Chase Johnsey

Civil Service Club

Author Philafrenzy
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On 9 July 2018 at 19:30 Gerald Dowler will interview the American dancer Chase Johnsey at the Civil Service Club for the London Ballet Circle (see Chase Johnsey, in conversation with Gerald Dowler on the "Events" page of the London Ballet Circle website).

Johnsey has been in the news for appearing in a female character role in the English National Ballet's recent production of The Sleeping Beauty even though registered at birth as a boy (see Roslyn Sulcas How Sleeping Beauty got woke: Meet ballet's first male ballerina 12 June 2018 Independent). Earlier in the year Johnsey left Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo which also gave rise to a lot of press attention.

Those news stories may fascinate some but the most interesting press report for me was the announcement on 6 Feb 2017 that Johnsey had won the Dancing Times Award for Best Male Dancer in 2016 (see 2016 National Dance Awards – Winners Announced 6 Feb 2017 Dance Tabs). This was a very interesting decision because the obvious candidates for such an award would be athletic male dancers in such roles as Siegfried or Albrecht. Johnsey appears to have won that award not for technique but for pure artistry in dancing not just a female role (Ashton and Helpmann did that hilariously as the step sisters in Cinderella) but a female artist dancing such role.

Because I live in Yorkshire I cannot attend many London Ballet Circle events so it is unlikely that I shall make this one.  But if you live in, or happen to be passing through, London next Monday you could learn a lot from this one.  A lot of horrible things are said (and even worse things thought) about gender fluid or indeed trans folk in the performing arts and society generally. Johnsey's interview may not shift any prejudices but it should enlighten those of a receptive mind.

The Civil Service Club is at 13-15 Great Scotland Yard, London, SW1A 2HJ. It is next door to the Nigerian embassy near the corner of Great Scotland Yard and Northumberland Avenue. Look out for the green and white flag and colours which often adorn the embassy's shopfront. The nearest tubes are Embankment and Charing Cross. "Can't miss it guv!" as they say (or at least used to say) down there

Hampson!

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Whenever the London Ballet Circle has a special guest such as Li-Cunxin or a special event such as the Circle's 70th anniversary celebrations last year, the Dancing Times's Gerald Dowler is asked to play a special role. Dowler has a profound knowledge of the ballet and a pleasant interviewing style that can coax the best from a guest. Dowler's services have been called upon tonight as he will interview Christopher Hampson, Scottish Ballet's artistic director and chief executive.

Hampson is a Mancunian like me and he is one of the artists I most admire in the performing arts. His work is also admired by my readers because my reviews of Hansel and Gretel, Cinderella, Storyville and other works attract a lot of page hits. In February of this year, I actually met him in Newcastle and seized the opportunity to tell him how much I admired his work.

For those who would like to learn a little more about Hampson, the London Ballet Circle has published this potted biography on its website:

"Christopher joined Scottish Ballet as Artistic Director in August 2012 and was appointed Artistic Director / Chief Executive of Scottish Ballet in 2015. Christopher trained at the Royal Ballet Schools. His choreographic work began there and continued at English National Ballet (ENB), where he danced until 1999 and for whom he subsequently created numerous award-winning works, including Double Concerto, Perpetuum Mobile, Country Garden, Concerto Grosso and The Nutcracker. Christopher’s Romeo and Juliet, created for the Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB), was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award (Best New Production 2005) and his production of Giselle for the National Theatre in Prague has been performed every year since its premiere in 2004. Christopher created Sinfonietta Giocosa for the Atlanta Ballet (USA) in 2006 and after a New York tour it received its UK premiere with ENB in 2007. He created Cinderella for RNZB in 2007, which was subsequently hailed as Best New Production by the New Zealand Herald and televised by TVNZ in 2009. His work has toured Australia, China, the USA and throughout Europe. Other commissions include, Dear Norman (Royal Ballet, 2009); Sextet (Ballet Black/ROH2, 2010); Silhouette (RNZB, 2010), Rite of Spring (Atlanta Ballet, 2011), Storyville (Ballet Black/ROH2, 2012) nominated for a National Dance Award 2012, and Hansel and Gretel (Scottish Ballet 2013). Christopher is co-founder of the International Ballet Masterclasses in Prague and has been a guest teacher for English National Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures and the Genée International Ballet Competition. Christopher’s work now forms part of the Solo Seal Award for the Royal Academy of Dance. Christopher most recently gave a talk on ‘Creative Thinking’ for TEDx Glasgow and developed and led the inaugural Young Rural Retreat for Aspiring Leaders, in association with Dance East last summer."

Even though I really do not have the time to swan off to London today I shall be on the 16:40 from Donny to London and the 22:57 back. I am traipsing down to the Smoke tonight mainly out of respect for Hampson but also partly out of love for Scottish Ballet which I followed even before they became Scottish and also partly as a minor act of defiance to those religious fanatics who have wrought so much harm to my native city and national capital.

