Northern's Nutcracker

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Northern Ballet The Nutcracker 5 Jan 2023 19:00 The Grand Theatre, Leeds

I saw The Nutcracker one and a half times this year.  The first time was on 28 Dec when Leeds was gridlocked with a match at Elland Road and an event at the First Direct Arena.  The multistorey where I usually park was full and I had to leave my car at Woodhouse Lane which is a stiff walk to The Grand.  The ushers let my companion and me into the auditorium halfway through the first act.  As I could not fairly review a show that I had not seen from the start I returned on 5 Jan to see the same cast.

David Nixon's production of The Nutcracker is one of his best ballets.  It is one of my favourite works in Northern Ballet's repertoire.  Unlike his Swan Lake, he has left the story intact other than changing the name of the Stahkbaum family to Edwards. He has resisted the temptation to embellish it as Grigorovich, Bourne or even Sir Peter Wright did.  He simply tells the tale of a young girl's dream after receiving an unusual gift from her eccentric uncle.  

As Nixon's ballet focuses on the dream, Clara is the leading female role.  There is a Sugar Plum but her pas de deux is simply the last of the divertissements.   On my visits, Clara was danced by Rachael Gillespie.  According to the programme notes, this was Gillespie's third season as Clara and she is perfect in that role.  Even though she has been with the company since 2007 she does not look a day over 14 when dancing this character.  She seems to live that role.  The joy on her face when she receives her gift is truly childlike.  So too is her dismay when her meddlesome little brother trashes the gift.  Her performance was not just polished.  It was inspired.

Sugar Plum was danced by Saeka Shirai.  She joined the company recently and this was my first opportunity to watch her. She impressed me with her solo and I shall certainly look out for her in future. She was partnered by Jonathan Hanks whom I know rather better.  He also danced "James" who is described in the cast list as "Louise [that is to say, Clara's sister's] friend."

Drosselmeyer was danced by a youthful Joseph Taylor and Sean Bates as Clara's dad seemed barely older than his daughter.  Even younger was Clara's grandfather who was danced by Wesley Branch. Prior to the pandemic, some of those roles could have been filled by the likes of Javier Torres or Hironao Takahashi but they have all gone.  

Fussing and fumbling and slightly dotty, Dominique Larose was a very convincing grandma in the first act.  She came back in the second as the sexy, sultry and very supple beauty in the Arabian dance.  Another artist who carried off successfully two very different roles was George Liang who doubled as the Mouse King and one of the Chinese dancers.

Save for the Christmas party and the battle between the toy soldiers and mice the ballet consists largely of divertissements. There are the automatons' dance and snowflakes in the first act and the Spanish, Arabian, Chinese, Cossacks, French, Waltz of the Flowers and the pas de deux in the second.  I enjoyed them all, especially snowflakes and Sugar Plum's solo which Martin Dutton taught me and Waltz of the Flowers which Jane Tucker taught me at workshops held by KNT and Powerhouse Ballet. I learned more about The Nutcracker from those workshops than I had previously gained from a lifetime of theatre-going and I cannot recommend them too highly. The only comment that I would make about the others is that I admired Antoni Cañellas Artigues's virtuosity but the castanets suggest a duet or possibly a larger group.

As always the mice were very cute and the children very naughty.  I was pleasantly surprised to see the girls charging across the stage with the boys in this production rather than sweetly tending to their dolls. In the past, the children have been rehearsed by Cara O'Shea.  I could not find her in the programme this year but the children were as well-trained as ever.  I have attended several of Cara's classes and she is a very gifted teacher.  I would not be surprised to learn that she had trained the kids.

One improvement to the show that Federico Bonelli may wish to consider is to replace the backdrop to the the opening scene.  It is supposed to be a book-lined wall but it ripples in the air which is risible, However, this is only a minor grumble.   Overall it was still a good show.

Spotted - Northern Ballet Academy's Schools Outreach Programme

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In So Proud of those Students and their Teacher 7 Feb 2018 I wrote:

"Cara is not only an excellent teacher. She is also a fine choreographer. I have only seen one of her works, Small Steps, about the rescue of Jewish children from Nazi Germany in commemoration of the Kindertransport (see Small Steps and other Pieces - Leeds CAT End of Term Show 2 July 2016). It was profoundly beautiful and very moving and I long to see more."

I was, of course, referring to Cara O'Shea who appears in the film above as well as the recording in my earlier post.

As it happened I did not have to wait long to see another of Cara works for she had choreographed a short but delightful ballet for Northern Ballet Academy's boys called "Be My Guest".  The boys were dressed as waiters and they performed some quite difficult movements including soaring leaps that quite drew my breath away towards the end of the piece.

Cara had created the work to entertain some of the company's benefactors at a fundraising dinner on Thursday. The dinner was held to raise money for the Spotted,  the Academy's outreach programme for schools in Yorkshire. This is a programme to deliver dance to schoolchildren some of whom may never have attended a ballet.   Pupils in years 4, 5 and 6 are offered a 90 minute dance workshop.  All will have fun.  Those who show promise may be invited to the Academy for further training under the You've been spotted programme.

The company presented two other delightful interludes for our pleasure - Concerto and the proposal scene from the last act of Jane Eyre.   I congratulate all the dancers but I particularly enjoyed Abigain Prudames and Mlindi Kulashe in the proposal.

