A Thoroughly Good Chap - HNB's Next Artistic Director

Ernst Meisner

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The appointment of Ernst Meisner as the next Artistic Director of the Dutch National Ballet is excellent news and nowhere will it be welcomed more than in this country.  He trained at the Royal Ballet School and spent the first 10 years of his career with the Royal Ballet.  While he was here he staged a gala at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford at which he invited Leanne Benjamin, Alina Cojocaru, Zenaida Yanowsk, Ed Watson, Filip Barankiewicz and four dancers from Russia to perform (see Mara Galeazzi Ernst Meisner: My Project in Dartford 4 June 2005).  Since returning to the Netherlands in 2010 he has maintained many connections with us.

I first made his acquaintance in 2013 when he responded to my review of the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company's first performance at the Stadsshouwburg in Amsterdam on 24 Nov 2013.  The company was about to take its show on a tour of the Netherlands, Having attended the recording of an outstanding performance of The Messiah by the Huddersfield Choral Society at the Huddersfield Town Hall I sent the Junior Company the DVD of the recording to play on the road.  The next year he asked Richard Heideman, the company's press officer, to arrange for me to interview him and his remarkable young artists (see Jane Lambert Meet Ernst Meisner and His Remarkable Young Dances 6 Dec 2014 Terpsichore),  On their next performance at the Stadsshouwburg Ernst invited me to meet him the dancers and their families at a reception after the show. I have kept in touch with many of them ever since.

Two weeks after the Junior Company returned to London in 2015 the Dutch National Ballet Christopher Wheeldon's Cinderella at the Coliseum.   I saw it on 11 July 2015 and loved it (see Jane Lambert Bend It Like Cinders - My Take on Cinderella 18 July 2015 Terpsichore),  Anna Tsygankova and Matthew Golding danced the lead roles but several of the members of the Junior Company whom I had met in Amsterdam were given roles in Cinderella.

Every year the company presents extracts of its work from the previous year as well as other short pieces at a gala and throws a party.   I attended the gala on  8 Sept 2015 which I described without any hyperbole as The best evening I have ever spent at the ballet in Terpsichore. Following my visit I joined the Friends of the Dutch National Ballet and have been a fan ever since.

When I first met Ernst he was the "artistic coordinator" of the Junior Company.  He is now its Artistic Director.  He later became Artistic Director of the Dutch National Ballet Academy and is now the Associate Director of Talent Development.  Above all, he is an exceptionally talented choreographer.  I cannot watch Embers without tears welling up but my all-time favourite is No Time Before Time.  This work expresses perfectly the energy and exuberance of the Junior Company. In my lifetime the Netherlands has produced three towering figures;  Rudi van Danzig, Toer van Schayk and Hans van Manen.  It is no idle flattery to mention Ernst Meisner in the same breath.

I have illustrated this article with a frame from Ernst's Online Ballet Class video.  He gained a whole new worldwide audience from those classes during lockdown,  Those classes kept us moving and gave us hope. I followed every single class and am enormously grateful for them.   

When Ernst Meisner becomes Artistic Director, the Futch National Ballet will be in excellent hands.

Principato's Cinderella: Having a Ball in Tallinn

Maria Chugai and Elizabetta Formento

Author Jack Devant © 2024 Jack Devant.  All rights reserved. Reproduced with the kind permission of the owner

 

Cristiano Principato and Sander Sellin Cinderella Estonian National Opera House, Tallinn, 14 Oct 2024 19:00

Cristiano Principato is a soloist with the Estonian National Ballet.  He first came to my attention 10 years ago when he was a member of the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company (see Meet Cristiano Principato of the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company 3 Dec 2014).  In his interview, he explained that he had loved choreography ever since he was a child. He said that his long-term dream was to direct a major company where he could create new ballets. My parting comment was: "Here is another young man who knows where he is going and I shall follow his career with interest."

I did not have to wait long for Principato's talent to emerge.  In June 2016 I flew to Italy to see some of Europe's most promising young dancers at the civic theatre of Trecate (a small town in Piedmont about the same distance from Milan as Huddersfield is from Manchester) perform at a benefit gala for an excellent local charity (see From Italy with Love 1 July 2016).  Not only did Principato raise money for the charity, he also danced before his father who had been prevented by illness from travelling to the opera houses in which Principato had performed.  It must have been a very proud moment for both men.

In the same year the Dutch National Ballet invited Principato to create a work for that company and the result was Palladio.   On the strength of that work, I nominated Principato as the outstanding young choreographer of 2016.  The following year Principato was placed in charge of New Moves 2017 which stages works by the Dutch National Ballet's dancers.   In my review, I wrote:

"As well as coordinating the whole event (see Principato moves to a Bigger Stage 30 May 2017), Cristiano Principato created, and danced in, my favourite work of the evening. He based his work on the music of Herny Purcell, our first great composer. This was a work for four dancers and his casting was impeccable."

