Another way to help the Kids in Kibeira

Just spotted this on Danceworks' Facebook page:

!The students of our International Ballet Academy are collecting shoes and clothes to send. If you would like to contribute, please bring to Danceworks Reception."

Thanks kids and thank you Lesley.

For those interested in helping, Danceworks, is at  16 Balderton Street, London W1K 6TN.

Principato's Project

Cristiano Principato

Photo Robin DePuy

(c) Dutch National Ballet 2014

Reproduced with kind permission of the Dutch 

National Ballet

Cristiano Principato is an Élève (which translates roughly as "pupil", "apprentice" or "trainee") of the Dutch National Ballet. I wrote a feature on him in December 2014 shortly after he had joined the Junior Company That man can dance. He was trained at La Scala Ballet School, spent a year with the Dutch National Ballet's Junior Company and joined the main company last year. He has already performed at Covent Garden (see
Junior Company in London - even more polished but as fresh and exuberant as ever 7 June 2015) and at the Coliseum (see Wheeldon's Cinderella 13 July 2013) and I am sure we shall be hearing a lot more about him as time goes on.

Cristiano's latest project is a gala at the Silvio Pelico Theatre in Trecate on 28 June 2016 in aid of Casa Alessia's initiative in Bujumbura to give former child soldiers an opportunity to recover their childhood, to gain an education and learn a useful trade. Casa Alessia is an Italian charity which tackles need in Italy and overseas. According to the charity's website:

"Since 2008 a village of some 48 dwellings has been built at Masango in Burundi under the guidance of a Father Bepi.
The project was intended to enable former child solders regain their childhood. Father Bepi has taught them a trade while the charity has provided a roof over their heads to ensure a promising future.
Co-operative enterprises have been established around the village which brings relief to the poorest people."

Readers will know that this is just the sort of initiative that is close to my heart. My late spouse came from Sierra Leone which also suffered a vicious civil war in which children were kidnapped, drugged and forced to fight and commit the vilest atrocities. Michaela DePrince, who is also in the Dutch National Ballet, has described some of those appalling events graphically in Hope in a Ballet Shoe. My other connection with Africa is my late spouse's goddaughter who escaped the civil war to live with us. She is now the nearest I have to a daughter and her little boy the nearest I have to a grandson. I visited that country in 2007 and saw some of the devastation for myself (see Sierra Leone 18 April 2007 NIPC Law).

Because of my connection with Africa I have supported initiatives like Anno Africa's work in one of the toughest neighbourhoods of Nairobi (see What can be achieved by a good teacher 3 March 2013) and the Gala for Ghana 4 Feb 2014 which brought together some of the biggest names in dance including Elena Glurdjidze, Ed Watson and Lauren Cuthbertson who has just dazzled London with her Giselle (see Cuthbertson's Giselle 3 April 2016).

Cristiano's gala in Trecate promises to be just as riveting. He has enlisted some of his colleagues from the Dutch National Ballet such as Emilie Tassinari, Giovanni Princic, Yuanyuan Zhang, Thomas van Damme and Priscylla Gallo as well as dancers from elsewhere. Those dancers are some of the best of their generation and I have no doubt that at least some of them will be at least as great as Watson, Cuthbertson and Glurdjidze in 10 to 15 years time. There is a great video about the gala with some footage of Casa Alessia's work in Burundi circulating on Facebook.

Now if anybody wants to see these fine young dancers Trecate is about 6 miles from Novara which happens to be Cristiano's home town. For those who are interested in history a famous battle took place against the French 1513. There is a magnificent basilica with a dome that is almost 400 feet high, a neo-classical cathedral and the Broletto or forum. The town is not too far from the Alps. The nearest international airport is probably Turin which is about 60 miles away and served by BA and several budget airlines with direct flights to the UK

I should like to wish Cristiano and everybody involved in this show chukkas for the performance and everyone in Casa Alessiia every success with their valuable work.

Catching them young

The combination of colour, drama, movement and music often set to a familiar fairy story can capture a child's imagination. Once captured the experience can lead to a lifetime's pleasure unless soured by compulsory ballet lessons on a Saturday morning in a draughty church hall.

In contrast to other children's media, ballet sends out some positive messages. It is the one art form in which women have always enjoyed at least equality with men. Great for the self-confidence of girls who may not want to dance on stage but have ambitions in other fields: see how ballet works for kids from a rough neighbourhood in Nairobi in What can be achieved by a good teacher 3 March 2013. Ballet also sends messages for boys in that women are to be cherished and respected - not insulted, molested or ravished. How a ballerina stands en pointe or turns on pirouette contains useful lessons on mechanics and mathematics for both genders. Getting kids moving in a studio instead of slouching in front of the telly or a tablet with a milkshake and burger would save the NHS billions. Perhaps most importantly of all ballet - unlike Disney animations - is palpably real. Dancers may do wonderful things with their leaps and turns but they are still human beings - in many cases just a few years older than their audience.

