January 2020 / £3.95
Britain’s leading dance monthly
ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET JERRY MITCHELL / STRICTLY COME DANCING / MADAME CELESTE
www.dancing-times.co.uk
Contents Cover Stories
January 2020 Volume 110 Issue 1313
85 – Technique clinic By Phil Meacham
17 – A company well travelled Deborah Weiss marks English National Ballet’s 70th anniversary
86 – Simon’s Guide to Swing By Simon Selmon
87 – Stepping Out 21 – A forgotten dancer
By Marianka Swain
Amanda Hodgson celebrates the career of Madame Celeste
88 – Notes from the dance loor By Helena Fitoussi
24 – Sitting pretty Nicola Rayner talks to musical theatre choreographer Jerry Mitchell
78 – Strictly surprising By Marianka Swain
Features
90 – Somewhere in time By Jack Reavely
Regulars 8 – News BalletBoyz on tour in the UK
13 – Letters
29 – Cold War dances
In the irst part of a new series, Gerald Dowler looks at ballet in the Soviet Union between 1961 and 1990
33 – Thank you, Mr B Nikolai Hübbe, artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet, in conversation with Paul Arrowsmith
15 – Talking Point
55
By Paul Arrowsmith
43 – Dance Scene
Reviews this month include Ballet Cymru, Dorrance Dance, English National Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Hamburg Ballet
66 – Variety Lights
37 – Choreographic visions
By Barbara Newman
Francis Yeoh on the ballets of Frederick Ashton and Mikhail Fokine
69 – FRANCE/dance By Laura Cappelle
33
82
71 – Danza in Italia 40 – RAD 100
Gerard Charles relects on RAD training past, present and future
Dance Today 82 – New dances for the New Year
By Graham Spicer
73 – Letter from St Petersburg By Igor Stupnikov
75 – Notes from New York
97 – People
108 – Health
Frederick Ashton in Ecuador
99 – Obituaries
Debbie Malina looks at Relative Energy Deiciency in Sport
Eunice Bartell, Shirley Rees-Edwards
111 – Classiieds
101 – Media
113 – Calendar
By Jack Anderson
By Barbara Newman
Our guide to what’s on
Marianka Swain recommends some intriguing new dance styles and classes
93 – Dancer of the Month
103 – Products
118 – Listings
105 – Education
84 – Tips on technique
Margaret Willis meets Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Edivaldo Souza da Silva
By James Whitehead
Photographs: Top HELEN MAYBANKS, courtesy of the ROYAL OPERA HOUSE. Bottom let CAMILLA WINTHER. Bottom right GARY MORRISROE.
Where to learn in the UK New Zealand School of Dance
122 – Last Dance
We look back to January 1980
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Caitlin Godfrey, Year 11 Student – Photographed by Johan Persson
flourish
s u r pa s s YO U R P O T E N T I A L | T R A I N AT E L M H U R S T b a l l e t s c h o o l www.elmhurstballetschool.org
Editoria Editorial T
he start of a new year is a time to take stock of the 12 months gone by, and then start to plan ahead. It’s a theme we explore in this latest issue of Dancing Times, which celebrates achievements already won, and anticipates events in the year ahead. Deborah Weiss, a former dancer with English National Ballet (ENB) when it was known as London Festival Ballet, highlights ENB’s 70th anniversary with a nostalgic article to mark the company’s past and herald its future. In addition, Gerard Charles looks at 100 years of the Royal
Academy of Dance; Francis Yeoh assesses the choreographic works of both Mikhail Fokine and Frederick Ashton; Gerald Dowler embarks on a new series covering the history of Soviet ballet from 1961 to 1990; Amanda Hodgson brings to our attention Madame Celeste, a long-forgotten dancer of the 19th century; Marianka Swain takes a view on the most recent season of Strictly Come Dancing, and also informs us about some new dances for the New Year; and Paul Arrowsmith discusses with Nikolai Hübbe, artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet, how best to preserve the legacy of August Bournonville. All this, as well as our regular features – it should keep you busy reading until February. Happy New Year! JONATHAN GRAY
has been watching dance for 45 years, and writing for Dancing Times for the past ten. In 2019 he interviewed artistic directors Tamas Detrich, David Bintley, David Nixon and Nikolai Hübbe for the magazine. He has a particular interest in design for dance and has recently proiled the work of Natalia Goncharova, Jürgen Rose and Dick Bird. Paul was programme consultant for the BBC documentary, The Ballet Master: Sir Peter Wright at 90.
Gerard Charles is artistic director of the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD). Born in Folkestone, he trained at The Royal Ballet School and returned to the UK in 2018 to join the RAD after spending nearly 40 years based in North America. As a professional dancer, he performed with Ballet International, Milwaukee 6 • DANCING TIMES
The Dancing Times Limited 36 Battersea Square, London, SW11 3RA t: 020 7250 3006 dancing-times.co.uk Subscriptions e: subscriptions@warnersgroup.co.uk t: 01778 392039
Contributors Paul Arrowsmith
Strictly Come Dancing’s Kelvin Fletcher and Oti Mabuse.
Editor: Jonathan Gray e: jonathan@dancing-times.co.uk
Ballet and BalletMet in roles ranging from corps de ballet to principal. Since retiring from the stage, he has served as education director for BalletMet; ballet master for BalletMet and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens; artistic director at BalletMet and, most recently, director of Artistic Operations at Jofrey Ballet. He has choreographed and staged works internationally and received an NEA Choreographic Fellowship.
Maggie Foyer graduated from the Johannesburg School of Art and Ballet and danced with the Johannesburg State Ballet. After completing the RAD Professional Dancers’ Teaching Course, she taught at vocational schools in the UK and abroad, including The Royal Swedish Ballet School. She has written for numerous dance publications, lectures for the Open University
and holds MA degrees in Literature and Education.
Editorial Advisors: Clement Crisp, Jann Parry, Rachel Rist
Amanda Hodgson
Production Editor: Simon Oliver e: simon@dancing-times.co.uk
studied ballet as a child and continued to dance regularly thereafter, taking classes in Spanish dance and jazz. She has taught in several UK universities, including the University of Nottingham where she specialised in Victorian literature and in theatre studies. She later had a second career as a librarian. Now retired, she is combining her academic interests with her life-long love of ballet and is working on a study of Victorian theatre dance.
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MAYFLOWER THEATRE, SOUTHAMPTON MUSIC PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
29 JAN – 1 FEB
CHOREOGRAPHY PETER WRIGHT, LEV IVANOV & MARIUS PETIPA
BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME
PRODUCTION PETER WRIGHT &
18 – 29 FEB
GALINA SAMSOVA DESIGNS PHILIP PROWSE
THE LOWRY, SALFORD
4 – 7 MAR
LIGHTING PETER TEIGEN LIVE MUSIC ROYAL BALLET SINFONIA
SUNDERLAND EMPIRE
12 – 14 MAR
brb.org.uk/swanlake
THEATRE ROYAL PLYMOUTH
1 – 4 APR Delia Mathews as Odette © Bella Kotak
News
Keeping you up to date with the world of dance
Spring at Southbank Centre THIS SPRING SOUTHBANK CENTRE welcomes back artists and companies from the UK and around the world including Holly Blakey and Mica Levi, Iceland Dance Company and English National Ballet. Following the 2018 performance of Cowpuncher at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, choreographer Holly Blakey and composer Mica Levi return with a new performance commissioned by Southbank Centre. Cowpuncher My Ass is a story of heroes and heroines, obsession, inidelity, suicide and cowboys. A live performance by Mica Levi sets the stage for a performance that questions the territory between high art and popular culture in this new version playing Queen Elizabeth Hall for two performances only on February 7–8. On March 21, international dance returns in the shape of Iceland Dance Company and Abhinava Dance Company. Coming to Southbank Centre for the irst time since 2017, Iceland Dance Company presents the UK premiere of Black Marrow, a new work created by Erna Ómarsdóttir and Damien Jalet exploring the apocalyptic bond between man and nature. The following day, Abhinava Dance Company, one of India’s most popular production companies, bring Krishnaa – Fire To Frost to Queen Elizabeth Hall – a 8 • DANCING TIMES
work based on the tragic heroine Draupadi from the Hindu epic Mahabharata. English National Ballet also returns with its Emerging Dancer competition on May 29. Now in its 11th year, this annual event recognises the excellence of its artists
Top: he maeshite mask from Between he Stones. Above: Iceland Dance Company in Black Marrow.
and celebrates the talent of tomorrow as they perform in front of an eminent panel of expert judges. The world premiere of Between the Stones – an
BalletBoyz’ Deluxe
Publicity image for the BalletBoyz in hem/Us.
TO CELEBRATE ITS 20TH year, the BalletBoyz will return in spring 2020 with a new live dance show Deluxe, which will embark on a nationwide UK tour from March to May,
English noh drama by Jannette Cheong with music by Richard Emmert – celebrates the 2020 JapanUK Season of Culture from January 29 to 31, while in July, Martin Green, a member of award-winning UK folk band Lau, brings the London premiere of new experimental interactive work The Portal to Southbank Centre, examining 4,000 years of dance culture. Tickets are now on sale from southbankcentre.co.uk.
including three shows at London’s Sadler’s Wells between March 25 and 27. Deluxe will see Shanghai-based dancer and choreographer Xie Xin make her UK debut, choreographing a new piece for the company set to an original score by composer Jiang Shaofeng, whilst Maxine Doyle, of Punchdrunk, will present work to live jazz music by composer Cassie Kinoshi, of the Mercury Prize-nominated SEED Ensemble. BalletBoyz artistic directors Michael Nunn and William Trevitt said: “Deluxe is going to be a night of entertaining and thought-provoking theatre that’s been 20 years in the making. The beauty of our job has always been about inding and pursuing extraordinary talent and sharing that with as many people as we can. It’s that simple.” Deluxe will have its irst performance at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal on March 1 and will tour until May 15. Tickets at Sadler’s Wells are available from sadlerswells.com or for a full list of tour venues, to go balletboyz.com.
Photographs: Top Courtesy of SOUTHBANK CENTRE. Middle BJARNI GRÍMSSON. Bottom HUGO GLENDINNING.
News
Resolution 2020
THE UK’S BIGGEST FESTIVAL of new choreography returns to The Place this month. Resolution 2020, which ofers a platform for emerging artists to present their work on an established London stage, will run from January 9 to February 21. Over 27 nights of triple bills, 81 companies will take to the stage to test the limits of dance and performance through bold ideas and movement. Among this year’s highlights, BBC Young Dancer 2019 Matthew Rawclife will present The Sun Rose, celebrating fantasy and queer intimacy created in collaboration with costume designer Ruby Butcher on January 9. Joshua “Vendetta” Nash returns after a successful Resolution last year with his new work Fig Leaf, fusing krump and contemporary dance to raise questions around masculinity on February 15. Multimedia collective SYNTREX will showcase a collaboration between Sadler’s Wells young associate Magnus Westwell and upcoming electronic musician Piksel, known for her glitching beats and haunting violin melodies, on February 21. Kennedy Muntanga Dance Theatre, currently working with 10 • DANCING TIMES
Edd Arnold’s Tulips, which will be performed at Resolution 2020.
Akram Khan, Phoenix Dance Theatre and Impermanence, will perform NEBUCHADNEZZAR
on January 15 and Petri Delights’ Plate 01 promises an interesting collaboration between designers and dancers working towards a zero-waste practice using natural materials on January 14. Over the years, Resolution has been a starting point for choreographers such as Luca Silvestrini, Wayne McGregor, Kate Prince and Drew McOnie. Eddie Nixon, artistic director of The Place, says: “There are not many things we keep doing for over 30 years but watching the lourishing careers of artists who have taken their irst steps as choreographers at Resolution keeps reminding us why we put on this festival.” In the lead-up to the
Aisha and Abhaya RAMBERT AND THE ROYAL BALLET, in association with BBC Films, will present their irst ever collaboration, a new stage work set to premiere at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Theatre this month. Described as “a one-of-a-kind contemporary fairy tale”, Aisha and Abhaya is directed by London-based ilm director Kibwe Tavares, in his irst work for theatre. This atmospheric piece combines Tavares’ ilm and animations with Sharon Eyal’s choreography, performed by a cast of 16 Rambert dancers. Set in a fantastical world, but one riven with familiar troubles and dangers, Aisha and Abhaya tells the story of two teenage refugee sisters from a wartorn land who must ind their way in a faraway place. The work tackles themes of migration and displacement through a multimedia performance in which ilm drives the narrative and dance becomes the vehicle for the sisters’ sense of loss and yearning for home. With an original score and soundtrack design by Eyal’s collaborator Ori Lichtik
performances, Resolution artists follow a programme led by industry professionals, consisting of workshops on the technical aspects of theatre, marketing, managing and producing skills and take part in crossdiscipline “speed dating” to meet potential artistic collaborators. Continuing the ethos of talent development across all aspects of dance, Resolution Review is an initiative, giving aspiring dance writers, selected though an open application process, the chance to hone their skills working alongside established dance writers including Graham Watts, Sanjoy Roy and Josephine Leask. To ind out more, go to theplace. org.uk/resolution.
and acclaimed musician GAIKA, Aisha and Abhaya will feature lavish costumes by visual artist Uldus Bakhtiozina. Emma Southworth, creative producer for The Royal Ballet, says: “We are delighted to be welcoming Rambert to our international stage for dance with our co-production of Aisha and Abhaya. Combining the work of so many innovative creatives in this project is really exciting, and the work promises to be a truly innovative and poignant exploration of one of the most pressing issues of today.” Aisha and Abhaya runs from January 21 to February 9, 2020. For further details and to book tickets, go to roh.org.uk.
Publicity image for Aisha and Abhaya.
Photographs: Top PAUL PHUNG. Bottom ULDUS BAKHTIOZINA
News
Ballet Icons Gala
News in brief H South Asian dance organisation Akademi has been awarded £98,700 by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to create an archive of its work over its 40 years of existence. This 13-month project with the Victoria and Albert Museum, ending in December 2020, will explore the evolution and impact of Akademi in the UK.
THE ANNUAL BALLET ICONS GALA, presented by Ensemble Productions, celebrates its 15th anniversary at the London Coliseum on January 26 with a programme of world-class ballet. Artists who have been conirmed to perform include: The Royal Ballet’s Natalia Osipova, Yasmine Naghdi and Marcelino Sambé, as well as former Royal Ballet dancer Matthew Golding; English National Ballet’s Katja Khaniukova and Joseph Caley; the Bolshoi’s Maria Alexandrova, Ekaterina Krysanova, Vladislav Lantratov, Olesya Novikova and Artem Ovcharenko; the Maryinsky’s Timur Askerov, Ekaterina Kondaurova and Xander Parish; the Mikhailovsky Ballet’s Julian MacKay; Dutch National Ballet’s Maia Makhateli Photograph: MARC HAEGEMAN
and James Stout; La Scala’s Nicoletta Mani, Vittoria Valerio and Claudio Coviello; the Paris Opéra Ballet’s Ludmila Pagliero and Mathias Heyman; Ballet Nacional de España’s Sergio Bernal and Miriam Mendoza; Teatro di San Carlo’s Giuseppe Picone and Luisa Ieluzzi; Lucía Lacarra of the Bavarian State Opera Ballet; Yana Salenko of the Berlin State Ballet; Daniil Simkin of American Ballet Theatre and freelance dancer Jason Kittelberger. The programme will feature classical masterpieces, as well as contemporary works created by today’s leading choreographers, and music will be performed by English National Ballet Philharmonic under the direction of Russian conductor, Valery Ovsyanikov, who
Maria Alexandrova and Vladislav Lantratov in he Firebird.
has conducted every gala for Ballet Icons. Olga Balakleets, CEO of Ensemble Productions, says: “We are absolutely delighted to announce our 2020 Ballet Icons Gala which I know is going to be a wonderful evening for Coliseum ballet fans – from all over the world. Our 2020 programme will feature a superb cast of world-class dancers from many of the world’s top companies in a celebration of the Russian and other signiicant ballet schools and many of the legendary dancers and choreographers who have entertained audiences and inspired subsequent generations.” For more details or to book, go to londoncoliseum.org.
H Ida Rubinstein: the Final Act opens at The Playground Theatre, London, on January 23. Telling the story of the early 20th-century Russian impresario and performer Ida Rubinstein, who worked with artists including Diaghilev, Nijinsky and Debussy, and commissioned Ravel’s Boléro, actress and former dancer Naomi Sorkin recounts the heiress’ dramatic life, from being committed to an asylum to her nursing work in both world wars. Book at theplayground theatre.london. H The Danish version of Strictly Come Dancing has crowned its irst ever same-sex couple as winners of the series. In Vild Med Dans, which translates as Wild With Dance, actor Jakob Fauerby paired up with professional dancer Silas Holst. Fauerby said: “I am so proud that my daughter, her big brother, and all other little boys and girls can go out into the world and love them the way they want and dance with whomever they want.”
