Northern Ballet's Romeo and Juliet at the Playhouse

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Northern Ballet will perform Christopher Gable's Romeo and Juliet at Leeds Playhouse between 18 and 21 Jun 2025.  In my article on the Royal Ballet's rehearsal of Romeo and Juliet, I wrote that I had never seen a better Romeo than Gable though others have come close (see Attending My First Friends' Rehearsal 31 May 2025).  As I also wrote in A Christmas Carol - A Reflection of a Golden Age on 19 Jan 2025, it was Gable who led me to Northern Ballet Theatre nearly 40 years ago when I saw him in A Simple Man.  When he became the Artistic Director of Northern Ballet, Gable directed and devised a production of Romeo and Juliet for Northern Ballet in 1992.  As Federico Bonelli acknowledged in his interview with Dominique Larose, that production is special to Northern Ballet and its audiences.

I last saw that production in Sheffield in 2024 and I reviewed it in Moriconi and Gable's Romeo and Juliet on 5 Apr 2024.  As regards the title of my review, I should explain that Massimo Moriconi was the choreographer whom Gable appointed to create his Romeo and Juliet.  There is one important difference between the show that I reviewed and next week's performances in Leeds.  The music for next week's shows will be recorded.   According to Northern Ballet's website, the recording was made by the Orchestra of the Slovak National Theatre led by Mario Kosik which is probably the next best thing to live music.  Everything else seems to be the same.

In his interview with Larose, Bonelli referred to the many other versions of Romeo and Juliet that he had danced.   One of the versions with which he may well be familiar is Rudi van Dantzig's for the Dutch National Ballet, as he danced for that company before coming to the Royal Ballet.  I have not yet seen that production, but van Dantzig's choreography with designs by Toer van Schayk and an orchestra conducted by Koen Kessels is likely to be exceptional.  Romeo and Juliet will be performed at the Music Theatre (aka the Stopera) from 14 Oct to 11 Nov 2025.  It is perfectly possible to fly to Amsterdam, watch a matinee and return the same day.

While I am delighted to see Gable and Moriconi's Romeo and Juliet again, Northern Ballet also has a version by Jean-Christophe Maillot which I hope they will continue to perform.   As I said in one of my reviews of that work, it is different but in a good way.

Dutch National Ballet's "Giselle" in the Cinema

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Dutch National Ballet Giselle UK screening 21 Jan 2024  14:00

We do not get to see enough of the Dutch National Ballet in this country which is a shame for many reasons. It is one of the world's great companies and it is the company outside the Anglosphere that is most similar to the Royal Ballet and the Birmingham Royal Ballet.  There are many links between the National Ballet and the two Royal Ballet companies  For example, Northern Ballet's new Director, Federico Bonelli, danced with the National Ballet between 1996 and 2003 and the Junior Company's Artistic Director, Ernst Meisner, trained at the Royal Ballet School and danced with the Royal Ballet for many years.  The links between the companies go back to at least 1940.  The Sadler's Wells Ballet was touring the Netherlands when it was invaded by enemy forces.

Yesterday's screening of Rachel Beaujean and Ricardo Bustamente's Giselle in the United Kingdom enabled British balletgoers who did not already know the company to see just how good it is.   The lead roles were danced by former Bolshoi principals Olga Smirnova and Jacopo Tissi, This was the first time that I had seen them.  Both impressed me considerably with their virtuosity. Smirnova's Giselle reminded me strongly of Osipova's, particularly in the scene when she is summoned from the tomb by Myrtha where she rotates with the speed and energy of a Catherine wheel.

Giorgi Potskhishvili was possibly the best Hilarion that I have ever seen.  His passion was palpable.  In this production, he pulls a knife on Albrecht which causes Albrecht to reach for where his sword should have been.  I had never seen that detail before and it explains a lot.  At a pre-performance talk when I saw the ballet in  Heerlen I put it to Beaujean that Hilarion had a rather raw deal in the story (see "Mooie!" 16 Nov 2018). "He may have been jealous, even a bit stupid," I argued, "but he was not the one to deceive two women. Did he really deserve to die?"  I don't think I would have asked that question had I seen Potskhishvili's performance then.

