Nixon - An Appreciation

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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.

Dance and Diplomacy: Britain's IP Attaché to China will visit Northern Ballet

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Ever since Northern Ballet moved from West Park to Quarry Hill I have been looking for an opportunity to introduce the company to my connections in intellectual property (see Ballet and Intellectual Property - my Excuse for reviewing "Beauty and the Beast" IP Yorkshire 31 Dec 2011).

The opportunity arose when Mr Tom Duke, our IP attaché in Beijing, asked me to recommend a venue for a talk that he plans to give in Leeds on 19 Sept to business owners and their professional advisers entitled Succeeding in China - Mitigating the IP Risk. I could think of no better place than Northern Ballet' boardroom in its premises at Quarry Hill.

I suggested that venue for several reasons.

First, the building is magnificent, one of the finest new structures in the city. The view of Leeds from the boardroom is breathtaking.

Secondly, Northern Ballet creates a lot of intellectual assets such as choreography, costumes, musical scores, performances, properties and set designs which are protected by copyrights, rights in performances and unregistered design rights and the Northern Ballet brand is a valuable trade mark for all kinds of merchandise. The company performs regularly in China where it uses all those intellectual assets. It, therefore, exemplifies the topic of Mr Duke's talk.

The third reason for my suggestion is that letting fees and catering services are a source of revenue for the company. It helps to fund dazzling new productions.

Finally, I hope that some of the business owners, lawyers, patent and trade mark attorneys and other professionals may be tempted to return for a show at the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre or even a class at the Academy which I am sure they would enjoy enormously.

If any of my readers would like to attend the talk on 19 Sept it is free. Give me a ring on 020 7404 5252 or send me a message through my contact form.  The event starts at 09:30 with registration and networking.  Mr Duke will deliver his speech at 10:00. I will also speak briefly about the things you should do here before you leave for China. There will be opportunities for one-to-one discussions with all sorts of business and professional advisors. The event will end at midday so that Mr Duke can grab some lunch before his next appointment in Barnsley.

I have also written about the event in NIPC News and IP Yorkshire if anybody is interested.

23 July 2017	Jane Lambert	IP Rights in China	NIPC News
21 July 2017	Jane Lambert	Meet our IP Attaché to China	IP Yorks

The Ballet Retreat

According to its website The Ballet Retreat is a joint venture between David Paul Kierce and Hannah Bateman to produce "two and three day, adult ballet courses, held at world class professional studios for dance enthusiasts, facilitated by industry experts." The first of those courses took place in Leeds last bank holiday weekend (27 to 29 Aug 2016) and was attended by Mary Howard who is a regular member of my adult ballet classes at Northern Ballet Academy in Leeds. I asked Mary to write about her experience and this is what she sent me:

"THE BALLET RETREAT AUGUST 27th 2016
Led by
Hannah Bateman and David Kierce

​There is a buzz of anticipation in the beautiful glass reception area of Northern Ballet's home in St Peters Square Leeds. It's the first day of our Ballet Retreat and everyone is anxious about how the day will progress. Hannah is calm and smiling behind her desk where we all sign in to accept our name badge and T-shirt. David is bouncing with energy and greets everyone with enthusiasm. ​I look around to determine how many other dancers are in my age group (over 60) there are a few which is good. There are also some male participants which is very good because they are a rare and welcome species.

Whilst we all mingle and chat over coffee, I start to feel much more relaxed. At 10:00 O'clock we watch the Northern Ballet Company at their training class in the main Burton theatre. This is amazing and very inspirational. At 11:45 we warm up with Hannah for half an hour. Beautiful relaxing exercises mostly on our Yoga mats. Now it's time for a Ballet Class in technique with David. This is very different to my usual  "0ver  55" class, and I love it. We have a wonderful pianist but David's voice carries well above the music so instructions are clear. He is very entertaining whilst also being firm in his requirements of our dancing. He misses nothing and occasionally stops to correct an arm position or foot that may be straying. After this we all welcome the delicious and plentiful buffet lunch laid on by the catering team.

After lunch there is a further one hour ballet class involving exercises carried out in the centre of the studio. Following this one hour of Classical Repertoire, Hannah joins us and we begin to learn the Aurora Variation from The Sleeping Beauty. This is the culmination of a fabulous day, the music and steps of the Variation are light and so expressive of a young girl who is presented for the first time at an adult ball. After cooling down and relaxation I float down to the station in a thunderstorm of hail but also an imaginary fluffy cloud.