I lost touch with Principato when he joined the Estonian National Ballet because Tallinn is much further from Manchester than Amsterdam.  

We reconnected when Maria Chugai, one of my favourite artists with the Dutch National Ballet, told me that she was dancing in a new production of Cinderella by Principato and suggested that I might like to fly out to Tallinn to see the show.  Although it was not easy for me to get away I jumped at the idea for several reasons.  First, Kenneth Tindall had told me in his interview on Casanova  that "the jump from one-act to full-length is an exponential and qualitative leap - not merely doubling or tripling of effort."  Not every choreographer can carry it off and I wanted to see what Principato would make of the challenge. Secondly, I have been a big fan of Chugai ever since I saw her dance Myrtha in Giselle at the Theater Heerlen on 9 Nov 2018 (see Mooie 10 Nov 2018).  I also owe her a special debt of gratitude for the online classes that she gave to Powerhouse Ballet during lockdown.  Finally, visiting Estonia was an adventure. It is a fascinating country with Russian, Finnish, Swedish and German influences, thriving tech and creative sectors and a concession called e-residency which confers some of the benefits of Estonian residence on non-resident foreigners.  The country also borders Russia and judging by the way international tensions are developing Tallinn may be the nearest I ever get to Theatre Street in my lifetime.

Although Cinderella was an independent production it took place in the Estonian National Opera House (Rahvusooper Estonia).  That building consists of two auditoriums side by side.  One is used for opera and ballet and the other for concerts.  For those who want to learn more about the opera house, the photographer Jack Devant has written an interesting article about the venue. The dominant feature of the auditorium in which the ballet took place is a gigantic painting on the ceiling encircling a chandelier.  It is not a big theatre compared to Covent Garden or the Music Theatre in Amsterdam but it gives an impression of opulence. The audience is seated on semi-upholstered wooden framed chairs allowing a reasonable amount of legroom.  There appeared to be space for an orchestra though the pit was boarded over for the performance. A heavy royal blue curtain hung across the stage.  The ushers were smartly turned out in black suits with golden trimmings around their neck and hemlines.

In an interview with Konstantin Litvichenko, Principato was asked to identify the three most successful factors of the performance.  He replied first the visual design, secondly, staging Cinderella in the style of Marius Petipa and thirdly the experience that he gained from staging the work.  I would agree with him about the design though I would not put it number one.  An obvious reason for the success of the show was that Principato's libretto stuck close to Charles Perrault's story and avoided gimmicks like gender alternation as in Scottish Ballet's Cinders or substitution of a male magician for the Fairy Godmother in David Nixon's.  But the main reason for the success of the show was the casting.  Principato chose dancers who were also accomplished actors.  They told the tale which was just as well as the programme notes were entirely in Estonian.

The casting of Elisabetta Formento from the Spanish National Dance Company in the title role was inspired. I had previously seen her with the Dutch National Ballet and the Birmingham Royal Ballet and it was a delight to see her again.  Formento is an excellent communicator of emotion.  Her despair and sense of burning injustice as her stepmother destroyed her dress and confiscated her invitation were palpable.  Later she shared her exhilaration with three soaring grands jetés as she approached her prince.

Perhaps because I am used to Sarah Kundi's portrayal of Hortensia (Cinderella's stepmother) in Christopher Wheeldon's version for the English National Ballet I had expected a comic performance from Francesca Loi. I was not disappointed.  There were some hilarious moments such as her panic over a mouse and her mounting frustration over her failure to distract the prince after she had recognized Cinderella. 

Loi was complemented by her two selfish and spiteful daughters Anastasia and Genevieve. These are difficult roles as they have to combine ridicule with nastiness which is the opposite of a dancer's training.  They were danced by Karina Laura Leškin and Phillipa McCann.

Much as the Lilac Fairy holds together The Sleeping Beauty and Drosselmeyer The Nutcracker the Fairy Godmother links the three crucial scenes of Cinderella.   She makes an appearance early in the first act noting Cinderella's misery.  She comes again with fairy helpers to create Cinderella's gown and carriage.  She returns to the stage just before midnight warning Cinderella to make her exit.  That role was performed by Maria Chugai with flair and virtuosity.

Formento was partnered gallantly by her prince Thomas Giugovaz.  Having graduated from La Scala ballet school less than 10 years ago his progress to soloist of the Spanish National Dance Company has been rapid.  He has danced in several American and continental companies and also in Hong Kong but not yet in the UK.  

Another dancer who has progressed rapidly is Diogo de Oliviera, a soloist with the Polish National Ballet.  He danced the role of the prince's advisor displaying humour when dealing with Cinderella's stepmother and sisters, carrying her discarded slipper and looking for a fit and considerable virtuosity at the ball.

Other artists I should mention are Akane Ichii, Kim Jana Hügi, Maarja Praks and Ashley Chiu who danced the seasons. Connor Willians and Hidetora Tabe were cavaliers.  Sacha Barber and Benjamin Pierce were guests at the ball.  All are members of the Estonian National Ballet whom I might not have seen had I not come to Tallinn.  All danced well and all deserve commendation.

