"Ballet careers are relatively short and require years of training that pose the risk of injury, yet the world’s top dancers earn far less money than their counterparts elsewhere in show business."
"What to do about it?" I asked. I concluded that companies and theatres were already pretty stretched and that the public whether as theatregoer or taxpayer cannot afford much more. Since then we have had the pandemic that has closed theatres around the world for months.
"So is there anything else that can be done?" I asked. "Well perhaps" I answered." As the Bailey's Nutcracker commercial showed some years ago, ballet can sell. Maybe advertising, merchandising and endorsement. Many companies were already taking advantage of that revenue stream but what about dancers? Compared to sports stars, rock musicians and even opera singers, dancers have been slow to tap into it. When I wrote my article 6 years ago, the only two that came to mind were Carlos Acosta and Darcey Bussell.
They have been joined by several others and the latest happens to be one of my favourite artists, Bethany Kingsley-Garner. I wrote in my review of her performance as Odile in David Dawson's Swan Lake:
"Bethany Kingsley-Garner, who has recently been elevated to principal, was perfect in both. She first came to my notice as Cinderella in Edinburgh (see Scottish Ballet's Cinderella 20 Dec 2015) and she has already entered my canon of all time greatest ballerinas. The only other Scottish dancer in that rare company is Elaine McDonand (see Elaine McDonald in her own Words 11 March 2014)." (see Empire Blanc: Dawson's Swan Lake4 June 2016)
The dancewear includes leotards, shrug, skirts, top and leg warmers. Each of those garments has a name and a story. For instance, one of the leotards is called "The Rachel Leotard". This is the story:
"Every step of the way
Here's to good women everywhere. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them."
Creation - Emergence - Life Force - Love - Nurture - Protect - Support - Confidence
Rachel is my mother, she gave me the greatest gift of life itself; nurtured, protected and loved unconditionally.
She helped me take my first steps, raised me to become confident, individual and independent and was there to watch me step on stage emerged as a principal ballerina leading the ballet company.
A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person who makes leaning unnecessary. I am a strong woman because a strong woman raised me.
Feel the support and protection when you're dancing in The Rachel Leotard.
Be Inspired Be Unstoppable Be You . . BKG"
That is a delightful sentiment and it says something that we might have guessed but would not otherwise have known why Kingsley-Garner is such a remarkable dancer.
Launching a dancewear collection when dance studios in most parts of the UK are in lockdown might seem to some to be a bold thing to do. But it is also a promise of better things to come. This venture deserves to succeed and it has every chance of doing so.
Standard YouTube Licence Scottish Ballet Cinderella Theatre Royal, Newcastle, 1 Feb 2019
I first saw Christopher Hampson's Cinderellain Edinburgh on 19 Dec 2015 and I loved it (see Scottish Ballet's Cinderella 20 Dec 2015). I saw it again in Newcastle on Friday and loved it all the more. I have been asking myself why I love it so much. I think it is because it is multilayered. Very differentfrom the pantomimes and films of childhood.
At one layer there is the narrative. The libretto is conventional enough but, to get a better idea of the theme, watch the video, DesigningCinderella. Hampson and his designer, Tracy Grant Lord. explain the significance of the rose. That is the second layer. Roses are even more important than glass slippers because Cinders's slipper is discovered and shredded. "How is the prince to authenticate his bride?" the audience wonders as the rest of womankind force their hooves and flippers into the discarded shoe. Happily, Cinderella had another memento of the evening, namely the silver rose that the prince had given her at the ball. She produced that rose and all was well. Roses are everywhere. In the backdrop, the clothes and of course the cemetery where Cinderella's mum is buried.
But there is a layer below the roses and I think that it explains why the ballet appeals so much to me. Hampson's ballet is a study of emotion. After the death of his first wife, Cinderella's father seeks solace in a second marriage but it fails to work. Cinderella is a constant reminder. He takes to drink incurring the contempt of his stepchildren and the despair of his new wife. Reason enough to explain her resentment of Cinderella.
In most interpretations of the story, Cinderella is a victim. Not so much in this ballet, Not even as a scullery maid, She is resourceful. She has the cash for her mother's portrait which the stepmother is desperate to remove She can dance in contrast to her stepsisters' stumblings. Even her work clothes eclipse her stepsisters' finery. The prince for all his wealth and power is lonely. It is Cinderella who rescues him from his loneliness at least as much as he rescues her from her servitude.
