Northern Ballet's Romeo and Juliet Revisited

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Northern Ballet Romeo and Juliet Leeds Playhouse 20 Jun 2025 19:30

Few people, if any, understood Romeo and Juliet better than Christopher Gable.  He and Lynn Seymour had been selected by Kenneth MacMillan to premiere the title roles in MacMillan's new ballet.  They were replaced by Rudolph Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn only because the US impresario Sol Hurok thought that American audiences would flock to see Nureyev and Fonteyn in preference to Gable and Seymour. I saw both Nureyev and Fonteyn and Gable, and Seymour in the late 1960s or early 1970s. While I admired Nureyev and Fonteyn very much, I preferred Gable and Seymour in MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet.

Many years after the premiere of MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet, Gable became the Artistic Director of the company now known as Northern Ballet.  He commissioned a new version of Romeo and Juliet for his company, choosing Massimo Moricone as his choreographer and Lez Brotherston OBE as his designer. Unlike the productions of Krzysztof Pastor and Sir Matthew Bourne, Gable's Romeo and Juliet follows Shakespeare pretty closely, though it has its own features.  Each act begins with a clap of thunder.  The second act ends with the fall of a beaded curtain representing a hailstorm.  Gangs of Capulets dance as cats making soft mewing sounds, while the Montagues present as birds. Mercutio's death throes are quite different in Gable's ballet from his agonies in MacMillan's, where he mistakes a sword for a musical instrument. Juliet witnesses the sword fight between Romeo and Tybalt in Gable's version.  I saw Gable's ballet in Sheffield on 4 Apr 2024 and reviewed it in Moriconi and Gable's Romeo and Juliet the next day

I watched Gable's Romeo and Juliet again at Leeds Playhouse on Friday, 20 Jun 2025.  One big difference between the performance that I saw in Sheffield last year and last Friday's is that the cast danced to Northern Sinfonietta last year, but to a recording by the Orchestra of the Slovak National Theatre on Friday.  I have to say that I liked the sound of the Slovak orchestra very much.  If a company has to dispense with live musicians, a recording of the Slovak National Theatre musicians was probably the next best choice.  But ballet is a three-way communication between dancers, musicians and audience.  Something is lost when a conductor and orchestra are absent.

    

Romeo was danced by Joseph Taylor on Friday.  He is currently the company's only premier dancer.  It goes without saying that he would have understood his role well.   He performed it with virtuosity and flair.  Juliet was Alessandra Bramante, who happens to be Italian.   She brought a freshness and energy to that role.   Mercutio was danced again by  Jun Ishi.   He first came to my attention in that role last year.   I was impressed with him then, and I remain impressed this year.   Harry Skoupas was a menacing Tybalt this year.  Last year he had been Paris.  Harriet Marden was a passionate Lady Capulet, 

At the reverence, several members of the audience rose to their feet.   I counted 20 dancers at the curtain call.   That's not a big cast, but they gave the impression of a big full-length production. 

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.

A Christmas Carol - A Reflection of a Golden Age

John Leech Marley's Ghost

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 Northern Ballet  A Christmas Carol Leeds Grand Theatre, 31 Dec 2024

Although I read in Dance and Dancers about a performance at the Royal Northern College of Music by a new company called Northern Dance Theatre when I was an undergraduate at St. Andrews, it was only in 1987 that I saw them for the first time.  I could not have had a better introduction because it was Gillian Lynne's A Simple Man with Christopher Gable as L S Lowry and Moira Shearer as the artist's mother.

They were two ballet heroes from my childhood.  Shearer had retired before I took an interest in ballet though clips and photos of her remained long afterwards.  Gable, on the other hand, was one of the biggest stars in the 1960s when I started to attend the ballet.  I saw him several times and admired him greatly.

At about the same time as I saw A Simple Man or perhaps shortly afterwards Gable was appointed Artistic Director of the company now known as Northern Ballet.  As I said in my review of Moriconi and Gable's Romeo and Juliet on 5 April 2024, "[s]ome of my favourite works were created while Gable was the Artistic Director of the company and I have always regarded that time as a golden age."  I added that it gave me great pleasure to see Romeo and Juliet again and that I very much looked forward to seeing A Christmas Carol again in November.

I actually saw it on the last day of the year and I was not disappointed.  We had an excellent cast:

• Jonathan Hanks was Scrooge
• Joseph Taylor was Young Scrooge
• Dominique Larose was Belle
• Harris Beattie was Bob Cratchit 
• Jun Ishii was Scrooge's nephew
• Sarah Chun was the nephew's wife
• Bruno Serraclara was Mr Fezziwig, and
• Amber Lewis was Mrs Dezziwig,

The rest of the cast and indeed the casts of the other performances in Leeds are here.   For those who do not know the ballet or even Dickens's novella, the role of each of those characters is introduced on the Christmas Carol Characters web page and the synopsis is on the Christmas Carol Story page,  There are some lovely videos and photos.   Lez Brotherston's designs were as fresh as ever as was Carl Davis's score.

