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.

Central School of Ballet's Summer Performance

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Central School of Ballet Summer Performance 18 July 2019, 19:30 Bloomsbury Theatre & Studio

Central School of Ballet has trained some excellent dancers.  They include Sarah Kundi who stole the show as far as I was concerned with her hilarious performance as Cinderella's stepmother in the Albert Hall (see Cinders in the Round 13 June 2019).  Hannah Bateman was at Central too.  She is my favourite at Northern Ballet.  So, too, was Rachael Gillespie whom I also admire greatly.  The School trained Kenneth Tindall whom I described as "a many sided genius", and, of course, its current artistic director, Christopher Marney, who is my favourite living British choreographer.  Central was founded by Christopher Gable whom I first saw as Romeo with Lynn Seymour ar Covent Garden.  I saw him again many years later in A Simple Man and it was that performance that attracted me to Northern Ballet as it is now called.  His term as artistic director was that company's golden age.

Yesterday, I got a chance to see some of those who will follow in the footsteps of those great names in Central School of Ballet's Summer Performance.  That is not the same as the annual tour that the performing company, Ballet Central, make each spring and summer.  The Summer Performance offers a chance to see the first and second-year students as well as those in the third year.  Though there is some overlap, the programmes are different.  Ballet Central visits about 20 theatres up and down the country between March and July,  The Summer Performance takes place only at the Bloomsbury Theatre & Studio on the 18 and 19 July.

Heidi Hall, the Director, opened the show with a talk about the School and the performance.  She reported that the £9 million appeal had been successful and that the School hoped to move into its new premises after Christmas.  Funds were still needed, she reminded us, and she invited everyone in the audience to join its "Friends" scheme.  She promised a great show and that was exactly what her young artists, the choreographers, staff and technicians delivered.

The show consisted of seven works divided into two acts:

• Jenna Lee's Rock 'n' Roll  
• Calvin Richardson's Dying Swan
• Louse Bennett's Twin Figures
• Sandrine Monin's Hidden
• Thiago Soares's Vossa Sinfonia
• Leanne King's All in Four, and
• Christopher Marney's Carousel Dancers.

I liked all of the works, particularly Lee's Rock 'n' Roll, Richardson's Dying Swam, Monin's Hidden, Soares's Vossa Sinfonia, King's All in Four and Marney's Carousel Dances most of all.

I became a fan of Lee when I saw her ballroom scene from Romeo and Juliet in 2017 (see Triumphant 1 May 2017) and my admiration of her work grew still more when I saw Black Swan at Stratford last year (see Half a Show is Better than None 16 July 2018). I enjoyed her Rock 'n' Roll best of all.  Set in a 1950s US diner or maybe a high school hop, the girls wore the most gorgeous full-skirted dresses with yards of tulle petticoats while the boys wore white tops and black bottoms.  The action revolved around a jukebox that played the fifties pop of my childhood.  It was fun to watch a turns on pointe to Little Richard.  I hope and suspect that it was fun to do those turns.

Next came Richardson's Dying Swan danced by Joseph Beretta.  Like Michel Decombey's which was danced elegantly by Javier Torres in Northern Ballet's 45th-anniversary gala (see Sapphire 15 March 2015), this was a solo for a male. Pavlova died nearly 20 years before I was born so I never saw her dance Fokine's work but my mother did when she was 3 years old and it made such an impression on her that she could describe every detail of the choreography up to the day she died (see In Leeds of all Places - Pavlova, Ashton and Magic 18 Sep 2013).  I have seen it performed twice by a modern ballerina - once by Elena Glurdjidze in the Gala for Ghana and a few years earlier by Marianela Nuñez of which I have no recollection at all.  Though I like Decombey's work as performed by Torres, Richardson's work was closer in spirit to Fokine. He took no liberties with the score.  Had Fokine created a version for a man I think it would have been like Richardson's.

Twin Figures by Louise Bennett was set to Boreslav Martinu's concerto for piano and cello.  A very energetic work, it offered plenty of opportunities to the first-year students to demonstrate their virtuosity. Some 20 dancers took part.  Clad in blue and green the effect was quite mesmeric.  It was a good piece to take us through to the interview.  At that point I tweeted:

Thoroughly enjoyed first act of @csbschool's annual performance, particularly @JLchoreographer's "Rock 'n' Roll" and Richardson's "Dying Swan". Looking forward to work by @_TSOARES @chrismarney and Leeds's own @sandrinemonin. Well done to all artists in Act I.

— Terpsichore (@jelterps) July 18, 2019

I dubbed Sandrine Monin as "Leeds's own" because I first got to know her work through Phoenix Dance Theatre for whom she created Calyx from Baudelaire's Fleurs du Mal in 2018.  Deep currents ran through Calyx as they did for Hidden which she created for the second years.  Figures move about the stage their heads slightly bowed as though they were automatons.  I got the impression that the work was inspired by Fritz Lang's Metropolis because that was the feel of the piece and the narrative that was communicated to me - but I could well be wildly wrong.  The music which was contributed by Rusconi and Martinu added to the sense of mechanistic desolation.  A very thoughtful piece that needs to be seen again and probably more than twice.

Thiago Soares's Vossa Sinfonia was delightful.  It started with Beethoven, continued with Ernesto Nazareth, then Heitor Villa Lobos and Noel Rosa and finally back to Beethoven.  Its juxtaposition of Beethoven with recent composers reminded me a little of Arthur Pita's Dream within Midsummer Night's Dream.  The piece was the nearest we got to a classical work and in that regard, it would have done credit to Balanchine.

Leanne King's All in Four for the first years was a joyous work.  The girls were barefoot.  They wore long flowing skirts their hair in ponytails. They danced to Monteverdi's Beatus Vir (which I think means "blessed man" rather than "blessed be" as stated in the programme) arranged by Philip Feeney.  Feeny actually played the piano accompaniments with a keyboard and took a bow at the end. As a work of dance, it was my favourite of the evening.

Ballet is, of course, more than just dance.  It combines dance with drama, music, costumes, sets and more.  It grabs all the senses. That is why I described Carousel Dances as the piece de resistance in my tweets.  I saw several dancers who I think will go far.  The man who played the male lead, the female lead and the mistress of ceremonies to note just three.  There were plenty of circus thrills such as snake charmers, men crashing through hoops and acrobatics all forming the background to a romance.  Choreographed to tunes by Rogers and Hammerstein that we all know, it was the perfect end to a great show.

