BRB2 in Nottingham

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BRB2 Carlos Acosta's Classical Selection Theatre Royal, Nottingham, 28 April 1930

Nearly 10 years ago I was in Amsterdam for the first performance of the Dutch National Ballet's Junior Company (see The Junior Company of the Dutch National Ballet - Stadsshouwburg Amsterdam 24 Nov 2013  25 Nov 2013).  I had come to see Michaela De Prince about whom I had heard a lot.  She did not disappoint me, but she was not the only artist who impressed me.  The other members of the cast were super talented too. Several are now principals in the Dutch National Ballet and other companies.

The Junior Company has greatly strengthened the Dutch National Company by attracting some of the world's best young dancers,   Because of its success I urged British companies to set up their own junior companies.   The Central School of Ballet set up Ballet Central to tour the South, Ballet West had a company that toured Scotland and Northern Ballet had Manchester City Ballet which gave several excellent performances in the Dancehouse.  But that was not quite the same as the Dutch National Ballet's Junior Company as none of those student companies was associated with an established company.

I first learned about BRB2 when I attended An Evening with Ashton at Elmhurst.  That was a master class on Ashton's Rhapsody given by Lesley Collier.   Ashton had created that piece for Collier and  Mikhail Baryshnikov and the dancers Collier taught were Frieda Kaden and Oscar Kempsey-Fagg,  Carlos Acosta introduced them as members of BRB2, Birmingham Royal Ballet's junior company (see An "Evening with Ashton" and the Launch of an English Junior Company 30 Jan 2023).

The company is now on tour.   According to the programme, their debut was in Northampton on Tuesday 25 April 2023.  Nottingham is their second stop.  Their next will be Peterborough on 3 and 4 May, London on 13 and 14 June and finally Wolverhampton on 24 June.  When I visited Elmhurst someone told me that Northampton would be the best place to see them because they would have a live orchestra.  Had it been possible I would have been there.  Sadly, barristers tour at least as much as ballet dancers and I had a breakfast meeting in Colwyn Bay at 09:00 the day after their Northampton show.  Even without an orchestra, BRB2 were impressive.  I would have trekked down the M1 to see them again tonight had Powerhouse Ballet's company class not been scheduled for this afternoon in Salford.   I will try to catch them again at the Linbury or elsewhere on the tour. 

The format of last night's show was very similar to the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company's.  Except for Majisimo which was the finale the show consisted of solos, duets and pas de deux. The first part consisted of four very well-known works plus Carlos Acosta's bolt-on of  Descombey's Dying Swan to Fokine's which he called Dying Swans.  The second part of the show consisted of seven less familiar works.  Two of the works that I saw yesterday were also in the Dutch National Ballet's opening performance, namely the pas de deux from Act II of Swan Lake and Diana and Actaeon.

The show opened with an empty stage except for a travelling barre and other touring paraphernalia.  One by one the artists walked on stage.   They limbered up as if preparing for class.   Two of them, Kaden and Kempsey-Fagg, peeled away and approached that front.   A backdrop fell to hide the other dancers and they performed Rhapsody just as Collier had taught them at Elmhurst.  They had impressed me even in the master class.  Yesterday they were polished and confident and executed the piece with flair. There could not have been a better start to the show.

The backdrop was lifted to reveal the company again.  This time Olivia Chang Clarke appeared in a romantic tutu and Eric Pinto-Cata in a kilt to dance the pas de deux from La Sylphide. Their piece turned out to be the high point of my evening.  That may have been partly because I love Bournonville's ballet very much and know it well but credit must also go to the dancers.  Pinto-Cata was the perfect James with his powerful tours en l'air and Chang Clarke was a delightful sylph, playful and flirtatious.  I almost wept at the thought of what Madge's shawl would do to her.

Maɨlȅne Katoch and Mason King followed with the pas de deux from Act II of Swan Lake. Interestingly, Katoch had written on her web page that her dream would be Odette-Odile because she finds it interesting to be able to interpret an ethereal and delicate swan and then a mischievous swan.   It must have pleased her to have been given a taste of her dream role so early in her career.  I am sure it will not be long before she performs the whole role.  King partnered her gallantly.  Not hard to envisage him as a principal in the not-too-distant future.   

