Flash Back to the 80s

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Jazzgalore (NBS Musical Theatre Dance Co.). Flash Back to the 80s  24 March 2018, 19:30 The Dancehouse, Manchester


Northern Ballet School in Manchester claims to be  "an international centre of excellence in training for classical ballet and musical theatre."  I can personally endorse that claim as many of my teachers at KNT Danceworks and Northern Ballet trained there.  Students at Northern Ballet School can focus on classical ballet or jazz and musical theatre and both focuses have their own performance companies, Manchester City Ballet for classical dance and Jazzgalore for jazz and musical theatre.

Between the 22 and 24 March Jazzgalore presented Flash Back to the 80s, a two act review featuring the dance and singing from the 1980s.  I attended the show on 24 March and had intended to review it months ago.  The reason I did not do so is that I had asked for one or more photos from the show for my review which unfortunately never arrived.  What has arrived, however, is the above video which appeared on YouTube a few days ago.  It is a compilation of highlights of the show and  I think it is pretty fair and accurate.

I enjoyed the show and judging by the whooping and cheering I think the audience did too.  I particularly liked the numbers from Fame, especially Hard Work and the title song which were staged and choreographed by Andrew Margerison, Anton Alexandrov's Chess Ballet, Sarah Lawson's I can do that from A Chorus Line in Act 1.  In Act 2 my favourites were Helen Vidotti's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Emma  Woods's Raspberry Beret and two more works by Margerison, Whitney and the finale, Where's The Party.  Congratulations to Patricia McDonald who produced the show and Lee Lomas and Andrew Margerison who directed it.

Sadly I seem to have missed a couple of Northern Ballet School's recent shows. That is a pity because I am one of its well wishers.  I train at least once a week in its studios and I have danced several times in its theatre.   Above all I am a Mancunian even though I now live in Summer Wine country. I missed The Nutcracker because the rickets sold out very quickly and The Showcase of Dance because of conflicting commitments.  The school has published a video of highlights from The Nutcracker which suggests that it was very good.   I hope I shall not miss Manchester City Ballet's next performance in December. 

A Day Not To Be Missed: KNT's "Day of Dance" in Manchester

When I told colleagues at work a few years ago that I had spent three days of my summer holidays in Manchester they did a double take.  Even more so when I told them that I had spent the time learning Swan Lake and it was one of the best three days ever. I did the same a year later to learn La Bayadère and again the year after that to learn Coppélia.  

That was great fun but this year we regulars at KNT are ready for something different.  Accordingly we are offered "A day of dance with industry professionals at the Dancehouse Theatre Manchester." In other words, wall-to-wall classes on Saturday 18 Aug 2018 from 10:00 in the morning to 17:00 in the afternoon.

Two of the industry professionals have already been announced.  They are Rachael Crocker and Harriet Mills.  Rachael will be teaching advanced jazz, beginner and pre-intermediate ballet and musical theatre and Harriet advanced ballet.  Both have very impressive credentials

Here is Rachael's bio:

"Rachael trained at Northern Ballet School and was a Royal Ballet senior Associate whilst training she qualified and took part in the prestigious Adeleine Genee Awards and also won the IDTA ballet scholarship.
Rachael recently finished performing at the London Coliseum in Kiss Me Kate (choreographed by Will Tuckett) as Dance Captain. Prior to that she was part of a small group recording the soundtrack to the new Mamma Mia movie ‘Here We Go Again”.
Other theatre credits include: ‘Dick Whittington’ at the London Palladium, ‘Strauss’ (National Tour); ‘Kiss Me Kate’ (Welsh National Opera); ‘Cats’ (RUG Australia) as Tantomile understudy Jemima, Demeter and Victoria Graziella in ‘West Side Story’ (National tour); first understudy Meg Giry in ‘The Phantom of the Opera – 25th Anniversary tour’ (National tour); ensemble and first understudy Wendy in ‘Peter Pan’ (Mayflower theatre); ‘We Will Rock You’ (Antwerp Belgium); ensemble and understudied and played Wendy in ‘Peter Pan’ (Grand Canal theatre Dublin); first understudy Cinderella in‘Cinderella’ (Orchard theatre); ensemble and 1st understudy Iris in ‘Fame’ (National tour); ‘We Will Rock You’ (Dominion theatre); swing in the original London cast of ‘Movin’ Out’ (Victoria Apollo); alternate Ice Princess in ‘The Snowman’ (Peacock theatre); swing and first understudy Zsa Zsa in ‘Love Shack’ (National tour); Dance Captain and swing in ‘Grease’ (Victoria Palace, Japan and National tour); ‘Cinderella’ (New Victoria Woking), Rumpleteaser, Demeter, Jemima and Tantomile in ‘Cats’ (Stuttgart Germany); Meg Giry in ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ (Hamburg Germany) and the Spirit in ‘The Spirit of the Dance’ (US tour).
Film and TV credits include: ‘Devils in the Disguise’ for the Discovery Channel, ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ directed by Joel Schumacher and ‘Finding Neverland’ directed by Marc Forster.
Radio Credits include: BBC radio production of Smith of Wooten Major.
Rachael has also appeared on the Al Murray Show, took part in the 2008 Olympic handover ceremony and guested for Rock of Ages for their performance at West End Live. She also regularly performs for Incandescence Contemporary Circus Theatre Company and Private Drama Events.
Teaching: Rachael graduated from the Royal Academy of Dance gaining a Distinction for The Professional Dancers Teaching Diploma and teaches at various schools and colleges across London. She taught scholarship classes for the IDTA and RAD along with various workshops in ballet and jazz."

Harriet is a principal with the Karlsruhe State Ballet.  I was lucky enough to attend one of her classes earlier this year (see One of the Best Ballet Experiences Ever  14 Feb 2018).   This is her bio:

"After attending her first vocational school from the age of 11, Harriet Emily Mills left the Hammond School, Chester, to start at the Royal Ballet Upper School in London. She graduated after 3 years with her first job with the Staatballett Karlsruhe and has worked as a professional ballet dancer there for 6 years. Harriet has danced roles such as Odette/Odile in Swanlake, Myrtha Queen of the Willis in Giselle and Katharina in Taming of the Shrew. She has been involved with many creations by choreographers such as Davide Bombanas (Der Prozess), Terence Kohlers (Misia Sert, Das Kleine Schwarze/ the Riot of Spring) and Reginaldo Oliveiras (Edith Frank in Anne Frank). After 6 years of working her way through the company Harriet is now a Principal Dancer."

Space is limited and bookings have to be made and classes paid for in advance.   The email address and phone number for further information appear on the poster above.  The Dancehouse is a short walk from Oxford Road station which is on the Leeds to Liverpool mainline.  There is an NCP multistory car park in Chester Street which is literally round the corner from the Dancehouse.  The car park offers a discount for daytime parking on Saturdays. There is usually plenty of free street parking on Saturday afternoons.  There is a bus stop outside the studios which is served by several routes. The nearest tram stop is at St Peter's Square which is a few minutes walk from the Dancehouse.

KNT Summer Intensives

In her article "We’re a Bunch of Adult Ballet ‘Super’ Commuters!" 1 July 2017, Wendy McDermott wrote:

"It was about this time last year that I started to look for ballet Summer intensives for adults, as I had seen so many advertisements for young people to attend the same, for a week or more. Disheartened by what I thought was very little opportunity for adults to dance beyond their class of 60-90 mins per week, I tweeted a comment expressing my (I guess) frustration at becoming invisible as an adult dancer. This turned out to be one of the best things I did, as, through various new followers and chatting with other dancers (and more thorough research on the internet), discovered many more opportunities to dance than I could have imagined."

