Beautiful Ballet Black's 2020 Season

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Beautiful Ballet Black has been so successful that it sold every seat in the house for its performances at Stratford and Leeds.  I am on the waiting list at the Stan and Audrey but at #13 I am not holding out much hope of getting one for their show next week. 

I shouldn't grumble because I saw their wonderful performance of The Suit at Sadler's Wells on 30 Oct and the triple bill at The Barbican in March which I described as "stunning".  Moreover, I have just received an email which I believe to have been sent to all Friends of Ballet Black alerting me to the sale of tickets for the launch of the company's new season at The Barbican between the 26 and 29 March 2020. Two new ballets will be presented by the company's Mthuthuzeli November and the Royal Ballet's Will Tuckett.  November created Ingoma which is one of the works on the current tour while Tuckett has contributed Depouillement which attracted me to Ballet Black in the first place.

I also note from the email that Ballet Black has acquired a new dancer, namely Alexander Fadayiro.  I am not sure whether I have had the opportunity to see him dance.  I do not remember him in The Suit but I could well be mistaken.  However, I see that he has danced with New Adventures and that he trained at the Central School of Ballet.

If you love Ballet Black as much as I do I would strongly recommend its Friends Circle.  The subscription is only £40 a year which is about the cost of an extra theatre ticket.  Friends are invited to rehearsals and often have an opportunity to discuss the work with the artists after the show.  I cannot attend many of those events as they take place in London but it is a practical way to support the company, acknowledge its work in the past and promote its values and aspirations.

Finally, there is the merchandise page.  I bought the "I ❤ Ballet Black" tee-shirt the first time I saw the company at the Bernie Grant Centre in Tottenham in 2013 and I have worn it proudly everywhere there are balletomanes from Taynuilt in Argyll to Trecate in Piedmont.  I have made it my business to make folk aware of the beauty in many senses and at many levels of Ballet Black.

The Royal Ballet's Elizabeth at the Barbican: Where were her flowers?

The Royal Ballet’s revival of Will Tuckett’s Elizabeth at the Barbican theatre starred Zenaida Yanowsky as Queen Elizabeth I and (her brother) Yury Yanowsky as her five suitors. A strong performance by both dancers was accompanied by Martin Yates’ score, which blended period and modern music performed by cellist Raphael Wallfisch and baritone Julien Van Mellaerts, and Alastair Middleton’s script read and performed by Samantha Bond, Sonya Cullingford and Katie Deacon.

The plot is a biography of Queen Elizabeth I portrayed through scenes of her personal and romantic life. The commentary, which blends contemporary texts and letters, including from the Queen and her suitors, has a refrain that tells us that Elizabeth loved little dogs, chess and dancing, and gives a detailed account of her last few days. The story takes us through five of Elizabeth’s relationships at different times of her life, continually emphasising how her commitment to her role and responsibility as monarch meant she did not feel she could also be a wife. However, it was interesting that despite depicting Elizabeth repeatedly prioritising her role as England’s Virgin Queen over several potential marriage opportunities, the script made only passing reference to the history and politics of the era that must have contributed to this decision. For example, I do not recall mention of the Spanish Armada, which historians have highlighted as her finest hour. To some extent it was ironic to see a strong female leader characterised by her love life, which by her own choice was unfulfilling and unfulfilled. 

Having said that, it was an entertaining piece of theatre, with Zenaida Yanowsky portraying Elizabeth at different stages of her life with strength and sensitivity in scenes that were predominantly descriptive reportage rather than depicting actual events – although there were a few amusing acting cameos too. 

Physically, as other reviews have said, Yanowsky was a fantastic casting, with her pale, delicate colouring perfectly suiting Fay Fullerton’s shimmering costumes, and her long, supple legs accentuating Tuckett’s lyrical choreography. Her performance of the aging queen was particularly strong. Yanowsky is a recently retired principal with The Royal Ballet, and a striking, exquisite dancer. I could see from the front of the stalls that the years have clearly taken a toll on her feet and her presentation of the decline of a beautiful, powerful woman was intensely moving.

