News from Ballet Black

 

In Ballet Black Takes York By Storm I recalled some of the great shows that Ballet Black had performed and added that none has impressed me more than their performance of Nina: By Whatever Means at York Theatre Royal on 23 June 2023. It will therefore come as no surprise that the ballet's choreographer Mthuthuzeli November and its leading lady Isabela Coracy are in the running for Black British Theatre Awards. More details about the Awards and how audiences can participate in the process are available on the BBTA Nominations Form.  The closing date for nominations is 1 Aug 2023.

Another bit of good news is that Ballet Black has recruited 4 new dancers.   I have no information about them other than that they come from Brazil, India, South Africa and the USA and that Ballet Black has appealed for accommodation for them.   When I do know who they are I shall ask the press spokesperson for their photos and bios and I shall write up about them here.

The accommodation that the company seeks is: "short term (a few months while they get settled) or for the length of a season (September to July). I thought the best place to start would be with our own mailing list! Are you able to help? If so, please could you get in touch with some details: 

• location (it needs to be in London, accessible for travelling to work in Marylebone each day)
• type of space: room, flat, house
• rent and any other charges
• are pets allowed? One dancer has two lovely cats!."

Talking of pets, Vlad the Lad (now a very self-assured young man excelling at sports, music and school work) loved Dogs Don't Do Ballet (see Woof  12 Oct 2014).  That show sparked in him a love of theatre which will stay with him forever.   I am sure that the work also inspired crowds of other children across the United Kingdom to appreciate dance and in some cases even study it.   I do hope the company will revive the ballet one day for another generation of children.  Of course, it will be hard to recast Madame Kanikova with her dancing, smiling eyes, the adorable Anna, her Obamaesque dad, Miss Polly with her hip flask and of course the star of the show, Bif the red setter.  Having said that, Chris Marney would find plenty of talent in Ballet Black's current membership.  They might interpret the roles quite differently,

Anyone with suitable accommodation that could be let to a dancer should contact Cassa Pancho and not me through the contact page of the company's website.

Great News About Madame Kanikova

Author BenP
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In Never Better: Ballet Black in Leeds 16 Oct 2016 I acclaimed the return of Jose Alves and Marie-Astrid Mence but noticed that somebody very important was missing:

"But where was Kanika? She has such expressive features and a delightful sense of humour. Vlad the Lad will be devastated if Madame Kanikova has gone for good. So, too, will his granny. If she has indeed left Ballet Black I send her my best wishers wherever she is. I hope to see her back on stage soon - but even if that is not possible I wish her well."

Well actually I was told what had happened to Kanika Carr.  On 7 July 2016 Cassa Pancho posted the following announcement on Facebook that I together with 126 other people "liked":

"Our special #ThrowbackThursday is dedicated to Senior Artist, Kanika Carr who is leaving BB to join the Dance Theater of Harlem!
Kanika joined Ballet Black after graduating from Central School of Ballet, and was one of our first ever apprentices. During her six years she has performed in many, many ballets and worked with some of the best choreographers around - too many to name here! Here are just a few of her best moments...
GO GET IT, NEEKS!! ♥"

I became a fan of DTH when they first came to London nearly 40 years ago. I was in the audience on the opening night of their first season at Covent Garden and saw them perform on several other trips. They are a wonderful company with a great heritage. Several of my favourite dancers have performed with them. I am delighted that Kanika is now among their number.

One of Kanika's many roles was Madame Kanikova, the ballerina in Dogs Don't Do Ballet who managed to jam her head in a French horn. My little grandson, Vlad the Lad, attended the premiere of that ballet in Harlow and was very concerned at the fate of that distinguished artiste (see Woof 12 Oct 2014). He was delighted to learn not only that Madame Kanikova managed to extricate herself from her incumbrance as you can see from the photo above but also that she is still dancing. True, she will be quite a long way away, but we both have something to save up for. One little boy went to bed very happy ..... as indeed will his granny.

In the meantime ..............

Author BGVPipe
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............. congratulations and all the best dear Kanika!

Cassa Pancho is coming to the London Ballet Circle

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Tomorrow at 19:30 Cassa Pancho, the London Ballet Circle's most recently appointed Vice-President will address members of the Circle and their quests at the Civil Service Club, 13-15 Great Scotland Yard, London, SW1A 2HJ. Cassa is, of course, the founder artistic director of Ballet Black and although I try hard not to have favourites when it comes to ballet and contemporary dance companies it is hard not to have  particularly soft spot for the company.

