Richard Chappell Dance to perform in Leeds

TS Eliot

Author Lady Ottoline Morrell.

Source Wikipedia 

For many years I have been begging Richard Chappell to bring one of his shows to the North and he has finally relented.  His company, Richard Chappell Dance, will perform at the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre in Leeds on 6 June 2018.

I first came across Richard's work in 2014 when he was still a student at the Rambert School.  He had been commissioned by David Murley to create Wayward Kinship on the relationship between Thomas Becket and his king - a topic that TS Elliot explored in Murder in the Cathedral and Jean Anouilh in Becket.  In MurleyDance's Autumn Tour 28 Oct 2014 I wrote:

"Chappell's Wayward Kinship was a complete change of mood. Like Gilian Lynne's A Miracle in the Gorbals which I had seen earlier in the day it considered the struggle of the temporal against the spiritual. It explored the friendship between Henry and Becket and its transition into hate with the eventual ridding of the turbulent priest. The knights who carried out the king's bidding were women and all the more sinister for that. The ballet ended with Becket nearing his cross triumphant in death. A remarkable work for any choreographer but all the more impressive for a 19 year old who has only just completed his training at Rambert. No doubt we shall see a lot of Richard Chappell in the years to come."

As Richard and I live and work at opposite ends of England it has mot been easy to catch his shows but David Murley was able to cover one of his performances at Chissenhale Dance Space (see Murley on Chappell 1 March 2015).

Richanrd's show,  At the End We Begin, is described in Northern Ballet's newsletter as "a dynamic and compelling programme". It appears to be another work inspired by T.S. Eliot.   This time it is Four Quartets. According to the company's website the piece takes four individuals "from a place of being lost to a state of empowerment and acceptance, where they have found their own voice by journeying through Eliot's text." The dramaturgy is by Neus Gil Cortes.  Samuel Hall has composed a new score for the work with cello, piano and electronics.  Hannah Taylor has designed the costumes.  The work has already been performed in Oxford, Exeter and Doncaster and will proceed to Frome, Dundee, Newcastle and Falmouth later in the year.

With any luck this will be the first of many visits to Leeds.  Richard writes:

"I love Leeds as a city and it's vibrant dance scene, and if we can sell well for the performance in the coming month, then this could really help me in developing a more regular creative presence in the city in the future."

I wish Richard a successful tour and hope he will include Manchester and other venues in the North West in his tours one day.

Murley on Chappell

RCD - Two Duets Rehearsal Trailer from Richard Chappell on Vimeo.

I was introduced to the work of Richard Chappell by David Murley. David is Artistic Director of MurleyDance which I admire very much. David had commissioned Richard to create Wayward Kinship for his company's Hail Britannia programme which I saw at the Shaw Theatre last October (see MurleyDance's Autumn Tour 28 Oct 2014). Wayward Kinship is about the relationship between King Henry and Thomas Beckett and I was very impressed by the work. I was all the more impressed on learning that its choreographer was not yet 20 and still at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance.

Earlier in the day I had attended the Birmingham Royal Ballet's Shadows of War at Sadler's Wells which included Dame Gillian Lynne's re-staging of Sir Robert Helpmann's Miracle in the Gorbals which I reviewed in A Second Miracle 23 Oct 2015. I noticed many similarities in the two works. One had been created by one of the great names of British dance with over 70 years experience of the stage. The other by a young man at the very beginning of his career.  Seeing Wayward Kinshop stimulated a thirst for Richard's work which I had hoped to slake at the Chisendale Dance Space yesterday.

Alas, it is not possible to be everywhere and see every show. When it became clear that I could not get to London yesterday I asked David to review the show on my behalf. He knows Richard's work better than most.  Here is what he wrote.

IRIS Watch This Space

Reproduced by kind permission of Richard Chappell

All rights reserved

"28 February 2015

Review of: RICHARD CHAPPELL DANCE (RCD) AT CHISENHALE DANCE SPACE AT 19H 30

Tonight concluded Richard Chappell Dance’s (RCD) first UK tour since Chappell himself first graduated from Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in July 2014. At just 20, Chappell is steadily making a name for himself through his work and complex choreography.

First on the programme was a curtain raiser Moments in 360. The piece was beautifully danced by Emma Farnell-Watson and Will Thompson. I immediately praise Farnell-Watson for her mastery of walking on stage. Years of dance training can often make this seemingly simple step one of the hardest things to do. Yet, Farnell-Watson struts and coasts across the stage in a typically everyday gait and seamlessly swings into lighting quick and intricate Chappell movement. Her partner work with Thompson appeared to go off without a hitch. Thompson tossed Farnell-Watson from one sequence of pas de deux to the next. As a partnership, they appeared to push one another to the edge. There were elements of risk in changes of grip from one partnering sequence to the next. No matter how much Thompson flung Farnell-Watson around, he still simultaneously handled her like a Fabergé egg.