The intensive to which I think Wendy refers was La Bayadère taught by Jane Tucker of Northern Ballet Academy. We both attended it last year and enjoyed it tremendously.  Here is my write-up La Bayadere Intensive Day 3: No Snakes 17 Aug 2016.

Not only did I enjoy the intensive but I also appreciated the Dutch National Ballet's performance of the ballet in which Sasha Mukhamedov danced Nikiya and Jozef Varga Solor so much more. In my review of that performance, I wrote:

"Having recently attended a three-day workshop in Manchester to learn bits of the choreography from Jane Tucker of Northern Ballet Academy I had a personal interest in this ballet (see La Bayadere Intensive Day 3: No Snakes 17 Aug 2016). As the experts performed the steps that Jane had taught us my fingers traced the steps. It was like the icing on the cake, the fulfilment of last August's intensive. I felt even more chuffed with myself for attending the intensive than I did in August,"  (see Dutch National Ballet's La Bayadere 14 Nov 2016).

Now KNT, which offers classes in the studios of the Northern Ballet School in  Manchester, proposes another series of intensives in jazz, musical theatre and contemporary as well as ballet in August. The ballet intensives will be taught by Jane Tucker again.  As I have noted more than once, she is an excellent teacher.  She has already taught me Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet and The Nutcracker as well as La Bayadère.  

These intensives tend to fill up quickly so if you want to join Wendy and me at the barre, get in touch with Karen Sant through her Facebook page.

The "D" Word

Author: Canuckguy
Source: Wikipedia
Copyright released by the author

In the foreword to the programme for this year's triple bill, Cassa Pancho, the founder and artistic director of Ballet Black writes:

"I am often asked why I started Ballet Black. I don't have a perfect answer, even after our sixteen years, but in short it is all about the D word, diversity. I believe diversity on stage inspires diversity at the beginning of the classical ballet food chain, in local ballet schools.  That in turn fuels the number of black and Asian students attending vocational school, which leads to more culturally diverse artists following a professional career in dance. From there, those diverse dancers can become teachers, choreographers, technicians, designers, managers, decision makers who will change the shape of dance. Finally, diversity on stage - and off - means the same thing for the audience, put it on your stage. But top down or ground up approaches are not effective on their own. Real diversity will only happen when you work in both directions at the same time, by giving a platform to professional dancers working across the globe today, whose very existence will inspire the tiny tree and four year olds to plié and skip for the first time in their local church hall."

Cassa is surely right. The diversification of which she writes is important not just for professionals, students and audiences from Africa, Asia and the African and Asian diasporas but for the future of dance on stage generally and ballet in particular as an art form and for everyone who loves that art regardless of his or her individual ethnicity.

Nearly three years ago to the day I answered an article by David Lister entitled Ballet Black is a wonderful company. But it's a shame on the arts that it still exists 7 March 2014 in which he wrote:

"Ballet Black has been delighting crowds and critics at the Royal Opera House this week. The company, founded in 2001 to create opportunities for dancers of black and Asian descent, has, according to our critic’s review, “never looked better”. They are good, so good that I want to pay them the ultimate and richly deserved accolade – they should be abolished."

In  David Lister's Post on Ballet Black 9 March 2014 I wrote:

"It is clear that Mr Lister abhors racism like all right thinking people. His article is no doubt written with the best of intentions but he is wrong. Ballet Black has never been more necessary than now. Not because black or South Asian dancers cannot get into other ballet companies as, clearly, they can and do. But because Ballet Black is claiming an art form that began in the courts of renaissance Italy and developed in imperial Russia for all cultures including (but by no means exclusively) kids from Bradford, Brixton and Moss Side."

The process of diversification to which Cassa refers has only just begun in the United Kingdon. Yes, there are fine dancers of African and Asian heritage in all the leading dance companies and there are also more children of African and Asian heritage in local dance and vocational ballet schools, but there is still a mountain to climb with audiences, even for the performances of Ballet Black.