Over the next two days the curriculum follows a similar pattern, except on Sunday afternoon there is a Surprise Taster Class of traditional Indian dancing which involves moves that are totally alien to classical ballet: no pointed toes and much stamping of the feet. In the Classical class's we progress the Aurora Variation to it's finale. This is very rewarding and I begin to feel the exhilaration of a performer!

On Monday afternoon David extends the seating area of the theatre and whilst most of the group are seated, five people at a time perform the Variation to thunderous applause from the "audience". I must say that our six male dancers who tackled a very energetic routine from Swan Lake received not only applause but whistles and shouts of extreme enthusiasm. They were magnificent.

We exited the theatre and after a delicious afternoon tea it was time to bid farewell to our new friends, many hugs, kisses and selfies were taken. Sadly the three days were over too quickly and how I would have loved to carry on for much longer. Maybe I will see you in a future Retreat?"

I am very grateful to Mary for this report. As I would have expected, the weekend seems to have been great fun. I have seen Hannah on stage many times and I admire her dancing very much indeed. She is one of my favourite dancers with Northern Ballet - indeed with any company. Having seen Akram Khan's remake of Giselle for English National Ballet last Tuesday I for one should like to learn more about Indian dance.

Hannah and David have announced two more retreats. One at Rambert's studios in London between the 19 and 20 Nov 2016 and the other at Northern Ballet's studios in Leeds between the 14 and 15 Jan 2017. The London retreat costs £199 and the Leeds retreat £279. Places may be booked through David and Hannah's website.

Fusion

No - not that kind of fusion

On Monday evenings I normally take Fiona Noonan's ballet class at Hype in Sheffield. This week my friend in Bradford said she would like to join me. As Sheffield is a bit of a trek from Bradford we decided to look for a class a little nearer home. We called Northern Ballet and they offered us fusion,

Now fusion to me is a process by which two or more atoms collide at very high speed to create a new atom and unleash a lot of energy. It is how the sun or for that matter a hydrogen bomb works. Somehow I didn't think that was what we would do at Quarry Hill this evening.

It was only a partial misdescription, however, for we certainly released a lot of energy. Maybe not quite as much as the sun or even an H-bomb but quite enough all the same.

We were shepherded up to the 4th floor which is part of the building usually occupied by Phoenix Dance Theatre and ushered into one of the studios. Our class consisted of about 20 women nearly all of whom were a great deal younger and fitter than me. We had a good instructor who walked us through each of the exercises before she played the music.

The class seemed to be very like Fiona Noonan's ballercise: that is to say a combination of aerobics, pilates and ballet.  We started off with a warm up beginning with running on the spot, bending our legs, skipping, then lunging to the right and lunging to the left.  She followed that up with some cardio exercises which included deep pliés in parallel, first and second, side bends and various other sequences and required quite a bit of concentration. Then we went to the barre where we tried several relevés, fondus and ronds de jambe. Afterwards we returned to the centre for some jumping which is always the best bit of a dance class for me. Then some tendus using resistance bands to build up our strength and improve our balance. Finally some floor work which I am sorry to say I couldn't quite finish. Some deep stretches and then it was time to go home.

I enjoyed the class very much and my friend did too.   She is 19 years younger and could keep up with the pace much better.   I was quite stiff at the end of the class but nothing like as stiff as I had been after my first contemporary class.   And also much less bruised.  I am still sporting shiners on both knees and elbows from rolling about on the floor.  it's great to try other styles of dance and other classes.  Maybe jazz next.

Northern Ballet Open Day

I very nearly gave Northern Ballet and Phoenix Dance Theatre Open House a miss this year because it clashed with the last day of English National Ballet's Le Corsaire in Manchester. Tamara Rojo and Matthew Golding were billed for the matinee and Daria Klimentová and Vadim Muntagirov in the evening. I was even more tempted when I learned that Klimentová and Muntagirov were to leave the company and this would probably be the last opportunity to see them together. As I was busy the rest of the week and do not like to see the same ballet back to back or even in the same season with different cases it was either Friday or Saturday for me and I chose Friday. Thank goodness I did for if I had gone to Manchester on Saturday I would have missed something very special.

The Open Day consisted of a series of rehearsals, classes, talks, tours and family activities. As I had done the tour before (see "The Things I do for my Art: Northern Ballet's Breakfast Meeting" 23 Sept 2013) and seen plenty of rehearsals I did not expect to stay very long. To be quite honest I had intended simply to put in an appearance out of loyalty to the company and then scarper.  The only objectives I had set myself were to meet Phil Garnett (Phill up North) and Dolly Williams who run the company's website and social media because we follow each other on twitter. The day before I had given Phil a piece of my mind for sloppy coding because Northern Ballet's Valentine's Day Quiz had landed me with that twerp Lysander when I should clearly have had Oberon or Octavian (though it could have been worse as I might have ended up with Bottom - Eeyore!).