Tomorrow will not be the first time that I will have travelled long distances to see them. I have even sacrificed an all expenses paid trip to Paris to see them dance in Leeds. There are a few other companies for which I would do the same, such as Scottish Ballet, Ballet Cymru and, of course, the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company but I wouldn't do it for them all. No way José!

And talking of José , what better news to read in Ballet Black Friends Newsletter than that  José Alves and Marie Astrid Mence are about to rejoin the company. They are both fine artists and I admire them both. I first saw Marie Astrid as Anna in Dogs Don't Do Ballet (see Woof 12 Oct 2014) and I have been lucky enough to see her dance over the last few months with Phoenix which is another company I like a lot.

I have seen quite a lot of Ballet Black over the last few months: two performances of Dogs Don't Do Ballet in Sale (see As Fresh as Ever: Ballet Black's Dogs Don't Do Ballet in Sale 7 May 2016 and I never tire of Dogs Don't Do Ballet 8 May 2016), the triple bill at the Lowry (see Ballet Black made my Manchester Day 20 June 2016) and a special Friends' event (see Ballet Black's First Friends' Event: A Rehearsal with Chris Marney 14 July 2016). They are about to set off on their Autumn tour which will include Leeds and Doncaster (see Performances on Ballet Black's website). I for one will be in the audience for both shows.

What's on Tonight

The Coliseum

Author Mile Peel
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Want to see a ballet tonight?   Here's your choice:

Company	Theatre	Ballet	Availability	Review
Royal Ballet	Royal Opera House Covent Garden	Obsidian Tear/The Invitartion/Within the Golden Hour	Limited
Northern Ballet	Sadler’s Wells	1984	Very limited	12.09.2015 24.10.2015
Ballet Black	Fairfield Halls, Croydon	Dogs don’t do Ballet	Tight	12,10.2014 Don’t miss
Scottish Ballet	Festival Edinburgh	Swan Lake	Some availability
Ballet Theatre UK	Hertford Theatre	Pinocchio	Good

If I could get to London in time my recommendations would be the Royal Ballet's triple bill or Ballet Black's Dogs Don't Do Ballet.   If I were in Scotland I would make tracks for Edinburgh to see Swan Lake.

PS, How could I forget these dear people? Ballet Cymru are dancing Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs at the Blackwood Miners' Institute though I think they have sold out. If you can get there then go. Here's my review of last week's show. 

I never tire of Dogs Don't Do Ballet

Ballet Black's Dogs Don't Do Ballet seemed so fresh and new yesterday that I was convinced that there must be some new choreography (see As Fresh as Ever: Ballet Black's Dogs Don't Do Ballet in Sale 7 May 2016).

"No new choreography tweeted" Cassa Pancho.

"That's amazing" I thought, I tweeted back

Ah right. Then it is an even better work than I thought because I am still discovering new things about it. https://t.co/GipPZUPa1C

— Terpsichore (@jelterps) May 7, 2016

Cassa replied:

@jelterps but there is a lot of detail that you might miss with only one viewing

— Ballet Black (@BalletBlack) May 7, 2016

She was right, of course. Even though I hadn't intended seeing it twice in the same weekend I returned for a second viewing (fifth all told) at 11:00 today.

I was able to sit much closer to the stage today so I caught some of those details.

There was the toy dalmatian which Bif handed to Anna just before the storm when she dreamt about a real one and in the morning a real one - or as close to real as ballet can conjure - appeared.

I took a closer look at the poster on the wall of Anna's room. "Kanikova" it read and if I am not mistaken it was Kanika Carr dancing with Jacob Wye in the video.

I noticed the intricate choreography of the ballet class with the boys pirouetting while the girls did chaînés.

Though I loved Marie-Astrid's Anna, Sayaka is such a good actor that she brought whole new dimensions to the role. I particularly loved the kiss that Tutu snatched. Her expression changed from delight to embarrassment as it did for him. Tutu and Sayaka are so well matched.

So now Ballet Black's tour to Sale is over and the dancers may be on their way home. It was good to see them here and I look forward to their return next month with their triple bill.

