Chantry Dance goes North

Sale, Greater Manchester

Photo Alan Halfpenny
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Source Wikipedia

When I first mentioned Chantry Dance Company's new full-length ballet in The Sandman Cometh - Chantry Dance's New Full Length Ballet 20 Nov 2016 I wrote:

"They have not yet published their venues but I hope that they will make at least one stop in the North next year. We were sorry not to see them in our region this year. They were missed."

When Chantry Dance did announce their list of venues they were all in the Midlands and South East (see The Sandman Tour 27 Jan 2017.

Yesterday the company announced that it would add the Waterside Arts Centre in Sale and the Victoria Theatre in Halifax to its list (see the "What's On" page on the company's website). The Waterside is a particularly good venue as it is close to the Metrolink station and a multi-storey car park in one of the more pleasant suburbs of Greater Manchester. I attended two performances of Ballet Black's Dogs Don't Do Ballet last May and found it an excellent venue for dance (see As Fresh as Ever: Ballet Black's Dogs Don't Do Ballet in Sale 7 May 2016 and I never tire of Dogs Don't Do Ballet 8 May 2016). Halifax is a town in which Chantry Dance has performed in the past though at a different venue. It is, incidentally, also the first place where Northern Ballet set up when it left Manchester.

Chantry Dance is more than just a dance company.  It also runs a number of educational and outreach programmes as well as the Chantry School of Contemporary and Balletic Arts in Grantham. It was through one of those programmes that I first made the acquaintance of Paul Chantry, Rae Piper and Gail Gordon who are the prime movers of the company as well as Mel Wong who subsequently contributed several interesting articles to this publication (see Chantry Dance Company's Sandman and Dream Dance 10 May 2014). Because of that work I tweeted:

@ChantryDance @WatersideArts it would be nice if you could look into doing a workshop or giving a class to local students while you are here

— Terpsichore (@jelterps) March 13, 2017

They replied:

@jelterps @WatersideArts we're hopefully running the YCC there for dance students & already looking into other participation possibilities x

— ChantryDanceCompany (@ChantryDance) March 13, 2017

"YCC" stands for Young Choreographers Celebration which is described in detail on the company's website. A few years ago I looked into the possibility of bringing Chantry Dance to Manchester or Leeds for a day workshop and actually went so far as to find a venue but the costs and risks were daunting. However, if the company does offer some sort of workshop, class or other event in Manchester or Yorkshire I will publish details of it.

This company that can fill a venue in London as well as small towns in the East Midlands. It has a choreographer who trained at Christopher Gable's Central School of Ballet where two of my very favourite young British choreographers, Christopher Marney and Kenneth Tindall, and many of my favourite dancers such as Hannah Bateman, Rachael Gillespie, Dominic North and Sarah Kundi also studied. It has coached one of the finalists in the Youth America Grand Prix (a competition that boosted the career of Michaela DePrince). It is certainly worth seeing.

I never tire of Dogs Don't Do Ballet

Ballet Black's Dogs Don't Do Ballet seemed so fresh and new yesterday that I was convinced that there must be some new choreography (see As Fresh as Ever: Ballet Black's Dogs Don't Do Ballet in Sale 7 May 2016).

"No new choreography tweeted" Cassa Pancho.

"That's amazing" I thought, I tweeted back

Ah right. Then it is an even better work than I thought because I am still discovering new things about it. https://t.co/GipPZUPa1C

— Terpsichore (@jelterps) May 7, 2016

Cassa replied:

@jelterps but there is a lot of detail that you might miss with only one viewing

— Ballet Black (@BalletBlack) May 7, 2016

She was right, of course. Even though I hadn't intended seeing it twice in the same weekend I returned for a second viewing (fifth all told) at 11:00 today.

I was able to sit much closer to the stage today so I caught some of those details.

There was the toy dalmatian which Bif handed to Anna just before the storm when she dreamt about a real one and in the morning a real one - or as close to real as ballet can conjure - appeared.