There will be one more performance tonight at 19:30.  If you are anywhere near Bloomsbury tonight and there are any tickets to spare go see this show.  It is one of the highlights of my year so far.

Northern Ballet's "The Nutcracker" - All My Favourite Artists in the Same Show

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Northern Ballet  The Nutcracker  12 Dec 2019 19:00 Leeds Grand Theatre

Northern Ballet does a very good version of The Nutcracker.  I have seen a lot of productions of that ballet in my time and, in my humble opinion, it is one of the best. Having said that, I can think of no good reason why David Nixon has to change the names of the Stahlbaum family to Edwards and Northern Ballet really must do something about the backdrop which is supposed to be a wall and bookcase but flaps like a flag if anyone gets too close to it. But I can forgive all that because everything else is good.

Wednesday's performance was particularly good because nearly all my favourite artists from the company were in the show.  They did not all have major roles.  Javier Torres who was my dancer of the year for 2017 was Mr Stahlbaum (or Edwards if you must) and the exquisite Hannah Bateman was Clara's grandmother.  Rachael Gillespie, of whom I can never see enough, was Clara. Abigail Prudames, another beautiful dancer, was Sugar Plum.  Gavin McCaig was in the ballet as the butler and also the Arabian divertissement.  My favourite of the evening was Mlundi Kulashe who played a blinder as Drosselmeyer.  He danced it with energy and verve in a way that I have never seen  it danced before,  Everybody in the show (and that includes the musicians) performed brilliantly.

In some versions of The Nutcracker, Clara (or Marie) is a child who does not have much to do beyond bopping the mouse king with a shoe or some other blunt instrument.  In Nixon's version, she handbags him Thatcher style.  She also performs some duets in the snow scene and again in the second act with the Nutcracker (Ashley Dixon) and joins in some of the divertissements. Rachael is a joy to watch and Nixon displayed her like a precious jewel.

The climax of the ballet is, of course,  the Sugar Plum's pas de deux with her cavalier. On Wednesday he was Joseph Taylor.  The high point for audiences is the celesta solo just as Legnani's 32 fouettés are in Swan Lake or the rose adagio in The Sleeping Beauty.  Everything else may be perfect but if something goes wrong with one of those pieces the rest is forgotten. Abigail Prudames thus bore the weight of the performance in that solo and she carried it off beautifully.  Taylor is a powerful dancer and he was thrilling to watch.

Nixon does a particularly good fight scene between mice and toy soldiers.  Riku Ito was a particularly gallant regnant rodent expiring stoically after Rachael's handbagging.  Nixon has a cavalry in his production which is one up on Sir Peter Wright and Peter Darrell's productions.

In the second act, Itu performed the Spanish dance as a solo. That was different.   It is usually danced by an ensemble though Northern Ballet School also presented it as a solo in Christmas at the Dancehouse.   I liked the Arabian dancers (Matthew Topliss, Natalia Kerner and Gavin McCaig), the Chinese (Kevin Poeung and Harris Beattie) and the Russians (Conner Jordan-Collins, Matthew Morrell and Andrew Tomlinson); The Russian dance was a big role for those three young dancers two oi whim are still apprentices,.

There are also a lot of roles for children in The Nutcracker as guests at the Stahlbaums' party, mice and soldiers.  Two of my teachers had daughters in the show though I am not sure whether either was dancing on Wednesday night.  All the kids performed well that night and were a credit to their ballet mistress who in previous years has been Cara O'Shea.

The show will run at the Grand until Sunday and I strongly recommend it.

Jane Eyre at the Lowry

The Lowry Theatre, Salford, Greater Manchester

Author: Skip88
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Northern Ballet Jane Eyre 9 June 2018, 19:30, The Lowry

Yesterday, Northern Ballet gave their last performance of Jane Eyre of the current run at the Lowry Theatre.  It was also the last opportunity to see Dreda Blow and Victoria Sibson dance with the company. I attended the show for two reasons.  The first is that although I had never met either dancer I had seen them on stage many times. I wished to express my appreciation for all the pleasure that they had given me over the years. The second reason is that a dancer's farewell performance is often one of his or her best for he or she wants to leave on a high with the public wanting more. That in turn lifts the rest of the cast who also give of their best.

That is what happened yesterday.  Northern Ballet gave one of the strongest performances that I have ever seen from them.  They did so on one of the most spacious stages upon which they regularly perform.  They fielded a cast that included many of my favourite dancers in the company.  And, as I have said many times, Cathy Marston's Jane Eyre is by far the best work in their current repertoire.

As I have described the work already in Northern Ballet's Jane Eyre: the best new Ballet from the Company in 20 Years 2 June 2016 and Jane Eyre Second Time Round 18 April 2018 I shall avoid detail about the libretto, characters, designs and score. Edward Rochester was danced by Javier Torres who was my male dancer of the year last year (see 2017 in Retrospect 7 Jan 2018). Jane Eyre as an adult was, of course, danced by Dreda Blow who gave the strongest performance that I have ever seen her give in that role. Jane's younger self was danced by Antoinette Brooks-Daw and her tormenting cousins by Abigail Prudames, Abigail Cockrell and Matthew Koon. Mlindi Kulashe was a chilling Mr Brocklehurst (he plays baddies particularly well) and Ailen Ramos Betancourt an equally unpleasant Aunt Reed.

The novel, Jane Eyre, divides naturally into three parts yet the ballet splits into just two.  I think it would benefit from an interval immediately after the attempted bigamy scene.  Two much is funnelled into the second act. Valuable bits of the choreography such as the dance between Rochester and Blanche Ingram (Abigail Prudames) and Mr Rivers's proposal is overlooked even third time round.  That is because there is just so much going on and the senses can only take in so much.  Incidentally,  I have to congratulate Sean Bates for his role for his portrayal of Rivers as a kindly, sensitive but nevertheless lacking soul who would have driven Jane nuts.

The most important characters from the governess phase of Jane's life are the playful Adèle (danced charmingly by Rachael Gillespie) and the deranged Bertha.  Though her appearance is a short one it is probably the most important role in the ballet after Jane herself and it needs a fine dance actor.  The company had none better than Victoria Sibson. I had seen her in that role in Richmond and she had impressed me then but her performance last night was even stronger.  She threw herself into the last duet with Torres as the flames her flickered around her.  Strands of her hair - a gorgeous red - her whirling dress - merging in the flames. What a glorious way for her public to remember her!

