Nixon - An Appreciation

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On 28 May 2021, Northern Ballet announced the retirement of its artistic director, David Nixon (see David Nixon OBE steps down as Artistic Director of Northern Ballet after 20 years 28 May 2021 Northern Ballet).  He has already held that job longer than any other director of the company. When he stands down at the end of the year he will have been with the company for over 40% of its history.  

Good things have happened to Northern Ballet during that time. The company's move to Quarry Hill will have been appreciated by the artists and technicians but it has also enabled ordinary folk like me to dance in the same studios and occasionally even upon the same stage as the artists. The work of the Academy and the Leeds Centre for Advanced Training are other significant achievements.  There are, of course, adult ballet classes and centres of advanced elsewhere but one of the distinctions of the Academy and the Leeds Centre is whether aiming for a career in dance or simply dancing for fun, all students are trained under the Ichino Technique:

"Under this method, young dancers learn how to cope with the physical and emotional demands of dancing through preventative conditioning, a clear understanding of their individual strengths and limitations and a detailed knowledge of dance technique."

Yoko Ichino, the deviser of that technique, is also Mrs David Nixon.

Nixon is highly regarded as a choreographer.  While I can't say that I have liked all his work he is the author of two masterpieces. One is A Midsummer Night's Dream  which I reviewed as follows in Realizing Another Dream on  15 Sept 2013:

"Perhaps the best way to start this review is at the end. I could not help rising to my feet as the cast took their bows. And I was not the only one. The English, unlike Americans, are very slow to give standing ovations (except at party conferences) and I have only seen other in my lifetime. That was a special evening for Sir Frederick Ashton at Covent Garden in July 1970 when he retired as director of the Royal Ballet. It seems from the tweets and video that Northern Ballet's short season at West Yorkshire Playhouse (6 to 14 Sept 2013) has also been very special."

Nixon's other masterpiece is Madame Butterfly.  In my review I wrote:

"it took my breath away. I have seen a fair selection of Nixon's work and in my humble opinion Madame Butterfly is his masterpiece.

To his credit, Nixon has commissioned major works from his own artists and I have enjoyed these better than many of his outside commissions.  Particularly successful was Kenneth Tindall's Casanova and Daniel de Andrade's The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

There has been a lot of speculation about who will succeed Nixon and what he will do next.  I have no idea about either but I know whom I would like to see apply for the role.  I think dance education is very important and two of my favourite candidates are artistic directors of great ballet schools, one in mainland Europe and the other in London.  Both have worked with exceptionally gifted young dancers in the important years between finishing vocational education and joining a company. The other candidate has already been an artistic director.  She has created sensations in San Francisco and London and also worked for Northern Ballet.  As for Nixon, someone on BalletcoForum suggested an important role for him in North America. 

Whether Nixon takes up a new appointment or retires I wish him all the best for the future.

So proud of those students and their teacher

Yesterday I celebrated the achievements of Ballet West's first year full time students and members of the school's senior associates programme in Glasgow in Fizzing! Ballet West's Rossini Cocktail 6 Feb 2018. Today I want to applaud the achievements of even younger students who train in the same studios as I do at Quarry Hill in Leeds. The above film records a live class which was broadcast on Facebook yesterday afternoon.

The class is taken by Cara O'Shea who is an excellent teacher.  I first saw her in action in Northern Ballet's Open Day 18 Feb 2014, I wrote:

"Ichino was followed in the studio by Cara O'Shea who taught two groups of junior boys. Her style was very different from Ichino's but equally effective. She has a mellifluous voice which she used as an instrument to coax the best from her pupils. "You've always wanted as audience" she said referring tot us. "Well now you have an audience and if they like you they may clap you." The children, who were already working hard, gave us their very best. They did indeed delight us and how we clapped. She is another wonderful teacher and again I could see that the kids were devoted to her. I would have loved to have been taught by her. In a way she did teach me for I think I learned more about ballet on Saturday from watching the teachers at work that I could from a score of performances or a pile of books,"

A few days later I actually got the chance to be taught by Cara for she stood in for our usual teacher  who was unable to take us on that day. The experience was delightful: "The years simply rolled away. We old ladies were young, energetic and happy today" (see A Treat For Us Old Ladies 27 Feb 2014).

I later learned that Cara and I had something else in common.  She had once danced Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty for the Chelmsford Ballet Company of which I am a proud non-dancing connection.  The company held Cara in enormous affection though they had lost touch with her. As I had attended Cara's classes I was able to tell them all about the marvellous work she was doing in the North of England.  They were so impressed that they invited her back to Essex to give the company a class which I believe they enjoyed tremendously.  If you look at the way she inspired her students yesterday you will easily understand why.