I managed to meet both Phil and Dolly.  Phil is an even bigger ballet fan than me and we talked about the history of the company and our favourite works.  I met Dolly almost as soon as I arrived on the face painting stand. She was wearing a wolf's mask and asked me whether I wanted to dress up as something. As she had a lot of kids around her I left her to entertain them.  On  the same floor as Dolly there was a gallery overlooking one of the studios on the floor below. I recognized Yoko Ichino and stood mesmerized as she took a class. Although I could not hear nothing from the studio below it was clear that something remarkable was going on.  I went downstairs and slipped into the class.

The previous Monday I had heard Elena Glurdjidze talk about her teachers at the Vaganova Academy (see "Elena Glurdjidze - So Lovely, So Gracious" 11 Feb 2014) and on 2 Feb 2914 I heard Dame Antoinette Sibley speak  affectionately about hers ("Le jour de gloire est arrive - Dame Antoinette Sibley with Clement Crisp at the Royal Ballet School" 4 Feb 2014). Ichino had danced with some of the world's leading companies and something of her art is preserved on these YouTube clips of Don Quixote and Le Corsaire. She is now head of the Northern Ballet Academy and Ballet Mistress of the company. Watching Ichino at work enabled me to witness the great tradition of the art being passed on from ballerina to student much as de Valois passed it on to the young Fonteyn, Preobrajenska to Tallchief and Karsavina to Sibley

Dressed simply in trousers and a long cardigan as in the photo on Northern Ballet's website Ichino commanded that class with great authority.  She spoke softly.  Indeed she said very little but her gestures communicated much.  Her class consisted of senior boys in the front row and two larger groups of girls of different ages behind them. Though my attention was focused on Ichino I did glance occasionally at her students.  I could tell from their expressions that they adored their teacher and she them. I marvelled at their physique: slender, muscular, sleek like race horses or greyhounds.  It was exhilarating to watch those magnificent young artists and athletes run powerfully around the studio at the end of their session.

Ichino was followed in the studio by Cara O'Shea who taught two groups of junior boys. Her style was very different from Ichino's but equally effective. She has a mellifluous voice which she used as an instrument to coax the best from her pupils. "You've always wanted as audience" she said referring tot us. "Well now you have an audience and if they like you they may clap you." The children, who were already working hard, gave us their very best. They did indeed delight us and how we clapped.  She is another wonderful teacher and again I could see that the kids were devoted to her.  I would have loved to have been taught by her. In a way she did teach me for I think I learned more about ballet on Saturday from watching the teachers at work that I could from a score of performances or a pile of books,

After she had finished teaching the boys I followed Cara O'Shea to the next studio where she was taking a mixed class of boys and girls through a recording of an excerpt from Don Quixote. This was more like a rehearsal. After a while the class was joined by the boys I had seen earlier in the day with Ichino. They practised a different piece and were joined eventually by Chris Hinton-Lewis who had taught me when I had missed my usual class owing to a tree on the A1 (see "It's an Ill Wind - Review of Northern Ballet's Beginner's Class" 6 Dec 2013). He has yet another teaching style but one to which the boys readily responded.

Far from wondering what I could find to do in Quarry Hill I was riveted to my seat for nearly three hours watching those wonderful teachers.  I left just before 16:00 because my own teacher Annemarie Donoghue was due to teach a taster class for the over 55 age group. That is the class that I take every Thursday and I love it. I had thought of registering for the taster class earlier in the week but decided against it as I had doubted that I would still be at Quarry Hill by 16:00 and in any case I would have taken up a place that someone else could have used.  Although she had less than half her usual time Annemarie took the taster class (which included a gentleman from Cambridge) through everything that she does on a Thursday from finding ones posture, the warm up, barre work and a simple centre exercises. Her students had a great time and I got to speak to one of them: a lady who had studied ballet as a child and was keen to take it up again. We went down in the lift together stopping at reception so that she could register.

I have often heard dancers and choreographers speak of their companies as a family.  Despite being a long standing fan of Northern Ballet and more recently a Friend and student I had always regarded myself as an outsider.  On Saturday I felt for the first time that I was part of the family.  A very distant relation, of course, but still a member.

Realizing a Dream

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Ever since I was a child I have tried to imagine what it would be like to be a dancer. A lot of hard work of course. And pain. And injury. And probably disappointment. But also, fleetingly, delight and beauty. Early in my life I had the good sense to realize that it was not for me but that did not stop me from wondering.

