Sir Frederick Ashton created Birthday Offering to mark the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Ballet. I was reminded of Ashton's ballet yesterday when I attended Ballet Cymru's performance ofThe Sleeping Beautyat Theatr Clwyd in Mold for two reasons. First. Ballet Cymru is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Secondly, the show took place on the birthday of one of the dancers.
Ballet Cymru employs no more than a dozen dancers at any time, yet still manages to stage full-length productions. Last year, it presented Giselle which impressed me greatly (seeBallet Cymru's Giselle 3.0 14 June 2025). In previous years, I had been impressed by its Romeo a Juliet (see A Romeo and Juliet for our Times7 Nov 2016) and its Cinderella (see Ballet Cymru's Cinderella Second Time Round3 June 2018. Wherever possible, Ballet Cymru places its ballet in a Welsh setting, often introducing characters from the Mabinogion or Welsh folklore. The stage never seems empty because dancers fill more than one role, sometimes challenging gender stereotypes, as in last year's Giselle, where half the wilis were men.
Choreographers Darius James and Amy Doughty applied that formula to Perrault's tale with great success. Several members of the audience took to their feet at the curtain call while every solo or pas de deux was greeted with cheers and sustained clapping from the back of the stalls.
In accordance with tradition, the ballet consisted of a prologue and three acts. The prologue and Act 1 followed Perrault more or less, but Act 2 was quite different. The last Act was called a "Celebration" rather than a wedding, but it was very much the same idea.
James and Doughty introduced a new set of characters. The sleeping beauty was called Seren (which means "Star" in Welsh) rather than Aurora. Her parents were Modron (Protector of the Earth) and Gwilym, who is described simply as Seren's Dad. Aurora and her parents did not seem to be royalty, and Elen (Protector of Light), Gwydion (Protector of the Forest), Rhiannin (Protector of Animas) and Dyrnwyn (Protector of Fire) were no fairies. Arianrhod (protector of the Moon) performed more or less the same role as Carabosse. There was no lilac fairy, but Modron seemed to enjoy similar powers. There was one completely new character called Brân. He was Seren's childhood friend, and it was he who woke Seren from her slumbers.
Despite the different characters and changes to the story, I was glad to see that much of Petipa's choreography had been preserved. Even though there were no fairies, the Protectors danced something close to the fairy variations. Beth Meadway had taught those dances to Powerhouse Ballet when she was still with Ballet Cymru (see Sleeping Beauty Workshop19 March 2023). A variation of the rose adagio was performed in Act 1. There were still bluebirds in the Celebration even though their costumes were a different colour. The only significant absence was the white cat and Puss 'n Boots. Ballet Cymru has dancers who would enjoy that divertissement.
Gwenllian Davies danced Seren. I first saw her in Romeo a Juliet in 2016 and wrote:
"One of the reasons why I loved the show so much was Gwenllian Davies's remarkable performance as Juliet. Davies is in her first year with the company and this is her first job. Consequently, she is barely older than Shakespeare's Juliet. As I told her after the show, I have seen some of the world's greatest dancers in the role including Lynn Seymour and more recently Alina Cojocaru and Viktoria Tereshkina, but never have I seen a more convincing Juliet. Davies danced with passion and energy and, for a while, I saw in that talented young artist what Shakespeare must have imagined."
She never fails to delight, and she performed magnificently last night. She was partnered gallantly by Karmal Singh,who danced Brân. He is athletic and energetic and evidently trained in the Russian tradition. The other lead female role was Madron, which was danced by Isobel Holland. In many ways this was an even more demanding role than Seren's because Modron combines both mother and Lilac Fairy. She danced that role with flair and grace. Mika George Evans, who danced Arianrhod, also impressed me. She is an accomplished character dancer, and I look forward to seeing her in other character roles. I also commend Jacob Hornsey, who danced Gwilym, Maya Roueche, who danced Elen, Joe Burdett, who danced Gwydion, Siân James, who danced Rhiannon and Oliver Bocero, who danced Dyrnwyn.
Credit is also due to Chris Illingworth for his lighting designs, Frank Duffy for his projected images and Angharad Spenncer for Seren's costumes. Other sets and costumes seem to have been designed by members of the company.