I had seen Javier Torres perform Descombey's Dying Swan at Northern Ballet's 45th anniversary in 2015 and had admired the work greatly (see Sapphire  15 March 2015).   I would have enjoyed watching it again in its original form and I am sure that Jack Easton would have danced it magnificently.  I would have enjoyed Fokine's Dying Swan even more for the reason I gave in to Sapphire.  I am sure that Regan Hutsell would have danced it exquisitely.  Combining the two works and their music to create a solo did not work for me.   I had to switch between the two alternately as though I was watching two separate ballets at the same time. That way I appreciated Easton and Hutsell's considerable virtuosity.

Diana and Actaeon had been the highlight of my evening in Amsterdam because De Prince and Sho Yamada displayed exceptional virtuosity.   The ballerina enters the stage to Pugni's punchy music practically jumping on pointe.   I had described De Prince as "quite simply the most exciting dancer I have seen for quite a while" and she will always be my Diana just as Antoinette Sibley will always be my Titania.   Beatrice Parma's interpretation was softer, more delicate, more Ashtonesque perhaps? Enrique Bejarano Vidal was spectacular.

Part 2 opened to a blue background with several dancers seated around tables.    There is a suburb of Buenos Aires near the cemetery where Eva Peron is buried called La Recoleta which is famous for its cafes.   As the second piece was Gustavo Mollajoli's A Buenos Aires to Astor Piazzolla's music I was transported there.   

However, the second part began with Ben Stevenson's apocalyptic End of Time danced hauntingly by Lucy Waine and Kempsey-Fagg to Rachmaninov's Cello Sonata in G Minor.   Stevenson started his career with the precursor of the Birmingham Royal Ballet and he did great things in Houston including sheltering Li Cunxin according to Mao's Last Dancer. 

Kaden and Easton were the first couple to leave the table to dance A Buenos Aires.   They were followed by Hutsell's spirited Je ne regret rien tIt io Ben van Cauwenbergh's interpretation of Edith Piaf's famous song.  She was followed by Vidal's Les Bourgeois also by van Cauwenbergh.   He tottered around the stage clutching a bottle executing unusual jumps and turns to Jacques Brel's music prompting loads of laughs from the audience.   As bouré is another word for "drunk" in French I quipped on Twitter that he gave a whole new meaning to pas de bourrée.  It is however very difficult to clown successfully in ballet and those who can carry it off are abundantly talented.

I enjoyed Acosta's Carmen much more than his Dying Swans.   Chang Clarke reminded me a little of Zizi Jeanmaire who will always be my Carmen though I had seen her only on film.  Wearing her hair loose she danced the pas de deux with Cata passionately.  it was one of my favourite pieces from Part 2. My other favourite from Part 2 was Will Tuckett's Nisi Dominus danced by Lucy Waine to Montiverdi's Vespers.  Sacred music does not often fit well with ballet for many reasons but Tuckett's choreography seemed to work well with the score.

The evening finished with Kaden, Vidal, Katoch and King together with Rachele Pizzillo, Ryan Felix and Ava May Llewellyn in Jorge Garcia's Majissimo to Massenet's music.  The piece focused on each of the artists to demonstrate his or her skills and strengths.   It was a good way to round off a very successful evening.

Carlos Acosta and Kit Holder, BRB2's artistic coordinator, are to be congratulated.  The company could not have made a better start.   One of the strengths of the Dutch Junior Company is that they draw heavily on their heritage as well as their talented up-and-coming choreographers.   There is always a van Manen and van Dantzig in their repertoire as well as new works by Ernst Meisner and  Milena Siderova.  The Birmingham Royal Ballet also has a rich heritage. In future, I would like to see a little more Ashton and maybe some MacMillan, Peter Wright and Bintley as well as perhaps pieces by Holder himself and other young choreographers.   

Now that two of Europe's leading ballet companies have junior companies it is likely that a friendly rivalry between the two will spur them both to even greater achievements.   But I also hope there will be more than rivalry.  I would love to see what BRB2's artists would make of In the Future or No Time Before Time. The Dutch National Ballet's Junior Company remains my first love.  I will continue to support it in any way I can.   But I can now take pride in an excellent English junior company.  I shall follow, encourage and support it too. 

Eleven Days with Nunez

Author Fiora1913 Licence CC BY-SA 4.0 Source Wikipedia Commons

 

The latest Danceworks newsletter offers early bird discounts on a range of courses, masterclasses and intensives. One that grabbed my attention was an 11-day summer intensive with Marianela Nuñez and Alejandro Parente,  The course starts at 09:00 on Thursday 17 Aug 2923  and continues until 13:00 on 31 Aug 2023.  Dancers can attend the course at Danceworks' premises or online. The cost of attending the studio is £950 unless booked before 30 March 2023 in which case it reduces to £900,  The cost of attending online is £200.