So proud of those students and their teacher

Yesterday I celebrated the achievements of Ballet West's first year full time students and members of the school's senior associates programme in Glasgow in Fizzing! Ballet West's Rossini Cocktail 6 Feb 2018. Today I want to applaud the achievements of even younger students who train in the same studios as I do at Quarry Hill in Leeds. The above film records a live class which was broadcast on Facebook yesterday afternoon.

The class is taken by Cara O'Shea who is an excellent teacher.  I first saw her in action in Northern Ballet's Open Day 18 Feb 2014, I wrote:

"Ichino was followed in the studio by Cara O'Shea who taught two groups of junior boys. Her style was very different from Ichino's but equally effective. She has a mellifluous voice which she used as an instrument to coax the best from her pupils. "You've always wanted as audience" she said referring tot us. "Well now you have an audience and if they like you they may clap you." The children, who were already working hard, gave us their very best. They did indeed delight us and how we clapped. She is another wonderful teacher and again I could see that the kids were devoted to her. I would have loved to have been taught by her. In a way she did teach me for I think I learned more about ballet on Saturday from watching the teachers at work that I could from a score of performances or a pile of books,"

A few days later I actually got the chance to be taught by Cara for she stood in for our usual teacher  who was unable to take us on that day. The experience was delightful: "The years simply rolled away. We old ladies were young, energetic and happy today" (see A Treat For Us Old Ladies 27 Feb 2014).

I later learned that Cara and I had something else in common.  She had once danced Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty for the Chelmsford Ballet Company of which I am a proud non-dancing connection.  The company held Cara in enormous affection though they had lost touch with her. As I had attended Cara's classes I was able to tell them all about the marvellous work she was doing in the North of England.  They were so impressed that they invited her back to Essex to give the company a class which I believe they enjoyed tremendously.  If you look at the way she inspired her students yesterday you will easily understand why.

Cara is not only an excellent teacher. She is also a fine choreographer.  I have only seen one of her works, Small Steps, about the rescue of Jewish children from Nazi Germany in commemoration  of the Kindertransport  (see Small Steps and other Pieces - Leeds CAT End of Term Show 2 July 2016). It was profoundly beautiful and very moving and I long to see more.

If you live in or within a reasonable travelling distance of Leeds and have what the subscribers to Balletcoforum call a "DS" (that is to say, boy) or a "DD" (girl)  of the right age who is good at ballet and wants to learn more, you might show him or her this film and suggest an audition. If your child wants to have a go, you should download an application form from Northern Ballet's Applications and Auditions page.  However, do bear in mind that the closing date for applications is approaching fast,

Top Cats: the NSCD and Northern Ballet Academy End of Year Show

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Leeds CAT End of Year Show, 24 June 2017, 15:00 Riley Theatre, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Leeds


In The Lowry CAT 27 May 2016 I wrote:

"There are in England nine Centres for Advanced Training in Dance ("CAT") which identify children and young people with exceptional talent for dance and develop them through contact with leading dancers, teachers and choreographers."

According to the What are CATS? page of the Dance CATs website, there are now 12 and two of them are in Leeds, namely the Academy of Northern Ballet and the Northern School of Contemporary Dance ("NSCD"). Yesterday the Academy and NSCD held end of year shows at the NSCD's Riley Theatre. As I am a Friend of the Academy as well as the company, I support it in every way I can. Thus, I found myself at the matinee performance at 15:00.

Yesterday's visit was my first to the NSCD and, consequently, I did not know the layout of the theatre when I booked my ticket over the internet.  I had selected D7 in the stalls thinking that it would give me a good view as it was pretty close to the stage. It turned out to be a restricted view because the audience is seated in a semicircle in very solid upright, wooden chairs that are more like church pews than seats in an auditorium. As a result, I had a grandstand view of the wings at stage right but I could see hardly anything of stage left. That was only a problem in the last piece, Echo by Matthew Slater, because the work opens with several dancers' supporting another standing upright. It was a very impressive sight which must have required a lot of practice by the dancers and their choreographer.

The programme consisted of 10 works half of which were presented by the Academy and the other half by the NSCD.  The show opened with Greeting which had been created by Yoko Ichino, Cara O'Shea and Siobhan Camkin for all the Academy's students to music by Ottorino Respighi from La Boutique Fantasque. It introduced the Academy and was the first opportunity for the audience to see the capabilities and discipline of those talented young people. Next came Headspace by the NSCD students who were equally impressive in their genre. The work was choreographed by Krista Vuori of Frantic Assembly and was described as "An exploration into the questions we ask ourselves and thoughts that randomly enter into our mind everyday." There was some speech some of which was inaudible but that did not matter too much because it was a dance piece and the sentiments were clear enough from the dancers' movements. The rest of the show alternated between ballet and contemporary dance and ended with Slater's Echo.

All the contributions were good and I enjoyed them all but there were three works that stood out for me particularly.  One of these was Headspace which I have described above.   Another was The Reel scene from La Sylphide which Cara O'Shea had adapted skilfully. It was pretty faithful to Bournonville's choreography but, whenever I see dancers with folded arms, I ask myself whether that great choreographer had ever actually seen Highland or even Scottish country dancing. Not once since I was dragooned into making up the numbers for a Dashing White Sergeant at the Celtic Society's bejants' ceilidh have I ever seen anyone in Scotland dance like that but I think only someone as august as Bourne (Sir Matthew that is) dare contradict Bournonville (see Sir Matthew Bourne's Highland Fling Montage on YouTube). The last that stood out was Echo which was a perfect way to end the show.

