The Cast of Elysian Moments at ChromaQ Theatre, Leeds 23 Nov 2024
Last year was Powerhouse Ballet's best ever. We danced an extract from La Sylphide at KNT Danceworks' 15th-anniversary gala in July and contributed Emily Joy Smith Elysian Moments to Dance Studio Leeds's Celebration of Dance at ChromaQ Theatre in Leeds in November.
We have now performed nine times in public, twice at the Manchester Dancehouse, 6 times at ChromaQ and once at York St John University. We have held workshops on The Waltz of the Flowers withJane Tucker, The Fairy Variations with Beth Meadway, Alex Hallas'sConcerto Jenkins and Morning from Grieg's Peer Gynt with Yvonne Charlton, We have hosted Ballet Cymru's workshops on Dylan Thomas and Giselle. We have held company classes almost every month since we started including during the lockdown when we welcomed Maria Chugai, Shannon Lilly and Krystal Lowe as guest ballet mistresses.
Our next step is to hold our own show which will probably be a mixed bill or a complete act of one of the romantic ballets we have learned. We shall probably need to do this in conjunction with one or more partners which could be a dance studio or even another small company. That will require a lot of planning and corporate reorganization. Right now the company is a group of friends who enjoy dancing but we shall put it on a more formal basis in the course of the year. I am exploring the possibility of charitable status for the company and converting Terpsichore into a private limited company.
Up to now, the company has relied entirely on sponsorship. That source of funding will not dry up but we need to supplement it with a Friends scheme whereby we shall invite the company's members and well-wishers around the country to make a modest annual contribution. We shall also need to monetize some of our services which will include smartening the appearance of this blog, publishing a regular print version, reviving Stage Door and charging for workshops and some of our other activities.
In the longer term, we shall seek grant funding and commercial sponsorship. I have already made contact with Arts Council England and the Arts Council of Wales. While it is impractical to expect funding from that quarter in the medium term it is never too early to prepare the ground. I have also put out feelers to organizations that already fund the arts to find out what we must do to qualify for their patronage.
Dancers need to train regularly with each other which is why every company in the world holds regular company classes. However, our membership is spread over an area that stretches from Hull to Holyhead. It is very difficult for members who have demanding professional and domestic commitments to travel long distances. When I have tried to hold classes in outlying areas in venues like Bolton or Myndd Isa the response has been disappointing. Obviously, the solution is to hold regular monthly classes in Leeds and Chester as well as in Manchester but these will have to rely on non-sponsorship funding. If we get that right there is no reason why Powerhouse Ballet branded activities cannot take place anywhere in the UK or beyond and not just Manchester and Leeds.
Cristiano Principato and Sander Sellin CinderellaEstonian National Opera House, Tallinn, 14 Oct 2024 19:00
Cristiano Principato is a soloist with the Estonian National Ballet. He first came to my attention 10 years ago when he was a member of the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company (see Meet Cristiano Principato of the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company3 Dec 2014). In his interview, he explained that he had loved choreography ever since he was a child. He said that his long-term dream was to direct a major company where he could create new ballets. My parting comment was: "Here is another young man who knows where he is going and I shall follow his career with interest."
I did not have to wait long for Principato's talent to emerge. In June 2016 I flew to Italy to see some of Europe's most promising young dancers at the civic theatre of Trecate (a small town in Piedmont about the same distance from Milan as Huddersfield is from Manchester) perform at a benefit gala for an excellent local charity (see From Italy with Love1 July 2016). Not only did Principato raise money for the charity, he also danced before his father who had been prevented by illness from travelling to the opera houses in which Principato had performed. It must have been a very proud moment for both men.
In the same year the Dutch National Ballet invited Principato to create a work for that company and the result was Palladio. On the strength of that work, I nominated Principato as the outstanding young choreographer of 2016. The following year Principato was placed in charge of New Moves 2017which stages works by the Dutch National Ballet's dancers. In my review, I wrote:
"As well as coordinating the whole event (see Principato moves to a Bigger Stage30 May 2017), Cristiano Principato created, and danced in, my favourite work of the evening. He based his work on the music of Herny Purcell, our first great composer. This was a work for four dancers and his casting was impeccable."
I lost touch with Principato when he joined the Estonian National Ballet because Tallinn is much further from Manchester than Amsterdam.
We reconnected when Maria Chugai, one of my favourite artists with the Dutch National Ballet, told me that she was dancing in a new production of Cinderellaby Principato and suggested that I might like to fly out to Tallinn to see the show. Although it was not easy for me to get away I jumped at the idea for several reasons. First, Kenneth Tindall had told me in his interview on Casanova that "the jump from one-act to full-length is an exponential and qualitative leap - not merely doubling or tripling of effort." Not every choreographer can carry it off and I wanted to see what Principato would make of the challenge. Secondly, I have been a big fan of Chugai ever since I saw her dance Myrtha in Giselle at the Theater Heerlen on 9 Nov 2018 (see Mooie10 Nov 2018). I also owe her a special debt of gratitude for the online classes that she gave to Powerhouse Ballet during lockdown. Finally, visiting Estonia was an adventure. It is a fascinating country with Russian, Finnish, Swedish and German influences, thriving tech and creative sectors and a concession called e-residency which confers some of the benefits of Estonian residence on non-resident foreigners. The country also borders Russia and judging by the way international tensions are developing Tallinn may be the nearest I ever get to Theatre Street in my lifetime.