My readers will need no introduction to Marianela Nuñez.  She has been a principal ballerina with the Royal Ballet for over 20 years.  One of my favourite clips on YouTube is the flower throw to celebrate her 20th anniversary with the company after she had danced Giselle.  Although Nuñez trained at the Royal Ballet School and has spent her entire career with the Royal Ballet, she was born in Argentina. As a Hispanophone, she would have been brought up on Don Quixote.  When cast as Carlos Acosta's first Kitri she dazzled audiences with her performance in that role.

Less well-known in this country is Alejandro Parente although he has already given classes at Danceworks.  He is a compatriot of Marianela Nuñez who dances with the Teatro Colón ballet as a principal.  When the International Bar Association visited Buenos Aires I attended a reception at the theatre and a tour afterwards which is massive.  I have yet to see a show there.  On both of my two visits to Argentina, the theatre was closed.  

Danceworks' intensive is not for everyone.   Attendees much have reached intermediate status or above,   Danceworks makes clear that this is no course for beginners.  Nor, I imagine, is it a course for those who started ballet 54 years ago when already an adult.  Although I try hard not to envy the attendees at this intensive I cannot help reflecting on how much I would have enjoyed this opportunity to dance with two of the greats when I was younger, stronger and more agile.

For those who do not know the studio, Danceworks is at 16 Balderton Street, London, W1K 6TN.  It is not far from Bond Street underground. The entrance to the street is almost opposite Selfridges.  The studio's phone number is 020 7629 6183.  

Next Year in Amsterdam

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The Dutch National Ballet has just announced its programme from 16 Sept 2023 to 6 July 2024.  It includes new works by Wayne McGregor, Juanjo Arqués, Milena Siderova, Wubkje Kuindersma and Ted Brandsen as well as Giselle, Raymonda and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Frida.

Here are the works in chronological order:

• 16-30 Sep 2023 Four Temperaments  (a mixed bill consisting of The Four Temperaments  by George Balanchine, Frank Bridge Variations by Hans van Manen, The Chairman Dances by Ted Brandsen and a new ballet by Juanjo Arqués)
• 25 Sep 2023 New Moves (short pieces by up-and-coming choreographers within the company)
• 12 Oct - 19 Nov 2023 Giselle 
• 9 Dec 2023 - 1 Jan 2024 Raymomda
• 3 Feb-17 Mar 2024  Junior Company, Tenth Anniversary Tour  
• 8-25 Feb 2024  Annabelle Lopez Ochoa Frida 
• 9-24 Mar 2024 Wayne McGrego Oedipus Rex/Antigone 
• 30 Mar-14 Apr 2024 Dancing Dutch (a mixed bill consisting of contributions by Jiří Kylián, Hans van Manen, David Dawson and Milena Sidorova)
• 15-25 Jun 2024  Ratmansky Stravinsky Fairy Tales 
• 28  June 2024 Gala and 
• 5-6 Jul 2024  Dances of Tomorrow  End-of-year production by the Dutch National Ballet Academy.

Booking information is available on the Ticker Information page,

An event that took place last May which I have only just discovered is  In the Future, a collaboration between the company and dance groups from across the Netherlands.  In the Future is one of Hans van Manen's best-known works and the Junior Company has incorporated it into its repertoire (see "In the Future" - Junior Company's Fifth Anniversary Performance 17 April 2016). The Junior Company danced that piece in a programme that included Irish, Indian, Lindy Hop and many other styles of dance. It must have been a wonderfully exuberant occasion.  The rehearsals and highlights of the show have been captured in a remarkable film entitled  Documentary In The Future: Professionals and amateurs celebrate the future of dance - HNB.   I recommend this film. It shows not only the rich diversity of dance in Amsterdam but is also an introduction to the many communities that live in that city. 

 

I have been coming to Amsterdam for nearly years by train, plane and car.  The quickest and cheapest but also the least comfortable way of getting there is by air.   Some airfares from Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester are very reasonable.  The Eurostar tends to be more expensive and travellers who live outside London have to add the return fare to St Pancras but there are advantages.  There is no need to queue with plastic bags of tiny bottles, mobile phones and laptops. Passport control can be cleared before boarding the train. Even a full standard class carriage is more spacious than any aeroplane. Even with the slow and temperamental onboard wifi, it is possible to keep in touch with the world.