I have waited a long time to see this show again.   The company danced to packed houses most nights in Leeds.   I hope it will keep its place in the repertoire.

Northern Ballet's Generations - A Treat in Store for London

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Northern Ballet Generations Three Short Ballets 16 Sept 2023 14:00

Tomorrow Northern Ballet will dance Benjamin Ella's Joie de Vivre, Hans van Manen's Adagio Hammerklavier and Tiler Peck's Intimate Pages at the Linbury.  Those who are fortunate enough to obtain tickets are in for a treat.  I saw the show at the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre in Leeds on 16 Sept 2023. I have to think back to the first time I saw A Simple Man nearly 40 years ago for a show by Northern Ballet that I have enjoyed as much.  

In his foreword to the programme, Federico Bonelli wrote how much he had been looking forward to the moment when he could present a programme of his own to reflect his ambitions for Northern Ballet in the years to come.  Each of the works that the company danced had a connection with the Bonelli.  Adagio Hammerklavier was a reminder of his time with the Dutch National Ballet, Joie de Vivre of his career at the Royal Ballet and Intimate Pages of his guest appearances around the world.

My favourite work of the three was Adagio Hammerklavier.  I had seen it online as part of the Dutch National Ballet's Hans van Manen's Variations which were screened from an almost empty Music Theatre on 27 and 28 Feb 2023.  In my review of that performance, I referred to a panel discussion in the Stanley and Audrey Forum in 2015 when a critic who really should have known better opined that Beethoven is impossible to choreograph (see My Thoughts on Saturday Afternoon's Panel Discussion at Northern Ballet 21 June 2015).  It was glorious to watch a ballet set to Beethoven's music in the same theatre in which it had been declared impossible.   

In my humble opinion, van Manen is the world's greatest living choreographer.  I had the enormous good fortune to shake his hand at the Dutch National Ballet's gala in June 2022.  This is not the first time Northern Ballet has performed his work   The company performed Concertante in 2013 and on being asked what he thought of the dancers he replied that he liked them very much indeed (see YouTube Dance Master Hans van Manen on Concertante & Northern Ballet),   There is now a new generation of dancers at Northern Ballet and I think he would like today's artists even more.  The first couple in Adagio Hammerklavier were Amber Lewis and Jonathan Hanks, the second Alessandra Bramante and George Liang and the third Dominique Larose and Joseph Taylor. The pianist was Colin Scott.  They danced with flair and precision and I think van Manen would have liked them too,

I was not the only one to relish that ballet.   In the second interval, I spotted Bonelli standing on his own so I introduced myself.  As I was telling him about my blog Janet Mclty of  BalletcoForum joined us.  She like me had been impressed by van Manen and she asked the director whether we could have more van Manen, ideally one of his ballets in every mixed bill.  Bonelli did not think that would be possible but said that it was a very nice idea and I agree.

Joie de Vivre was light, fresh and exuberant - a perfect start to a triple bill.   The score consisted of 8 violin and piano concertos performed live by Geoffrey Allan and Ewan Gilford.  Ella described it as "a poem or epigram of human feelings, emotions or reactions."  Three couples performed this work: Dominique Larose and Joseph Taylor, Sarah Chun and Harris Beattie, Kirica Takahashi and  Jun Ishii.  Finally, I should say a word for the costumes and lighting which were exquisite.

The last piece was choreographed to Leoš Janáček's String Quartet No. 2 Intimate Letters and again we had a live string quartet  consisting of Geoffrey Allan, Helen Boordman, Rosalyn Cabot and Toby Turton.  The music was plaintive and haunting. Peck explained in the programme notes that the composer wrote it with a love interest in mind.  The piece requires a main couple, two soloists and three couples.  Sarah Chun and Harris Beattie were the main couple.  Aerys Merrill and Kirica Takahashi were the soloists.  The couples were Julie Nunes and Stefano Varalta, Kaho Masumoto and Archie Sherman and Helen Bogatch and Bruno Serraclara.

Just before the show I watched the dancers in company class.  They looked happy, energetic and motivated.

Sarah Kundi - An Appreciation

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Readers of this blog will know that I have a particularly high regard for Sarah Kundi.  Although I must have seen her several times when she was with Northern Ballet she first came to my notice through the YouTube video of Depouillage in which she danced with Jade Hale-Christofi.  It was that film that led me to Ballet Black (see Ballet Black's Appeal 12 March 2013).  When I saw her dance for the first time in  "Dopamine (you make my levels go silly)" and War Letters at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre on Saturday 18 May 2013 I was bowled over (see Why Ballet Black is Special 20 May 2013).

When Ballet Black came to Leeds 6 months later, Sarah Kundi had left the company.  As I said in Ballet Black is Still Special on 7 Nov 2013, I enjoyed Ballet Black's performance in Leeds at least as much as their show in Tottenham but I did miss Sarah Kundi.   I did not have long to wait because I found out that she had joined MurleyDance which performed in Leeds on 1 Dec 2013 (see MurleyDance Triple Bill 2 Dec 2013).

