At about 3 pm today. a group of dancers will meet in the studio shown in the photograph above to begin a 90 minute class with Jane Tucker of Northern Ballet Academy. I have no idea how big that group will be. Some 20 people have registered for the class but several have had to drop out. On the other hand, I have received at least one intimation through twitter from a dancer who has not yet registered that she is looking forward to meeting everybody. All I would say is that if you want to come and have not yet registered is please let me know as soon as possible so that I can ask the staff at reception to let you in.
The class will take place at the Kirklees Leisure Centre at Spring Grove Street, Huddersfield, HD1 4BP which is just to the west of the Castlegate ring road. It is just down the hill from junction 24 on the M62 with oodles of onsite parking at 70p per hour and a short walk from the bus and railway stations for those who will use public transport.
There will be a short meeting after the class to decide whether we want to form a company and to elect a small steering committee to draw up a business plan and constitution. Several of the people who have had to drop out have stressed that they still want to form a company. Several others who can't be here today have said the same. We have even had messages of support from Mel Wong and David Hotchkiss in Hungary. I think we have enough support to plan for our next activity.
It is important to keep the momentum. Chelmsford Ballet holds company classes with a different teacher on the first Sunday of every month. Cara O'Shea, who once danced Princess Aurora for the the Chelmsford Ballet, gave her old company a very good class a few years ago. We need to do the same. Jane Tucker has very kindly agreed in principle to give us another class as have a number of other teachers.
As many of us have progressed from beginners to improvers and beyond without mastering all the basics and have acquired bad habits I have asked Karen Sant of KNT to arrange a day long ballet boot camp to iron some of these out (see Ballet Boot Camp Pilot 9 May 2018 Powerhouse Ballet). As it is likely to take a little more than a day for folks like me I have discussed the possibility of residential courses with Gillian Barton in Scotland and Terence Etheridge in Cornwall.
Chelmsford arranges all sorts of other events throughout the year such as workshops, an annual coach trip to London to see a show, a performance with the Brentwood Choral Society at Christmas and a children's workshop called "Let's make a ballet" in the Autumn. As workshops and summer schools require time off work I was thinking that we may as well hold them in places where we might well go on holiday such as Taynuilt and Truro. I was also thinking of inviting artistic directors of visiting companies, choreographers, dancers and musicians to dinner meetings where we talk to them over a glass of wine or coffee after a light supper. If I can persuade them to sit down with us, Christopher Marney, Yoko Ichino, Cira Robinson and Koen Kessels are high on my list. Finally, I hope we can persuade Northern Ballet, Phoenix Dance Theatre and visiting companies to arrange special events with us where we can explore the choreography and maybe meet their dancers, creatives and technicians.
I emphasize that we need artists, craftsmen and women, designers, managers, musicians and technicians as well as dancers. If you would like to help us in any capacity even if you live outside the North, do get in touch.
In those days the Chantry Dance Company was a very small and a very new operation. It has grown over the years staging its first full length ballet last year and offering three year diploma courses in ballet and contemporary dance as well as well as associate programmes, workshops, intensives and outreach events through its School of Contemporary and Balletic Arts. Dominic North, Clemmie Sveaas and Sarah Kundi are now patrons of that school.
This year Paul Chantry and Rae Piper are creating a new work around Bram Stoker's Dracula. For some reason or other Dracula attracts choreographers like wasps to a honey pot. I have seen and reviewed David Nixon's for Northern Ballet (see Dracula14 Sep 2014) and an extract from Michael Pink and Christoper Gable's which was performed by Ballet Central last year (see Triumphant1 May 2017). I am also aware of Mark Bruce's Draculaand Ben Stevenson's for Houston Ballet (see the 1987 - 2003 Archive Page on the company's website) and I believe there are many more. It is not a topic that would attract me were I a choreographer as the story gives me the creeps but that is no doubt the creator's intention. Chantry Dance are performing their new work it in Grantham, Halifax, Worcester, Sale, Stamford, Andover, Lincoln, Horsham and Greenwhich between 21 Sept and 14 Oct 2018.