Such complex characters are difficult to portray. When I saw the show in Edinburgh I was enchanted by Bethany Kingsley-Garner and Christopher Harrison. They were so good I had to see them in those roles a second time. Kingsley-Garner commands a stage like few others. An actress as much as a dancer and she is a dancer of considerable strength and virtuosity. Hampson demands a lot from his Cinderellas such as successions of relevés combined with dévelopés and his trade mark backwards jump. Delightful to watch but probably exhausting to perform. Another favourite, Araminta Wraith, danced Cinderella's stepmother. She is also a fine communicator. She helped me understand and sympathize with her character better than I had ever done before. Nicholas Shoesmith portrayed Cinderella's broken father with pathos. Claire Souet and Aisling Brangan the ridiculous stepsisters with bathos. Grace Horler charmed us as the fairy godmother.
In my estimation, Hampson is the best narrative ballet choreographer that we have, He may be less prolific in this genre than other choreographers but everything he produces is good, Next year he will presentThe Snow Queento mark the 50th anniversary of the company's move from Bristol. With music by Rimsky-Korsakov and designs by Lez Brotherston, it should be splendid.
Standard YouTube Licence Scottish Ballet The Nutcracker Theatre Royal Newcastle 2 Feb 2018
I have seen three versions of The Nutcracker over the last few months: the Royal Ballet's at the Royal Opera House, the Birmingham Royal Ballet's at the Hippodrome and Scottish Ballet's at the Theatre Royal Newcastle. I just can't decide which I like best because each version has its own strengths. Scottish Ballet's are Peter Darrell's libretto and choreography, Lez Brotherston's designs and, of course, the company's brilliant dancers.
In Darrell's version, Clara remains a little girl. She does not morph into Sugar Plum. She gets rid of the vermin who stray into the second act by kissing rather than thumping them. At the end of the ballet it is she and not Sugar Plum who invites the conductor onto the stage to take a bow. I also like Scottish Ballet's divertissements. The Chinese, for example, are not treated as acrobatic clowns despire the musical prompting. They have a short but sweet dance for two female dancers. The Arabian dance is a charming solo for one femalle. There is an English dance with a hornpipe that brought to mind Balanchine's Union Jackand, to a lesser extent, Cranko's Pineapple Poll.
Brotherston's sets and costumes are magnificent. It cannot be easy to create a set for touring. The opening scene looked like a Christmas card. It gave way to the Stahlbaums' Christmas party in a solid looking living room but the scene that impressed me most was the kingdom of the sweets with its hundreds of Christmas tree baubles. As for the costumes I particularly liked the female mice. Without a doubt Brotherston's vermin are the best in the business. Nobody has better mouse heads.
Sugar Plum was danced by Bethany Kingsley-Garner. I became one of her fans when I saw her in Cinderella in 2015 (see Scottish Ballet's Cinderella 20 Dec 2015). I was impressed by her performance in Dawson's Swan Lake a few months later (see Empire Blance: Dawson's Swan Lake4 June 2016). She delighted me yet again in The Nutcracker. She was partnered well by Evan Loudon. Chrstopher Harrison was a splendid Drosselmeyer. Marge Hendrick was a charming Snow Queen. As I have said before, it is the children who can make or break The Nutcracker and in this production the students definitely helped to make it. Particularly Ailish Ogilvie who danced Clara and Charles O'Rourke her tiresome little brother. Finally, it s always good to see Matthew Broadbent. Tall and athletc he attracts attention. I was a fan when he was at Northern Ballet and even more so now.
There were a few weaknesses. The orchestra sounded a little thin at times partcularly in the overture but that could have been the theatre's accoustics. Newcastle's Theatre Royal is an archotectural gem and it is easy to reach by public transport but it is not the most comfortable venue. Scottish Ballet's Christmas show visits all the major venues in Scotland but rarely ventures into England and never south of Newcastle. That is a shame because audiences in the rest of the UK would love it.