Finally, it was Isabela Corcy's birthday today. I left her a card on behalf of Team Terpsichore - everyone who had ever contributed to Terpsichore namely David, Gita, Joanna, Mel and me. I have been one of her fans ever since I saw her dance the pas de deux from Diana and Actaeon on YouTube, a role that requires enormous grace as well as strength. I am sure that all my readers will join me in wishing her many happy returns of the day.

As Fresh as Ever: Ballet Black's Dogs Don't Do Ballet in Sale

Waterside Arts Centre

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Ballet Black, Dogs Don't Do Ballet, Waterside Arts Centre, Sale, 7 May 2016

I was charmed by Christopher Marney's Dogs Don't Do Ballet ever since I saw its first performance in Harlow on 11 Oct 2014 (see Woof 12 Oct 2014). I enjoyed it again when  I saw it twice in Leeds last year (see Not Just a Children's Ballet 19 April 2015 and Le chien mal gardé 21 April 2015), I wondered whether I would still like it as much as I crossed the Pennines on the way to the theatre.

The answer was an emphatic "yes". It was as fresh as ever. I am not sure whether that is because of new choreography or because I noticed things that I had missed before. It may be because of cast changes since I had last seen the show. Sayaka Ichikawa was a delightful Anna and Mthuthuzeli November brought his panache and style to the ballet. While I liked Marie-Astrid Mence and Christopher Renfurm well enough it is always good to see another interpretation.

Loosely based on Anna Kemp's children's story, the ballet is about a ballet mad little girl called Anna and her pet dog Bif danced by Cira Robinson. Anyone who has ever kept a dog will be amazed by Robinson's performance because she has every canine mannerism down to a tee.  Anna takes her dog to ballet class kept by the slightly ridiculous Miss Polly. Bif wants to join in the class and after a few faltering steps at the barre proves to be rather good at it. Her mistress encourages that interest and during the night a storm breaks out. As it is whining and shaking Anna comforts the dog and they both watch a scene from The Nutcracker. They fall asleep and Bif dreams of dancing a pas de deux with a handsome dalmatian. The next day the children meet in the park with their dogs where they come across their teacher fast asleep with a hip flask by her side. There is a hilarious scene where they make fun of her. Miss Polly wakes up suddenly by the dogs licking her face, In the last scene Anna's father produces two tickets to the ballet. The dog wants to come but. of course, dogs are not allowed.  Nevertheless Bif gets into the auditorium somehow which is just as well for when Madame Kanikova jams her head in a French horn Bif is ready to jump on stage and dance the principal role.

It may be my imagination but I think there has been some new choreography to show Bif's progress at ballet. When the children do the centre exercises in front of the mirror she shows that she can perform the adagio quite as well as any of them. The audience is treated to two delightful duets between Bif and the dalmatian and Bif with the male principal.

If it was Marney's intention to inspire it worked.  As I left the theatre one small child asked her mother when she could start ballet.  Alarmingly another, who could not be aged more than 7, was on pointe in trainers. Several other kids were practising port de bras.  

As a Mancunian it was good to see one of my favourite companies in my native city. Well, almost, for I was born in Didsbury just the other side of the Mersey. They are dancing again at the Waterside Arts Centre tomorrow at 11:00 and 14:00 and if you can get to see them you should. They are also coming back to our metropolis on the 19 June to dance their triple bill which David Murley reviewed at The Lowry.

Le chien mal gardé

Another great performance by @BalletBlack. This time I studied the detail of @chrismarney's choreography and @Cirabesque's dancing.
— Terpsichore (@jelterps) April 19, 2015

I have always admired Cira Robinson's dancing ever since I first saw her at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre nearly two years ago. I have seen her in a variety of roles, most recently in Mark Bruce's Second Coming where I wrote:

"There was a pas de deux to Elgar's Cello Concerto in E Minor which had me reaching or a tissue. Partly it was the memory of Jacqueline du Pré but mainly it was the fluidity and delicacy of Cira Robinson's dancing. She is a wonderful dancer. A true ballerina in the strict sense of the word. I exchanged a few words with her too after the show and she is as gracious off the stage as she is when dancing. There were some spectacular turns and jumps which must have been fun to dance, I suggested. "Yes, so dramatic and different from everything else we have dome before" came the reply."

Last Sunday, she danced a red setter and she was magnificent.