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CHRISTOPHER GRANT Dancer, New York City Ballet
THIS IS BLOCH Our exclusive menswear collection is now available at your local dance retailer, BLOCH lagship store and blochworld.com
News
Weston Jerwood Creative Bursaries JERWOOD ARTS HAS ANNOUNCED details of the Weston Jerwood Creative Bursaries (WJCB) 2020-2022. The UK-wide programme is now looking for 50 leading arts or cultural Host organisations to take action on socio-economic diversity and inclusion in the arts, including through the creation of 50 paid, year-long creative Fellowships. For the irst time, WJCB 2020-2022 will focus on organisational change within Host organisations. The programme will work in partnership with arts or cultural organisations ready to expand their approach to diverse recruitment and talent development, and build their capacity for outstanding artistic and
cultural production. For the irst time, applications are open to any arts or cultural organisation that meets the criteria, which now requires commitment at governance, artistic and executive levels to engage with the programme and their Fellows. The changes are intended to encourage organisations to embrace and embed the structural and cultural changes required to allow earlycareer Fellows from socioeconomic backgrounds underrepresented in the arts and cultural sector to thrive. Successful Host organisations will be supported through an 18-month Organisational Change programme led by People Make It Work to realise their ambitions.
Information on how to apply to become a Host organisation is now available via a portal on jerwoodarts.
Tango Fire tour STARRING ARGENTINIAN TANGO DANCERS German Cornejo and Gisela Galeassi, Tango Fire returns to tour the UK from February 12 to March 2, 2020. Accompanied by the Tango Fuego Quartet, playing live music on stage from Argentina’s most famous composers, including Astor Piazzolla, Osvaldo Pugliese and Carlos Gardel, this is a sizzling show with six top tango couples demonstrating their individual styles and mercurial footwork. The six pairs include Cornejo and Galeassi, Sebastian Alvarez and Victoria Saudelli, Marcos Roberts and Louise Junqueira Malucelli, Ezequiel Lopez and Camila Alegre, Julio Seino and Carla Dominguez, and Esteban Simon and Marilu Leopardi. Tango Fire’s choreography and wardrobe design are by Cornejo, with lighting design by Nick Jemicz. To book tickets, go to tango-ire.com.
Letters Coppélia Dear Editor –– Your very extensive and interesting piece about Coppélia in the November 2019 issue of Dancing Times has brought back many happy memories of my own experiences as Dr Coppélius many years ago with Cape Town’s
University Ballet Company. My debut as Coppélius dates back to November 7, 1954. This was my irst important role, aged about Joy Shearer as Swanilda, Desmond Doyle as Franz and Petrus Bosman as Dr Coppelius in Act II of Capetown University Company’s production of Coppelia in 1948.
Photographs: ANNE FISCHER, courtesy of RICHARD GLASSTONE .
org. Host applications need to be submitted by January 30, 2020, with Fellow recruitment, undertaken by each Host, taking place from May. All 50 Fellowships will start in September 2020 and run for 12 months, followed by a supported “progression period” for Fellows.
Your news and views 18, with fellow-student Jean Horne as my Swanilda. As male dancers were still in short supply in South Africa in those days, I had to forego my brief “happy ending” scene in Act III, having changed my Dr Coppélius make-up for that of a freshfaced peasant boy in the corps de ballet! I did get to perform all three acts many times on tour, and I recall one show in Oudtshoorn where the stage was so steeply raked I had to place a wedge under the doll’s chair to prevent it careering down into the orchestra pit. The second act of this ballet had irst been staged in Cape Town in 1947 with Joy Shearer as Swanilda,
Desmond Doyle as Franz and Petrus Bosman as Dr Coppélius. Please ind here a photograph of those historic performances. –– Yours sincerely, Richard Glasstone London Post correspondence to The Editor, Dancing Times, 36 Battersea Square, London, SW11 3RA, or email letters@ dancing-times.co.uk Letters must be accompanied by a full name and address although this may be withheld on request. Letters may be edited. Anonymous letters can never be considered.
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Talking P int
Views on the world of dance
Paul Arrowsmith ponders the perils of everybodyism
T
o visit the public spaces of the Paris Opéra’s Palais Garnier, a marvel of 19thcentury architectural and social history, you need to pay 14 euros to enter. The rather more brutal foyers of the Opéra Bastille are only open to the casual tourist as part of a 17euro ticket that takes in the backstage areas too. It was a fact little known, but when the Royal Opera House (ROH) emerged from its tortuous redevelopment 20 years ago, it was open to the public – without charge – during the daytime. Free from the crowds and cacophony of Covent Garden, its foyers were an ideal spot to rest your feet, make a quick loo stop or have a restorative cuppa. That haven ended when the ROH decided to Open Up its building. Rendering its common parts accessible took four years and £50 million of donors’ money. The overriding mantra was: “Opera and ballet should be experienced by everyone.” Yet, beyond a reconigured Linbury Theatre, some new display cases and live foyer performances, the stated aims of Open Up had little to do with artistic matters. With her gift of “key enhancements,” Fairy
Commerce has brought a new café, refurbished bars and restaurants, reconigured foyers with free WiFi and “an improved shop – a destination in its own right with a bespoke product ofer.” (A shop that judged this magazine insuiciently bespoke to not stock it for much of last year.) Not one of these initiatives will necessarily attract a new audience for performances opera and ballet, though. That is perhaps as well, because the Royal Opera House is (a) frequently sold out; (b) despite prohibitive ticket prices; (c) an absence of marketing materials within its redeveloped foyers to say what is actually on stage; and (d) its box oice is a cunningly disguised desk adjacent to a sign – yes, you guessed – heralding Open Up. ince the Opened Up ROH was unveiled a year ago it has failed to endear itself to audiences in the way the Victoria and Albert Museum managed with its “ace caf with quite a nice museum attached” advertising, designed by
S
“Except for a handful of costumes on display there is little to suggest you are inside an opera house. The foyers, as antiseptic as hospital waiting areas, have alienated many regular patrons for whom a sense of place and occasion was integral to an evening at Covent Garden”
Saatchi and Saatchi, in the 1980s. That campaign had a levity – but still highlighted the treasures on display within the museum. In comparison, Open Up has been maladroit, with the convoluted functionality of its website, unreliable casting information, sightlines in the Linbury that are now worse, and opacity as to how the ROH is implementing the stipulation that 20 per cent of tickets would be available at the start of public booking. Except for a handful of costumes on display there is little to suggest you are inside an opera house. The foyers, as antiseptic as hospital waiting areas, have alienated many regular patrons for whom a sense of place and occasion was integral to an evening at Covent Garden. Pricing at the ROH’s own not so ace caf and bars mean bring-your-own picnics are tolerated (scarcely the intention, surely). The ROH is a national institution and so fair game for criticism, warranted or not, but disgruntlement turned to anger when media coverage emerged of what the ROH thinks of its core supporters. Those who attend multiple performances of a production, or seek out an unexpected cast change or debut, were shocked to discover the ROH consider they do not spend enough on their tickets. Apparently, such loyal audience members are
judged insuiciently high value in terms of ticket yield. The ROH has gone further, saying that to make more tickets available for new audiences means that fewer tickets would be available for regular customers. The ROH had the grace to admit that to achieve this is akin to “dancing on a pinhead,” but the attitude suggested an organisation that is anything but all-embracing. he biggest success the ROH has had in opening up has nothing to do with Open Up. Cinema broadcasts now reach appreciative new audiences in a way traditional touring by The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera never could. However, most people who attend cinema screenings would probably never set foot in the Royal Opera House. The goal of Open Up was for the building to “physically embody [its] core values of creativity, excellence and inclusivity, [to enhance] the experience of coming to the Royal Opera House.” For many of those who do frequent the ROH, the claims about Open Up, unfortunately, ring hollow. n
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HAVE YOUR SAY: We should very much like to hear your views on the subjects discussed here, on any of our other articles or reviews, or indeed on anything else dance-related that you feel strongly about. Please email letters@dancing-times.co.uk or post your letters to the address on page 6. Please note: the opinions expressed in this column are the author’s own and are not necessarily shared by Dancing Times.
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A company well travelled Deborah Weiss celebrates English National Ballet’s 70th anniversary arly in 1979, a few months after I joined London Festival Ballet (LFB, now English National Ballet), Beryl Grey, who was artistic director at the time, took the company on tour to China. Nothing could have prepared us for the adventure. Still recovering from the Cultural Revolution, the conditions there were a far cry from the comfort of the west. When we arrived in Peking (now Beijing), the Chinese were very wary of visitors and we were chaperoned everywhere. The Friendship Hotel housed families of cockroaches that marched secretively over the walls of our rooms; the food was quite unlike a local UK takeaway (Maltesers were our staple supplement); and entire streets full of people would gather and follow us into shops, to gawp at these strangers. The coach to the theatre
E
Photograph: LAURENT LIOTARDO.
would speed past the wall where political comments were posted – they didn’t want us to take photographs. The Tianqino Theatre was large and basic, the sanitary facilities best avoided. When we arrived for company class in the morning, there was a table of drinks laid out: izzy orange, tea and beer. At both ends of each row of seats in the auditorium was a spittoon. Throughout “the stands” in Act II of Mary Skeaping’s Giselle, as the sweat dripped of the end of our noses we would listen to the sounds of throats clearing and the subsequent expulsion. In spite of the diferences in culture, however, the experience was tremendous. We were led by some of the greatest dancers of the era: Eva Evdokimova, Elisabetta Terabust, Patricia Ruanne, Andria Hall, Peter Schaufuss, Patrice Bart, Nicholas Johnson, Jay Jolley, the Van Cauwenbergh brothers and Dudley von Loggenburg, to name just a few. As well as Giselle, LFB took a triple bill comprising Ronald Hynd’s The Sanguine Fan, Glen Tetley’s Greening and a ballet
the company has become synonymous with, Harald Lander’s brilliant Etudes (irst performed by LFB in 1955). After ten days in Peking, we moved on to Shanghai to perform at the Metropole with the same programmes. Following three weeks of breathtaking sightseeing – the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Peking Opera, the Summer Palace and the chance to watch students in class at the Peking Dance Academy (Li Cunxin, Mao’s Last Dancer and the current artistic director of Queensland Ballet, stood out even then) – we returned home via Karachi. The journey, which included one last visit to the Suchow Gardens, three hours away from Shanghai on a bus that was about to fall apart, was 44 hours in total.
I
n the beginning, it was a combination of the impresario Julian Braunsweg and the international stars, Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin that ➣ Julia Conway (front) and dancers of English National Ballet rehearsing Harald Lander’s Etudes ahead of the 70th Anniversary Galas.
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English National Ballet at 70 brought about the earliest incarnation of what was to become London Festival Ballet (originally London’s Festival Ballet after the Festival of Britain). Braunsweg approached Dolin about doing a UK tour towards the end of 1949 and Dolin promised to talk to Markova. Braunsweg ofered the two dancers the highest salaries ever paid, but Markova wasn’t easily persuaded. In the end, the deal was signed as Dolin remarked, “For God’s sake, sign the thing. If Braunsweg was good enough for Diaghilev, he’s good enough for us.” So, at the end of that year, with a corps de ballet of women chosen from the Cone-Ripman School (later the Arts Educational School) and two young men, Malcolm
Goddard and Louis Godfrey, a tour of the regions went ahead. In Braunsweg’s book, Ballet Scandals, he regales many stories of the highs and lows of what became a much loved and popular company. It was always going bust and somehow being rescued at the 11th hour. There are tales about the ballerinas of that day, namely Nathalie Krassovska, who regularly stopped conversations by announcing: “I am the best Fokine dancer” in a heavy Russian accent. Tamara Toumanova and her equally famous “ballet mother” prompted stories of ballerina and ballet mother rivalry that were surprisingly animated. Wherever the company went, however, they were warmly received and invited back. Anita Landa, an original member of the corps de ballet, recalls how the ballerinas of that era were akin to Hollywood ilm stars. The corps were in awe of their principals and curtseyed in their presence. Markova, and her ilk, travelled to theatres by train in irst class while the corps happily travelled on the wooden seats in third class. Landa, of course, later became a ballerina herself. Dolin directed the company for 12 years, with a wealth of renowned 18 • DANCING TIMES
dancers and choreographers passing through. The principals and guests displayed a liberal dose of glamour, with names such as Léonide Massine, John Gilpin, Yvette Chauviré, Marilyn Burr, Vassilie Trunof, Tatiana Riabouchinska, Alexandra Danilova, Oleg Brianksy, Belinda Wright and Irina Baronova. Gilpin, perhaps the most respected danseur noble of his age, replaced Dolin as artistic director in 1962. He remained at the helm for the next six years until Dame Beryl took over. It was she who established the relationship with Rudolf Nureyev, whereby the company would present Nureyev seasons at the London Coliseum and abroad. In 1975, Nureyev staged his production of The Sleeping Beauty with Galina Panova and Evdokimova as his partners and in June 1977, his Romeo and Juliet was premiered at the Coliseum with Ruanne as his Juliet. The Nureyev seasons would sometimes run to ive weeks, during which he would dance at every single show. Hair-raising for the rest of the cast, crew and orchestra as performances occasionally fell into jeopardy when he held the curtain, while he warmed up or had a massage. His Romeo is still in the repertoire today and continues to garner acclaim.
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eryl Grey raised the company’s proile during her 11-year tenure, and it was in her inal season, in 1978-1979, that she took me on as a member of the corps. It was also in the
summer of 1979 that Peter Schaufuss’ La Sylphide entered the repertoire. Opening at the Coliseum to rave reviews, LFB was invited to Paris, Copenhagen, Italy and many more prestigious venues on the strength of its success. By this time, the company was highly regarded internationally and had secured Arts Council funding, touring so extensively it had established regular and loyal audiences. John Field replaced Dame Beryl for a ive-year term, and in the intervening years the company has employed a further six directors: Peter Schaufuss, Ivan Nagy, Derek Deane, Matz Skoog, Wayne Eagling and, currently, Tamara Rojo, who has helped take English National Ballet (ENB) to new heights and moved it into its magniicent new premises on London City Island. The name was changed to ENB in 1989 while Schaufuss was directing.
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y own memories of LFB during the irst seven years of my career are good ones. Of course, there were injuries and disappointments, but I choose to recall some of the best experiences of my life. The opportunities we were given to perform were endlessly thrilling. An eight-week autumn UK tour with eight shows a week allowed for many casts to be tried out. Three weeks of double shows, every single day, at the Royal Festival Hall in London of The Nutcracker may have been strenuous,
Photographs: Top Courtesy of DEBORAH WEISS. Bottom FREDERIKA DAVIS.
A company well travelled but we saw it as a way of improving, taking up the challenges ofered and working of Christmas dinner within 12 hours! We worked with legendary choreographers and coaches. Nicholas (Papa) Beriosof rehearsed Scheherazade, Prince Igor and Petrushka (with Dolin as the Charlatan); Markova rehearsed us in Les Sylphides; Margot Fonteyn and Nureyev appeared in Le Spectre de la rose and L’Après-midi d’un faune in a tribute season to the Ballets Russes; Schaufuss coached each and every member of every cast of his La Sylphide and Napoli with immaculate attention to detail. The greatly admired and loved Ronald Hynd, an important igure in the history of LFB/ENB still, made some wonderful ballets for the company: The Nutcracker, Rosalinda, The Sanguine Fan, Dvorák Variations, The Four Seasons and a beautiful Coppélia still in the repertoire today, 35 years on. Glen Tetley rehearsed Greening and Sphinx, then there was the nerveracking prospect of working with Mary Skeaping on Giselle, in one of the most taxing versions of Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis. Ben Stevenson put us through our paces in Cinderella. Nureyev, too, took rehearsals of his ballets. It was said he was a loyal, kind friend to many dancers and I’m sure this was true, but my peers and I found him intimidating. In addition, the roster of teachers and guest teachers was phenomenal – David Long, Kerrison Cooke, Mikhail Messerer, Sulamith Messerer, Richard
Collins, Vassilie Trunof, Maria Fay, Brian Loftus and the truly inspirational Elizabeth Anderton, to name but a few. There’s much to the organisation that requires acknowledgement: the orchestra, now named the English National Ballet Philharmonic; conductors – in my day, Terence Kern, Graham Bond and David Coleman – now of course, headed up by the extraordinary Gavin Sutherland; wardrobe staf – always there for us, slaving away behind the scenes; the administrative departments that saved the company from the brink of collapse; and our stellar technical crew. We also worked with top-notch designers including Peter Docherty, David Walker, Desmond Healey and Peter Farmer. The seasons directly following on from my time with the company saw Christopher Bruce create a number of works, including Swansong; Derek Deane’s in-the-round productions set a new standard, starting with Swan Lake in 1997. Rojo furthered the development of ENB by inviting Akram Khan to create Dust and then Giselle, alongside opportunities given to female choreographers. My recollections are not just about the challenge of performances, but of the camaraderie, humour and tremendous support we all shared with each other, in every department. These include the end of tour cabarets when the “iron” came down and the stage became a platform for short comedic sketches
Clockwise from above: Christopher Bruce leading a rehearsal of Swansong with Jefrey Cirio; Anton Dolin and Alicia Markova in Giselle; Doris Barry and Ben Tof in the scene dock of the Arena di Verona when London Festival Ballet was performing Swan Lake there in the 1960s; Lucette Aldous and John Gilpin in London Festival Ballet’s production of he Nutcracker, 1960s; London Festival Ballet on tour at the Llangollen Eisteddfod ca 1980 with let to right Jane Scott, Judy Maelor, Andria Hall, Deborah Weiss and Vivien Loeber.
depicting the hilarious events of the tour, as interpreted by the company. Also the close of the season, when there were numerous unscheduled appearances (Jean-Louis Cabané coming backwards down the stairs with a scrubbing brush and bucket, before the entrance of the Queen Mother in Act I of Swan Lake, springs to mind). The reminiscences are endless and a constant source of amusement: Gary Harris, as Wilfred to Jay Jolley’s Albrecht, tripping during his irst entrance and inishing the mime on his knees; Nicky Maclaurin completing an entire Nutcracker inale with a coat hanger hanging from her tutu (having sat in the dressing room during the divertissements). There is also something of a unique bond between us, having shared dressing rooms and digs. Times were when we slept in overcoats because there was ice on the inside of the windows of our bed and breakfast, and when we came downstairs to fried breakfasts cooked the night before, reheated, bouncing of the plates. I cherish the making of life-long friends and adventures that have carried us on into other lives and careers. It’s been a privilege to be part of the history of English National Ballet, and I’m sure all who have set foot through its doors will feel likewise. n English National Ballet is appearing this month at the London Coliseum. See Calendar for performance details.