Yury Yanowsky’s excellent interpretation of the witty and technically demanding choreography fitted the Elizabethan themes, readings and music perfectly and the unique characteristics of each suitor kept the audience smiling. 

It was the final show of a four-day run at the Barbican theatre and it received a standing ovation, which Zenaida Yanowsky responded to with a short speech paying tribute to Tuckett, as well as the musicians and cast. I saw it with friends from my ballet class, and as amateur dancers we appreciated the demanding nature of the role and were sorry not to see her receive a similar tribute. “Where were her flowers?” asked one friend. I wondered too. 

Visiting Friends - Ballet Black at Home

The View from outside the Feathers

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The day before I left for Amsterdam while the Beast form the East was still stalking its lair I visited Ballet Black for a rehearsal of extracts from Arthur Pita's  A Dream Within a Midsummer Night’s Dream and Cathy Marston's The Suit which the company will present at the Barbican between 15 and 17 March 2018. Every performance of that show is now sold out but the company will take it on tour to Newbury, Hatfield, Bristol, Nottingham, Inverness, Dundee and Exeter in Spring and no doubt Leeds and other venues in the North in the Autumn (see the Performances page of Ballet Black's website).

Pita's Dream is already a favourite with audiences and critics. I raved about it in 2014 when I saw it no less than 4 times in London, Southport, Nottingham and Leeds (see Extra Special - Ballet Black at the Linbury 26 Feb 2014  27 Feb 2014 and the links to other reviews and articles). The Suit also promises much with music by Philip Feeney and designs by Jane Heather.  As I don't want to spoil the anticipation of either ballet, all I will say at this stage is that Cira Robinson delighted me again as a regal Titania and Isabela Coracy as a playful Puck, Marston's work is dramatic and I was reminded of Jane Eyre and Rochester in the duet and the demons from Marston's work for Northern Ballet in the extract that was performed for us.

The rehearsal took place in Ballet Black's new studios at The Feathers Association in Lisson Grove. That's not a part of London that I know well and as Hull Trains delivered me to King's Cross with a couple of hours to spare I explored the neighbourhood.  It is largely residential with few places to eat though I managed to find a cafe a few hundred yards from the studios that served some excellent Moroccan specialities for a very reasonable price. The Feathers is positioned on a bridge above the railway tracks leading to Marylebone station from which the above photo must have been taken.

The visit was a special event for Friends of the company.  If you are not already a Friend, Thandie Newton, the company's patron, lists some of the benefits of membership:

"Internationally recognised for its vital message of giving black and Asian dancers the professional opportunities they merit based solely on their talent and dedication, Ballet Black continues to amaze. As a Friend, you will be making a valuable contribution to the sustainability of this small yet hugely significant company and will support its ongoing commitment to aspiring dancers and to its ever increasing and loyal audience. In return, Ballet Black will welcome you behind the scenes to watch Company rehearsals under the exceptional eye of Artistic Director, Cassa Pancho as well as with acclaimed guest choreographers. You will receive quarterly newsletters to keep you up-to-date about news, events and performances so you will never miss out."

After the show, the company invited us for tea and biscuits in their office where the dancers joined us. It was very pleasant to see them all again.  The only one I did not already know was Ebony Thomas who had impressed me in Leeds in November and I took the opportunity to introduce myself to him.

I am confident that this year's tour will be Ballet Black's most successful yet.  I shall watch the show on Friday 16 after which there will be a post show talk.   The next day there will be an open rehearsal and workshop as part of the Barbican OpenFest.  According to the blurb:

"Cassa Pancho (Artistic Director of Ballet Black) will conduct a Ballet Class for all ages on the Barbican Freestage, prior to Ballet Black's open rehearsal and performance on Saturday evening in the Barbican Theatre. This workshop is free and open to all, no prior experience necessary."

I can hardly wait.

Red Riding Hood Workshop at the Barbican with Annabelle Lopez-Ochoa and Ballet Black

Red Riding Hood Workshop

(c) 2017 David Murley: all rights reserved
Reproduced with kind permission of the author

Ballet Black, Red Riding Hood Workshop, Barbican Pit Theatre, 25 Feb 2017

David Murley

On Saturday the 25th February 2017, Ballet Black held a workshop, or Weekend Labs referred to by the Barbican. Aside from my own excitement of getting to dance some of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s steps, there was the unexpected, the unseen. What was going to happen? How many people were going to turn up? Were only students going to be present? Was it going to be a positive and encouraging environment? Etc. Despite graduating from college 15 years ago, all of these thoughts still run through my mind. 