I have already agreed that the designs contributed to the success of the show.  Credit for the lighting should go to Richard Boukine.  The visuals which consisted of CAD projections transported the audience through all the scenes of the ballet from Conderella's skullery to the ballroom of the royal palace. They were most impressive particularly the fireworks in the last scene. Aarto Hiiema and Principato share the credit for those projections.   Principato and Svetlana Leht collaborated on the costumes.  An original feature of the Fairy Godmother's headgear was the miniature golden stove pipe hat.  Last but by no means least of those who are to be congratulated is Sander Sellin of Grand Art MTÜ - Estonian Ballet Agency for he produced the show.   

Cinderella will be performed in Vilnius on 28 Oct and Tartu on 4 Nov 2024. The show returns to Tallinn on 25 Nov 2024.  It was a resounding success and for those who live within easy reach of any of those cities, it is strongly recommended.   Readers do not have to take my word for it as Principato has posted substantial portions of Act I  and Act II to YouTube.   

An Enormous Loss

By Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken - https://www.flickr.com/photos/ministeriebz/48865568151/,
CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=152604341

 

I met Michaela Mabinty DePrince only once but I felt personally bereaved when I read about her death earlier today.  I first heard of DePrince shortly after my late spouse died of motor neurone disease.  My late spouse was also Sierra Leonean who shared something else with DePrince. We had been married for nearly 27 years and watching life drain away from the most precious person in the world was the most painful experience of my life.

The post about the success of a 17-year-old Sierra Leonean coincided with a postcard on my gym notice board advertising "ballercise" (ballet exercise) classes,  They were offered by a teacher who had trained in Brisbane and danced with the Queensland Ballet. I had studied a little bit of ballet as an undergraduate when I was bursting with energy and ambition.  I had never ceased to attend performances and I continued to devour every review book or article on ballet that I could obtain but there were no ballet classes at my graduate school in LA or indeed at the Inns of Court in London,

Irrational though it may sound to describe the coincidental appearance of the post on the BBC website and the advert as providential, that is just how it seemed.  I enrolled in the class and miraculously much of the ambition and energy of youth gushed back.  I have often told my teacher that her classes raised me from utter despair but I would never have thought of joining the class had I not read that article about DePrince.

Shortly after DePrince had won the Youth America Grand Prix, I learned that she had joined the Junior Company of the Dutch National Ballet.  I flew over to Amsterdam for its first performance,  I reviewed the show in The Junior Company of the Dutch National Ballet - Stadsshouwburg Amsterdam 24 Nov 2013 on 25 Nov 2013.  I described her as "simply the most exciting dancer I have seen for quite a while."  My review was read by the Junior Company's Artistic Coordinator Ernst Meisner which led to correspondence and eventually an opportunity to meet the dancers.  

Every year the Dutch National Ballet holds a gala followed by a party.  At the party dancers, musicians and the management of the company mingle with the audience.  It was on one of those occasions that I exchanged a few words with DePrince.  It was a glorious evening which I have described as The best evening I have ever spent at the ballet.   Just as I was leaving I spotted DePrince and greeted her,   It was a very short conversation as I was rushing for the underground but I left the theatre thinking how that exceptionally talented young dancer was as gracious off stage as she was magnificent on it.

Over the years I have made the acquaintance of many other members of the Dutch National Ballet and some have become dear friends,  I also met many members of the audience including a wonderful teacher who came to train Powerhouse Ballet a few years ago. I have also got to know the Netherlands well.  It is the one part of the world outside my country that I feel most at ease.   All of those acquaintances and friendships as well as my affection for the Netherlands I owe to that first visit to the Stadsshouwburg and ultimately to the artist who caused me to make that visit,

According to The Guardian DePrince's family has requested donations to  War Child, instead of flowers.  I am sure that her many fans around the world will respond generously to that request. 

Moriconi and Gable's Romeo and Juliet

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Northern Ballet Romeo and Juliet Sheffield Lyceum Theatre 4 April 2024 14:00

Northern Ballet has two fine productions of Romeo and Juliet in its repertoire.  One was created by Jean-Christophe Maillot which I reviewed in Northern Ballet's Romeo and Juliet - different but in a good way on 8 March 2015 and Romeo and Juliet after the Shrew on 15 Oct 2016.  The other was choreographed by Massimo Moricone and directed and devised by Christopher Gable.  Moricone and Gable's was premiered in 1992 to considerable critical acclaim but it had not been performed for many years.  It was revived in Leeds last month and is now on the second stage of a nationwide tour.  I watched the matinee performance of the ballet in Sheffield yesterday.