I know not why, but Dawson's Swan Lake comes to Liverpool29 May 2016 is my most popular article. It has attracted 10,374 page views including 276 today. It is a preview of David Dawson's Swan Lake which Scottish Ballet was about to perform in Liverpool. It also mentioned Christopher Hampson's on stage promotion of Bethany Kingsley-Garner and Constance Devernay to principal ballerinas which has proved enormously popular as their elevation was well deserved, but I still don't have a clue why the internet has taken such an interest in that post. It has had far more attention than the actual review of Dawson's Swan Lake though it was far from an unfriendly one.
So, chums, I am following the same formula substituting "Hampson" for "Dawson", "Hänsel and Gretel" for "Swan Lake" and "Liverpool" for "Newcastle."
"No chance," growls Chip the Dog on Crosby sands with mistress in tow. "Newcastle isn't Liverpewel."
Well, we shall see. Newcastle is a great city with a great theatre and a great love of dance (see Dance in Newcastle4 Nov 2016.
Certainly, the Novocastrians have packed out the Theatre Royal well in advance for every performance. I am aways happy to learn that a company has filled a theatre and particularly so when that company is Scottish Ballet who are the first company that I got to know and love and who will always enjoy a special place in my affection. Not just for old times sake because I knew them in their Bristol days when they danced Mods and Rockers to the Beatles but for what they have become with some of our nation's finest dancers under the direction of an outstanding choreographer.
For Hampson is outstanding. I defy anyone to sit dry-eyed throughStoryville.or not to be uplifted by his Four; or enraptured by his Perpetuum Mobile. His Cinderellawhich I saw in Edinburgh was magnificent. His Hänsel and Gretel which I saw in Glasgow in Dec 2013 was a delight. All my favourites were in that show. The production has received excellent reviews from the Scottish critics as it made its way from Edinburgh to Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness. The company is off to Northern Ireland after it briefly visits us.
As I said above, Scottish Ballet's season in Newcastle has been a sellout; but in case there is a return they are at the Theatre Royal on Gray Street from Wednesday to Saturday.
"As Anna Tsygankova stood alone on stage for her curtain call after last night's performance of Ted Brandsen'sMata Harievery single person in the Amsterdam Music Theatre or Stopera rose as one. She would have got a similar standing ovation anywhere - even snooty old London - for her portrayal of the life of the tragic adventurer and dancer (Margaretha Geertruida "Margreet" MacLeod) was compelling It is not often that one sees theatre like that in any medium and I think the sounds and images of that performance will remain with me for the rest of my life."
It is not often that one sees a performance like that.
But on the 2 April 2016 I saw Lauren Cuthbertson in Giselle. That ballet had always been a problem for me as I explained in Cuthbertson's Giselle3 April 2016:
"In an interview with the journalist Mark Moynihan which is transcribed in the Royal Ballet's programme notes for this season's Giselle, Sir Peter Wright said:
'When I first saw Giselle way back in the early 1940s I used to think: 'That's silly. That doesn't make sense. So when John [Cranko] asked me to do Giselle my first reaction was, 'Oh no, I couldn't do that - that poor young girl going mad'. The ballet always seemed rather inconsistent to me and sometimes downright stupid.'
Until last night that had been my reaction too. I had always been troubled by the libretto (possibly for the same reason as Wright for he had been brought up as a Quaker and I have become one) as the second act is very dark, superstitious, even a little satanic, or so it had appeared to me for many years. My coping mechanism until last night had been to put the story out of my mind and concentrate on the dancing as though it were an abstract work like Jewels or Les Sylphides."
However, Sir Peter changed his mind on Giselle. He saw Galina Ulanova dance Giselle when the Bolshoi first came to London and realized what an extraordinary work it could be. I explained that that is because the libretto is coded or perhaps or rather subsists on more than level. I added: "Sir Peter needed Ulanova to unlock the work for him and it was Lauren Cuthbertson last night who did the same for me."
"The star of Swan Lake is, of course, Odette-Odile. It is a role that not every ballerina can dance convincingly because it requires the projection of two personalities from the same body. I may be wrong but I should imagine the easier part is probably the seductress Odile despite all those fouettés because she is manifestly human. It must be far more difficult to become a swan. Bethany Kingsley-Garner, who has recently been elevated to principal, was perfect in both. She first came to my notice as Cinderella in Edinburgh (see Scottish Ballet's Cinderella 20 Dec 2015) and she has already entered my canon of all time greatest ballerinas. The only other Scottish dancer in that rare company is Elaine McDonand (see Elaine McDonald in her own Words 11 March 2014)."