The company are preparing the ground as they did last year with a talk entitled Day in the Life of a Dancer. The strap line is "How do they do that" which is a question that Chantry and Piper propose to answer while giving some insight into a dancer's say:
"Learn what it takes to become a dancer, how they maintain fitness, strength and flexibility, and how they rehearse. Rae and Paul are among the UK’s finest dancers and West End choreographers whose work includes David Walliams’ OLIVIER NOMINATED GANGSTA GRANNY."
They will be at The Waterside in Sale on 27 June and The Victoria in Halifax on 6 July 2018. Tickets are free but must be booked in advance. Chantry and Piper will also visit Stamford, Horsham, Andover and Grantham.
I will mention the talk and the show to anyone who turns up to Powerhouse Ballet's first class at Huddersfield on 26 May 2018.
Hype Dance Annual Show Library Theatre, Sheffield, 12 My 2018 19:45
Performances are important to dance education because ballet and kindred styles of dance developed in the theatre and are intended for an audience. The experience of appearing before a living, breathing (and paying) audience is delicious. I well remember the charge of excitement I felt in my first show which I tried to describe in The Time of My Life28 June 2014. Every dance student from toddler to pensioner can and should feel that charge no matter how inexperienced or incompetent he or she may be. Most get that opportunity because almost every dance school worth its salt offers its students a chance to take part in its annual show. Training and rehearsing for that show is what distinguishes dance classes from dreary keep fit.
Hype Dance Company is a dance school in Sheffield to which I was introduced in 2014 by Mel Wong. Mel and I had met through BalletcoForum when Mel appealed for a teacher to stand in for her regular instructor who was about to take maternity leave. I suggested mine in Huddersfield and I mentioned the vacancy to her though I think she had already learned of it from another source. However, my teacher got the job and I followed her down to Sheffield where I attended my first class at Hype (see More than just Hype - Beginners and Improvers Classes in Sheffield14 May 2014). In that post I wrote:
"I have not met the other teachers but judging by the standard I found at Hype they must be good. I have no hesitation in recommending that dance school."
Yesterday was Hype Dance's annual show at the Library Theatre in Sheffield. The Library is one of three theatres around Tudor Square which must place it in contention for one of the most theatre concentrated districts in England. The Library is an intimate auditorium seating 260 sprctators attached to the Central Library which is literally next door to The Lyceum. Hype has so many students and runs so many classes that it had to stage the show in multiple sessions. The kids and young people performed in the afternoon while the adult dance students performed in the evening. I attended the evening show.
Some 19 pieces were presented ranging from ballet to pole dance. I was impressed by all the performances. The ballet included some tricky pointe work by two soloists who impressed me with their precision and polish, a charming character dance from the RAD class and excellent contributions from the advanced, improvers and beginners' classes. I had shadowed the beginners' class in their rehearsal a few weeks ago and was impressed by it then but it was even better on stage. It was raised to a new level by a soloist who suddenly appeared and wowed us. A brilliant touch by Anna who had choreographed that piece.
Hype's jazz classes are particularly strong. All the dancers are impressive but I have to say a special word for the solitary male who showed great strength and virtuosity. As in most dance schools there are far more women at Hype than men, but all the men who took part in yesterday's show distinguished themselves. One showed particular wit and courage by taking part in SHE Heels mastering impossibly towering footwear with the grace of any of the girls The pole dancer was described as a guest in the programme. I know no more about her but she amazed me with her strength and grace particularly when she was suspended by her legs her luxuriant hair cascading about her. Contemporary, tap. street and all the other artists performed well too.
The jazz class led us into the finale each of the dancers showing off his or her party piece. Each of the other classes followed them onto stage to mounting applause. Finally the teachers with Anna acknowledging the cheers. She appeared as proud as Punch and had every right to be.
St Andrews University Dance Society have read Ballet at Universityand have just sent the following message through Facebook:
The show will take place in the Byre Theatre which is a great St Andrean institution that we nearly lost a few years ago (see the History page on the theatre's website).
The word "byre" is an old Scottish and North Country word for cowshed. The theatre was called the Byre because it was originally housed in a cowshed. I remember it well for I attended a couple of its performances before the new theatre was constructed just off South Street.
The old building was so cramped that it required a sign asking patrons in the front row not to rest their feet on the stage.
I should mention in passing that the University has a competitive dance team called The Blue Angels who seem to be very successful. The Blie Angels also have a show in the Byre on 28 March 2017. I wish all the best to everybody concerned.
