Ballet Retreat Revisited - Wendy McDermott's Experience

On 4 Oct 2016 Mary Howard kindly reported on the very first Ballet Retreat last August (see The Ballet Retreat 4 Oct 2016). Two more have taken place since then - one in London and the other in Leeds. Wendy McDermott, who attends the same classes as I do in Leeds and Manchester as well as Jane Tucker's intensive workshops at KNT, participated in the January Ballet Retreat on 14 and 15 Jan 2017. She has very kindly written this report.

"Anyone that follows my twitter account will perhaps remember that I wrote

Dear #ballet enthusiasts, miss #theballetretreat at your peril, and the chance to recreate your own expression of much loved ballets

— Wendy McDermott (@WendyMcDermott3) November 20, 2016

How right I was! I wrote that on the 20th November 2016, which was, at the time, the 2nd day of the London retreat, which I had missed myself! They were dancing Giselle solos, which, coincidentally, was the same date as Maya Plisetskaya’s birthday. But also coincidental because she’s my favourite ballerina in this role. (Marianela Núñez a close second. Anyhow, I digress).

The Leeds retreat was the third such event, produced by Hannah Bateman and David Paul Kierce, current and former dancers with Northern Ballet respectively. We were also lucky enough to be tutored, supported, and guided by Gavin McCaig, another professional dancer with Northern Ballet, so we were in good hands.

There remains a buzz of anticipation on the morning of the first day, as Mary Howard experienced and thus wrote for the previous retreat, only this time we went straight into warm up from 10am, instead of watching the Northern Ballet company class. This 20 minute warm up consisted of gentle, but thorough stretching to awaken the body ready for the day ahead. The lovely Hannah Bateman, current leading soloist with Northern Ballet and one of the Retreat’s producers, took us through the moves. I would have like to have done some dynamic stretching at the end but that’s just a personal preference.

A quick break followed for the usual necessities whilst the barres were being set up ready for the technique class (with company pianist) with David Paul Kierce. Readers; Dave is a force unto himself! Those of you who have taken the Thursday night beginner ballet class at Northern Ballet with Chris Hinton-Lewis and knows the energy, enthusiasm and fun he brings, will recognise the same, if not more, from David.

After lunch, provided by the Retreat, we went on to learning The Sleeping Beauty’s ‘Blue Bird’ variation, adjusted of course to suit our levels of ability but still to a technical standard to feel challenged. The men similarly separated to learn their variations.

The day ended with a really good stretch and cool down, instructed by Hannah.

Day two (and sadly the final day) took the same vein, culminating in performances from all dancers, in small groups of between four and six persons so everyone had more than enough space to spread their wings in the amazing Stanley and Audrey Burton Dance Theatre (incidentally, we had the same space for the whole two days; a luxury!) We all took thunderous applause after our solos, some taking a little longer for the reverence than others (moi , tu me dis? Pas du tout).

Judging by the dancers attending, it’s becoming a firm favourite with adult dancers from London and Yorkshire alike and will become a diary staple in the months to come. So to dancers young and not so young, male and female, I say to you, add this event to your dance diary as it is an event surely not to be missed."

WENDY McDERMOTT

Thank you, Wendy, for this great report. I am so glad that you enjoyed this Retreat. You weren't the only one. Mary also attended the January Retreat as did several of my other classmates. All spoke highly of Hannah and David.

Hannah and David have announced two more Retreats - one at Rambert's studios in London between 29 and 30 April and the other in Leeds from the 26  to 28 Aug 2017,

The Ballet Retreat

According to its website The Ballet Retreat is a joint venture between David Paul Kierce and Hannah Bateman to produce "two and three day, adult ballet courses, held at world class professional studios for dance enthusiasts, facilitated by industry experts." The first of those courses took place in Leeds last bank holiday weekend (27 to 29 Aug 2016) and was attended by Mary Howard who is a regular member of my adult ballet classes at Northern Ballet Academy in Leeds. I asked Mary to write about her experience and this is what she sent me:

"THE BALLET RETREAT AUGUST 27th 2016
Led by
Hannah Bateman and David Kierce

​There is a buzz of anticipation in the beautiful glass reception area of Northern Ballet's home in St Peters Square Leeds. It's the first day of our Ballet Retreat and everyone is anxious about how the day will progress. Hannah is calm and smiling behind her desk where we all sign in to accept our name badge and T-shirt. David is bouncing with energy and greets everyone with enthusiasm. ​I look around to determine how many other dancers are in my age group (over 60) there are a few which is good. There are also some male participants which is very good because they are a rare and welcome species.

Whilst we all mingle and chat over coffee, I start to feel much more relaxed. At 10:00 O'clock we watch the Northern Ballet Company at their training class in the main Burton theatre. This is amazing and very inspirational. At 11:45 we warm up with Hannah for half an hour. Beautiful relaxing exercises mostly on our Yoga mats. Now it's time for a Ballet Class in technique with David. This is very different to my usual  "0ver  55" class, and I love it. We have a wonderful pianist but David's voice carries well above the music so instructions are clear. He is very entertaining whilst also being firm in his requirements of our dancing. He misses nothing and occasionally stops to correct an arm position or foot that may be straying. After this we all welcome the delicious and plentiful buffet lunch laid on by the catering team.

After lunch there is a further one hour ballet class involving exercises carried out in the centre of the studio. Following this one hour of Classical Repertoire, Hannah joins us and we begin to learn the Aurora Variation from The Sleeping Beauty. This is the culmination of a fabulous day, the music and steps of the Variation are light and so expressive of a young girl who is presented for the first time at an adult ball. After cooling down and relaxation I float down to the station in a thunderstorm of hail but also an imaginary fluffy cloud.

Over the next two days the curriculum follows a similar pattern, except on Sunday afternoon there is a Surprise Taster Class of traditional Indian dancing which involves moves that are totally alien to classical ballet: no pointed toes and much stamping of the feet. In the Classical class's we progress the Aurora Variation to it's finale. This is very rewarding and I begin to feel the exhilaration of a performer!

On Monday afternoon David extends the seating area of the theatre and whilst most of the group are seated, five people at a time perform the Variation to thunderous applause from the "audience". I must say that our six male dancers who tackled a very energetic routine from Swan Lake received not only applause but whistles and shouts of extreme enthusiasm. They were magnificent.

We exited the theatre and after a delicious afternoon tea it was time to bid farewell to our new friends, many hugs, kisses and selfies were taken. Sadly the three days were over too quickly and how I would have loved to carry on for much longer. Maybe I will see you in a future Retreat?"

I am very grateful to Mary for this report. As I would have expected, the weekend seems to have been great fun. I have seen Hannah on stage many times and I admire her dancing very much indeed. She is one of my favourite dancers with Northern Ballet - indeed with any company. Having seen Akram Khan's remake of Giselle for English National Ballet last Tuesday I for one should like to learn more about Indian dance.

Hannah and David have announced two more retreats. One at Rambert's studios in London between the 19 and 20 Nov 2016 and the other at Northern Ballet's studios in Leeds between the 14 and 15 Jan 2017. The London retreat costs £199 and the Leeds retreat £279. Places may be booked through David and Hannah's website.