The crowd clapped and cheered of course and quite a few of us rose to our feet but it was not quite the send off that I had expected when I penned Flowers for Dreda yesterday.  The Lowry's architecture does not lend itself to flower throws but I did expect massive bouquets for Blow and Sibson and possible one or two others. But then I reflected that this is a northern company and extravagance of that kind is not a northern thing to do. David Nixon entered the stage and gave a very good speech recalling some of her finest performances.  It clearly affected Dreda for she gave him a big, tight hug. Instead of flowers which would have faded in days he gave her a framed photo of herself.  From what I could glimpse from the centre of the stalls she was in red in full flight. "Something that will last" I thought. "She can hang it in her front parlour, perhaps." A sensible Northern gift from us no-nonsense northern folk.

Another thought that occurred to me as I stepped outside the theatre was that the company had come home.  Manchester was where it was born and it is sad that it ever felt it had to leave us. It now has a magnificent studio and theatre complex at Quarry Hill, of course, that it shares with Phoenix to their obvious, mutual, artistic benefit. But the Grand with its pillars and narrow creaky stairs and possibly raked stage never quite does it justice. The Lowry, on the other hand, certainly does. It is possible for a company to have more than one home as several American companies do.  I hope we shall see more of Northern here perhaps working with our CAT. The Lowry is not too far from Leeds. I spotted several of the great and good from Leeds sitting near me in the stalls.  Indeed, I chatted to one of my favourite artists from that city in the interval.  It is encouraging that Northern Ballet will return to the Lowry next year with Gatsby.  I hope it puts down some very deep roots there.

Jane Eyre Second Time Round

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Northern Ballet Jane Eyre 13 April 2018, 19:45  Lyceum, Sheffield

The first time I saw Cathy Marston's Jane Eyre I described it as "one of the best new ballets I have seen all year from any company and it is the best new work from Northern Ballet for many years if not decades" (see Northern Ballet's Jane Eyre: the best new Ballet from the Company in 20 Years 2 June 2016). I saw it again in Sheffield on Friday and I am still of that view.

Jane Eyre is a very long read.  It consists of 38 chapters and was first published in 3 volumes.  There is a good summary of the story in Wikipedia.  Although it cannot have been easy to compress a book of that length into a two act ballet, Marston preserved its essence in her libretto.  Most of the characters of the novel are reproduced in the ballet.  Marston has also invented a set of male characters called the "D-men" who are danced by some of the company's most experienced members. They haunt Jane at critical moments of her life.  In that regard, they perform a role similar to that of the chorus in Greek drama.  I noticed a similar use of such characters in The Suit (see Excellence - Ballet Black's Double Bill 17 March 2018).

Many of the dancers I saw at Richmond in 2016 were in Friday's performance in Sheffield though some had different roles. Dreda Blow danced Jane as an adult on Friday as she had two years ago. Jane as a girl was danced by Rachael Gillespie who had been Adèle last time.  Victoria Sibson, who had been Bertha Mason in Richmond, was Aunt Reed in Sheffield. However, there was a different Rochester.  Joseph Taylor performed that role on Friday.

Each and every member of the cast performed well.  Blow is the only Jane I know.  The last time I saw her I wrote:

"Blow is a fine dancer but I have never seen her dance better than she did tonight."

I can only say the same about her performance on Friday.  Taylor delivered a confident and convincing performance as Rochester.  Gillespie is one of my favourite dancers in the company and her portrayal as the young Jane did not disappoint me.  However, the performance that impressed me most in Sheffield was Mariana Rodrigues's as Bertha.  She makes only a couple of brief appearances but her role is a key one.  The attempted bigamy scene has a lot in common with the mad scene in  Giselle and if she is ever cast as Giselle I should be very interested to see what she makes of it.  I think she is an artist to watch and I will make a point of looking out for her.

Once again I admired Patrick Kinmonth's sets - especially the Pennine backdrop with its dry stone walls. Also his costumes, especially Bertha's ragged dress.  The more I hear of Philip Feeney's music the more I like his work. He also wrote the score for The Suit  which was another successful collaboration with Marston.

I concluded my review of the performance in Richmond with the hope that the ballet would be revived as I had hoped to see it again.  I am very glad that Jane Eyre is back in Northern Ballet's repertoire and that it has been staged in major venues this time.  I am particularly glad that it is coming to the Wells and Lowry for I think it will do well in both of those theatres.

Rachael Gillespie

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I am a colossal fan of Rachael Gillespie. I have singled her out for special commendation in many of my reviews and tweets. From this clip of her rehearsing with Jeremy Curnier you will understand why. She dances with passion but also with precision.

One of the articles in Friday's Friends' newsletter was 60 Seconds with ..... Rachael Gillespie.  It reminds readers that she comes from Swindon, a town that I had always associated with maddening roundabouts like this one.


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Henceforth, I shall associate Swindon with Cathy (see Wuthering Heights 19 March 2015), Tinkerbell (see Not too sure about Fairies but I certainly believe in Rachael Gillespie 21 Dec 2014) or one of the other roles that I have seen Gillespie dance. On reflection, it has just occurred to me that there may be a connection between Gillespie's prowess and Swindon's roundabouts. I've found from the little bit of ballet training that I have received that a dancer has to think fast on his or her feet. Negotiating Swindon's road system would be perfect mental training.

I won't spoil the article by telling you what else is in 60 Seconds save that there's a lovely self-deprecating story which shows that she must have a great sense of humour. She shares my love of Jane Austen and my hope to see Pride and Prejudice translated into ballet. Northern Ballet has two Brontë ballets in its repertoire, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Surely Austin's comedy of manners lends itself to theatre so much more naturally than the tragic tales of the maungy maids of Haworth.

Northern Ballet will present three new full-length works this year with plenty of new roles which I am sure she will make her own.

Ballet Central returns to Leeds

Leeds Arts Neighbourhood

Author Kenneth Allen
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Christopher Marney, Hannah Bateman, Kenneth Tindall, Rachael Gillespie, Dominic North, Sarah Kundi, Paul Chantry and many more of my favourite dancers and choreographers trained at Central School of Ballet. One of the reasons why that school has produced so many fine dancers and dance makers is that it provides its students with an opportunity to learn every aspect of performance through its touring company Ballet Central. According to Christopher Hampson, Central graduates can normally be spotted in the studio within a few minutes because of their professionalism and understanding of how theatre works. Sir Matthew Bourne describes them as "a valuable asset to any company".

