Shake Your Tutu

© 2023 Mark Gowland: all rights reserved Reproduced with kind permission of the owner

Northern Dance Academy Shake Your Tutu 10 Dec 2023 19:30 Creative Centre, York St John University

Northern Dance Academy is a dance school in York.  It offers a wide range of classes in many styles of dance to both adults and children.  Its classical ballet and lyrical teacher, Christie Barnes, is a founder member of Powerhouse Ballet.  Christie introduced me to Sarah Dickinson, the Director of the Northern Dance Academy.  She invited our company to dance the extract from La Sylphide that we had performed in Dance Studio Leeds's Celebration of Dance on 25 Nov 2023 in Shake Your Tutu, Northern Dance Academy's Christmas show.

The show took place in the Creative Centre of York St John University on 10 Dec 2023.  It is a magnificent auditorium with 170 seats, a massive stage, excellent acoustics and the latest sound, lighting and projection equipment.  I attended the technical rehearsal which was an opportunity to see the capabilities of that equipment in action.

The performance began at 19:30.  It consisted of the following pieces in two acts with a 20-minute interval:

Act I:

• Rogue Raimdrops by the NDA Adult Dance Company choreographed by Christie Barnes 
• Snowdrops by Christie Barnes and Soraya Noumen 
• Once Upon A December by the Adult Ballet Beginners choreographed by Esther Wilson 
• Running with the Wolves by Anjuli Trace 
• Inner Voice by Esther Wilson and Hortensia Szalay 
• Underneath the Christmas Tree by the Advanced Tap Class choreographed by Stacey Young
• L'Enfer by Vera van Cool and supporting dancers 
• Round Round by the Junior/Youth Contemporary class choreographed by Julia Pittock 
• Flores by the Lyrical troupe choreographed by Christie Barnes  

Act II

• When the Land Meets the Sea a film by the NDA Adult Dance Company choreographed by Christie Barnes and filmed and edited by Mark Gowland 
• I wish it could be Christmas Every Day by the Grade 3 Tap Class choreographed by Stacey Young
• O Holy Night by the Advanced Pointe dancers choreographed by Christie Barnes 
• Make Believe by Natasha Young 
• Hallelujah by the Advanced/Intermediate Ballet class choreographed by Christie Barnes 
• A Contemporary Christmas by the Youth Contemporary class choreographed by Julie Pittock
• La Sylphide by Powerhouse Ballet choreographed by August Bournonville, Marius Petipa and Jane Tucker and staged by Jane Tucker 
• Tough Lover by Amber Yeoman 
• Runaway by Christie Barnes and Julia Pittock, and 
• A Night at the Ball by the Adult Contemporary class choreographed by Julia Pittock.

I enjoyed all the pieces.  It was clear that a lot of work had been done for each and every one of them.  It was one of the best student shows that I have ever seen.  

However, there were some personal highlights  Snowdrops was enchanting.  Two young friends frolicked as if in a garden.  Just before the end, winter clothes appeared on stage which the dancers donned.  Their winsome wave as they left the stage was quite charming.  I liked Anjuli Trace's solo Running with the  Wolves and the duet Inner Voice Esther Wilson and Hortensia Szalay.  Anjuli and Esther are also members of Powerhouse Ballet.  The children and young women in Round Round were delightful. Especially the little boy and the girl who carried him on her back for a while.

The second act began with the film.  Christie has posted it to her Facebook feed.  It is set on one of the big wide  North Sea beaches.  It happened to be Fraisthorpe but it could have been Northumberland, Berwickshire or Fife.  Mark applied some very interesting camera techniques including mirroring. In Max Richter's In The Garden Christine chose the perfect score.  The scene was idyllic. The East Coast is not exactly known for its balmy weather.  Although probably unintended one of the artists was a black dog which made a couple of appearances.  The animal appeared to be dancing.   I was also delighted to recognize several members of Powerhouse Ballet in the film.   I hope our company can collaborate with Mark and Christie in making dance films in the future.

Although obviously not impartial I was bowled over by Powerhouse's performance of an extract of La Sylphide.  The scene was set in a forest after James has left his wedding guests to pursue a sylph who has vanished up a chimney with Effie's ring (see La Sylphide resource page).   He meets the sylphs and is quite overcome by them.  Frank Lee danced James and the syphs included several members of the Northern Dance Academy.  I had seen the company rehearse the scene many times.   Indeed, I had actually taken part in some of the rehearsals.  I had also seen their performances in Leeds.  This was by far their best yet.  They danced with energy, flair and passion.   I felt compelled to rise to my feet to bellow "bravi".   I have never been more proud of them.

I have to congratulate everyone involved in planning and participating in the show.  Particular credit belongs to Christie who directed and produced the show and choreographed and/or danced in many of the contributions.  There seems to be no end to her skills and talents.   She even found time to make sleeves and wings for our sylphs costumes.   Even attending class with her is a pleasure for she has the most infectious laugh and a very ready wit.   It has been great to work with her on La Sylphide and I look forward to doing so again very soon.

Powerhouse Ballet Celebrates Dance

 

Powerhouse Ballet Extract from La Sylphide Chrima Q Theatre, Leeds, 25 Nov 2023 15:00 and 19:00

Every Autumn The Dance Studio Leeds presents a Celebration of Dance at the Chroma Q Theatre in Leeds. It is a gala to which the studio's students and dance groups and companies from Leeds and beyond contribute.   We took part in it for the first time last year when we danced an extract of Giselle (see A Celebration of Dance: Wilis and More 23 Nov 2022).  We were invited back this year to dance an extract from La Sylphide on 25 Nov 2023. (see Powerhouse Ballet's Romantic Ballet Workshop 26 Sept 2023 Powerhouse Ballet's website).

For the first time since our formation, we staged a show with a mixed cast. We have always welcomed gentlemen to our classes but we have been unable to persuade any of them to perform in public.  This year Frank Lee danced James for us, a role that he performed with flair and gallantry.   He was supported by the ladies in the above photograph who excelled themselves.

Our performances could easily have gone wrong because two of our most talented and experienced members were indisposed through illness and injury.  I sensed a ripple of despair as the news sank in which was arrested abruptly by our wonderful choreographer, director and producer, Jane Tucker, by assuring us that our show would be wonderful.   I have to say that I thought she had her work cut out because the tech rehearsal had exposed several issues.   In a rehearsal in our dressing room which she called immediately afterwards, she adjusted the choreography and reassigned roles.  Confidence quickly returned and our cast was ready for anything.

There were two performances on 25 Nov: a matinee at 15:00 and an evening show at 19:00.  Jane and I watched the matinee and were very impressed. Many styles of dance were represented. All had been thought out well and rehearsed.  I enjoyed all the pieces but I particularly liked the Indian dancers.   I have invited their teacher to give us an exhibition class in the New Year.   Having been one of the founder members of the St Andrews Dance Club I was delighted to make contact with the director of the Leeds Union University Ballet Society.   I shall do all I can to support the Society with reviews and announcements,   Their dancers will be very welcome at all our classes and workshops.

Our dancers performed magnificently in the matinee.   I think the absence of two of our number encouraged them to dance as they had never danced before.   I have never been more proud of them.  They also danced well in the evening though I only saw them from the wings.  After the matinee the cast presented Jane and me with beautiful bouquets of roses,   I am glad to say that mine are still going strong.