In climbing that mountain we have to be very careful to avoid representing ballet as a fundamentally European art form in which African and Asian heritage artists and audiences are invited to participate because that is not how it is. It is more like a language that can be adapted by artists of any culture to express music, literature and thought from any source. An analogue of the diversification process. perhaps. is jazz. That came to the world (albeit indirectly) from Africa but was embraced not just by artists of European heritage but by those of other cultures (see Audio slideshow: Bombay's jazz age 27 Jan 2012 BBC website).

Unless the process of diversification accelerates ballet risks becoming a predominately white, elitist museum piece and that would be a tragedy for everybody and a betrayal of a beautiful art form. The process will not be complete even when every company and every dance school in the UK becomes representative of the population as a whole because diversification is an international imperative. That is one of the reasons why Ballet Black and companies with a similar mission in this country and abroad are so precious and so necessary.

Changing the subject, I was at the last night of Ballet Black's Barbican season yesterday and I have never been more delighted.  At the risk of Cassa's gentle reprimand "Well you always say that, don't you" I repeat what I have said many times in this blog, Ballet Black have never danced better. Everybody around me in the auditorium (remember, this is stuffy old London - not Amsterdam) leapt to their feet.  The applause was deafening. I will review last night, of course, but the lead review will come from the distinguished journalist, Joanna Goodman. We shall also publish a splendid report by David Murley of last week's Little Red Riding Hood workshop by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa.

Altogether, we have a lot of good things to say about Ballet Black and for once I won't be the only one saying them.

Alvin Ailey in Bradford

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre

Author Knight Foundation

Source Wikipedia

Creative Commons Licence

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Mixed Bill, Bradford Alhambra, 28 Sept 2016

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre visited Bradford on 27 and 28 Sept 2016 on the latest stage of its international tour which will take it to major cities in the UK as well as Lausanne and Copenhagen on the continent. The company performed four pieces of their repertoire in Bradford: Exodus, Night Creature, After the Rain Pas de Deux and Revelations. I saw the company last night. It was a magnificent performance which was received enthusiastically by the crowd.

Alvin Ailey founded Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre in 1958.  He contributed nearly 80 works to that company before he died in 1989. I was introduced to his work by American Ballet Theatre which danced The River when when ABT visited London in the early 1970s. I have been an admirer ever since. In creating his work Ailey drew on all sorts of dance and musical traditions that flourished in the United States in his time including ballet and modern dance. "What I like" he is reported as saying "is the line and technical range that classical ballet gives to the body. But I still want to project to the audience the expressiveness that only modern dance offers, especially for the inner kinds of things." The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre continues that approach which was reflected in yesterday's programme that included a classical pas de deux by Christopher Wheeldon and hip hop by Rennie Harris as well as two of Ailey's best known works.

The evening began with Exodus which was an explosion of sound and movement. It continued after a short interval with Ailey's Night Creature which he created to the music of Duke Ellington in 1974 for television and launched on stage the following year. A graceful work with swirling couples, jazz rhythms, balletic steps, gorgeous costumes - classic Ailey. The lights dimmed for a few minutes before Sarah Daley and Jamar Roberts performed After the Rain pas de Deux which was my favourite work of the evening. A classical piece with soaring lifts by two beautiful and well matched dancers to Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel. Wheeldon created the work in 2005 for an evening to honour Balanchine but had I been asked to guess the choreographer I would have attributed it to Balanchine himself. The show finished with Revelations  which like the first work is inspired by African-American spirituals. It consists of 10 separate works each created on a different spiritual. I liked them all but Sinner Man danced by Jeroboam Bozeman, Sean Aaaron Carmon and Renaldo Maurice impressed me particularly. Even though the Alhambra was less than full the applause was deafening. The dancers were cheered back for an encore which they delivered exuberantly.