So how do I choose between those three? In my review of Giselle, I asked myself what was so special about Cuthbertson's performance. I could not put my finger on it but, as I noted at the time, "I saw not a ballerina dancing Giselle but Giselle herself and for the first time I really understood the ballet." Eight months on, I would qualify that remark by saying that I am beginning to understand and appreciate that ballet but I owe my understanding and appreciation to Lauren Cuthbertson.
For that reason, Cuthbertson has to be my ballerina of 2016.
There are still another 11 days to run before the end of the month but December has already turned out to be our best month ever with 13,438 page hits. We have received 216,581 since we started this publication with our review of Ballet West's performance of The Nutcracker at Pitlochry on 25 Feb 2013. The choice of subject matter proved to be prescient because each and every one of our top 5 articles has had a Welsh or Scottish connection.
Our most popular article of all time measured by the number of page hits has been David Murley's review of Ballet Cymru's performance of Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs at Sadler's Wells on 29 Nov 2016 (see David Murley Little Red Riding Hood comes to London2 Dec 2016). It is followed very closely by my review of the same company's Romeo a Juliet in Newport on 5 Nov 2016 (see A Romeo and Juliet for our Times7 Nov 2016). I am delighted by the interest that my readers have shown in Ballet Cymru. On 4 Dec 2016, Ballet Cymru appeared on the stage of the Donald Gordon Theatre with the entire BBC National Orchestra of Wales in the Wales Millennium Centre before a packed house in a performance that may turn out to be as significant for the development of ballet in Wales as Sader's Wells Ballet's performance of The Sleeping Beauty proved to be for the development of ballet in the United Kingdom (see Ballet Cymru's "Sleeping Beauty Moment"5 Dec 2016). I am proud to say that I am a Friend of Ballet Cymru and that I am very fond of that company.
Another company that has a special place in my affection is Scottish Ballet because it was the first company that I got to know and love. I was at St Andrews when the Western Theatre Ballet moved from Bristol to Glasgow and our Professor of Fine Arts, John Steer, who had known the company when it was in the West Country introduced me to its great choreographer, Peter Darrell, and its talented dancers. I am therefore particularly satisfied that our third most popular article is my preview of David Dawson's Swan Lake in Liverpool (see Dawson's Swan Lake comes to Liverpool29 May 2016). The article was prompted by Christopher Hampson's on-stage elevation of two of my favourite ballerinas, Bethany Kingsley-Garner and Constance Devernay, to principals of the company after their performances in Swan Lake. I reviewed Dawson's ballet in which Kingsley-Garner danced Odette in Empire Blanche - Dawson's Swan Lake4 June 2016. The company has re-staged Hampson's Hansel and Gretel which I reviewed when it first appeared (see Scottish Ballet's Hansel and Gretel23 Dec 2013).
My fourth most popular article is my interview with Gavin McCaig (see Meet Gavin McCaig of Northern Ballet3 Sept 2014). Gavin is, of course, a Scotsman. I interviewed him shortly after he had joined the company as an apprentice and before he had started to tour. He seems to be doing very well in the company and has toured the length and breadth of the United Kingdom as well as venues in China. I last saw him in Beauty and the Beast on Saturday where he was a friend of Isabelle and Chantelle and a guest at Beauty and Orian's wedding. In the latter role he and the other guests had to do some thrilling jumps and turns. Like everybody in the cast, he did very well and they earned a special "bravi" from me at the curtain call. Northern Ballet is a company that I have followed ever since its formation and supported ever since I moved back to Manchester in 1985. I am a Friend of both the company and the Academy and for the last 3 years I have been attending at least one and often two ballet classes there a week,
Appropriately, my fifth most popular article of all time is about Ballet West (see Congratulations to Ballet West - here's to the next 25 Years25 Nov 2016). I am looking forward to seeing Ballet West in Swan Lake early in the New Year. They were very impressive when I last saw them in 2014 (see Swan Loch - Ballet West's Swan Lake, Pitlochry 1 March 20143 March 2914). This time I hope to catch them at the Armadillo where they will show what they can do on a big stage. Next year their artistic director, Gillian Barton, has promised that they will dance La Sylphide - just for me. I do hope that is still possible because it is a lovely ballet rarely performed in the UK which is surprising as it is set in Scotland.