The purpose of the gala is to raise money for charity.  This year the cause was bowel cancer research and relief which this publication is proud to support.  We were one of the sponsors of this year's show.  Anybody who wishes to contribute to the charity can donate to Bowel Cancer UK.

Powerhouse Ballet is now on a roll.   We have been invited to dance in Shake Your Tutu (Northern Dance Academy's Christmas show) at the Creative Centre Theatre, York, YO31 7EX on 10 Dec 2023 at 19:30. Karen Lester Sant has offered us a slot in KNT Danceworks's next show in Manchester.   Our next company class will take place on 27 Jan 2024 between 09:45 and 11:15 at Dance Studio Lees when we shall welcome back Annemarie  Donoghue of Northern Ballet Academy.   Karen will give us our next class in Manchester on 17 Feb 2024,   Anyone wishing to join any of our activities should call me on 07966 373922 or send me a message through this contact form.

Congratulations to Sarah Kundi

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Regular readers of this blog will know that I am a very big fan of Sarah Kundi.  Sarah led me to Ballet Black and later to MurleyDance. For a while I feared that she would leave the country (see Bye Bye and All the Best 10 June 2014) and was overjoyed when I found that she was saved for the nation for she had been offered a job with English National Ballet.

Although she spent the last four years as an artist of the company she has performed some important roles.  One that impressed me particularly was as Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet (see Manchester's Favourite Ballet Company 29 Nov 2015),  I wrote:

"But the casting that delighted me most was to see Sarah Kundi as Lady Capulet. I have followed that dancer ever since she danced in Leeds. It was she who led me to Ballet Black and through MurleyDance to Richard Chappell. She is tall and elegant with the most expressive face. An actor as much as a dancer, yesterday's role was perfect for her. It is an important one in Nureyev's production for it is Lady Capulet who forces her daughter to take desperate measures. How I clapped at the curtain call. I fear my "brava" roared from the middle of the stalls would have been drowned out by everyone else's applause by the time it reached the stage. Had this show been in London I could have tossed flowers at her."

On the last occasion that English National Ballet performed in Manchester  Gita Mistry, Helen McDonough and I actually met Sarah.  It was just after she had danced Effie's confidante, Anna, in La Sylphide (see Always Something Special from English National Ballet: La Sylphide with Song of the Earth 18 Nov 2017). As the performance was just before Daiwali, Gita had made her a little sweet for the festival.

It was therefore a particular pleasure to read in Promotions and new dancers joining the Company for the 2018-19 season on ENB's website that Sarah had been promoted to first artist for the new season.  I am sure that all the contributors to Terpsichore will join me in congratulating Sarah and wishing her well.   I will definitely be in the audience at the Opera House when the company returns to Manchester in October with Manon and at the Empire when it dances Swan Lake in November.  In fact, maybe one of those shows could be Powerhouse Ballet's first outing. 

Scottish Ballet's "Highland Fling" in Gurn and Effie Land

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Scottish Ballet  Highland Fling Atlantis Leisure Centre, Oban 29 April 2018 19:30

Almost exactly a year ago I saw Ballet Central perform the greater part of the second act of Highland Fling at the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre. I reviewed the performance in Triumphant 1 May 2018. In that review I wrote that I had not always been a fan of Sir Matthew Bourne but I loved that work.  I tweeted that I would love to see the full work.  Sir Matthew noticed my tweet and replied that Scottish Ballet would perform Highland Fling again this year adding that I would have to go to Scotland to see it as if a trip to that enchanting country could ever be an imposition.

Taking Sir Matthew's advice I chose to see it in Oban because that is the only venue on Scottish Ballet's tour that is actually in the Highlands.  Well, to be accurate, Oban is a port with many of the attractions and facilities of much larger towns but hills and mountains surround it. Oban is famous for its fish and chips (see Moira Kerr  Rick Stein, two rival fish and chip shops and bitter battle of the signs that has left behind a very bad taste 19 June 2013 Mail Online).  I spotted an abundance of purveyors of that delicacy near the waterfront and was looking for somewhere to park when I spotted a small group of individuals with the words "Scottish Ballet" emblazoned on their backs.

I wound down the window and greeted them cordially - probably gushingly.  Acknowledging my greetings and compliments with exceptional grace they asked me whether I was going to the pre-performance talk that was due to start in 15 minutes. I had not been aware of that talk and abandoned my quest for supper.  I made my way to the Atlantis Leisure Centre where Highland Fling was to be performed.

The talk was chaired by the education officer who asked how many of us had seen a performance by Scottish Ballet.  A few hands rose including mine.  She then asked whether any of us had seen a work by Sir Matthew Bourne.  A much larger clump of hands rose though still a minority of the room. She asked which works those individuals had seen and the names Cinderella, The Red Shoes and Swan Lake ran out.  She told us the story of August Bournonville's La Sylphide and then Sir Matthew's adaptation.  She introduced us to the rehearsal director who mentioned some of the technical aspects of the choreography. One big difference was the absence of pointe work. The women perform in bare feet. "Surely that is something to be welcomed" the education officer suggested but apparently not because the rehearsal director replied that dancing without shoes gives rise to other problems.

There was a short Q & A in which I observed that La Sylphide was performed regularly abroad but infrequently here. "Surely it should be Scotland's national ballet if not the United Kingdom's" I suggested.  This year is different in that English National Ballet has a beautiful production which I saw in Manchester (see Always Something Special from English National Ballet: La Sylphide with Song of the Earth 18 Nov 2017) and London (see Tamara Rojo at Last! Le Jeune Homme et la Mort and La Sylphide 22 Jan 2018) but they have yet to perform it in Scotland.  The speakers speculated on possible reasons and referred me to Christopher Hampson who was to give a post performance talk.

One of the advantages of attending the pre-performance talk was to be allocated reserved seats in the first few rows of the auditorium.  I bagged what was probably the best seat in the house, namely the centre of the fifth row. The stage was set for the opening scene, namely the ladies' and gents' of the "Highland Fling Social Club" located somewhere like Castlemilk or Drumchapel.  On the wall above the urinal appeared a heart with "James 4 Effie".  As the audience took their seats we were regaled with all the songs we used to sing at Celtic Society ceilidhs when I was at St Andrews such as Cambletown Loch and Wild Rover.  Even though I am a proud Mancunienne I know all the words to all those songs and can't hear them without tears welling up.

The work opened with a kilted James (Nicholas Shoesmith) staggering into the gents' bog appearing to snort some sort of hallucinogenic substance and collapsing against the wall of the urinal.  "This gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'pas de bourré'" I thought to  myself ("bourré" meaning "to have a skinful" among other things). A sylph (Sophie Martin) clambered through the venting and tries to revive the recumbent James.  Then the other revellers pile into their respective loos. The girls in their finery with Effie (Roseanna Leney) wearing head boppers.

My favourite character in Bournonville's ballet is Madge, the witch,  She appears as an old bag lady who tries to warm herself by the fire.  James, the laird, meanly sends her packing.  That is why she has it in for him. She gets her own back for her rough treatment by poisoning a scarf that she sells to James. James gives it to the sylph whose wings fall off the moment she puts it on.  Madge (Grace Paulley)  is very different in Sir Matt's version.  She is an attractive young woman who has the hots for James.  There is no coven scene in Highland Fling though Madge does quite enough mischief with tarot cards. She predicts that Gurn (Barnaby Rook Bishop) will hook up with Effie which is what happens in the end in both Bournonville and Bourne versions.