Photographs: Top LAURENT LIOTARDO. Bottom centre FREDERIKA DAVIS. Bottom right Courtesy of ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET.
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A forgotten dancer Amanda Hodgson celebrates the career of Madame Celeste
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adame Celeste is largely forgotten now, but in Victorian London she was a star. After an early career as a dancer, in 1844 Celeste became director of the Adelphi Theatre on the Strand. Here for some 14 years, while continuing to dance, she developed a second career as a dramatic actress. She presided over hugely popular seasons of melodrama, comedy and what we should call musical theatre, and was ranked by audiences among the great performers of her time. Known professionally as Madame (or, earlier, Mlle) Celeste, she was born in Paris in – she claimed – 1814, though a date a few years earlier seems more likely, and trained as a dancer at the Paris Conservatoire. Her irst recorded engagements as a solo dancer were in the US, where she made her debut at the Bowery Theatre in New York in 1827. The next few years were spent touring – irst in the US, then in Europe, with appearances in Dublin, Liverpool and, eventually, London. By 1833 she was starring at Drury Lane, having taken over the leading role of Zelica in Daniel Auber’s “opera-ballet” The Maid of Cashmere. Soon after this, at Covent Garden, she danced in another Auber opera, Gustavus III, leading the “danse des folies”. This became one of her speciality numbers when on tour, as Celeste regularly recycled pieces she had irst performed elsewhere. Also at Covent Garden, in 1834, she had a supporting role alongside Pauline Leroux in the notorious ballet The Revolt of the Harem; The Times praised her “extraordinary precision and startling tours de force”. Then she went back to the US. During a hugely successful tour, which ran from 1834 to 1837, she is said to have made the magniicent sum of £40,000. It’s not clear what happened to this fortune, for Celeste’s Clockwise from top: Celeste in he Maid of Cashmere; as the “Arab Boy” in he French Spy; an engraved portrait of Madame Celeste. All images: Courtesy of the NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY, except top let DANCING TIMES ARCHIVE.
subsequent life gives little indication of aluence. Perhaps, as was suggested at the time, her somewhat feckless husband took much of it for himself. Or perhaps the theatre swallowed it. It’s diicult to know what Celeste’s dancing was like. Clearly she traded on her virtuoso ability, and publicity for her appearances at Dublin’s Theatre Royal in 1830 announced she would perform her “wonderful treble pirouette of thirty revolutions”. Whatever this feat consisted of, it was obviously impressive. It looks as if she resembled a passionate, earthly Fanny Elssler rather than an ethereal Marie Taglioni. A hostile notice of another Dublin engagement in 1834 declared: “We have never seen a dancer so entirely unspiritual and so prosaically vigorous,” but conceded, “she has strength, muscle, agility and endurance.” A review in 1844 implies the same thing but in more complimentary language: “She looks to what is decided in manner, and seeks the real rather than the ideal – the ire of action rather than the poetry of motion.”
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ike dancers today, Celeste must have been aware of the probable brevity of a career as a virtuoso, and early on she diversiied into acting roles. In the dramas of her time, and even in some operas, there was a fashion for characters who were unable to speak and who expressed themselves in mime. Celeste was well placed to take advantage of this opportunity. During her irst visit to the US she played the mimed role of Fenella in Daniel Auber’s opera Masaniello – a part she later repeated in
Liverpool. There followed a number of mimed roles in melodrama, although there were suggestions she had to appear as a mime because her English was so poor. Certainly she retained a strong French accent, but this did not stop her gradually extending her range to spoken roles. During her tenure of the Adelphi she became a star of melodrama. Celeste became famous for playing exotic, passionate characters, and the plays written for her to exploit her dark looks and foreign accent. Her most celebrated role, which she created in 1845, was the half-Native American and half-French huntress Miami in John Baldwin Buckstone’s play The Green Bushes, which she was still playing when she retired from the stage 30 years later. There was no dance in The Green Bushes, but many of the dramas in which she appeared did include dancing. Among her best-known roles was Cynthia, an Italian gypsy, in Buckstone’s The Flowers of the Forest, where she ➣
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A forgotten dancer expressed her wild nature in a dance full of “extravagant joy”. Another favourite was the title role in John Haines’ The French Spy, in which Celeste played a (mute) woman who dresses as a man to follow her lover to the wars and is then persuaded to impersonate an Arab boy in order to spy in the opposing camp. In a particularly revealing costume, Celeste had a “wild Arab dance” and an extended mime representing a series of military manoeuvres. While acting, dancing and directing at the Adelphi, Celeste was also a choreographer. She would certainly have been responsible for the arrangement of her own solos and duets, but it’s likely she also set the dances for the corps de ballet when dance was required. There was also another way in which Celeste’s dancing skills were central to the Adelphi repertoire. During the 1840s the Romantic ballet was at its height. All the great ballerinas – Taglioni, Elssler, Carlotta Grisi and Lucile Grahn – visited London, but not everyone was able to visit the major opera houses where the stars performed. For this audience, the Adelphi put on adaptations of well-known ballets, usually with Celeste in a leading role. Sometimes the ballets were turned into plays – though always retaining a signiicant amount of dance. Three months after Jules Perrot’s Catarina was premiered at Her Majesty’s Theatre in March 1846, the Adelphi produced its own dramatic version called The Queen of the Abruzzi. Celeste played the part Grahn performed in the ballet, as the leader of a troupe of bandits. Celeste danced a tarantella and led the corps de ballet in a choreographed version of military drill that was probably modelled closely on a similar section of the original ballet. The other way in which the Adelphi borrowed from ballet was by creating versions known as burlesques. These combined dance, song and speech – usually rhyming couplets full of jokes, puns and anachronisms – and were predominantly comic parodies of the original. One of the most successful was an adaptation of Giselle titled The Phantom Dancers; or, the Wili’s Bride. With Celeste as Giselle, the efect of the burlesque was not merely comic. True, the plot manages to engineer a happy ending, but the preceding scenes of Albert’s encounter with the Wilis, his rescue by Giselle and his anguished
Let: Celeste in Taming a Tartar. Below: Celeste as Miami in he Green Bushes.
farewell to her ghost were done “for real”. Reviewers remarked on the pathos the dancers generated. If Celeste could not dance Giselle in the opera house she must have relished the opportunity to perform the role at her own Adelphi. Celeste also had leading roles in other ballet burlesques. Taming a Tartar; or, Magic and Mazourkaphobia parodied Joseph Mazilier’s Le Diable à quatre, appearing even before the ballet had been performed in England. Perhaps Celeste went over to Paris to see it? Celeste as Mazourka danced an extract from the ballet to Adam’s original music. Esmeralda claimed on the playbill to be based on the original French novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, but included a performance by Celeste of the Truandaise from Perrot’s ballet La Esmeralda.
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eleste married, very young, during her irst tour of the US. Reports difer about her subsequent relationship with her husband, a man from Baltimore called Henry Elliott. She seems to have put it about that he died soon after the marriage, in or around 1829. However, when in 1847 she applied to become a British citizen, she gave the date of his death as 1842. She also seems to have visited him in 1840, after which there were contradictory accounts in the press of the circumstances under which she left again. Whatever the truth, she never lived with her husband again. In London, Celeste had a long personal and professional relationship with the actor and theatre manager Benjamin Webster, the son of a dancing master who had begun his own career as a dancer. (Clara Webster, the dancer who died after her costume caught ire on stage at
Drury Lane, was his half-sister.) Webster gave Celeste some early breaks; and it was he who, when he took over the lease of the Adelphi, made her its manager. They were together until around 1858, when there was a falling-out that led to Celeste leaving the Adelphi and taking over the management of the Lyceum. Madame Celeste played some important acting roles at the Lyceum, including Madame Defarge in an adaptation of Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, but she never attained quite the same success there as she had enjoyed at the Adelphi. She also danced less. After three years she gave up management. Her last years as a performer were spent moving from one London theatre to another, often reviving her famous Adelphi roles. She announced her retirement on at least two occasions before returning later to the stage. She also toured, in Europe and further aield, reaching Australia in 1867. Her last recorded appearance was in 1878, a beneit performance at Drury Lane for her old Adelphi colleague Sarah Woolgar (her Albert in The Phantom Dancers). By this time Celeste had returned to live in Paris, where she died in 1882. Celeste has one more claim to fame. One of her last dancing roles was as Harlequin in the Adelphi’s 1855 pantomime Jack and the Bean Stalk; or, Harlequin and Mother Goose at Home Again, and it’s likely she was one of the few women to perform the role during the 19th century. For this, if for nothing else, she should be better remembered. n
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Choreographer Jerry Mitchell talks to Nicola Rayner about Pretty Woman post-MeToo, working with Jerome Robbins and partnering Cyd Charisse
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retty Woman: The Musical opens for previews on Valentine’s Day at the Piccadilly Theatre, London. With music and lyrics by Bryan Adams and Jim Vallance, a book by Garry Marshall (who directed the 1990 ilm) and the original screenwriter J F Lawton, it is directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell. For those who don’t know the ilm (where were you in the 1990s?), it tells the story of Vivian Ward, as played by Julia Roberts, who is hired by Edward Lewis (Richard Gere), a New York businessman, to be his escort on a weeklong trip to Los Angeles. It’s probably not giving too much away to mention that they fall in love. “I loved the ilm when it irst came out all those years ago,” enthuses Mitchell on the phone from New York. “I was dancing in a Broadway show and thought at the time: this is the perfect musical – the perfect Cinderella story.” How did it feel to take on such a well-loved movie? “Whenever I’m dealing with a ilm – and this isn’t my irst, of course, I did Legally Blonde, Kinky Boots and Hairspray – there are moments I need to deliver not only because the audience is expecting them but because I’m expecting them,” he laughs. “After you’ve decided what those moments are, you need to think about how you’re going to honour them – and really honour them more than copy them – to give the audience what they came for in the irst place.” There are many such moments in Pretty Woman. “One of the things I really loved was the sequence when he takes her to the opera,” remembers Mitchell. “If you watch the ilm, it’s quite a few scenes. It starts with him taking her out on a date because he’s got to make up for doing something wrong. She has a rule: no kissing on the mouth – it’s too personal. She sets this at the very beginning and he tries to break it twice and she stops him, but the third time, after they’ve been to the opera, he falls asleep and she decides: ‘Well, he’s sleeping – maybe I’ll kiss him on the lips.’ She breaks her own rule. 24 • DANCING TIMES
“What I loved about that was the fairytale idea,” he enthuses. “She’s waking up the prince – he’s as much lost as she is. For that whole opera section, I thought: how do I do that on stage? It was a chance for me to heighten the dancing, so he takes her out on a date, they go to the opera, they’re in a box and the whole opera is happening around them and it’s theatricalised with dance and staging. They go to what in my mind is the opera ball,” he continues, “and they get to dance for a minute and then back in the bedroom, they get undressed and go to bed. It’s all in one sequence to one romantic song. I explained to Bryan [Adams] what I wanted to do and he wrote this beautiful ballad called ‘You and I’. Then I took the song to the rehearsal room with my musical director, Will Van Dyke, and said: ‘How do we now put La traviata in and around this song?’ It turns out to be a beautiful sequence.” In the scene at the opera, Roberts is wearing a striking red dress – an important part of her Cinderella transformation. “I said to [costume designer] Gregg Barnes, ‘We’ve got to keep the red dress, but I want it to dance,’” recalls Mitchell. “What Gregg did was keep the structure of the top, which is very rigid, but the bottom he made look gossamer and lowing. It‘s like the dress in the ilm – and many times in New York it’s got applause – but it serves the theatre and the dance, so it moves beautifully, too. It’s the same with her irst outit – the boots, with the white top and blue skirt. I love that outit and I wanted to keep that too, but I had to make it work for the stage as she has to take it of and put it on in front of the audience – that’s so diferent from what you have to do in the ilm.” How does Mitchell begin his process? “I usually start with the music,” he says. “We always start with what we’re going to musicalise – for example, when Vivian goes shopping on Rodeo Drive, I thought what a wonderful opportunity for a rock ’n’ roll number. It became a song for her best friend, Kit. When Vivian says she doesn’t know where to shop, Kit says: ‘It’s right out there – you’re looking at it. Rodeo Drive, baby.’ It becomes a fashion show on stage; the models come out of the windows. On Broadway, I had three girls, and three guys escorting them, but in London I’m going to do it with all women.”
Of course, in the ilm there’s a famous moment on that shopping trip, when Vivian is asked to leave one particularly snooty establishment, how do they deal with the rejection in the musical? “She goes back to the Beverly Wilshire and Mr Thompson [the hotel manager] calls her into the oice and she’s crying,” says Mitchell. “What I did with Mr Thompson, which I believe is in the ilm, is he’s basically the fairy godfather or godmother. I don’t know if you remember, but there’s a street guy at the beginning, saying ‘Welcome to Hollywood,’ and I combined him with Mr Thompson, so he plays lots of little roles in the show and he pops up wherever Vivian is. People loved it.” In the ilm, in a Pygmalion touch, Mr Thompson takes Vivian under his wing and teaches her how to use “smart” cutlery with one meal going slightly awry when a snail shoots from her dish into the hand of a waiter. “That was so fabulous in the ilm, but you can’t recreate it on stage because snails are so small,” says Mitchell. “In the musical, instead of teaching her how to use silverware Mr Thompson teaches her how to dance, so she can go of to this dinner party and dance and look proper. Of course, she goes, but she does some of her own moves when she gets there, too.” t all sounds very charming, but is Pretty Woman problematic post-MeToo? “I never thought of Vivian as a weak character,” muses Mitchell. “I thought of her as a Cinderella in the ashes. A girl who’s in a position she doesn’t want to be in but who doesn’t know how to get out of it. What happens is she uses her natural charm – I’m not talking about sex, but her natural charm – and her truth and she meets this guy who’s more lost than she is and they discover they have more in common than you might think. “We hit New York at a really bad time when MeToo was blowing up – I get it, but a lot of women love the ilm because it passes the Bechdel test: the women in it are not just talking about guys. Plus, Vivian does it all on her own terms. When Edward ofers her the money – the $3,000 – she leaves it on the bed and walks out, because it’s not about the money for her, it’s about being treated right. That’s a strong idea.” It’s clearly a subject he and Garry Marshall have discussed at length. ➣
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Photograph: CHRISTOPHER DEVARGAS –GREENSPUN MEDIA GROUP.
Sitting pretty
“We wanted to create a show where if you brought a 13 or 14 or 15-year-old girl, because it was a movie you loved, she would see in Vivian someone who’s in a compromised position but she doesn’t have to stay there, she doesn’t let that deine her; she can deine herself and choose what she wants. I think it’s all in there.” They’ve also made tweaks to the story so that, for example, when Edward’s creepy friend, Stuckey, makes a pass at Vivian, she takes care of the situation herself, instead of being rescued. Another challenge must have been inding the right person to ill a role so closely associated with a star as big as Julia Roberts. “It was the same thing I ran into with Elle in Legally Blonde,” considers Mitchell. “How do you ind the right person to ill that famous spot? They have to be able to sing, to dance and to act, but they also have to be willing to be vulnerable… Like any character from the leads in Hello, Dolly! to Caroline, or Change – they become very strong, so you watch that growth, but you have to see their vulnerable side as well.” On Broadway, Les Misérables star Samantha Barks played Vivian. “She was spectacular, but she’s going to be doing Frozen,” Mitchell explains. “In London, I could have cast six or seven diferent ladies, but I’m very excited about Aimie Atkinson, who’s doing it [who will play opposite Danny Mac as Edward]. She’s sensational.” Another later addition is the famous Roy Orbison song, “Oh, Pretty
Woman.” “At irst, we didn’t have it in the show,” says Mitchell. “I always feel it’s tricky when you’re mixing songs people know with original songs: you’re asking the audience to do two diferent things. With original songs, you’re asking them to listen to the words, which are telling you the story, but if a song comes on and you know it, usually everyone just starts bopping around. We do serve it at the end now, there’s a big megamix and the audience gets to sing with us and it’s a lot of fun.”