There are many different versions of Romeo and Juliet in the world's ballet companies Some like Lavrovsky's and MacMillan's follow Shakespeare quite closely.  Others like Pastor's and Sir Matthew Bourne's leave Shakespeare way behind.  Moricone and Gable's followed the play faithfully as can be seen from the "Romeo & Juliet Story" page on Northern Ballet's website but there were some original details that enhanced the understanding of the story.  In Juliet's bedroom, the nurse reminds Juliet that she is growing up by pointing to changes in her body.  In Act II Mercutio is provoked into challenging Tybalt because Tybalt drags a young woman by her hair.  I do not know whether those touches were suggested by the choreographer or director but Gable will have developed an intimate understanding of Romeo and Juliet from dancing the lead role with Lynn Seymour in MacMillan's work.  

Yesterday's cast included both premier dancers of the company as well as my first choices for the lead roles. When I had the opportunity to learn Juliet's dance at KNT's choreographic intensive in 2016, our teacher Jane Tucker, who had danced in  the same production of the ballet,  set the scene as follows:

"You are 12 years old. This is your first ball. You are so excited you can hardly contain yourself. All eyes are on you. You want everybody to be you."

I have seen many Juliets in my time including Fonteyn and Seymour and while they have dazzled me I have never been able to think of them as 12-year-olds.  Sarah Chun did remind me of that little girl bubbling with excitement and playfully teasing her nurse as she prepared for that first grown-up ball,  Similarly, Jonathan Hanks with his youthful features was ideally cast for Romeo.  In the play, those kids grow up almost overnight and so did Chun and Hanks in the ballet.  They are both remarkable dance actors.  I really warmed to them.  I see that in her bio Sarah Chun said that Juliet would be her dream role.  Yesterday, she lived that dream and she was brilliant.

An important role but one which is often discounted is the nurse or as we would describe her nowadays the nanny.  She appears in all three acts and she has to project all kinds of emotions from playfulness in the first bedroom scene and she romps around with her young charge to fear as she tries to protect Juliet from her grief-stricken and angry parents.   Her role was danced by Harriet Marden. She has been in the company for some time and I must have seen her countless times but this is the first time I have mentioned her in my reviews but I am sure it will not be the last. I shall now be looking out for her.  She showed considerable talent as a character dancer.  I loved the way she crossed herself before she grabbed Juliet's note from between the thighs of one of Romeo's buddies.

It was a treat to see Abigail Prudames, one of my favourite dancers in the company. I have watched her progress through the company's ranks with great satisfaction.  She danced Lady Capulet with exceptional energy and passion.  Her anger upon learning of Tybalt's death in his duel with Romeo was palpable.

Tybalt was danced by Joseph Taylor (another artist I have long admired) who portrayed his character perfectly.  Having met him in real life I know that he is anything but the privileged, headstrong, thuggish young blade who received his comeuppance after bullying young women and knifing Mercutio when he was off his guard but Taylor projected that character faultlessly,  He is a great dance-actor as well as a virtuoso.

One other artist who deserves special mention is Jun Ishi who danced Mercutio.   Again this is the first time that I have mentioned that artist in my reviews but it will not be the last as I shall follow his career with interest in the future.  The audience gasped with relief as he rose to his feet after the stabbing.  We relaxed as he took a swig from a bottle.  We despaired as he sank lifeless to the floor.

Everybody in the cast performed well and if I mentioned every member by name this review would resemble a telephone directory.  All I can do is to congratulate everyone in the show on a magnificent spectacle.

It was of course not just the dancers who made it a good show.  I have already mentioned Gable and Moricone but I should not forget John Longstaff  There were several details in the music which reinforced the story which I had not noticed in other productions.  I am not sure whether the peel of thunder immediately before the overture was part of the orchestration or Gable's direction.  I was a little discombobulated when I first heard it but it made perfect sense in the context of the hail storm at the end of Act II. 

I must also praise  Lez Brotherston's designs.   The opening scene featured a fragment of the maxim "Amor vincit omnia" which of course is the theme of the ballet.  Love did not quite conquer all from the point of view of the young lovers though maybe it did eventually in the embrace of Lords Capulet and Montague just before the curtain fell.   I learnt for the first time from the programme that many of the costumes from the original show had been destroyed or damaged in the flood.  I know that Peter Pan had been lost but I was not aware that Romeo and Juliet had also been affected.  It required a major effort to restore the ballet and it says a lot for a company that undertook that work.

I first got to know Northern Ballet Theatre when Christopher Gable danced with Moira Shearer in The Simple Man.  Some of my favourite works were created while Gable was the Artistic Director of the company and I have always regarded that time as a golden age,   It gives me great pleasure to see Romeo and Juliet again and I am very much looking forward to watching A Christmas Carol in November.

Nobody Dances The Sleeping Beauty better than the Birmingham Royal Ballet

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Birmingham Royal Ballet The Sleeping Beauty The Lowry 7 March 2024 18:39

Every March the Birmingham Royal Ballet visits The Lowry to perform one of its full-length works.  This year the company brought Sir Peter Wright's production of The Sleeping Beauty.  I had been looking forward to it very much.  I have seen many performances of that ballet by different companies over the years but none has danced it better than the Birmingham Royal Ballet.   It is not surprising that Sir Peter has been commissioned to create versions of that work for the Dutch National Ballet and the Hungarian Ballet.