As there is so much dance in the North this Autumn I had planned to see the company only once but I can't possibly leave it at that. They will be at the Lowry very soon where they will perform a different programme. As soon as this review is published I will be on the blower for tickets. The company's next stops will be Nottingham, Cardiff, Salford, Southampton, Canterbury and Edinburgh. Whatever else you see this year you must not miss Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre.

Northern Ballet Academy's End of Year Show

The Academy of Northern Ballet in Leeds says that it "provides world-class, non-residential dance training to all ages and abilities." I have attended some of those classes including several that have been given by Annemarie Donoghue and one by Chris Hinton-Lewis,  On Saturday 4 July 2015 some of the students who had attended those classes showed off their skills in Northern Ballet Academy's end of year show  in the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre in Leeds.

So many students attend Northern Ballet's classes that their show has to be divided into several separate performances each with a different cast.  The performance that I attended was the last of the day which started at 16:30. It consisted of the Academy of Northern Ballet, Saturday Ballet Classes 1 and 2, Jazz 1-2 and the Over 55 Class. As their name suggests the Over 55 Class consists of individuals (mainly but not exclusively women) who are aged 55 or above.  Although I would never have guessed it from their appearance or performance, I happen to know that several of those members are well over that age. The Academy dancers are those who have already studied dance to a high level and plan to continue their training at such establishments as Elmhurst and Central. The students in the Saturday Ballet and Jazz classes are much younger. I am aware that at least one of them is aged 9.

I was impressed by all the students but the ones that I had come to see were the Over 55 class as I had attended some of their classes and had made the acquaintance of several of them. They danced Lullaby by Lulaby, a composer I had never heard of but whose music I like very much. Jane Lambert, who took part in the performance, has described the choreography in My Second Ballet 5 July 2015. Earlier in the week I had attended the technical rehearsal where I took video  and the still pictures which I reproduce here with the kind permission of Annemarie and each of her dancers.

Each of the performers danced well and it would be unfair for me to single any out for special praise. The complicated sequences at the start and end of the piece where each dancer raises her hand in turn went off without a hitch. The dancers synchronised their arm movements in the courou and I was impressed by the jumping group and the temps leves of the balance group. Some of the dancers managed quite an elevation which is all the more remarkable given their age. Having seen the rehearsal I know the amount of work that the dancers had put into this show through their classes and rehearsals. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves. The one thing that they could have done better would have been to dance off stage. They seemed to walk off into the wings after they had performed their dance which detracted a little from the overall slickness of the performance. Having said that it may be that I am a little sensitive to that issue as the choreographer of a show in which I had appeared had been very hot on that point.

The crowd seemed to like the piece for they clapped enthusiastically.and I think I heard at least one whoop. The show finished with a curtain call by the whole company which was nice. The compeer thanked the choreographers who had made the show possible. Annemarie and Cara O'Shea (who had worked with David Nixon and Yoko Ichinoa on the Academy's opening and closing pieces and the children's dances) acknowledged the well deserved applause. There was a short speech from the compeer, the drawing of a raffle and the presentation of prizes before the curtain fell for the last time.

I see from the programme that many of the graduating students are going to first rate schools for their professional training and I join with the company in wishing them well in their further training and subsequent careers. 

Better than Eurovision

KNT Danceworks, Move It, The Dancehouse, Manchester 23 May 2015

I crossed the Pennines last August to take KNT Danceworks's Complete Beginners' Ballet class when Northern Ballet Academy was on vacation and Hype and Team Hud were taking a short break. I thoroughly enjoyed the class and wrote about it in So Proud of Manchester - KNT Danceworks Complete Beginners Class. I liked it so much that I returned on the Monday, Tuesday and Thursday of the following week. As KNT were promoting classes in Liverpool I attended short classes with Karen Sant in ballet, jazz and contemporary in the splendour of the ballroom of Liverpool Town Hall (see It's not every Class that you can use Lord Canning's Eyes for Spotting 9 Sept 2014).