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itchell has had a remarkable career that started in a remarkable way. “I came to New York as a student for spring break and got hired by Agnes de Mille to be in Brigadoon as my Broadway debut. I understudied Harry Beaton who was played by gold medal ice skater John Curry.” There simply isn’t space to detail Mitchell’s entire extraordinary career here, but he has worked with all of his heroes. “Needless to say I was a superfan of Jerry Robbins as a kid. I did production after production of West Side Story and then inally got to work with him. For two years I was his right-hand man as he was putting together Jerome Robbins’ Broadway and I learned all the original choreography of West Side Story, The King and I, Billion Dollar Baby, all of the shows he did, and went with him to the ballet almost every other night. “Of course, I was also a huge fan of A Chorus Line and then I got to be in it and meet Michael Bennet and Bob Avian and work with them. Then there’s Ron Field,
Photographs: Let and Middle MAC MATZEN. Right OLIVER ROSSER.
Above let and middle: he Hamburg cast of Pretty Woman: he Musical. Above right: Aimie Atkinson and Danny Mac play Vivian and Edward in the West End.
who directed Cabaret, I worked with him as an associate on a couple of things but one of them was the Academy Awards, where I partnered Cyd Charisse,” he chuckles. “I thought, ‘This is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me.’” Among such achievements Mitchell is particularly proud of his creation of Broadway Bares, a comedy burlesque show performed annually for the charity Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, which has raised almost $30 million to date. For his shows, he has won two Tony Awards for choreography for La Cage aux Folles and Kinky Boots; Best Musical at the Oliviers twice over for Legally Blonde and Kinky Boots and four Helpmann Awards in Australia for the same two shows, as well as a “Mr Abbott” Award bestowed by the Stage Directors and Choreographers Workshop Foundation in the US. Can he pick a favourite? “When people ask, I always say: ‘The one I’m working on right now,’ because you can’t get involved with a show and not be absolutely in love with it. That said,” he adds, “I do think the recent success of Kinky Boots has made me very, very proud.” n Pretty Woman: The Musical previews from February 14 at the Piccadilly Theatre. For further information or to book tickets, go to prettywomanthemusical.com.
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COlD WaR dAncEs In the irst part of a new series, Gerald Dowler looks at ballet in the Soviet Union between 1961 and 1990
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t’s all too easy to think that Rudolf Nureyev’s “Great Leap to Freedom” on June 16, 1961, (in reality “six steps exactly” in his own words) towards a French policeman at Le Bourget airport represented one of the most important moments in Russian ballet, another Vaslav Nijinsky-style Spectre de la rose jump that has become legend. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Soviet authorities had been thwarted, and their ideologically
wayward 23-year-old star had slipped from their grasp, but it was hardly as if the Kirov Ballet, with which he was on tour in France, collapsed as a result, despite Serge Lifar’s pronouncement that Nureyev’s decision to remain in France was “a disaster for Leningrad ballet”. Far from it. The company continued with its visit to the UK, appearing in London to great acclaim and ielding a stable of star dancers, from Allas Osipenko and Sizova and Irina Kolpakova to Yuri Soloviev, “on the brink of greatness” in 1961 according to the critic Clive Barnes and, on his return ive years later, “a dancer… incomparable and unsurpassed” in Richard Buckle’s words. As Clement Crisp observed
in The Times in 1961: “Theirs is a style that does not at irst reveal itself fully to the spectator, and one of the joys of this season has been the gradual discovery of the richness of the Kirov school. It is an essentially classical art of ease, assurance and harmony, where nothing appears excessive or strained and nothing is skimped.” The “big news” of Nureyev’s defection in Paris was not well received by his fellow dancers, the ballet audiences in Leningrad or further aield. A lack of comprehension characterised their reactions, much of it based on how “someone with our training and our background could do such a thing” in the words of Osipenko, although, as with all pronouncements made in the Soviet Union, how far this represented her personal opinion is unclear. In 1962 Nureyev was tried and sentenced to prison in absentia and both his image and records of him were systematically erased from the public domain – he thus leaves our examination of ballet under the Soviet regime. His move to the west, of course, did have an efect on those who would follow him in later years, and there was contact between him and Soviet dancers on tour, but in terms of the ➣
Dancers of the Kirov Ballet in he Sleeping Beauty.
All photographs: DANCING TIMES ARCHIVE.
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Soviet Ballet, 1961 to 1990 he Kirov Ballet in Act I of he Sleeping Beauty.
nature and direction of Soviet ballet, he was oicially forgotten at least. By the early 1960s, the policy of cultural diplomacy was one espoused by those on both sides of the Iron Curtain, and ballet company tours into the “enemy camp” were wellestablished. So, while the Kirov Ballet was performing in London, The Royal Ballet embarked on a month-long visit to the USSR, appearing irst in Leningrad and then Moscow. The company dancers were closely watched and analysed, with “considerable progress” noted in the development of their “own classical style and school”; the former ballerina Marina Semyonova observed that the dancers’ arms were “better than those of the French” and rather cryptically said that The Royal Ballet would “get rid of the defects [in their dancing] once they are shown them”. The great teacher Asaf Messerer was satisied with the company’s “solid foundation” but expressed “a desire for better épaulement and stronger backs”. The historian and critic Natalia Roslavleva expressed great admiration for Margot Fonteyn who made “us realise from the very irst encounter that she belongs to the numbered ranks of the greatest ballerinas of our time”. owever, an even more important event for Russian ballet was the eight-week visit by New York City Ballet (NYCB) to the Soviet Union in the autumn of 1962. Not only was NYCB the undisputed dance lagship of the US, but it had been founded and made into a great ensemble by an émigré Russian who had chosen life in the west when faced with the social and cultural upheavals of the Russian Revolution: George Balanchine. The stakes could not have been higher and the tensions and expectations on both sides any more pronounced when the curtains of the Bolshoi Theatre rose on NYCB’s opening performance on October 9, 1962. Balanchine had not been to the country of his birth for 38 years, and is said to have found the whole experience traumatic, from being reunited with his brother Andrei to the constant reminders that Russia was his “home” and, indeed, the home of ballet – he is said to have retorted on one occasion; “Thank you, but America is now the home of the classical ballet. Russia is home of the old romantic
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ballet”. It was NYCB’s repertoire, however, that was an artistic shock to the Russians. On that irst night, the season opened with Balanchine’s Serenade to music by Tchaikovsky and something of an artistic credo on his part; the critic John Martin observed that, “the response was a perplexed and fairly indiferent one”. Jerome Robbins’ jazzy Interplay was followed by Balanchine’s spare, challenging Agon to Stravinsky which, perhaps surprisingly, given its uncompromising modernity, “brought forth the irst sign of enthusiasm” and the evening concluded with Western Symphony, which prompted “the greatest ovation”. Momentum gathered as the 18-ballet tour progressed, with evermore enthusiastic receptions from the audience, which clamoured for tickets to watch such diverse works as Symphony in C, Donizetti Variations and Episodes and demanded to see Russian ballet’s prodigal son on stage with chants of “Bal-an-chine!” Oicial and critical reactions were confused, as the repertoire presented
the antithesis of everything Soviet ballet stood for – they had no story, no set and precious little costume. There was acknowledgement of a brilliant virtuosic company that, in the words of choreographer Rostislav Zakharov, possessed: “an exacting attitude toward their art”. Balanchine’s ballets did not escape censure – the composer Aram Khachaturian wrote in the newspaper Izvestia that his ballets adhered to “the principle of plotlessness. This principle is foreign to Soviet artists and spectators. Without an idea, without a subject, there cannot be true emotional art.” It seems, though, that despite some strident voices, one of whom described Balanchine as a “fanatic”, audiences and commentators alike were won over. Symphony in C (created in 1948 for the Paris Opéra Ballet, it must be noted) was a particular success; “life-airming” in the words of Golovashenko, “a true festival of dancing… agile and light, diversiied and wonderfully harmonious”. Balanchine was said to have bettered Petipa by one observer. There is evidence of the divide
Cold War dances arms were felt to be too inexpressive. The company’s appearances in Leningrad provoked enthusiastic reactions, with the discerning audience and oicial critics appreciating unSoviet plotless ballets. The early 1960s were a period in Soviet cultural life when the reaction against the whole principle of Soviet realism in the arts was beginning to be challenged, and, in many ways, NYCB’s repertoire showed a way forward to many at the vanguard of what would become an aesthetic revolution; “they were”, wrote Martin, “hit very hard by it.” Balanchine met with the choreographers of Leningrad at their own request at the Ballet Museum, a building that carried the memories of his childhood and youth. He rejected narrative work, shocking the older members of his audience, but galvanising the younger ones to the extent they asked for another meeting two days later. Long after the return of the choreographer and his company to New York City, his words would resonate for the new generation of Russian dance-makers. The efect of NYCB’s visit went beyond the US’ trumpeting of ballet
Above: Natalia Roslavleva's Dancing Times review of New York Ballet's season in the Soviet Union, published in January 1963.
between the understanding of ballet between the US and the USSR at the time from a ilm of Balanchine taking morning class observed by several Russian dancers and teachers from the Bolshoi and the accounts made thereafter. The classes amazed the Russian teachers by what was achieved with the dancers and there is much admiration expressed for their precise footwork, but the upper body and
superiority and Russian attempts to claim Balanchine as their own; at the Communist Party Congress of 1963 concern was expressed that Russia might well be overtaken by the US in the ield of classical ballet, one of their strongest cards in the game of cultural diplomacy. he ballet world in the Soviet Union had, by the beginning of the 1960s, expanded considerably since the days before the Russian Revolution when only the two Imperial companies existed as permanent professional troupes. In an
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Above: Alla Sizova and Yuri Soloviev in a Soviet ilm of he Sleeping Beauty.
extraordinary gathering of information for the time, John Percival outlined in Ballet Annual No 16 the dancers and productions of the 33 companies that existed for the 1959-1960 season, afording a snapshot in English of classical dance in the USSR. What emerges is a clear picture of repertoire under the Soviet regime, with ballets common to many such as The Fountain of Bakhchisarai (performed by 18 out of 33 companies), Giselle (21 out of 33) and Swan Lake which was performed by all except the Kaunas Musical Theatre, and “local” ballets based on “domestic” stories or history in many of the national republics (for example, Kambar and Nazym was performed only in the Abay Kazakh Theatre in Alma-Ata). From 1935 onwards, talented youngsters from the republics of the USSR had been sent to Moscow and Leningrad to learn classical ballet with the idea they would then return to their native land to implant a “national” ballet tradition. The centralised, monitored and approved structure for bringing a ballet to the stage, developed under Stalin in the 1930s and designed to ensure ideologically correct works, remained largely in place well into the 1960s, as did the focus on meaningful, narrative ballets and the censoring of anything that could be interpreted as abstraction or “dance for dance’s sake”. However, with foreign visitors, the gradual passing of the old pre-war guard and the rise of newly curious dancers and choreographers, the winds of change began to blow even in the hitherto sealed world of Soviet ballet. The challenge for the regime was how to balance the desire for artistic innovation with the political imperatives they imposed on the world of the creative arts. n
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ikolai Hübbe left his native Denmark in 1992 complaining of a civil service mentality that pervaded the Royal Danish Ballet (RDB). He says now: “There were 110 dancers in the company but only 50 were interested in dancing. You never saw certain people on stage. They were just waiting to collect their pensions. The environment was not motivating. There were a lot of broken souls and shattered illusions.” After 15 years with New York City Ballet (NYCB) as a principal dancer, Hübbe returned to Copenhagen in 2008 as artistic director, intent on change: “I wanted a company of dancers who wanted careers as dancers. The company is now about 85 dancers – a healthy size – and they can all dance and really delve into their artform. They have the talent and exuberance, and are committed to developing their skills. The more you dance, the better you become. “The company has changed a lot. Five million people pay their taxes here to support their Royal Danish Ballet, so we have to deliver. They have to feel we are worth it. We are going to be doing more. Over the next couple of seasons, we are adding an extra production each year. That will take us from 100 performances now to about 125, presenting 12 or 13 titles each season.” Hübbe explains these are not necessarily new productions but revivals from the company’s sizeable back catalogue: “We never throw anything away!” Such increase in activity comes against a background of what Hübbe describes as: “Cuts, cuts and cuts. We are state-funded, but I wish the Photograph: HENRIK STENBERG.
Nikolai Hübbe, artistic director of the Royal Danish Ballet, in conversation with Paul Arrowsmith
government would leave us be and we can – we shall – deliver.” The RDB has lost over £10 million from its subsidy of around £70 million over the past decade. “I have lots of meetings. I won’t say it’s dry administration but certainly, because of the growth strategy, it needs deliberate planning across all the organisation. We are only one component [along with the opera and drama companies]. That all takes time.” When we met, although Hübbe had taught Saturday company class, open to the public, and had spent time rehearsing in the studio, he says: “I’m lucky if I manage to have a week where I can coach or teach. “There’s an upswing in audience numbers. Whether that’s the same audience buying more tickets or
whether that’s a new audience, I don’t know. Is the popularity of ballet rising? Either way we sell out.” Overall, performances are 75 per cent sold, which meets the company’s budget igures. Hübbe continues: “Danes like a good story, with real theatricality and dramaturgy. Audiences, because of the history of the Royal Theatre, tend to be traditional. They associate theatre with the spoken word, a libretto and narrative. “A triple bill, however brilliant its components, is a hard sell – but we have to do them.” Sugared as Ballet de Luxe, the mixed programme opening this month includes George Balanchine’s Ballo della regina and a Raymonda divertissement drawn from Hübbe’s own full-length staging. He ➣
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Nikolai Hübbe adds: “Dance2Go is another initiative [to broaden audiences], short programmes involving ilm where you see vignettes of choreographers and dancers at work and perhaps three pieces of choreography in diferent genres.” Asking what distinguishes RDB from other companies, Hübbe ponders: “Our dancers are longer and leaner. They have a look. Physically everybody is more streamlined.” Does that mean there is a recognisable, Copenhagenstyle of moving? Hübbe says only: “Culturally there are more colours and diversity, so many diferent nationalities.” Only around 40 per cent of the company is Danish, with two native principals as opposed to the four from the US, something that excites opinion in Copenhagen. Hübbe continues: “How you get that all to coexist comes down to where you put the tendu or how you stand at the barre. It’s not a doctrine, or codiied, but the corps de ballet has to have equal breathing. I think I see more theatricality in the company. To really know, I deliberately stand back – not going to the theatre for two weeks – so I can judge with a clean slate. “People are extremely warm and generous, very open. Dancers here have big hearts – I hope that comes across. I have never experienced a company with such a mantra, such an ideology. Everybody is concerned to help the work of the artistic output. When I see how members of the corps help each other – if somebody has missed a session and needs to catch up – the atmosphere is very loyal. The dancers have an insatiable appetite. They have become very versatile and adaptable.” hat adaptability raises concerns among long-term watchers of the company, who sense a growing internationalism in choice of repertoire and dancers. Hübbe says: “The repertoire is distinctively broad with story ballets. They are the penchant of the dancers. Yes, here we have Scarlett, Wheeldon, Neumeier [and Marston] in the repertoire – as do other companies. They are the popular names – but there are so few choreographers whose interest is in story ballets.” Hübbe’s stewardship of the classics has been seen as brave – or daredevil – by his detractors. Raymonda became a showcase for 18th-century rococo.
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Hübbe’s staging of Swan Lake, produced with former RDB principal Silja Schandorf, gave increased prominence to Benno and Von Rothbart. La Bayadère was relocated to colonial India where Solor was renamed Sir William. Hübbe adds: “The use of stagecraft, a sense of story, character development, they are all embedded in a house like this, just as much as dancing.” Some argue, however, that typical Danish stagecraft and expressive mime have been compromised through the cutting of RDB’s permanent character artists. Hübbe thinks: “It’s not a loss at all. In Blixen [see page 59] we had seven former dancers, all strong personalities, aged from about 45 to 70, as actors. They bring great stagecraft. In the old days of permanent contracts, character artists really looked like civil servants on stage. Now, you can choose the right person for the role. It’s like casting a movie.” Former principal Gudrun Bojensen was
also cast in the title role in Blixen. For Hübbe, it seems there is no mystery in developing native choreographic talent: “Just shove them in a studio with some dancers and see what comes out. Of course, it helps if the choreographer has some talent. [Principal] Gregory Dean who, yes, is British but has been here long enough to be considered Danish, certainly does. As do [corps dancers] Oliver Starpov and Tobias Praetorius. Sebastian Kloborg is no longer with the company, he’s freelancing now, but I invite him back.” Dean and Starpov cut their choreographic teeth on numbers in Hübbe’s Swan Lake and with Corpus, RDB’s outlet for new work. hen I interviewed him for the November 2019 issue of Dancing Times, Gregory Dean told me: “A large faction of the audience want the Bournonville tradition and that’s as it should be.” August
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Thank you, Mr B into. Bournonville is still part of the schooling here.” When I express surprise that Bournonville technique was discontinued from company class, Hübbe clariies: “I abandoned it. Dancers didn’t show up to those classes. The ballets were stagnating so I dropped them for one season. To dance Bournonville requires real technique but rigid classes are not a good teaching tool. You should be able to take elements from it to gain real beneit.” August 2.0, the opening work in the Ballet de Luxe programme, promises to “send a reverent nod to August Bournonville and bring the master’s choreography into the 21st century.” It is being staged by Dinna Bjørn, whose experience of Bournonville spans over 50 years, as dancer, teacher and stager.