One of the functions of the CATs is to prepare their students for vocational training. The programme listed the destinations of this year's final year students and they are very impressive. Two are off to Northern Ballet School in Manchester which celebrates its 40th anniversary today. Congratulations! Many of my favourite teachers at both KNT and the Academy trained there. Others are going to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, The Hammond School, Trinity Laban, Urdang Academy and many other famous institutions. And to remind us that dance provides great mental, as well as physical, training, one of the students is on her way to med school at Cambridge (Caius I presume). I wish each and every one of those students well in his or her career and look forward to seeing at least some of them on stage again.

The Terpsichore Titles: Outstanding Young Choreographer

Cristiano Principato

Photo Robin dePuy
(c) 2914 Dutch National Ballet: all rights reserved
Reproduced with kind permission of the company

There is a lot of great, young choreographic talent here and overseas. For the last two years Northern Ballet has been showcasing some of it at its Tell Tale Steps choreographic workshops in Leeds (see My Thoughts on Saturday Afternoon's Panel Discussion at Northern Ballet 21 June 2015 and Tell Tale Steps 2 17 June 2016). One of the participants in last year's lab was Charlotte Edmonds who had created Fuse for Ballet Bubbles at the Meervvart.

I described Edmonds's work as the most polished and dramatic which was not surprising given her talent and experience. Having also been impressed with Fuse, I thought she would be a shoe-in for my outstanding young choreographer title.

But then I went to Italy and saw Palladio.

Palladio was one of several works created for the Gala for Alessia at Trecate by Cristiano Principato who is one of the Dutch National Ballet's most talented young dancers.  This is what I wrote about his ballet in From Italy with Love on 1 July 2016:

"In the video about the ballet Cristiano explains that it is about a young girl who breaks her heart but recovers and moves on. It explores her sadness but then her strength as she creates new relationships. Cristiano cast all the Amsterdam dancers in this piece including himself. This is a very sophisticated work and quite a remarkable piece for one so young. Though completely original I could see the influence of Meisner - but not just Meisner for I was also reminded of Jerome Robbins. Balanchine and Jose Limon's The Moor's Pavane. Most choreographers' early works are quickly forgotten but I don't think this will be one of them. I think it will be performed time and again, I might add that I think it will be popular in England as Cristiano's choreography is well suited for dancers trained in the English style."

Cristiano created that work before his 21st birthday which makes it all the more impressive.

Given a fair wind this talented young gentleman can look forward to great things. He is, of course, a fine dancer but he can also direct and manage. At Trecate he acted as artistic director, choreographer, principal dancer, lighting engineer - you name it he did it. Don't be surprised if he ends up running one of the world's great ballet companies or opera houses one of these days.

There was one other new work that I saw just before I went to Italy which I really should mention. That was Small Steps created by Cara O'Shea who is one of my teachers at the Northern Ballet Academy. Small Steps is about the Kindertransport which rescued large numbers of Jewish children from Nazi Germany.  I saw it at the Leeds CAT end of term show and wrote in Small Steps and other Pieces - Leeds CAT End of Term Show 2 July 2016:

"Small Steps was a very beautiful work and I was profoundly moved by it for two reasons. The first is that the dancers were about the same age as the children who were sent abroad. They looked so bonny but also so lost and vulnerable. The second is that Cara chose very appropriate music - Arvo Pärt's Für Alina and Spiegel im Spiegel, Lee Holdridge's Into the Arms of Strangers, the intermezzo from Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Paul de Senneville's Marriage d'Amour. The ballet explored the conflict in the parents' minds and the pain of separation. Although she challenged her dancers her choreography was restrained and sombre - and as I have said before profoundly beautiful."

Cara is a fine teacher who is loved and respected by each and every one of her pupils - none more than me - but she is also a talented dance maker. I hope we shall see more from her.

Small Steps and other Pieces - Leeds CAT End of Term Show

Author Ben Btooksbank
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Northern School of Contemporary Dance and Academy of Northern Ballet, End of Year Show, Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre, Leeds, 25 June 2016

I have mentioned Cara O'Shea in this blog several times since I saw her class at the Northern Ballet and Phoenix Dance Theatre open day on 15 Feb 2014 (see Northern Ballet Open Day 18 Feb 2014). She is an inspiring teacher as I found out for myself a few days later when she taught our Over 55 class (see A Treat For Us Old Ladies 27 Feb 2014). We love Cara as we do all the teachers at Northern Ballet Academy and, in particular, our regular instructor, Annemarie Donoghue, but, on the very rare occasions that Annemarie can't take us, we are always delighted by Cara.

Cara's job title is Head of Lower Level Pre-Professional Programme which places her in charge of the younger pupils of the Academy of Northern Ballet. Occasionally she is asked to coach some of those pupils for ballets such as The Nutcracker where children have a role in the ballet.  When I reviewed Northern Ballet's performance of that ballet on 18 Dec 2015 in Northern's Nutcracker 19 Dec 2015 I wrote:

"there are some delightful touches that one does not see in every other production. There are the mime sequences where Clara recounts the battle with the mice to Drosselmeyer and later her dad and the children's pieces, particularly the little chap with his trumpet whom Gita named "man of the match". Cara O'Shea has to be congratulated for the work she did with the little ones for so often it is they who can make The Nutcracker."