Red Riding Hood Workshop

(c) 2017 David Murley: all rights reserved
Reproduced with kind permission of the author

The morning started off with ballet class by the incomparable Damien Johnson, a senior artist with Ballet Black. The group who turned up for 9h30 on an overcast Saturday morning was an intimate one comprised of six. We were three women and three men. Essentially perfect. Johnson did not waste any time and put us all through our paces, offering positive corrections and beautiful enchaînements to execute. Lopez Ochoa arrived smiling during pirouettes exercise in the centre. Although we were only six, you could feel the concentration level in the studio magnify and thicken. With an intensified level of concentration, the rest of centre flew by and before we knew it we were put into male/female couples to learn some of Lopez Ochoa’s choreography from her creation Red Riding Hood for Ballet Black’s newest Triple Bill Premiere at the Barbican commencing on the 2nd March 2017. 

We had the opportunity to learn snippets from three different scenes from Lopez Ochoa’s creation. The first scene was when the Wolf meets Red Riding Hood. The second was the Wolf’s solo and some partner work with one of the lady wolves. Lastly, was a brief outtake when Red Riding Hood goes to visit Grandma. What all of us took away from the workshop is the Wolf has some serious moves! Fluid, stylish, sensual, rhythmic and hypnotic the Wolf winds, twists and jêtés his way from one of the stage to the other causing the other characters to swoon and faint upon first gaze. Not to mention, oozing his way around Red Riding Hood effortlessly tempting her. Unsurprisingly, the Wolf wins, and Red Riding Hood is well on the pathway to growing up. 

Throughout the course of the workshop, Lopez Ochoa was engaging, positive, uplifting and encouraging. Lopez Ochoa interacted with all six of us and spent quality time giving us what would appear to be a semi-private lesson. Invaluable. We received lots of attention. Despite having left school years ago, I learned so much, which is undoubtedly awesome, hands down inspiring and humbling. The atmosphere was professional, and all involved in the workshop had a cohesive energy. For me, it felt like we were specially selected from somewhere beyond our control and comprehension. We were all of similar mind set and similar approach. The Weekend Lab flowed with ease. Honestly, the six of us lucked out numbers wise. Another two couples would have easily changed the dynamic. 

In my opinion, the six of us were an interesting, knowledge thirsty, personable and undoubtedly artistic group of individuals. Two of us were professional dancers, having already graduated. However, I was at one end of the spectrum having completed my training 15 odd years ago, and she graduated from Central School of Ballet last year. We had two dancers still in training. One was in full-time training at Central School of Ballet and the other was in the midst of her Textile and Biology A-levels and studying dance at DuPont School of Dance in Leicester. The remaining two workshop participants were non-dancers. One the midst of her studies at The Royal College of Art currently focusing on sculpting and the other remaining gentleman who dances at the weekend for his own pleasure. Everyone gave their best that day, and danced to the fullest of their abilities, and no doubt like myself, learned something too. Aside from us Weekend Lab participants being receptive to the experiences that lie before us that day, the welcoming attitude, professionalism and preparation from Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Ballet Black dancers Damien Johnson and Mthuthuzeli November tremendously helped the day unfold to be what was a delightful, fun-filled and an educational success. 

I, personally, would love to see Ballet Black hold another Weekend Lab/workshop. If they do, I highly recommend you attend and savour the experience. They are a company to be valued and cherished.

Ballet Black Triumphant

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Ballet Black, Triple Bill: Michael Corder House of Dreams, Martin Lawrence Captured and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa Little Red Riding Hood Barbican Centre, 4 March 2017, 19:45


We have already been treated to an excellent lead review by Joanna Goodman who attended the Barbican on Friday, 3 March 2017 (see Joanne Goodman Sexy wolf stole the show!  5 March 2016). I saw the show the day after and these remarks are my recollections of, and reflexions upon, that evening.