Although Cinderella was an independent production it took place in the Estonian National Opera House (Rahvusooper Estonia). That building consists of two auditoriums side by side. One is used for opera and ballet and the other for concerts. For those who want to learn more about the opera house, the photographer Jack Devant has written an interesting article about the venue. The dominant feature of the auditorium in which the ballet took place is a gigantic painting on the ceiling encircling a chandelier. It is not a big theatre compared to Covent Garden or the Music Theatre in Amsterdam but it gives an impression of opulence. The audience is seated on semi-upholstered wooden framed chairs allowing a reasonable amount of legroom. There appeared to be space for an orchestra though the pit was boarded over for the performance. A heavy royal blue curtain hung across the stage. The ushers were smartly turned out in black suits with golden trimmings around their neck and hemlines.
In an interview with Konstantin Litvichenko, Principato was asked to identify the three most successful factors of the performance. He replied first the visual design, secondly, staging Cinderella in the style of Marius Petipa and thirdly the experience that he gained from staging the work. I would agree with him about the design though I would not put it number one. An obvious reason for the success of the show was that Principato's libretto stuck close to Charles Perrault's story and avoided gimmicks like gender alternation as in Scottish Ballet's Cinders or substitution of a male magician for the Fairy Godmother in David Nixon's. But the main reason for the success of the show was the casting. Principato chose dancers who were also accomplished actors. They told the tale which was just as well as the programme notes were entirely in Estonian.
The casting of Elisabetta Formento from the Spanish National Dance Company in the title role was inspired. I had previously seen her with the Dutch National Ballet and the Birmingham Royal Ballet and it was a delight to see her again. Formento is an excellent communicator of emotion. Her despair and sense of burning injustice as her stepmother destroyed her dress and confiscated her invitation were palpable. Later she shared her exhilaration with three soaring grandsjetés as she approached her prince.
Perhaps because I am used to Sarah Kundi's portrayal of Hortensia (Cinderella's stepmother) in Christopher Wheeldon's version for the English National Ballet I had expected a comic performance from Francesca Loi. I was not disappointed. There were some hilarious moments such as her panic over a mouse and her mounting frustration over her failure to distract the prince after she had recognized Cinderella.
Loi was complemented by her two selfish and spiteful daughters Anastasia and Genevieve. These are difficult roles as they have to combine ridicule with nastiness which is the opposite of a dancer's training. They were danced by Karina Laura Leškin and Phillipa McCann.
Much as the Lilac Fairy holds together The Sleeping Beauty and Drosselmeyer The Nutcracker the Fairy Godmother links the three crucial scenes of Cinderella. She makes an appearance early in the first act noting Cinderella's misery. She comes again with fairy helpers to create Cinderella's gown and carriage. She returns to the stage just before midnight warning Cinderella to make her exit. That role was performed by Maria Chugai with flair and virtuosity.
Formento was partnered gallantly by her prince Thomas Giugovaz. Having graduated from La Scala ballet school less than 10 years ago his progress to soloist of the Spanish National Dance Company has been rapid. He has danced in several American and continental companies and also in Hong Kong but not yet in the UK.
Another dancer who has progressed rapidly is Diogo de Oliviera, a soloist with the Polish National Ballet. He danced the role of the prince's advisor displaying humour when dealing with Cinderella's stepmother and sisters, carrying her discarded slipper and looking for a fit and considerable virtuosity at the ball.
I have already agreed that the designs contributed to the success of the show. Credit for the lighting should go to Richard Boukine. The visuals which consisted of CAD projections transported the audience through all the scenes of the ballet from Conderella's skullery to the ballroom of the royal palace. They were most impressive particularly the fireworks in the last scene. Aarto Hiiema and Principato share the credit for those projections. Principato and Svetlana Leht collaborated on the costumes. An original feature of the Fairy Godmother's headgear was the miniature golden stove pipe hat. Last but by no means least of those who are to be congratulated is Sander Sellin of Grand Art MTÜ - Estonian Ballet Agency for he produced the show.
Cinderella will be performed in Vilnius on 28 Oct and Tartu on 4 Nov 2024. The show returns to Tallinn on 25 Nov 2024. It was a resounding success and for those who live within easy reach of any of those cities, it is strongly recommended. Readers do not have to take my word for it as Principato has posted substantial portions of Act I and Act IIto YouTube.
I had come to see Michaela DePrince whom I had already mentioned several times in this blog. She had been born in Sierra Leone, the country of my late spouse and my former ward who is the nearest I have to a daughter. I was amply rewarded for my journey because DePrince danced magnificently. But so did the other dancers some of whom are now principals or soloists in the Dutch National Ballet and other great companies.
That visit to Amsterdam was the start of many good things. I met members of the company, parents and other relations of those members and fellow fans of the company from the Netherlands and elsewhere. I made friends with many of them. Yvonne Charlton visited Powerhouse Ballet. She gave us some great classes in Liverpool, Leeds and Manchester and taught us some of her choreography. In the miserable days of lockdown, Maria Chugai raised our spirits with two wonderful online classes and her appearance at "The Stage Door".