Before the show, the audience was treated to a curtain raiser by the students of Ysgol Ty Ffynnon. They are part of the Duets programme, which introduces dance to children throughout Wales, particularly those in inner cities and rural areas who might otherwise not experience it. This is a two-year programme, and I was impressed by the skills that the students had acquired since I last saw them. After their show, the students were conducted to the back of the stalls where they formed the liveliest and most enthusiastic section of the audience.
Wales has a very distinct folk dance tradition as Ameer discovered in this Hansh video for S4C, There is a very broad foundation on which to build a dancing nation.
I described Darius James and Amy Doughty's new production in Ballet Cymru's Giselle 3.0and The Days I went to Bangor - Ballet Cymru's Relaxed Performances. James and Doughty have stripped Giselle to its essentials, emphasising its drama in much the same way as David Dawson did with Scottish Ballet's Swan Lake (see Empire Blanc: Dawson's Swan Lake, 4 June 2016).That places a lot of responsibility on the virtuosity and storytelling capabilities of the artists who dance the three principal characters, Giselle, Albrecht and Myrtha. Happily, Gwenllian Davies, Kamal Singh and Jakob Myers were more than equal to the challenge, and they were supported brilliantly by the rest of the cast. The result was an exciting but also very polished performance.
Yesterday, the title role was danced by Gwenllian Davies. I first saw her in Romeo a Juliet in 2016 and wrote:
"One of the reasons why I loved the show so much was Gwenllian Davies's remarkable performance as Juliet. Davies is in her first year with the company and this is her first job. Consequently, she is barely older than Shakespeare's Juliet. As I told her after the show, I have seen some of the world's greatest dancers in the role including Lynn Seymour and more recently Alina Cojocaru and Viktoria Tereshkina, but never have I seen a more convincing Juliet. Davies danced with passion and energy and, for a while, I Slovak saw in that talented young artist what Shakespeare must have imagined."
Since then, Davies has danced with the Opera Baltic Ballet in Gdansk, where she performed Giselle as well as the Sugar Plum Fairy, Clara and the offering in The Rite of Spring. Her performance as Giselle impressed me even more than her performance as Juliet.
It comes as no surprise to learn that Singh attended the Vaganova's Russian masters' programme in 2019 because he dances like a Russian. He showed enormous strength and achieved great elevation - virtuosity tempered with consummate grace. One of the tests of a male dancer is the degree to which he enables his partner to shine. In that respect, Singh was a perfect partner for Davies. Singh is also an accomplished dance actor, projecting all the emotions from arrogance to repentance.
The queen of the wilis is one of the great female roles. Until yesterday, I would have regarded the idea of a male Myrtha as absurd. Yet Jakob Myers somehow made it work. Not only that, he injected another level of horror into that role. In a romantic tutu, he appeared as something unnatural - indeed diabolical. Myers is also a virtuoso, and I had been impressed with his performance as Albrecht in Bangor. Yesterday he gave me the creeps, which I believe to have been his and the choreographers' intention.
Everyone in the cast danced well, particularly Isobel Holland in the peasant pas de deux and Sanea Singh as one of Giselle's friends in Act 1. Holland is also an artist I have followed for a long time and I am now a fan of Sabea Singh.
The ballet was danced to Adolphe Adam's score recorded by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Andrew Mogrelia. The sets and costumes were designed by Darius James, and the lighting by Chris Illingworth.
The evening began with a performance of a dance routine by schoolchildren from Ysgol Tŷ Ffynnon in Shotton called Finding Peace. Accompanying programme notes stated that the dancers would explore the vast emotions that Giselle experienced from love and happiness to anger and devastation. They would take the audience on a journey of trust, heartbreak and betrayal to eventual peace. Their performance was offered under the Duets scheme, which I mentioned in my review of Ballet Cymru's performance in Bangor. As I said in that article, it is a project that deserves the widest possible support.