Sarah Kundi did not stay long with MurleyDance and there were reports that she had been offered work with Victor Ulate in Spain (see ByeBye and All the Best 10 June 2014).  Happily, English National Ballet offered her an appointment while she was dancing in Romeo and Juliet in the Round (see Saved for the Nation 17 July 2914).  She remained with that company for the rest of her career picking up the emerging dancer award and triumphing as Lady Capulet (see Congratulations to Sarah Kundi on 20 June 2018) and Hortensia in Christopher Wheeldon's Cinderella (see Cinders in the Round  13 June 2019).

She announced her retirement on Facebook at the end of English National Ballet's latest season in the Royal Albert Hall and I shall miss her greatly.   She was blessed with an expressive countenance that made her a remarkable actor as well as a fine dancer and a physique that gave her an aetherial appearance on stage. Those are qualities that not all principals possess and it is why there were many times that I enquired whether she was in the cast before looking up the leading artists.

Although it is unlikely that we shall ever see her on stage again, Sarah Kundi is not lost to dance.  I was delighted to see the Royal Ballet School's announcement that she has joined its staff. There she will pass on her skills, knowledge and experience to promising students.   I have had the good fortune to meet her at the stage doors of the Palace Theatre in Manchester and the Albert Hall as well as interview her over Zoom for the Stage Door.   I can report that she is as graceful and charming to her fans as she is magnificent on the stage.

I have to thank her for the many years of pleasure that she has given me and no doubt countless other balletgoers and wish her well in her new career as a teacher.

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. 

Northern's Nutcracker

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Northern Ballet The Nutcracker 5 Jan 2023 19:00 The Grand Theatre, Leeds

I saw The Nutcracker one and a half times this year.  The first time was on 28 Dec when Leeds was gridlocked with a match at Elland Road and an event at the First Direct Arena.  The multistorey where I usually park was full and I had to leave my car at Woodhouse Lane which is a stiff walk to The Grand.  The ushers let my companion and me into the auditorium halfway through the first act.  As I could not fairly review a show that I had not seen from the start I returned on 5 Jan to see the same cast.

David Nixon's production of The Nutcracker is one of his best ballets.  It is one of my favourite works in Northern Ballet's repertoire.  Unlike his Swan Lake, he has left the story intact other than changing the name of the Stahkbaum family to Edwards. He has resisted the temptation to embellish it as Grigorovich, Bourne or even Sir Peter Wright did.  He simply tells the tale of a young girl's dream after receiving an unusual gift from her eccentric uncle.  

As Nixon's ballet focuses on the dream, Clara is the leading female role.  There is a Sugar Plum but her pas de deux is simply the last of the divertissements.   On my visits, Clara was danced by Rachael Gillespie.  According to the programme notes, this was Gillespie's third season as Clara and she is perfect in that role.  Even though she has been with the company since 2007 she does not look a day over 14 when dancing this character.  She seems to live that role.  The joy on her face when she receives her gift is truly childlike.  So too is her dismay when her meddlesome little brother trashes the gift.  Her performance was not just polished.  It was inspired.

Sugar Plum was danced by Saeka Shirai.  She joined the company recently and this was my first opportunity to watch her. She impressed me with her solo and I shall certainly look out for her in future. She was partnered by Jonathan Hanks whom I know rather better.  He also danced "James" who is described in the cast list as "Louise [that is to say, Clara's sister's] friend."

Drosselmeyer was danced by a youthful Joseph Taylor and Sean Bates as Clara's dad seemed barely older than his daughter.  Even younger was Clara's grandfather who was danced by Wesley Branch. Prior to the pandemic, some of those roles could have been filled by the likes of Javier Torres or Hironao Takahashi but they have all gone.  

Fussing and fumbling and slightly dotty, Dominique Larose was a very convincing grandma in the first act.  She came back in the second as the sexy, sultry and very supple beauty in the Arabian dance.  Another artist who carried off successfully two very different roles was George Liang who doubled as the Mouse King and one of the Chinese dancers.

Save for the Christmas party and the battle between the toy soldiers and mice the ballet consists largely of divertissements. There are the automatons' dance and snowflakes in the first act and the Spanish, Arabian, Chinese, Cossacks, French, Waltz of the Flowers and the pas de deux in the second.  I enjoyed them all, especially snowflakes and Sugar Plum's solo which Martin Dutton taught me and Waltz of the Flowers which Jane Tucker taught me at workshops held by KNT and Powerhouse Ballet. I learned more about The Nutcracker from those workshops than I had previously gained from a lifetime of theatre-going and I cannot recommend them too highly. The only comment that I would make about the others is that I admired Antoni Cañellas Artigues's virtuosity but the castanets suggest a duet or possibly a larger group.