Myrthe was danced by Floortje Eimers whose career I have followed closely for the last 10 years.  Although it is not regarded as the leading female role I have often thought that it makes or breaks the ballet because it is Myrthe rather than Giselle who dominates the second act.  Eimers danced the role well and the second act was gripping.  Particularly the last scene before the bell struck when Tissi lay exhausted on the floor.

There were many other commendable performances but as the programme listed only the four leading roles, I can't remember exactly who danced what,  The only one I can remember is Sho Yamada in the Peasant Pas de Quatre.   The other three who danced with him merit congratulations but while I remember their faces I cannot remember their names,  Similarly, I should commend those who danced Moyna and Zulma.

One of the reasons why this production is so impressive is that the sets and costumes were designed by Toer van Schayk.  His name was not on the cinema programmes but it should have been because van Schayk is a genius.  He is as distinguished as a painter and sculptor as he is as a dancer and choreographer.  He has designed the sets for many shows of all kinds.   Often a set is lost on camera.  In this film, the high peaks and meandering valley in the first act and the mysterious and menacing forest in the second were captured faithfully,

The ballet was filmed by Pathé Live which used to present the Bolshoi.  I tended to prefer Pathé's transmissions to the Royal Opera House's largely because of the skills of its presenter, Katerina Novikova.  She could switch effortlessly from one language to another and she charmed her interviewees with her smile.  She never used an interpreter and translated their replies as soon as her interviewees stopped speaking.  Pathé did not introduce Giselle and there was no interval.   Instead, the ballet started promptly at 14:30 and continued without a break until the reverence.

That was a missed opportunity.  The company is used to giving pre-performance talks when on tour or in Amsterdam as I mentioned above.   I usually learn something new about a ballet even though the talks are given in Dutch.   The company always gives a good account of itself on World Ballet Day.   I would have enjoyed short interviews with Beaujean about the choreography, van Schayk about his designs and Smirnova, Tissi and Eimers on their characters.  

Giselle may be a very short ballet but it is too long to appreciate in one sitting.   The contrast between acts one and two also requires some time for adjustment.  In the theatre, the audience would have at least 20 minutes to grab a coffee, visit the loo, read the programme, purchase an Igone de Jongh or Michaela de Prince tee-shirt or some other merchandise and chat about the performance.  Cinema audiences need that break too especially if it is their first experience of ballet.   If the Dutch National Ballet ever contemplates another  screening I hope it will include breaks and interviews with the artists and creatives,

Northern Ballet's "Sketches"

Edgar Degas, Little Dancer

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Northern Ballet Sketches Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre, Leeds 5 May 2023 19:30

One of the highlights of my coronation bank holiday weekend turned out to be Northern Ballet's choreographic showcase Sketches at the Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre on 5 May 2023.  Six of the company's dancers presented short ballets that they had created.  There was also a work by Jamaal Burkmar and a screening of an extract from Every Little Thing is a Change.  The reason why that show turned out to be one of the highlights of my weekend was not that I was underwhelmed by events in London.  It was because the show had exceeded my expectations.   I had attended choreographic workshops by Northern Ballet before which were good as far as they went.   Sketches was so much better.

The evening began with an introduction by Federico Bonelli.  He explained that this was an opportunity for the company's dancers to try their hand at choreography.  For several of them, it had been their first opportunity to do so.  He said he would present each of the choreographers to the audience and invite them to describe their works.  He asked us to bear in mind that some of the works were unfinished.  He added that the dancers had been mentored by three established choreographers: Northern Ballet's own Kenneth Tindall, Sharon Watson, Principal of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and former Artistic Director of Phoenix Dance Company and Mthuthuzeli November of Ballet Black.