This was the first time that I had visited Theatr Clwyd since its extensive renovation. It is a very impressive undertaking. It is not completely finished. For example, a new restaurant to be run by Bryn Williams is expected to open later in the year. As it was not available yesterday, a friend and I visited a very good gastro pub just a few hundred yards from the theatre called Glasfryn. Although the traditional industries of Northeast Wales were mining, steel making and heavy industry, there is also some spectacularly beautiful countryside with a lot of historic buildings and archaeological sites to visit. Yesterday we visited Chirk Castle, which is just over 20 miles from Mold. Other places in the neighbourhood that are worth visiting are Flint Castle, Erddig Hall and the city of Chester.
I noticed a few changes in the show since 2018. A different group of children seem to have been asked about their experience and expectations of Christmas or, in the case of one child, Eid. There seem to have been a new set of projections. Also, there is an almost entirely new cast. Robbie Moorcroft, Beth Meadway and Isobel Holland are the only dancers who performed in the 2018 show. One thing that has not changed is the mellifluous voice of Cerys Matthews, The laughter in her voice as she mimics the dialogue of kids fantasizing as to how they would deal with a hippopotamus in their street never fails to induce giggles. I used to associate Dylan Thomas with Richard Burton, Now I associate him with Matthews.
Ballet Cymru paired A Child's Christmas with Terms and Conditions, new work by Marcus Jarrell Willis. Marcus is an American who spent 8 years with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. As one who makes a living from drafting and construing terms and conditions, I was bemused by the title. I could not envisage how contract terms could possibly be spun into a 40-minute ballet. The answer is that these terms and conditions are about the negotiations that humans enter when experiencing love. Several aspects of love were explored, Each topic was introduced by the projection of a typewriter typing words on a screen punctuated occasionally by a voiceover. I will have to see the piece at least one more time in order to understand it properly but it seemed to work.
Before the main show, we were treated to a performance of Snow Day by pupils of Llanllyfni Primary School who had taken part in the Duets programme. This is an initiative by the Arts Council of Wales, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation and regional community dance organizations to introduce dance to schoolchildren in inner city and rural communities throughout Wales. It is important work. At the very least it should generate an informed audience for the performing arts, For a few highly talented children it may be the first step of a career in the theatre.
I have seen Ballet Cymru four times this year, They have performed in very different venues: a medieval cathedral, a university arts centre, a municipal theatre and the studios of two major dance companies. Audiences in those venues will have had different experiences of dance but there was no difference in the warmth of the reception. The company has had a good year and it can look forward to the future with confidence.
The dancers in this film are students at Moorland Primary School in Cardiff and Ysgol Ty Ffynnon on Deeside. They participated in Ballet Cymru's DUETS programme. DUETS stands for "Delivering Unique and Exciting Training Strands". It is a collaboration between Ballet Cymru, theatres, schools and community dance groups across Wales to bring ballet to children who would not otherwise have an opportunity to learn it.
"Wales has a strong dance tradition as you can see from this grasshopper dance but it does not yet have a national ballet school or comprehensive nationwide facilities for developing balletic talen. There are good ballet teachers in the main towns and cities but most of Wales is rural. Ballet Cymru's Duets Programme goes some way to filling that lacuna."
Before Giselle, children on the DUETS programme demonstrated what they had learnt in a very short time which earned them considerable applause from the Riverview Theatre audience.
Some of the children from Llanllyfni, Cardiff or Deeside may be inspired to become performers or teachers but most will not. However, their lives will be enriched by dance which is why DUETS is important.
"We are a ballet company who like to do things a bit differently. We enjoy finding new ways to make what we do exciting, innovative and relevant."
Nothing exemplifies that better than their new Giselle which was premiered at Lichfield cathedral and online on 8 July 2021 (see Giselle Reimagined9 July 2021). They are a small but important company which spends much of its time on the road. Many of their venues are small auditoriums with limited ranges of stage equipment. Ballet Cymru's artistic directors, Darius James and Amy Doughty, have taken the essentials of some of the world's great ballets and refashioned them for a small cast that is constantly travelling before audiences that may not see a lot of ballet. They succeeded spectacularly with their Cinderella and Romeo a Juliet. Their Giselle is a similar success.