Bournonville, the 19th-century choreographer, is still for many synonymous with Danish ballet. Yet it is Hübbe’s approach to that heritage that has provoked most concern. “A season without Bournonville is disappointing, unwise and tragic,” ran the (translated) headline in a daily newspaper, Berlingske, in 2017. “Look, Bournonville is with us,” Hübbe tells me, sitting in Café August B at the company’s Old Stage theatre. “Bournonville is alive, we take him to eat. He is something we jump Photographs: CHRISTIAN ALS.
“Everything is based on Bournonville’s variations or classroom steps but put together in a diferent way. August 2.0 is choreographed in the [Bournonville] vernacular not as pastiche,” Hübbe explains. “Certain phrases of steps are so well known here we are asking whether something traditionally done en dehors can be reversed en dedans. Bournonville’s steps are so well constructed, if we deconstruct them, will they work? Or is that too cerebral? Are we two doctors whose patient dies [because of contradictory
diagnoses]? We want to entertain with Bournonville’s steps, maybe in combinations not seen before. It’s our chance to say, ‘Thank you, Mr B.’” Would Bournonville thank Hübbe for how he has produced his ballets? “I don’t know. He’s dead. His ballets are alive. Ballets are only alive when they are performed.” Bournonville traditionalists complain Hübbe’s removal of religious or spiritual dimensions, originally integral to Napoli and A Folk Tale, has misrepresented Bournonville’s own credo. For them, Hübbe is turning those ballets into the sentimental tales that he has avowed to avoid. “I see the possibilities in Bournonville’s ballets,” counters Hübbe. “When he created A Folk Tale in the 1850s [to be revived in Hübbe’s reworking with Sorella Englund in May] he created it as a fairytale and set it a long time in the past, as a renaissance saga. I have chosen to bring it into the late 19th century, to echo things that were happening in Denmark then. Decade to decade our eye [on the world] changes. Now everything is sustainability and Greta Thunberg. So too our theatrical interpretations, our ways of producing, must change because of what is happening culturally, in society, in politics. Some of that is osmosis and some deliberate. “I’d be lying if I said that criticism that I’m misrepresenting Bournonville doesn’t bother me. On the other hand, critics have never stood on a stage, never created anything. Each critic is only a single view. Is a critic a balletomane or somebody able to make skilled assessments? Do I know more? Bournonville belongs to the people who perform him.” For the future, Hübbe claimed not to know when his contract expires (actually 2022), nor what is the optimum time for somebody to remain as director, but considers his biggest achievement to date is: “To get beautiful dancing. Then my eye gets happy, but I’ve not done everything yet.” In answer to the charge he is slow to promote Danish dancers he adds: “There is a very talented group of male students currently in the [RDB] School. When I saw them go through their exams last summer, I thought I can’t wait until they join the company so I can cast them and work with them.” n
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work and to avoid virtuosity for its ecent performances of works own sake. He also rejected the use by Mikhail Fokine and of polkas, waltzes and galops, and Frederick Ashton inspired this proposed the chosen music should appraisal of the places occupied by relate to the theme of the ballet. the choreographers in ballet’s highest Natalia Roslavleva, in Era of the echelon, with the aim to explore the Russian Ballet, observed: “[I]nstead of approaches adopted by both men the ugly tutus and ballet slippers with towards the choreographic heritage of square toes, the dancers were dressed Marius Petipa. In this regard, Kathrine in light Greek tunics and sandals.” Sorley Walker provides an interesting Between 1905 and 1908, Fokine created comment in her book Ninette de Valois: works such as Acis et Galatée, La Vigne, Idealist without Illusions: “As Fokine Eunice, The Animated Gobelins (later Le developed, his independence came to him naturally – born and bred in a country with a then classical ballet tradition of more than 200 years. This was not the case with the younger Ashton. He had to be inluenced from outside, and turned to the Petipa tradition through the examples that were the heritage of Russia.” Fokine irst encountered the modern dance works of Isadora Duncan when she visited Russia in 1904. However, Tamara Karsavina noted in Theatre Street: “Duncan’s thesis was completely overpowered when Fokine, equipped with all the technique of balletic form, made Eunice as a direct tribute to her, with a far greater range of movements than those at the command of Duncan or her pupils.” It has been suggested Fokine’s choreographic Francis Yeoh on the ballets of philosophy relects the inluences of 19thMikhail Fokine and Frederick Ashton century choreographer and theorist, Jean-Georges Noverre, Pavillon d’Armide), Une Nuit D’Egypte but of greater signiicance is the and Chopiniana (Les Sylphides). view ofered by Karen Nelson, who In contrast, Ashton’s artistic vision contends: “Fokine’s ardent rhetoric was not driven by rebellion. Instead, tended to sound a more revolutionary he endeavoured not only to conform note than his actual choreography.” but to enhance the art of ballet. With Fokine’s ideas on ballet irst The Royal Ballet, he crafted a repertoire appeared in the form of suggestions that not only revealed his deep respect in the preface to his draft for a twofor classical ballet, but also his desire act version of Daphnis and Chloë in to create works that would legitimise 1904. He advocated the choreographic the company as a national institution. text should relect the theme of the
Ashton was phenomenally adept at creating story ballets such as The Dream, La Fille mal gardée and A Month in the Country. Furthermore, he was also able to astound with abstract works, for which Symphonic Variations is the supreme example. Enigma Variations is another non-narrative ballet that exquisitely portrays characters inspired by Edward Elgar’s music; John Percival expressed the view it was composed “entirely in terms of character or demi-caractére dance.” It is evident Ashton was adventurous in choosing the style of presentation for his ballets. Edwin Denby made a profound observation when he wrote: “The more trivial the subject, the deeper and more beautiful is Ashton’s poetic view of it.” Deborah Jowitt, in Time and The Dancing Image, thought the word “trivial” was misleading and suggested: “What Denby meant, I think, was that Ashton’s sweetness of temper, his tone, ‘at once civilized and innocent,’ was unsuited to grandiosity of monumental subjects.” The appeal of Ashton’s works is found in his use of the danse d’ecole. Alastair Macaulay provides a perspective on him in Looking at Ballet, Ashton and Balanchine, 1926-36, Studies in Dance History: “Ashton needed to depict, in almost every ballet, some bygone world, often a recently vanished one, where there existed greater harmony, happier formality, and fuller intimacy than in the present day. Classicism is always in part retrospective, but for Ashton – Monotones excepted – it was also always nostalgic.” Ashton created ballets that also revealed he could be inspired by trends, and social and political issues. Façade in many ways relected the giddy days of the 1920s. Dante Sonata was his reaction to the horrors of war. However, in the ➣
Choreographic visions
Photograph: KRISTYNA KASHVILI.
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Choreographic visions “swinging” 1960s, Jazz Calendar was his only nod to the mood and trends of the time. Ashton created many oneact works and Peter Brinson in “The Choreographer To-day,” in the 1958 issue of The Ballet Annual stated: “Bit by bit his little works extended classical technique in directions suited to British physique and temperament. Thus a British style of dancing and a British repertoire grew up.” Jowitt succinctly sums up Ashton’s genius by saying his greatest works “gleam with a wise tenderness for humanity and a master choreographer’s ability to make steps and formal structures reveal profound truths.” okine did not respond favourably to the rise of modernity in ballet, which he considered an afront to classical tradition. Although he choreographed to music by Stravinsky and Ravel, Fokine, on his own initiative, had not choreographed to “new” music. Karen Nelson contends, “there was an increasing gap between the ‘modernism’ Fokine professed and that actually practised by progressive choreographers. Fokine lost currency.” Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes’ seasons in Paris between 1909 and 1912 enabled Fokine to establish an international reputation, and his works were the outcome of a collaborative process in a fusion of ideas. Themes ranged from Russian folklore to the exotic Orient, but Fokine’s most popular work was Les Sylphides, which Diaghilev selected to open the Ballet Russes’ irst performance. The ballet lingered in the repertoire of The Royal Ballet from its irst performance in 1932, with James Monahan noting in Dancing Times in February 1963 the company had performed the work 287 times at Covent Garden. It is signiicant Fokine’s career loundered after he left Diaghilev. Nancy Reynolds and Malcolm McCormick, in No Fixed Points: Dance in the Twentieth
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Century, contend Fokine lost his position within the Ballets Russes because Diaghilev began to favour Vaslav Nijinsky, who not only was his lover, but was also more receptive to his symbolist leanings. A choreographer’s agency is often constrained by the demands made on them by an impresario or company director. The ballerina Mathilde Kschessinka collaborated with Fokine when he returned to Russia in 1916 because he had begun to make works more to her taste. Roslavleva chronicled that Fokine created ballets such as Francesca da Rimini, Eros, Pas Classique, Valse-Fantaisie, Jota Aragonesa, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and a revival of Les Préludes (originally made for Anna Pavlova’s company). After the 1917 Previous page: Mayara Magri in Fokine’s he Firebird. Below: Francesca Hayward as Dorabella in Ashton’s Enigma Variations.
Revolution, Fokine left Russia and never returned. Nelson observes that Fokine settled in New York for good in 1929, but “his career in this country [the US] was an extended dry spell.” Arkady SokolovKarminsky believed, “Fokine was too old-fashioned to adapt.” However, the post-Diagilev Ballet Russe companies continued to perform his works and, for a short period, Fokine worked with the newly formed American Ballet Theatre, where he created Bluebeard in 1941. he contrast in the dance education of Fokine and Ashton is signiicant. The absence of an institution to serve as a “nursery” for Ashton deprived him of a structured and organised education, but it did provide him with a wider exposure to teachers. Marie Rambert
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Photograph: TRISTRAM KENTON, courtesy of the ROYAL OPERA HOUSE.
gave him opportunities to create works, and The Camargo Society ofered him another avenue for creativity. Having to supplement his meagre earnings, Ashton also worked in the commercial theatre with collaborators such as the jazz dancer, Buddy Bradley. Matters improved when Ashton was appointed resident choreographer of the Vic-Wells Ballet in 1935. De Valois’ vision of creating a national company drove her to generate “native” works with choreography, designs and music by choreographers, artists and composers from the UK. International performances of pieces by Fokine and Ashton have enabled their ideas to be globally appreciated. Sorley Walker encapsulated the signiicance of their “personal hallmark” when she wrote: “It is a fact that the two igures will historically stand out as the creators of native ‘style’ in their respective countries, the inal creative development of a national exploitation of the classical ballet in their countries.” Fokine’s biographer, Cyril Beaumont, believed his ideas had freed Russian ballet from stagnation and antiquated conventions. Ashton’s mission was diferent, as he was guided by the need to create a native repertoire to rival the Russians. The ascendancy of The Royal Ballet is in no small measure due to Ashton’s creative output, and his works established a style unique to the UK. He was also able to follow in Petipa’s footsteps and choreograph multi-act ballets because he had continuing opportunities to work on a bigger canvas at Covent Garden. The signiicant works of both Ashton and Fokine are located within the classical canon. Their choreographic visions continue to contribute to the vitality of the art form to this day, and their positions within the ballet are assured. The greater awareness of their ideas only serves to enhance an appreciation of their works. n
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RAD100
Gerard Charles relects on RAD training of the past century, and what it might look like 100 years in the future
ooking back on a century of achievement (for which I can claim no credit), it’s truly an awe-inspiring moment to be artistic director of the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) whilst also being responsible for setting the foundations for the 100 years to come. In my irst year with the RAD, every day was one of discovery and appreciation of all who have gone before me. It seems appropriate to relect on the centenary of the RAD with an article in Dancing Times, as this magazine played a pivotal role in the founding of the Academy. Dancing Times published an article by Edouard Espinosa decrying the poor standards in dance teaching
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Above: Margot Fonteyn watches athletes demonstrate what they learnt about ballet during a pilot scheme exploring the crossover between ballet and athletics. Far let: Adeline Genée with young members of the Association of Operatic Dancing, before a Gala Matinée performance at Drury Lane, ca 1932. Let: RAD Teachers’ Training Course students studying subjects such as Anatomy and Physiology, 1949.
and this, along with the leadership of then editor, Philip Richardson, launched the Association of Teachers of Operatic Dancing of Great Britain, now the Royal Academy of Dance. Amazing as it now seems, Richardson was able to bring together ive important ballet teachers and dancers, from the ive leading schools, who ended up agreeing on common standards and approaches to teaching “operatic dancing” (or ballet). These pioneering ive were “The World’s Greatest Dancer,” Adeline Genée from the Danish school; Ballets Russes ballerina, Tamara Karsavina from the Imperial Russian tradition; Lucia Cormani of the Italian method; Edouard Espinosa of the French school; and renowned British ballerina, Phyllis Bedells. Much as we have today, they held lively debates regarding the best methods to pursue, but soon developed 40 • DANCING TIMES
an elementary syllabus that they shared at a meeting attended by more than 100 teachers on December 31, 1920 – the beginning of our irst 100 years. The founders not only wanted to establish standards, they wished to ensure them. From the start, the Association held “Major” examinations for future performers and teachers to ensure a good knowledge of vocabulary and their ability to demonstrate ballet accurately. In 1924, the RAD introduced children’s examinations for the one-lesson-a-week recreational dancer, with the goal of eliminating the poor practice of the day. So much has changed in ballet in just my lifetime – and since 1920, the changes have been signiicant. Looking at photographs in our centenary book, you can easily spot the diference. Amongst others, technical demands
and artistic taste have changed, and we can count greater knowledge about physical development. I see how the work of the RAD has adapted; the syllabi updated regularly and many diferent teacher training programmes, degrees, and continuing professional development courses have grown to match expectations. I want dancers to gain more from their dancing, so I appreciate the RAD’s history of aspiring to deliver good instruction, provided by professional teachers, ofering students a safe environment in which to expose them to a range of engaging and stimulating experiences. A solid understanding of basic technique is important but I also consider musicality, personal awareness, creativity and versatility essential assets for today’s dancer. The RAD has continued to examine how well a student can demonstrate competency in dance and to ensure every candidate in every country is adjudicated equally. However, there is a danger of teaching to the test. We need dancers who don’t simply do as they are
Photographs: Top SPORT AND GENERAL PRESS AGENCY/ALPHA PHOTO PRESS LTD. Let PHOTOPRESS. Right KEYSTONE PRESS/GETTY IMAGES.
RAD 100 told, but who think, feel and understand the choices they are making and the results those choices deliver. Learning the steps is not learning to dance, just as learning the words to a song does not teach you how to sing it or carry a tune. Over the past 100 years the RAD has achieved so much; millions of students engaged with dance, with many now active professional dancers, teachers or directors, who hold the future of dance in their hands. From a core of just over 100 teachers from the UK, there are now more than 8,000 RAD teachers in 89 countries around the world. I see the passion and hard work of so many individuals that has made this collective success possible. It’s a huge blessing that our presidents, Adeline Genée, Margot Fonteyn, Antoinette Sibley and Darcey Bussell, have assured a valuable connection with the ballet profession, and I’m thankful for their passion for the Academy and all they have contributed to make it the success it is today. I believe a strong link to professional dance is essential for our future. he centenary ofers a chance to celebrate all that the RAD has achieved, but also to focus on what achievements still lay ahead. It would be all too easy to be complacent or, conversely, dwarfed by the achievements of the past. It is, after all, a huge responsibility to be leading the RAD into a new century, but this is also an exciting moment with many interesting opportunities to anticipate. We have all beneited from those who have come before us, and we therefore have a responsibility to leave a better place for those who come after us. We all start our dance journey somewhere, and for many people that place has been with the RAD and an RAD teacher. I pledge to use our centenary to highlight the amazing work of our
T
Above: Gerard Charles leads a class at the RAD. Below let: Rudolf Nureyev in Poème Tragique, a solo created for him by Frederick Ashton, in his irst appearance in London at the RAD Gala Matinée in November 1961. Below right: he RAD’s Australia oice in Sydney before redevelopment, 1983.
teachers and the impact their dedication and passion, across a diverse array of contexts, environments and geographies, has on so many people every day. I trust we will never see the day when artiicial intelligence replaces physical teaching, or the art of dance. Dance is about people communicating with each other. It’s a relection of our humanity; it is within us; and there is an alchemy between teacher and student to realise this. As teachers, we have the privilege of connecting with individuals to help them master challenges, discover their artistry, creativity and critical thinking, and to build a sense of community inside and beyond the studio. Teachers are the RAD’s largest visible presence in the world, and the health and wellbeing of the Academy depends on their success and that of their students. As such, I intend to create an open line of communication from them to me, and provide a support
system they will value. I look forward to engaging with everyone who shares the quest for better teaching outcomes. Recently we have developed programmes that reach deeper into communities. They include Silver Swans for dancers over 55; Project B to encourage male dancers; Step Into Dance (with the Jack Petchey Foundation), ofering dance in 200 secondary schools (including pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disability) and, for 20 years, RADiate has served children on the autism spectrum. Dance should be an option for anyone who wants to beneit from it and, again, I pledge to make that a reality. Whilst the RAD already does a lot to reach new students in hard-to-reach places, it can and must continue to do more. By the nature of our extensive international presence, the RAD is already diverse – we already serve many diferent populations. Again, I wish to recognise our teachers, many of whom are involved daily in meaningful and challenging community work. I see diversity as a strength and believe we can build on what we currently have so that our oferings are open to all, but we must champion diversity in all its forms. The world we live in is changing rapidly, but I believe the RAD must hold irm to it’s core values and, in so doing, empower our global dance community to meet the challenges of the next century, and the development of the art form we all care about so much. I look forward to meeting the future and helping to shape it. n To ind out more about RAD’s centenary, go to royalacademyofdance.org/rad100.