I can be very prickly when a well loved ballet is reworked the wrong way (see Up the Swannee 17 March 2018 and Akram Khan's Giselle 28 Sept 2016) though I can be very sweet when it is done well as Ted Brandsen did with Coppelia (see Brandsen's Coppelia  12 Dec 2016) and David Dawson with Swan Lake (see Empire Blanc: Dawson's Swan Lake. 4 June 2016). On the whole I think Bourrne got it right, For a start, I appreciated his calling his work something other than La Sylphide.  I think I would have been kinder and more receptive to Nixon and Khan had they done the same with their works. There are a few git wrenching moments in Bourne like the sylph staggering on stage with a bloody back and James's hands, arms and shears dripping in the red stuff and, in a different way, James's collapsing in the wee. But then wrenching a few guts was probably the object of the exercise.

I am glad that Sir Matt used Løvenskiold's score. I love that music.  So much better than anything Adam, Delibes or Minkus ever wrote.  Second only to Tchaikovsky in my book.  I may be imagining things but I thought I spotted some quotations from Giselle in his choreography. The sylph tossed some flowers at James just as Giselle does in act 2. The death scene where the sylph tries to keep going despite her wound just as Giselle rises to her feet and staggers briefly before collapsing.  The way the sylphs turned on James after they had carried away their dying companion reminded me very much of the revenge of the wilis.

During the interval I glimpsed Christopher Hampson whom I had met in Newcastle after Hansel and Gretel (see Hansel and Gretel - a bit like falling in love 4 Feb 2017) and at a talk he gave to the London Ballet Circle.  I wondered whether he would remember me and, to my delight, he did.  He thanked me for coming to the show and I thanked him for making a dream come true. He looked puzzled so I told him that ever since I saw La Sylphide back in 1970 I had longed to see a version of it in Scotland.  I told him that I had even asked his great predecessor, Peter Darrell, to consider staging that work when Scottish Theatre Ballet (as it was then called) performed in the Buchanan theatre at St Andrews on 15 Feb 1971.

Hampson discussed that topic in a talk that he gave with Nicholas Shoesmith and Sophie Martin after the show. He stressed that Scottish Ballet's tradition had always been to create new work.  Highland Fling had been created by one of our greatest living choreographers.  I hasten to add (and I intend no sycophancy) that so, too, is Hampson.  He said it was certainly possible that a new version of La Sylphide might one day be created.  If it is, the creator of a beautiful Cinderella and a gorgeous Hansel and Gretel would be just the man to do it,

I don't think that I have every been in the company of a more appreciative audience than the crowd n the Atlantis Leisure Centre on Sunday night.  The dancers took their bows to the strains of "I love a lassie" to which the audience clapped in time.  It was a brilliant performance.  The dancers sparked the crowd and the crowd fired the dancers.  Many members of the audience had travelled enormous distances.  The chappy on my right had driven all the way from Nottinghamshire.  A lady in the refreshments queue told me that she had come from Fionnphort which is opposite Iona.  To get to Oban she would have had to drive along a bumpy single carriageway road to Craignure and then take the Macbrayne ferry. 

At the pre-performance talk the education officer said that education and outreach was at least as important as performance.  A company that thinks like that is very, very special.

At Last - Sylphs in Gurn and Effie Land: Scottish Ballet's Tour of the Highlands and Islands

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As regular readers know, I love La Sylphide.  I have been hinting like mad to Gillian Barton and Daniel Job to stage that ballet for their students since 2013 for they are located in the Highlands where the ballet is set (see Taynuilt - where better to create ballet  31 Aug 2013).  They considered it but for one reason or another decided against it. Instead, they staged that other great romantic ballet, Giselle, which has proved to be a howling success (see A Very Special Giselle 4 Feb 2018 and Ballet West Amplified 11 Feb 2018). 

Last year Central School of Ballet, which, like Ballet West, tours the country to give its students stage experience, performed a large part of Sir Matthew Bourne's "romantic wee ballet", Highland Fling, as part of its show.  I caught it at Leeds and blogged about it in Triumphant on 1 May 2017. Highland Fling is by no means the same as La Sylphide but it does keep Løvenskiold's music which to my mind is the best bit of the ballet.

This Spring Scottish Ballet are taking Highland Fling on tour to the Highlands and islands and one of their stops will be Atlantis Leisure in Oban which is the nearest town of any size to Taynuilt.  The show takes place on 29 and 30 April and as there is a ballet school just down the road there is likely to be a run on the tickets. Needless to say, I bagged mine early.

While I am in Scotland I shall attend the 50th Anniversary Show of the St Andrews Dance Society which I helped to found (see Ballet at University 27 Feb 2017).  That will take place at the Byre in St Andrews on the 30 April and 1 May 2018. The Dance Soc used to have a link with Scottish Ballet through Professor Steer and to a much lesser extent yours truly.  It was I who helped to bring Scottish Theatre Ballet to the Buchanan on 15 Feb 1970 as I was on the steering committee of the first St Andrews Arts Festival. I will try to find out whether there is still a link between Dance Soc and Scottish Ballet and if it is broken do what I can to restore it.  It would also be good to link Scotland's oldest degree awarding institution with Ballet West which is one of the newest.

Tamara Rojo at Last! Le Jeune Homme et la Mort and La Sylphide

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English National Ballet La Sylphide and Le Jeune Homme et la Mort  19 Jan 2018 Coliseum

Having chosen to see La Sylphide and The Song of the Earth on 14 Oct 2017 in order to catch Tamara Rojo I was disappointed to watch The Song of the Earth over a flickering monitor with the sound turned down in a noisy bar. The reason for my banishment to the bar was that I arrived at the Palace Theatre a few minutes after the performance had begun. That was because Manchester City Council in its wisdom had seen fit to close Albert Square to traffic without  adequate warning or diversion signs just as crowds were streaming into the city for a night out. The result was chaos and although I found a way round the traffic I could not avoid it entirely.  That was my only low point of the evening and the pleasure of meeting Sarah Kundi, one of my favourite dancers, after the show went a long way to making up for it (see Always Something Special from English National Ballet: La Sylphide with Song of the Earth 18 Nov 2018).

Had I seen The Song of the Earth on stage it is unlikely that I would have gone to London on Friday.  I would then have missed one of the most remarkable performances that I have seen in nearly 60 years of ballet going.  It is strange how something that appeared to be a disaster can sometimes turn out for the best. The performance of Le Jeune Homme et la Mort by Ivan Vasilev and Tamara Rojo was one of the most compelling that I have ever seen.

The work was created by Roland Petit shortly after the Second World War.  We don't see much of Petit's work in this country which is a regrettable because he was an important choreographer.   I have seen only one other work by Petit in a lifetime of ballet going. Petit's muse was his wife Zizi Jeanmaire who was a dramatic dancer with the most captivating eyes.  I never got to see her in real life though I saw her on film in Carmen and Le Jeune Homme et la Mort.  Sadly it is no longer possible to see Jeanmaire as the temptress in Le Jeune Homme et la Mort but we can still see Rojo.  I believe that the experience of seeing her in the role is very similar to seeing Jeanmaire. That is not to say that Rojo imitates her predecessor - far from it because Rojo has made the role her own - but she is at least as exciting to watch. Rojo, like Jeanmaire, is a dramatic dancer with striking features and an imperious manner both as the woman and as death.