I have to pick my words very carefully when I write about Ballet Black. That is not because I denigrate them. It is because they seem to get better and better every time I see them. When I say that I risk prompting a response from their artistic director and founder, Cassa Pancho: "But you always say that!" To which I reply "but it's true." So I shall say the same again at the risk of a similar reprimand from Cassa. Ballet Black danced on Saturday night better than I have ever seen them dance before.

I enjoyed all three pieces very much.

I was charmed particularly by Michael Corder's House of Dreams because of its score, its choreography and its costume designs. The music was by Debussy: Prélude (1st movement od the Suite Berganasque for piano), Des Pas sur la Neige (Preludes for piano, book one, No. 6), La Fille aux cheveux de lin (Preludes for piano, book one, No. 8) and Passepied (4th movement od the Suite Berganasque for piano) recorded by Pascal Rogé. The choreography was very pure and reminded me a lot of August Bournonville. There were two couples: Damien Johnson with Sayaka Ichikawa and Jacob Wye with Marie-Astrid France. The costumes which had been designed by Yukiko Tsukamoto were elegant: each man's shirt was the colour of his partner's skirt and her top the colour of his breaches. Altogether, a delightful start to the evening.

Martin Lawrence's Captured was quite different and, I think, intended to be unsettling. The music was from Shostakovich String Quartet No 11 in F minor Op 122. Shostakovich has written some delightfully tuneful compositions but this was not one of them. As Lawrence wrote in the programme notes, the piece was written at a time was "fragile and nervously agile". He added:

"There are real moments of restriction and tension within the choreography and music, which tug the four dancers through the space."

Those four dancers were José Alves, Isabela Coracy, Cira Robinson and Mthuthuzeli November. The company had danced Captured in 2012 which was just before I started to follow Ballet Black. Lawrence wrote that the piece had originally been made for Robinson but that the addition of the other three had allowed him to view the work with fresh eyes and thus breath new life into it.

The highlight of the evening was Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Red Riding Hood. I am a bit of s fan of Ochoa having enjoyed her Streetcar Named Desire for Scottish Ballet (see Scottish Ballet's Streetcar 4 April 2015) and, more recently, Reversible danced by the Cuban contemporary dance company (see Danza Contemporanea de Cuba at the Lowry 19 Feb 2017). She will also contribute to the Dutch National Ballet's Dutch Doubles next year. I can immediately think of two other Little Red Riding Hood ballets, the divertissement in the last act of The Sleeping Beauty and Ballet Cymru's (see Ballet Cymru's Summer Tour 22 May 2016). Ochoa's work was nothing like either of those previous works. As Joanna said on Sunday, it was "a non-violent interpretation, no one is eaten, shot or cut open as in various gothic versions." It did not stop it from being tremendous fun and November with his ropey, rogueish tail had us in stitches. But there were two other stars in my book - Robinson of course in her red outfit and whoever danced granny. The disguise was so good I really couldn't tell. I think it was Johnson but it could have been Wye. Whoever he was deserved a medal for his pointework.

At the curtain call November treated us to an impromptu gallop that drove us all to our feet. British audiences are very slow to stand up - though at least we don't flounce out of the auditorium during the reverence unlike some folk (see Attending the Ballet in Florida: Miami City Ballet's Program Three 6 March 2017) - but this time we gave them a standing ovation, and did we roar.

Ballet Black deserved that applause. They are a national treasure. I can't praise them enough. Yes, maybe Cassa is right. I shall have to be more circumspect in my next review. But only because the English language has run out of superlatives.

Ballet Black has announced future performances of this programme in North Finchley, Winchester, Worthing, Birmingham, Ipswich, Winchester and Nottingham. No appearances in the North have been mentioned just yet but we usually see them in Leeds in November. I do hope they get round to somewhere in Greater Manchester or Merseyside with this programme this year as they have a growing fanbase here.

The "D" Word

Author: Canuckguy
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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.

Danza Contemporánea de Cuba

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In Double Latin  7 Jan 2017 I mentioned the forthcoming tour of the UK by Danza Contemporánea de Cuba. While writing Beautiful Ballet Black 14 Jan 2017 I remembered that Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, who choreographed A Streetcar Named Desire for Scottish Ballet and Little Red Riding Hood for Ballet Black, will also contribute Reversible to the Cuban tour.