Photographs: Top PIERLUIGI ABBONDANZA. Let GBL WILSON/ARENAPAL. Right PHOTOGRAPHER UNKNOWN.
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Dance Scene
Performances reviewed from around the world
he Royal Ballet’s Francesca Hayward and Gary Avis in Act II of Coppélia.
44 – Ballet Cymru 47 – Just Us Dance Theatre
51 – English National Ballet 55 – The Royal Ballet
Photograph: BILL COOPER, courtesy of the ROYAL OPERA HOUSE.
Dance Scene International 63 - Royal New Zealand Ballet WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 • 43
Dance Scene
United Kingdom Triple Bill
Celtic Concerto, Divided We Stand, Wired to the Moon Ballet Cymru, Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells, London – November 10, 2019 BALLET CYMRU BROUGHT A new triple bill to London’s Lilian Baylis Studio on November 10 during one of the busiest periods of dance the capital has seen in years (no fewer than six companies had opening nights in the week leading up to that date). That didn’t deter audiences, however, who have come to learn over the years that the company is well worth seeing and supporting. Indeed, and as a matter of national pride for this particular writer, it has been wonderful to watch Ballet Cymru, under the artistic direction of Darius James, go from strength to strength over the past decade, increasing the number of dancers and taking an adventurous approach to repertoire with works often
44 • DANCING TIMES
Dance Scene UK - January.indd 44
based on Welsh themes. This time around there was only one ballet on the triple bill – all choreographed by women – that had a (kind of) Welsh theme, Darius James and Amy Doughty’s Celtic Concerto, danced to harp music composed and played (in a recording) by Catrin Finch, a company patron. Barely 20 minutes in length, Doughty and James put the dancers through their paces in choreography full of jumps, quick patterns and sharp arm movements that were as precise as the music. The company responded with alacrity, and showed great sensitivity in the central, more romantic movement, which included a duet between Scottish-born Danila Marzilli and Italian Andrea Maria Battaggia, where Battaggia looked tenderly into Marzilli’s eyes before taking her arms and carrying her horizontally over his shoulders. The ballet ended with a torrent of speedy turns. The inspiration for Patricia Vallis’ Divided We Stand, danced to orchestral and vocal music by Henry
Purcell, was the “division in our society of political views and gender”. Here, two groups of people – sometimes divided by sex or by “clan” – come together and separate in physically challenging stances. Dressed in kilts, skirts or corsets, at first there is animosity between the two changing groups, with violent gestures or raised fists, but as they begin to mix, the relationships deepen and change, with Vallis suggesting a softening of stance in the way one couple pair off like lovers. At other moments, the men seem to treat women like chattels, with aggressive grabbing of limbs, although the women, in turn, fight hard against such misogyny. The work certainly suggests a clash
Above: Ballet Cymru in Celtic Concerto, Divided We Stand, Wired to the Moon.. Below: The company in Wired to the Moon.
of cultures, with fierce dancing by the company, but I think it would gain immensely from sharper focus and some resolution at the points where the conflict seems to fizzle out. Charlotte Edmonds tackles another serious subject in Wired to the Moon, a danced expression of the ecological crisis that has the cast – all dressed in suits – going about their everyday lives, commuting, working, having relationships, whilst a digital clock ticks backwards in a countdown to zero. In her programme note, Edmonds says the concept draws on functioning systems that “respond or adapt to changes in the environment”, and how “technology is an extension of our world and in this increasingly interconnected world, we must exist in balance”. The dancing, however, suggests the world on the brink of disaster, with an ever-hotter climate forcing the dancers to slowly remove their clothes as zero-hour approaches. With stylish designs by Eleanor Bull, and newlycomposed music from Katya Richardson, Wired to the Moon makes its points strongly, although some tightening up would increase its impact. JONATHAN GRAY Photographs: SIÂN TRENBERTH.
18/12/2019 07:29
United Kingdom
Triple Bill Jungle Blues, Three to One, Myelination Dorrance Dance, Sadler’s Wells, London – November 14, 2019 MICHELLE DORRANCE IS A big name on the tap dance scene, especially in the US. She and her ensemble of dancers and musicians explore new ways of presenting tap, taking it away from the top hat and tails world of Fred Astaire, and combining it with a bit of street, ballet and contemporary dance thrown in as well. In so doing, Dorrance’s mix has proved highly popular with audiences at home and abroad. Whilst there is no denying the skill and talents of Dorrance Dance, I’m sad to say I found the triple bill the company brought to Sadler’s Wells in mid-November, Myelination and other works, something of a disappointment. Running at just over 70 minutes, the programme went straight from one piece to the next without an interval, which might explain the sense of monotony that pervaded the evening, as well as the impression the works were all too similar in style. There were no sets to speak of, and the ensemble was dressed in the casual, fashionable clothes of today, so the only distinctive aspect for each item was the music and Dorrance’s choreography. In Jungle Blues, to music by “Jelly Roll” Morton, the dancers slinked, shuled and slid along to the Blues, dancing in a line, then breaking out as individuals or couples for solo spots or duets. Warren Craft was all loppy limbs, just like the Scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz, and Elizabeth Photograph: KRISTYNA KASHVILI.
Burke was sassy in her duo with Nicholas Van Young. Byron Tittle exuded total, streetwise cool whilst swivelling his hips, and Christopher Broughton did some Cossack kicks and the splits. The whole thing was light, fun, understated and a little too self-consciously wry when, perhaps, you wanted something with a little more pizzazz to kick of the evening.
strength and vulnerability, but it showcased Dorrance’s formidable tap technique. At 50 minutes, Myelination, the last work on the programme, was more substantial. Danced to live music composed and played by Donovan Dorrance (Michelle’s brother), Gregory Richardson and Aaron Marcellus, it was a showcase for the various dancers of the ensemble,
and whilst they all seemed relaxed, conident, open and on top of everything they did, I found little of interest with the company’s upper bodies, especially their arms and shoulders. The one exception was the charsismatic Tittle, who was elegant, poised and supple, especially when rippling through dexterous loor work and back bends, or when paired with Dorrance
Dorrance herself was the focus of Three to One, a nineminute trio for her, Tittle and Matthew “Megawatt” West which did exactly that. The dance at irst focused in their spotlit legs and feet, the rest of their bodies hidden in darkness, whilst Dorrance tapped out tight, strong rhythms and the guys, placed on either side of her, did the same. The movements got bigger and bolder as the lighting grew brighter, until the moment Tittle and West backed away leaving Dorrance alone on stage, dancing a little bit gooily, until her rapid footwork began to sound nervous once the lights started to fade again. It was an odd dance, one of
bringing them all together on stage and allowing them each to display more of the characteristics they had shown earlier in the evening. Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie was a b-girl in sneakers, pumping her way through tough-cookie, punchy dance routines; Craft showed more of his eccentric style; whilst big, burly bearded Van Young demonstrated he was adept at both dancing and playing the drum kit. Brazilian Leonardo Sandoval was quieter, a dancer with a lithe movement quality – I would like to have seen more of him. Much of the dancing, though, concentrated on the lower body and feet,
Above: Michelle Dorrance and Byron Tuttle in Myelination.
in seemingly spontaneous, of-the-cuf choreography. Good as Dorrance Dance are, the dancing in Myelination (and the other other two pieces, in fact) never quite made the impact I was expecting, perhaps because the choreography seemed determined to downplay lamboyance and theatricality. That’s all ine and dandy, yet sometimes, just sometimes, it simply isn’t enough to be just like the talented kids next door putting on a show. At the end of the performance, I felt delated, not exhilarated. JONATHAN GRAY
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United Kingdom
Born to Manifest Just Us Dance Theatre, The Place, London – November 16, 2019
CHOREOGRAPHER JOSEPH TOONGA DREW on the experiences of young black men in the UK for his latest work, Born to Manifest, made for Just Us Dance Theatre, which was shown at London’s The Place on November 16 at the end of a UK tour. Originally from Cameroon in central Africa, and based in east London since the 1990s (see his Talking Point, published in the September 2019 issue of Dancing Times), Toonga’s new piece is shocking in its depiction of the casual violence and racism endured by the community in which he lives, and is all the more powerful for its concentrated, contained use of a vocabulary that embraces both contemporary dance and hip hop.
Performed by Toonga and Theophillus “Godson” Oloyade, the choreography for the duet – which lasts 55 minutes – is tightly structured, and deliberately repeats themes and motifs from one dancer to the next. Leaning backwards, with shoulders hunched, the bodies of both men look as if they are expecting a physical assault at any moment. Hands are raised as if in surrender, or hold an imaginary gun. The men also lie face down on the floor, breathing quickly before getting back up onto their feet. It’s a sequence at first performed singly, and then, later, taken up by the other man, brilliantly suggesting an experience shared by a whole generation. The mood turns darker and even bleaker when one man screams, “I just want to go home!”, or makes ape-like noises whilst thumping his chest with
Photographs: CAMILLA GREENWELL and THE OTHER RICHARD.
Dance Scene UK - January.indd 47
his fists, in imitation of a racist chant at a football match. The men embrace and comfort themselves in their distress, then grow in confidence as they make Black Power salutes, and dance closely together in a repeated sequence that looks like moves from the boxing ring. The men, however, always seem prepared for another assault, and their dance style suggests both suppression and aggression. These sections of movement, performed with superb physicality by Toonga and Oloyade, are repeated and repeated throughout the work, but never lose their impact or sense of danger and unease. I took Born to Manifest to represent an ongoing and unchanging problem in contemporary society. It’s also a problem not going to be resolved anytime soon, as Toonga offers no feelings of optimism
Above: Joseph Toonga and Theophillus “Godson” Oloyade in Born to Manifest.
or hope of change as the piece comes to its climax. It was fascinating to see, as the opener to the evening, a short, eight-minute work based on Born to Manifest performed by nine men taking part in the Let’s Shine mentorship programme. Using themes explored by Toonga, the men expressed, through pacy dances, ideas about black youth and gang culture. The cast circled together, sometimes breaking out individually to dance their own thing, including some impressive street moves, before being drawn back into the group. The piece also suggested that fighting and violence was something never very far away from their everyday experience. A troubling and depressing conclusion. JONATHAN GRAY
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18/12/2019 07:33
www.londonstudiocentre.org tel 020 7837 7741 @ldnstudiocentre
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Les Beaux Dormants Ballet du Rhin, Linbury Theatre, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London – November 21, 2019 THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE’S Linbury Theatre continues to struggle to ind itself an artistic purpose, straying in recent times increasingly into Sadler’s Wells receivinghouse mode. While it is a conveniently central location, the limitations of its stage in terms of size, wing space and lack of ly tower mean that only certain types of dance can be shown there, leading to a sameyness in programming. Les Beaux Dormants, presented by the Ballet du Rhin, was no exception – a medium-sized ensemble (13 dancers) disporting themselves in efortful contemporary choreography. Some semblance of purpose is emphatically emphasised by the printed programme, as the performance of this modern rif on The Sleeping Beauty coincides with The Royal Ballet’s run of the real thing upstairs. Anyone familiar with Tchaikovsky’s music, however, would have guessed that. Canadian choreographer Hélène Blackburn declares herself fascinated with the idea of awakening sexuality at the onset of puberty and prefaces the dancing with video footage of such onthe-cusp youngsters talking about the images the story of The Sleeping Beauty conjures up for them. They also appear at times during the work in projection, dancing and spinning. In what is a real disjunct between avowed intent and actual performance, the dancers launch into nearly an hour of decidedly un-childlike choreographic frenzy in which the music and the Photograph: KRISTYNA KASHVILI.
narrative of the original are fractured, re-ordered and distorted. There is not a single pas of Marius Petipa at least, but poor old Pyotr Ilyich is roughed up by composer Martin Tetrault to create a score of ininite repetition and wrongturns which, nevertheless, emerges as intriguing and tiresome in equal measure. In an ingenious setting of seven triangular-based, moveable pillars, each face diferent (plain, briar thicket and fairytale ironwork) and which shift and reconigure to give the stage picture some variety, the dancers set about the exhausting task set by Blackburn. Her movement vocabulary is at base classical onto which she layers mime, Kyliánesque semaphore, a hyper-active form of sign language, and the obligatory silent screams and shouted words hurled at the audience. With such a rag-bag, she manages nevertheless to achieve unexpected cohesion, so, even if one does not always like what she is doing, one can sense it is not simply gratuitous.
That said, it is frantic, often agitated stuf, the dancers set into repeated sequences of St Vitus movements with nary a moment of respite for them or their audience, any underlying meaning artfully concealed from the observer. An exception is Valentin Thuet who, with a black skirt wrapped around him and wearing one pointe shoe, is given an unsettling, unhealthy section as Carabosse and backed by ive bare-chested men on a bench who sway uneasily behind him and collapse into contorted positions. It provides a rare change of mood and atmosphere in what ultimately is a one-note show. That’s a pity because the dancers of the Ballet du Rhin, a varied and interesting ensemble, clearly have much to give. They are a physically disparate bunch with resulting individual quirkiness that piques our interest and leads to diferent movement qualities. Five characters are named, but without any
clues from the stage action and a wholesale mixing-up of the music that robs them of their musical themes, most dancers remain anonymous, their evident talents unattributable. Les Beaux Dormants is too long, the fractured narrative and opaque meaning giving little on which the observer can hang their interest. The portrayal of the “arduous walk to adulthood” through the “thorny forest” of life may well have been Blackburn’s aim, but, if so, then she is only partially successful. Despite a striking stage setting, music not lacking in interest and a group of committed and tireless dancers, she does not manage to convey the passage to maturity, but rather evokes a generic portrayal of fraught human interactions that, despite the label, do not, in themselves, evoke sleeping beauties of any hue. GERALD DOWLER
Below: Ballet du Rhin in a scene from Les Beaux Dormants.
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Le Corsaire English National Ballet, Milton Keynes Theatre – November 23, 2019 IT WAS A MATINÉE performance of English National Ballet’s Le Corsaire in Milton Keynes, one of a number of diferent casts the company is presenting in its 70th anniversary season. It turned out to be some of the best dancing I have seen this year. The ballet, for all its political incorrectness, maltreatment of women, slaves and grubby harems, is simply an excuse to watch three acts of glorious classical dancing. Most impressive was that the many technical challenges that were achieved (and surpassed) were done while keeping within the artistic and musical parameters. Anna-Marie Holmes’ splendid production (after Marius Petipa and Konstantin Sergeyev) ofers multiple opportunities to the dancers and it’s worth noting that at this performance, many of the soloist and principal roles were danced by members of the company who are still in the corps de ballet (though you never would have known it). Le Corsaire is a rather ludicrous tale of pirates, Conrad and his great love Medora, who he is trying to rescue from the slave trader Lankendem, alongside a doddery Pasha (the governor of the citadel) who has plenty of wives but just wants more. The busy plot is diicult to take seriously, so it’s just as well that from curtain up the dancing was all-absorbing. Aitor Arrieta as Lankendem started with terriic aplomb, high jumps and Photograph: ASH.
deep pliés and a strong, swashbuckling presence. Henry Dowden proved a lively Birbanto, Conrad’s second in command. As the Pasha (Michael Coleman, cheerfully slapstick) demanded to see the slave girls dance, three beautiful Odalisques – Precious Adams, Emma Hawes and Isabelle Brouwers – gave a near perfect rendition of their pas de trois and solos. Brouwers, in particular, showed astonishing control and speed in her inal diagonal of triple pirouettes, surefooted and musically precise, yet maintaining a serene posture. Julia Conway gave an assured Gulnare (another slave girl) and will no doubt ind more to explore in the role with later performances. Brooklyn Mack’s very likeable Conrad gave the impression he takes everything in his stride, his lack of strain even during the most strenuous of passages was a genuine pleasure to watch. He was also an attentive partner to Shiori Kase’s exquisite Medora. Daniel McCormick as Ali (Conrad’s slave) has little in Act I to shout about
but he nevertheless has the most appealing stage presence. One other mention is for Emily Suzuki’s Lead Villager – it might be a small role but her radiant smile and light dancing made a memorable impression. Act II, set in Conrad’s pirate cave, brought so many ireworks and extraordinary technical feats one could sense a great many raised eyebrows. Generally, I don’t think it’s a good idea to focus on technical wizardry, particularly within the context of narrative ballet, but, on this occasion, it was impossible not to applaud the dynamics of the work unfolding on stage. One of the main reasons for doing so is that throughout the Pas d’action, the dancers remained entirely in character and took no liberties with the music. Kase, McCormick and Mack brought dignity, grace and gravity-defying inesse to this party piece. Mouths ajar, there was audible gasping during McCormick’s solo, high lying tours en l’air, pirouettes which whizzed and then stopped suspended on demi-pointe
and jetés of pure line. Kase delivered a heart-stopping triple turn à la seconde, then executed 32 fouettés, the irst 16 interspersed with triple turns and ending with ive pirouettes bang on the music. All this, while maintaining their composure and not for one moment stepping over the line into vulgarity. As Kase and Mack found chemistry in the pas de deux towards the end of Act II, the ease with which Mack produced a spectacular lift prompted its own round of applause. Act III was no less polished, with Kase and Conway leading a proicient corps in the “Le Jardin Animé” scene. At the close of the ballet, as Gulnare, Ali, Conrad and Medora were caught in a storm on Bob Ringwood’s magniicent billowing pirate ship, there was a moment of disappointment when it became clear Ali and Gulnare did not survive the waves. That aside, this was classical ballet at its inest and a performance to relish. DEBORAH WEISS Below: English National Ballet in the “Jardin Animé” scene of Le Corsaire.