So how to get a young child hooked on all this positivity? The great Spanish educationalist St Ignatius de Loyola is reputed to have said "Give me a child to the age of 7 and I will show you the man". The problem with ballets like The Nutcracker and Cinderella is that they last too long for the under sevens. The answer is to choreograph a ballet for that age group and that is something that English National Ballet has done spectacularly well with its My First Ballet series. Last year it was Coppelia which I reviewed on 14 April 2014 and this year it is Swan Lake. Vlad the Lad who will be four in December and is the nearest I have to a grandson said it was "awesome" which is a big word for a three year old. He enjoyed the show so much that he even sat through a performance in which his real less-than-fairy-more-like-hippo-godmother had the time of her life in Leeds.

But Vlad was even more impressed by Chris Marney's Dogs Don't Do Ballet for Ballet Black and he actually had the pleasure of meeting Mr Marney as well as Cassa Pancho. She is the nearest he will ever get to meeting a fairy godmother in that she made possible the wonders that took place before his very eyes. Bless you Chris and Cassa and all your wonderful dancers, particularly Madame Kanikova whose predicament with the French horn was of real concern to Vlad.

So what else can children of Vlad's age see? My beloved Northern is touring the nation with elves and the shoemaker building on its success with Three Little Pigs and The Ugly Duckling.  Birmingham Royal Ballet is presenting First Steps: a child's Coppelia to kids in Edinburgh and Manchester in the Spring. Just across the North Sea Ernst Meisner's The Little Big Chest for the Dutch National Ballet seems to have been a runaway success in Amsterdam - easier to reach and cheaper to stay in than London for many of us in the UK. For slightly older children there is the Royal Ballet's The Mad Hatter's Tea Party and maybe Chantry Dance's The Happy Prince.

If I have time I will arrange a resource page of children's ballet's with reviews and information about prices, times and venues.

Post Script

22 Nov 2014   After watching The Happy Prince in Halifax on Thursday I ran into Paul Chantry and Rae Piper in the Square Chapel bar. I told them that I had enjoyed the show and would have loved to have taken Vlad the Lad to see it at the Wells but their performance would take place way after his bedtime. They replied that they intend to take the show into children's theatre in the next few months so I should be able to take him to see it. I will blog the dates, times and venues of those performances just as soon as I hear about them.

Also I have some good news for Northern kids. Cassa Pancho tweeted that Ballet Black are coming back to Leeds shortly with Dogs Don't Do Ballet so I shall let you all know when they are coming.

Woof

The day I danced in public I presented the nearest I have to a grandson with a copy of Anna Kemp's Dogs don't do Ballet. A few weeks earlier I had actually met the extraordinarily gifted young choreographer, Christopher Marney, and scolded myself for not thinking of asking him to sign that book because Cassa Pancho had told me that Ballet Black had commissioned Marney to base a ballet on that book a few weeks before the official announcement. Ironically I met two other choreographers, David Nixon and Kenneth Tindall, the day after I had performed and I could have asked either of them to sign something else for little Vladimir but it wouldn't have been the same. Anyway, yesterday the first performances of Dogs don't do ballet took place in Harlow and I was there with three year old Vlad to see the show.

The ballet is for children aged 3 or over so the acid test is: "what did a 3 year old child think of the show?" Well Vlad the Lad liked it.  In his short life he has seen no less than three ballets if you count the Northern Ballet Academy's end of term show (and I think you must because there were some good performances in that show which more than made up for my poor efforts) and he liked them all. But he particularly liked Dogs don't do Ballet for he sat through the whole 50 minutes quite entranced. He's an active boy and to hold his attention for all that time says a lot about the show. So guys, you passed the Vlad test.

So what did this 65 year old think of it?  I loved it. Though it was a children's ballet there was plenty to appeal to grown ups. For instance, the ballet teacher, Miss Polly, swigging from her hip flask and sleeping through her students' barre exercises.  She was danced by Christopher Renfurm who has blossomed as a character dancer. He is a good Slvador Dali but a brilliant ballet teacher. Though I am glad to say that none of my ballet teachers is anything like Miss Polly, Renfurm fitted the popular stereotype of a ballet teacher to a tee. The expression of delight on Anna's face changing to embarrassment upon her first kiss was another moment to savour. Marie Astrid Mence, Ballet Black's latest recruit, was an adorable Anna. The study of canine behaviour by Cira Robinson - so familiar to anyone who has ever kept a dog - was yet another delight. There was Bif's whining, her friendly slathering over Miss Polly, the playfulness with which she toyed with a tutu and her pas de deux with a dalmatian. Just like a real dog - in fact, just like Harvey*.

As I said in my appreciation of Christopher Marney the quality that distinguishes him from other choreographers is his remarkable sensitivity to music. This was reflected in the construction of the score - Ketèlbey, Baranowski, Strauss, plenty of Tchaikovsky and above all Fauré's Dolly Suite - and of course the interpretation of that score. The movements that he created were extraordinary - particularly those that required Robinson, Kanika Carr and José' Alves to dance on all fours. Also the barre exercises - the foundering "Kanikova" -  with a French horn over her head - and of course Bif's pas de deux. I was already quite a Marney fan before I saw that ballet and my admiration for his work is now even greater.