On my visits to the Dutch National Ballet, I got to know the Netherlands, its cities and its people. I learned about its history, its traditions and its view of the world. Even though it has sounds that do not exist in our language, Dutch is actually a first cousin to English. Had it not been for brexit which ended free movement it is more than likely that I would be living there now.
The Dutch National Ballet's Junior Company has been so successful that other companies, including the Birmingham Royal Ballet, have followed its example. Earlier this year I attended the launch of BRB2 and met its Artistic Coordinator Kit Holder at Elmhurst Ballet School (see An "Evening with Ashton" and the Launch of an English Junior Company30 Jan 2023). I was in the audience when it visited Nottingham on 28 April 2023 and was very impressed (see BRB2 in Nottingham29 April 2023). I am looking forward to its next tour which will take in Poole, Canterbury and Northampton in May 2024 (see BRB2: First 2024 Tour Venues Announced 26 July 2023 Birmingham Royal Ballet website).
The idea of a junior company as a bridge between vocational school and corps de ballet is an excellent one. I shall continue to support Ernst Meisner and Kit Holder in their endeavours in any way I can.
Dance Studio Leeds, Powerhouse Ballet, Part of Giselle 19 Nov 2022, 15:00 Chroma Q Theatre, Leeds
By some fluke, I once accomplished a chassé, pas de bourrée, pirouettes single or double and pirouettededans without everything going wrong. The delight on my teacher's countenance was a picture to behold. I saw exactly the same expression on Saturday after Powerhouse Ballet had danced the scene from act II of Giselle where Zulma and Moyna summon the wilis from their hidden forest graves to attend Myrtha.
The reason for my teacher's delight is that the cast danced very well. So well that I felt impelled to rise to my feet in standing ovation. Our teacher, Jane Tucker, had taught us the choreography during a day-long workshop in July and rehearsed us almost every weekend since. She had a cast with different levels of skill and experience and she adapted Coralli and Perrot's choreography in a way that enabled each and every one of them to shine. Christie Barnes excelled as Myrtha as did Lauren Savage and Esther Wilson as Moyna and Zulma. They were supported by a polished corps consisting of Fiona Cheng, Jayne Johnston, Helen Peacock. Sue Pritchard, Helena Tarren, Lois Watters, Anne Williams and Bo Zhang.
During our rehearsals, we discovered the talents of many of our members. Christie Barnes not only danced Myrtha but also directed several of our rehearsals including one that was effectively a second workshop at York St John University. We also discovered that she is an accomplished photographer and filmmaker as she chronicled our progress. Lauren Savage proved to be an excellent teacher leading one of our company classes and several warm-ups. We found costuming and make-up skills and lots of practical tips such as the best place to park on a busy Saturday from different members.
Those discoveries have advanced one of the objectives of Powerhouse Ballet which is to provide opportunities for members to develop their theatre skills. That is why I invited Katherine Wong to lead our company class in Bolton last October`. I have also asked Alicia Jolley to give a class in North Wales in the New Year, Holly Middleton to help rehearse future productions and drama student, Fiona Cheng, to teach us how to act.
Our 8-minute extract from Giselle was just one of many pieces performed at Dance Studio Leeds's Celebration of Dance on Saturday. The show was staged to raise funds for Martin House children's hospice in Boston Spa. At a health and safety briefing just before the show, the studio's director, Katie Geddes, announced that she had raised a very healthy profit for the charity, Readers will be happy to learn that this publication contributed to that sum as one of the show's sponsors.
Because I wanted to assist our cast in any way I could I only saw the second half of the show. However, everything that I did see was excellent. Every style of dance was on display from Egyptian folkloric bellydance to West Side Story. I enjoyed them all, particularly belly dancer Ya Habibi who entered the stalls inviting the audience to join her on stage, West Side Story and Afro Fusion's Rise 'N' Shine. Some of the pieces that I would like to have seen but couldn't because they were in the first part were Indian classical dances. Happily, at our last rehearsal, I asked the director to give us an exhibition class and some background information on the art form early in the new year.
Powerhouse Ballet hit a number of headwinds even before lockdown of which the biggest was scepticism. When Covid 19 closed the studios and theatres I wondered how we could possibly survive. Relief came from an unexpected source. Maria Chugai, a soloist of the Dutch National Ballet and the best Myrtha I have ever seen in over 60 years of balletgoing, offered us an online class in April 2020 which was a spectacular success. The success of that class encouraged me to invite other performers such as Krystal Lowe, Beth Meadway and Shannon Lilly as well as Jane Tucker, Annemarie Donoghue, Fiona Noonan and other teachers from our region to be online ballet mistresses.
Powerhouse Ballet is now on a roll. We have found a new venue at Ballet Contours near Manchester city centre where we shall hold this Saturday's company class. We welcome dancers from Hull to Hollyhead. If you can get to East Ordsall Lane by 15:00 do come and join us. We have invited Heather Boulton, the director of the studio, to give us our first company class at that venue. I visited the studio a few weeks ago and was most impressed. It is fully equipped with a well sprung floor. Above all, Heather is an excellent teacher.
The last two years have been tough for everyone in the arts but they have been particularly hard for adult ballet students who long to perform in public. For Powerhouse Ballet which was founded just under 4 years ago, the lockdown was almost fatal. We had been riding high with our very successful workshop with Yorkshire choreographer Alex Hallas and were looking forward to learning the snowflakes scene from The Nutcracker when everything was put on hold.