Cara is not only an excellent teacher. She is also a fine choreographer.  I have only seen one of her works, Small Steps, about the rescue of Jewish children from Nazi Germany in commemoration  of the Kindertransport  (see Small Steps and other Pieces - Leeds CAT End of Term Show 2 July 2016). It was profoundly beautiful and very moving and I long to see more.

If you live in or within a reasonable travelling distance of Leeds and have what the subscribers to Balletcoforum call a "DS" (that is to say, boy) or a "DD" (girl)  of the right age who is good at ballet and wants to learn more, you might show him or her this film and suggest an audition. If your child wants to have a go, you should download an application form from Northern Ballet's Applications and Auditions page.  However, do bear in mind that the closing date for applications is approaching fast,

Dance in Newcastle

Dance City Performances (with subtitles) from Northern Stars on Vimeo.

I first heard of DanceCity from BalletLORENT when they visited Huddersfield on 30 Sept 2016 (see BalletLORENT 3 Oct 2016). BalletLORENT are one of several dance companies that are based at a studio and theatre complex known as "DanceCity" which is located just north of the Tyne at Temple Street in Newcastle.

DanceCity is a member of the National Dance Network to which dance agencies around the country (including our own Yorkshire Dance) are also associated. DanceCity runs classes in many styles to students of all ages and abilities. These include ballet classes for beginners and improvers aged 55 or over which seem to be very similar to the classes that I attend at Northern Ballet Academy. For those contemplating a career in dance, DanceCity's Learning Academy offers formal, professional, dance training at all levels starting from children aged 10 to postgraduate level in conjunction with Northumbria and Teeside Universities and local schools and universities. That includes a Centre for Advanced Training similar to the CATs in Leeds and the Lowry. There are opportunities for local choreographers and companies to perform their own work and even a small fund for commissioning new work from local artists.

Equally impressive is the performance programme for the theatre. In November, for instance, there will be no less than 6 shows starting with James Wilton's Leviathan this evening which is described as a "blend of athletic dance, martial arts and capoeira." The plot is intriguing:

"LEVIATHAN follows Ahab, a ship captain hell-bent on capturing the white whale: Moby Dick, a beast as vast and dangerous as the sea itself, yet serene and beautiful beyond all imagining. Ahab’s crew is drawn into the unhinged charisma of their captain, blindly following him on his perilous adventure towards almost certain destruction."

The theatre is currently offering a very generous 2 performances  for £22 promotion which seems good value for live entertainment in the centre of a major city.

Although Newcastle does not yet appear to have its own professional classical ballet company (but please do correct me if I am wrong) it is on the circuit for visiting companies. For instance, Northern Ballet will perform Beauty and the Beast next week and Scottish Ballet will dance Hansel and Gretel  in the same theatre in February.

Sugar Plum for an Hour

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In  our most ambitious intensive yet, we were guests of Mr and Mrs Stahlbaum at their Christmas party. We were also allowed to be the Sugar Plum Fairy and her prince for an hour or so. I am talking, of course, about Jane Tucker's workshop on The Nutcracker for KNT Danceworks which took place yesterday in the Dancehouse Theatre's studios at Northern Ballet School's premises on Oxford Road in Manchester.

The day began with floor exercises on Pilates mats as it had with Jane's previous workshops for Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet and La Bayadere. We then had a 90 minutes class which was very similar to Jane's Wednesday evening classes at Northern Ballet Academy in Leeds. A brisk warm-up starting with a walk, then a run with a sudden change of direction about 30 seconds in, skipping facing in, then facing out, jumping Jacks and running on the spot, tendus facing the barre, pliés at the barre, tendus, glissés, ronds de jambe, cloches, grands battements and stretches, centre exercises (pirouette turns, port de bras and various types of jumps) for 90 minutes. Very much like every other instructor's class you might think. Well, no, because Jane challenges each and every one of us to our limits. She expects and gets maximum effort.

After a swig of water, we started with our rehearsals. Jane taught us three dances: a bit of the prince's solo from Act II, the Sugar Plum fairy's dance and, finally, the party scene just before Drosselmeyer calls with his prezzies for the kiddies.

The first two roles are danced by principals and require enormous strength and precision. The prince demands a tour en l'air from a standing start followed by three changements, more tours en l'air and more changements, a quick succession of arabesques and jetés culminating in pirouettes. Sugar Plum requires rapid and dainty footwork much of it on demi-pointe which I find taxing. Gallantly Simon played our Muntagirov for the day while the rest of us struggled to imitate Nuñez. We rehearsed each of those dances a couple of times before breaking for lunch at 13:45.

On the way back to the workshop we spotted some young dancers of South Asian heritage learning what seemed to be an Indian classical dance in the studio next to us. We peered in through the window for a few seconds. Noticing our curiosity the teacher came to the door and explained that her class was part of the Centre for Advance Training in Dance programme (see The Lowry CAT 27 May 2016). Leeds has a CAT too and I had seen the high standard achieved by those young dancers in their summer show (see Small Steps and other Pieces - Leeds CAT End of Term Show 2 July 2016). I am delighted that students in Manchester have opportunities to experience some of the dance traditions of the rest of the world and not just European genres. Particularly apt as yesterday was the day before Diwali.