I wish all the folks in Ballet Cymru Nadolig llawen a blwyddyn newydd dda and all the Scots a Merry Christmas and a Good New Year.
Standard You Tube Licence Scottish Ballet, Swan Lake, Liverpool Empire, 3 June 2016 On my train back from Liverpool a young man asked to borrow my programme. He explained that he had attended Scottish Ballet's Swan Lake but had not bought a programme because he had not noticed any on sale. He added that this had been his first experience of ballet. "How lucky you are," I reflected as I handed him my programme "for I can think of no better introduction to the ballet that this one." The reason I say that is that David Dawson has distilled Swan Lake into a very potent concoction. When that young man sees a traditional Swan Lake, such as English National Ballet's in the round at the Albert Hall which I recommended strongly to him, he will understand and appreciate that work in a way that he would never have done otherwise. However, had he started with such a work he might well have been lost in a sea of tutus, feathery headgear or been diverted by the divertissements. Readers will have noticed that I used the word distilled in relation to Dawson's Swan Lake rather than "stripped down" as did Judith Mackrell in The Guardian (see Swan Lake review – stripped-back version even loses the lake20 April 2016) and Mark Monahan in The Telegraph (see You can strip a Rolls-Royce down only so far before it stops being a Rolls-Royce20 April 2016) for with all due respect to them they miss the point. This was Swan Lake all right in the way that so many other choreographers' versions are not. All the essentials of the story are there and Dawson is faithful to the characters - except perhaps to Rothbart whose role in the equivalent of the black act is performed by four men in masks. Dawson told the story directly and without distractions in a way that is appropriate to our times.
The reason why Rothbart was all but written out of the story is that he is not essential to it and his cape waving gets in the way. Dawson does not need Rothbart because nobody has cast a spell over Odette. She is described in the synopsis as
"a beautiful woman by the lake. Goddess-like and barely human, she is the Swan Queen, Odette, replenishing her powers from the waters of the lake. She morphs between forms both human and swan."
In her excellent programme note, A Swan Lake for a New Generation, the Glasgow Herald'sballet correspondent Mary Brennan explains:
"And the Swan herself. Dawson refuses to show her as a victim. 'In my version she is not a prisoner of any kind of spell. Rather she is a goddess, a divine being in her own right - and free to make her own choices in her relationship with Siegfied.' Rather than take the 19th century Romantic version at face value, Dawson went researching into other source material. He came across a mythic version that sparked his imagination: 'It described those goddess creatures who once every hundred years would come to bathe in the lake so as to replenish their beauty and immortality. The chances of anyone ever seeing them ..... it shouldn't happen, but Siegfried has, yet again, gone off by himself and - like something out of his own inner imaginings - he encounters the exquisitely ethereal Odette.'"
Given that scenario there is no need for a Queen Mother, or a bow, or the contrived show of generosity which seems a bit artificial for an 18 year old even in Petipa's version:
"Gee thanks Ma. A crossbow for decimating the local bird life. Just what I really wanted. I mean everyone has an iPad and what would I do with a Porsche? "
However, there is a need for Benno, Siegfried's good mate in Petipa's version. His role is greatly expanded and he stays with Siegfried throughout the ballet.
As in Petipa's version the focus is on Siegfried who is described in the scenario as "portent and pensive", a lovely phrase for just plain moody. Yesterday that role was danced by Victor Zarallo. Although there are plenty of moments when his considerable strength and stamina requires he is most effective when he is alone on stage, sometimes motionless, other times a barque on a stormy sea of conflicting emotions.
Good hearted, kindly generous Benno who sticks with his friend even after Siegfried threatens him, was danced by Nicholas Shoesmith. Tall, athletic and commanding girls flock to him in total contrast to his maungy mate. He tries so hard to entice Siegfried out of his moodiness. Standing with his arm over his friend's shoulder he presents one delectable maiden after another to distract Siegfried from his dark thoughts. When Odile appears and Siegfried flips he tries in vain to keep him grounded. The equivalent of the fluttering image of Odette through the French window doors in the traditional version is Benno's urging Siegfried to be sure that he has found the right girl.