Cara's contribution to the Academy and Company was acknowledged last week by Northern Ballet's Artistic Director, David Nixon, in a brief introduction to the Academy and Northern School of Contemporary Dance Centre for Advanced Training End of Year Show on the 25 June 2016. He mentioned in particular her ballet Small Steps which she had created for the Academy to commemorate the International Holocaust Memorial Day earlier this year (see Small Steps - Northern Ballet Academy's Commemoration of the Kindertransport 21 Jan 2016). I had missed it when it was first performed because it clashed with the live screening of the Bolshoi's performance of The Taming of the Shrew from Moscow. I got my chance last Saturday when it was performed as part of the Academy's end of year show.

Small Steps was a very beautiful work and I was profoundly moved by it for two reasons. The first is that the dancers were about the same age as the children who were sent abroad. They looked so bonny but also so lost and vulnerable. The second is that Cara chose very appropriate music - Arvo Pärt's Für Alina and Spiegel im Spiegel, Lee Holdridge's Into the Arms of Strangers, the intermezzo from Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana and Paul de Senneville's Marriage d'Amour.  The ballet explored the conflict in the parents' minds and the pain of separation.  Although she challenged her dancers her choreography was restrained and sombre - and as I have said before profoundly beautiful.

Although Small Steps was the high point of the afternoon it was not the only work of excellence. Cara worked with Yoko Ichino, the Academy's Associate Director and the company's Ballet Mistress on Greeting, the grande entree, and with Nixon and Ichino on the Finale. She also created Presentation to Johann Strauss's Napoleon March in which the girls displayed their mastery of technique with considerable grace and Knightsbridge, a bravura piece for the boys to Eric Coates's famous score.

Although the choreography was attributed (quite rightly) to Fokine I am pretty sure that Cara must have had something to do with the more senior students' performance of Chopiniana  (or Les Sylphides as it is called in the programme). It is a very beautiful but also very difficult ballet to perform well and not every professional company gets it right but Cara's girls and boy did and all credit to her and them.

There was excellent contemporary dance too.   I was particularly impressed by the NSCD's performance of Studio Wayne McGregor's Datum towards the end of the show but I admired all the works including Matthew Slater's Converge, Tim Casson's Connect, Holly Noble's Phonic and Gemma Harrison's Another Day. In his speech Nixon stressed the importance of contemporary dance in ballet training and vice versa. Leeds is lucky to have the NCDS and Academy in such close proximity.

As I explained in The Lowry CAT 27 Feb 2016 Centres of Advanced Training provide opportunities for pupils aged 10 to 18 who aspire to a career in dance. The programme was accompanied by a list of student destinations which included some of the top schools in the country - Elmhurst, Central, Ballet West, Royal Conservatory of Scotland and Northern Ballet School where Cara trained.  I am sure all my readers will join me in wishing those students well in their careers.

Small Steps - Northern Ballet Academy's Commemoration of the Kindertransport

Arrival of Jewish refugees, London

Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-S69279 / CC-BY-SA 3.0

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On Sunday the 24 Jan 2016 at 14:00 the Lord Mayor of Leeds will commemorate the Kindertransport, the rescue of nearly 10,000 mostly Jewish children from Nazi Germany and occupied territories immediately before the Second World War. Members and attenders of the Religious Society of Friends (whose faith I share) helped to promote and facilitate that effort by making representations to the government to relax immigration restrictions, fetching the children from their points of departure and accompanying them to England and providing homes and schools for the children upon their arrival (see Kindertransport on the Quaker website).  The history of the Quakers' contribution has been recorded on remember.org.

I mention the commemoration of the Kindertransport  because I learnt today in my Over 55 improvers' class at Northern Ballet Academy that Cara O'Shea has choreographed a short ballet called Small Steps for the Centre for Advanced Training students of our Academy which they will perform at the Town Hall. There will also be a speech by Nick Winton (the son of Sir Nicholas Winton who was particularly prominent in rescuing Czech children), a performance by the Clothworkers' Consort of Leeds, readings, lighting of candles and prayers by Rudi Leavor of Bradford Synagogue (see Leeds Town Hall Civic Remembrance Event on the City Council Website).

Readers of this blog will know that I have a very high regard for Cara O'Shea. It was she who trained the childen in The Nutcracker who helped to make the show for me (see Northern Nutcracker 19 Dec 2015). She first came to my attention when she was teaching the boys for the Northern Ballet Open Day on 18 Feb 2014 and a few days later I was lucky enough to be taught by her (see A Treat For Us Old Ladies 27 Feb 2014). She is also close to two other institutions for which I have enormous regard: the Northern Ballet School where she trained and the Chelmsford Ballet Company where she danced Aurora at age 15.

While the Kindertransport commemoration would be well worth supporting for its own sake a performance by some of our Academy's most promising students under the direction of one of their excellent teachers will make it particularly memorable.

Chelmsford prepares for The Sleeping Beauty

Cara O'Shea, one of Northern Ballet Academy's most popular teachers, danced Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty with Chelmsford Ballet when she was only 15. In March that role will be danced by Scarlett Mann. She danced the leading role enchantingly in last March's Pineapple Poll  (see Another Photo from Chelmsford's Pineapple Poll 3 April 2015). According to the company's blog she picked up some tips for dancing Aurora from Roberta Marquez herself (see Masterclass with Roberta Marquez 18 Nov 2015 Chelmsford Ballet Company Blog).