Ballet Central consists of the school's final year students: Angela Centomini, Sophie Cottrill, Tara Cox, Augusta De Marchis, Brittanie Dillon, Eleanor Ferguson, Sophie Hull, Emily Hulme, Kanon Kihara, Iori Matsuura, Amy McEntee, Moeno Oba, Rowan Parker, Charlotte Peers, Ciara Sampson, Eloise Shepherd Taylor, Reiko Tan, Saskia Twiss, Henrietta Wolf, Emma Zeppetella, Megumi Zushi, Ruaridh Bisset, Eric Caterer-Cave, Adam Davies, James Dunn, Álvaro Feliz Olmedo, Yusuke Kuroda, Cameron Lee-Allen, Liam Lindsay, Jonathan MacDonald, Craig McFarlane, Matthew Morrell, Stephen Murray, Jaume Ruiz Xifra and Rahién Testa. Their artistic director is Christopher Marney, their musical director is Philip Feeney and their rehearsal coach is Carole Gable (see Staff Biographies on Central's website).

As part of their degree course, those students will travel some 10,000 miles around the country from Penzance in the South West to Ayr in Scotland performing in towns and cities along the way to a total audience of 5,000. Their 2017 schedule was published yesterday and one of their venues is the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre at Northern Ballet and Phoenix Dance Theatre's studios in Leeds. They will visit us on 28 April 2017 at 19:30.  Save for a visit to Whitehaven on 13 May that will be the only chance to see them in the North.

This year the company will perform part of Sir Matthew Bourne's Highland Fling. Indigo Children by Liam Scarlett, a new version of the ballroom scene from Romeo and Juliet by Jenna Lee, a scene from Dracula by Michael Pink, a specially created work by Christopher Bruce and excerpts from Petipa’s La Bayadere and The Nutcracker.  I hope to see them on the 28 April and will review their performance shortly afterwards.  

Here is what I said about Ballet Central in their previous tours (Central Forward 25 March 2013, Dazzled 3 May 2015 and Images of War: Ballet Central's "War Letters" and other Works 29 April 2016). I hope to be in the audience on  the 28 April when the company returns to Leeds.

Much Less Beastly - Indeed Rather Beautiful

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Northern Ballet, Beauty and the Beast, Leeds Grand Theatre, 17 Dec 2016, 19:30

To my great delight and surprise, I enjoyed every single moment of David Nixon's Beauty and the Beast. Delight is obvious. Ballet is expensive. One goes for a good time - not to be bored out of one's skull. Surprise? Well that is because I saw the ballet on 30 Dec 2011 and while I was not exactly bored I was not in rapture either:

"As for Nixon's choreography the first two acts reminded me of early McMillan - works like Anastasia which are not performed very often nowadays for a reason. But the last Act reminded me of Balanchine and I think it was that Act which saved the ballet. The pas de deux between Beauty - danced exquisitely by Martha Leebolt - and the beast showed just what the choreographer can do. Also impressive were Victoria Sibson and Hannah Bateman who danced the fairies, Hironeo Takahashi, the beast's servant and the coryphées, Michela Paolacci, Ayana Kanda, Christie Duncan and Isabella Gasparini who were four sprites. The last Act of the ballet could well stand as a work in its own right. I hope to see that Act many times again but I would happily skip the first two acts with its old bus and bailiffs" (see Ballet and Intellectual Property - my Excuse for reviewing "Beauty and the Beast" 31 Dec 2011 IP Yorkshire).

Funny how something like an old bus can make such an impression.  Sir Matthew Bourne's curtain climbing Aurora sent me up the wall in his Sleeping Beauty (see Why can't I be nicer to Matthew Bourne? 6 Apr 2013) and it took The Car Men to bring me down again (see Motoring 25 June 2015). Similarly, bikes on stage belong in Ashton's Enigma Variations - not in Swan Lake (see Up the Swannee 17 March 2016).

The old bus was still there last night but I didn't mind it at all.  I could appreciate its part in the story. True, bed and breakfast accommodation or a flat on the top but one floor of a tower block where the lift does not work and stairwells are strewn with syringes and reek of urine might be a more usual destination under the Homelessness Act 2002 but, hey, this is theatre. Surely a choreographer or dramaturge is entitled to some poetic licence. Except for placing the story in the present with bailiffs, a removal van and, of course, the old bus Nixon kept pretty close to de Villeneuve's story which is essentially Cinderella in reverse with Carabosse and the Lilac Fairy and dashes of King Lear thrown in for good measure (see Beauty and the Beast Story on Northern Ballet's website).

So why the change of heart second time round?  Well, it helped that some of my favourite dancers were in the show.  Ayami Miyota was Beauty and Mlindi Kulashe a most magnificent beast.  Joseph Taylor was the handsome Prince Orian or the beast before he was taught some manners by La Fée Magnifique danced by the striking Victoria Sibson who also performed that role when I last saw that ballet 5 years ago. Abigail Prudames, another of my favourites, danced La Fée Luminaire (the good fairy) delightfully. Hironao Takahashi, who had danced Alfred 5 years ago, was Beauty's father, a good choice, in my view, because Takahashi has acquired gravitas and dignitas with seniority.  Alfred, or the beast's faithful retainer, was danced by Matthew Koon.  Yet another of my very favourite dancers, Rachael Gillespie, danced one of Beauty's feckless sisters. The other was Mariana Rodrigues who also danced well.  Indeed, everybody did last night so congratulations to all.

I think the choreography has also changed a bit. The show seemed tighter, tenser and more dramatic. Apparently, 20 minutes has been cut. A conclusion reached on Friday night by me and Janet McNulty after a lengthy correspondence on Facebook over whether the ballet had three acts in 2011 or just two as it has now.  Janet insisted that it had two even though I distinctly remembered two intervals and wrote that there were three acts in my review less than 24 hours after seeing the show.  Janet seemed so sure and she will have seen the show several times in 2011 as well as several times more on this run. I feared early signs of senile dementia 5 years ago until my mind was put at rest by one of Janet's friends who found the 2011 programme which mentioned three acts.  I can't remember exactly what has been cut and, clearly, neither can Janet but all the good bits remain, The joyful duet between Beauty and Orian with its fish dive at the end. The beast's thrilling one-handed lift with Beauty spreadeagled several feet above the ground. The amusing dance of the goblins (Matthew Topliss, Jonathan Hanks, Jesse Milligan and Lorenzo Trosello. Equally amusing little touches like Beauty taking tea from a cup while the bear lapped up his from the saucer like a dog.