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ONE OF THE SADDEST, and most short-sighted, decisions made by The Place and Arts Council England in recent years has been the announcement of the closure of Richard Alston Dance Company. Led by Richard Alston, one of the UK’s inest living choreographers who turned 70 in 2018, the company will cease to
has so much to ofer. There was, therefore, a bittersweet tinge to the Alston at Home programme presented by the company at The Place in the last week of November, and doubly so because it showed the choreographer working with young artists from London Contemporary Dance School on Bari, a new creation, as well as including work by other choreographers. Youthful dancing and the work of others – the programme made its point well. In a pre-performance speech, Alston told the assembled audience the evening would include a number of extracts from his earliest pieces, as
around the stage making bold use of space, and Monique Jonas and Nahum McLean displaying Alston’s wonderfully limpid sense of grace and line in the duet. A section from the 1972 Blue Schubert Fragments (danced to Schubert’s Death and the Maiden) had a group of dancers moving in sharp lines that reminded me of medieval woodblock prints. Bari, a world premiere, was danced to traditional Pizzica music from southern Italy, and showed the young cast in various group combinations, moving in packs and performing pacy, shruggy, folksy, jiggy and celebratory dances that were entirely delightful. It
exist because both The Arts Council and The Place want to shift their emphasis to touring the work of younger artists and, in Alston’s own words, “there is not enough money for both of us.” In a move akin to removing oils and canvas from a master painter, or a camera from a great photographer, depriving Alston of a company of dancers at this stage in his career seems particularly cruel, especially when he still
well as a series of solos choreographed by Merce Cunningham, a huge inluence on Alston’s own creations, which would be danced by company member Elly Braund and Siobhan Davies, a long-term friend and colleague who has known him for more than 50 years. A solo and a duet from Nowhere Slowly, Alston’s earliest surviving dance, made in 1970, saw Jennifer Hayes in the solo running and swooping
Above: No pictures of the Alston at Home performances at he Place were made available. Reproduced here is a photograph of Isthmus danced by Pierre Tappon, Nancy Nerantzi and Anelli Binder.
Alston at Home Solo and Duet from Nowhere Slowly, Blue Schubert Fragments, Bari, Isthmus, Cunningham Centennial Solos, Red Run, Detour Richard Alston Dance Company, The Place, London – November 27, 2019
Photograph: TONY NANDI.
proved a strong contrast to Isthmus, made in 2012, with its spiky moves, jumps into pliés and grand battements to the side. Joshua Harriette, Ellen Yilma, Hayes and McLean were tremendous. Davies and Braund brought the irst half of the evening to a close in
a series of Cunningham dances drawn from works such as Un jour ou deux, Trackers, Fluid Canvas, Installations and Scramble. The poised, concentrated, reed-slim Davies, dressed in blue, was like the still, calm centre of everything, whilst Braund, dressed in bright orange, appeared like a darting minnow around her, gesturing outwards to the audience, shaking her feet and rippling her arms. After the interval came Alston’s Red Run, made over 20 years ago, a punchy, powerful piece to music by Heiner Goebbels in which Harriette and McLean, looking like identical twins, danced a duet where they bent backwards and held each others bodies. Alston has always been generous in helping other choreographers (he was a former mentor for Joseph Toonga, whose new piece was shown at The Place a few weeks before – see page 47), and it was typical of him to end the programme with Detour, a work by Martin Lawrance made for the Alston company in 2018. Danced to marimba music composed by Akira Miyoshi, Lawrance used tough, hip hop-based moves to show a series of rival couples dancing together who had some sort of troubled back history. Here, the utterly cool Jonas, in her hooded grey top, was the incarnation of Grace Jones. Although this was the last time Richard Alston Dance Company would be appearing at its home base, there is still time to see the company before it inally disappears. The ensemble goes on tour this spring with Final Edition, culminating in three shows at Sadler’s Wells from March 7 to 8. Don’t miss it. JONATHAN GRAY
WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 • 53
Dance Scene
Coppélia The Sleeping Beauty The Royal Ballet, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London – November 28-29; December 2,5, 2019 IT’S WONDERFUL TO HAVE Coppélia back in the repertoire of The Royal Ballet after such a long absence. The much-loved ballet returned to the Covent Garden stage on November 28, and it was a real pleasure to hear Léo Delibes’ lovely score in the theatre again, conducted by Barry
54 • DANCING TIMES
Wordsworth and played with relish by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. It was a pleasure, too, to watch Lev Ivanov and Enrico Cecchetti’s sparkling choreography in the production Ninette de Valois irst staged in 1954, as well as Osbert Lancaster’s witty, colourful, folk-inspired designs, where his delight in architectural detail really comes to the fore. Coppélia is a ballet of quality, one that should never be away from the stage for too long, especially when compared to such inferior works as La Bayadère or Don Quixote, but let’s just celebrate its arrival in London again.
The opening night was a performance to remember, with Francesca Hayward as Swanilda, Alexander Campbell as Franz and Gary Avis as Dr Coppélius, all of them perfectly cast in their roles. Hayward brought lots of spirited personality to Swanilda, and was funny, too, especially in the “doll dances” of Act II, where she really played against Avis’ dotty, hilarious Coppélius in a scene where musical and comic timing is absolutely paramount. It was the delectable way Hayward danced Swanilda’s choreography, though, that was most heartening. Swanilda is a demi-caractère role, but that doesn’t mean it is easier to perform than, say, Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, and that night Hayward truly savoured her dances, adding bags of light and shade to her steps so that she became as glittering as the music. She shone, too, in the tricky Act III pas de deux (it’s a duet that absolutely has to
be perfectly danced if it isn’t going to look awkward), and it was here that Campbell gave her superb support. Like Hayward, Campbell brought the role of Franz to life. A handsome, cocky guy about town, he is also a bit dim, and he’s one of those men who will do what his girlfriend says when they get married, without ever realising. Campbell danced the Csardas in Act I with panache, then exploded with brilliance in his Act III solo. Wonderful. Earlier that day, at the Schools’ Matinée, Yuhui Choe and Luca Acri took on Swanilda and Franz for the irst time, and received roars of approval from the excited children in the audience. The pair gave good performances, with excellent dancing, but I sensed they were still inding their way into their roles, and, along with Philip Above: Act I of he Royal Ballet’s production of Coppélia. Below: Francesca Hayward and Alexander Campbell as Swanilda and Franz in the Act III pas de deux.
Photographs: Top BILL COOPER, courtesy of the ROYAL OPERA HOUSE. Bottom KRISTYNA KASHVILI.
United Kingdom Mosley as a much more serious-minded Coppélius, were not as outgoing or engaging as Hayward, Campbell and Avis were to prove later that evening. If ever there were a ballerina born to dance Swanilda, however, it would be Marianela Nuñez, who was on superb form on November 29. Nuñez irst performed the role when she was an emerging dancer, winning garlands from tough critics like Clement Crisp, but as she has matured, the ballerina now brings even greater detail and distinction to the character and the choreography. I enjoyed this Swanilda’s indignation at Coppélia’s apparent snub, and the way she was quick to rise to anger and tears when Vadim Muntagirov’s Franz plays the lirt, but best of all was Nuñez’s mischievous sense of fun, and her absolute authority over the dancing. Every technical hurdle was brought of with a lourish, and Nuñez danced all of her solos – especially in Act III – with such musicality and aplomb you could do nothing else but smile. It was a treat to see Avis again that night as Dr Coppélius, bringing even greater facts to his interpretation, and Muntagirov as Franz was superb in both his partnering and dancing, although he is, perhaps, just a little too nice for the role. Although some of the ensemble work over the three performances could have been tighter, there was throughout a sense of enjoyment and engagement from dancers discovering the classics can be fun to perform. The Act III solos were well taken, especially by Isabella Gasparini, who was bright and perky in the Dawn variation, and by
Annette Buvoli, who did a great job in disguising all the diiculties of the treacherous Prayer solo. Coppélia will be with us at Covent Garden well into the New Year, with even more casts promised – I can’t wait to see them all. AS WELL AS COPPÉLIA, The Royal Ballet could also be seen dancing The Sleeping Beauty at Covent Garden in late November and early December. The revival of the ballet this season has been a ine one, and it has been especially pleasing to note the number of dancers showing new-found expression and musicality in their solos, especially the Fairies in the Prologue. As also with Coppélia, there have been numerous cast changes in Beauty, and on December 2 it was the turn of principal guest artist David Hallberg to appear as Prince Florimund. He is, of course, already very experienced in the role, and, with his danseur noble mien, knows how to project the aristocratic bearing of the Prince very well. I have seen few Florimunds who seemed so dejected by the antics of his courtiers during the hunting scene, nor one
Photographs: HELEN MAYBANKS, courtesy of the ROYAL OPERA HOUSE.
so fascinated by the vision of Princess Aurora, but it was a strangely reticent performance from this ine artist, who appeared out of sorts in both his big solos. Hallberg may have been attempting to make a greater contrast between himself and Natalia Osipova’s Princess Aurora, who, I felt, was forcing herself in the role that evening to such an extent she appeared over the top. There was a much more satisfying account of Princess Aurora at the matinée on December 5 when Anna Rose O’Sullivan made her debut in the role. O’Sullivan had clearly been carefully prepared, and gave no indication of nerves, despite the fact her scheduled Prince, James Hay, had to be replaced by Matthew Ball at just two hours’ notice due to Hay’s illness. O’Sullivan entered the stage with conidence, dancing with a bright precision that was especially sparkling in her footwork, but what made the biggest impression on me was her rich épaulement, the lavish carriage of her arms, and the way she used her head and eyes to project
Above: Anna Rose O’Sullivan as Princess Aurora in Act I of he Sleeping Beauty.
Aurora’s character out into the auditorium. She danced the Rose Adagio with a lourish, only showing a few wobbles in the supported attitudes, and continued to grow and grow in authority as the ballet progressed, making her movements softer, rounder and more ethereal in the Vision Scene, and reaching the Grand pas de deux in Act III with glowing grandeur. It was an impressive, auspicious debut. There was an exciting new Blue Bird in Cesar Corrales at this performance, too, jumping buoyantly high, although he needs to learn how better to pace the exhausting solo. In addition, there was elegant, sensitive, musical dancing from Romany Pajdak, Melissa Hamilton and Gasparini as Fairies in the Prologue. Mention must also be made of Erico Montes as a ine, straightforward Catalabutte, playing him blessedly free of the campery that has marred too many other performances of the role. JONATHAN GRAY
WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 • 55
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International
International The Little Match Girl
Zürich Ballet, Zürich Opera House – October 25, 2019 CHRISTIAN SPUCK CAUSED A STIR in October with the premiere of his new work for Zürich Ballet’s 2019-20 season by using Helmut Lachenmann’s controversial score of music and weird sounds for The Little Match Girl, also the name of the new ballet. Both choreographer and composer were inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairytale, which tells of a poor girl sent out on to the streets on New Year’s Eve to sell matches. No one buys any from her, and she dares not go home. Instead, she sits down, leaning against the wall of a house, lighting some of the matches before freezing to death. Lachenmann describes his composition as music with 24 images and texts by Andersen, Leonardo da Vinci and Gudrun Ensslin (a founder of the Red Army Faction, the left-wing German militant
Photographs: GREGORY BATARDON.
Dance Scene International - January.indd 57
group. She was convicted of four murders). Spuck did not intend to mirror these images, but instead wanted to create a contrast. His and Lachenmann’s goal was to make the audience see with their ears and hear with their eyes, and the result is a truly modern fairy story. It felt like zapping through disparate images loosely strung together by at first six, then finally two freezing girls, clad in greyish pale blue dresses (costumes designed by Emma Ryott). Dancers appear against a derelict wall (the set is by Rufus Didwiszys), where two couples in black suits make beautiful images. They are followed by men wearing flesh-coloured shorts who perform animallike movements during light snow fall. Here, the music consists of fragments of words, hisses, or the sound of the choir rubbing their hands together. Suddenly, the corps de ballet surges on to the stage, all in costumes suggestive of the mid 19th century,
the women in long dresses, the men in dress coats and top hats. A girl tries to sell her matches, but they all ignore her existence. In between the dancers, singers enter. They sing for a while before exiting. Pairs and groups of dancers follow on stage, mixing classical and modern, angular movements until suddenly the story is taken up again. Men in sailor suits riding rocking-horses fill the stage and aggressively pursue the freezing girls to a crescendo of wild music. The wall then revolves and eerie, insect-like creatures crawl up and down to snippets of text from the story, as well as noises like the sound of someone changing a radio station every few seconds. Then a figure representing Gudrun Ensslin (Katja Wünsche), enters topless, dressed in clothes from the 1970s, miniskirt and platform boots, and her arms crossed in front of her chest. She walks amongst Below: Dancers of the Zürich Ballet in The Little Match Girl.
whirling dancers and in front of video projections showing close-ups of dead soldiers lying in the snow or the burning department store the Red Army Faction had set alight. Dancers swirl around, and Father Christmas sneaks along the wall, until suddenly Lachenmann himself enters and recites a text by Leonardo da Vinci reduced to an unintelligibly string of sounds. The ballet ends with two Match Girls lying downstage, frozen stiff. They were wonderfully performed by Emma Antrobus and Michelle Willems. The dancers of Zürich Ballet were gorgeous throughout, but, nevertheless, it was sometimes hard to concentrate on the choreography because the music played such a prominent role in the work. The choir, the Basler Madrigalisten, and members of the Philharmonia Zürich, were placed in the boxes of the dress circle, and bathed in soft light during the entire performance – it was difficult not to watch them when they were making such unusual sounds. The Little Match Girl is one of those ballets where it’s advisable to read the programme before you watch it, which I did not. Lachenmann draws parallels between the Match Girl and Gudrun Ensslin because they both used fire – the Match Girl to alleviate her problems; Ensslin to fight what she saw as an unjust society – and, in his opinion, the Match Girl could have become a terrorist had she lived in a different age. Unfortunately, I missed out on all the implications between the characters and the context, and therefore the two hours without interval seemed very long indeed. JEANNETTE ANDERSEN
WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 • 57
18/12/2019 07:44
International
Blixen
Royal Danish Ballet, Old Stage, Royal Theatre, Copenhagen – November 9-10, 2019 NIKOLAI HÜBBE, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR of The Royal Danish Ballet, has long wished for a full-length ballet on Karen Blixen. One of the best-known authors in Denmark, Blixen achieved Hollywood stardom when filmmaker Sydney Pollack portrayed her in Out of Africa, the 1985 movie starring Meryl Streep as Blixen and Robert Redford as the love of her life, the British adventurer and aristocrat Denys Finch Hatton. The task was offered to principal dancer Gregory Dean (see Dancing Times, November 2019), who threw himself immediately into the life and literature of Karen Blixen, but it was not until he stumbled upon the graphic novel, The Lioness – A Portrait of Karen Blixen by French writer AnneCaroline Pandolfo and Danish illustrator Terkel Risbjerg, that he started to see the possibilities of translating Blixen’s life into choreography. To help with the historical facts he consulted Catharina Belle Gower-Poole, greatgranddaughter of Blixen’s brother, Thomas. Loyal to the nice, commonly agreed-upon version of Blixen’s life, Dean depicts the author’s story as a chronological dressage from childhood to grave. Starting in cold Denmark, he presents Karen’s family, pious women dressed in black and the beloved father, Wilhelm, who hangs himself and leaves her fatherless at the age of ten. This catastrophe is contrasted with glorious balls for the young ones at Photographs: HENRIK STENBERG.
Dance Scene International - January.indd 59
Frijsenborg Castle where Karen meets her future husband, Bror Blixen, a womaniser who persuades her to go with him to Kenya and start a coffee farm. There, Karen and Bror mingle with the snooty British colony, dancing the Charleston at the fancy Muthaiga Club. Shortly after, Karen is diagnosed with syphilis. She divorces Bror, decides to run the farm on her own, and meets the charming Denys Finch Hatton, who teaches her to shoot lions and takes her flying in his small airplane. Tragedy strikes again when the farm goes bankrupt and Finch Hatton dies in a plane crash. Returning to Denmark, Blixen starts writing to earn a living. She is successful and is worshipped by young male authors, whom she dominates without mercy.
