Duchy Ballet's Auditions for the Anniversary Nutcracker

Later today Duchy Ballet, Cornwall's classical ballet company, will hold auditions for its annual show at Poltair School in St Austell. The timetable and other particulars of the auditions appear on the Info page of the company's website. I hope everyone who takes part has a good day.

The company will dance The Nutcracker in March which it first performed in 1998.  According to the Performances page

"Duchy Ballet was formed to celebrate the opening of a long awaited theatre in Cornwall in November 1997. Our first production just three months later, with a live orchestra, and professional soloists was 'The Nutcracker'."

As it will be the 20th anniversary of that first performance, next year's show is likely to be special. I shall make every effort to attend and review it.

I wrote about the company in Ballet in Cornwall 17 Sept 2017 when I was on holiday near Looe last year. In that article, I discussed Cornwall's cultural identity based on a strong literary and musical tradition upon which the company has drawn from time to time for the subject matter of its ballets. At that time I had not actually seen the company but I took an interest in it because I have connections with Cornwall having spent two significant periods of my life there as well as many holidays.

I saw Duchy Ballet for the first time last March when it performrd The Sleeping Beauty.  I was very impressed as you can see from my review, Cornwall's Coup: Duchy Ballet's Sleeping Beauty 19 March 2017.  The lead roles were danced by Tom Thorne and Laura Bosenberg of the Cape Town City Ballet but, as I noted in my review

"....... the company had its own stars. Terence Etheridge, who choreographed the show, was a magnificent Carabosse in the tradition of Robert Helpmann. The lilac fairy (danced, I think by Alabama Seymour) was delightful. Matthew Phillips was a great bluebird and he was partnered well by Amy Robinson. Jasmine Allen was a charming white cat. I need to credit the wardrobe, those who made the sets, the lighting designer - I could go on but it's late and I have a long journey tomorrow. The company won a standing ovation for its performance and that is all I need to say."

I later learned that Seymour had been offered a place at Rambert's school which delighted but did not surprise me at all (see A Spark of Excellence 23 March 2017).

Even though Truro is not a big city and Cornwall does not have a large population, the performance that I saw was well attended and there had already been others earlier in the day and the day before.  I mention that because the info page mentions sponsorship and advertising opportunities which must be worth considering for businesses based in, or doing a lot of business, in Cornwall.

Finally, the company relies on volunteers for technical, wardrobe, chaperoning, front of house and other jobs. I can say from experience that preparing for a performance is always great fun.  If you live in Cornwall this is your opportunity to experience the excitement of the theatre.

The Chelmsford Ballet

Amelia Wallis         Courtesy The Chelmsford Ballet Company

An amateur company with patrons like Christopher Marney, choreographer of the wonderful War Letters for Ballet Black, and the great ballerina, Doreen Wells, invites attention. On the home page of their website the Chelmsford Ballet Company describes itself as "an amateur company who set professional standards for all [its] work, involving professionals in [its] productions, courses, and other teaching and workshop opportunities." According to the history page it traces its history back to 1947 which makes it older than English National Ballet, Scottish Ballet and Northern Ballet.

I heard about the company through twitter. English National Ballet had been tweeting about the work that goes into their costumes for The Nutcracker (see "Cracking" 14 Dec 2013). I commented:

"@ENBallet's tweets on the amount of work which goes into each dancer's costume for a classical ballet like The Nutcracker is an eye opener."

The Chelmsford Ballet's publicity officer Jessica Wilson replied:

"@nipclaw @ENBallet we are busy sewing ours too, mouse king head has arrived and soldiers are at the ready!"

I followed the links and found the company's website.

The dancers are staging The Nutcracker at the Chelmsford Civic Theatre between the 19 and 22 March 2014 and I shall be there to review it on the opening night. If you want to come too, the following link takes you straight to the box office.  Clara in that performance will be danced by Amelia Wallis whose photo appears above. She and the other dancers were auditioned at a Nutcracker workshop other pictures of which you can see here.

If you do see the show it is worth staying awhile to visit the city and county. It has a very pretty 15th century cathedral dedicated to St Cedd who was one of the earliest English saints. There's a fine Saxon church that is also dedicated to him by the nuclear power station on the coast. Chelmsford also has a fine Shire Hall near the cathedral where the Crown Court used to sit. I got to know the city well in my early years at the Bar because my clerk sent me regularly to cross-examine coppers and plead mitigation there.  Essex is very like the North. It also has factories, coast and even a few hills though none quite so high as ours. More importantly, it has gritty, generous hearted people with a thirst for education and a determination to get on - not la-di-da but just like us. In fact I regard them as honorary Northerners.

Returning to the company for a second, there are classes for the company and guests which I would love to take, a regular newsletter and lots of other events. You can join as a dancing or a non-dancing member for a very reasonable subscription. You can download the application form here.  If you live nearby and are into dance, what are you waiting for?