I feared that it would be the end of Powerhouse Ballet and probably all the other amateur companies in the United Kingdom because we could no longer meet for class. But help came quite unexpectedly from Amsterdam when Maria Chugai of the Dutch National Ballet offered us an online class. That class was very successful and showed that it was possible to train over Zoom. I engaged all our regular teachers as well as Shannon Lilly,Beth Meadway and Krystal Lowe to give online classes. When restrictions were relaxed in 2020 we held classes in studios in Birmingham and Leeds. Though it was expensive and hard we never missed a monthly company class and, most importantly, we stayed together.
Now that the country is emerging from lockdown Powerhouse Ballet can rebuild. My immediate aim is to stage a mixed bill which will include Terence Etheridge's Aria, Yvonne Charlton's Morning, Waltz of the Flowers and Snowflakes from The Nutcracker and part of the wilis' choreographyfrom Act II of Giselle. Much of the preparation for this will be at a summer school in North Wales. In the longer term, we plan to set up an associates class and I have engaged the assistance of someone with considerable experience in that area to advise me.
That leaves the tricky matters of funding and governance. Over the last two years, it was easier for me to sponsor the company's activities and I will continue to do so but our plans will require more than I can afford. In the medium term, we will need to reintroduce a subscription, seek grants and sponsorship. Publications like this blog, the Stage Door and classes outside the North of England could generate revenue for Powerhouse Ballet. Eventually, we shall seek charitable status for which we shall need trustees, a business manager and a full-time artistic director.
Returning to the present, if you want to meet us with a view to joining us, register for our company class at Dance Studio Leeds on 26 Feb 2022 from 15:30 until 17:00.
When I first took an interest in ballet as an undergraduate at St Andrews at the end of the 1960s, I subscribed to Dance and Dancers and the Dancing Times. Although both publications carried reviews and news stories from around the world, four great names seemed to dominate. Balanchine in the USA, Ashton and Macmillan here and Hans van Manen in the Netherlands. Sadly, Ashton, Balanchine and Macmillan are no more but van Manen remains with us.
On 27 and 28 Feb 2021, the Dutch National Ballet held two special matinees in his honour. They were danced in an empty theatre but screened to a worldwide audience. It was, of course, a celebration of van Manen's genius, but with two separate casts, it was a showcase of the strength and depth of one of the world's great companies..
Six works were presented:
27 Feb
28 Feb
Adagio Hammerklavier
Anna Ol, Semyon Velichko, Qian Liu , Jakob Feyferlik Maia Makhateli, Artur Shesterikov
Luiza Bertho, James Stout, Maria Chugai, Daniel Silva, Elisabeth Tonev, Vito Mazzeo
Sarcasmen
Floor Eimers, Jozef Varga
Salome Leverashvili, Timothy van Poucke
Déjà Vu
Erica Horwood, Young Gyu Choi
Floor Eimers,
Edo Wijnen
Trois Gnossiennes
Anna Ol,
James Stout
Qian Liu,
Jakob Feyferlik
Two Pieces for HET
Maia Makhateli, Remi Wörtmeyer
Anna Tsygankova,
Constantine Allen
Variations for Two Couples
Anna Tsygankova, Constantine Allen, Jessica Xuan, Martin ten Kortenaar
Riho Sakamoto, Young Gyu Choi, Jingjing Mao, Jared Wright
The programme opened with Adagio Hammerklavier which is the longest and most dramatic of the 6 works. It was created for the Dutch National Ballet in 1973 but it has been performed by many of the world's other leading companies including the Royal Ballet in 1976 and the Maryinsky in 2014. In a short introductory speech, the company's director, Ted Brandsen, said that van Manen had worked with some 60 companies around the world.
The score is by Beethoven and I once heard someone who really should have known better that Beethoven is impossible to choreograph (see My Thoughts on Saturday Afternoon's Panel Discussion at Northern Ballet21 June 2015). There are, it is true, not many ballets by Beethoven and it can't be easy to create dance from his music but van Manen succeeded spectacularly as indeed did Ashton with his Creatures of Prometheusin 1970. This is a challenging ballet which is why companies field their best dancers. In the London premiere, for instance, it was danced by Makarova, Mason, Penney, Wall, Eagling and Silver.
Both casts for this piece were brilliant. The Saturday one was majestic. A cast that included Maia Makhateli and Artur Shesterikov, Anna Ol and Semyon Velichko, could not be otherwise. Shesterikov has been my dancer of the year and Makhateli is another favourite. I had not seen Jakob Feyferlik before but I shall certainly look out for him in future. He partnered Qian Liu who never fails to impress. The Sunday cast brought energy and freshness to the work. It was good to see Daniel Silva whom I have followed closely since I saw him in No Time Before Time on 14 Feb 2016 (see Ballet Bubbles16 Feb 2016). He is particularly graceful and partnered Maria Chugai confidently but sensitively. She was, as ever, a delight to watch in a role to which she is particularly well suited. Save for Ernst Meisner's class on World Ballet Day I had not seen Elisabeth Tonev before but I shall certainly look out for her in future, I also enjoyed the performance of Luiza Bertho. I had, of course, seen the principals, James Stout and Vito Mazzeo many times before. As was to be expected, their performances were masterly.