The above trailer gives us a taste of what to expect from in the programme. There is a bit more detail including comments from each of the choreographers and two of the dancers in The Spirit of the Cubans | Danza Contemporánea de Cuba UK Tour 2017.

The tour starts at Royal Concert Hall Nottingham on 14 and 15 Feb and moves on to the Lowry 17 and 18 Feb, Theatre Royal Newcastle 21 and 22 Feb, Barbican 23 Feb, Millennium Stadium 28 Feb and 1 March, Theatre Royal Plymouth 3 and 4 March, Brighton Dome 7 and 8 March, Eden Court, Inverness 10 March, Festival Theatre Edinburgh 14 and 15 March and Marlowe Theatre Canterbury 17 and 18 March.

Beautiful Ballet Black

Yesterday I received this very welcome message from Cassa Pancho:

"Dear Jane

We are delighted to be returning to the main stage of the Barbican in March with our new triple bill!

This year, we are presenting a new ballet by the celebrated British choreographer, Michael Corder who has created a sparkling new quartet, House of Dreams to the music of Debussy, a re-staging of our 2012 audience hit, Captured created by Martin Lawrance and our story ballet is Red Riding Hood, choreographed by the multi-award winning Annabelle Lopez Ochoa who gives us a fairy tale with a surprising twist (and helium balloons!) with costumes from Yann Seabra who designed our fabulous Swarovski tutu for Cristaux last year.

We have over 3000 seats to fill, so please help us spread the word! If you can't make it to London, take a look at our Spring tour dates at the end of this email.
Barbican triple bill premiere: 2nd-4th March 2017: https://www.barbican.org.uk/theatre/event-detail.asp?ID=20245

We look forward to seeing you at a show soon!

Best regards from Cassa & all at Ballet Black"

There followed a list of venues where they are going in the first half of this year.  The list includes Finchley, Winchester, Worthing, Birmingham, Ipswich, Salisbury and Nottingham (see the Performances page of their website for full details). Nowhere in the North as yet but they usually visit Leeds in the Autumn and there is every hope that they may be tempted back to the CAST and Lowry.

Michael Corder is described by the Birmingham Royal Ballet as "one of Britain's most successful choreographers and directors" who has created over 50 original works which have been performed by The Royal Ballet, The Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, The Royal Danish Ballet, The Dutch National Ballet, The Boston Ballet and The Norwegian National Ballet and many others. He studied at the Royal Ballet School and joined the Royal Ballet in 1973. As a dancer, he performed many leading roles with the Royal Ballet and also as a guest artist with other major companies.

Martin Lawrence is an associate choreographer with Richard Alston Dance Company.   He trained at Coventry Centre for the Performing Arts and London Contemporary Dance School. He danced with Richard Alston Dance Company from 1995 - 2007 and was appointed rehearsal director of that company in 2007. His first commission was  Thimble Rigging for the Meltdown Festival in 2000. Since then he has created work for Richard Alston, Scottish Ballet and Ballet Manilla as well as Pendulum, Captured and Limbo for Ballet Black. I reviewed Limbo in Extra Special - Ballet Black at the Linbury 26 Feb 2014 27 Feb 2014 and mentioned it again in What could be more thrilling than a Ride on a Roller Coaster? A performance by Ballet Black! 24 May 2014, Best Ever - Ballet Black at the Nottingham Playhouse and Ballet Black at Home in Leeds 7 Nov 2014.

Annabelle Lopez Ochoa is a freelance choreographer based in Amsterdam. She trained at the Royal Ballet School in Antwerp and danced with various Europen companies before specializing in choreography in 2003 (see her Biography page on her website). Her works include A Streetcar named Desire for Scottish Ballet which I reviewed in Scottish Ballet's Streetcar 2 April 2015.  Cassa's description of Little Red Riding hood is intriguing and I look forward to comparing Lopez Ochoa's version with Darius James and Amy Doughty's for Ballet Cymru which I saw in Newport on 21 May 2016 (see Ballet Cymru's Summer Tour 22 May 2016) and Cardiff (see Ballet Cymru's "Sleeping Beauty Moment" 5 Dec 2016) and which David Murley reviewed in Little Red Riding Hood comes to London 2 Dec 2016).

