Will I like Ballet?

Grace in Winter

Author Ekabhishek Source Wikipedia

One of the first publications for Team Terpsichore will be a downloadable guide for ballet sceptics and ballet newbies called Will I like Ballet? I'm the author but the book is writing itself. It is such fun. So different from all the other books and articles that I have ever written which have been on IP and technology fun. They've been enjoyable to write too but in a different way.

Without giving too much away, Will I like Ballet? will suggest all the reasons why you might like ballet. I will debunk all the urban myths and tackle all the prejudices about ballet.  I will suggest some good ballets to start with such as Fille mal gardée and Coppélia.  I will identify all the good bits of choreography to look out for such as Odile's 32 fouettés in Swan Lake and the mesmerizing arabesques of the wilis in Act II of Giselle. I will include music, sets, costumes and lighting as well as choreography. I will tell the stories of the popular ballets including modern ones such as Nixon's Madame Butterfly as well as the big box office ones like The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty. 

I will profile all the companies which are in or tour the UK with massive plugs for my personal favourites such as Ballet Black, Scottish Ballet and Northern Ballet. I will portray all favourite choreographers and dancers from Sibley to Osipova including some who are yet principals.  

I will give practical tips for visiting every theatre in the UK that hosts ballet regularly such as where to park and how to book a ticket on-line without paying even more supplementarios than on an Italian express train. My fellow team member who is a TV champion chef and foodie will direct you to where to eat cheaply and well after a show at say The Dancehouse or Linbury.

In case the ballet bug bites, I will talk about the books that I have enjoyed from Arnold Haskell's Balletomainia  to Michaela DePrince's Hope in a Ballet Shoe.  I will identify some great blogs like Adult Beginner and Tala Lee Turton.  I will mention organizations like the London Ballet Circle and on-line forums where you can talk ballet, ballet, ballet, ballet, ballet all evening without becoming a social pariah.  

If you want to have a go at ballet yourself I will point you towards the wonderful classes for the over 55s in Leeds at Northern Ballet and the enormous range of classes available at Danceworks and Pineapple in London, KNT in Manchester or indeed Ballet West's in Argyll.

In writing Will I like Ballet? I claim no specialist expertise. Just the accumulated experience of watching an average of 50 over ballets a year over many years.