As always the mice were very cute and the children very naughty.  I was pleasantly surprised to see the girls charging across the stage with the boys in this production rather than sweetly tending to their dolls. In the past, the children have been rehearsed by Cara O'Shea.  I could not find her in the programme this year but the children were as well-trained as ever.  I have attended several of Cara's classes and she is a very gifted teacher.  I would not be surprised to learn that she had trained the kids.

One improvement to the show that Federico Bonelli may wish to consider is to replace the backdrop to the the opening scene.  It is supposed to be a book-lined wall but it ripples in the air which is risible, However, this is only a minor grumble.   Overall it was still a good show.

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.  

Casanova Revived

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Northern Ballet Casanova  Leeds Grand Theatre 11 March 2022 19:30

I saw Northern Ballet on stage for the first time since its 50th anniversary gala on 4 Jan 2020.  It was very good to see them again.   Although I try not to be partisan and support the other classical and contemporary companies of the United Kingdom, the Dutch National Ballet and great companies around the world as well as I can, Northern Ballet is my home company.  I live 25 miles from Leeds. I have attended whenever possible Northern Ballet's over 55 and evening classes since 2013. I have seen most of its shows since I was captivated by Dame Gillian Lynne's A Simple Man. Through those connections, I have got to know and like many members of the company.

Several of those artists were in last night's performance of Casanova.  It was a particular pleasure to see Hannah Bateman as Madame de Pompadour.  I had taken part in a virtual flower throw for her early in the lockdown because it had not been possible to attend the Grand for a real flower throw in what I had understood to be her final performance for Northern Ballet. Bateman has long been my favourite female artist in that company.  She founded The Ballet Retreat which I have always promoted but never attended largely because I fear I would not be good enough for her.  She is in the very restricted sense that I use the term a true ballerina.

Other dancers in the show whom I know well and like a lot included Abigail Prudames as Bellino, Ashley Dixon as Senator Bragadin and Gavin McCaig as an inquisitor and other roles. The title role, however, was danced by Lorenzo Trosello. Yesterday was the first time I had noticed him in a major role and I was impressed.  I particularly admired his interaction with Prudames who danced Bellino.  That appears to me to be the most demanding female role.  She was also impressive.  They certainly excited the crowd most of whom rose to their feet at the reverence.

Casanova is not a particularly easy story to follow.  I had seen it several times and written quite a lot about it in Casanova Second Time Round in the articles linked to that post, but even I had to refer to the synopsis in the programme at times.  Tindall is a dramatic choreographer - perhaps most remarkable for his work with groups and the corps than for his solos and duets.  He makes his dancers create shapes that are almost sculptural.  His narrative is cinematic. Christopher Oram's designs are breathtaking as is Muzzey's score.  The success of this ballet is down to the choreographer's eye for talent and ability to bring it all together.

The house was less than full last night but the folk who did attend were vociferous and enthusiastic. Perhaps more used to Elland Road, I thought, than the theatre. When the Ukrainian national anthem was announced my friend and I stood up. Though we were joined by one or two others as the playing continued most seemed content to sit it out.  It was quite a contrast to the audience at The Lowry last week.  They did however stand and even ululate at the curtain call.  It was certainly a good show though not good enough for me to lose my sense of proportion.

The show will remain at the Grand until 19 March.  It opens at the Lyceum in Sheffield on 22 March and then moves on to Sadlers Wells and The Lowry in May.  It is one of the best works in Northern Ballet's repertoire and if you can get to any of those theatres you should see it.

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. 

Everything Happens on a Tuesday!

 

Author Pd4u Licence Kopimi Source Wikimedia

Since Northern Ballet moved its improvers' class from Wednesday to Tuesday in September I have had to make the heartbreaking choice between joining my improvers class in Leeds or my pre-intermediate class in Manchester.  Neither of those classes is to be missed. Northern Ballet is not taking any new registrations at the moment.  However, you can sign up for KNT's in Manchester by following the instructions in the last paragraph of Dancing Outdoors in Castlefield on 2 June 2021.  

Since the London Ballet Circle has started its "In Conversation" interviews on Tuesday evenings my heart has often been broken three-ways.  They have had some really interesting guests recently.  This Tuesday they will welcome Cira Robinson of Ballet Black, one of my all-time favourite ballerinas. Here she is in conversation with Helen Pickett last September (see YouTube Helen Pickett and Cira Robinson 20 Sep 2020).   You will probably have to join the Circle to get a link to the interview but you can join online at https://www.tlbc.org.uk/.

And this Thursday my heart risks shattering to smithereens because the Dutch National Ballet plans to live stream Beethoven on 8 June 2021 and David Dawson's Four Seasons on 15 June 2021 at 19:15 our time. Tickets can be obtained from the box office at +31(0) 20 625 54 55 or through the website ay www.operaballet.nl.  