The first of the company's choreographers was Gavin McCaig.  Readers of this blog will know that I have followed that dancer's progress with interest ever since he joined the company.  I interviewed him in Meet Gavin McCaig of Northern Ballet on 3 Sept 2014 and he was my first guest at The Stage Door during lockdown (see Gavin McCaig in Conversation with his Friends 4 May 2020.  McCaig offered us A Trio of Sketches: a solo for George Liang, a work for an ensemble and a duet for Liang and Julie Nunès which I believe he said he will expand into a pas de deux,  He added that the last of those works had been commissioned by Elmhurst Ballet School for its 100th-anniversary celebrations.  The dancers for his group work were Nunes, Rachael Gillespie, Dominique Larose, Kaho Masumoto, Harriet Marden, Aerys Merrill, Alessia Petrosino, Aurora Piccininnim, Sena Kitano, Bruno Serraclara, Andrew Tomlinson, Antoni Cañellas Artigues, Harry Skoupas, Stefano Varalta and Mackenzie Jacob.

This was not the first time that I had seen McCaig's work.  I had been impressed the last time I had seen his choreography which was before the pandemic.  This time I marvelled at how far his style had developed and matured. McCaig is still a young man with many years on stage ahead of him but I have no doubt that he will have an equally impressive career as a choreographer.

Katherine Lee created Sweet Rain for Filippo Di Vilio, Kaho Masumoto, Archie Sherman, Gemma Coutts and Sean Bates to the music of Beach House.  In the programme notes, Lee stated that the dancers invoke the music to express something about despair and hope.

Bruno Serraclara presented Starlit Minds. That consisted of a solo for Andrew Tomlinson and a group piece for a group consisting of  Tomlinson, Artiguesm, Sherman, Skoupas, Jun Ishii, Varalta, Jacob, Petrosino and Harris Beattie.  In the programme, Serraclara wrote that bad times are golden because they lead to better things and that receiving empathy and support from strangers can  transform our moodes.  

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Expressions (Norhern Baller's inclusive dance festival) and also to give the dancers a rest, Bonelli introduced  Every Little Thing is a Change.  One of the few positives from the pandemic has been the blossoming of the dance film as a new art form.   Directed by Ben Wright the film is a collaboration between dancers from Northern Ballet and dancers on the company's Ability course.   From the snippet that we saw, the  project seems to have worked well.  I look forward to watching and reviewing the complete work,

Filippo Di Vilio presented Us, a piece for Sherman, Beattie, Nunès, Coutts and Jackson Dwyer. In his programme notes, de Vilio explained that his work did not necessarily have a  story and that the audience should make their own interpretations.  The movements of his dancers represented everyday experiences in life, some good and others not so good.

Burkmar is a Leeds based choreographer who trained at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance.  While still a student he created Ocean for which he received an award.  On 8 Sept 2015 he won the New Adventures Choreographic Award from New Adventures: Re Bourne  (a charity set up by Sir Matthew Bourne) against still competition from other promising young choreographers (see the press release NACA 2016 WINNER ANNOUNCED 8 Sep 2015).   Burkmar's work Whack World included Joseph Taylor, Sarah Chun. Jonathan Hanks as well as Bates, Ishii, Petrosino, Merrill and Helen Bogatch.  According to the programme, this was the first time that the choreographer had worked with classically trained dancers. We were told that much of the show was improvised which seems to account for its spontaneity and exuberance. The convergence of two very different dance schools is risky because it does not always work. This time it did.

Harris Beattie's Men Undone explored male depression and suicide and focused on the difficulties that men face in expressing their emotion and seeking to connect with each other.  To stress that point he  placed his dancers side by side rather than face to face as he might have placed women. Beattie danced in his piece together with koupas, Serraclara, Dwyer and Tomlinson.  I took that as a sign of commitment to his work.  II found it very thoughtful and thought-prpvoking.  It also took courage for a young choreographer to address such a complex and difficult theme so early in his career because the message might easily have been lost.