Board and lodging are generally cheaper than in London.  For those on a budget, the Bastion chain of hotels is comparable in tariffs and standards of accommodation with Travelodge and Premier Inns.  There are no Bastion properties in the city centre but the Amstel is close to Overamstel underground station. That is only 2 stops from Waterlooplein, the station for the National Opera and Ballet auditorium.  There are several other Bastion hotels near the airport.  Hotels within walking distance of the auditorium such as the Ibis and Holiday Inn are more expensive but not outrageously so.  When I am in Amsterdam to work my first choice is the Radisson at Rusland. Close to the Radisson and not far from the auditorium is the Hemelse Modder (literally, "Heavenly Mud") which is my favourite restaurant in Amsterdam.  

There is already plenty of information about the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh's Museum and Anne Frank's house. Less well known but well worth seeing are the Jewish Museum and the Portuguese Synagogue just across the road from the National Opera and Ballet auditorium.  I spent the best part of a day and a half exploring the complex on my last visit to Amsterdam.

Eeaders can now understand why I visit Amsterdam so often,

Returning to my Beginners' Class after 54 Years

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In Ballet at University 27 Feb 2017, I recounted how the St Andrews Ballet Clun was founded more than half a century ago.  A year later I attended the 50th-anniversary gala of the founding of the Club and reviewed it in St Andrews University Dance Club's 50th Anniversary Gala on 5 May 2018.  The Club has grown and prospered over the years and now offers a wide range of classes as can be seen from its website.  It has its own range of branded merchandise and has even set up an alumnus network which I have joined.

I was invited back to St Andrews last month to give a talk to the student Law Society.  As the website advertised a beginners' ballet class the very next day I emailed the president with a request to attend that class 54 years after I had learned my first pliés and tendus.  I received this welcoming reply almost immediately:

"It would be an honour if you attended our beginner ballet class this week! Here is a quick description of how our class is going to run from our beginner ballet teacher, Bronwen:

We’ll start with a quick dynamic stretch and cardio warmup (with modifications for anyone who isn’t comfortable with jumping). Then we’ll do a couple of barre exercises (probably some plies, ronde de jambe, battement glisse) and some centre work on balancés, pirouettes, sautés and glissades. (We might not get through all of these - it really just depends on timing.) Then for the second half of the class we’ll learn a new section of the show choreography to the song Skyfall by Adele, incorporating some of the steps we worked on in the centre exercises. Modifications will be available for all the exercises for anybody who needs them."

I made the class and met Bronwen.   She was very pleasant and tolerant of all my faults - which were manifold as I can see from the video of my performance that a friend took for me.   We did basic barre, some centre exercises and then some choreography.  Just before the class broke up we were briefed by a committee member on the arrangements for the annual show.

According to the Byre Theatre website, there will be two student dance shows this year.   Dance Club Showcase Icons on 1 and 2 April 2023 and the Blue Angels Spring Gala: Through the Looking Glass on 5 April 2023. I am not sure where the beginners' class will perform but I would love to see them.  As you can see from the video they put on a pretty good show the last time they performed.

As I wrote in Ballet at University, I was prompted to contact the St Andrews Dance Club by a review of a full-length ballet that had been staged by the Cambridge University Ballet Club that appeared on the Balletco Forum website.  That is a much bigger club which is perhaps to be expected as Cambridge is a bigger university.  They had presented some excellent shows in the past though not recently/.  

I enjoyed my time at St Andrews  and learned a lot of which my pliés and tendus continue to serve me well.

Lynn Seymour - A Personal Recollection

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I am sad to learn of the death of Lynn Seymour.  I never met her or had any dealings with her but I saw her several times on the stage of Covent Garden when she would have been at the height of her career.  I saw her in many roles but the one that I remember best is Juliet.   Kenneth Macmillan created that role for her.  While I have seen many other Juliets I always associate that role with her and none other.  