Because my over 55 classes at Northern Ballet in Leeds take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays and my classes with Fiona Noonan in Sheffield and Huddersfield are on Mondays and Wednesdays I have not been a regular in Manchester but I have continued to come whenever possible. I have also brought two of my friends from Yorkshire. Gita also liked Ailsa Baker's Complete Beginners' class and wrote about her experience in Coming Back to Ballet 12 March 2015. She and I also took a contemporary class with Ailsa which we both enjoyed (see My First Contemporary Dance Class 27 Feb 2015).

The reason we like KNT Danceworks so much is that they have some really good teachers. I have already mentioned Ailsa and Karen but I have also enjoyed class with other instructors whom I cannot name.  You will see some of my teachers in the above YouTube clip from last year's show and I think you will be impressed. They attract a good crowd of students of different ages and abilities all of whom are keen to learn. I like them a lot so when they put on a show called Move It at The Dancehouse team Terpsichore came to watch them.

You might have thought that KNT would have struggled to fill the auditorium on the night that the Eurovision Song Contest was on telly and Ballet Theatre UK were in Tameside  but far from it. There was a good crowd in a happy, clappy mood. Unlike the usual audience at the Grand or Palace there were folk of all ages, all races and both genders. A pretty representative sample of the population of Manchester I should say.

"Good evening" said a lady who later did a brilliant belly dance. The crowd mumbled. "Good evening" she repeated to a slightly louder response. "How are you?" The response became a murmur. "Do you like dancing?" A moderate "Yes".  "Do you know somebody in the show?" A much louder "yes". "So your job is to support them". That was answered with some serious applause. So she read out the acts that were to appear in the first half: intermediate ballet, tap, belly dancing, beginners' ballet, hula, African rhythm, contemporary, Chinese and contemporary.

All those acts were good and some were outstanding. My main interest was, of course, in the ballet. Both classes did well. Both had challenging choreography with music that I would not have found easy to dance to. The intermediate ballet cast were dressed as cats and slid across the floor. Two or three even ran off stage and into the audience. The beginners had some tricky temps levés which they executed well.  I am very proud to have done class with them and I have to congratulate Ailsa and Karen on a very creditable show.

Of the other acts I loved the African rhythm trio and the Chinese dancers. The Chinese, all women most but not all of whom appeared to be of Chinese heritage, wore beautiful costumes. They seemed to have a very wide repertoire for they were on stage longer than most of the other acts. I particularly liked a dance in which they waved and trailed long scarves. But I liked every part of the show - the contemporary, belly dancing, hula solo, jazz and contemporary.

After a short interval our compère reappeared but this time in a glamorous, shimmering costume. She introduced the remaining acts one of which was herself.  "We teachers like to dance as well" she explained. When she came on stage a few minutes later she was thrilling. I have not seen enough belly dancing to make comparisons but she seemed pretty good to me.  She deservedly got a deafening round of applause.

So, too, did the African dance trio who amazed us with their virtuosity. The man in the middle particularly with his cart wheels and hand and head stands. Their enthusiasm was infectious. First they got us clapping to the beat of the drums, then they got is waving and swaying our arms in time with them. They invited the audience to join them and one young woman did so. She was brilliant. I don't know whether she had rehearsed with the trio or whether she had picked up the dance on stage but she was a delight to watch.

There was one other star of the evening. A young woman of African or Afro-Caribbean heritage who danced with one of the advanced classes. I don't know her name but my guess is that she must be a teacher because she was very good. You can tell from her face that she loves to dance. She is vivacious and she can make her body do the most amazing things. She also got us clapping and moving in our seats.

There were also impressive performances by the hula dancers some of whom could rotate their hoops around one leg while balancing on the other.  There were some excellent jumps in the contemporary,  But once again it was the ballet that delighted me. The pointe class dazzled with "Putting on the Ritz" each of them with a tie round her neck which made for impressive turns.  The evening was rounded off with the advanced ballet class who were delightful. They wore lovely flowing dresses which emphasised their elegance.