St Andrews is very easy to reach from Taynuilt, Gillian - and Glasgow, Mel. It is also a small part of Scottish Ballet's history too, Christopher. Do support these splendid young people.
Yesterday in the early hours of the morning we received our 250,000th page hit. We are now on 251,382 having received 1,246 hits in one day, mainly on my preview of Christopher Hampson's Hansel & Gretel (see Hampson's Hänsel and Gretel comes to Newcastle31 Jan 2017). In fact, my readers seem to love Scottish Ballet for my most popular article with 10,776 page hits including 22 this morning is Dawson's Swan Lake comes to Liverpool 29 May 2016. In January we scored 21,989 views which is slightly down on December's total of 25,914 but we have started strongly in February with 348 page views this morning.
I should like to thank all my regular contributors, Alison Winward, David Murley, Joanna Goodman and Mel Wong and all those who have contributed occasional articles such as Gita Mistry, Helen McDonough, Janet McNulty, Mary Howard, Peter Groves and Wendy McDermott.
(c) 2016 Chantry Dance Company: all rights reserved
Reproduction licensed by the company
As I said in "My Trip to Hungary"21 April 2016, I met Mel at Chantry Dance's workshop in Lincoln in May 2014. Ironically, on the very day that I had arranged to visit her in Hungary Chantry Dance held an event at DancePointe Studios in Grantham which attracted four of the people that I most admire in dance.
The occasion was the naming of three of the studios at Dance Pointe as the "Deborah Bull Studio", "Robert Parker Studio" and "Dominic North Studio" by each of those distinguished visitors respectively. Sarah Kundi attended the event in her capacity as a patron of the Chantry School of Contemporary and Balletic Arts.
As a Friend of the Chantry Dance Company I had been invited to the event and I dithered for several days between abandoning my trip to Hungary notwithstanding my prepayment of fares, accommodation and theatre tickets. It was only my regard for Sir Peter Wright and my friendship with Mel that tipped the balance.
As I did not attend the event I quote from the Company's press release:
"The event saw students from DancePointe and Chantry School perform a showcase for the three guests of honour and an invited audience of solo and group routines in the different styles of dance they study which included contemporary ballet and acro-dance. Afterwards the guests were introduced to the audience and they presented name-plaques and signed pictures that are now displayed at the studios. The students were evidently delighted to be able to dance in front their dance heroes, with many asking for photographs and autographs afterwards. One student even had her pointe shoes signed by the three VIPs! Mr Parker said of Chantry and DancePointe that 'the level of energy and passion they bring to all of the wonderful work they do is so encouraging for the young people'. Mr North said he was 'absolutely thrilled' to have a studio named after him and Ms Bull said 'I so admire the work that Chantry Dance and DancePointe are doing here, making a real difference to young people – you see it on their faces when we saw them perform today – they were fantastic!”
Deborah Bull and Robert Parker are carving glittering careers for themselves off the stage but Dominic North and Sarah Kundi still delight us regularly with their performances. I had the pleasure of meeting Dominic North after he danced with Rae Piper in Chasing the Eclipse at the Gravity Fields science festival (see Gravity Fields - Chasing the Eclipse28 Sept 2014) but I have never met Sarah Kundi even though I have followed her since she was with Northern Ballet and have written a lot about her. She has recently been interviewed by Desiblitz on her career and culture (see Sarah Kundi ~ An Enchanting British Asian Ballet DancerDesiblitz).
In its press release the Company notes that the event was highly significant not just for Chantry School and DancePointe but for dance in Lincolnshire in general
"as dance students in the region will undoubtedly find it highly motivating to have received support from such respected and high profile dance celebrities."
Grantham, a beautiful little market town with its magnificent parish church and live beehive pub sign, has already produced one of the world's greatest scientists and (whether you like her politics or not) one of the most influential British Prime Ministers since Robert Peel and now has every chance of producing a succession of great dancers.