I attended the evening performance on 7 March 2024.   As I had expected, the dancing, drama, music, sets and costumes were outstanding but I do have one criticism.   A performance of The Sleeping Beauty normally lasts three and a half hours with intervals between each of the Acts and between the Prologue and Act I.  Those intervals are there for a purpose.   They allow the audience to reflect on the dancing that they have just seen and, unless they already know the ballet backwards, prepare for the next Act by consulting the synopsis.  Intervals also provide opportunities to look out for friends and acquaintances, take a comfort break, grab some refreshments or just stretch pairs of legs.  The show that I attended was telescoped into 2 hours and 50 minutes with just 2 breaks of 15 minutes each.  Acts I and II, which are supposed to span 100 years in the story, were juxtaposed with just a 3-minute pause between them.  Those intervals were just not long enough to absorb and appreciate fully the cascade of colour, sound and movement.       

Happily, there was still plenty to enjoy.  The Sleeping Beauty is a contest between good and evil represented by the Lilac Fairy and Carabosse.  I know that Aurora and Florimund are supposed to be the leads and that their roles are always performed by principals but I have always found them two-dimensional.  The success of the ballet hinges on the performance of those two fairies.  If they fall flat then the ballet is nothing more than an endless string of divertissements,

By far the more interesting fairy is Carabosse as she arrives on a black conveyance surrounded by petty monsters on a peel of thunder following a flash of lightning.  In some productions, Carabosse is danced by a man but I sense an extra frisson when the role is danced by a woman.   The best Carabosse that I have ever seen was the great Dutch ballerina Igone de Jongh but Daria Stanciulescu was pretty good too. I felt her rage as she peevishly plucked the last remaining hair from Catalabutte's pate, 

But evil does not win completely because Carabosse's curse is mitigated by the Lilac Fairy.  She was danced by Eilis Small.  She has a demanding role because she is the only character that appears in every scene of the show.  She guides Florimund through the thicket to Aurora's bed, projecting goodness and calm, banishing Carabosse in a puff of smoke on the way. 

Though their characters may not be as interesting as Carabosse's or Lilac's,  Aurora and Florimund have the best choreography.   The grand pas de deux at their wedding requires considerable virtuosity.  Momoko Hirata and Max Maslen performed those lead roles with flair.   Perhaps the most demanding part of Aurora's role is the rose adagio in Act I where she has to pass gracefully between four suitors.   The sequence requires considerable poise and concentration but Hirata almost made it look easy.

The only parts of the choreography of The Sleeping Beauty that I have ever tried to learn are the fairy variations in the Prologue.  Each is very short but none is easy.  Isabella Howard, Rasanna Ely, Rachele Pizzillo, Reina Fuchigami, Sofia Liñares and Yu Kurihara danced the fairies of beauty, honour, modesty, song, temperament and joy respectively.  I learnt a lot from them.  They were a joy to watch.

Liñares and Pizzillo joined Enrique Bejarano Vidal and Shuailun Wu in the pas de quatre for Aurora's wedding.  I loved Gus Payne's cheeky Puss-in-Boots and Isabella Howard's coquettish White Cat. I must congratulate Riku Itu and Yaoqian Shang on their Bluebird pas de deux.  Itu started his career at Northern Ballet and it was good to see him again.  Tessa Hogge and Callum Findlay-White were an amusing Little Red Riding Hood and Woolf.

This production has been in the company's repertoire for nearly 40 years but it seems as fresh as ever. Philip Prowse's sets and costumes continue to awe.  Touches like the scattering of the stage with gold confetti continue to delight.  So, too, does the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. On 7 March it was conducted by  Paul Murphy.

The Sleeping Beauty itself occupies a special place in the history of British ballet as it was the first work to be performed by the Sadler's Wells Ballet at the Royal Opera House after the Second World War.  That show took place on 20 Feb 1946.  However, according to the Manchester Guardian review of that performance of 21 Feb 1946, it was not the first time that the company performed The Sleeping Beauty at Covent Garden.  The company danced The Sleeping Beauty there at a special performance for the state visit of the President of France in March 1939.   

As this review will appear early on Easter Day, I wish all my readers who observe the festival a Happy Easter and everyone in the UK a happy bank holiday weekend.

Powerhouse Ballet's First Class with Karen Lester-Sant since Lockdown

Powerhouse Ballet takes its name from the Coalition Government's proposal to rebalance the British economy by integrating and expanding the economic, social and cultural resources of the North of England, The company was always intended to be a Transpennine one and for the first two years our classes, workshops and other activities alternated between the studios of Northern Ballet School and Dance Studio Leeds. 

At some time during lockdown, there was a change of ownership at Northern Ballet School.  Its new management stopped letting its studios to members of the public.  We had to find a new venue in Northwest England as did the dance schools and teachers who also used to train and rehearse there.  We held classes in Bolton, Mold and Ballet Contours.   I am very grateful to all those studios for hosting us.