Nowhere was the contrast between the two casts more striking than inSarcasmen. This is a sexy (if not slightly risqué) duet to Prokofiev's Cinq Sarcasmes, Opus 17. It is about a man who can't resist showing off and a woman who can't resist puncturing his ego. At one point she grabs his unmentionables. The ballet was introduced to the audience by Rachel Beaujean in a short interval between stage changes.Her comments were particularly interesting because she had premiered the female role of this ballet in 1981. On Saturday Jozef Varga, who has been in the company since 2007, and Floor Eimers, one of its most admired soloists, danced with sophistication. On Sunday, Timothy van Poucke and Salome Leverashvili danced with flair. I have been a fan of those artists ever since they were in the Junior Company. They used to run a delightful vlog that I mentioned in Missing Amsterdamon 18 Feb 2017. Van Poucke won the Radius Prize, which is usually awarded to principals, just 2 years after he had joined the company.
Eimers performed again with Edo Wijnen in Déjà vu, a work that he had created for the Nederlands Dans Theater to Fratres, a striking composition for violin and piano by Arvo Pärt. I enjoyed her performance in this piece even more than her performance in Sarcasmen. The dancers on Saturday were Erica Horwood and Young Gyu Choi who impressed the audience with their virtuosity. During the interval, Beaujean explained that the title was a gentle reproach from the choreographer to critics in the mid-1990s who complained that his ballets had become much or a muchness.
After Adagio Hammerklavier my favourite work of both shows was Trois Gnossiennesand that is at least partly down to the score. As far as I am aware, Erik Satie did not compose for the ballet but his work has been the basis of two masterpieces, van Manen's and Ashton's Monotones.They are quite dissimilar in the number of dancers, set design and, in the case of Monotones, orchestration but they are both works of genius. I first saw Trois Gnossiennes in Ballet Bubbles on my birthday in 2016 when it was performed by Melissa Chapski and Giovanni Princic and I could not have wished for a better birthday present. It was performed elegantly by Ol and Stout on Saturday and Qian Liu and Feyferlik on Sunday.
The other piece that I had seen before wasTwo Pieces for HET for Rachel. The artist to whom that work had been dedicated was of course Rachel Beaujean. "Het" is a definite article in Dutch, It is used by lazy, anglophone, monoglot and possibly in some cases brexiteer journalists as an abbreviation for Het Nationale Ballet instead of "HNB" or even "DNB". It is, however, a beautiful work which was danced by Makhateli and Wörtmeyer on Saturday and Anna Tsygankova and Constantine Allen on Sunday. In other companies, they might be called "Etoiles". Tsygankovawon many hearts in London which her performance of Cinderellaand she reduced many of us to tears with her portrayal of Mata Hari. She is an accomplished pianist which perhaps accounts for her musicality.
In an interlude shortly before the programme ended, we were treated to a screening of the film Hans van Manen Performer - Dutch National Balletwhich the company had commissioned for the choreographer's 75th birthday. Van Manen was born in 1932 yet he marched onto the stage of the auditorium on Friday ramrod straight like a guardsman to acknowledge the internet's applause and affection.
The finale was Variations for Two Coupleswhich is one of van Manen's most recent works. Tsygankova had danced in the first performance of that work with Matthew Goulding, Igone de Jongh and Jozef Varga. She danced the piece again on Saturday but this time with Allen, Jessica Xuan and Martin ten Kortenaar. I have been following Xuan and Kortenaar ever since I first saw the Junior Company for the first time in 2013 (see The Junior Company of the Dutch National Ballet - Stadsshouwburg Amsterdam 24 Nov 201325 Nov 2013). They have soared since then which makes me very happy. Another dancer I have followed from the time she joined the Junior Company is Riho Sakamoto. She performed on Sunday with Young Gyu Choi, Jingjing Mao and Jared Wright. Both casts did justice to this work which was set to an eclectic score that included pieces by Benjamin Britten, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Stefan Kovács and Astor Piazzolla. It was a perfect way to end a delightful weekend.
As the vaccination rollout accelerates and the accuracy of testing and tracing improves in the Netherlands and the rest of the world there is hope that this pandemic will retreat. It will take some time for social distancing to end but at least there is at least a chance that theatres around the world will re-open soon. I look forward to returning to Amsterdam just as soon as it is safe to travel.
After I felt obliged to postpone the Snowflakes workshop that Mark Hindle had kindly agreed to give us on 14 March 2020 I had reconciled myself to a long delay before I would ever do a plié again. I did broach the subject of online classes with a teacher for whom I have particularly high regard but she was sceptical. She was worried about limited space, unsprung floors and insurance and so was I.
On 21 April, Maria Chugai of the Dutch National Ballet gave us an online class which made our spirits soar (see An Unforgettable Class7 May 2020). Encouraged by Maria's success, I asked Charlotte Ingleson of Ballet North UK to give us an online class on 2 May in lieu of the March company class which she had agreed to deliver. Again, that was very successful. She made us work very hard for the full 90 minutes. As we have also missed our April class I have arranged with Jane Tucker to give us an extra class on 16 May. Jane will also deliver her usual class on 30 May.