Beauty and the Beast will be at The Grand until the 7 Jan 2017. I am glad to recommend it.  There seem to be quite a few seats available for most performances although the theatre was quite full last night.  While the best Christmas ballet this year remains Ted Brandsen's Coppelia for the Dutch National Ballet by a country mile and Peter Wright's version of The Nutcracker for the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden is definitely #2, Beauty and the Beast is still a good one. I saw glimmers of the old Northern Ballet Theatre more than once last night.

Northern Ballet's "Wuthering Heights" at the West Yorkshire Playhouse

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Northern Ballet, Wuthering Heights, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds 6 Sep 2016

Guest Contributor  Janet McNulty

The West Yorkshire Playhouse (WYP) has always been a special performance space for Northern Ballet since their first season there in the early noughties. Most of the productions performed there have been created there and only A Midsummer Night's Dream has toured extensively to the Company's more usual theatres.

Wuthering Heights is a first for the Company as it is a main stage production transferring to the much more intimate space of the West Yorkshire Playhouse. Since the news was first announced I, and many other fans, have been waiting eagerly to see how this ballet favourite would transfer to WYP.

Well the wait was finally over last night when Northern Ballet opened a short season of Wuthering Heights at the WYP. There was a lovely sense of anticipation as the house lights went down...

I was not disappointed. Wuthering Heights looked every bit as wonderful as I expected it to in this terrific theatre. The orchestra was hidden away behind the set but their playing of the score, under the baton of John Pryce-Jones was splendid. The positioning of the orchestra also meant that the audience was very close to the action and we were able to take in every tiny gesture of the dancers.

Opening night was led by Dreda Blow as Cathy and Javier Torres as Heathcliff. Dreda was a wild Cathy, adoring Heathcliff from the start but also being swayed by the riches of Thrushcross Grange. She was totally hemmed in to her marriage to Edgar (exquisitely danced and acted by Nicola Gervasi). Javier was everything we would expect from Heathcliff - darkly brooding and very passionate in his feelings towards Cathy. One of my favourite moments of this work is the red duet when we have seen a subdued dance between Cathy and Edgar who cannot express their feelings to each other and as they part Heathcliff bursts into the garden. Their duet is exciting and passionate and last night I forgot to breathe!

We were very privileged to see Rachael Gillespie make her debut as Isabella last night - she was just exquisite. She was a total innocent abroad and it was easy to see how she fell for Heathcliff's rough charm.

The ballet starts with Mr Earnshaw bringing the foundling Heathcliff into his house and shows young Cathy's growing attraction to him as Hindley becomes neglected and embittered. Kevin Poeung and Ayami Miyata portrayed the young loves incredibly expressively. Kevin's facial expressions were subtle and a joy to behold. Giuliano Contadini gave a very nuanced performance as Hindley from enthusiastic young boy to embittered sadist and sad drunk. Victoria Sibson and Hiro Takahashi brought all their experience to the roles of devoted Ellen and the devout Joseph. I particularly noticed Victoria's devastation during Cathy's death scene.

One of the joys of watching Northern Ballet is to glance around the stage and see how involved all the dancers are, no matter how small their roles and last night was no exception.

It really was a terrific start to Northern Ballet's Autumn season!

Comings and Goings

Birmingham Royal Ballet

Both Birmingham Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet have published press releases on arrivals and departures and promotions within the company. Birmingham's was published on Monday and is headed End of Season Announcements. Northern's was published yesterday and is headed Dancer promotions and joiners for 2016/17.

I should like to congratulate everyone in both companies who has been promoted. All are well merited. As readers know I try not to have favourites but there are some artists who delight me particularly in both companies.

Of those who have been promoted in Birmingham I am especially glad to see the elevation of Celine Gittens to Principal. Her performance as Swanilde in Coppelia at the Lowry on the 5 March 2015 was Sensational.  Another of my favourites is Delia Matthews who is now a First Soloist. I was at the Opera House in York when she was injured in Les Rendezvous. I almost felt her pain (see Birmingham Royal Ballet in York 21 May 2015). I was so sad. But she made a great recovery and danced beautifully in Romeo and Juliet as Rosaline (see A Good Outcome from an Unhappy Event - Singleton's Fine Performance 6 March 2016) and in The Taming of the Shrew just a few days ago. Yet another promotion that delights me is Brandon Lawrence who is now a soloist. A Bradford man he soars in every role - particularly when he dances in Yorkshire.  As I said last year

"if I have to single out anyone it has to be Brandon Lawrence, a Bradford lad who clearly relished his return to God's own county. He danced proudly and magisterially. There was no doubt that he was glad to be back on home turf."

 Finally, I am delighted by Valentin Olovyannikov's promotion. He was a great cleric and innkeeper in The Taming of the Shrew.

I was delighted by all the promotions in Leeds but particularly by Rachael Gillespie's. Abigail Prudames's and Kevin Poeung's.  Rachael excel's in everything but one role that she danced particularly well was as Tinkerbell in Peter Pan (see Not too sure about Fairies but I certainly believe in Rachael Gillespie 21 Dec 2014). My favourite performance by Kevin Poeung was as Puck in Midsummer Night's Dream at West Yorkshire Playhouse in 2013 (see Realizing Another Dream 15 Sept 2013). I think my favourite performance by Abigail was in Jane Eyre which I saw in Richmond a month ago.

There is one advancement that I long to see, especially as two of Northern Ballet's premier or principal dancers are on leave of absence. No names no pack drill but her dancing is

Heavenly

and she is

Beautiful 

to watch. Though Janet McNulty and Mel Wong might argue otherwise I am probably that dancer's number one fan.

Sad to be see departures and leave of absence from both companies and I wish all leavers well. However, my sadness at Luke Schaufuss's departure is mitigated by the fact that I can still see him in Scotland. He was great in La Sylphide last year (see A dream realized: the Queensland Ballet in London 12 Aug 2015). Finally, a big hello to all the joiners to both companies. I shall look forward to watching them dance. No doubt some will become big stars.

Northern Ballet's Jane Eyre: the best new Ballet from the Company in 20 Years

Jane Eyre and her Aunt Reed

Author FH Townsend

Source Wikipedia

Northern Ballet, Jane Eyre, Richmond Theatre. 1 June 2016

With one enormous break between 2004 and 2011 I have been following Northern Ballet ever since I returned to the North in 1985. The company has given us some lovely ballets over the years - Cinderella, A Christmas Carol, A Simple Man and, more recently, Madame Butterfly and A Midsummer Night's Dream. In my humble, rustic and simplistic opinion the company's golden age was 20 years ago. At least I thought so until this evening for tonight I saw them perform Jane Eyre at Richmond. I was reminded of their glory days which I never thought I would see again.