One of my favourite works was George Liang's Out of Breath.   His dancers were Taylor. Bates,  Hanks, Ishii, Sherman, Di Vilio, Bogatch, Nunès, Bramante and Kirica Takahashi.  I liked his music and wish the programme or website had stated what it was.  I also liked Liang's message "If you find yourself caught up in a whirlwind of excitement ot despair, remember to pause and take a breath.."  I copied it from the programme but I would have guessed it from the choreography.

I was pleased that Bonelli introduced each work personally.  Although he has been in post for only a year, he is already making a difference to the company.   I have seen him at every performance that I have attended since he became artistic director.   I think that is appreciated by the dancers and reciprocated in their performances. 

The London Ballet Circle talks to Bonelli

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Leanne Benjamin will interview Federico Bonelli for the London Ballet Circle at 19:00 tonight and members of the public can watch them over Zoom  If you are not already a member of the Circle you can learn how to book a place on the call in Conversation with Federico Bonelli ...... (via Zoom).`

I shall join the call for the reasons I set out in Northern Ballet's New Director on 2 Feb 2022.  I have been one of his fans for many years.  He is now Artistic Director of Northern Ballet which I have followed ever since its formation and have supported financially and in other ways ever since I returned to the North in 1985.  Bonelli has only been in post since May but he seems to have worked some kind of magic with the company.   The performances of Made in Leeds: Three Short Ballets at the Leeds Playhouse on 14 and 17 Sept 2022 were the best I had seen from the company since Christopher Gable danced with Moira Shearer in Gillian Lynne's A Simple Man,  Both casts danced with a flair and engagement that I had never seen before.

The three short ballets were Mthuthuzeli November's Wailers, Stina Quagebeur's Nostalgia and Dickson Mbi's Ma Vie Live.  They were very different but nonetheless complementary works.  Wailers is set in rural Africa against a background that appeared to be parched earth to a score created by November.  Like his other works, Wailers successfully merges classical steps with African dance and rhythms. Nostalgia features two couples both clad in red and an ensemble in brown.  The music is by Jeremy Birchall.  Ma Vie reminded me of both Kenneth Tindall's Casanova and Nixon's Wuthering Heights.  It had the most elaborate sets, costumes and lighting.  It finished with a rumbustious reverence where each of the dancers demonstrated his or her virtuosity,

There was a well-deserved standing ovation on both nights.   Indeed, Gita and I who were sitting one row back from the stage led the one on the 14,  I enjoyed all three works but particularly the first. Possibly that is because I have seen November's work before and understand it better.   He is one of the senior artists of Ballet Black.  I first noticed him in 2015 when he toured with Ballet Central (see Dazzled  2 May 2015. He is an impressive dancer who showed his talents for choreography almost as soon as he joined the company

On Monday Northern Ballet announced that it had appointed David Collins as its new Executive Director. Collins comes from Opera North, another important regional touring company.  I wish him every success in his new role.  

Northern Ballet's New Director

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"Bravo bloody oh!" That was the reaction of one of my friends when I told her the news of Federico Bonelli's appointment as the next Artistic Director of Northern Ballet.  Other reactions have been a little less colourful but no less enthusiastic. I have been a fan of Bonelli for years and could not have wished for a better choice.  If you ever see him on stage or just watch this video you will understand why. 

Nevertheless, it was a very unexpected appointment.  Graham Watts tweeted:

"I definitely didn’t see this one coming - Northern Ballet has announced Federico Bonelli as the Company’s new Artistic Director."

Watts was not the only one.   Even though I am a fan of Bonelli he had not been on my radar.  Had anyone kept a book my money would have been on a brilliant young choreographer whose style reminds me of Cranko whose appointment would have recemented a link with Central or, possibly, on one of our leading female choreographers who has already contributed two much-loved ballets to the company.

Bonelli's appointment coincides with the publication of the government's "levelling up strategy".  It has promised to ensure that great cultural institutions play their part in spreading access to excellence:

"100% of the Arts Council England funding uplift announced at SR21 will be directed outside London, with support for theatre, museums and galleries, libraries and dance in towns which have been deprived of investment in the past. We will explore how more flagship national cultural institutions can support the strength of our historic cultural heritage in great cities such as Stoke and Manchester."