As Maria and Charlotte have shown that online classes are not only possible but fun I have been trying out a few more. Online classes fall into two categories. Some are given by ballet schools and companies over Facebook or YouTube, They offer training by the likes of Ernst Meisner and Tamara Rojo for free. The disadvantage is that the teachers can't see us so there is no chance of corrections. The other option is to enrol in a class that is held over Zoom. That is the next best thing to a class in a studio because the teacher and see and correct her students and give corrections. For those classes, there is, of course, a fee.
Of the classes offered by schools and ballet companies, my favourites are those by Ernst Meisner. Recordings of those classes are available on the Dutch National Ballet's YouTube channel I am not an unbiased critic because I am a big fan of Meisner for the work that he has done for the Junior Company and the Dutch National Ballet Academy. However, my opinion appears to be shared by two experienced teachers who certainly know what they are talking about.
Our guest ballet mistress, Yvonne Charlton of the Dolstra Dance Centre in IJsselstein, wrote:
"Jane Lambert he is a great teacher i am doing his classes."
Taxing the very extremity of my command of the Dutch language. She agreed with me.
The other person who commented on Meisner's class was our first choreographer, Terence Etheridge. Having been one of the founder members of Northern Ballet and later its ballet master, as well as ballet master in Hong Kong, Terence knows everything there is to know about classes. When he wrote in Facebook that it was a very good class we can be sure that it was.
I have also attended two Zoom classes. One was given by Karen Sant of KNT Danceworks, my usual teacher in Manchester. The other by Sonya Pettigrew of Brighton Ballet School.
KNT usually offers classes in Northern Ballet School's studios. I first came to KNT in August 2014 when my over 55 class in Leeds was on vacation and I have been a regular visitor ever since. I have taken classes at various levels with all of the teachers and I have got on well with every one of them. I have also attended some excellent choreography workshops on Swan Lake, La Bayadere, Coppelia, Romeo and Juliet and The Nutcracker given by Jane Tucker and Martin Dutton as well as days of intensive classes known as "Days of Dance". Over the years I have made some good friendships and close acquaintances with many of the other students. I love KNT and am very fond of Karen.
Since the lockdown, Karen has created a portal to her online classes called the class manager. As far as I could see from the "upcoming classes" section, everything that KNT offered in the studio is available online. I joined my usual "Pre-Intermediate Class" which meets on Tuesdays between 18:30 and 19:45 The barre was almost identical to the studio but we had a few modifications for the centre work. Nevertheless, we finished with a joyful temps levé carrying me from the kitchen through the hall to my sitting room and back again. Karen charged £3.50 for that class and I shall certainly be back.
Although Sonya had invited me to attend and review one of her classes several months ago I never had an opportunity to take advantage of it. After the lockdown, she invited me to attend one of her online classes which I did on 24 April. I joined the entry-level class and found that it was quite rigorous. Again, there was a full barre and some demanding centre exercises. I counted 8 of us in gallery view, mostly women but one gentleman. Sonya is a good teacher. She gave me several corrections for which I am grateful. She has a very easy manner and it is clear that she is well-liked by her students. If I lived in Sussex I would almost certainly be one of her regulars.
New online classes are coming onto the market all the time. On 7 May Northern Ballet Academy announced that it is about to launch a new online class for the Over 55s to be given by Viki Westall from 11 May. As it meets in office hours I am not sure how many classes I can attend but I shall certainly do one and report back to you with my findings.
"Stage Door" is a new service to keep ballet goers in touch with their favourite artists and artists in touch with their fans during these miserable times.
Every Sunday afternoon during lockdown (and possibly longer if theatres remain dark) I shall interview one of my favourite artists over Zoom. After the interview members of the audience will be invited to put questions to the guest through the chat function.
I shall start with Gavin McCaig of Northern Ballet. I featured Gavin in Terpsichore shortly after he had joined the company (see Meet Gavin McCaig of Northern Ballet3 Sep 2014). That interview is still one of my most popular articles. Next week I have lined up Maria Chugai of the Dutch National Ballet, the best Myrtha I have ever seen in 60 years of ballet going. For the week after that the world-famous accompanist David Plumpton whose DVDs power ballet classes everywhere.
As this is an experimental service and I am still on a learning curve I do not have the brass neck to charge anything just now. But the arts and education need help during this time. I am therefore inviting everyone who enjoys these talks to contribute to a charity or good cause of the guest's choice. Gavin has nominated the Academy of Northern Ballet. As I study ballet there I think that is a great choice. I have not been able to find an online donations page for the Academy but you can call them on0113 220 8000, by email academy@northernballet.com.
If you want to hear Gavin on Sunday you must register here. When I get a little more experience with webinars I may livestream these events over YouTube or Facebook but baby steps for now. My thanks to Gavin for being our first guest,
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Last year I featured Maria Chugai of the Dutch National Ballet. You will see from my article that she is a very special dancer. She trained at the Vaganova Academy which produced such greats as Pavlova, Karsavina, Nureyev and Makarova. She must have been one of its best pupils for she was cast in the lead role of The Nutcracker at the age of 17, one year before her graduation. She first came to my attention in a performance of Giselle where she danced the Queen of the Wilis (see Mooie 10 November 2018. She was the best Myrtha that I have ever seen in over 60 years of ballet going.
