Northern Ballet's Ability Programme

One of the reasons why I am a Friend of Northern Ballet and a Friend of the Northern Ballet Academy is that it caters not just for those who are about to dance Siegfried and Odette-Odile in Swan Lake but everybody. Gita and I have both written about the Over 55 class (see Gita Mistry "I felt elongated and taller and stronger too" 14 June 2015 and my "We're in the Paper" 25 April 2015). The clip, Paul's Day, shows the work that the company and academy do for other groups who will never dance on the main stage of Covent Garden but can still enjoy and derive enormous personal satisfaction and confidence from dance.

Now although Paul and folk like him may not make it to the Royal Opera House they can still perform on stage in one of the principal dance venues of the nation.  On 15 July 2015 Northern Ballet will host Expressions at the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre. This is described as "a sharing which brings together inclusive dance groups from the North of England, giving talented dancers with disabilities the chance to showcase their skills to an audience on a professional stage." It will include performances from Northern Ballet’s Ability course in which Paul participates, local dance organizations and by the professional dance company Flex Dance.

Now I am going to try to get along to this show if I possibly can because accessible dance can be good dance as you will see from my reviews An Explosion of Joy on Ballet Cymru's collaboration with Gloucestershire Dance in Llandudno last September and No Mean City - Accessible Dance and Ballet 26 April 2015 on Scottish Ballet's work with Indepen-Dance. Tickets for Expressions are free but you do have to book in advance.