Not a bad time to make a move outside London. 

Terpschore Titles: Outstanding Male Dancers

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I have decided to make two awards in this category:  one for principals and soloists of major companies who dance leading roles in full-length ballets and another for the rest. I do that to acknowledge brilliant performances in one act ballets and to avoid comparing the incomparable such as Alvin Ailey's Revelations with the Bolshoi's Swan Lake. In both categories I am looking for a male dancer who has spoken to me in a special way in 2016.

In the latter category, the choice is easy.  It is Damien Johnson of Ballet Black. I have described him as "one of the most exciting dancers on the British stage right now" and I repeat those words now.  I have seen him in no less than five shows this year - three of Ballet Black's triple bill and two of Dogs Don't Do Ballet and in rehearsal at the Barbican. In each performance he has delighted me whether as the Obama-like dad accompanying his excited daughter with her dog in tow to the theatre to see Madame Kanikova in Christopher Marney's Dogs or as the sailor in Christopher Hampson's Storyville which I reviewed for the first time in Ballet Black made my Manchester Day on 20 June 2016. Johnson is one of the reasons why I go to Ballet Black, why I support it not only with my pen (OK keyboard) but also with my widow's mite as a Friend and also why I love that company so.

But where do I start with the first category? There have been so many great performances this year starting with James Hay in Rhapsody and Alexander Campbell in The Two Pigeons in January (see The Royal Ballet's Double Bill 18 Jan 2016); continuing with Artur Shesterikov in Mata Hari, Joseph Caley as Oberon and Jamie Bond as Beliaev in Ashton's Double Bill in February; Tyrone Singleton's magnificent performance as Romeo where he stepped in for Bond at the last moment in March (see A Good Outcome from an Unhappy Event - Singleton's Fine Performance 6 March 2016); Federico Bonelli for his memorable performance as Albrecht (see Cuthbertson's Giselle 3 April 2016) and Vadim Muntagirov in The Winter's Tale a month later; Javier Torres as Cathy Marston's Rochester, Victor Zarallo as Siegfried and Nicholas Shoesmith as Benno in David Dawson's Swan Lake for Scottish Ballet (see Empire Blanche: Dawson's Swan Lake 4 June 2016), Yonah Acosta's Siegfried in English National Ballet's (see Swan Lake in the Round 13 June 2016) and Iain Mackay in The Taming of the Shrew (see Birmingham Royal Ballet performs my favourite ballet at last 21 June 2016) all of which took place in June; Rudy Hawkes as Siegfried in The Australian Ballet's Swan Lake (see The Australian Ballet's Swan Lake - Murphy won me over 17 May 2016). Ruslan Skvortsov as Siegfried in the Bolshoi's (see Grigorovich's Swan Lake in Covent Garden 31 July 2016) or Ty King Wall in Zatmansky's Cinderella, a great ballet that I forgot to discuss in my review of 2016 (see Ratmansky's Razzmatazz 24 July 2016) in July; Vladislav Lantratov as Petrucchio in  Jean-Christophe Maillot's The Taming of the Shrew in August (see Bolshoi's Triumph - The Taming of the Shrew 4 Aug 2016); Mackay and Singleton again in David Bintley's new ballet The Tempest in October; Jozef Varga as Solor in the Dutch National Ballet's La Bayadere in November and Shesterikov again in Coppelia.

There were a handful of performances that really stood out for me this year, namely Singleton's Romeo in March, Bonelli's Albrecht in April, Zarallo and Shoesmith in Dawson's Swan Lake, Varga's Solor and Shesterikov in Mata Hari and Coppelia. I have been twisting and turning all night trying to decide this issue - particularly between Bonelli and Shesterikov. A choice has to be made. I have chosen Shesterikov because of his mastery of two very different roles in two very different ballets. In making that choice I am comforted by the knowledge that I am in very good company for Shesterikov is also the most recent winner of the Alexandra Radius prize (see Principal Dancer Artur Shesterikov wins Radius Prize on the Dutch National Ballet website).