Zero Ballet Contemporary Dance Studio, Budapest, Standard YouTube Licence
Just under two years ago I met a dancer called Mel Wong (see Introducing Mel27 June 2014). I met her in Sheffield and gave her a lift to Lincoln where we attended Chantry Dance Company's Sandman and Dream Dance workshop (see Chantry Dance Company's Sandman and Dream Dance10 May 2014). That was a memorable day for me because I made the acquaintance not just of Mel Wong but also of the organizers of the workshop, Paul Chantry, Rae Piper and Gail Gordon. It was also the first time I danced on stage in an improvisation. Gail made a film of us which encouraged me to put my name forward for Northern Ballet Academy's end of year show when I had the time of my life.
Mel shares my passion for dance but knows far more about it than I do. She has a real prospect of making a career in the art even though she has come to it late. She was offered training at some of the leading contemporary dance schools in the UK but had to raise vast sums of money for her fees at very short notice which proved to be impractical. Last year she received an offer of training and employment in Hungary which she accepted. On our last trip back to Yorkshire together from KNT's Saturday class where we both trained I told her that the London Ballet Circle was planning a trip to Budapest to attend the première of Sir Peter Wright's production of The Sleeping Beauty for the Hungarian National Ballet at the Budapest Opera House and that I would join that trip to visit her in April if she liked and we could see the performance together (see The Hungarian National Ballet's Sleeping Beauty24 Feb 2016). Mel said that she would like that very much so I made arrangements to keep that promise as soon as details of the show appeared in the Circle newsletter.
I must admit that the prospect of visiting Hungary filled me with some trepidation. I had been there in 1987 when the Communist Party was still in power and I did not like it one little bit. My late spouse and I had boarded a coach in Vienna early in the morning and drove the few miles to the Hungarian border where we crossed yards and yards of razor wire and watch towers till we reached a customs post. There we had to surrender our passports while officials checked our luggage and paperwork refusing admission to several members of our group for no apparent reason. That process took hours and we had to wait in a dreary, overpriced cafeteria where we could buy the most unappetising refreshments for US dollars. When we were eventually allowed on our way we passed through a flat and dusty landscape punctuated by the occasional moribund looking village until we reached the equally depressing capital.
There we were housed in an uncomfortable overpriced hotel where the food was awful, the floor show was worse and the plumbing didn't work. We were escorted on a boat trip by a minder who took every opportunity to remind us of the supposed superiority of her country's economic system ("every Saturday afternoon is a holiday here except for essential workers" she crowed). There was nothing to buy except in dollar shops where we would have been fleeced mercilessly. I was fleeced once in a restaurant for ordering some Hungarian brandy for my late spouse who fancied a digestif. Everyone we met had been surly and some, like several bus loads of Soviet conscripts at Buda castle, were downright offensive. One lot nearly capsized their bus gawping and pointing at my spouse. Clearly the first time they had ever seen a black person. I hated Budapest with a passion and was never more relieved to get out of a country when our coach eventually pulled away from the Austrian border after another long wait at the customs post where our remaining tatty Hungarian bank notes had to be surrendered.
Although I surmised that things must have changed since PerestroikaI couldn't help thinking that I was giving up a lot to visit Hungary. Had I stayed in England I would have seen English National Ballet's She Saidand Reimagining Giselleat the Royal Opera House and the Chantry Dance studio naming ceremony in Grantham (see What's in a Name?22 Apr 2016). However,I was buoyed up by Mel's invitation to attend her adult ballet class with Imre Andrási which was to take place between 10:00 and 11:30 on the day after our arrival. As you can see from his CV, Imre trained at the Hungarian National Dance Academy and has had a distinguished career as dancer, teacher and choreographer. The list of pieces that he has choreographed is truly impressive and he has worked abroad as well as in Hungary.
The flight from Luton with Wizzair had been OK - a notch or two above easyJet certainly - but I was reminded of the old order more than once when the transfer bus showed up late and the receptionist on the front desk of our hotel told me that the deal that I thought I had made through Booking.com was not in fact available. There were more reminders of the ancien regime the next morning when a text from Mel warned me that she was running late because buses had been diverted for a half marathon. Then I got a call that she could not make it at all and could I find my way to the studio. She directed me to an intersection called Octagon where I was to take a tram to a stop called Mechwart liget. Not knowing a word of Hungarian and not finding anyone who could speak a word of English, French, German, Spanish or Italian, Silly Me got on the wrong tram and ended up outside the synagogue before realizing that I was going in the wrong direction.