Well today at the grand old age of 64 I came as close as a member of the public possibly can to finding out. I attended Northern Ballet's over 55 class at their magnificent premises at Quarry Hill in Leeds. After registering - filling out a simple form and paying £5 - and then the £6.50 fee for the class I introduced myself to the half dozen or so other ladies who were taking the same class. Reassuringly they were all about my age and none more than 9 years younger than me. Though I try not to be downhearted there is nothing more dispiriting than dancing with teenagers with elastic limbs. Perhaps I was once supple like them but I am certainly not now.

Our teacher Annemarie Donoghue appeared and greeted us all individually. Although advertised as a beginners' class several had taken it before.  As this was my first class with Northern Ballet Annemarie welcomed me to the class.   She led us to the lift which took us to the top floor.   We were in Studio 7 which is supposedly a small one but it is the biggest space in which I have ever danced.

Then the pianist Alena entered and that was a treat. When I studied ballet at St Andrews over 40 years ago one of our fellow students played for us but during my more recent classes at The Base in Huddersfield we have had to make do with recorded music.

Annemarie started  by gathering us into the centre and getting us to stand with feet in parallel.  She told us to make sure our weight was properly distributed and to adjust our posture as though a thread passed through our bodies.  Ideally we would rise to our toes without wobbling.  Well I didn't quite get that but never mind.  Next we worked on our arms.   Then we moved in a circle, walking at first, then using our arms and finally a skip.

After warming up we worked at the barre.   Toe exercises first and then pliés in parallel, first and second, tendus, glissés and cloches.

Finally, we moved to the centre with simple chassés. While doing the centre exercise Alena played a few bars of Adam's Giselle.   Me.  Dancing to real ballet music in a real studio in a real ballet school.   Imagine!

The class was over far too soon. It's a friendly class and I shall be back as often as I possibly can.   In the meantime I have  Northern Ballet's Midsummer Night's Dream at the West Yorkshire Playhouse on Saturday to look forward to.   I shall review that performance next week.    Then it's going on tour to Newcastle, Woking and Nottingham.

PS. in a text my dear, long-suffering ballet teacher Fiona wrote:

"Oh Jane! You do of course realise you have done alllllll those with me & you caaaaaaaaaan do them! Enjoy your classes xxxxx Anne Marie is fab xxx"

Well Annemarie is indeed fab but then so too is Fiona who got me to this point in the first place.

Business of Ballet: Northern Ballet's bid to educate us Philistines

I am not sure what to expect from the Business of Ballet event on 23 Sep 2013. It's absurdly early even for a dancer. To make Quarry Hill by 07:30 I will have to leave Holmfirth by 06:00 the day after a weekend which means getting up at ........... it doesn't bear thinking about. So listen Mr. Nixon it had better be good.

I think it may be good.  According to the blurb

"Since 2011 Northern Ballet has had to respond to devastating cuts in public funding and it has done this by drawing on its strengths – a dedicated and driven team of dancers, technicians, and administrators who have worked hard to respond innovatively to the challenges the company faces whilst remaining true to their artistic vision."

Well I guess that's a business story worth listening to.  

Catering is to be provided by Catering Yorkshire. I hope they are not the same caterers who served a slightly stale chicken coronation sandwich to me when I visited the Stanley & Aubrey Burton Theatre to see the Northern Ballet's Mixed Bill on the 8 June (see "Angelic - Northern Ballet's Mixed Bill"  9 June 2013). The show more than made up for it so never mind.  Perhaps more to the point is that I don't have a dancer's body.  I'm more in the Mma Ramotswe traditional build mould than Martha Leebolt and I like my "Yorkshire nourishment" I do. I can hear Cheryl of Ballet News tut tutting in Surrey not only at my dietary predilections but also at the liberties that I take with her English language.

After breakfast we are to have an "inspiring and illuminating session" with CEO Mark Skipper DL for one and a half hours without an interval.  Actually I am looking forward to it because a ballet company must know a thing or two about logistics if they have to hump props and costumes and herd a troupe of dancers around the country and no doubt, occasionally, other countries.   Then there are the one to ones on "executive and planning, marketing & PR or fundraising and events.".

Actually this is not the first time I have blogged about business and ballet.   In my review of "Beauty and the Beast" 31 Dec 2011 I mentioned the company's excellent facilities for workshops and conferences.   If we could guarantee an audience I would love to stage a seminar there.

If anyone is tempted to attend the event you can book here.