As my eyes were riveted on Rojo from the moment she appeared at the door, I am not sure that I gave Vasilev the attention that he deserved.  He is another outstanding dancer.  I appreciated his strength and beauty. I marvelled at his virtuosity as he perched on the backs of chairs and leaped over furniture waiting for his visitor.  But it was only when he kicked away his support with his head in a noose that I focused on him fully. As the scene changed from garret to afterlife Rojo drew me back as she emerged as some angel of death.  A ballerina's ballet if ever there was.

I should say a word about Georges Wakhévitch's designs and in Karinska's costumes,  The young man is stripped to the waste in jeans but the woman wears a fluid, canary yellow dress and black gloves in life and a long white dress, death mask and red veil as death.  The next life appears to start on the rooftops of Paris. In the background stands the Eiffel tower advertising Citroën. I never knew that the Eiffel tower was ever used for advertising so I looked it up. According to Sophie Nadeau, it really did happen. For a time the tower was the biggest outdoor advertisement in the world (see Solo Sophie).

The rest of the evening was Bournonville's treasure La Sylphide.  I love that ballet so much. How I would enjoy dancing Madge.  As I said in my review of English National Ballet's performance of La Sylphide in Manchester, I greatly prefer that ballet to Giselle:

"I prefer Løvenskiold's score to Adam's any day and the idea of the ghosts of spurned maidens dancing their lovers - or indeed any other man who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time - to death gives me the heebie-jeebies. The story in La Sylphide is so much more reasonable even if it does have mythical creatures like sylphs and witches."

I had enjoyed the show in Manchester but I liked Friday night's performance even more. Rina Kanehara was a delightful sylph. Her loyal friend Anna was danced again by Sarah Kundi. I have followed her for years and it is always a pleasure to see her. Joseph Caley portrayed a headstrong James.  I can't help feeling sorry for him. Yes he may have been mean to Madge but he didn't deserve what happened to him.  Had I been Effy I would have forgiven him.  Caley had been one of my favourite dancers at the Birmingham Royal Ballet and it was good to see him in his new company.  Daniel Kraus was a scheming and devious Gurn.  Crystal Costa made a very successful debut as Effy. Life with Gurn. Hmm! Frying pans and fire spring to mind.  Madge makes or breaks a performance of La Sylphide for me and Jane Howarth was a splendid witch. One could almost hear her imprecations.

It had not been easy getting to the theatre from Holborn as the Piccadilly Line was up the creek. I arrived at Leicester Square squashed, squeezed, hot and bothered with hardly any time to spare to pick up my ticket, deposit a heavy brief case and find my seat. I was hardly in the most appreciative frame of mind for an evening at the ballet.  The drama, the choreography. Rojo's  dancing, the brilliance of the work blew all that away. The show finished at 22:00 and my train home was at 22:57.  Plenty of time for a few stops one would have thought. In fact, I needed every single minute as the Piccadilly Line had still not found its paddle by the time the theatres were emptying. And when I arrived at Doncaster I had to drive 35 miles on ungritted roads through falling snow. The excellence of the double bill was well worth those tribulations.

Always Something Special from English National Ballet: La Sylphide with Song of the Earth

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English National Ballet  La Sylphide. Song of the Earth Palace Theatre, 14 Oct 2017, 19:30

Long before Laverne Meyer set up his Northern Dance Theatre in Manchester, Mancunians had a special affection for English National Ballet. The company, then known as London Festival Ballet, gave its first performance in our city. Every year it returns with something special. Last year, it was the Akram Khan's Giselle.  This year it was La Sylphide with Song of the Earth.

Because it is set in Scotland, I have often argued that it should be our national ballet but very few British companies dance it.  I have seen Danes, Americans, Italians and Australians in kilts but never Scotsmen. The Royal Ballet has a version but they last danced it in 2012 (see La Sylphide on the Royal Opera House website). Scottish Ballet has Sir Matthew Bourne's Highland Fling in its repertoire which was performed brilliantly by Ballet Central last year. One company that would be ideally placed for this ballet is Ballet West which is actually situated in Gurn and Effie country. I have begged Daniel Job to stage this work but for some reason or another, it is just not possible.

To my mind, it is much more satisfying than Giselle.  I prefer Løvenskiold's score to Adam's any day and the idea of the ghosts of spurned maidens dancing their lovers - or indeed any other man who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time - to death gives me the heebie-jeebies.  The story in La Sylphide is so much more reasonable even if it does have mythical creatures like sylphs and witches.

The version that English National danced last month was Andersen and Kloborg's version rather than the Peter Schaufuss's which was previously in its repertoire. The Queensland Ballet brought it back to London in 2015 and I reviewed it in A dream realized: the Queensland Ballet in London 12 Aug 2015. I liked both versions very much but if I had to opt for a favourite it would have to be the Andersen and Kloborg. It has a certain lightness of touch and parts of it such as the fruitless search for the hidden sylph and her cheeky leaps across the stage are even quite funny.

Jurgita Dronina was a perfect sylph. Playful, ethereal, enticing. Easy to see why James was led astray on his wedding day. Isaac Hernández was that wayward James. Magnificent with his jumps and turns but so weak of resolve.  Giorgio Garrett was the scheming Gurn.  Jealous and treacherous, catching Effie of the rebound. I felt glad not to be in her shoes as the wedding procession made its way to the kirk in the final scene. Anjuli Hudson played poor, sweet Effie.

My favourite character in any production of La Sylphide is, of course, Madge. The bag lady turned away from the fire by a mean-spirited James. Her dance with the other witches at the start of Act 2 is chilling and thrilling.  Her's is a dramatic role not easy to perform. Justice was done to it, however, by 

Stina Quagebeur.

A particular pleasure for me was to see Sarah Kundi as Effie's confidante, Anna. Sarah is a dancer that I have admired for many years. She led me to Ballet Black and I have followed her closely at ENB. Even though I have long been one of her fans and also support Chantry Dance and the Chantry School I had never actually met her. As we follow each other on Twitter and Facebook I asked her how she would feel about meeting two of her fans after the show. No problem was the reply so Gita and I, together with Helen McDonough waited for her at the stage door. Gita, who is a champion chef had prepared a little Diwali treat for her.

Often when a fan meets a favourite artist it is something of an anticlimax. But not with Sarah!  She was as charming and gracious in real life as she is delightful to watch on stage. She accepted Gita's gift and chatted about her roles for several minutes until she had to board the coach that was to take the company from the theatre. Helen, who was armed with an autograph book, got several signatures that night including Sarah's. 

Meeting one of my favourite artists went a long way to offsetting my only disappointment of the evening,  For some reason or other the local authority had closed Albert Square for an event but had failed to give adequate warning. The result was gridlock and chaos as we approached the theatre. I managed to drop Gita at the theatre steps minutes before the curtain was due to rise.  I had to park. I had to drive to the top of the multistorey to find a seat which meant that I missed the start of the show. Consequently, I was obliged to watch Song of the Earth on a flickering monitor with crackly sound in a noisy bar. I had chosen that performance expressly to see Tamara Rojo and, sadly, I missed her,

But it was still a great evening and I still have the chance of seeing Song of the Earth at the Coliseum in the New Year.