Nixon - An Appreciation

Standard YouTube Licence

On 28 May 2021, Northern Ballet announced the retirement of its artistic director, David Nixon (see David Nixon OBE steps down as Artistic Director of Northern Ballet after 20 years 28 May 2021 Northern Ballet).  He has already held that job longer than any other director of the company. When he stands down at the end of the year he will have been with the company for over 40% of its history.  

Good things have happened to Northern Ballet during that time. The company's move to Quarry Hill will have been appreciated by the artists and technicians but it has also enabled ordinary folk like me to dance in the same studios and occasionally even upon the same stage as the artists. The work of the Academy and the Leeds Centre for Advanced Training are other significant achievements.  There are, of course, adult ballet classes and centres of advanced elsewhere but one of the distinctions of the Academy and the Leeds Centre is whether aiming for a career in dance or simply dancing for fun, all students are trained under the Ichino Technique:

"Under this method, young dancers learn how to cope with the physical and emotional demands of dancing through preventative conditioning, a clear understanding of their individual strengths and limitations and a detailed knowledge of dance technique."

Yoko Ichino, the deviser of that technique, is also Mrs David Nixon.

Nixon is highly regarded as a choreographer.  While I can't say that I have liked all his work he is the author of two masterpieces. One is A Midsummer Night's Dream  which I reviewed as follows in Realizing Another Dream on  15 Sept 2013:

"Perhaps the best way to start this review is at the end. I could not help rising to my feet as the cast took their bows. And I was not the only one. The English, unlike Americans, are very slow to give standing ovations (except at party conferences) and I have only seen other in my lifetime. That was a special evening for Sir Frederick Ashton at Covent Garden in July 1970 when he retired as director of the Royal Ballet. It seems from the tweets and video that Northern Ballet's short season at West Yorkshire Playhouse (6 to 14 Sept 2013) has also been very special."

Nixon's other masterpiece is Madame Butterfly.  In my review I wrote:

"it took my breath away. I have seen a fair selection of Nixon's work and in my humble opinion Madame Butterfly is his masterpiece.

To his credit, Nixon has commissioned major works from his own artists and I have enjoyed these better than many of his outside commissions.  Particularly successful was Kenneth Tindall's Casanova and Daniel de Andrade's The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

There has been a lot of speculation about who will succeed Nixon and what he will do next.  I have no idea about either but I know whom I would like to see apply for the role.  I think dance education is very important and two of my favourite candidates are artistic directors of great ballet schools, one in mainland Europe and the other in London.  Both have worked with exceptionally gifted young dancers in the important years between finishing vocational education and joining a company. The other candidate has already been an artistic director.  She has created sensations in San Francisco and London and also worked for Northern Ballet.  As for Nixon, someone on BalletcoForum suggested an important role for him in North America. 

Whether Nixon takes up a new appointment or retires I wish him all the best for the future.

KNT's Day of Dance Tomorrow

The Dear Old Dancehouse

One of the highlights of my year is KNT's Day of Dance.  It offers a chance to train with some of the best teachers and performers in the business.  Last year, for example, I took classes with   Alex Hallas of Bale Cymru and  Jane Tucker of Northern Ballet Academy.

Another Day of Dance will take place tomorrow and I regret to say that I only learned of it a few minutes ago when I tried to check in your some online classes for the coming week. According to KNT's Class Manager app, the following are available:

• 11:00 - 12:30 Beginner/Pre-Intermediate Ballet 
• 11:00 - 12:30 Intermediate/Advanced Contemporary 
• 13:00 - 14:30 Intermediate/Advanced Ballet
• 13:00 - 14:30 Pre-Intermediate Contemporary 
• 19:00 - 20:30 Beginner/Pre-Intermediate Ballet 
• 19:00 - 20:30 Beginner/Pre-Intermediate Contemporary
• 20:30 - 22:00 Intermediate/Advanced Ballet  
• 20:30 - 22:00 Intermediate/Advanced Contemporary 

All the classes for tomorrow's Day of Dance are priced at £10.

Sadly it won't be quite the same as last year because we are exiled from the Dear Old Dancehouse as a result of the public health emergency but we shall still have excellent teaching.  Above all, we can still wave at each other over Zoom even if we can no longer embrace.

Plagues don't last forever.  There is every chance that medicine will eradicate or at least contain this virus as it has done with so many other infections.   One day this horrible scourge will be nothing more than a horrible memory.  I wish everyone a great weekend.

Northern Ballet Restarts its Open Classes

Photographer Mtaylor848 Licence CC BY-SA 4.0  

 

Northern Ballet Academy Open Classes For All Improvers Class Jane Tucker, 22 Sept 2020 18:45 - 19:45

Not quite the same as usual because the class was 30 minutes shorter and live-streamed over Zoom but at least the Northern Ballet Academy Improvers' Class was together again. Once again we could train with our wonderful teacher, Jane Tucker.  We met on Tuesday rather than out usual Wednesday which will be a problem for me as I usually attend Karen Sant's Pre-Intermediate Class in Manchester on Tuesday evenings. From now on I shall have to alternate between the two.  But it was very good to see in gallery view faces I had not seen since early March.