Anybody who has ever kept a dog knows how endearing they can be but also how exasperating. They love having their tummies rubbed.  Bif's pleasure was palpable as she was petted by his mistress Anna. But they have minds of their own. They will stand immovable nose down at something unmentionable despite the entreaties and the commands of their owners. Bif did that too.  They are so affectionate in the way they wake a recumbent human. Ripples of giggles as Bif jumped into the lap of the dozing ballet teacher or licked her awake. They have minds of their own. If they want to follow their young mistress to a ballet class or even to a ballet there is no stopping them. Everything about Robinson's performance reminded me of Tiger, the border terrier with which I shared the first 11 years of my life.

There was some real dancing too. With the dalmatian preening himself in the mirror and of course the final pas de deux in which Bif saved the show. Even the stern Miss Polly who had no time for dogs at the barre - especially dogs in tutus rose to her feet at the reverence.

Although today's article is an appreciation of Cira Robinson it falls on the birthday of one of Ballet Black's other stars, Damian Johnson. I am sure all my readers will join me in wishing him many happy returns of the day.

Not just a children's ballet

Seeing Chris Marney's Dogs don't do ballet for a second time made me realize that this was a ballet that is suitable for children and not just a children's ballet.  I was aware of that when I saw the opening of the show in Harlow last October:

"Though it was a children's ballet there was plenty to appeal to grown ups. For instance, the ballet teacher, Miss Polly, swigging from her hip flask and sleeping through her students' barre exercises. She was danced by Christopher Renfurm who has blossomed as a character dancer. He is a good Salvador Dali but a brilliant ballet teacher. Though I am glad to say that none of my ballet teachers is anything like Miss Polly, Renfurm fitted the popular stereotype of a ballet teacher to a tee. The expression of delight on Anna's face changing to embarrassment upon her first kiss was another moment to savour. Marie Astrid Mence, Ballet Black's latest recruit, was an adorable Anna. The study of canine behaviour by Cira Robinson - so familiar to anyone who has ever kept a dog - was yet another delight. There was Bif's whining, her friendly slathering over Miss Polly, the playfulness with which she toyed with a tutu and her pas de deux with a dalmatian. Just like a real dog ....."

(see Woof  12 Oct 2014),

Having just seen La Fille mal gardee  I was struck by the similarities in the two ballets. Both require a man to dress as a woman though Marney's Miss Polly is somewhat more sophisticated than Ashton's Simone. Both feature animals: dogs in the Marney and hens and a cockerel in the Ashton,  There was even an equivalent to the ribbon dance with the dog leashes.

Although I had intended to see this ballet with a guest there were some advantages of seeing it alone. The first time I saw Dogs don't do ballet I was with a three year old and as a result I saw it very much through the eyes of a child. The only music I could recall from October was Fauré's Dolly Suite and I think that is because I heard that same music every day on the Light Programme's Listen with Mother when I was three years old. Today I discovered that there is actually far more of Tchaikovsky in the score, both The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty as well as the Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture. So although it begins in the nursery with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star it leads into the classical ballet staples.

It was then that I began to appreciate the beauty of Marney's choreography. The same fluidity that I remember from War Letters and Two of a Kind.  That is why I find his work so satisfying.  It is a wonderful medium for his dancers, particularly Cira Robinson who remained in red setter suit with what must have been a stifling mask throughout the show whereas others got a chance to change, and Marie-Astrid Mence who was again quite charming as Little Anna. There is a magical scene in the ballet when Bif imagines the Dalmatian and they actually dance a little canine pas de deux to Tchaikovsky.

This time I also appreciated Mence's acting. She has the most expressive face conveying apprehension, embarrassment and delight. Her face was a picture when her dad, Damien Johnson, produced two tickets for The Sleeping Beauty. It was also a picture when received her first kiss - delight quickly turned to horror as she tried to wipe it away.

Having burrowed a little below the surface of this work today I expect to discover more about the work when I see it again tomorrow. If you have children then by all means bring them but you don't need children to enjoy this work.

Children's Favourites

This Easter weekend my home has been full of laughter as I have been entertaining Vlad the Lad and his mum and dad.

As I've said many times before Vlad likes ballet and he got more than a little this weekend. On Good Friday he watched Darcey's Ballerina Heroines bounding around my sitting room attempting grands jetés and tours en l'air. On Saturday he watched Ballet Theatre UK's Aladdin at The Atkinson in Southport. And yesterday I was even more excited than he was when I recognized Quarry Hill on Mr Tumble. "Ooh look Vlad" I squealed, "This is where you saw me dance when you last came to visit me" (see The Time of My Life 28 June 2015).