Last Summer Karen Lester-Sant, the Principal of KNT Danceworks, opened new studios at 114 Chapel Street.  I attended the pre-intermediate class there shortly after the studios opened.  I described the experience in My First Class in KNT's New Studios on 12 July 2023.  Karen has always been a great friend of our company.  She gave us our first opportunity to dance in public at KNT's 10th-anniversary gala in May 2019.  Before lockdown, she was also one of our most popular ballet mistresses.  She delivered a particularly memorable company class a few weeks later with the great David Plumpton as her accompanist.

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On 17 Feb 2024, Karen Lester-Sant gave us another memorable class in her new premises.  This class took place just a few days after my 75th birthday and I was particularly touched that many members travelled long distances to attend.   Joanna Goodman travelled all the way from London and Sarah Lambert drove up from Birmingham.  Several others came from York and Ripon.

Karen gave us a very thorough class as usual.   A brisk barre.  A beautiful adagio.  The usual centre exercises.   A joyous grand allegro to finish.  I did my best to keep up but age and infirmity have greatly reduced my capabilities.  However, the other members danced beautifully.

After class, we adjourned to the Black Lion  where we drank a toast to Po Ling Katherine Wong on her recent wedding and birthday and my dear friends and acquaintances kindly toasted me.  As you can see  from the photo I received a beautiful calendar, some lovely roses, excellent wine and a delicious birthday cake,

I was also given a card signed by members of the company which I shall keep forever -  just as I have kept similar mementoes from the cast members of La Sylphide, Giselle and Aria.   I am very grateful to the members of the company who have contributed many hours of their time to our classes, workshops, rehearsals and performances.  I hope they have enjoyed our activities as much as I did.

Next Saturday we welcome back Fiona Noonan.  She is another very popular teacher.  She trained in Brisbane and danced with the Queensland Ballet.  She stepped in at very short notice last January when the ballet mistress who was expected to take that class was indisposed.   Fiona gave us a very demanding but also very enjoyable class.

Fiona's class will take place at Dance Studio Leeds on 30 March 2024 between 14:00 and 15:30.  I shall be sponsoring the class also it is free for those who attend.   For those who do not know the studios they are in Mabgate Mill about a mile from Leeds Central Station and half a mile from the main bus station and Northern Ballet.  There are several bus routes from the city centre.   The nearest bus stop is "Lincon Green,"   Those coming by car can park free of charge in the mill yard.

Manon

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Royal Ballet Manon Royal Opera House Covent Garden, 2 March 2024 13:00

While watching Manon on Saturday I was struck by the similarities to MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet.   Not so much with the libretti perhaps though Manon loses Lescaut and Juliet loses Tybalt and both sets of lovers come to a sticky end.  The similarities I had in mind were the choreography with its spectacular duets including one around a bed and great sword fights.  Also, Nicholas Georgiadis created the sets and costumes for both ballets.

Although this was an original thought as far as I was concerned  I doubted that it was novel.   I ran a Google search on "similarities between MacMillan's Manon and Romeo & Juliet"  The only comparison that came to light was Robert Gottlieb's Manon and Romeo and Juliet.   Mr Gottlieb does not seem to have been at all impressed.  He described Manon as "a piece of junk" and complained that Romeo and Juliet was "tedious at times" though "relatively stage-worthy."  

Some pretty uncomplimentary things have been said about the ballet by such critics as Mary Clarke and Jane King but the public seem to like it.  It will celebrate its half-century in a few days and it has been performed by the world's leading ballet companies.  The House was packed to the gunwales on the afternoon of 2 March 2024 when I saw it.  Not a few patrons rose to their feet at the curtain call which does not happen for every show.   I agree that the leading characters, Manon, des Grieux, Lascaut and Monsieur GM are morally flawed and the story is pretty sordid but that did not make it a waste of the lovely Antoinette Sibley or any of her successors.

For those who do not know the ballet it is summarized on the Royal Opera House website.   It is based on the novel  Histoire du Chevalier des Grieux, et de Manon Lescaut by Antoine François Prévost which had already been dramatized, made into several films, at least one other ballet and Puccini's popular opera Manon Lescaut.  MacMillan did not adapt Puccini's score even though it would have been familiar to many members of his audience.  Instead, he commissioned Leighton Lucas to compile a score from Jules Massenet's collected works

The advertised dancers for the lead roles were to be Sarah Lamb and Steven McRae.  McRea was unavailable on Saturday so the role of des Grieux was danced by Ryoichi Hirano.  Lamb reminds me a little of Antoinette Sibley who first danced Manon and Hirano is the sort of chap who could be expected to handle the eye-catching lifts and fish dives with ease.   James Hay danced Lescaut, not an easy role as he had to project a range of emotions.  In one scene he is drunk manhandling his mistress Meaghan Grace Hinkis in one of the few comic scenes from the show. Shortly afterwards, he is dragged in chains and roughed up by Monsieur GM,   That role was danced by the venerable Christopher Saunders who has been dancing in the Royal Ballet for almost as long as I have been following it.