I have to say a word for the technicians of the Dancehouse particularly the person in charge of the lighting. There were no props except for such things as the Chinese dancers' scarves and the pointe class's canes but there were plenty of changes of scene and mood and they were all accomplished with sound and lighting.

This week I have seen some great performances in York and Doncaster by Birmingham Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet and I left both theatres on a high. They are of course world class companies and one would expect them to be good. Last night I saw part-time dancers like myself - but I left The Dancehouse on no less a high.

There's more to Harpenden than Thameslink

I've discovered that the easiest and cheapest way to London is to drive to Luton Parkway which takes just over two and a half hours from Dodworth (the "w" is not pronounced  by the locals and they glare at you if try to do so) where I join the M1. I park in the multistorey for £2.50 so long as I arrive after 17:00. Then I make my way into town by Thameslink which takes me to Farringdon that is close to the Wells and within walking distance of the House and Coli for £10 return. "Easy peasy lemon squeezy" as they say. So much more convenient than East Midlands Trains from Sheffield or Virgin from Donny.

Just past Parkway there is a station called Harpenden. For a long time I thought that was all there was to Harpenden but on Friday I learned that there is also The Harpenden Summer Dance School. Not only that but one of the teachers is Hfbrew (Helen Brewer) who tells me who is dancing in Ballet Theatre UK's performances. Without her help I could never review that company's shows because BTUK does not publish cast lists and the chap who sells the programmes never knows who is dancing.

According to its home page The Harpenden Summer Dance School "is primarily a week long dance course that takes place every August during the week prior to the Bank Holiday." Apparently it is suitable for keen dance students of all levels and its ethos is to provide top quality dance training during the summer break in a friendly and informal atmosphere. I have already said that Helen is, one of the teachers. The others are Mary Schon and Richard Reynard. All three have impressive credentials.  There are classes in ballet, jazz and musical theatre at junior, senior and advanced levels as well as coaching for the more advanced students.

Fees start at £12 for a single class with discounts for second and subsequent classes on the same day. A weekly pass costs £150 which is not bad for the Home Counties, the land of milk and honey, where everybody drives a Bentley and the average mortgage is bigger than the GDP of several UN member states.So if you are interested you can download the application form here. The school has a really pretty logo (or device marks as we sad old fossils call such things) and a t-shirt emblazoned with that design will set you back £12.

If you want to learn more about this course you can call Helen on 07818 448400 or send her an email.

Moving North

In Dazzled 3 May 2015 I wrote: "I like to see young dancers at the start of their careers because they are full of energy and hope". Yesterday I saw even younger dancers in the first heat of the Royal Academy of Dance's competition Moving North. It took place at the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre at Quarry Hill in Leeds.

Despite competition from "Leeh Toor deeh Yorkshire" which happened to pass just a few yards from my house as I was setting off for Leeds forcing me to take a circuitous detour the theatre was packed. I guess most of the audience were friends and connexions of the contestants but I did spot Sharon Watson and exchanged a few words with her about Code which Ballet Central had danced the night before.

It was a very long show, There were 51 acts in ballet, contemporary, hip-hop and jazz. Some of the contestants were very young.  Nearly all of were female.  I counted only 3 or 4 boys. All the contestants were good.

The purpose of the heat was to select 10 finalists for the last stage of the competition which will take place at The Lowry on 18 July. In the event, the judge Gary Clarke chose 12 for Salford. They will compete against the finalists to be chosen in Bolton on 10 May and York on 21 June.

I had one interest in the contest. Hype Dance Company had entered some of its students into the competition. The reason for my interest is that I take the beginners' ballet class there occasionally (see More than just Hype - Beginners and Improvers Classes in Sheffield 14 May 2014). The Hype students danced The Water Fairies to music by Schubert. In my view they did very well and I thought they would make the finals but the were up against some tough competition.   Emily Talks who choreographed the piece and trained the students should be congratulated on doing a very good job.