Jane usually starts our studio class with a walk around the room adding arm exercises, breaking into a trot, changing direction, skipping facing in and then skipping facing out, and finally jumping Jacks and stretches. None of that was possible in our kitchens or living rooms but we still managed running on the spot and other exercises.  The tendus facing the barre (in my case a high backed kitchen chair), pliés, tendus, glissés, ronds de jambe, fondus, développés, grand battements et cetera proceeded as normal.

We then moved to the centre with tendus front, back and each side before attempting an adagio.  My favourite adagio from Jane's studio class is Minkus's Descent into the Kingdom of the Shades from La Bayadȅre which starts off in the usual way but includes some additional refinements that I have never been able properly to master.  That, of course, cannot be performed safely in domestic premises but Jane gave us something equally lovely to do that started with a port de bras, balancés, soutenus, more balancés, some gentle single pirouettes and finishing on demi with arms in fifth.

We omitted the usual chassés pas de bourré and three pirouette turns which I dread because I get them right only occasionally and the grands allegros which can be anything from zig-zags to grands jetés that I adore.  In my very first ballet lessons as an undergraduate at St Andrews in 1968 my teacher, Sally made me do a lot of jumps - far more than the other students - because I was then the only student in her class who could fulfil particular roles.  I've never found ballet easy - not even when I was 19 - but I found the jumping fun.  My favourite bit of choreography is the bronze idol dance from La Bayadere.  I much prefer it to Shades, Cygnets or Juliet's dance which Jane has also taught me.

However, we did have pirouette exercises which I found I could do better in my kitchen than I can on carpet or even in the studio.   We also did some very tiny jumps in first and second.   Before we knew it we were in cool down.   It is always a good sign when a class seems to have finished far too early as it did for me yesterday,  We all unmuted and gave Jane a well-deserved round of applause.

Northern Ballet Academy offers classes for everybody.   For seniors, I can strongly recommend the Over 55 class with Annemarie Donoghue.  I can't always attend it because it meets during office hours.  I must also congratulate Northern Ballet on following the lead of English National and Scottish Ballet in running classes for Parkinson's.  I have donated to the classes run by those other companies and I shall support the Academy's financially.   For more information, visit the Open Classes for All page on the Northern Ballet website. 

Gavin McCaig in Conversation with his Friends

Gary Sutherland / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

Not far from Taynuilt lies the port of Oban from where McBrayne ferries depart for Mull on the way to Iona.  I had passed through the port countless times but never bothered to stop until two years ago when I attended a performance of Highland Fling at the Atlantic Leisure Centre. It was then that I discovered that there was a lot more to Oban than a waystation to or from the Hebrides. Some of the best fish and chips in the United Kingdom are to be had in the city's many chippies.  For anybody wondering why I call Oban a city, it is because it has two cathedrals including Sir Gilbert Scott's magnificent St Columba's by the seashore.  However, the most impressive landmark in the whole of Oban is the colonnade on Battery Hill known as McCaig's tower.

I had a question about the tower up my sleeve in case I ran out of things to say when I interviewed Gavin McCaig of Northern Ballet for Stage Door on Sunday but I didn't need it for the conversation flowed like water. Gavin McCaig is a very interesting chap as well as a very congenial one. I had interviewed him for Terpsichore soon after he had joined the company in 2014.  He has come a long way since then and while he might not have reached the very top of the greasy pole he has certainly gained considerable elevation.

I began the interview by asking him whether the success for which he must have aimed when he was at ballet school had turned out to be all that it was cracked up to be.  Disarmingly he replied that he had not set his sites on any particular outcome when he was at ballet school. There is stiff competition to enter any company particularly one in the UK.  His ambition was simply to get a job in ballet.  He had begun to follow Northern Ballet when he was at the English Ballet School.  He remembered trips to Woking and other theatres within the vicinity of London. Joining Northern Ballet was everything he could have hoped for.

I mentioned some of the roles in which he had impressed.  John Brown in Cathy Marston's Victoria in which he had been shot and St John in Jane Eyre which is another Marston work.  I had followed the company to London to see it in Richmon in 2016 and pronounced it the best work form the company that I had seen in 20 years.  He seemed well suited to Marston's choreography, I suggested.  He said that he enjoyed working with Cathy Marston for whom he had a particular regard.  I agreed mentioning how much I had admired Snowblind when the San Francisco Ballet came to London and how much I was looking forward to seeing what she makes of Mrs Robinson.

However, he had excelled in other choreographers' works.  I mentioned his performance as Athos in The Three Musketeers in which he had particularly impressed me.  While accepting the compliment he drew my attention to a role that I had not mentioned. Early in his career, he had been one of Friar Lawrence's acolytes in Jean-Christophe Maillot's Romeo and Juliet.  The friar and his acolytes were on stage when the curtain lowered and it was an exceptionally moving experience as the orchestra played the last few barres of the score.  I mentioned that I was a fan of Maillot having also seen the Bolshoi's performance of his Taming of the Shrew.  I asked whether he had visited Leeds.  Gavin replied that he had and that he had spent 3 days there.