The Terpsichore Nominations

Just a bit of fun inspired by the National Dance Awards and not to be taken at all seriously but at the end of every year I do a review of the best work that I have seen in the previous 12 months (see Highlights of 2015 29 Dec 2015). At the end of the post I set out my favourites which were:

Ballet of the Year
Ballet Cymru's Cinderella, runner up Ballet Cymru's Tir

Company of the Year
Scottish Ballet, runners up Dutch National Ballet and the Royal Ballet

Small Companies of the Year
Ballet Black and Ballet Cymru

Contemporary Company of the Year
Phoenix Dance Theatre

Male Dancer of the Year
Denis Rodkin in La Bayadere, runner up Matthew Golding in the Royal Ballet's Onegin and the Dutch National Ballet's Cinderella

Female Dancer of the Year
Laura Morera as Lise runners up Anna Tsygankova and Bethany Kingsley-Garner as Cinderella

Choreographers of the Year
Christopher Hampson for Perpetuum Mobile for Northern Ballet and Ernst Meisner for Embers for the Dutch National Ballet's Junior Company

Dancers to watch
Floor Elmers of Dutch National Ballet, Krystal Lowe of Ballet Cymru, Marie-Astrid-Mence of Phoenix Dance Theatre and Gavin McCaig of Northern Ballet

Promising Newcomers
Bart Engelen, Norwegian Ballet, Cristiano Principato and Emilie Tassinari, Dutch National Ballet Junior Company, Tim Hill of Ballet Cymru and Prentice Whitlow of Phoenix Dance Theatre

This year we shall do it a little differently. I invite everyone who has contributed to Terpsichore in the last year or so (that is to say Alison Winward, David Murley, Gita Mistry, Janet McNulty, Joanne Goodman and Mel Wong (happy birthday Mel by the way) to nominate for each category. Then I shall hold a ballot for the readers.

I have not quite made up my mind yet but provisionally Jean-Christophe Maillot is leading the way in the best full-length ballet stakes with his Taming of the Shrew for the Bolshoi pursued hotly by Ted Brandsen's Mata Hari, David Dawson's Swan Lake and Cathy Marston's Jane Eyre in that order.

In the one-act ballets category, it is a dead heat between Ernst Meisner's No Time before Time  and Christopher Hampson's Storyville.

My classical company of the year is the Durch National Ballet though I was impressed by the Australians and the Bolshoi when they came to London and the Royal Ballet and English National Ballet are always near the top of my lists.

My nominations for best small company are Ballet Black and the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company,

Having seen a lot of contemporary dance, this year I can't make my mind up between Netherlands Dance Theatre and Rambert though Phoenix and the National Dance Company of Wales are also on my list. I am not sure how to classify Alvin Ailey but they definitely deserve an award.

Best male dancer this year has to be Federico Benelli for his Albrecht in Giselle and Lauren Cuthbertson as best female in the same production, However, I would make special personal awards to Bethany Kingsley-Garner for her Odette-Odile in Liverpool and Anna Tsyganlova for her Mata Hari.

Dancers to watch? There are so many but I think we shall be seeing a lot of Cristiano Principato of the Dutch National Ballet who proved his worth as a choreographer, artistic director and chief cook and bottlewasher as well as dancer in Trecate earlier this year, Daniele Gould in Hungary who was an enchanting Puss in Boots and Mthuthuzeli November here.

I would also like to add a special adult ballet education award to Karen Sant of KNT Danceworks for organizing wonderful intensive workshops for adult ballet beginners in Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, La Bayadere and The Nutcracker and Jane Tucker for teaching them.

Alison, David, Gita, Janet, Joanne and Mel are invited to let me have their nominations (if any by 17:00 on 30 Nov) and then we shall offer it to the readers for a vote.