Cathy Marston has done wonders with this company.   It is one of the best new ballets I have seen all year from any company and it is the best  new work from Northern Ballet for many years if not decades. The story follows the novel pretty faithfully and the portrayal of several of the characters was just as I had imagined them when I first read the book as a child. In particular Adele danced beautifully by Rachael Gillespie and the first Mrs Rochester danced chillingly by Victoria Sibson. There was some very clever choreography and even cleverer direction,  Especially effective was the flashback scene at the beginning of the performance where Jane's early life - related by Antoinette Brooks-Daw as young Jane  - was echoed by adult Jane, Dreda Blow, behind a screen.

I was a little unsure about Philip Feeny's score at first because it sounded very like Schoenburg's for Wuthering Heights at first (or at least it did to me) but I warned to it especially in the second act. The discordance as Mrs Rochester advanced towards the altar was gripping.  So, too, was the music for the duet as Rochester tried to rescue his mad first wife. I have not enjoyed everything that Feeney has composed in the past but this time he has created a masterpiece.

Great music was equalled by great sets and costumes. Patrick Kinmonth's backdrops reminded me of low Pennine hills and dry stone walls. His costumes, particularly Adele's and Mrs Rochester's, helped project the story.

Hannah Bateman  had tweeted that Blow was lovely in the title role and she was right. Blow is a fine dancer but I have never seen her dance better than she did tonight.   Javier Torres was an excellent Rochester.  He showed arrogance as the squire but also vulnerability and sensitivity in his reverses.   It was a surprise to me that he can do vulnerability as he commands attention on stage and off but crouched in a foetal position clutching his eyes he nearly drew tears. Jessica Morgan was a horrid Aunt Reed and Mlindi Khulashe a fearsome master.

Last night and the day before will be the ballet's only showing in London.  A pity because the house was full and the audience was appreciative. Aylesbury will be its next stop and then a tour of the Midlands.  I hope it will be revived soon. I should love to see it again.

Ballet Central's Only Performance in the North

Yesterday I wrote about Nederlands Dans Theater 2 (see NDT2 at the Lowry 24 April 2016) and I have written a lot over the years about the Dutch National Ballet's Junior Company. None of our leading companies has a junior company as such but Ballet West, the Central School of Ballet and the Northern Ballet School all have performance companies. It is a thrill to watch those excellent young men and women on stage and through this blog I try to encourage them all.

Central's performance company is called Ballet Central which consists of the final year students on its BA (Hons) Degree course. Its website claims that

"Central School of Ballet is the only classical vocational school to offer an Honours Degree and pre-professional touring experience on such a scale. It has been a springboard for hundreds of dancers into the dance profession."

The School was founded by Christopher Gable who was the artistic director of Northern Ballet during its golden age and it has produced many of my favourite dancers including Hannah Bateman, Sarah Kundi, Dominic North and Rachael Gillespie as well as several of my favourite choreographers such as Paul Chantry. Christopher Marney and Kenneth Tindall. Two of the artistic directors that I respect the most, Sharon Watson of Phoenix Dance Theatre and Cassa Pancho of Ballet Black are associated with the School, Watson as an artistic advisor and Pancho as one of its patrons.

Ballet Central is now making its annual tour with an interesting programme which will include works by Gable, Marney and Watson. This year is special because it is the company's 30th anniversary and the work that I am looking forward to seeing most is Marney's War Letters which featured on the cover of this month's Dancing Times. I loved that work when it was performed by Ballet Black three years ago and it will be interesting to see another company's interpretation. One obvious difference from the cover photo is that Ballet Central will be using British uniforms instead of American ones for its male dancers.

One of the dancers on tour is Jasmine Wallis who impressed me in Marney's Carnival of the Animals for the Chelmsford Ballet Company last year (see A Delight Indeed 22 March 2015). Marion Pettet, the Chair of Chelmsford Ballet, saw Ballet Central when it came to Chelmsford a few weeks ago and tipped Wallis as someone to look out for.

Despite their connections with Phoenix and Northern Ballet, Ballet Central's touring schedule allows only one stop in the North and that is at the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre in Leeds on Thursday, 28 April 2016. There are still one or two seats left towards the back of the auditorium. Last year's show was dazzling (see Dazzled 3 May 2016). The thirtieth anniversary tour can hardly be less exciting.

Northern Ballet's Wuthering Heights in Bradford

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Northern Ballet, Wuthering Heights, Alhambra, Bradford 21 Nov 2015

I inserted a photo of Top Withens near Haworth into my review of Northern Ballet's performance of Wuthering Heights at the Sheffield Lyceum as it is said to be the inspiration for Emily Brontë's novel. Haworth is in the metropolitan district of Bradford and the Alhambra is the nearest theatre to that township. No doubt that is one of the reasons why Northern Ballet premièred David Nixon's ballet in that theatre to less than ecstatic reviews at the time (see Ismene Brown's Lost in the Moors 25 Sept 2002 in the Daily Telegraph and Judith Mackrell's Wuthering Heights 25 Sept 2002 in the Guardian).

The reviews have become somewhat kinder over the years, at least in the local press (see Emma Clayton's Northern Ballet brings Cathy and Heathcliff back home 12 Nov 2015 Telegraph and Argus and Yvette Huddleston's Review: Northern Ballet's Wuthering Heights 18 Nov 2015 Yorkshire Post) though not necessarily among balletomanes (see Emma's What we shouldn't try to tame in Balletical). Emma is particularly preceptive in her review, She begins with the observation:

"I could well be alone in my commentary of this ballet. I cannot be representative of the good ladies who rushed to the front of the stage to offer a standing ovationat the close of this performance. Then perhaps this review be considered a response rather than critique – and here is the enigma of Wuthering Heights and the creative challenge of this particular story ballet."

And concludes:

"I know it: I have been unduly harsh on Northern Ballet’s Wuthering Heights – a ballet that may please many, many people. I hope it does. My response is indeed less critical judgement than personal experience. That is the thing with Wuthering Heights and with Heathcliff, who we really shouldn’t try to tame."