When I eventually reached Mechwart liget, Mel fetched me from the tram stop and led me to the dance studio. I had missed the warm up and pliés though I was very well exercised by the stiff walk and climb up several flights of stairs to the dance studio which, I think, is the the same as in the video. I changed into my leotard, tights and shoes, shook hands with Imre and took my place at the barre in time for tendus. Mel stood next to me and guided me through Imre's instructions which were very much the same as I would have expected in Leeds or Manchester except that there was a lot more work on demi-pointe. Mel explained to me that was a feature of training in Hungary which had been influenced heavily by Agrippina Vaganova. The idea was to build up strength in preparation for pointe work but it was also useful for jumping. The centre work included a nice adagio, some balancés, a soutenu and then a pirouette from fourth. We then did some chaînésand posés, a few warm up jumps followed by some changements and glissades. All too soon it was time for the reverence.
There were some six or seven of us including me. All were very pleasant young women, very like the members of Karen and Ailsa's classes in Manchester or Jane Tucker's in Leeds. I had bought some sweets in a union jack tin with a photo of Buck House at the duty free shop in Luton to share with my fellow students. I am glad to say they seemed to like them. I also bought some Scotch for Imre because I remembered from my previous trip that whisky had been like gold dust in Hungary. Imre charged 1,500 florins for his 90 minute class which is £3.82 at current rates of exchange. The class took place in an incubator called Inkubator Ház which houses a number of interesting dance companies including Zéró Balett in whose studio we trained. Mel has drawn my attention in particular to Eva Duda, the Workshop Foundation and Inversedance/Zoltan Fodor Company. Clearly, some good work takes place in that incubator as you can see from the video above. Mel told me that she had gained much from working with those organizations.
After class Mel guided me to the Déryné Bistro near her home where we consumed a most delicious meal alfresco. I ordered Wiener Schitzel and was served the largest that I have ever seen in my life together with some lettuce and lime sauce while Mel had an enormous freshwater fish. The bus to the restaurant took us past the castle and I noticed for the first time just how beautiful Budapest had become. The city had blossomed since my first visit. Folk were smart and relaxed. There were panhandlers sleeping rough but no more than in Leeds or Manchester. I found much less surliness than I had found before and although the restaurant meals and seats in the Opera House were not exactly cheap nobody tried to fleece me. Above all the dollar shops had gone as well as the apparatchiks who had been so tedious last time.
The meal left very little time for us to get ready for The Sleeping Beauty which started at 18:00. Fortunately, my hotel was almost next door to the Opera House so I didn't need long. The Budapest Opera House is tiny compared to Covent Garden but it is decorated beautifully. It reminded me a lot of the Stadsschouwburg in Amsterdam. Mel and I were in the centre of the fifth row of the stalls so enjoyed the best view in the house. The performance was very good and I shall review it soon. During the intervals I explored the theatre and found a shop where I bought a t-shirt and Degas fridge magnets for one of my ballet teacher's daughters and a theatre bar.
Ten of us from the United Kingdom including Mel had come to see the show and Sir Peter Wright is the London Ballet Circle's patron. He had invited us to meet him back stage after the show. We arrived to find a party in progress. Sir Peter introduced us to the Artistic Director who invited us to join in. After speeches by the Director and Sir Peter and photographs we all tucked into the food and drink.
Sir Peter Wright and Jane Lambert
(c) 2016 Mel Wong: all rights reserved
Reproduced with the kind permission of the author
As you can see from the photo I got to talk to one of the great names of British ballet as well as Denis Bonner, Aliya Tanykpayeva who danced Aurora, Dmitry Timofeev who was Prince Florimund, the talented young Canadian dancer Danielle Gould who danced the white cat and will be featured in a future article and many of the other dancers and staff of the theatre.
Sadly, I did not meet Ryosuke Morimoto who used to be a member of Ernst Meisner's Junior Company, as he was not in The Sleeping Beauty but he seems to be doing very well for he is dancing in Space Fantasy (Planet in Turmoil; The Martian Chronicles)which is opening tonight. I am sure all his chums in Amsterdam and elsewhere will join me in wishing him chukkas for the show. If the YouTube trailer is anything to go by it should be quite a performance.