The star of Swan Lake is of course Odette-Odile. It is a role that not every ballerina can dance convincingly because it requires the projection of two personalities from the same body. I may be wrong but I should imagine the easier part is probably the seductress Odile despite all those fouettés because she is manifestly human. It must be far more difficult to become a swan. Bethany Kingsley-Garner, who has recently been elevated to principal, was perfect in both. She first came to my notice as Cinderella in Edinburgh (see Scottish Ballet's Cinderella20 Dec 2015) and she has already entered my canon of all time greatest ballerinas. The only other Scottish dancer in that rare company is Elaine McDonand (see Elaine McDonald in her own Words11 March 2014).
I should say a few words about John Otto's sets and Yumiko Takeshima.
Judith Mackrell complains that there is no lake. She is wrong, It is there. Indeed it is central to the ballet. It is the boundary between the real world in which Siegfried and Benno live and the ethereal world of Odile. Otto cleverly creates that boundary with his translucent screens and backdrop.
"Where are the tutus and feathery headgear?" one might ask. Takeshima has lost them and rightly so for their only purpose is to represent the body and movement of a swan and Dawson's choreography does that so much better. Her characters are dressed simply and timelessly: white leotards as swans, full skirted Dances at a Gathering style dresses as party guests or in trousers, T-shirts and jackets in the case of the men.
Nevertheless, we did seeswans and that was through Dawson's expressive choreography. The fluid arm movements in open fifth to suggest the expansive flapping of wings. The glissades and low level lifts and turns to suggest gliding and hovering over water. There was so much detail. Miming, Benno's facial expressions even a high fives at one point in the first scene.
Although Dawson created every single step there was still a lot of Petipa in his ballet. The cygnets, for example, was still a pas de quatre albeit free moving, energetic, high jumping, young swans just as one can find on any waterway. In the seduction scene, first Siegfried then Odile did fouettés. I was bolt upright on the edge of my seat with excitement.
While waiting for my train at Lime Street I tweeted congratulations to Christopher Hampson, David Dawson and Scottish Ballet. I am sure the company's founder Peter Darrell would have been proud of this work had he lived to see it. And though some may disagree with me, I think Marius Petipa would have been proud of Dawson too.
Why the Empire Blanc title to this review?The first Dawson work that I had seen on stage was Dawson's Empire Noire in Amsterdam (see Going Dutch29 June 2015). I saw Swan Lake in the Empire Theatre in Liverpool. And "blanc" because most swans outside Australia at any rate are white. Despite a lot of sweeties packet rustling, a constant hum of commentary and all sorts of liberties taken with mobile phones the Empire was a good place to see this ballet. Liverpudlians are warm and passionate folk and they showed those qualities in their cheers and clapping at the end.
A typically generous tweet from one of my favourite dancers whose company has also been busy with its performances of 1984 at Sadler's Wells and Jane Eyreat Richmond. The "fabulous ballet tradition" to which Hannah Bateman refers is probably the one referred to by Graham Watts:
I am personally delighted by both promotions because Bethany Kingsley-Garner delighted me with her performance as Cinderella last December (see Scottish Ballet's Cinderella20 Dec 2015) and Constance Devernay with hers in Hansel and Gretel. I might add in passing that I hope Hampson's renewal of the tradition spreads to other companies because I can think of at least one female leading soloist whose elevation to "premier" (or principal) dancer I should like to see very much indeed.
Yesterday I tipped Scottish Ballet's Swan Lake in What's On Tonight28 May 2016 even though I have not yet seen it. I felt safe in doing so for two reasons. The first is that I have seen David Dawson's work before and trust him to do a good job (see my reviews of Empire Noire and 5 in Going Dutch29 June 2015 and Ballet Bubbles16 Feb 2016). The second is that I know and trust the company having followed them ever since they were in Bristol. I love them dearly and they have never disappointed me. I can't say that of many other companies. Not even the Royal Ballet.
Dawson was commissioned to create a new Swan Lake andthe synopsis suggests that is exactly what he has done. It is possible to be innovative without being gimicky and his story seems to be one that is believable and within human experience yet faithful to the classical tale. However, it is not just Petipa that inspired Dawson. According to Scottish Ballet's website he also drew inspiration from Zbigniew Herbert's poem Study of the Object.