All the dancers seemed to have fun - Isabela Coracy as the coquettish Felicia with her poodle (Carr) and her pink mobile. Jacob Wye as the bashful TJ, Damian Johnson as the kindly dad - and it showed in their wit and exuberance.   Gary Harris's costumes - particularly Robinson's dog suit and Miss Polly's hats and shawls - were inspired. So, too, was James Lewis's set and of course David Plater's lighting.   I ought to say a word about the programme which was unusually cheap but also very informative and came with a set of crayons for colouring Bif in her tutu.  I now know which dancer keeps a pet and what it is. Although I have only met a few of them briefly on one occasion I feel I now know them.  I am looking forward to seeing them all in Leeds on 6 Nov 2014.

This show is moving on to Bournemouth on the 19 and Exeter on the 21 Oct and finally to Winchester on 29 Nov. If you live anywhere near those towns - or even if you don't - do go and see it.  Yesterday, Chris Marney's dad asked me how many miles I had driven for the show. The answer is 520 and the ballet was well worth every inch of the journey.

Post Script
I am starting a resource page on that company at Extra Special - Ballet Black at the Linbury 26 Feb 2014 27 Feb 2014

There are some lovely pictures of Dogs don't do Ballet on Ballet Black's Facebook page.

*The pet dog of one of my ballet teachers

Dogs Don't Do Ballet

"Dogs Don't Do Ballet" is a children's story book by Anna Kemp. Ballet Black has commissioned Christopher Marney to turn it into a ballet for children. Vlad the Lad, the nearest I have to a grandson, loves animals.  He, his mum and dad and I had a lovely time at Regents Park Zoo a few weeks ago. He also liked English National Ballet's My First Coppelia. I am sure that he and children everywhere will just love this new production.

I first learned of this new ballet in Southport when I met Cassa Pancho and several of her dancers on 22 May 2014 (see "What could be more thrilling than a Ride on a Roller Coaster? A performance by Ballet Black!" 23 May 2014). She mentioned it in confidence because the commission was embargoed. But on Monday Ballet Black lifted that embargo and it is now public knowledge.

Even if Vlad does not like this ballet I most certainly will.  I don't know what it is about Marney's work but for me it stands out. What do I know about ballet? Not a lot to be sure as I have only started adult ballet classes very recently; but I have seen a lot of performances over the decades. I know what I like and I like Marney. I also like Robinson, Johnson, Carr, Alves, Coracy and all the other beautiful dancers of Ballet Black several of whom I had the pleasure of meeting in Southport. 

Ballet is the little bit of magic that remains when you discover that there is no Father Christmas and there are no fairies at the bottom of your garden

There is a little girl in Carlisle who has just started to learn ballet and her mum wants to show her something more than YouTube videos of ballets. So earlier this evening she tweeted me with a request for listings.  I referred her to North West Dance and Yorkshire Dance which list more or less everything in the North of England between them. I also told her about the Royal Ballet's Don Quixote which is to be streamed live to cinemas around the world on 16 Oct. I also recommended Northern Ballet's Three Little Pigs and Cindarella and as Carlisle is not too far from dear old Glasgow town I suggested Scottish Ballet's "Hansel and Gretel" for the bairn.

What about ballets for kids in the rest of the country? Growing up in Surrey I looked forward to London Festival Ballet's The Nutcracker at the Festival Hall every January. Well that company is now called English National Ballet and they are dancing The Nutcracker in Liverpool between the 20 and 23 Nov and the Coliseum between the 11 Dec and 5 Jan 2014 with a gala on 13 Dec. The Royal Ballet is also staging The Nutcracker  at the Royal Opera House between the 4 Dec and 16 Jan 2014.

Although it is not the best ballet for children because it is so sad and there isn't really a happy ending I understand that Ballet West will be touring with Swan Lake early in the New Year.

I hope the little girl gets as much pleasure from dance as I have had in my lifetime. As I tweeted to her mother 

"Your daughter will find that ballet is the bit of magic that remains after learning there's no Father Christmas or fairies."

Her mother replied that she thought mountains would remain there too and I agreed. Of course, she should find lots of other wonderful things as she grows up such as books and music and maybe science.

If the little girl does take to ballet she should learn more than just pliés and tendus.  Ballet is one art form in which women have always enjoyed at least equality. When we think of great dancers of the past it is always the ballerinas who come first to mind - Taglioni, Elssler, Grisi, Karsavina, Pavlova and Fonteyn. Save perhaps for Nureyev and Nijinsky most members of the public would struggle to name any premiers danseurs nobles.

Also. as kids like those in Mathare progress in their art she should also learn that this is no longer an elitist and Euro-centric art form but one that belongs to every part of humanity.