In the last 90 minutes we learned the party scene which was easier to remember but required some teamwork. We were split into two groups which filed in from stage left and stage right respectively. The first part was easy enough - three steps and then  a tendu. The pace changed to a gallop and we met the other group offering each other out left or right hands alternatively. I was reminded of the eightsome reels of my days at St Andrews. Once we had completed the gallop we formed into four lines. More memories of my student days. Each line faced the other and set. We curtseyed to the opposite line, again as in Scotland. Finally, we lined the walls of the studio facing our imaginary audience.

After another rehearsal of each dance from the top our adult dance class principal Karen arrived and filmed our efforts in our end of the day show. We performed the prince and Sugar Plum in three groups and Karen clapped each group generously. I have no idea what I looked like on film but I shall probably learn at our chambers party when the smartphones come out after everyone has had the odd glass or more of Christmas cheer. Finally, we danced the party scene together to more applause from Karen.

We had a great day yesterday. In my view the best intensive ever. Possibly because it is traditionally performed around Christmas, there's something about The Nutcracker that makes us all feel good notwithstanding its alleged dark side (see A Dark Side to The Nutcracker 24 Oct 2016). A huge thank you to Jane for teaching it, Karen for arranging it, Josh for assisting with it and each and every one of my fellow participants for making the day so special.

The Lowry CAT

There are in England nine Centres for Advanced Training in Dance ("CAT") which identify children and young people with exceptional talent for dance and develop them through contact with leading dancers, teachers and choreographers. One of the Centres is in Leeds and Mel and I attended its 10th anniversary gala and "decadent afternoon tea" at Northern Ballet's studios and the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre just under two years ago (see Coming Down to Earth Gently 30 June 2014). It was a glorious afternoon and much if not all the credit belongs to Hannah Bateman who was in charge of it.

Just across the Pennines, however, is another CAT in the Lowry at Salford in Greater Manchester. As you can see from the film that Centre does great work too. Like the other schemes the Lowry is

"a part time, pre-vocational course, providing access to high quality training and nurturing in dance to young people who have a passion for the art form and who wish to progress toward full time training."

It is funded by the Department of Education and offers intensive training opportunities with professional dance teachers, choreographers and practitioners.  Anyone aged between 10 and 16 may apply for the scheme and those who are accepted may stay until they are 18.

Students are expected to take between 10 to 14 hours of class a week which should include ballet, contemporary dance and creative workshops of which 3 hours should be at the Lowry.  The instructors have glittering credentials.  Paul Bayes Kitcher was a soloist with Birmingham Royal Ballet and Rob Bell spent 15 years with the Dutch National Ballet. Students have worked with Akram Khan, Christopher Marney, Hofesh Shechter and many other choreographers and companies during their training.

Those who complete their training successfully proceed to vocational training at schools like Ballet West and Central. One of the programme's graduates is Isaac Bowry who impressed me with his performances as Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker (see Ballet West's The Nutcracker 25 Feb 2013) Rothbart in Swan Lake (see Swan Loch - Ballet West's Swan Lake, Pitlochry 1 March 2014 3 March 2014)  and Lord Capulet in Romeo and Juliet (see Ballet West's Romeo and Juliet 1 Feb 2015) when he was with Ballet West. I am not sure where he is now but I snatched a fragment of conversation at a recent London Ballet Circle event when his name was mentioned with a commendation.

Fees appear to be £3,649 per year and parents with household incomes under £65,840 can qualify for grants.  Those who want to find out more should call 0161 876 2018 or email CAT@thelowry.com.

Mel's Record Attempt

My friend, Mel Wong, hopes to break the world record for the total number of continuous grands battements which was set by Jeanne-Carlin Cilliers in South Africa on 5 March 2005 (see the Guiness World Record website). As good a definition of a grand battement as any is offered by Wikipedia's glossary of ballet terms:

"a powerful battement action where the dancer passes through dégagé and "throws" the leg as high as possible, keeping it straight, while the supporting leg also remains straight."

"Battement" is itself defined as "beat" and "a beating movement of the working leg". I can tell you from bitter experience that grands battements are not easy - well I don't find them easy - and Ms Cilliers accomplished 1,199 of them before her leg crashed through the roof and entered geostationary orbit.

Mel aims to do 1,200 - rather her than me - at Hype Dance Studio in Sheffield on 22 Aug at 16:30. She is appealing for support on Kickstarter. She is raising funds to for her advanced training at Trinity Laban but she also hopes to contribute to the Cats Protection League and Macmillan Cancer Care.  By coincidence there's a photo of the cat with the longest feline fur on the Guiness website

I wish her all the best.