year but Londoners can still see them in the capital.

On Mondayon 23 May 2016  Javier Torres will be the guest of honour at the London Ballet Circle. I will be in the front row of the audience to hear him speak.

Between 31 May and 1 June Northern Ballet will dance Jane Eyre at the Richmond Theatre. I am giving a talk on IP law and fashion in London on the 2 June so I will be in the audience on the 1st. My parents moved to Surrey from Manchester when I was very young and I spent most of my childhood and adolescence in that part of England. It is a lovely theatre overlooking the Green and I have fond memories of pantomimes in that auditorium.

One of the performances by Northern Ballet that I most enjoyed last year was Jonathan Watkins's Northern Trilogy and, in particular, Yorkshire Pudding.  For me that was one of the highlights of the Sapphire gala (see my reviews in Sapphire 15 March 2015 and Between Friends - Northern Ballet's Mixed Programme 10 May 2015). Watkins will be London Ballet Circle's guest on 6 June 2016. Here is a video of Watkins from last year (see Jonathan Watkins on Working with Northern Ballet).

After that interview Watkins created 1984 which I don't like anything like as much (see My First Impressions of 1984 12 Sept 2015, Watkins on 1984 14 Sept 2015 and 1984 Second Time Round  24 Oct 2015). However, Londoners will get the chance to judge for themselves as it will be at Sadler's Wells between 24 and 28 May 2016.

Budapest Prologue

Prologue

Photo Atilla Nagy
(c) Hungarian National Ballet: all rights reserved
Reproduction licensed by the Company

Sir Peter Wright reminded us of our glorious evening in Budapest when we watched his production of The Sleeping Beauty for the Hungarian National Ballet at the London Ballet Circle's 70th birthday celebration on Monday (see 70 Years of the London Ballet Circle 10 May 2016).   Here are some more photos which were sent to me by Mr György Jávorszky of the Hungarian State Opera House.

Fairies

Photo Atilla Nagy
(c) 2016 Hungarian National Ballet: All rights reserved
Reproduction kindly licensed by the company

Carabosse

Photo Atilla Nagy
(c) 2016 Hungarian National Ballet: All rights reserved
Reproduction kindly licensed by the company

Batley and Leebolt

Standard YouTube Licence

I have just received the following email from Mr Alex Wright, Development Officer: Friends, Patrons & Legacies of Northern Ballet:

"Dear Miss Lambert
Martha Leebolt and Tobias Batley
As valued supporters of Northern Ballet, we wanted you to be amongst the first to know that at the end of the season, Premier Dancers Martha Leebolt and Tobias Batley are to take a leave of absence from the Company to pursue new opportunities.
The pair, who have formed a dynamic dance partnership under the directorship of David Nixon OBE, will return as Resident Guest Artists to perform in Northern Ballet’s Wuthering Heights at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in September, and our tour of Romeo and Juliet from September to October.
Artistic Director David Nixon said: ‘Martha and Tobias have had an extraordinary journey with Northern Ballet from very young dancers in the corps, to the leading artists they are today. Through their hard work and commitment they have made a significant contribution to both my work and the Company as individuals and as a creative and inspirational partnership. There comes a time, especially when a dancer has been in the same place for a long time, that artists need to go out and discover new things which will enrich them and take them to new heights. Both Martha and Tobias are at this place in their lives and I respect their decision to broaden their life experience. This is not about saying goodbye forever and I am therefore pleased that they will both still be doing some performances with the Company next season. We all wish them the very best.’
We are delighted that there will be opportunities to see both Martha and Tobias perform with Northern Ballet throughout 2016, and I hope you will join me in wishing them well with their future endeavours.
Best wishes
Alex"

Mr Wright does not specify what those new opportunities are and I have been unable to find out despite scouring all the usual on-line publications and social media but whatever they are doing I should like to offer my congratulations to Mr. Batley and Ms. Leebolt and wish them both well for the future.

While on the subject of Northern Ballet I should also like to mention that Javier Torres will be the London Ballet Circle's guest on 23 May and choreographer Jonathan Watkins will be the Circle's guest on 6 June 2016 (see 70 Years of the London Ballet Circle 10 May 2016).

70 Years of the London Ballet Circle

National Liberal Club

Author Debonairchap

Source Wikipedia
Creative Commons Library

I have just returned from a most delightful evening at the National Liberal Club. The occasion was a talk and party to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the formation of the London Ballet Circle. The Circle must have been formed just a few weeks after Sadler's Wells Ballet danced The Sleeping Beauty at Covent Garden (see The Sleeping Beauty (1946) Royal Opera House Collections On-line) and like the Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and the Royal Ballet School it owes much to its first patron, Dame Ninette de Valois.