As you can see from the events diary there will be a lot of rehearsals over the next few weeks but also some fun. On Saturday 19 Dec 2015 the company will be taking part in "The biggest Christmas musical extravaganza in Essex!" at the Brentwood Centre,  As Essex is not known for doing anything by halves this should be quite an occasion. The dancers will perform excerpts from The Sleeping Beauty while the Hutton and Shenfield Choral Society will sing Once in Royal David's City, Sleigh Ride, Walking In The Air, Cowboy Carol, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Hark! The Herald and much more. Tickets cost £16 and may be booked on-line. Looking further ahead I see that the Hutton and Shenfield are singing Ein Deutsches Requiem. The Choral performed that a few years ago here in Huddersfield. It is a lovely work which I recommend.

On 29 Dec 2015 members of the company will travel up to town to see Gillian Lynne's Cats at the London Palladium.  This is one of the most popular shows in the West End and tickets are not easy to obtain. They have hired a coach and driver and have offered the whole package at a remarkably reasonable price. It sounds a lot of fun and if I lived closer to Chelmsford I would have joined them. I wish everyone in the party a very pleasant evening.

After CATS there are rehearsals and more rehearsals for The Sleeping Beauty before the show opens at the Civic Theatre on 16 March 2016. Tickets are on sale and can be booked on-line. Tickets cost between £12 and £16.50.

I should say that there is another Sleeping Beauty doing the rounds and that is Matthew Bourne's. The reason I mention that show is that Christopher Marney, Chelmsford Ballet Company's patron, is dancing in the show. I saw it in Bradford on 28 March 2013 and was very impressed by Marney's performance. He danced Prince Lilac. It was the first time that remarkable young talent had come to my attention and I have been following him ever since.  The production is touring the country between now and April with a long stunt in Sadler's Wells.

Looking forward to a great year at Chelmsford

Marion Pettet as Britannia, Pineapple Poll 2015

Photo Amelia Potter
Copyright Chelmsford Ballet Company 2015, All rights reserved

Reproduced with kind permission of the company

I am very proud to be an associate member of the Chelmsford Ballet Company. It is one of the oldest ballet companies in the United Kingdom and has launched the careers of some of the country's most talented artists and teachers. I travel half way across the country to attend its events and I have never been disappointed.

The reason I am thinking of that company today is that members' subs are due for renewal this month. Associates like me who have the excuse of distance to mask our lack of talent are asked to pay only £14, Dancing members have to pay £27 unless they are in full time education in which case they get a a £5 discount. That is hardly going to break anybody's bank.

A lot of activities are promised for the next 12 months.   A Sleeping Beauty workshop on the 27 September and company classes on the first Sunday of most months for dancing members. A Let's Make a Ballet workshop for students between the ages of 7 and 14 on the 18 Oct 2015. The AGM before the end of October. There is usually a Christmas concert in conjunction with the Brentwood Choral Society. And finally the piece de resistance which is the annual performance in The Chelmsford Civic Theatre,

This year the company will dance Petipa's The Sleeping Beauty, This is one of the most ambitious ballets that any company can undertake. It is probably the best known and best loved ballet in the modern repertoire, particularly in England where it will always be associated with the reopening of Covent Garden on 20 Feb 1946. The score is riddled with earworms and there are so many lovely dances. Not just the pas de deux of the Prince and Aurora but also such favourites as the Bluebird and Puss in Boots. The performance will take place between the 16 and 19 March 2016.

There is one important link with Northern Ballet. One of our most popular teachers Cara O'Shea danced Aurora in a previous production of The Sleeping Beauty. I was lucky enough to take one of her classes last year (see A Treat for us old Ladies 27 Feb 2014) and I saw how she coaxed every ounce of effort from her children's class at the Northern Ballet Open Day 15 Feb 2014.

I think we can all look forward to a great year at Chelmsford,

The Sleeping Beauty

Leon Bakst's costume design for  Carabossse

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In my review of Birmingham Royal Ballet's performance of The Sleeping Beauty in The Lowry on 27 Sept 2013 I wrote:

"Even though The Sleeping Beauty was premièred at St. Petersburg, its score was composed by Tchaikovsky and it was choreographed was by Petipa to Perrault's story, it is also a very English ballet. It was the work that reopened the Royal Opera House on the 20 Feb 1946 after the House had been used as a dance hall and furniture store (see "The History of the Royal Opera House" on the Royal Opera House website).

To understand the importance of The Sleeping Beauty in our social as well as our cultural history you have to know that it entered the repertoire of the Vic-Wells Ballet just before the Second World War. By all accounts the 1946 revival was a glittering occasion. It must have been one of the rare great nights of ballet to which I referred "In Leeds of all Places - Pavlova, Ashton and Magic" 18 Sept 2013. It was produced by Ninette de Valois, designed by Oliver Messel, Princess Aurora was danced by Margot Fonteyn and Petipa's choreography was supplemented by Frederick Ashton. There must have been a whiff of mothballs in the theatre as the audience had dusted off their pre-war dinner jackets, retrieved their best frocks and put on their jewellery for the first time after the Second World War. The analogy of that evening after years of war and rationing with Aurora's wedding after a century of hibernation must have been obvious and compelling."

It is a very special ballet which is why I am delighted to report that the Chelmsford Ballet Company (of which I am a proud non-dancing associate) will perform it at the Chelmsford Civic Theatre between 16 to 19 March 2016.