Top Cats: the NSCD and Northern Ballet Academy End of Year Show

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Leeds CAT End of Year Show, 24 June 2017, 15:00 Riley Theatre, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Leeds


In The Lowry CAT 27 May 2016 I wrote:

"There are in England nine Centres for Advanced Training in Dance ("CAT") which identify children and young people with exceptional talent for dance and develop them through contact with leading dancers, teachers and choreographers."

According to the What are CATS? page of the Dance CATs website, there are now 12 and two of them are in Leeds, namely the Academy of Northern Ballet and the Northern School of Contemporary Dance ("NSCD"). Yesterday the Academy and NSCD held end of year shows at the NSCD's Riley Theatre. As I am a Friend of the Academy as well as the company, I support it in every way I can. Thus, I found myself at the matinee performance at 15:00.

Yesterday's visit was my first to the NSCD and, consequently, I did not know the layout of the theatre when I booked my ticket over the internet.  I had selected D7 in the stalls thinking that it would give me a good view as it was pretty close to the stage. It turned out to be a restricted view because the audience is seated in a semicircle in very solid upright, wooden chairs that are more like church pews than seats in an auditorium. As a result, I had a grandstand view of the wings at stage right but I could see hardly anything of stage left. That was only a problem in the last piece, Echo by Matthew Slater, because the work opens with several dancers' supporting another standing upright. It was a very impressive sight which must have required a lot of practice by the dancers and their choreographer.

The programme consisted of 10 works half of which were presented by the Academy and the other half by the NSCD.  The show opened with Greeting which had been created by Yoko Ichino, Cara O'Shea and Siobhan Camkin for all the Academy's students to music by Ottorino Respighi from La Boutique Fantasque. It introduced the Academy and was the first opportunity for the audience to see the capabilities and discipline of those talented young people. Next came Headspace by the NSCD students who were equally impressive in their genre. The work was choreographed by Krista Vuori of Frantic Assembly and was described as "An exploration into the questions we ask ourselves and thoughts that randomly enter into our mind everyday." There was some speech some of which was inaudible but that did not matter too much because it was a dance piece and the sentiments were clear enough from the dancers' movements. The rest of the show alternated between ballet and contemporary dance and ended with Slater's Echo.

All the contributions were good and I enjoyed them all but there were three works that stood out for me particularly.  One of these was Headspace which I have described above.   Another was The Reel scene from La Sylphide which Cara O'Shea had adapted skilfully. It was pretty faithful to Bournonville's choreography but, whenever I see dancers with folded arms, I ask myself whether that great choreographer had ever actually seen Highland or even Scottish country dancing. Not once since I was dragooned into making up the numbers for a Dashing White Sergeant at the Celtic Society's bejants' ceilidh have I ever seen anyone in Scotland dance like that but I think only someone as august as Bourne (Sir Matthew that is) dare contradict Bournonville (see Sir Matthew Bourne's Highland Fling Montage on YouTube). The last that stood out was Echo which was a perfect way to end the show.

One of the functions of the CATs is to prepare their students for vocational training. The programme listed the destinations of this year's final year students and they are very impressive. Two are off to Northern Ballet School in Manchester which celebrates its 40th anniversary today. Congratulations! Many of my favourite teachers at both KNT and the Academy trained there. Others are going to the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, The Hammond School, Trinity Laban, Urdang Academy and many other famous institutions. And to remind us that dance provides great mental, as well as physical, training, one of the students is on her way to med school at Cambridge (Caius I presume). I wish each and every one of those students well in his or her career and look forward to seeing at least some of them on stage again.

Andersen's La Sylphide

I have often written about the close relationship between Manchester and English National Ballet (see Manchester's Favourite Ballet Company 29 Nov 2015). That relationship will be fortified on 11 Oct 2017  when the company performs La Sylphide and The Song of the Earth in our city.  Set in the Highlands and probably inspired by the novels of Sir Walter Scott, La Sylphide ought to be our national ballet (see La Sylphide 7 Aug 2015).

This is a beautiful ballet with a simple story of human frailty and a charming score.  It is important to the history of dance as it was the first ballet in which dancing en pointe was used to achieve an impression of flying.  English National Ballet has staged a version of this ballet before.  In 1979 it presented Peter Schaufuss's version and it was that version that the Queensland Ballet brought back to London (see Jane Lambert and Gita Mistry A dream realized: the Queensland Ballet in London 17 Aug 2015). The Royal Ballet also has a version but that has not been performed since 21 May 2012 (see La Sylphide on the Royal Ballet's website). Our only other experience of that ballet was in Jan 2015 when principals and soloists of the Royal Danish Ballet performed extracts from the work at the Peacock Theatre (see Royal Danish Ballet Soloists and Principals in celebration of Bournonville 11 Jan 2015).

Those principals and soloists reminded us that La Sylphide was created by August Bournonville for the Royal Danish Ballet where he was resident choreographer and ballet master. One of his illustrious successors in the Roya Danish Ballet is Frank Andersen who served as its artistic director of that company from 1985 to 1994 and from 2002 to 2008. Andersen has produced La Sylphide in many companies around the world (see La Sylphide in the Productions section of his website).  One of the countries in which he has staged the ballet is China where Andersen has a particularly strong following in China as a choreographer, director and teacher (see Frank in China on his website).

Andersen will create the version that the English National Ballet will dance in Manchester (see 2017-18 Autumn/Winter Season Announcement 9 March 2017 on the company's blog). The company will also dance the ballet in Milton Keynes between 17  and 21 Oct 2017 and at the Coliseum between 9 and 13 Jan 2018. I look forward to this production very much indeed.

Happy Birthday Terpsichore! My Best Memories of the Last Four Years

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I started this blog with a review of Ballet West's performance of The Nutcracker at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre on 25 Feb 2013 so Terpsichore is four years old today. Many happy returns, old girl.  Long may you flourish. She has certainly grown a bit since then. When I started her Terpsichore received 269 page views in the whole of February 2013. Admittedly it was a very short month though one in which I wrote 5 articles. This month she has already received 23,222 hits and there are still three more days to run.

I thought I would celebrate Terpsichore's birthday by recalling some of the highlights of the last 4 years. These are events that mean a lot to me though perhaps maybe not so much to you.  It has taken me a long time to compile this list because there have been 887 posts since 2013. Eventually. I drew up a long list of 37 posts. It has been painfully difficult to decide what to include and what to leave out.

Memory #10:  My First Performance

I will get rid of the personal stuff first.  One of the most exciting things that happened to me was to dance on the stage of the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre in the studios of Northern Ballet and Phoenix Dance Theatre before a capacity audience on the 28 June 2014 (see The Time of My Life 28 June 2014). My daughter manquée and her son and husband were in the audience. The many weeks of rehearsals, the wait in the wings, the first notes of the music, leaping into the lights and the explosion of applause.  So delicious!  I have danced in a couple of shows since then but nothing beats the first performance. I don't know how we did. Mel reviewed our performance in The Dance DID go on - Northern Ballet Academy Show 2014  29 June 2014 but I think she was too kind.