A lot of choreographers other than Nixon have tries to tame Wuthering Heights. Cathy Marston has created one for the Berne Ballet which you can see in this YouTube video. Deborah Dunn has created Nocturnes which is said to be based on the novel (see Paula Citron's Cathy and Heathcliff in dance 12 Jan 2011 The Globe and Mail). Kader Belarbu made Hurlevent for the Paris Opera Ballet in 2002 which was reviewed by Patricia Boccadoro for Culture Kiosque 22 April 2002. Although Northern Ballet's version seems to do well enough in the English regions, none of those productions have really taken off.

Like Carmen which I discussed in Au Revoir but not Adieu 19 Nov 2015 Wuthering Heights has been very difficult to transpose into dance and probably for the same reason. Everyone loves Bizet's score and Mérimée, Each has his or her own interpretation of those works which seem to be violated by the choreography even of the calibre or Petit, Alonso or Acosta. It is the same with Brontë:

"The foundations of music, structure, costume, and above all, choreography, bore atone I disagreed with. This was not my Wuthering Heights. They lent to a feeling of romantic melodrama in classical gowns – when everything about Wuthering Heights for me is about being hungry and not having washed for days. Heathcliff – my Heathcliff – is full of dominance, violence and childhood hurt – yet the worst he does in Act I is knock a shuttlecock off play and drum on the table."

My own review of Nixon's work was much kinder than Emma's and I think that is because I am not really a fan of the novel and had no preconceptions for him to knock. I prefer Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Sir Walter Scott and William Makepeace Thackeray to the Brontës any day of the week and if Nixon had made a ballet out of Emma or Persuasion my reaction might well have been the same as Emma's.

All that circumambulation is an introduction to the fact that I was at The Alhambra yesterday for the last performance of the current revival of Wuthering Heights with the same cast that I had seen in Sheffield. That was Northern Ballet's A Team: Tobias Batley as Heathcliff, Martha Leebolt as Cathy, Hironao Takahashi as Edgar, Hannah Bateman as Isabella and Pippa Moore as Ellen. The last performance of a flagship work by the company's stars after a successful provincial tour should have been brilliant and it was certainly OK. Bateman, now perhaps the strongest female dancer in the company, showed her considerable talent and expertise as a dancer and actor as the injured Isabella. It is a complex role that perhaps only she could do well. Takehashi showed his experience and authority in his role. Light, energetic and effervescent, Rachael Gillespie was a delight to watch and she was aptly rewarded in the reverence including a "brava" from me roared from the back of the stalls. Those three dancers made my evening.

Batley and Leeboilt were good too as they always are but their performance lacked fire. It was like watching World Ballet Day or even company class. Old ladies like me who sacrifice their widow's mite for ballet (now increased by 133% - see The Increasing Prince of Friendship 14 Oct 2015) expect to float when we leave the theatre as I did on Friday when I saw Ballet Black (see Ballet Black's Return to Leeds 21 Nov 2015) or on 12 Nov 2015 when I left the Linbury after seeing Phoenix (see The Phoenix Soars Over London 13 Nov 2015). The reason I floated was that Ballet Black and Phoenix danced as though they were inspired as did Bateman, Takehashi and Gillespie yesterday.  I swapped a ticket in the centre of row B of the Stanley and Audrey Burton for yesterday's performance of Ballet Black for one at the side of the top of the auditorium for Friday so that I could see the last performance of Wuthering Heights in Bradford. Had it not been for  Bateman, Takehashi and Gillespie I think I would have regretted the exchange.

1984 Second Time Round

Embedded pursuant to a standard YouTube licence

Northern Ballet, 1984, Palace Theatre, Manchester, 17 Oct 2015, 19:30

As I had expected, I liked Northern Ballet's 1984 very much more the second time around. There are two reasons for that. The first is that I knew what to look out for having seen the show in Leeds on 11 Sept 2015 (see My First Impressions of 1984 12 Sept 2915). The second is that Isaac Lee-Baker and Dreda Blow came very close to my picture of Winston Smith and Julia.

There is only so much that the senses can absorb when one attends the theatre.  The first time I saw the show I concentrated on the plot in order to understand the ballet rather than the sound and movement through which the story was expressed.  There was a lot of movement in this ballet - the choreography, of course, but also spectacular electronic displays on a massive "telescreen". Knowing the sequence of the ballet I was better able to appreciate Jonathan Watkins's choreography, Andrzej Goulding's telescreen, Simon Daw's sets and costumes, Alex Baranowski's score and some exquisite dancing.

Lee-Baker as Smith and Blow as Julia were perfect casting in my recollection of Orwell's novel. Smith is a young chap, very impressionable and somewhat naive - the sort who might have been turned by Stalin had he worked in the Foreign Office in the late 1940s rather than the Ministry of Truth in 1984. Such a role requires a young dancer but one with considerable ability. A role tailor made for Lee-Baker who had triumphed as Friar Lawrence in Maillot's Romeo and Juliet earlier in the year (see Northern Ballet's Romeo and Juliet - different but in a good way 8 March 2015) and as Wilson in Gatsby last year (see Northern Ballet at its best: The Great Gatsby in Bradford 16 Nov 2014).

As I recall the novel, Julia is a temptress and I intend it as a compliment when I say that Blow was a very sexy lady. She is another dancer that I began to appreciate for the first time in Romeo and Juliet.  When I saw her as Juliet I wrote:

"Casting Blow for the role was an inspiration. She was a perfect Juliet. Playful and feisty. Loving but conflicted. Brave but fearful. Blow is elevated to my pantheon of favourites."

Julia is a very different role from Juliet but Blow was an excellent choice. She is perhaps Northern's best actor. She was sultry. She was seductive. She was my idea of Julia.

The third leading character in Watkins's ballet is O'Brien, the senior apparatchik who tricks Smith and Julia into dropping their guard and then betrays them. Javier Torres danced that role in September and he was excellent. He saved that show for me on that occasion.  Last Saturday it was Ashley Dixon who was a very different O'Brien but no less convincing. He projected menace and oiliness even in the privacy of his apartment when entertaining his young quaries with a silent telescreen.

It was good to see some of my favourites in the company - Hiranao Takehashi as Charrington, Jeremy Curnier as O'Brien's assistant, Victoria Sibson as the lead female prole and Rachael Gillespie, Abigail Prudames and Mlindi Kulashe who danced in the crowd scenes as party faithful and proles but still shone - as did all in the cast last Saturday night.