Does it work? I shall find out on Friday when I see the ballet for myself at the Liverpool Empire. However, one Northern Irish ballet goer seems to think so:
— Friends Ballet NI (@FriendsBalletNI) May 28, 2016
And the conclusion was:
Definitely room in life for 2 Swan Lakes,traditional with beautiful corps & evil villain & scintillating thrill-ride that's @doublediamond1
— Friends Ballet NI (@FriendsBalletNI) May 28, 2016
I have never met Friends Ballet NI and do not even know the author's gender but I know from his or her tweets that he or she is very knowledgeable and perceptive about ballet. I remember tweeting to Friends Ballet NI from Leeds station last March about another company's Swan Lake which I did not like nearly as much as he or she seems to like Scottish Ballet's. If Friends Ballet NI who has had to take a flight or cross the sea to see it enjoyed last night's show, I don't think anybody who took my tip yesterday will be sharpening a claymore out for my blood for wasting his or her evening.
Scottish Ballet, Cinderella, Festival Theatre, Edinburgh 19 Dec 2015
While just about every other company in the United Kingdom is staging The Nutcracker this Christmas (see All those Nutcrackers11 Dec 2015) Scottish Ballet presents Cinderellanot as "a rags-to-riches story that offers a girl a way out of the ordinary" but as a study of grief and loneliness. But it is not only Cinderella who is lonely, as the choreographer, Christopnher Hampson, explains in his interview with Alan Morrison in the programme notes. So, too, is the prince and they each find a way out of their loneliness by finding each other.
Such a prince has to be very sensitive and Hampson chose Christopher Harrison to dance that role. Having previously seen Harrison as Romeo and Stanley in A Streetcar named Desire (Scottish Ballet's Timeless Romeo and Juliet18 May 2014 and Scottish Ballet's Streetcar2 April 2015) which are strong male roles. It was something of a revelation that he does sensitive but he can and he did it very well. His bride, Bethany Kingsley-Garner whom I had previously seen as Gretel and the the Sugar Plum (see Scottish Ballet's Hansel and Gretel23 Dec 2013 and Like meeting an old friend after so many years4 Jan 2015), was a more obvious fit. She was a delightful Cinderella -not too good to be true - she appreciated the attention from the dressmakers when they came to prepare her stepsisters and stepmother for the ball.
The other stars in Hampson's Cinderella are those step sisters and for those roles he chose the company's female principals, Eve Mutso and Sophie Martin. These are magnificent dancers. I saw them both in Marc Brew's Exalt earlier this year (see No Mean City - Accessible Dance and Ballet26 April 2015). Mutso has been nominated for the National Dance Awards for her performance as Blanche in Streetcar. It must be difficult for such graceful creatures to clown on stage but how we laughed as they struggled through their dance lesson and dress and show fittings, their gauche encounters with the prince and his courtiers and their attempts to make the slipper fit.
Hampson structured the ballet very cleverly, Each Act was preceded with a prologue with the house lights up. The mourners at the funeral of Cinderella's mother started the ballet. Two flunkies dusted a chandelier before Act II. Matthew Broadbent, one of Leeds's favourites when he was at Northern Ballet, laboured at his last as the bossy royal shoemaker. For me it was such a delight to see him again. The transposition of the grasshopper (Jamiel Lawrence) for the scornful dancing master and moths and spiders for the shoe and dressmakers is another example of Hampson's ingenuity. They mirrored the real world with fantasy.
There was some novel choreography. The grasshopper's dives which startled Cinderella first time and then amused her at the next delighted me. So too were the back to back lifts in the final pas de deux between Cinderella and her prince which were surprisingly graceful. There was Martin's can-can as she tried to interest the prince and Mutso's duet with the courtier struggling to retain his dignity with this she monster.
The sets and costumes for this performance were stunning. They were designed by Tracy Grant Lord who had originally created them for the Royal New Zealand Ballet's production of Hampson's Cinderella in 2007. The were among the best that we have seen since the days of Diaghilev. The designs are almost an integral part of the libretto. For instance, the rose tree that Cinderella plants by her mother's grave with its leaves that become a face and are almost a continuing presence of her mother.