On 25 Feb 2017 Lopez Ochoa will hold a one-day practical workshop on Red Riding Hood for students in higher education and training, emerging artists and professionals which will explore ballet technique generally and the repertory of the new ballet.  The cost is only £65 plus a 60p booking fee and the fee includes a ticket fo the show. There are also a number of bursary places.   To apply for a place

"Please send a CV (feel free to include images/video links) and a short written statement (200 words) on how this Weekend Lab will benefit your practice to: weekendlabs@barbican.org.uk
The closing date for applications is 5pm on Friday 27 January; you will be notified one week later if you have been offered a place."

That seems like a golden once-in-a-lifetime-never-to-be-forgotten opportunity to me and I wish everyone who applies for a place the very best of luck. If I were an able young dancer I would jump - nay perform grands jetes en tournant, tours en l'air and any number of entrechats - at that chance.

Finally, I could not leave a discussion of Ballet Black without reminding my readers that Damien Johnson was one of my outstanding male dancers in 2016. As it is not easy to compare a principal in a company like the Royal Ballet, Dutch National Ballet or the Bolshoi with a senior artist of a specialist company like Ballet Black I divided the award into two, one for principals and soloists of major companies who dance leading roles in full-length ballets and the other for the rest.

I did not draw a similar distinction for women dancers but partly because I did not have time but mainly because I could not decide between Cira Robinson, Sayaka Ichikawa and Isabela Coracey all of whom are outstanding.  All I can say is that it would have been one (or more likely all) of them.

I don't think I would be flattering them or exaggerating by saying that Ballet Black is one of the most attractive companies in any of the performing arts that I have seen in over 60 years of theatregoing.

Last Chance to see Ballet Black in the North

South Yorkshire

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Ballet Black are coming towards the end of their national tour with the triple bill that David Murley saw at the Barbican (see Ballet Black at the Barbican 22 March 2016) and I saw at the Lowry and Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre (see Ballet Black made my Manchester Day 20 June 2016 and Never Better: Ballet Black in Leeds 18 Oct 2016). The company usually makes an appearance in Leeds but this year they have spoilt their fans in the North with performances of Dogs Don't Do Ballet in Sale (see As Fresh as Ever: Ballet Black's Dogs Don't Do Ballet in Sale 7 May 2016 and I never tire of Dogs Don't Do Ballet 8 May 2016) as well as those I have already mentioned and their forthcoming visit to the CAST theatre in Doncaster on 2 Nov 2016.

As I mentioned in my review of Northern Ballet's Madame Butterfly (Nixon's Masterpiece) on 22 May 2015 CAST is  "a £22 million municipal theatre that opened in 2013 (Ian Youngs £22m Cast theatre opens in Doncaster 6 Sept 2013 BBC website)" and is one of the plushest performing spaces I know. It has attracted not just Northern Ballet but also Wayne McGregor and other dance companies. This will be Ballet Black's debut in Doncaster and tickets seem to be selling well (see the "Book Tickets" page on the theatre's website).

In my humble opinion, this year's programme is the company's best ever with works by three of my favourite choreographers including Christopher Marney (artistic director of Ballet Central) whose work reminds me so much of John Cranko and Christopher Hampson of Scottish Ballet who was my joint choreographer of the year for 2015 (see Highlights of 2015  29 Dec 2015). All the works in this year's programme are sombre. Storyville which charts the destruction of a beautiful young woman is particularly sad. But they are also very beautiful.  Ballet Black is a company that delivers the sort of works that Luke Jennings seemed to be calling for on Front Row  on Monday which I discussed in Of Bikes and Buses 25 Oct 2016. I can't imagine why nobody on the programme mentioned that.