There were three things that surprised me. First, as I noted above, there were not many boys though all of those who did compete made the finals. Secondly, even though some of them were well into their teens none of the female ballet students danced on pointe. Thirdly, there were no non-Western dance styles even though our region hosts a number of companies, dance troupes and individual artists who study those styles. I had expected at least one or two Bollywood entries.

However, I didn't dwell on those matters.  I thoroughly enjoyed the show and congratulate all the artists and their teachers.   It was good to see them together on stage at the end of the show.  We learned that some of the contestants were making their stage débuts in the competition. I hope all enjoyed the experience.   I wish them all well in their studies and subsequent careers

It's not every Class that you can use Lord Canning's Eyes for Spotting

One of the chandeliers in the magnificent ballroom of
Liverpool town hall

Photo Jane Lambert 

A few weeks ago I had the honour of meeting Councillor Ian Selby the Mayor of South Kesteven at a dance event (see "Chantry Dance - Making Connections" 30 Aug 2014). This evening at another dance event I met Rachel Plant the Lady Mayoress of Liverpool. The occasion was an evening of dance classes in support of the Lord Mayor's charities in the magnificent ballroom of Liverpool Town Hall.

The classes were given by Karen of KNT Danceworks whose complete beginners' class in Manchester I reviewed on 29 Aug 2014 (see "So Proud of Manchester - KNT Danceworks Complete Beginners Class"). Karen offered us three beginners' classes in ballet, jazz and contemporary. Like most of us who turned up at the town hall I took all three classes and enjoyed them all.

As you can see from the photos on its website Liverpool town hall is a magnificent building and the ballroom is probably the most impressive part of it. Some idea of its grandeur can be obtained from the photo of one of its chandeliers. There were well over 30 dancers in the room.  All of us were women and most were in their twenties or thirties though they were several who were not far short of my age.

As there was no barre in the ballroom we had to execute pliés, tendus, glissés, ronds de jambe and grands battements unaided which I found quite difficult but a very good discipline. Next we did a port de bras starting with a chassé to the right, arabesque and soutenu which was repeated on the left. We practised it together and were then divided into groups in which we performed it again. The next exercise was chaînés. Karen told us to spot something. Immediately to my right was a massive portrait of Lord Canning so I locked on to his eyes. Usually one has to make do with a door handle or a vase on the piano. Such was the glory of the setting. Next we had jumps and finally temps levés from right to left and left to right. And then, alas, the reverence. Like every good dance class it was over all too soon.

In the room next door the Lady Mayoress welcomed us to refreshments and a display of materials in aid of her mothers' charities. There were poems, sweets, badges and other goodies. Rachel Plant gave us a short presentation on dementia aided by a game of dementia friends' bingo in which she taught us some of the facts of the condition. Clearly that is a topic on which Ms Plant has considerable expertise.

After the break Karen gave us a jazz class, This was a first for me. After a warm up we learned a routine. I found jazz much faster than ballet and I struggled to keep up. However, it is also very exuberant and I am certainly coming back for more.  We practised the routine as a group and then performed it in groups.

Karen allowed us a few minutes to grab a drink and then on with contemporary which was another first for me. This was he hardest part of the evening largely because it involved a lot of floor work which us not easy for a 65 year old. However, I gave it my best shot and after two or three goes I think I was getting the hang if it by the time we had to do final stretches.

A few weeks ago someone posted on Facbook: "You can't buy happiness but you can buy a dance class and that's kinda the same thing" Judging by the chattering and laughter, tonight's classes showed just how true that is.

Postscript

I have embedded a tweet from Liverpool town hall with a lovely picture of our teacher and the Lord and Lady Mayoress at the entrance to the town hall,

Karen from @danceliverpool with @CllrEricaKemp & @RachelPlant5 @TownHallLpool pic.twitter.com/u46yC2z0Sf
— Liverpool Town Hall (@TownHallLpool) September 8, 2014