There is so much to like about this production. Even the programmes are to be treasured for their fine paper, rich colours, striking designs and high quality printing. The Festival Theatre is a delightful venue with a restaurant that serves some of the best meals and snacks that I have ever savoured in Edinburgh. Despite the Forth Bridge closures the Edinburgh season is pretty close to fully booked but the show will shortly tour Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness though, sadly, not the rest of the country. It was well worth a trek from Yorkshire. Knowing what I now know, I would travel from the Lizard or cross seas or even oceans to see it again.
I began this year with a review of Darrell's Nutcracker and it is fitting that the last ballet that I will see this year is Hampson's Cinderella. Scottish Ballet connects me with my days at St Andrews which were the happiest of my life. I try not to have favourite companies. I love English National Ballet, the Dutch National Ballet, Rambert, the Royal and Birmingham Royal Ballets, Ballet Black, Ballet Cymru, Northern Ballet, Phoenix and many others with a passion. But Scottish Ballet was my first love and you know what they say about the first love being the love that is never to be forgotten.
Scottish Ballet's The Nutcracker Festival Theatre, Edinburgh 3 Jan 2015
I'd been looking forward to seeing Peter Darrell's version of The Nutcracker all year. It's dangerous to set your heart on something that much because high expectations are rarely satisfied. But from the moment Richard Horner raised his hands it was pure delight. Like meeting an old university friend half a century on.
And in a sense that was just what it was. I was introduced to Scottish Ballet by John Steer in 1969 (see Scottish Ballet 20 Dec 2013). Darrell died in 1987 (Peter Darrell9 March 2014) and I cannot recall when I last saw one of his ballets. Tonight I was reminded of Darrell's brilliance. It was one of the reasons I fell in love with Scottish Ballet and why the company continues to occupy a special place in my affections.
Darrell's Nutcracker is of the traditional kind. Clara remains a child unlike the Eagling and Grigorovich versions (see The Nutcracker reference page and my reviews of Cracking!14 Dec 2013 and Clara grows up- Grigorovitch's Nutcracker transmitted directly from Moscow21 Dec 2014), She does not morph into the sugar plum. There are no gimmicky balloons, flying boats or expanding Christmas trees. Above all there has been no attempt to shift the location of the ballet from Hoffmann's original location to the banks of the Thames or even The Neva.
But there are some interesting features. In the prologue Drosselmeyer transformed an urchin into a handsome youth. Clara's troublesome little brother Fritz was given a toy rat for Christmas with which he tormented the women folk foretelling the battle between rodents and toy soldiers. The mice are children - girls as well as boys. The struggle was short and sweet and the nutcracker despatched the rat king without any help from Clara. One of the divertissements is a hornpipe reminiscent of Pineapple Poll danced to music that I cannot recall hearing before. Best of all were two great monkeys who parked themselves either side of Clara. They amused the crowd with antics that would not be encouraged in the drawing rooms of Morningside or Bearsden.
My seat was in the centre of the first row with a full view of the orchestra pit. I had never been so close to an orchestra before. I could see every movement of every player which was almost as fascinating as the ballet. I watched them in the "la la" vocals snow flake scene to see whether they had a choir as Festival once did. I thought I saw the woodwind players mouth the tune but I think Horner must have used a previous recording.
As advertisedErik Cavallari danced the nutcracker, Bethany Kingsley-Garner the sugar plum, Owen Thorne Drosselmeyer, Amy Pollock Clara and Remi Anderson as King Rat but Eve Mutso was the snow queen. All danced well but in many ways the biggest stars were the children from Scottish Ballet Associates and the Dance School of Scotland who showed considerable stage presence as well as good technique. Amy Pollok was a great Clara. The other big star was the designer Lez Brotherston who created a gorgeous kingdom of the sweets out of Christmas tree baubles and barricades for the mice out of outsize apple cores, boiled sweets and assorted cheeses.
The day I danced in public David Nixon stood next to me on the landing overlooking the foyer of Northern Ballet. The audience, which consisted largely of proud parents, siblings and friends of the dancers so was less than impartial, erupted in generous applause and emptied out of the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre chirping and chattering. "It's the best sound in the world" said Nixon. "They really enjoyed it". It was the same last night. The auditorium, which was packed to the gunwales, exploded with clapping and we stepped into Nicholson Street on a high. I've reviewed six productions of The Nutcracker since I started this blog and have enjoyed them all but this is the one I like best.