In his interview in 2014, Gavin had expressed an interest in choreography.   I mentioned a choreographic workshop to which he had contributed a ballet.  I had admired the work very much particularly the take on Mr Nigel Farage's "You're not laughing now" remark with the hollowly cackling cast,  Again, he acknowledged my compliment graciously.

At this point we had the first question from the audience,  Amelia Sierevogel asked about some of the memorable costumes he had worn.  He mentioned the one with lots of buttons and others where there had been what can best be described as little local difficulties.  Elaine Berrill and Janet McNulty also intervened and Amelia asked a follow up towards the end.   He was asked what advice he would give to a young man particularly in view of prejudice against male dancers.  He acknowledged it was there and the answer was to persist,  There was one time when he thought he might give up and he actually left the class for a while.   I am glad to say that he had another think and resumed his studies,  The question on motivation and overcoming inhibitions had arisen a few days earlier in a Q&A with his class in Portugal. Janet was aware that he had done a lot of running and asked how that was affecting his legs and feet.  He replied that a certain amount of tension in those muscles was good.

As it appeared that Kevin Poeung was in the same room as Gavin I asked whether it would be possible to say "hello" to him. Kevin appeared and greeted us,   I asked them how they were coping with the lockdown.  While they were appalled by the casualties they had made the best of it.  They had a chance to appreciate their home, carry out some DIY and enjoy some quality time which would not otherwise have been available with a busy schedule,

I asked about Gavin's plans for the future.  We discussed his award-winning film on the company's digital dance platform. He was learning business finance to qualify for a managerial role in the performing arts.  I asked about roles he hoped to perform.  He had mentioned Simon in David Nixon's Swan Lake on the company's website.   He explained that was because of Simon's personality, As he had mentioned that he would like to dance the big classical roles in his 2014 interview I asked whether he retained any ambitions in that regard.   He replied that he had already danced the lead in The Nutcracker in Montana a few months ago which he had enjoyed but he was not sure that he was ideally suited to the great Petipa roles.

We finished with an appeal for contributions to the Academy of Northern Ballet.  I have placed a donate button to the ACADEMY OF NORTHERN BALLET PARENTS ASSOCIATION on my Facebook page.   Alternatively, donors can call the Academy on 0113 220 8000 or email academy@northernballet.com.

Stage Door - A Sunday Afternoon Conversation with your Favourite Artists

"Stage Door" is a new service to keep ballet goers in touch with their favourite artists and artists in touch with their fans during these miserable times.

Every Sunday afternoon during lockdown (and possibly longer if theatres remain dark) I shall interview one of my favourite artists over Zoom.  After the interview members of the audience will be invited to put questions to the guest through the chat function.

I shall start with Gavin McCaig of Northern Ballet.  I featured Gavin in Terpsichore shortly after he had joined the company (see Meet Gavin McCaig of Northern Ballet 3 Sep 2014).  That interview is still one of my most popular articles.   Next week I have lined up Maria Chugai of the Dutch National Ballet, the best Myrtha I have ever seen in 60 years of ballet going. For the week after that the world-famous accompanist David Plumpton whose DVDs power ballet classes everywhere.

As this is an experimental service and I am still on a learning curve I do not have the brass neck to charge anything just now.  But the arts and education need help during this time.  I am therefore inviting everyone who enjoys these talks to contribute to a charity or good cause of the guest's choice.  Gavin has nominated the Academy of Northern Ballet.  As I study ballet there I think that is a great choice.   I have not been able to find an online donations page for the Academy but you can call them on 0113 220 8000, by email academy@northernballet.com.

If you want to hear Gavin on Sunday you must register here. When I get a little more experience with webinars I may livestream these events over YouTube or Facebook but baby steps for now.  My thanks to Gavin for being our first guest,

Northern Ballet's 50th Anniversary Celebration Gala

Dratdard YouTube Licence

Northern Ballet 50th Anniversary Celebration Gala 4 Jan 2020 19:00 Leeds Grand Theatre

Last night's gala was everything for which I had hoped and a great deal more than I had dared to expect.  It was one of the best evenings that I have ever spent in a theatre and by far the best evening that I have ever spent in Leeds.  It was so much better than the company's 45th-anniversary gala in March 2015.

The evening consisted of excerpts from 18 ballets some of which are among my favourites.  A few of those ballets I had not seen for decades. Several of those excerpts were danced by favourite artists such as Federico Bonelli and Marge Hendrick. The excerpts were interspersed with speeches and videos from dancers, choreographers, directors and others who have contributed to Northern Ballet over the last 50 years.  A few of those recollections touched me personally because they recalled events that have become part of my life.