As for the creatives, Koen Kessels conducted the orchestra, Laura Morera staged the performance and Christopher Saunders was the rehearsal director.

I lost count of the number of curtain calls. Sarah Lamb received enough flowers to set up in business as a forest. There were also some for Hirano which would never have happened in Dame Anroinette's day, She used to select one of her choicest blooms and present it to her partner who would sniff the perfume in gratitude. In a reversal of the old tradition, Hirano presented one of his flowers to Lamb.

There are now two different versions of this ballet in this country: the Royal Ballet's version with Georgiadis's designs and English National's that I mentioned but did not review in French Revelation: "The Three Musketeers" on 9 Oct 2018. The main difference between the two is that ENB's came from Denmark and uses the designs of Mia Stensgaard.

Scottish Ballet's Cinders!

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Scottish Ballet Cinders Theatre Royal Newcastle, 10 Feb 2024, 14:30

Christopher Hampson created a beautiful version of Cinderella for the Royal New Zealand Ballet in 2007 which he successfully transplanted to Scotland.  It was a profound and sensitive study of grief and recovery which I loved (see Scottish Ballet's Cinderella of 20 Dec 2015 and Hampson's Cinderella: Coming Up Roses 5 Feb 2019).  When I heard that Hampson had created a gender-reversal version of the ballet called Cinders bmy heart sank ecause I hate change for change's sake.  That's why I was less than enthusiastic about David Nixon's Swan Lake, Akram Khan's Giselle or even my beloved Scottish Ballet's Coppelia.

But sometimes a reworking of a well-known and well-loved ballet succeeds spectacularly.  David Dawson's Swan Lake is a case in point and Ted Brandsen's Coppelia is another.  I am relieved to say that Hampson has carried it off brilliantly with Cinders!.  I have to temper my enthusiasm with the caveat that I have only seen the version in which Cinders is danced by a woman, but I have sufficient confidence in Hampson's genius to look forward to the other version of his ballet when it is next on tour. 

On the train back to Huddersfield I reflected that Scottish Ballet has always innovated. It began with Mods and Rockers '63 to the Beatles' music in 1963.  As Scotland's classical dance company, Scottish Ballet might have been expected to include La Sylphide which is set in the Highlands into their repertoire.  And so they do in a sense though they locate it in the gents' loo of a Glasgow community centre rather than a castle and call it  (see Scottish Ballet's "Highland Fling" in Gurn and Effie Land 2 May 2018).  The company's founder, Peter Darrell is said to have inspired Sir Matthew Bourne who created Highland Fling.  Cinders! follows that tradition and I have no doubt that Darrell would have approved of Hampson's creation.

The synopsis of Cinders! is very different from that of Cinderella.  Gone are the Fairy Godmother, mice, the pumpkin coach, dressmaker, cobbler and dancing master.  There is no wicked stepmother as such because Cinderes's father dies in a fire but there is a new owner of her father's business called Mrs Thorne who performs a similar role.  She also has two unlikeable daughters called Morag and Flossie and a son called Tarquin.  The relationship between Cinders and Mrs Thorne is not clear but it is one of subordination. The prince has two friends who are dukes, one of whom takes a shine to one of Mrs Thorne's daughters and the other to Tarquin.

The simplification of the story has made way for some spectacular choreography.  Particularly impressive were two duets between Cinders danced by Gina Scott and the Prince danced by Evan Loudon.  One takes place at the ball and the other after they eventually find each other.  In both of those duets, there are spectacular fish dives.  I first noticed Loudon when he danced the Prologue in Emergence with Sophie Martin (see Scottish Ballet - Emergence and Mc14/22 11 June 2017).  Scott, however, was new to me and when I posted a comment about her performance on Facebook I learned that both she and I have studied with the same teacher.  That teacher remarked that Scott had some special magic I knew exactly what she teacher must have meant.  Scott must have shown remarkable promise as a student.   The reason I had not noticed  Scott before is that she joined the company only last year.   I shall certainly follow her career with interest in the future.

Other dancers who impressed me were Grace Horler who danced Mrs Thorne and Thomas Edwards who danced her son, Tarquin.  I had been a fan of Horler since 2017 when I saw her in Hansel and Gretel (see Hansel and Gretel in Newcastle - a bit like falling in love 4 Feb 2017).  I first noticed Edwards for his performance as Dr Coppelius.  I should add that everybody in the show danced  well and all deserve commendation.

This company had commissioned new sets and costumes from the young Welsh designer Elin Steele. She graduated from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama only in 2018 and has already acquired an impressive portfolio.   Her costume for Cinders's entrance to the ball was dazzling.  Cinders was clad entirely in white.  She shed her veil to reveal a skirt in the colours of the prince's uniform.   The sets for the shop, ball and rose garden were ingenious and intricate.  The last scene with its Christmas tree uplifted the dancers and audience. 