I took a closer look at the poster on the wall of Anna's room. "Kanikova" it read and if I am not mistaken it was Kanika Carr dancing with Jacob Wye in the video.

I noticed the intricate choreography of the ballet class with the boys pirouetting while the girls did chaînés.

Though I loved Marie-Astrid's Anna, Sayaka is such a good actor that she brought whole new dimensions to the role. I particularly loved the kiss that Tutu snatched. Her expression changed from delight to embarrassment as it did for him. Tutu and Sayaka are so well matched.

So now Ballet Black's tour to Sale is over and the dancers may be on their way home. It was good to see them here and I look forward to their return next month with their triple bill.

Finally, it was Isabela Corcy's birthday today. I left her a card on behalf of Team Terpsichore - everyone who had ever contributed to Terpsichore namely David, Gita, Joanna, Mel and me. I have been one of her fans ever since I saw her dance the pas de deux from Diana and Actaeon on YouTube, a role that requires enormous grace as well as strength. I am sure that all my readers will join me in wishing her many happy returns of the day.

As Fresh as Ever: Ballet Black's Dogs Don't Do Ballet in Sale

Waterside Arts Centre

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Source Wikipedia

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Ballet Black, Dogs Don't Do Ballet, Waterside Arts Centre, Sale, 7 May 2016

I was charmed by Christopher Marney's Dogs Don't Do Ballet ever since I saw its first performance in Harlow on 11 Oct 2014 (see Woof 12 Oct 2014). I enjoyed it again when  I saw it twice in Leeds last year (see Not Just a Children's Ballet 19 April 2015 and Le chien mal gardé 21 April 2015), I wondered whether I would still like it as much as I crossed the Pennines on the way to the theatre.

The answer was an emphatic "yes". It was as fresh as ever. I am not sure whether that is because of new choreography or because I noticed things that I had missed before. It may be because of cast changes since I had last seen the show. Sayaka Ichikawa was a delightful Anna and Mthuthuzeli November brought his panache and style to the ballet. While I liked Marie-Astrid Mence and Christopher Renfurm well enough it is always good to see another interpretation.

Loosely based on Anna Kemp's children's story, the ballet is about a ballet mad little girl called Anna and her pet dog Bif danced by Cira Robinson. Anyone who has ever kept a dog will be amazed by Robinson's performance because she has every canine mannerism down to a tee.  Anna takes her dog to ballet class kept by the slightly ridiculous Miss Polly. Bif wants to join in the class and after a few faltering steps at the barre proves to be rather good at it. Her mistress encourages that interest and during the night a storm breaks out. As it is whining and shaking Anna comforts the dog and they both watch a scene from The Nutcracker. They fall asleep and Bif dreams of dancing a pas de deux with a handsome dalmatian. The next day the children meet in the park with their dogs where they come across their teacher fast asleep with a hip flask by her side. There is a hilarious scene where they make fun of her. Miss Polly wakes up suddenly by the dogs licking her face, In the last scene Anna's father produces two tickets to the ballet. The dog wants to come but. of course, dogs are not allowed.  Nevertheless Bif gets into the auditorium somehow which is just as well for when Madame Kanikova jams her head in a French horn Bif is ready to jump on stage and dance the principal role.

It may be my imagination but I think there has been some new choreography to show Bif's progress at ballet. When the children do the centre exercises in front of the mirror she shows that she can perform the adagio quite as well as any of them. The audience is treated to two delightful duets between Bif and the dalmatian and Bif with the male principal.

If it was Marney's intention to inspire it worked.  As I left the theatre one small child asked her mother when she could start ballet.  Alarmingly another, who could not be aged more than 7, was on pointe in trainers. Several other kids were practising port de bras.  

As a Mancunian it was good to see one of my favourite companies in my native city. Well, almost, for I was born in Didsbury just the other side of the Mersey. They are dancing again at the Waterside Arts Centre tomorrow at 11:00 and 14:00 and if you can get to see them you should. They are also coming back to our metropolis on the 19 June to dance their triple bill which David Murley reviewed at The Lowry.