Although this company is made up largely of dancers who do not make their living from dance there is nothing amateurish about its performances (see The Nutcracker as it really should be danced - No Gimmicks but with Love and Joy 20 March 2014 and A Delight Indeed 22 March 2015). They have a resourceful and imaginative artistic director in Annette Potter, talented dancers several of whom are at first rate ballet schools, accomplished costume and set designers and makers, able technicians and an inspiring Chair in Marion Pettet who showed her flair as a character dancer in Pineapple Poll and Carnival of The Animals. Small wonder that their patrons are Christopher Marney, my favourite living British choreographer, and the great ballerina Doreen Wells.

I don't yet have any details of the performance. In particular, I don't know whether they have begun casting but I know who could dance the lilac role very well indeed. In my review of Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty in Bradford on 28 March 2013 I wrote:

"No Lilac Fairy though there was a Count Lilac powerfully danced by Christopher Marney"

Marney's dancing in that show was spectacular. I also seem to remember that Cara O'Shea, one of Northern Ballet Academy's most adored teachers (see Northern Ballet Open Day 18 Feb 2014 and A Treat For Us Old Ladies 27 Feb 2014), once danced Princess Aurora for the company. When I do get some information about Chelmsford's show I shall pass it in to you.

There's just one other thing about The Sleeping Beauty and that is the following passage from Wikipedia:

"Trademark controversy

The Walt Disney Company has registered a trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office, filed March 13, 2007, for the name "Princess Aurora" that covers production and distribution of motion picture films; production of television programs; production of sound and video recordings. Some suggest that this may limit the ability to perform this ballet, from which Disney acquired some of the music for its animated 1959 film Sleeping Beauty."

At first I thought it was a joke but I followed the link and found that the words PRINCESS AURORA have indeed been registered by Disney Enterprises Inc. with the US Patent and Trade Mark Office as a service mark for

"Production and distribution of motion picture films; production of television programs; production of sound and video recordings"

in class 41 on 17 Jan 2012 under registration number 4,088,154.

The scare seems to have originated in an article by Nikki Finke in Deadline Hollywood dayed 1 May 2009 entitled An Attempt To Stop The Disney Machine which began with the alarming words:

"I’m told that the Walt Disney Co is currently attempting to trademark the character name “Princess Aurora” for all media: stage, sound, film, TV, video, Internet, photographs, news. In short, everything except literature."

The article continued:

"The problem is that, if the Disney Company is successful, it will effectively control the legal right to all future performances of the ballet. The move also could sink any movie about the ballet or that uses a scene of the ballet in another movie."

There is, incidentally, a parallel registration for the words PRINCESS AURORA in relation to a wide range of goods and services here.

Disney's trade mark cannot be infringed by performing Petipa's ballet The Sleeping Ballet for all sorts of reasons. The intellectual assets that the Disney Corporation seeks to wish to protect is a range of goods and services about a number of princesses one of whom is called Aurora.  She seems to be a spin-off from the studio's well known 1959 animation. The other princesses, incidentally, include Cinderella, Pocahontas and Rapunzel. A ballet that is based exclusively on any of those characters might perhaps infringe some of Disney's IP rights (though not necessarily the trade mark) but that would be an altogether different matter.

If anybody is, however, troubled by the intellectual property issues relating to The Sleeping Beauty, do give me a shout. I will advise and represent you and keep you on the straight and narrow for free. I know of at least one patent and trade mark agent as well as a specialist solicitor who love ballet as much as I do who would probably do the same.

Post Script

I do have some more information about Chelmsford Ballet's production. The following notice appeared on its Facebook page:

The Company will present
  "The Sleeping Beauty "

March 2016

Do you or someone you know want to dance in this enchanting tale?

Company Auditions 21st June 2015

Only auditioned dancing members can dance in our annual productions.
Company auditions for new members and for upgrades for existing members are scheduled for Sunday 21st June.  Male applicants are especially welcome. Application forms are available to download from the website, or you can contact the membership secretary directly for more information. cbcenquiries@hotmail.com 
The closing date for applications to audition is the 7th June.
(Auditions for The Sleeping Beauty, open only to members, will take place in October 2015)

News from Chelmsford

Chelmsford Shire Hall

Source Wikipedia

I am very proud to be a non-dancing associate of the Chelmsford Ballet Company. As I noted in The Chelmsford Ballet  16 Dec 2013 it is one of the oldest ballet companies in the UK tracing its history to 1947 which is well before Festival, Scottish, Northern and just about everybody except Rambert and the London and Birmingham Royal Ballet companies. I saw a wonderful production of The Nutcracker in March. The company's patrons are my favourite living British choreographer Christopher Marney and one of my all time favourite dancers, Doreen Wells, or perhaps more properly The Marchioness of Londonderry.

I have just received the company's newsletter and they are in jubilant mood as well they might. They had an excellent run at The Chelmsford Civic Theatre when they danced to packed house at every performance. They can now look forward to dancing in their own Marney ballet between 18 and 21 March as well as John Cranko's Pineapple Poll. Before then they can look forward to the Lets Make a Ballet workshop for young dancers on 19 Oct 2014 and the annual Music for Christmas concert of the Hutton and Shenfield Choral Society at the Brentwood Centre on 20 Dec 2014.   I might also add that they have yet another treat from my part of the world in that Northern Ballet Academy's Cara O'Shea will take the next company class. I have been lucky enough to take a class with Cara and I learned a lot from her.