But Vlad's favourite ballet by a country mile is Ballet Black's Dogs Don't Do Ballet which he saw at Harlow on 11 Oct 2014 where he was also lucky enough to meet Chris Marney and Cassa Pancho (see Woof 12 Oct 2014). Ballet Black and their beautiful dancers are bringing that show to Leeds the weekend after next and North London on 22 May 2015.

Although Ballet Back come from London they are very much at home in Leeds as I noted the last time they paid us a visit (see Ballet Black at Home in Leeds 7 Nov 2014). One of the reasons for that is that Northern Ballet has grown an audience for ballet in Yorkshire and they start them off young. Northern Ballet is about to tour Yorkshire and the rest of the country with Elves and the Shoemaker. 

Vlad's first ballet was English National Ballet's My First Coppelia which he saw at The Peacock this time last year. This year I have promised to take him to My First Swan Lake.

Vlad's mum has seen a lot of ballet with me and my late spouse over the years and she loves it. Her husband has only seen a few but his favourite to date was Ballet Black's triple bill at the Linbury on 14 Feb 2015 which happened to coincide with my birthday. That was a great performance.  I don't think I have ever seen a better one from that company (see Ballet Black's Best Performance Yet 17 Feb 2015).

Catching them young

The combination of colour, drama, movement and music often set to a familiar fairy story can capture a child's imagination. Once captured the experience can lead to a lifetime's pleasure unless soured by compulsory ballet lessons on a Saturday morning in a draughty church hall.

In contrast to other children's media, ballet sends out some positive messages. It is the one art form in which women have always enjoyed at least equality with men. Great for the self-confidence of girls who may not want to dance on stage but have ambitions in other fields: see how ballet works for kids from a rough neighbourhood in Nairobi in What can be achieved by a good teacher 3 March 2013. Ballet also sends messages for boys in that women are to be cherished and respected - not insulted, molested or ravished. How a ballerina stands en pointe or turns on pirouette contains useful lessons on mechanics and mathematics for both genders. Getting kids moving in a studio instead of slouching in front of the telly or a tablet with a milkshake and burger would save the NHS billions. Perhaps most importantly of all ballet - unlike Disney animations - is palpably real. Dancers may do wonderful things with their leaps and turns but they are still human beings - in many cases just a few years older than their audience.

So how to get a young child hooked on all this positivity? The great Spanish educationalist St Ignatius de Loyola is reputed to have said "Give me a child to the age of 7 and I will show you the man". The problem with ballets like The Nutcracker and Cinderella is that they last too long for the under sevens. The answer is to choreograph a ballet for that age group and that is something that English National Ballet has done spectacularly well with its My First Ballet series. Last year it was Coppelia which I reviewed on 14 April 2014 and this year it is Swan Lake. Vlad the Lad who will be four in December and is the nearest I have to a grandson said it was "awesome" which is a big word for a three year old. He enjoyed the show so much that he even sat through a performance in which his real less-than-fairy-more-like-hippo-godmother had the time of her life in Leeds.

But Vlad was even more impressed by Chris Marney's Dogs Don't Do Ballet for Ballet Black and he actually had the pleasure of meeting Mr Marney as well as Cassa Pancho. She is the nearest he will ever get to meeting a fairy godmother in that she made possible the wonders that took place before his very eyes. Bless you Chris and Cassa and all your wonderful dancers, particularly Madame Kanikova whose predicament with the French horn was of real concern to Vlad.

So what else can children of Vlad's age see? My beloved Northern is touring the nation with elves and the shoemaker building on its success with Three Little Pigs and The Ugly Duckling.  Birmingham Royal Ballet is presenting First Steps: a child's Coppelia to kids in Edinburgh and Manchester in the Spring. Just across the North Sea Ernst Meisner's The Little Big Chest for the Dutch National Ballet seems to have been a runaway success in Amsterdam - easier to reach and cheaper to stay in than London for many of us in the UK. For slightly older children there is the Royal Ballet's The Mad Hatter's Tea Party and maybe Chantry Dance's The Happy Prince.

If I have time I will arrange a resource page of children's ballet's with reviews and information about prices, times and venues.