Next on the programme came IRIS – a piece about nyctophobia, which is an extreme fear of the dark. Growing up in rural Devon, Chappell was inspired to create this piece because of the pitch-blackness that can occur in the countryside. Dancer Olivia Roach is a force to be reckoned with in this piece. Her understanding of Chappell’s complex and substantial material is masterful. The embodiment of her fear of a dark London alley on stage when being partnered by Kai Tomioka was captivating. Roach not only understood the vast array of emotions Chappell can often throw at his dancers, but she continued to push her character and her performance all the way until the end. To add, as a contemporary dancer, Roach has amazing earth-bound qualities and a great relationship with the floor. Yet, Roach can take flight with no effort or obvious exertion making elegant and beautiful lines. Combing all of these attributes, Roach is a true ballet contemporary dancer. Thank you. 

The final work on the programme was The Vast Rocks. Chappell took inspiration for this piece from the landscape of his native Devon. Chappell’s aim was to transition the performance space into a more rural and calming environment. Firstly, I did enjoy this piece. However, I, personally, did not feel it was a well developed as the first two pieces on the programme. The work was divided into four sections with music by Aaron Martin and accompanied by Anne Chappell’s fantastic poetry. The overall shape of the piece could have been improved with more vocabulary in the movement matching the text in the first two sections. Chappell began to get to find his rhythm in sections three and four. To add, the text, read by Chappell himself, would have been more effective with vocal projection. This piece could really be something engaging and spectacular. I, personally, feel Chappell can push this one further.

As a choreographer and Artistic Director of his own company in under a year out of professional training, Chappell has achieved an astounding amount. Having just turned 20 in the February, it would be disappointing if he were already hitting the nail on the head with all of his choreography and movement. Richard Chappell is definitely one to watch. Since I first met Chappell in 2013, he has grown tremendously. Knowing he is a diligent and intelligent young man who perseveres, I have no doubt he is in for the long haul. It is a pleasure to watch Chappell grow with each piece he creates. He is not just a clever young man who thinks and creates, but he is also someone who has lived and continues to live who also has something interesting to say. I hope he continues to keep sharing those interesting things with us all. 

By David Murley Artistic

Director of MurleyDance"

Without a doubt this is one of the best reviews that will ever appear in this blog. Because David is a dancer and choreographer he was alert to technical matters and nuances in the choreography that would have eluded me. I am very grateful to him for his excellent contribution.  I am now even more eager to see Richard Chappell's work and I will be at his next show come hell or high water.

MurleyDance's Autumn Tour

MurleyDance has achieved a lot since its début in February 2012. It has completed several nationwide tours visiting venues in Scotland and Northern Ireland as well as big cities like Leeds, Leicester and Manchester and has performed at the Edinburgh festival. It has commissioned work from Briar Adams, Richard Chappell and Anaish Parmar as well as providing a platform for its founder and artistic director David Murley. Above all, it has built up a troupe of beautiful and accomplished dancers. As I said in Ey Up from Upperthong 19 Oct 2014 they have grown in every way since I first saw them on 1 Dec 2013 (see MurleyDance Triple  Bill 2 Dec 2013).

I caught their quadruple bill Hail Britannia at the Shaw Theatre in London on 18 Oct 2014. It consisted of two works by Murley and one each from Chappell and Parmar. I enjoyed each of the works tremendously but particularly Parmar's Shaaadi which transposes the colours, drama and movement of the Hindu wedding into classical ballet. Classical ballet has only recently begun to put down roots in India itself (see More on Ballet in India 4 Sept 2014 and Ballet and Bollywood - why they don't meet more often 15 July 2014) and there are still only a handful of dancers of South Asian heritage in this country, but works like Shaadi should change all that. The jumps, turns and pointe work were all in the classical tradition but the costumes and most of the music could have come from the Hindi cinema. There were wonderful performances from the bride - full of apprehension as she embraced her father and brother - the bridegroom reluctant at first but then performing exuberant jetés - and the busy, busy mother in law despairing and cajoling at first and then dissolving into the dance. A lovely work, I do hope to see Shaadi time and time again.

Chappell's Wayward Kinship was a complete change of mood. Like Gilian Lynne's A Miracle in the Gorbals which I had seen earlier in the day it considered the struggle of the temporal against the spiritual. It explored the friendship between Henry and Beckett and its transition into hate with the eventual ridding of the turbulent priest. The knights who carried out the king's bidding were women and all the more sinister for that. The ballet ended with Beckett nearing his cross triumphant in death. A remarkable work for any choreographer but all the more impressive for a 19 year old who has only just completed his training at Rambert. No doubt we shall see a lot of Richard Chappell in the years to come.

Murley contributed Frisky Claptrap and Highgrove Suite. Both were good but I enjoyed the first work more than the second possibly because of its levity. Ostensibly a tour of Britain by three backpackers - a girl and two boys - it also explored the boys' loyalties. Attracted at first by the girl's charms as the three sped around Britain from Cockfosters to Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch by way of Upperthong (a village in the Holme Valley not far from Huddersfield) to a backdrop of continental trains the boys eventually find their home at Happy Bottom.

Highgrove Suite was the last work of the programme and it was impressive. It traced the history of a young girl's passage through life from childhood to her final illness. Bashfulness at her first male encounter, her childish games, motherhood and eventually a hospital bed. Murley created fluent choreography reminiscent of MacMillan to a haunting, lilting score. It is that fluency that attracts me to his work which I noted fist in La Peau last year.