Although she would have been in her early thirties when I first saw, her she could shed the years to become the excited teenager looking forward to her first grown-up ball.   I could sense her excitement at meeting Romeo on the balcony, her conflicting passions on learning of the death of Tybalt at the hands of that same Romeo, her despair on being forced to marry Paris and her apprehension on taking Friar Lawrence's potion,  Seymour's performance is still the yardstick by which I measure every other Juliet 

As there have been many obituaries I won't add another.   Jane Pritchard's for The Guardian is as good as any other.  There is also a tribute to her on the Royal Opera House's website.,

Digwyddiad Cyntaf yng Nghymru - February Company Class in Myndd Isa

© 2023 Powerhouse Ballet: all rights reserved

 

I was inspired to found Powerhouse Ballet by the examples of the Chelmsford Ballet Company in Essex and the Duchy Ballet in Cornwall,  As Huddersfield is about the same size as Chelmsford and has good road and rail connections with Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield I thought about basing the new company in Huddersfield and calling it the Huddersfield Ballet,  I decided to broaden it to Powerhouse Ballet because the original concept of the Northern Powerhouse was a Leeds to Liverpool agglomeration as a counterweight to London (see my article Creating a Northern Counterweight to London is good for the Nation 5 April 2014 IP Northwest).  That is why I resolved to alternate monthly events between Yorkshire and the Northwest.

We held our first company class in Huddersfield in May 2018 and attracted 11 dancers "from Salford in the west and York in the east, from Harrogate in the north and Birmingham in the south and points in between" (see We have a Company 27 May 2018 Powerhouse Ballet).  We held our second class in Manchester in June and attracted four beautiful dancers from Wales.  Two of them, Holly Middleton and Alicia Jelley, were chosen by Terence Etheridge to dance in his ballet Aria.  They rehearsed assiduously for 6 months even though they are busy young women with careers and families.  The distances they had to travel were enormous as rehearsals alternated between Leeds and Manchester and on one occasion York.

During that time I promised them events west of Manchester including at least one in Wales just as soon as they could be arranged.  The pandemic and the closure of our studios in Liverpool and Manchester delayed the delivery of that promise until 25 Feb 2023 when we held our first company class at Elite Studios in Myndd Isa near Mold.  The class was delivered by Alicia Jelley who teaches at the studios. It included Sarah Lambert, Sue Pritchard, Holly Middleton, a very gifted local dancer and me.  It was not a big class but it was a very good one.  Alicia worked us very hard at the barre, in the centre and in the choreographic exercises.

Elite Studios is an excellent venue.  It is very close to the A55 and there are acres of free parking in the village centre and behind the studio.  There is a Sainsbury's local with an ATM and a fish and chip shop that would delight Gareth the Orangutan nearby.  The studio has two well-equipped studios with fixed barres and well-sprung floors, ample changing facilities for both men and women and excellently maintained bathrooms.   We shall certainly be back. 

As soon as it can be arranged I plan to hold a residential summer school which will alternate between the university cities of York and Bangor.  According to Christie Barnes, York St John University could host the York school.  We have already held a Giselle workshop and a rehearsal for Aria there.  The Bangor venue could be a recently opened youth theatre called Frân Wen.  We have already recently received an expression of interest from its management.  There is a lot of work to be done and I am not sure that I will be ready by this summer but we have made a start,

Sleeping Beauty Workshop

© 2023 Powerhouse Ballet: all rights reserve

 

Beth Meadway is one of Ballet Cymru's most experienced dancers.  She joined the company in 2017 and has performed many of the leading female roles in the company's repertoire.  She danced Helena and the wall in Dream which toured the country last year (see Ballet Cymru at its Best 13 Nov 2022).  Just before Christmas, I saw her in A Child's Christmas in Wales and Terms and Conditions at the Pontio Centre in Bangor.  After the show, I invited her to give  Powerhouse Ballet an online Post-Christmas class and a workshop in Leeds in the New Year.

As we are keen to develop our repertoire and need pieces that we can rehearse quickly in case we are invited to perform at short notice Beth offered to teach us three of the fairy variations from the Prologue of The Sleeping Beauty.  Each of those solos is very short.  Last Autumn's Giselle showed that we have members east and west of the Pennines who could perform solos.

Our workshop took place at Dance Studio Leeds on 12 Feb 2023.  It consisted of a full 90-minute class with a thorough barre and the usual centre exercises.  After a short break, Beth played us the music for the Fairy of the Crystal Fountain and then showed us the choreography. She taught us two more variations in the workshop.

Beth comes from our region.  She was born in Hull and trained in Leeds before she went to Central. She also attended Northern Ballet's Pre-Profesional Programme after she graduated.  It is a joy to watch one of our own establish herself in a very competitive occupation.   Beth was one of the trainers when we hosted Ballet Cymru's Dylan Thomas and Giselle workshops at Yorkshire Dance in 2018 and 2021 and she delivered two great online workshops for us during covid and after Christmas.  We look forward to her continued success and - if she can spare us the time - working with her yet again.