I should mention Hayley Egan's video designs.  Her simulated newspaper headlines about the fire, survival of Cinders and Mrs Thorne's purchase of the haberdashery shop launched the story.  Her projections marked each change of scene,   

Credit is also due to Lawrie McLennan for his atmospheric lighting.

Cinders!  should be danced alongside Cinderella much in the way that the English National Ballet retains both Mary Skeaming; 's Giselle as well as Akram Khan's.  Both Cinders! and Cinderella have merit and each helps audiences to understand and appreciate the other.

Dutch National Ballet's "Giselle" in the Cinema

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Dutch National Ballet Giselle UK screening 21 Jan 2024  14:00

We do not get to see enough of the Dutch National Ballet in this country which is a shame for many reasons. It is one of the world's great companies and it is the company outside the Anglosphere that is most similar to the Royal Ballet and the Birmingham Royal Ballet.  There are many links between the National Ballet and the two Royal Ballet companies  For example, Northern Ballet's new Director, Federico Bonelli, danced with the National Ballet between 1996 and 2003 and the Junior Company's Artistic Director, Ernst Meisner, trained at the Royal Ballet School and danced with the Royal Ballet for many years.  The links between the companies go back to at least 1940.  The Sadler's Wells Ballet was touring the Netherlands when it was invaded by enemy forces.

Yesterday's screening of Rachel Beaujean and Ricardo Bustamente's Giselle in the United Kingdom enabled British balletgoers who did not already know the company to see just how good it is.   The lead roles were danced by former Bolshoi principals Olga Smirnova and Jacopo Tissi, This was the first time that I had seen them.  Both impressed me considerably with their virtuosity. Smirnova's Giselle reminded me strongly of Osipova's, particularly in the scene when she is summoned from the tomb by Myrtha where she rotates with the speed and energy of a Catherine wheel.

Giorgi Potskhishvili was possibly the best Hilarion that I have ever seen.  His passion was palpable.  In this production, he pulls a knife on Albrecht which causes Albrecht to reach for where his sword should have been.  I had never seen that detail before and it explains a lot.  At a pre-performance talk when I saw the ballet in  Heerlen I put it to Beaujean that Hilarion had a rather raw deal in the story (see "Mooie!" 16 Nov 2018). "He may have been jealous, even a bit stupid," I argued, "but he was not the one to deceive two women. Did he really deserve to die?"  I don't think I would have asked that question had I seen Potskhishvili's performance then.

Myrthe was danced by Floortje Eimers whose career I have followed closely for the last 10 years.  Although it is not regarded as the leading female role I have often thought that it makes or breaks the ballet because it is Myrthe rather than Giselle who dominates the second act.  Eimers danced the role well and the second act was gripping.  Particularly the last scene before the bell struck when Tissi lay exhausted on the floor.

There were many other commendable performances but as the programme listed only the four leading roles, I can't remember exactly who danced what,  The only one I can remember is Sho Yamada in the Peasant Pas de Quatre.   The other three who danced with him merit congratulations but while I remember their faces I cannot remember their names,  Similarly, I should commend those who danced Moyna and Zulma.

One of the reasons why this production is so impressive is that the sets and costumes were designed by Toer van Schayk.  His name was not on the cinema programmes but it should have been because van Schayk is a genius.  He is as distinguished as a painter and sculptor as he is as a dancer and choreographer.  He has designed the sets for many shows of all kinds.   Often a set is lost on camera.  In this film, the high peaks and meandering valley in the first act and the mysterious and menacing forest in the second were captured faithfully,

The ballet was filmed by Pathé Live which used to present the Bolshoi.  I tended to prefer Pathé's transmissions to the Royal Opera House's largely because of the skills of its presenter, Katerina Novikova.  She could switch effortlessly from one language to another and she charmed her interviewees with her smile.  She never used an interpreter and translated their replies as soon as her interviewees stopped speaking.  Pathé did not introduce Giselle and there was no interval.   Instead, the ballet started promptly at 14:30 and continued without a break until the reverence.

That was a missed opportunity.  The company is used to giving pre-performance talks when on tour or in Amsterdam as I mentioned above.   I usually learn something new about a ballet even though the talks are given in Dutch.   The company always gives a good account of itself on World Ballet Day.   I would have enjoyed short interviews with Beaujean about the choreography, van Schayk about his designs and Smirnova, Tissi and Eimers on their characters.  

Giselle may be a very short ballet but it is too long to appreciate in one sitting.   The contrast between acts one and two also requires some time for adjustment.  In the theatre, the audience would have at least 20 minutes to grab a coffee, visit the loo, read the programme, purchase an Igone de Jongh or Michaela de Prince tee-shirt or some other merchandise and chat about the performance.  Cinema audiences need that break too especially if it is their first experience of ballet.   If the Dutch National Ballet ever contemplates another  screening I hope it will include breaks and interviews with the artists and creatives,