Memory #9:  Jane Eyre

I have been following Northern Ballet from the day of their first performance.  I can't claim to have been there because I was at university in St Andrews in 1969 but I felt a distinct sense of pride as a Mancunian when I read about them in Dance and Dancers. It was only when I came back to the North in the 1980s that I got a chance to see them regularly. And I think that was their golden age because it was the time when they were directed by Christopher Gable. I was reminded of that time when I saw Cathy Marston's Jane Eyre at the Richmond Theatre in June (see Northern Ballet's Jane Eyre: the best new Ballet from the Company in 20 Years 2 June 2016).

Memory #8:  Miracle in the Gorbals

My favourite work from Northern Ballet is Gillian Lynne's A Simple Man in which Christopher Gable danced with Moira Shearer. Gillian Lynne had danced in Sir Robert Helpmann's Miracle in the Gorbals during the second world war.  In 2014 she was commissioned to recreate it for the Birmingham Royal Ballet.  I saw it in Sadler's Wells as part of the Shadows of War triple bill and reviewed it in A Second Miracle 23 Oct 2014. Really gripping stuff.  Great performances by César Morales as the Christ-like stranger, Iain Mackay as the minister, Elisha Willis as the prostitute and Delia Matthews as the suicide victim,

Memory #7:  Li Cunxin's La Sylphide

La Sylphide ought to be our national ballet as it is set in Scotland A place rather like Taynuilt I would have thought. First performed in 1832 it is one of the oldest ballets in the repertoire.  It has a lovely score by Løvenskiold. Its plot that is far less spooky than Giselle - indeed, it is timeless as it is based on male inconstancy. It is performed quite frequently on the Continent but how often do we see it here. Scottish Ballet has Sir Matthew Bourne's Highland Fling which Ballet Central is about to take on tour (see Ballet Central returns to Leeds but it's not really the same thing. We had to wait for a company on the other side of the world to bring this work to London (see A dream realized: the Queensland Ballet in London 12 Aug 2015).

Memory #6: Cuthbertson's Giselle

I have seen some great Giselle's in the last four years by English National Ballet (Mary Skeaping's rather than Akram Khan's), the Royal New Zealand National Ballet and, of course, the Royal Ballet with Natalia Osipova and Lauren Cuthbertson in the title roles.  It was the latter that really spoke to me last year, That is why I chose that great ballerina as my outstanding female dancer of 2016.  I once heard her speak to the London Ballet Circle after which I had the opportunity to tell her how much I admired her work. One can blog away till the cows come home but nothing beats telling an artist to his or her face how much you enjoy his or her performance.

Memory #5: Mukhamedov's Nikiya

Another ballet that ought to be performed much more frequently in England is La Bayadḕre. I love that ballet. I have even tried to learn a little bit of the choreography without much success despite the heroic efforts of my splendid teacher, Jane Tucker, and an enormous effort by me (see La Bayadere Intensive Day 3: No Snakes 17 Aug 2016),  A few weeks ago I was able to visit Amsterdam to see how the ballet should be performed (see Dutch National Ballet's La Bayadere 14 Nov 2016). The title role was danced by Sasha Mukhamedov and she was outstanding. I wrote:

"Mukhamedov had danced Nikiya with Daniel Camargo in an extract from La Bayadere at the opening night gala on 7 Sept 2016 (see Dutch National Ballet's Opening Night Gala - Improving on Excellence 8 Sept 2016) and she had impressed me with her grace and sensitivity. She showed those qualities again yesterday and I became an even bigger fan."

Nobody could be happier than I when I learned of her elevation to principal a few weeks later. I wrote in Sasha Mukhamedov's Elevation to Principal 10 Jan 2017 "just as Fonteyn is my Marguerite and Sibley my Titania she will always be my Nikiya."

Memory #4: Sibley with Crisp

And talking of Sibley who is my all time favourite ballerina bar none - even more than Fonteyn, Fracci and Seymour whom I also had the great honour of watching in my youth - I got the chance to hear her speak and recall her triumphs with Clement Crisp on 2 Feb 2014 (see Le jour de gloire est arrivé- Dame Antoinette Sibley with Clement Crisp at the Royal Ballet School 3 Feb 2014), The event was organized by the London Jewish Cultural Centre which later staged a recreation of MacMillan's Le Baiser de la fée in Pavlova;s sitting room (see A Minor Miracle - Bringing Le Baiser de la fée back to Life 2 June 2014). My mother saw Pavlova dance in Leeds in 1912 and although she must have been a very little girl the impression made by that great dancer never left her and that story has been handed downs to me (see In Leeds of all Places - Pavlova, Ashton and Magic 18 Sept 2013),

Memory #3: Stars of the Future

I like to look forward as well as back which is why I like to see shows by Ballet Central, Manchester City Ballet and Ballet West but possibly the best concentration of young talent in the world is the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company.  I remember when I first saw them for the first time at the Stadsschouwburg in Amsterdam on 24 Nov 2013. I had come to see Michaela DePrince about whom I had already written a lot of articles. When she actually appeared on stage I was overwhelmed. As I wrote at the time: "She is quite simply the most exciting dancer I have seen for quite a while." DePrince has risen through the ranks of the Dutch National Ballet like a rocket and she us already a soloist.

However, DePrince is not the only outstanding young dancer in Amsterdam. Each and every one of Ernst Meisner's recruits is impressive. Cristiano Principato, for instance, shows enormous promise as a choreographer. His compatriot, Emilie Tassinari, combines strength with grace. I have the good fortune to have met some of those artists on a few occasions and  I follow some of them on twitter and Facebook and they are as gracious off-stage as they are on the boards. Last Summer I attended a charity show at Trecate in North West Italy in which Cristiano had recruited several of his chums from Amsterdam as well as contemporaries from Milan and Vienna.  It was a magnificent gala and I got to know several of the artists slightly better (see From Italy with Love 1 Jul 2017).

There are, of course, outstanding young dancers in this country and I saw something very special in Gwenllian Davies's performance as Juliet in Newport last bonfire night (see A Romeo and Juliet for our Times 7  Nov 2016). Her company, Ballet Cymru, is very fortunate to have a whole company of young stars. I saw another sterling performance by Anna Pujol a few weeks later in Ballet Cymru's "Sleeping Beauty Moment". It goes without saying that talent is not confined to Wales. I got the same goosebumps that I had when I first saw Michaela DePrince when I saw Uyu Hiromoto in Ballet West's Swan Lake earlier this month (see Ballet West at the Beacon 13 Feb 2017). Hiromoto is from a school that has trained more than a few Genée medallists and the only British finalist at Lausanne in recent years.

Memory #2: The  Mighty Scots

Scottish Ballet was the first ballet company that I got to know and love and it occupies a special place in my affections. I think it would occupy such a place even if I had got to know Scottish Ballet very recently because its director, Christopher Hampson, is a choreographer I particularly admire. I also admire its dancers of the present as well as those of the recent and more recent past.  Scottish Ballet has contributed by far the greatest proportion of memories to my long list. It is a dilemma to know what to include and what to leave out. Hampson's Hansel & Gretel which I saw in 2013 and 2017? How about Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Streetcar Named Desire?  Pastor's Romeo and Juliet perhaps? Hampson's Cinderella with the magnificent Bethany Kingsley-Garner in the title role.  If I have to make a choice for favourite Scottish ballet I think it must be David Dawson's Swan Lake which I saw in Liverpool (see Empire Blanc: Dawson's Swan Lake 4 June 2016). Peter Darrell would have been proud of them.