Earlier today she offered Powerhouse Ballet an online class over Zoom on Tuesday, 21 April at 18:00. Needless to say, I accepted with alacrity. Anyone who wants to attend should register through Eventbrite immediately. Those tickets are unlikely to remain for very long,
To attend this class you will need to download at least the free version of Zoom. We shall have a rehearsal on Monday at 18:00. An hour before the rehearsal I shall send those who register a link and invite them to join the meeting. Should there be any problems our chambers IT guru will be on hand to sort them out.
If you wish to join the class, here is the link to Eventbrite. If you find you can't make it let me know as soon as possible.
Standard YouTube Licence Dutch National Ballet Swan LakeThe Music Theatre, Amsterdam, 24 March 2019, 14:00 Rudi van Dantzig is one of three towering geniuses who have given Dutch ballet its reputation for excellence, The others are Hans van Manen and Toer van Schayk. Van Dantzig and van Schayk collaborated in the 1980s to stage one of the best versions of Swan Lake that I have ever seen.
As I entered the auditorium, I saw a screen bearing a likeness of Tchaikovsky, his name and the title of his ballet in Dutch and Russian. As the house lights faded and the orchestra struck up, the principal characters of the drama appeared behind the screen. The tale of Odette's enchantment by Von Rothbart is sketched out. The screen rose to reveal the palace gardens where Prince Siegfried's coming of age took place. From there until the final act the ballet proceeds in the same way as most other versions of Swan Lake until the last act. There, the story deviates.
According to the programme notes:
"Von Rothbart tries to drive Siegfried away from the lake, but although Siegfried manages to defy him, he drowns in the waters."
That appears to be an accident rather than a deliberate sacrifice by Siegfried and Odette to break von Rothbart's spell as in other versions. The drowning is represented by a pale blue sheet of silky material suddenly fanned across the stage. The lifeless Siegfried is carried ashore by his companion, Alexander. The programme concludes:
"In Alexander, Siegfried's ideals will live on."
That is how the ballet ends. No epilogue of lovers ascending to heaven on a swan-shaped barque as in the versions with which we are familiar.
Every performance of Swan Lake turns on its lead ballerina. She has to assume two very different personalities in the same work. There are some who dance Odette well but are less convincing as Odile and vice versa. The superabundantly talented Maia Makhateli can do both. She is pure and delicate as Odette and brazen and explosive as Odile. Never have I seen Legnani's 32 fouettés performed with greater aplomb. Her virtuosity is thrilling and her acting was compelling. She was perhaps the best Odette-Odile I have seen since Sibley.
Sibley was partnered in Swan Lake by Sir Anthony Dowell who later created a beautiful version of Swan Lake for the Royal Ballet. Comparisons are odious but Camargo does have a lot in common with Dowell. He is equally graceful and just as strong. His solo in the seduction scene was a thrill to watch emphasized by a single fiddler striking out his tune.
Swan Lake is a struggle between good and evil as personified by von Rothbart. Liam Scarlett portrays von Rothbart as a treacherous courtier as well as a magician. Indeed the costume and makeup department make him look like the real-life head of a nuclear-armed potential adversary. In that regard, he was truly scary. Van Dantzig dressed his evil one in a suit of green which is the colour of reptiles, slime and decay. Jared Wright flapped his wings with menace and paced the floor with foreboding.
Jane Lord, a former principal with the National Ballet who is now with the National Ballet Academy, danced Siegfried's mother. Tall and elegant she exuded regal authority. Her role is pivotal. By insisting on his contemplating marriage and acknowledging his state responsibilities, she started a chain of events that ended with the drowning of her son. The tragedy is that she brought about this catastrophe out of an abiding sense of duty. That prompted home thoughts from abroad about another female leader courting catastrophe as a result of such a sense of duty.
Van Danzig has expanded the role of the prince's companion. The companion is called "Alexander" in this work and the role was danced by Semyon Velichko. Alexander comforts the prince as he bemoans his approaching adulthood and state responsibility. He is with the prince when he is asked to choose a bride. He tries to warn the prince that Odile might not be Odette. Finally, as I observed above, it is he who retrieves Siegfried's body from the water. Benno plays a similar role in David Dawson'sSwan Lake for Scottish Ballet (see Empire Blanche: David Dawson's Swan Lake4 June 2016). Since seeing van Dantzig's work I have been wondering just how far his Alexander inspired Dawson's Benno.
There were some interesting little touches in van Dantzig's ballet that I have not seen elsewhere. I have already mentioned the fiddler in the prince's solo during the seduction scene. Here is another. One of the prospective brides breaks from the others and hides. She is coaxed back by one of the other girls. When she dances, she does so with flamboyantly and energetically. On the other hand, no images of Odette fluttered onto the screen during the seduction scene or after the palace is destroyed.
Yesterday's matinee was a stupendous performance that was aptly rewarded by a standing ovation, but not by many curtain calls. Had the show taken place in London there may not have been a standing ovation but there would have been umpteen curtain calls many for the lead dancers and the stage would have been covered with flowers. A bouquet certainly for Makhateli and probably also for Lord and several of the other female dancers who richly deserved them. Amsterdam and London are very close but we have very different ballet traditions. A ripple of applause meets a principal when he or she appears for the first time. We count Legnani's fouettés and explode with applause and roars on the 28th turn - never on the 27th nor the 29th. There was applause for Makhateli but it started just as Camargo got into his stride.