According to the company's website they intend to present their first full length work next year. That is something of an achievement for a company that is not quite three years old. It says a lot for Murley but also for the company's administrative director Paul Kelly, a senior officer of a major retailer who somehow finds time to chair Phoenix and help to oversee The Lowry. Of course, a growing company needs help from its public and there are many ways in which we can all support it.

Ey Up from Upperthong

I've just come back from a jaunt to t'Smoke. I should've got back three hours ago but some blighters closed the M1 between junctions 15 and 18 which decanted the North bound carriageway of one of the busiest motorways into a country lane. Not only that but they put up downright misleading diversion signs which led me on a magic mystery tour of the East Midlands. Just the sort of jolly jape one appreciates in the wee small hours of the morning.

Any road as it is now too late to get any decent kip I'll tell thee about my adventures in the Great Wen. I'd gone down to see two shows, Birmingham Royal Ballet's Shadows of War at Sadler's Wells in the afternoon and MurleyDance's Hail Britannia at The Shaw Theatre in the evening. Both shows were outstanding though in different ways and, to some extent, actually complementary. As I think I am the only person on the planet to have seen the two shows back to back I count myself very fortunate.

 "To begin at the beginning", I arrived at the Wells early to meet LinMM from BalletcoForum who is lovely. Shortly afterwards we were joined by Don Q Fan and Aileen who are also very sweet. I had already met Don Q Fan at The Lowry in January and we get on like a house of fire. Aileen I had not met before and it was lovely to put a name to a face. The four of us had a fair old chin wag about ballet before the bell summoned us to our seats.

I'm going to do a proper review of both shows later in the week. All I will say about Shadows of War for the moment is that I enjoyed all three ballets but Miracle in the Gorbals was enthralling. It started off eerily with the sound of planes, explosions, anti-aircraft fire and sirens and then Sir Arthur Bliss's wonderful score, A museum piece? Not at all. Think of religious fundamentalism. It's as relevant today as it was in wartime.

Miracle was preceded by La Fin du Jour with striking set designs and even more striking choreography. Two movements in particular took my breath away. The way in which two of the women were thrown through the air and caught again and then a spring several feet in air by two of the men from a prone position. I really felt for them.

The triple bell was polished off by Flowers of the Forest with the men in kilts and the women in tartan skirts and green bonnets and jackets. I would have dressed the ladies in white gowns with tartan sashes as women used to dress for ceilidhs and Highland balls many years ago. The back drop of hills and swirling mist was very effective. I loves two scenes in particular - one of a couple of drunks staggering and eventually collapsing with the girls dancing something like the Huntley over their spread eagled limbs and a lovely lyrical pas de deux where the man performed an ecstatic tour en l'air flooding Burns's verse into my mind.

While we were dissecting the Miracle Don Q Fan noticed a VERY IMPORTANT PERSON from the Royal Ballet whom our mutual friend from Liverpool greatly admires. I won't steal Don Q Fan's thunder by saying who it is but suffice it to say that a photo was taken of VIP and I was the one fumbling with Don Q Fan's mobile as bells rang and folk scurried back to their seats with VIP graciously standing. He even waited for a second photo with me in the piccy.

So after chatting away merrily for another hour we four musketeers went our separate ways. My next stop was the Shaw to see Hail Britannia. One might have thought that this would have been an anticlimax after Shadows of War but it wasn't. It was just as good but in a very different way. First we were clapping and tapping to Anaish Parmar's  Shaadi. It was good to see a balletic interpretation  of the song and dance routines that always seems to work themselves into Hindi films. I loved the henna party, the use of pointe and the mother in law reminding me of a very, very, very dear friend.

Next up was Wayward Kinship by the amazingly young Richard Chappell. That had a lot in common with Miracle in the Gorbals in that it also dealt with religion pushed to extremes and the hero coming to a very sticky end.

Then came Frisky Claptrap a love triangle between three backpackers, two blokes and a girl, against a background of  trains and quaint British place names. One of those quaint sounding place names was Upperthong which is a village in the Holme Vallet where I lived for 7 years. I now live in one of the neighbouring villages a couple of miles away. Above is a picture of Upperthong which is right on the edge of the Pennines and thus endures one of the wettest and windiest climates in the country. Other places that tickled David Murley's funny bone were Cockfosters, Fannyfield and Llanfair­pwllgwyn­gyllgo­gery­chwyrn­drobwll­llanty­silio­gogo­goch. If you want to know how to pronounce the last place name watch Newport State of Mind. A quick memo to David. We also have a place called Netherthong in our valley. Thong, nether garments. Did thou miss a trick, lad?

Finally there was Murley's Highgrove Suite which was the piece de resistance. What it had to do with Prince Charles's country pad was not obvious but there was some cracking choreography.   As I say, I'll review it properly in the fullness of time. I last saw MurleyDance in December (see MurleyDance Triple Bill 2 Dec 2014). The company was good then and is even better now. I can't wait for its first full length ballet next year.