Memory #1: The Bolshoi's Shrew

On a warm August evening in my favourite theatre I experienced something magical in the Bolshoi's performance of Jean-Christophe Maillot's The Taming of the Shrew (see Bolshoi's Triumph - The Taming of the Shrew 4 Aug 2016). I enjoyed it so much that it was my ballet of the year last year. I wrote in The Terpsichore Titles: Ballet of 2016 30 Dec 2016 I wrote:

"There have been so many fine new ballets this year. The Tempest by David Bintley, David Dawson's Swan Lake, Ted Brandsen's Mata Hari and Cathy Marston's Jane Eyre not to mention shorter works such as Chris Marney's To Begin, Begin, Wayne McGregor's Multiverse and Carbon Life. In any other year I would have chosen any of them as my ballet of the year. But Jean-Christophe Maillot's Taming of the Shrew made a special impression on me and it would have been unjust not to recognize it."

I think that says it all.

I have had a lovely time reminiscing about ballet over the last 4 years. I hope my readers have enjoyed reading about the memories as I have enjoyed writing about them. But there is plenty more to come.  An exclusive interview with Kenny Tindall on Casanova, David Murley's report on Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's workshop at the Barbican, Joanne Goodman on Ballet Black's new season and maybe even a special report from Miami as we have a team member out there.  So come back soon,

Ballet West's 2017 Tour

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Ballet West is a ballet school not far from Oban in the Western Highlands. It must be a very good school for several of my favourite young dancers trained there.  Sarah Mortimer is one.  Isaac Bowry is another.  Natasha Watson is yet another.  Some of the staff and students from Ballet West have recently toured Malaysia as I mentioned in Ballet West in Malaysia on 18 June 2016. You can download a video of two of the students with one of their Malaysian hosts from the Ballet West home page.

The school has a company which tours Scotland at the beginning of each year to give its students stage experience. A performance of The Nutcacker by that company in Pitlochry on 23 Feb 2013 was my very first post to this blog. The show was so good that I returned for Swan Lake the next year (see Swan Loch - Ballet West's Swan Lake, Pitlochry 1 March  2014) the subsequent year, Romeo and Juliet the year after that (see Ballet West's Romeo and Juliet  1 Feb 2015) and The Nutcracker again this year (see Thinking out Loud about Ballet West 8 Feb 2016).

Ballet West have announced their tour for 2017. They will dance Swan Lake again and they will dance it just the way I like it. No Simon. No Anthony. No Odilia. The same ballerina dancing Odette and Odile. No evil genius but a proper von Rothbart danced so impressively last time by my fellow Mancunian Isaac Bowry. And above all there will be no bikes. To get a flavour of their performance I have found this YouTube clip which shows Sara-Maria Barton's brilliance in the black act. That is my favourite part of the ballet for it is the act that contains all those fouettés not to mention the divertissements at the beginning.

The tour will start on 20 and 21 Jan 2017 at The McRobert Arts Centre on the campus of Stirling University. The McRobert Centre has a fair sized auditorium with what appears from the stalls to be a fairly danceable stage. There is a reasonably priced restaurant with a licensed bar and coffee shop in the lobby and plenty of free parking near the auditorium. It might be awkward to reach by public transport as the campus is a mile or so outside the town centre and I have never seen a bus there but there are probably taxis to be hired somewhere in the vicinity.

The company's itinerary is as follows:

• Stirling, Macrobert 20th & 21st January 2017
• Helensburgh, Tower Digital Arts Centre 27th January 2017
• Paisley, Paisley Town Hall 28th January 2017
• Oban, Corran Halls 9th February 2017
• Glasgow, SECC 11th February 2017
• Greenock, Beacon Arts Centre 12th February 2017
• Livingston, Howden Park Centre 16th February 2017
• Edinburgh, EICC, 18th February 2017

If Cinderella's fairy godmother were to appear right now and grant me three balletic wishes, one of them would be for Ballet West to make at least one appearance in the rest of the United Kingdom. I am pretty confident that audiences here would love them. I happen to know from conversations with members of the audience and posts to a ballet fans' forum to which I subscribe that I am by no means the only Sassenach who ventures North at the coldest time of the year to see these fine young artists.

And my second wish? Why it would be to see those same young dancers perform the purest and most beautiful of the Romantic ballets which like them is set in the Highlands.  Please, Mr Job, pretty please! Do consider La Sylphide one year. I have seen Danes dance it. Australians. Even an Italian in Trecate earlier this year. Why not Scots?

Queensland Ballet's Bounty

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Two of the highlights of the year were listening to and actually meeting Li Cunxin, the artistic director of the Queensland Ballet at the London Ballet Circle on the 3 Aug 2015 (see Li Cunxin at the London Ballet Circle 5 Aug 2015) and then watching his company dance La Sylphide at the Coliseum the following Saturday (see A dream realized: the Queensland Ballet in London 12 Aug 2015). There are three reasons for that which I explained in Queensland Ballet's La Sylphide - Why it is so special 22 July 2015.

Because the Queensland Ballet is special I was delighted to learn of the A$1.2 million (£568,611.48 or US$ 862,680.00) funding increase that the company has been promised by the Queensland government and a A$5 million (£2.37 million or US$3.59 million) grant from the Ian Potter Foundation.

In a media statement dated 10 Dec 2015 Annastacia Palaszczuk MP, the Premier of Queensland, who is also Minister for the Arts in the state government said:

“My Government is investing an additional $1.2m annually from 2016 for Queensland Ballet to cement its profile in the Asia Pacific region, expand its home base and company of dancers and offer more performances, more collaborations, more international touring and exchanges."

 “Importantly the company will add eight additional dancers by 2020, allowing Queensland Ballet to align with other world-class companies of its size."

“This will give the company more choice in selecting its repertoire and give Queenslanders more opportunities to enjoy high quality ballet.”

The Premier also announced a 50 year extension of the company's lease to the Thomas Dixon Centre where the company is housed. The gift from the foundation will be used to re-design the company's space in the Centre.

Replying to the Premier and Lady Potter who represented the Foundation, Li Cunxin said:

“We have a bold vision for Queensland Ballet to truly connect meaningfully with our audiences and communities in Queensland, Australia, the Asia Pacific and beyond.”

The popular support that the company enjoys was evidenced by the number of Australians who had come to London to support their dancers. They doubled the numbers who normally attend a meeting of the London Ballet Circle and they occupied a whole block of seats in the stalls. It was good to see them and I hope they enjoyed their stay in our country. I also hope it will not  be long before we see the Queensland Ballet again in England.

A dream realized: the Queensland Ballet in London

Queensland Ballet, La Sylphide, Coliseum 8 Aug 2915 19:30

Jane Lambert and Gita Mistry

In their Annual Report for the year ended 31 Dec 2010 the directors of the Queensland Ballet wrote:

"Our dream

By 2013, Queensland Ballet will be recognised, not only in Queensland but throughout Australia and also overseas, for:

• creating and presenting a broad repertoire of quality work which ranges from the great classics, through contemporary dance, new ‘story’ ballets, and works for children 

• exciting and challenging both dancers and audiences 

• developing choreographers

• training dancers to a consistently high standard in classical ballet technique, and developing that technique through excellent coaching and creative artistic development

• having a strong and coherent artistic team led by a strong Artistic Director and Chief Choreographer

• best practice in company management."