Post Script

22 Nov 2014   After watching The Happy Prince in Halifax on Thursday I ran into Paul Chantry and Rae Piper in the Square Chapel bar. I told them that I had enjoyed the show and would have loved to have taken Vlad the Lad to see it at the Wells but their performance would take place way after his bedtime. They replied that they intend to take the show into children's theatre in the next few months so I should be able to take him to see it. I will blog the dates, times and venues of those performances just as soon as I hear about them.

Also I have some good news for Northern kids. Cassa Pancho tweeted that Ballet Black are coming back to Leeds shortly with Dogs Don't Do Ballet so I shall let you all know when they are coming.

Woof

The day I danced in public I presented the nearest I have to a grandson with a copy of Anna Kemp's Dogs don't do Ballet. A few weeks earlier I had actually met the extraordinarily gifted young choreographer, Christopher Marney, and scolded myself for not thinking of asking him to sign that book because Cassa Pancho had told me that Ballet Black had commissioned Marney to base a ballet on that book a few weeks before the official announcement. Ironically I met two other choreographers, David Nixon and Kenneth Tindall, the day after I had performed and I could have asked either of them to sign something else for little Vladimir but it wouldn't have been the same. Anyway, yesterday the first performances of Dogs don't do ballet took place in Harlow and I was there with three year old Vlad to see the show.

The ballet is for children aged 3 or over so the acid test is: "what did a 3 year old child think of the show?" Well Vlad the Lad liked it.  In his short life he has seen no less than three ballets if you count the Northern Ballet Academy's end of term show (and I think you must because there were some good performances in that show which more than made up for my poor efforts) and he liked them all. But he particularly liked Dogs don't do Ballet for he sat through the whole 50 minutes quite entranced. He's an active boy and to hold his attention for all that time says a lot about the show. So guys, you passed the Vlad test.

So what did this 65 year old think of it?  I loved it. Though it was a children's ballet there was plenty to appeal to grown ups. For instance, the ballet teacher, Miss Polly, swigging from her hip flask and sleeping through her students' barre exercises.  She was danced by Christopher Renfurm who has blossomed as a character dancer. He is a good Slvador Dali but a brilliant ballet teacher. Though I am glad to say that none of my ballet teachers is anything like Miss Polly, Renfurm fitted the popular stereotype of a ballet teacher to a tee. The expression of delight on Anna's face changing to embarrassment upon her first kiss was another moment to savour. Marie Astrid Mence, Ballet Black's latest recruit, was an adorable Anna. The study of canine behaviour by Cira Robinson - so familiar to anyone who has ever kept a dog - was yet another delight. There was Bif's whining, her friendly slathering over Miss Polly, the playfulness with which she toyed with a tutu and her pas de deux with a dalmatian. Just like a real dog - in fact, just like Harvey*.

As I said in my appreciation of Christopher Marney the quality that distinguishes him from other choreographers is his remarkable sensitivity to music. This was reflected in the construction of the score - Ketèlbey, Baranowski, Strauss, plenty of Tchaikovsky and above all Fauré's Dolly Suite - and of course the interpretation of that score. The movements that he created were extraordinary - particularly those that required Robinson, Kanika Carr and José' Alves to dance on all fours. Also the barre exercises - the foundering "Kanikova" -  with a French horn over her head - and of course Bif's pas de deux. I was already quite a Marney fan before I saw that ballet and my admiration for his work is now even greater.

All the dancers seemed to have fun - Isabela Coracy as the coquettish Felicia with her poodle (Carr) and her pink mobile. Jacob Wye as the bashful TJ, Damian Johnson as the kindly dad - and it showed in their wit and exuberance.   Gary Harris's costumes - particularly Robinson's dog suit and Miss Polly's hats and shawls - were inspired. So, too, was James Lewis's set and of course David Plater's lighting.   I ought to say a word about the programme which was unusually cheap but also very informative and came with a set of crayons for colouring Bif in her tutu.  I now know which dancer keeps a pet and what it is. Although I have only met a few of them briefly on one occasion I feel I now know them.  I am looking forward to seeing them all in Leeds on 6 Nov 2014.

This show is moving on to Bournemouth on the 19 and Exeter on the 21 Oct and finally to Winchester on 29 Nov. If you live anywhere near those towns - or even if you don't - do go and see it.  Yesterday, Chris Marney's dad asked me how many miles I had driven for the show. The answer is 520 and the ballet was well worth every inch of the journey.