I can't tell you what was said in the discussion because a rule similar to the Chatham House Rule applies to meetings of the London Ballet Circle but I can say that many of the great names of British ballet contributed to that discussion or were in the audience to hear it. Before the discussion began, our chairperson, Susan Dalgetty Ezra announced that Kevin O'Hare and Cassa Pancho had been appointed Vice-Presidents of the Circle. The latter announcement delighted me so much that I clapped so vigorously that a lady in the front tow turned round to see who was responsible for the racket. Cassa Pancho and her delightful dancers are among my very favourite people in the arts. Indeed anywhere.

At the party I met some of my heroes and heroines. There was Dame Beryl Gray whose company's performances of The Nutcracker in the Festival Hall every Christmas attracted me to ballet when I was very young. Sir Peter Wright whom I had met for the first time in Budapest on 17 April was there too. So, too was Dame Monica Mason, one of my all time favourite ballerinas. Also, Gary Avis, the best Drosselmeyer ever, as gracious and handsome off stage as he is on it. I wish him all the best with Dance for Suffolk which I hope to review in Terpsichore. Last but not least Cassa Pancho whose company I had seen twice at the weekend and I take this opportunity to congratulate her.

There were warm words for great names who were not there. Among the people I spoke to Ernst Meisner's occurred more than once. As one of his fans, it was gratifying to note the enormous affection as well as respect with and in which he is held in this country.

To start its next 70 years The London Ballet Circle has arranged two Borealian treats. It has invited Javier Torres to speak on 23 May 2016 and Jonathan Watkins who created the delightful Northern Trilogy and 1984 for Northern Ballet will speak on 6 June. I shall be there to cheer them on.

Look what I've found!

(c) 2016 Gita Mistry, all rights reserved

Whereas most of my contemporaries St Andrews spent their pennies on Sergeant Pepper or Revolver I spent mine on ballet music. My pride and joy was this recording of the complete score of Giselle conducted by Richard Bonynge but I have other treasures too. I went to graduate school in Los Angeles in 1972 and thought this music collection was lost for ever - until I found it today. I have Ansermet's recording of The Firebird, Clifford Curzon's Symphonic Variations, von Karajan's Sacre du Printemps, Lanchberry's Fille mal gardee, Pistoulari's Graduation Ball and many, many more. 

My tutors had expected me to get a first but I came away with a second - albeit a respectable one or so I am told as St Andrews did not divide the second class honours class in those days. At least part of the reason may be that I listened to those records when I should have been revising.   I was ballet mad. Together with my frequent trips to London for Covent Garden, the Wells, the Festival Hall, the Coliseum or events with the London Ballet Circle and, after 1969, Glasgow to see Western Theatre Ballet not to mention my first classes with Sally Marshall in the sports centre it is a wonder that I graduated at all.

I have not touched these records since graduation.  I do not have a vinyl turntable but Gita does so I have entrusted these records to her, Tonight, after Don Quixote we shall try one to see whether it still produces sound. If it does, I shall be over the moon.

Two Chances to meet Leanne Benjamin

In my article about Hendrick's January's class at Danceworks I mentioned some of the master classes that will take place at those studios soon:

"Roberta Marquez, Zdenek Konvalisa and Antonia Franceschi as well as Leanne Benjamin teaching a series of repertoire classes from February and Michaela DePrince in July."

 I promised to mention these again when I had more details.

Danceworks has just published details of Leanne Benjamin's course for advanced and professional dancers. The great ballerina will present four master classes between 09:30 and 12:00 on  22 Feb, 21 March, 18 April  and 16 May. Those who want to take the course must book all four classes at a cost of £160 plus a £3 booking fee. The blurb advises that numbers will be strictly limited to ensure personal attention. Participants are asked to make sure that they have appropriate technical training in order to get the most out of the experience. They must be 15 years of age or over. Places are offered on a first come first served basis and you can book through the web page.

If like me you are a million miles from "advanced/professional" standard you can still meet Leanne Benjamin on the 7 March at 19:30 in the Civil Service Club at 13-15 Great Scotland Yard when she gives a talk to the London Ballet Circle. That event, incidentally, is open the public as well as members of the Circle. If you are not already a member it is well worth joining even if you live well outside the metropolis. Tomorrow is the Circle's AGM and party by the way.

Returning to Danceworks I could not resist this photo of one of my favourite dancers on the poster for the studios' open day on 31 Jan which offers all sorts of free taster classes in  all styles of dance. Christina-Maria Mittelmaier will teach beginners' ballet between 10:30 and 11:30 after which she gives her regular class until 12:00 (see the the Sunday timetable). Oh and if you are wondering about Michaela DePrince I am assured that she is coming. Not on the 31 Jan alas but soon.