The company has just stated to market its own merchandise which includes ladies and gents' dance wear at very reasonable prices, I think I may get myself some of that.

Coming Down to Earth Gently

After Saturday's performance another member of the cast wrote:

"For me I was a little disappointed, it was a lovely moment dancing on that stage with such lovely people but it all ended so quickly, I almost felt robbed. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning and dancing that enchainement to “Return of the Maxim” with you and the other ladies of Northern ,,,,,,,,,,,,"

I know what she means. I also experienced a tinge of sadness as I scuttled off the stage after the reverence and mounted the stairs to the landing where we had left our clothes. But it was short lived for there were so many delights and diversions afterwards: flowers from Mel and another bunch yesterday from Vlad the Lad and his Mum and Dad yesterday, hugs from my friends and family, lovely texts, tweets and emails from all over the world (especially after Mel's review appeared), a scrumptious meal at the Wardrobe with Vlad the Lad, his Mum and Dad and Mel, the delight on Vlad's face when I presented him with Anna Kemp's "Dogs Don't Do Ballet", a house full of guests and a child's laughter and, perhaps best of all yesterday's 10th Anniversary CAT Gala at the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre,

The afternoon began with the thrill of meeting Kenneth Tindall who approached me as I was waiting for Mel in the foyer. I recognized him because I had seen him on stage many times but he seemed to know who I was for he greeted me very cordially. "How are you doing?" he asked "Were you dancing yesterday? How did you find it?" I told him that I enjoyed performing very much and that it was very different from a rehearsal even in the theatre. "Yes" he agreed. The thrill of being in the presence of an audience always raises one's performance and one never loses that thrill however often one performs.

Shortly afterwards we were led upstairs to one of the rehearsal studios where there were tables groaning with sandwiches, scones and dainty cakes.  Kenneth Tindall invited Mel to sit next to him on his table and I sat next to her. Also next to Tindall was Natalie Russell who was one of my favourite dancers and whose little boy Charlie made friends with Vlad the Lad while waiting to see our show. I was joined by Laraine Penson whom I had met at Northern Ballet's business breakfast on 23 Sept 2013 (see "The Things I do for my Art: Northern Ballet's Breakfast Meeting" 23 Sept 2013). Connexions of Matthew Topliss who had also danced at that event were on the other side of our table. Last but by no means least, Cara O'Shea sat with us for a little while. I can attest that she is a fine teacher for I have actually had the pleasure of attending one of her classes (see "A Treat For Us Old Ladies" 27 Feb 2014).

We were each offered a flute of champagne with which our table toasted the CAT and looked forward to the next 10 years. While we were tucking into our cakes and scones we were joined briefly by David Nixon (whom I had met briefly the day before on the landing after the show) and later the wonderful Yoko Ichino who sat on our table for a few minutes. It is always a thrill to meet a ballerina but Ichino is special. I must be one of the few people in England to have seen her dance in the USA and I remember her appearance to this day. I blurted out how much I loved her performance, a compliment that she had accepted with the utmost grace. But I had also seen Ichino in February (see "Northern Ballet Open Day" 16 Feb 2014) and it was the thrill of seeing her and Cara teach that prompted me to become a Friend of the Academy as well as the company.

After the meal we took our seats for the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre for the show. Passing the stage which was illuminated faintly by a gentle blue light I marvelled that I had actually danced there the day before. The show was introduced by David Nixon who outlined the history of the CAT programme. It began with students on the current programme and continued with some of its recent graduates who had returned as special guest performers. They were all outstanding and it would be unfair to single any of them out for special praise but I did like Courtney George very much indeed. She danced her solo with remarkable grace, power and speed.  Mel, who knows far more about dance than me, will write a proper review in due course. Each of the returning guests was presented with a big bouquet by one of the junior students which was a nice touch but an even nicer touch was a single Yorkshire white rose that was presented to each of the graduating students by Ichino herself.

The afternoon had been arranged by Hannah Bateman who is one of my favourite dancers at Northern Ballet. Here she is talking about the event. We all owe her a great debt of gratitude for a splendid day.

The Dance DID go on - Northern Ballet Academy Show 2014

On Saturday 28th June I was one of the few members of the public who was actually able to secure a ticket for the hotly anticipated 2014 Showing of the Northern Ballet Academy! The showing is a unique event, giving students from dinky toddlers to the 'silver swans' in the over 55s class a taster of professional performance in a purpose-built dance venue.

The programme kicked off with a lovely introduction from Academy teachers Jane Tucker and Cara O'Shea. Like Jane, I've often admired Cara's teaching style (I would watch the Saturday classes at Northern Ballet during downtime from Big Ballet filming, of which there would be a lot!) and her passion and love for teaching and her students really shone through in her introduction. Our attention was brought to a young CAT student at the Academy, Juliette Dumouchel, who due to an injury that kept her from dancing this year was asked to choreograph a piece for her peers to perform in the show. Entitled 'Chapter One', the piece was informed by Juliette's own experience of personal struggle and showed the nurturing power that can come from supportive communities. The piece had clarity, flow, momentum and moments of genuine feeling and it can safely be said that this young dance maker has a very bright future ahead of her.