Scottish Ballet is making one of its rare and highly valued visits south of the Tweed and Solway this week. Between Wednesday and Saturday, it will dance Emergence and MC 14/22 (ceci est mon corps) at Sadler's Wells. I will be there on Saturday evening.

If you are free tonight, the interview takes place between 19:30 and 20:30 tonight on the 1st floor of the Civil Service Club at 13 - 15 Great Scotland Yard, London SW1A 2HJ. The Club is next to the Nigerian embassy and on several bus routes. The nearest Underground stations are Charing Cross and Embankment.

Li-Cunxin at London Ballet Circle

There are many advantages to living in Yorkshire but it is over 200 miles from the nation's capital which means that you have to allow a minimum of 5 hours (or, to be comfortable, 6) to reach it. On Monday 3 Aug 2015 Li-Cunxin, the artistic director of Queensland Ballet, was the guest of London Ballet Circle. I had been looking forward to hearing him ever since I learned that he was coming to speak at the Circle's AGM in January.

Both Gita and I had things to do on Monday morning which meant that we set off from Bradford at 15:30 that afternoon. As I work in London I have to go down there quite often and I have found that the quickest and most convenient way is to drive to Luton Parkway and then take Thameslink into town. "Why not leave the car at Sheffield and take the train all the wau?" I hear you say.  Three reasons. Although you can get some good deals on East Midlands Trains if you can book well in advance fares can be hideously expensive if you can't. Also, car paring costs an arm and a leg ar Sheffield station car park compared to £2.50 after 17:00 and at weekends at Luton Parkway. Secondly, you have to allow yourself an hour and a half from leaving home to boarding the train in order to drive to Sheffield, park your car, collect your ticket from the very slow and very temperamental ticket machines at Sheffield station and clamber with your luggage upstairs and over a bridge to reach the platform for the London train.  By contrast it is only 145.5 miles from Dodworth (where I pick up the M1) to Luton Parkway and takes an average of 2 hours and 37 minutes. Thirdly, there are 4 fast trains an hour on Thameslink which take me to within walking distance to most places in the West End City that I need to reach, Also East Midlands' express trains from Sheffield and the Midlands often stop at Parkway.

Although we left with high hopes on Monday we did not have very realistic expectations of hearing much if anything of what Li-Cunxin had to say. But the gods were smiling upon us.  There were no major delays or hold-ups on the M1 despite extensive roadworks on at least 4 stretches. We arrived at Parkway just after 18:30. The East Midlands express which usually departs at 18:32 had been delayed by a few minutes enabling us to catch it.  It delivered us to St Pancras just after 19:05. The doors of a departing Piccadilly line train opened for a second allowing us to sauté in and a Northern line train pulled in at Leicester Square just as we reached the platform. We dashed out of Embankment like bats out of hell and sprinted towards the Nigerian embassy. We squeezed into the lift and caught the voice of our chairperson as she introduced Li Cunxin and his interviewer Gerald Dowler.

I have never seen so many people at a London Ballet Circle meting. The room was packed.  Our numbers were swelled by members of the Queensland Ballet Friends who had flown from Brisbane to support their call. Extra chairs had been sent for and the chair invited those of us who could sit on the floor to do so at the front. Gita and I found a spot where we could hear and see everything and could catch the moderator's eye. We had made it and exchanged high fives.

I can't say anything about the talk because of the Chatham House Rule that applies to meetings of the Circle. Dowler interviewed Li Cunxin magisterially allowing plenty of pauses for questions. Although I knew quite a lot about Li-Cunxin before he spoke from his book Mao's Last Dancer and film of the same name the interview filled in lots of gaps in my knowledge. Li-Cunxin has clearly done great things for Queensland Ballet in the three years since he took it over. Afterwards he signed copies of his book and exchanged greetings with those like Gita and me who stayed to shake his hand.

Li Cunxin was here because the Queensland Ballet is dancing La Sylpide at the Coliseum. The show opened last night.  Gita and I will see it on Saturday and review it shortly afterwards. La Sylphde is a very special ballet for all kinds of reasons (see Queensland Ballet's La Sylphide - Why it is so special 22 July 2015). On 29 Dec 2014 I identified this season as one of the highlights of the coming year (see Looking Forward to 2015 - My Choices 29 Dec 2014).

One reason why I admire this company even before I have seen it is that it says that it is dedicated to sharing its  love of dance with as many people as possible. It  does that through performances, dance workshops, training programs, public talks, industry experiences, online resources and more (see the Learn page on the company's website and follow some of the links).  Of course, Northern Ballet does that here too and I am one of the beneficiaries of its Over 55 classes. So, too, do Ballet Cymru in Newport and Scottish Ballet at The Tramway. However, I get the impression that Queensland Ballet are particularly committed to bringing dance to everyone within their massive state of over 715,000 square miles. I wish this company well in London and I hope to see it back soon.