Ballet Black's remaining performances of the triple bill will be in Exeter, Watford, Harlow and Lichfield. Soon they will begin work on a new programme which will open at the Barbican on 2 March 2017. I gleaned the following details from the Barbican's website:

"A four-hander characterised by intricate detail and propulsive energy, Captured ebbs and flows to the fiery emotion of Martin Lawrance’s edgy choreography, set to a Shostakovich string quartet.
Celebrated British choreographer Michael Corder, whose glittering versions of Cinderellaand The Snow Queen have been seen across Europe, creates the evening’s second abstract piece for four dancers.
South Bank Sky Arts Award-winner Annabelle Lopez Ochoa turns a popular fairy tale on its head, as she gives her short narrative ballet a surprising twist. This time, the Wolf will regret ever meeting Red Riding Hood."

Those who like Ballet Black may wish to consider the company's Friends scheme. Membership does not cost much and it provides opportunities to get to know the company better.  Friends receive an occasional newsletter and invitations to attend events like the rehearsal of Marney's To Begin, Begin at the Barbican (see Ballet Black's First Friends' Event: A Rehearsal with Chris Marney 14 July 2016).

Ballet Black's First Friends' Event: A Rehearsal with Chris Marney

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Last Monday I was lucky enough to watch Christopher Marney rehearse Damien Johnson, Isabela Coracy, Jacob Wye and Sayaka Ichikawa in To Begin Begin at the Barbican Centre.  That is a ballet which David Murley reviewed in Ballet Black at The Barbican on 22 March 2016 and I reviewed in Ballet Black made my Manchester Day on 20 June 2016.

Readers of this blog know that I have a particularly high regard for Marney (see my appreciation Christopher Marney 16 March 2016). When I first published my appreciation of Christopher this blog received more hits than it had ever done before. I tweeted about it and my tweet was noticed by Sir Matthew Bourne who replied that he was not surprised because Christopher Marney is a genius. Who am I to to argue with Sir Matthew even if I disagreed with him on this matter which I don't. The chance of seeing a genius at work with some of my very favourite dancers was compelling.

Chris rehearsed two pas de deux:  first Damien and Isabela and then Jacob and Sayaka.  I was aware of his sensitivity to music and had surmised that he would have a great eye for detail but I was still amazed by its extent. Points like the way Isabela fell into Damian's arms and his insistence on their keeping eye contact as she bent back or how Sayaka and Jacob rolled up towards each other in a length of blue silk were repeated until Chris and the dancers were happy that the effect was right. They did that energetically and enthusiastically for there is something in Chris's voice and manner that would inspire an artist. At the end of each session we saw a finished performance of the work on which Chris and the dancers had been working.

After the rehearsals of the two pas de deux Marney invited questions from the audience. One of the first questions was "What comes first the story and the music."  It was no surprise to me that Chirs replied that it was the music. He listens to a lot of music, he said, particularly on Classic FM. Someone asked Cassa which of Manrey's ballets she liked best. She replied "Dogs Don't Do Ballet". I asked about the transposition of War Letters which he had created for Ballet Black to the students of Ballet Central. I observed that although the students had not yet gained the same experience of life as the dancers of Ballet Black their production had a poignancy of its own as the students were the same age as the men sent to war and the girls who were left behind. Cassa mentioned that she sent one of her dancers to Ballet Central to help them prepare that show.

The reason I was invited to the rehearsal is that I am one of the Friends of Ballet Black and this was its first event (see Ballet Black's Friends Scheme 2 April 2016). I got the opportunity to meet some of the other Friends over tea and cake.  Some I already knew from the London Ballet Circle but others were just starting to follow ballet. It was a particular pleasure to meet Bill Boyd whom I had known through Facebook and BalletcoForum for a while but had never actually met. The tea party offered a chance to chat informally with Cassa, Christopher and the dancers. They probably already know that their public love them but it never hurts to tell them once in a while.

Post script

Ballet Black are performing at To Begin, Begin  and other works at the following venues in the Autumn:

ENFIELD, LONDON: 27th & 28th September

STRATFORD, LONDON: 6th - 8th October

NEWCASTLE: 11th & 12th October

LEEDS: 14th & 15th October

GLASGOW: 28th & 29th October

DONCASTER: 2nd November

EXETER: 9th & 10th November

WATFORD: 15th November

ESSEX: 16th NovemberLICHFIELD: 18th November