I could not say that this is my favourite Swan Lake. Derek Deane's for English National Ballet is very hard to beat (see English National Ballet's Swan Lake: Kanehara conquers the Empire25 Nov 2018) and I also love David Dawson's for Scottish Ballet. However, it is certainly up there with them.
This show will continue until 2 June. There are convenient and inexpensive flights to Amsterdam from most British airports. My seat in the centre of row 14 of the stalls cost a mere €87 and that includes the programme. I have paid more than that for the amphitheatre before now. Tariffs for hotel accommodation, food, drinks and public transport are about the same as in Manchester. It would be a shame to miss this show.
Standard YouTube Licence Dutch National Ballet GiselleTheater Heerlen 9 Nov 2018, 19:30 I overheard the word "mooie" a lot in snatches of conversation in the bar of Theater Heerlen during the interval and after the show last night so I looked it up. I found that it means "beautiful". Tonight's performance ofGiselleby the Dutch National Ballet was indeed beautiful but it was also so much more. It was outstanding. It was one of the best performances of that ballet that I have ever seen and I have attended a lot of performances of Giselle in my 50 years of regular ballet going. I have seen some of the world's best dancers and many of the world's greatest companies. The rest of the audience was aware of something special for we rose to our feet at the curtain call as one and clapped until our palms were raw.
"So what was so special about this performance?" I hear you ask. I don't know where to begin. There was so much that impressed me.
Obviously, there were two excellent principals in the lead roles: Qian Liu as Giselle and Young Gyu Choi as Albrecht. She was a perfect Giselle for she balanced virtuosity with charm. She communicated winsomeness and innocence in the early scenes of act I, passion and despair in the mad scene and an ethereal quality in the second act. Young Gyu Choi is now my favourite Albrecht of all time and I have seen Nureyev and Acosta in that role. He had previously impressed me with his strength and athleticism. Yesterday he showed he could act as well.
The other great female role in this ballet is the Queen of the Wilis. Maria Chugai was a formidable Myrtha, one of the most chilling but also one of the most elegant I have ever seen. I was on tenterhooks as she drew back from Albrecht and Giselle their arms splayed in the form of a cross even though I knew how the story ends.
Dario Elia came to my attention for the first time yesterday with his portrayal of Hilarion. In a Q and A after a talk by Rachael Beaujean just before the show, I suggested that Hilarion had a very raw deal compared to Albrecht. He may have been jealous, even a bit stupid, but he was not the one to deceive two women. Did he really deserve to die? Beaujean agreed with me "but then the world's unfair", she observed. I think Elia communicated the character of the gamekeeper and disappointed suitor well. I shall follow his career with interest.
There were many other good performances last night. It is probably unfair to single any of them out for special praise. But I cannot ignore the peasant pas de quatre and in particular the powerful performances of Sho Yamada and Daniel Silva. Yamada first impressed me when he partnered Michaela DePrince the first time I saw the Junior Company at the Staddshouwburg in 2013 (see The Junior Company of the Dutch National Ballet - Stadsshouwburg Amsterdam 24 Nov 201325 Nov 2013) and he impressed me again as Don Basilio earlier this year (see A Day of Superlatives - Dutch National Ballet's Don Quixote1 March 2018). I have been a fan of Silva ever since he opened No Time Before Time in Ballet Bubblesat the Meervaart on my birthday in 2016. He impressed me again later in that year with his bronze idol in La Bayadère. I must also congratulate their partners Salome Leverashvili and Emanouela Merdjanova for they were impressive too. In Merdjanova's case, she impressed me again as Moyna in act II.
Finally, I must commend the corps and Beaujean and Ricardo Bustamente's deployment of them in both acts. I particularly liked the circling of the Wilis which was mesmeric. Combined with Toer van Schayk's backdrop of a gorge in the Rhine and James Ingalls's lighting they were the spookiest but also the most realistic depictions of the tormented vengeful spirits I have ever seen.
I saw that performance, not in Amsterdam or some other major city, but in Heerlen, a town in the southeast Netherlands approximately the same size as Doncaster. Like Doncaster, Heerlen had once been a mining town and there was much about the landscape, the style of the buildings and many other things that reminded me of South Yorkshire. One thing in particular that Heerlen has in common with Doncaster is a fine repertory theatre which no doubt played a part in the town's regeneration after the collieries closed much in the way that the CAST did in Doncaster. The Heerlen theatre is somewhat bigger than the CAST but it looks and feels very similar.
I see a lot of the Dutch National Ballet. This is my fourth visit to the Netherlands this year and I am coming back on the 22 Dec to see Cinderella. Usually, I see them in Amsterdam though I have also seen them at the Coliseum in London. This is the first time that I have seen the Dutch National Ballet on tour in its own country. That is something that other great companies like the Royal Ballet hardly ever do. I chose to see it in Heerlen for two reasons. First, it was very good value - €39 for one of the best seats in the stalls - a fraction of what I paid on tickets, rail fares and refreshments to see La Bayadere last week in Covent Garden last week even after taking my return airfare, airport parking and an overnight stay in Heerlen into account. Secondly, and much more importantly, it treats its provincial audiences with exactly the same respect as it does its metropolitan ones. How many other of the world's great ballet companies around the world can say the same?
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