Their season at the Coliseum which ended last Saturday shows just how far that dream has come true. Much of the credit for their success is due to their artistic director, Li-Cunxin who combines business acumen with artistic genius.

The Queensland Ballet is not a large company. it has 23 dancers according to Wikipedia (though I have counted rather more on its website) but it stages full length classics like The Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia and The Nutcracker as well as contemporary works. It is based in Australia's third largest city and it must compete for attention and to some extent audiences with the Australian Ballet in Melbourne and Sydney and the West Australian Ballet in Perth. To bring La Sylphide to one of the world's two alpha ++ cities which hosts two of the world's greatest ballet companies and sees most of the rest periodically was extremely ambitious. Some would say recklessly so.  In our view the Queensland Ballet carried off this enterprise magnificently.

The company did not choose the easiest work for its début in England.  La Sylphide is not performed very often in the UK. The last performance by the Royal Ballet was in 2012 (see La Sylphide 7 Aug 2015). Why that should be is not clear because it is a lot more credible than say Giselle. James on the day before his wedding is distracted by the image of a sylph which he follows into the woods. Well men do that.  He is not very nice to an old lady who tries to warm herself by the fire. There are no trysts beyond the grave and the ladies in white are much less offensive than the wilis. From a feminist perspective  the outcome of the ballet is satisfying. Effie is rescued from a disastrous marriage with an utter prat. Gurn is much more likely to look after her properly.  Also in the last scene James is taught some manners. if you treat the sylph and the poisoned scarf as a figment of James's lurid imagination the story makes perfect sense today.

The version that Queensland Ballet brought to London was created by Peter Schaufuss for what is now the English Festival Ballet in 1979. It is still remembered by a lot of people. When Li-Cunxin spoke to the London Ballet Circle on 3 Aug 2015 Gerald Dowler asked how many members of the audience remembered that production. It was surprising how many hands sprang up (see Li-Cunxin at London Ballet Circle 5 Aug 2015).  Not everybody liked that version at the time, particularly not in Denmark. The better known and more popular version is Johan Koburg's.

To appreciate this ballet you have to put yourself in the mind of the 19th century theatre goer. This was one of the first works (if not the first) in which a ballerina rose on pointe as part of the choreography.  The stage would have been lit not by electricity but by gas or flickering candle. The impression on the audience must have been almost magical.  Something of that magic was wrought by Yanela Piñera who reminded me of Carla Fracci who enchanted me when I saw her dance the sylph nearly half a century ago.  She was accompanied - I won't say partnered because there is no pas de deux as such - by Peter Shcaufuss's son Luke as James. It was great to see Greg Horsman and Mary Li  (nee McKendry) again. They are both well known in England.  Horsman danced Madge and Li Anne, James's mother. Mia Heathcote was a delightful Effie. I particularly liked her first dance with the foot flexing.  Vito Bernasconi was a worthy Gurn.

There is a lot of drama in this ballet as well as a fair measure of levity. It was also colourful David Walker's sets and costumes were gorgeous. Steen Bjarke's lighting was the next best thing in the 21st century to gaslight. I have only one niggle and that's the dancing with folded arms. It's not Schaufuss's fault. Bournonville is unlikely ever to have seen Scottish country dancing which explains why the the reels look as though they came out of Hungary. It would be nice if a modern choreographer or a producer made those dances look a little bit more Scottish.

The audience on Saturday night loved the show. A phalanx in the centre stalls actually gave the company a standing ovation though I think these may have been the company's supporters from Brisbane. The Queensland Ballet now has fans on the other side of the world.  It can return to Australia well satisfied with its season in London.

La Sylphide

Basic Facts
Choreographer  Filippo Taglioni, August Bournonville
Composer Herman Severin Løvenskiold
Acts 2
Approximate length: 1 hour 55 minutes including intervals
First performed 1832
First performance of Bournonville's production 1836
Genre Romantic


Introduction

La Sylphide was first danced in 1832 when Europe fell in love with all things Scottish. This love of all things Scottish had all sorts of manifestations: the novels and other works of Sir Walter Scott, Donizetti's Lucia di Lamemoor, Scottish baronial architecture and lots of dramatic landscape painting like Jacob Moore's Falls of Clyde above. This ballet is in the news just now because it has been brought to London by the Queensland Ballet.

Reviews

The Australians have had good reviews from the press this week. Far better, indeed, than their cricketers though that may change as there are still three more days of play at Trent Bridge.   Louise Levene wrote in the Pink'Un "Peter Schaufuss’s version of the Romantic tragedy is a fine showcase for these well-drilled dancers" 6 Aug 2015. Zoe Anderson rejoiced in "Romantic tale features fleet-footed footwork from the Queensland Ballet" 6 Aug 2015 in The Independent. Judith Mackrell celebrated the company's "impressive mastery of a tragic fairytale" 6 Aug 2015 The Guardian.  It seems also to have gone down well on BalletcoForum. Whether that is because it is practically the only ballet in the United Kingdom this week or because it really is a good show remains to be seen. Gita and I shall see it on Saturday and I will review it on Sunday or shortly afterwards. My hunch is that it is a good show and having listened to the company's artistic director Li-Cunxin at the London Ballet Circle last Monday I think he will have made damn sure that it will be good.

Queensland Version

The show that Queensland Ballet has brought to London was created by Peter Schaufuss for what is now the English National Ballet in 1979. I was reminded of that production at Li-Cunxin's talk to the London Ballet Circle. I had completely forgotten about it and have now only the fuzziest recollection. The performance that sparkles in my memory is one by Carla Fracci as  the sylph. Here she is dancing with Schaufuss though I think the production I saw was by American Ballet Theatre and I can't remember whether I saw it on tour or when I was a graduate student in the USA.

 

However good the Australians may be the sad fact is that they will be on their plane back to Brisbane soon and this lovely ballet will hibernate again. So this resource page is my attempt to keep it alive a little in the public mind for a little bit longer.

Other Versions

First, The Royal Ballet have a version though it was last seen at Covent Garden in 2012 (see La Sylphide on the Royal Ballet's website). So, too, do the Bolshoi who ran four performances in June and will stage another on 3 Oct 2015 (see La Sylphide  on the company's website). I understand from Gillian Barton that Ballet West are planning a production for 2017. That will be really something because Taynuilt is actually in Gurn and Effie territory and the school and their teachers have so much talent.

Further Reading

For those who want to know more about the ballet there are pretty good synopses on the Bolshoi and Queensland Ballet websites. Both companies explain the historical significance of the ballet (see About Performance  on the Bolshoi site and The History on Queensland's). It was one of the first ballers (if not the first ballet) in which the ballerina danced on pointe. There are also useful articles on the ballet in Wikipedia, the Ballet Encyclopedia and The Ballet Bag.

Post Script

11 Aug 2015 There is a very interesting article by FLOSS on BalletcoForum mentioning some of the differences between the Schaufuss version of La Sylphide and the Koburg version.