It was good to see Mel again and see her doing so well. A lot of friends including her teachers at KNT, Hype and Northern Ballet had sent their love and she returned it to them. My visit to Hungary was a very fleeting one but my impression of the country had made a complete about turn. Budapest is a fine city, the Opera House is a beautiful theatre and the National Ballet is definitely one to watch. I hope it comes to the UK soon but in any event I look forward to returning to Budapest and seeing it there again soon.
My friend, Mel Wong, hopes to break the world record for the total number of continuous grands battements which was set by Jeanne-Carlin Cilliers in South Africa on 5 March 2005 (see the Guiness World Record website). As good a definition of a grand battement as any is offered by Wikipedia's glossary of ballet terms:
"a powerful battement action where the dancer passes through dégagé and "throws" the leg as high as possible, keeping it straight, while the supporting leg also remains straight."
"Battement" is itself defined as "beat" and "a beating movement of the working leg". I can tell you from bitter experience that grands battements are not easy - well I don't find them easy - and Ms Cilliers accomplished 1,199 of them before her leg crashed through the roof and entered geostationary orbit.
Mel aims to do 1,200 - rather her than me - at Hype Dance Studio in Sheffield on 22 Aug at 16:30. She is appealing for support on Kickstarter. She is raising funds to for her advanced training at Trinity Laban but she also hopes to contribute to the Cats Protection League and Macmillan Cancer Care. By coincidence there's a photo of the cat with the longest feline fur on the Guiness website
A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of welcoming Raj and Mel to our adult ballet class at Team Hud. Raj had danced with Mel in Big Ballet and it was great to see them both. After the class the three of us together with another friend crossed the road for a coffee and a chat.
Raj has many interests one of which is Spice Entertainment with its Bollywood Dance Group. Over coffee we discussed Bollywood and ballet and one of us - almost certainly Mel - suggested a Bollywood version of La Bayadère. "Ooh! With Sarah Kundi as Nikiya!" I enthused. Anyone who reads this blog will know that I am one of Sarah Kundi's fans and I had just seen her for the last time in England for a while in English National Ballet's Romeo and Juliet in the Round.Wediscussed ways in which we could make it happen and Mel and Raj decided that the first step might be a workshop exploring ballet and Bollywood.
Clearly great minds think alike for a few weeks later Mel and I attended the Tenth Anniversary CAT Gala at the Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre where David Nixon presented some of the Northern Ballet Academy's recent alumni. One of them was Joseph Poulton who has already begun to make a name for himself as a dancer with Ballet Black and also as a choreographer. Nixon mentioned that Poulton had the idea of combining Bollywood with La Bayadère. Mel sat up bolt upright in her seat. "That's my idea" she whispered. After the show Mel introduced herself (and me to Poulton) and told him about her idea for a workshop.
Such a workshop is actually going to happen at Hype Dance Company in Sheffield on Sunday 10 Aug 2014 between 14:00 and 16:30. According to the Eventbrite web page Mel and Raj will give an introduction to classical ballet and Bollywood techniques between 14:00 and 15:00. After a short break delegates will use the rest of their time devising their own Bollywood inspired improvisation. It sounds tremendous fun. Tickets cost £12 and can be booked here.
Considering that La Bayadère is set in India and there are several other ballets with Indian dances as divertissements I wondered why there were not more workshops like Raj and Mel's including some in India as well as in England. Part of the answer may be that ballet has not taken off in India in the way that it has in Japan and China. Considering that English is widely used in business, government and education in India and the many ties between India and the UK and other European countries that is surprising.
There are, however, signs that that may be changing. I googled "ballet" and "India" and discovered the National Ballet & Academy Trust of India in Delhi, a School of Classical Ballet and Western Dance in Mumbai and the Imperial Fernando Ballet Company in both cities which show that there is some interest in ballet in India. I also looked up theatres and found the National Centre for Performing Arts in Mumbai which is a complex of auditoriums, rehearsal studios and outdoor performing spaces including the Godrej Dance Theatre. The Centre hosts The Symphony Orchestra of India, the country's first and so far only professional symphony orchestra whose repertoire includes Stravinsky's Firebird. The performance of that suite was applauded warmly so there seems to be an audience for ballet and the National Centre certainly provides an infrastructure.