Having seen Elaine McDonald on stage and having met Peter Darrell several times (see Scottish Ballet 20 Dec 2013) I was close to tears when Hendrick danced Darrell's Five Rückert Songs to Mahler's haunting music. My association with Scottish Ballet goes back to my second year at St Andrews where I was taught my first plié as well as a lot of other things that qualified me to make a living (see Ballet at University 27 Feb 2017). Scottish Ballet was the first company that I knew and loved and it is still the company that I love best.  I swelled with pride as Christopher Hampson entered the stage and discussed the two companies' kinship.

My other personal highlight was A Simple Man with Jeremy Kerridge and Tamara Rojo as the painter and his mother.  That was the first work by Northern Ballet that I ever saw.  I attended its performance shortly after returning to Manchester to take up a seat in chambers. My late spouse and I had been regular ballets goers in London and remoteness from Covent Garden, Sadlers Wells, the Coliseum, The Place and the Festival Hall seemed unbearable.  It was Gillian Lynne's brilliant choreography with Christopher Gable and Moira Shearer in the leading roles that reassured us.  We could see that there was a ballet company in the North that was just as good as Nick Hytner's Royal Exchange and the Hallé at the Free Trade Hall. I have followed and supported all three of those great Northern institutions (albeit not always uncritically) ever since.

The evening started with the party scene from The Great Gatsby which I reviewed at its premiere and on tour. After the opening, the company's director, David Nixon, appeared and greeted the audience. He paid tribute to his predecessors and all who had contributed to the company in various ways over the years. He singled out Carole Gable who also appeared in a video and the composer Philip Feeney (see Central School of Ballet's staff biographies). The very early years of the company were recalled by photos of the dancers and press clippings that flashed on the screen.  There were also some personal reminiscences from the 1970s. The later years were covered in much more detail, There were videos from Robert de Warren, Michael Pink, Patricia Doyle. Several of the company's leading dancers were recalled from retirement including Tobias Batley, Martha Leebolt and Dreda Blow who now live on the other side of the Atlantic.  The nostalgia was palpable - just like Noel Coward's Cavalcade.

Some of the works in Northern Ballet's repertoire were danced by guest artists from other companies. Federico Bonelli of the Royal Ballet partnered Abigail Prudames of Northern Ballet in the balcony scene from Massimo Moricone's Romeo and Juliet.  Momoko Hirata and César Morales of the Birmingham Royal Ballet danced the wedding night scene from Nixon's Madame Butterfly which I have always regarded as Nixon's masterpiece. The Royal Ballet's Laura Morera and Ryoichi Hirano, another two of my favourite artists, danced the countryside scene from Jonathan Watkins's 1984.   Greig Matthews and Amanda Assucena danced Rochester and Jane in the proposal scene from Cathy Marston's Jane Eyre.

It was good to see Central's students, Elise de Andrade and Matteo Zecco, in a scene from Cinderella by their school's founder, Christopher Gable.  As a fan of Phoenix Dance Theatre, I was delighted to see the magnificent Vanessa Vince-Pang (yet another favourite) and Aaron Chaplin in Sharon Watson's dance chronicle Windrush: Movement of the People.  Space and time do not permit me to mention everything in detail.  Other works included

• Scrooge's proposal from A Christmas Carol with Jonathan Hanks and Antoinette Brookes-Daw, 
• Dracula with Sean Bates and Mlindi Kulashe, 
• the bedroom scene in Carmen with Minju Kang and Lorenzo Trosello, 
• the wire scene in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas with Filippo Di Vilio and Matthew Koon, 
• the cup duet from Cleopatra by Abigail Prudames and Joseph Taylor, 
• Casanova's dance with Bellino from Kenneth Tindall's Casanova with Dreda Blow and Giuliano Contadini in the roles they premiered, and
• Leebolt and Batley with Rachael Gillespie and Harris Beattie as the old and young Heathcliff and Cathy in Wuthering Heights.

All danced delightfully and I congratulate them all.

The finale was the last scene of A Midsummer Night's Dream which is Nixon's other work that I regard as a masterpiece (see Realizing Another Dream 15 Sept 2013). The whole cast took to the stage including Kenneth Tindall.  He was one of my favourites in the company and I thought I would never see him dance again.  At the end of the gala, Nixon recited Puck's speech which ends the play: 

"If we shadows have offended,
Think but this, and all is mended,
That you have but slumber'd here
While these visions did appear.
And this weak and idle theme,
No more yielding but a dream,
Gentles, do not reprehend:
if you pardon, we will mend:
And, as I am an honest Puck,
If we have unearned luck
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
We will make amends ere long;
Else the Puck a liar call;
So, good night unto you all.
Give me your hands, if we be friends,
And Robin shall restore amends."

It is supposed to be uttered by a dancer.  Kevin Poeung said those words when I last saw the show.  But the words seemed entirely appropriate as they dropped from Nixon's lips.  A shower of gold confetti rained from the ceiling. Hardly anyone remained seated and there were not many dry eyes.