Orwell's satire is not an obvious choice for a ballet. In the Q & A that followed the show in Leeds on 11 Sept 2015 Watkins was asked why he had chosen that work as the subject of a ballet. He replied that

"he had read the book as a teenager and had been affected by it. He had contemplated how it could be translated into dance for some time. The same had happened with the Ken Loach film Kes which he first saw about the same time. That film resonated with him because it was set in the area in which he had spent his childhood. Last year he had the chance of stage it for The Crucible in Sheffield. By staging Kes and 1984 he had achieved two longstanding ambitions."

As you can see from the synopsis Watkins followed Orwell pretty faithfully. The sets, costumes, music, choreography, dancing came together beautifully. I don't think that this will ever be one of my favourite ballets but it it one that I now understand, appreciate and recommend.

The company will perform 1984 today in Sheffield for one last time in the North before they take it to the rest of the country. I had hoped to see it in Sheffield with Giuliano Contadini and Antoinette Brooks-Daw in the leading roles but they were dancing on the nights when Jane Tucker teaches the improvers and I was due to see Rambert at The Alhambra. Perhaps I can catch that cast at Sadler's Wells in May. Londoners tend to like Northern Ballet perhaps even more than we Mancunians and I am sure they will enjoy this show.

Ballet School Outings

Here are just a few trips I would love to take if I lived in London and didn't have to work for a living. Here are three great opportunities to see how dancers are trained. A year ago I spent the whole day watching Yoko Ichino and other teachers at Northern Ballet's Open Day in Leeds and was thrilled and fascinated.

Royal Ballet School
The Ballet Association, a group that aims to give active support to the Royal Ballet Companies and to promote interest in all aspects of their work, has arranged a visit to the Royal Ballet Upper School on 29 April 2015. According to Audrey Allen of the London Ballet Circle, there are still a few places on the tour.  Visitors may watch the following classes:

• First Year Ladies: 09:00 - 10:15
• Second Year Boys: 10:45 - 12:30
• Third Year Pas de Deux:  13:15 - 14:15.

Applications for tickets should be made to David Bain of 23 Capstan Square, Stewart Street, London, E14 3EU. The cost is £12.50 to members of the London Ballet Circle and £20 for their guests.

Tring Park 

This is where Ruth Brill trained.  A full day visit to Tring Park School for the Performing Arts  on 13 May 2015 from 10:00 to 17:00 with opportunities to meet  Rachel Rist, Director of Dance, and to see the morning and afternoon classes. Applications for tickets should be made to Audrey Allen of the London Ballet Circle at 8 Goldsmith Road, London, N11 3JP, Tel: 020 8361 2872. The cost to members of the London Ballet Circle is £12.50.

Central School of Ballet

If I could got to just one of these schools this is the one I would choose.  Founded by Christopher Gable the Central School of Ballet is where Sarah Kundi, Rachael Gillespie, Hannah Bateman, Chris Marney, Kenneth Tindall, Paul Chantry and many more of my favourite dancers and choreographers trained. Cassa Pancho,founder and artistic director of Ballet Black has recently been made a patron of the School. The visit will take place on 19 May 2015 but precise timings have still to be arranged, Applications for tickets should be made to Audrey Allen of the London Ballet Circle at the above address. Again, the cost to London Ballet Circle members is £12.50.

As you can see there are lots of benefits of joining the Ballet Association and London Ballet Circle and you can join the London Ballet Circle online. I am not yet a member of the Ballet Association but as a longstanding admirer of both the London and Birmingham Royal Ballet companies I intend to apply for membership straight away.

Not too sure about Fairies but I certainly believe in Rachael Gillespie

Northern Ballet, Peter Pan, The Grand, Leeds 20 Dec 2014

Rachael Gillespie is one of the dancers who lift my spirits after a hard week. She seems to love to dance and her joy is infectious. Watching her perform is almost like participating in the dance. Tonight she was Tinkerbell and she was lovely.  Having seen J M Barrie's play as a child I remember being exhorted to believe in fairies to save brave Tinkerbell. I wondered how David Nixon would translate that moment into ballet. The answer was a voice off stage: "I believe in fairies". It was followed by another and then another. Jeremy Curnier asked "Do you believe in fairies?" adding "Tinkerbell will live if you do".  "Yes" roared the crowd followed by thunderous applause that shook the auditorium. Up sprang dear Rachael with her winning smile. Corny, I know, but great theatre.

Rachael Gillespie was not the only star last night. There was of course Peter danced magnificently by Curnier. Antoinette Brooks-Daw was a natural Wendy. Javier Torres made a splendid Captain Hook. Wicked and devious but also gallant and flamboyant to the end. Did he really have to walk the plank into the jaws of Sean Bates, the ticking crocodile? Also delightful was Lucia Solari as the Neverbird. I admired Torres and Solari in Cinderella when I saw them in Sheffield last month (Cinderella - even better 30 Nov 2014) and at The Grand last boxing day (Northern Ballet's Cinderella - a Triumph! 27 Dec 2013). They are developing into a really strong partnership of which we enjoyed glimpses when they doubled as Mr and Mrs Darling. All danced well - the Lost Boys, Mermaids, Pirates, everybody - and it would be unfair to single any of them out for special praise.

Nonetheless, I must say a word for Dominique Larose who danced Nana. Having seen Ballet Black's Dogs Don't Do Ballet (Woof 12 Oct 2014) I doubted that any dancer could dance a dog as well as that company. But Larose's Nana was as canine as Cira Robinson's Bif. I only wish that Vlad the Lad could have been in Leeds last night. I loved all the animals. As I said in my review of Cinderella, if Northern Ballet can do bears not to mention birds, dogs and crocodiles - so well surely one solitary bear was not beyond the Royal Ballet.

To my great delight Nixon followed the Barrie play very closely (see the scenario). Stephen Warbeck's score fitted the story perfectly and afforded ample scope for Nixon's ingenious choreography. You can hear some of the music if you have or can download Spotify. Peter Mumford's sets and lighting and Kim Brassley's costumes were magnificent as you can see from the photos.

Yesterday was a splendid evening and just what I needed after a trying fee days.

Post Script

The splendid performance of Peter Pan by Northern Ballet at The Grand on Saturday reminded me that the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 contains a provision that creates a special intellectual property right akin to copyright for the benefit of Great Ormond Street Hospital ("GOSH") for sick children. In have explored the legislative history of the special IP right and its features in GOSH - a special IPR that never grows old 22 Dec 2014 IP Yorkshire.

Leeds also has a children's hospital which appeals for funds and as you can see from the Northern Ballet website, Peter (also known as Gavin McCaig) and Tinkerbell (Alison Bayston) paid it a visit on 16 Dec 2014.