Post Script
I am starting a resource page on that company at Extra Special - Ballet Black at the Linbury 26 Feb 2014 27 Feb 2014

There are some lovely pictures of Dogs don't do Ballet on Ballet Black's Facebook page.

*The pet dog of one of my ballet teachers

My T-Shirt says it all

Yesterday I bought tickets for the 14:00 performance of Dogs don't do Ballet  in Harlow on the 11 Oct 2014 and Ballet Black's Mixed Bill in Leeds on the 6 Nov 2014. I have already seen the Mixed Bill in London, Southport and Nottingham and I love it - particularly Christopher Marney's Two of a Kind in which I see new layers every time - and this may be my last opportunity to see it for some time. Dogs don't do Ballet, also by Marney, is new. I've read Anna Kemp's book to my grandson manqué and neither he nor I can wait to see it on stage.

To celebrate the new production Ballet Black are running a photo competition. Members of the public are invited to send a photo of their dog (or cat, or hamster, or any pet!) doing ballet to Ballet Black! Woof! The winner will receive two tickets to the "Dogs Don't Do Ballet" performance of their choice, a signed "Dogs Don't Do Ballet" poster and a backstage visit to meet the cast.

I don't have a dog or other pet so I can't enter but I am going to the show anyway and have already met several members of the company briefly, They were as gracious off the stage (even though they must have been tired) as they are graceful on it.

Ballet Black has already posted pictures of some dogs and at least one cat to their Facebook page. The closing date for entries is 9 Oct 014.

"Stuck in the Mud" doesn't mean you're stuck

I came across Ballet Cymru's collaboration with Gloucestershire Dance while writing my review of Beauty and the Beast (see "Diolch yn Fawr - Ballet Cymru's Beauty and the Beast" 24 June 2014). Gloucester Dance (GDance) describes itself on its website as a "production and training company specialist in inclusive practice" which aims "to effect real change and to address barriers to participation in, and progress through, the arts sector".

The collaboration shown in the YouTube video above is called "Stuck in the Mud". As GDance says:

"Mud is sticky and mucky and icky. But it’s fun to jump in, play with, and grows and makes beautiful things."

There is certainly beauty in the dance that the two companies have created.  Ballet Cymru and GDance are bringing Stuck in the Mud to the Llandudno Arts Weekend on the 20 and 21 Sept and I hope to be there to see it for myself.

Stuck in the Mud is not the only inclusive dance project in the UK. I am proud to say that Northern Ballet has an accessible dance programme and it supported Big Ballet. As it said in its press release "The door is always open with Northern Ballet"

"The Company has been pioneering accessible ballet since it was founded nearly 45 years ago and works hard to ensure the joy of dance is available to everyone to experience."

 My collaborator Mel  danced in Big Ballet and she is perfecting her art. So inclusive ballet is worth supporting. And I speak as a 65 year old overweight badly coordinated transsexual woman who has the nerve to strut out onto the stage of the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre next Saturday.  If that is not an example of inclusive ballet I don't know what is. One that includes canines perhaps? Everyone knows that Dogs don't Do Ballet but perhaps Christopher Marney and Ballet Black know different.

Dogs Don't Do Ballet

"Dogs Don't Do Ballet" is a children's story book by Anna Kemp. Ballet Black has commissioned Christopher Marney to turn it into a ballet for children. Vlad the Lad, the nearest I have to a grandson, loves animals.  He, his mum and dad and I had a lovely time at Regents Park Zoo a few weeks ago. He also liked English National Ballet's My First Coppelia. I am sure that he and children everywhere will just love this new production.

I first learned of this new ballet in Southport when I met Cassa Pancho and several of her dancers on 22 May 2014 (see "What could be more thrilling than a Ride on a Roller Coaster? A performance by Ballet Black!" 23 May 2014). She mentioned it in confidence because the commission was embargoed. But on Monday Ballet Black lifted that embargo and it is now public knowledge.

Even if Vlad does not like this ballet I most certainly will.  I don't know what it is about Marney's work but for me it stands out. What do I know about ballet? Not a lot to be sure as I have only started adult ballet classes very recently; but I have seen a lot of performances over the decades. I know what I like and I like Marney. I also like Robinson, Johnson, Carr, Alves, Coracy and all the other beautiful dancers of Ballet Black several of whom I had the pleasure of meeting in Southport.