Making such adaptations often requires adjustments to the libretto, characters and score. For example, the mesmeric effect of rank upon rank of artists in white romantic tutus approaching each other in arabesque as the music reaches a crescendo is difficult to achieve with a small cast on a tiny stage playing recorded music. Moreover, most modern audiences are unfamiliar with Rhineland folk tales about forest maidens who die before their wedding day. Most of us have seen or at least heard of horror movies about the undead who crawl out of their tombs at night. That is why there were zombies crawling about the stage instead of wilis en pointe in Act II.
If you replace wilis with zombies you probably need a new score. James and Doughty commissioned Catrin Finch to adapt Adam's music. Finch had previously contributed the music for Celtic Concerto and The Light Princess and it was through those works that I first learned about her. I have started to explore her other work. I was lucky enough to meet her at a reception at the Riverfront Theatre after the show. I hope to write more about her work in this publication later. Finch kept important parts of Adam's score such as the overture to Acts I and II and passages from the made scene but the greater part of the work was her own. Some of it was very dramatic such as the percussion to indicate a heartbeat.
Apart from substituting zombies for wilis, James and Doughty kept the story more or less intact. It unfolds with great clarity. In keeping with their mission to make everything they do exciting, innovative and relevant James and Doughty set the ballet in contemporary Wales rather than the medieval Rhineland. As there are not too many lords of the manor in Brexit Britain, Albrecht is no longer a noble, Merely a married man playing the field away from home. He does not carry a sword but he does keep something in his wallet that enables Hilarion to denounce him. The main character changes are the introduction of male as well as female zombies and Cerys, a besty for Giselle instead of an over solicitous mum,
I have now seen the ballet three times - once on-screen on 8 July, once live at the Stanley and Audrey Burton in Leeds on 4 Nov and again live in Newport on 6 Nov. Each performance was a different experience. The company danced well in Lichfield and Leeds and must have made a lot of friends in both places but their performance in Newport before their home turf was of a different order of magnitude. After a performance of TIR some years ago, their patron Cerys Matthews described them as "the pride of Newport and the pride of Wales". She won a peel of polite applause for that remark. On Saturday, it was palpable. The crowd in the Riverfront have learnt to appreciate ballet and taken their home company to their hearts. Just like the crowd in the Grand has adopted Nothern and the Hippodrome BRB. Ballet Cymru has put down roots that may one day blossom into a mighty national company with its own school.
The cast was the same in all three shows. Beth Meadway danced Giselle with grace and poise. It was as if she was born for that role. Tall with an expressive countenance, there were instances when she was on pointe in Act II that reminded me of the lithographs of Grisi. Andrea Battagia is a powerful athletic dancer but he is also a fine dance actor capable of expressing the subtleties of Albrecht's personality and his many emotions. Isobel Holland, one of the most pleasant individuals one could ever hope to meet in real life, was a convincing personification of decay and evil as the lead female zombie. So, too, was Robbie Moorcroft - again congeniality itself in real life - who created the new role of lead male zombie. Two newcomers to the company impressed me particularly: Yasset Roldan as Hilarion and Hanna Lyn Hughes as Cerys. I shall follow their careers with great interest. All the members of the company danced well in all three performances and I offer all of them my congratulations.
James designed the sets and video projections. These were ingenious and set each of the scenes effectively. I particularly admired the churchyard scene just before dawn. Ballet Cymru relies heavily on such projections but these were particularly good. The opening scene of an ECG flashed onto the gauze together with the percussion and the cast's jumping like cardiac muscles warned the audience at the start that Giselle had a weak heart. James's designs were accompanied by skilful lighting design by Chris Illingworth and the imaginative costumes of Deryn Tudor.
Wales has a strong dance tradition as you can see from this grasshopper dance but it does not yet have a national ballet school or comprehensive nationwide facilities for developing balletic talent. There are good ballet teachers in the main towns and cities but most of Wales is rural. Ballet Cymru's Duets Programme goes some way to filling that lacuna. Before Saturday's show, several young local schoolchildren on that programme presented a short demonstration of what they had learnt in a very short time. They drew rapturous applause after which most of them watched Giselle in the row in front of me. Ballet Cymru's investment in its nation's youth will create, at the very least, an eager and informed audience for dance and possibly even some of the next generation of the world's principals.