The 16.00pm showing itself was a mixture of the aforementioned dinky toddlers, CAT students, Academy Associates, Jazz dancers and the Over -55s group (which was Jane's debut in a ballet performance). Within the younger members of the Academy I was particularly impressed with the presentation and delivery of Cara's CAT boys, the expansive port de bras of Fiona Beale's Ballet 3 group and the whole 'shebang' of Cara's Jazz dancers (who treated us to a very lively performance of 'Step in Time' complete with chimney sweep brushes!) 

But I wasn't there merely to admire the future generations of dancers, I was also there to watch a dear friend have the time of her life as she danced on the same stage that many of her favourite dancers had possessed before her. In the months leading up to this performance, Jane had increased the number of classes she was attending and even put herself through an hour's coaching session with yours truly to ensure that she was 100% ready for it. I'd known since being on stage with her during the presentation of our Dream Dance improvisation with Chantry Dance Company that whatever she danced she would bring the stage to life with her smile and her presence, but like all dancers she wanted to ensure that she was as well prepared for her debut as possible.I was a little nervous for her, only because so much was invested in the moment, but as soon as she burst from the wings with her arms gracefully held and her face open and expressive any trepidation I felt on her behalf melted away! 

The dance itself was beautifully choreographed by the Over-55s own teacher, Annemarie Donoghue, to a vibrant and triumphant Shostakovich waltz. With plenty of exits and entrances, that all the dancers handled with aplomb, the piece was exciting and energising to watch and beautifully delivered by the performers. Although there were some moments when gazes were dropped to the floor by some members of the group, Jane, Madeleine and Hilary had their projection down pat! I felt a genuine sense of triumph on Jane's behalf as she skillfully negotiated her way through that tricky 'balance, balance en tournant' section, never once dropping her radiant smile or losing the lift and expression through her port de bras. All too-quickly it was over, and as soon as my friends Jane and Madeleine had come on to the stage, they left with a cheeky dash of epaulement in the final pose (and to rapturous applause, might I add?!)

The showing closed with a surging finale from the members of the Academy's CAT programme, choreographed by Artistic Director David Nixon himself, Cara and the legendary Yoko Ichino (Associate Director of the Academy). With challenging pointework for the ladies, bravura allegro steps for the gentlemen and rushing, expressive port de bras for the CAT 'corps' this piece, set to music by Karl Czerny, really showed off these students to their best advantage. 

Throughout the showing I was continually impressed by how well rehearsed each group of performers were and just how much skill and aptitude for movement the Academy's dancers have (that includes you, Jane!) During their introductory speech Jane and Cara spoke of the key fundamentals of the Ichino Technique - strength, control, placement - and it was clear to me that each student attending a class at the Northern Ballet is developed in these areas. From the academic plies of Pre Ballet 1 through to the use of the floor by members of the Over-55's group, the Northern Ballet Academy really is developing dancers who can move and hold your attention.

A Treat For Us Old Ladies

In my post on Northern Ballet's open day on the 15 Feb 2014 I wrote how I had intended to spend an hour at Quarry Hill out of loyalty for Northern Ballet as a Friend of the Company but ended up spending the whole day there rooted to my seat watching a succession of brilliant teachers pass on their art to the students of the Northern Ballet Academy. One of those teachers was Cara O'Shea and I wrote:

"She is another wonderful teacher and again I could see that the kids were devoted to her. I would have loved to have been taught by her."

Well little did I suspect that less than 2 weeks after writing those words I would actually be taught by Cara.

Our usual teacher, Annemarie Donoghue, was unable to teach us today so Cara took us instead.  We were a large class with several new students at least one of whom I recognized from the taster class at the open day. We warmed up in the usual way walking, exercising our arms, skipping and jogging and finding our posture. There were some slight differences in the barre exercises but generally they followed very much the same pattern as Annemarie's class.

However we did learn some new things of which perhaps the most important was to imagine a story for each exercise and to act that story rather than just perform the exercise. Cara told us that she gets the kids to do that and a typical story is "I am imagining throwing a rotten tomato at my brother." Poor brother! However, the technique really worked for me. Having seen Ballet Black yesterday I visualized myself as Titania approaching Bottom in Arthur Pita's A Dream within a Midsummer Night's Dream. I concentrated on that instead of worrying about whether I was properly stacked and, you know what, I was able to balance when I lifted my back foot inro the air without even thinking about it.

We picked up lots of other useful tips such as imagining holding a mirror when doing the port de bras so that we would look into our hands as our arms unfurl and we had some real fun with the jumps though I must confess that I got a bit muddled  at that point.  The hour passed far too quickly and we left to the changing room chattering and giggling like teenagers.

I was very tempted to bunk off class today. really struggled to come in this morning. I had a really hard day in London before I went to Covent Garden with a meeting at Middlesex University and a drive into Central London to pick up a heavy banker's box of papers from chambers as well as helping some of the juniors in our IP team. I then went to see Ballet Black which was of course uplifting but anything but relaxing. A quick supper with my former ward who is the nearest I have to a daughter at the Masala Zone  And then the long trek North through umpteen roadworks and speed restrictons on the M1, howling gales and driving rain. I was utterly zonked by the time I made it back at 03:45 this morning.

But I am so glad I forced myself to make that effort.

After the class I texted a friend with a daughter in Cara's class at The Academy. She told me that her daughter adores Cara to which I replied "so did we." The years simply rolled away. We old ladies were young, energetic and happy today.