As an old and very sick woman, Karen goes on a publicity tour of the US, where she enjoys her fame, but her health deteriorates and she dies shortly after at her childhood mansion, Rungstedlund. The fragmented structure of endless episodes drains the ballet of a dynamic flow in line with the ever-changing gallery of characters who sweep over the stage for three long hours. Choreographically, Dean creates pretty and rather simple steps reminiscent of lighter versions of John Cranko, John Neumeier and Jerome Robbins. Mime is often reduced to cartoon-like effects, with clenched fists held in front of the forehead,
Above and below: The Royal Danish Ballet in Blixen.
temple, chest or stomach whenever despair or pain is signalled. He also avoids the use of blacked-up dancers playing the local Kenyans, the kikuyes, by having them perform in silhouette against a red sunset. A significant character in the ballet, however, is a man dressed in black, a devil who haunts Karen throughout, emerging like a shadow of sadness to always remind her death is inevitable. Another intelligent choice of Dean’s is to cast a handful of retired dancers in the mime roles, all of whom are exquisite masters of bringing characters to life. In fact, it is very much the older dancers who save the better part of Blixen. Kizzy Matiakis was impressive as both the young and old Blixen on opening night. Gregory Dean took the elegant role of Finch Hatton for himself, and Mads Blangstrup nailed the depressive mind of Blixen’s father. Jón Axel Fransson was cold and ominous as the Devil. In the second cast, Gudrun Bojesen was the very incarnation of the old Blixen, while Ida Praetorius was full of life and optimism as young Karen. The music was by Claude Debussy, both well-known and lesser-known pieces orchestrated and arranged by Martin Yates, who sometimes flavoured the score with the sound of a musical. Jon Morrell created the minimal décor and elegant costumes, perfectly capturing the era. MAJBRIT HJELMSBO
WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 • 59
18/12/2019 07:48
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International
Double Bill Orpheus Alive, Chaconne National Ballet of Canada, Four Seasons Centre, Toronto – November 15, 2019 IN ORPHEUS ALIVE, HIS MOST populous and ambitious work to date, Robert Binet, the 28-year-old choreographic associate of National Ballet of Canada (NBC), takes a fresh look at the myth of Orpheus, probably best known to today’s audiences through the enduring popularity of Gluck’s opera, Orfeo ed Euridice. Gluck’s intention in 1762 was to reform what he saw as the shortcomings of opera seria through a process of simpliication. Binet, as he vigorously iterates at every opportunity, is also reformminded. He believes that in order to attract a new, younger audience classical ballet must become more relevant by aligning itself with modern values. This, the articulate Binet argues, must include an assault on ballet’s outdated patriarchal power alignments and exclusionary gender stereotypes. He’s not the irst to make a very valid point. Yet, whereas Gluck aimed for simplicity, Binet in Orpheus Alive appears to favour complexity to such a degree that the resulting ballet is an aesthetic dancetheatre hodgepodge overstocked with half-baked ideas about love, loss, grief and art that remains exasperatingly unfocused. Those who bother to read the programme will already have learned that in the conception of Binet and Rosamund Small, who is credited as writer, dramaturge and text director, the audience must imagine itself as the assembly of gods to whom Orpheus will appeal for the return from the underworld Photograph: KAROLINA KURAS.
of his beloved Eurydice; except, as we soon learn, it’s not just Orpheus. In the ballet’s opening sequence we meet a host of blackclad mourners, all bent on recovering a lost love and gathered in a purgatorial waiting room governed by a Cerberus-channelling three-headed receptionist. Each is promised ive minutes to plead their case. A lead mourner, Sonia Rodriguez, turns out to be Eurydice’s mum. Even she, as Rodriguez later tells us, is not sure why she’s involved – and is doubtless equally puzzled as to why she is briely provided with a kitchen. Anyway, this nameless mother declares that Orpheus, forcefully danced by Jenna Savella in a buttercup-yellow skirt, deserves more time to tell her story, which the young woman does by raising her arms to summon composer Missy Mazzoli’s commissioned orchestral score. By this time, through spoken text and sardonic projected surtitles, it’s clear we’re deep into meta territory, a ballet within a ballet, a narrative that may or may not be “true,” an artist exposed to the whims of theatre-going gods. It seems the Binet-Small Orpheus met and fell in love
with Eurydice, danced by Spencer Hack, on a Toronto underground railway platform, realistically depicted in Hyemi Shin’s set. Whether through Orpheus’ lack of empathy, motherson issues, or his/her own mental derangement, this Eurydice commits suicide, sliding gently of the edge of the platform into the projected waves of the River Styx. Orpheus, sad as can be, inds his/her way into an underworld patrolled by “Furies” and attempts, blindfolded, to lead Eurydice back to the land of the living, except she/he is not that keen to return. We are also treated to a cumbersomely didactic set of apparitional variations on this death-defying journey that couples men with men, women with women, women dressed as men with men in skirts and so on. The outcomes are predictable but the overall message is blurred. Mazzoli’s generally gripping score meanwhile suggests a dramatic tension rarely relected in the choreography. This is at its best when Binet strips away the overly busy ensemble sections – prosaic choreography is never enhanced by simple multiplication – and concentrates his attention on smaller groupings,
Above: Spencer Hack and Jenna Savella in Orpheus Alive.
particularly the dramatically evocative principal duets. At 75 minutes in length, Orpheus Alive, unsatisfying as it proves to be, could be a stand-alone ofering. However, NBC, perhaps as a sop to its more traditionally inclined patrons, chose to open the programme by adding to its sizeable George Balanchine repertoire with the acquisition of Chaconne, staged by its original lead ballerina, Suzanne Farrell. What a nourishing sop it is. Given what it preceded, Chaconne was a thematically apt choice. Largely assembled in 1976 from choreography Balanchine had contributed more than a decade earlier to a Hamburg production of Gluck’s opera, Chaconne is essentially pure dance but in its most sublime moments, notably the opening pas de deux, danced to the hilt by Heather Ogden and Harrison James, it generates emotional overtones that evoke and parallel the opera’s profoundest themes. It also serves as a healthy reminder of what dance, in the hands of a master choreographer, can achieve without resort to words and dramaturgical gimmicks. MICHAEL CRABB
WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 • 61
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International
Hansel and Gretel Royal New Zealand Ballet, Isaac Theatre Royal, Christchurch – November 23, 2019 NEW ZEALAND HAS AN inspiring history of pioneering ballet dancers and the passion hasn’t waned. The Royal New Zealand Ballet’s (RNZB) Hansel and Gretel has all the right ingredients for a seasonal treat. I caught two performances, both delivered with genuine enthusiasm and boasting an antipodean creative team in choreographer Loughlan Prior, composer Claire Cowan and designer Kate Hawley. The score is unique as the irst full-length commission by RNZB from a female New Zealander. Melodic, full of charm and laced with references to many sources, it created the magic and wonder of the children’s world. Hawley’s designs are outstanding at every level. The monochrome of the real world contrasts with the vivid colours of the food fantasy: meagre misery against ostentatious excess that brings welcome depth to the pantomime
Photograph: STEPHEN A’COURT.
fun. The attention to detail is brilliant. An old movie countdown opens the show, with disembodied eyes following the action, and the forest is a projection of twisting forks. Young students from local ballet schools are the birds who steal Hansel and Gretel’s trail of breadcrumbs, sweeping away the evidence with busy brooms. Dressed in pinafores, boots and peaked bonnets, they perfectly capture the image of tiny birds. The ballet is structured into a longer, darker irst act where the family are in shabby grey, in contrast to the wealthy city folk in smart black outits. The sugar rush comes in Act II; a toothaching feast of pink gelato with mountains of knickerbocker glories. Prior has skilfully shaped the individuality of the principal characters whilst adding a distinct feminist slant. Gretel is a powerhouse of energy, with a deep afection for Hansel, a charmer with toy bunny in tow who is happy to let his big sister take the lead. The roles ofer both dance and dramatic challenges. Madeleine Graham with Kihiro Kusukami gave a strong showing at the
matinée on November 23, while Kirby Selchow with Shaun James Kelly gave a formidable energy boost to the evening performance. It’s in the sombre scenes that Loughlan’s choreography is strongest. Family is central, and in the relationship between Hansel and Gretel’s parents the performance inds its beating heart. Their irst duet expresses both their love and the hopelessness of their situation in choreography of depth and complexity. Father (Paul Mathews or Joseph Skelton) is a kindly, but hopeless salesman leaving Mother to hold the house and family together. Nadia Yanowsky’s perceptive reading struck the right sensitive tone while Sara Garbowski ofered a sweeter, gentler interpretation. In the enchanted forest, the Fairies, in glittery tutus, provide Christmas sparkle while the King and Queen add virtuosity. Mayu Tanigaito displayed breathtaking balance and whizzing turns here, leaving Allister Madin to match
Below: Shaun James Kelly as Hansel, Kirby Selchow as Gretel and Paul Mathews as the Witch in Hansel and Gretel.
with brilliant tours and batterie. Nathan Mennis as the Sandman drew every ounce of expression from this quirky Buster Keaton role in a performance deined by exceptional musicality. Prior’s love of ilm is evident in the high camp of pink gingerbread men and a chorus of pink witches in a Busby Berkeley pastiche of high kicks and clever patterning. Hansel and Gretel, now in glitzy pink, are seated on high chairs and stufed with incrementally larger portions of ice cream. Selchow, attacking her monstrous dessert like a demented terrier with hair lying, was a delicious comic treat. Outrageously glamorous, Katharine Precourt as the Ice Cream Witch went way overthe-top before changing back to the evil witch in a clever transformation of smoke and chaos. The pantomime continues into the kitchen, where the Witch is now a green monster with grasping talons. Both Paul Mathews and Luke Cooper relished the role, stirring a vile mix in the cauldron to fatten the hapless Hansel. His tubby form is duly basted and, with an apple stufed in his mouth, he’s oven ready. The ever resourceful Gretel, however, is on hand to persuade the Witch into the oven instead. Mother and Father arrive accompanied by the Fairies and true to tradition, all live happily ever after. The ballet ofers substantial ensemble, solo and character roles, and the company, directed by Patricia Barker, rose to the occasion. The corps de ballet was well rehearsed, the technique crisp and with a good crop of rising talent in the smaller roles, it’s a ballet to keep audiences fully engaged. MAGGIE FOYER
WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 • 63
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15 FEB 2020
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29 FEB 2020
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15 MAR 2020
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18 APR 2020
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21 MAY 2020
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05 JUL 2020
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International
The Glass Menagerie Hamburg Ballet, Opera House, Hamburg – December 7, 2019 JOHN NEUMEIER’S LATEST FULL-LENGTH ballet, The Glass Menagerie, inspired by Tennessee Williams’ agonising play, is a work of great artistic maturity and discernment. In the work, Neumeier has returned to the US, the land of his birth, for – in his own words – a “memory ballet” as much for himself, no doubt, as for the the characters he portrays. He has maintained the core narrative, but opened it out to show the four protagonists in vital contexts outside their modest apartment – Laura fantasising at the movie picture house while watching Gone with the Wind or her mother Amanda selling her magazines to passers-by in the street. This is a good decision, setting intense family relationships against the background of the society around them, and thereby exposing their essential dysfunctional nature. Neumeier explores themes unthinkable when the play was written, namely brother Tom’s homosexuality that colours his interaction with his sporty college friend Jim, the former’s heavy yearning set against the latter’s blithe insouciance. It leads to a suitably louche interlude in a pick-up bar. Neumeier artfully juxtaposes moments of light relief – dancing girls at the cinema, a basketball match – with scenes of painful intensity. The whole experience could be too episodic, but that is avoided by the choice of music, which uses Philip Glass’ piano music for The Hours and a judicious selection of Charles Ives, that most quirky and of-centre of composers to weave it together. For the Photograph: KIRAN WEST.
climactic scene when Jim O’Connor visits the family as, in Amanda’s mind, Laura’s “gentleman caller”, Neumeier shifts the tone with the use of the symphonic Ned Rorem. These are telling choices and the music powerfully underpins the action under Simon Hewett’s sympathetic baton. Many years in the thinking, The Glass Menagerie inally sees the light because of Alina Cojocaru, who has become something of a muse for the veteran choreographer. Her portrayal of the tiny, frail, crippled Laura who retreats into a fantasy world of her collection of glass animals is nothing short of exceptional. An artist at the peak of her powers, Cojocaru has the ability physically to crumple into the smallest of balls, yet ill the stage with her thoughts and dreams. A look, a tiny gesture, resonate and it is hard not to feel her anguish intensely, a big soul trapped both in an imperfect body and a stiling family and social atmosphere. Cojocaru spent three months in Hamburg working with Neumeier, and such lengthy preparation shows in the detail and completeness of her portrayal. An
ingenious device that allows her to appear in one pointe and one heeled shoe, thereby emphasising her disability, means she can appear in her dreamworld without the latter, Laura made whole again. It’s a performance of greatness. This is no one-woman show, though, given the intensity of the relationships at play. Hamburg’s permanent dancers (Cojocaru is a guest artist) are uniformly superb. This being a memory ballet, Tennessee Williams is present throughout, looking back on a past, painful episode of his life. Neumeier makes the autobiographical nature of the original play central to the ballet as Tom is the young Tennessee, the two dancers dressed identically, Edvin Revazov’s natural straight blond hair curled and darkened to match Félix Paquet as the brother. Revazov has the diicult job of being an observer much of the time, but his powerful presence is tinged throughout with melancholy and regret, and the inal image of his looking at Laura through the scrim of the past is heart-wrenching. Paquet is a nervy Tom, desperate to escape the constrictions
Above: Alina Cojocaru and David Rodriguez in he Glass Menagerie.
of his mother yet bursting with love for his vulnerable sister. His scene with Christopher Evans’ breezy Jim is masterly, the physical attraction to the sportsman threatening to overlow at any moment, the yearning for more than blokey contact painful to watch. Evans brings depth and tenderness to his inal scene with Laura where he is touched by her need and vulnerability. Neumeier has his girlfriend Betty appear to burst the bubble and dash the nervous hopes of the young girl, but Jim’s guilt is palpable. There is a range of movement that Neumeier brings to his multi-faceted ballet, from sport and social dance to expressionism and ballet, yet, in ample evidence of his mastery of the idiom, he melds them together. The elegant line of the Hamburg men is striking and their ease in diicult partnering (overhead lifts seemingly the simplest of things) lends a smooth, seamless quality to duets and ensembles. A notable evening. n GERALD DOWLER
WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 • 65
By Barbara Newman
& Juliet White Christmas Curtains
task with a smile as wide as the proscenium. Cassidy Janson’s Anne and Melanie La Barrie’s straight-talking Nurse provide all the proud back-up such a deiant leader would ever need. All evening, people laugh gleefully as each song pops up in an unexpected context, and the New York-based choreographer Jennifer Weber cleverly guides those songs away from their familiar interpretation and into the narrative. Connecting the show’s insistent politics, its overt silliness, its shifting venue and dramatically meandering tone, the dancers glue all the nonsense together with hip hop’s tireless punch and precision. Their exhilarating skill and streetsmart attitude deine this fast, frivolous musical; without them, it would simply be a Max Martin concert.
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t the opposite end of the musical theatre spectrum, where an older public enjoys songs they can hum, stands White Christmas, Irving Berlin’s melodious hymn to romance and noble deeds. Drawn directly from the 1954 ilm starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye and originally staged last year at the Curve in Leicester, this production came to the Dominion Theatre in London for a six-week run during the holiday season. Composed for an earlier movie, Holiday Inn (1942), “White Christmas” won an Academy Award, and Crosby’s recording of it supposedly sold more than 30 million copies, long before anyone imagined CDs and YouTube. While the entire score holds up brilliantly, the book, adapted from the
or the musical theatre audience, Christmas shopping this year couldn’t have been easier. Leaving pantomimes aside – they’re a seasonal attraction unto themselves – the accidents of scheduling, coincidentally, brought something for everyone. Bopping into London’s Shaftesbury Theatre in a blast of ampliied sound, the brash jukebox musical & Juliet is the ideal gift for any pop-music lover, particularly those under about 30 who will already know nearly every note of every tune. Its catchy premise – what if Juliet hadn’t died in the Capulet tomb? – frames a bold-as-brass purpose, which is to celebrate Max Martin’s enormous back catalogue of hit songs, popularised by the likes of Britney Spears, 66 • DANCING TIMES
Katy Perry, the Backstreet Boys and Ed Sheeran. David West Read’s deliberately ridiculous book bends and twists like a double-jointed acrobat to fabricate openings for the songs, transporting Juliet, her best friend and her Nurse to Paris, where each of them starts over. Shakespeare’s wife goes along too – “Yes, there is another Anne Hathaway” – ighting iercely for this rewrite and for every woman’s empowerment. Once the gay men ind each other and the Nurse inds her former heartthrob and Juliet inds she really adores the newly resuscitated Romeo despite his amorous lings, they can all live happily ever after. It may not be what Shakespeare intended – in the opening scene Read
Above: he cast of & Juliet.
wisely lets Will outline the original story for those who don’t know it – but it strikes resounding notes with a hip young public. Crammed with chart-toppers and casual jokes, it’s Mamma Mia! several generations later with even more whimsical surprises. Paloma Young’s costumes combine Elizabethan jerkins and boned bodices with trainers and bohemian streetwear, and Soutra Gilmour has plastered the set’s grungy walls with scribbled graiti in Shoreditch and peeling posters in Paris. A Juliet for any generation, Miriam-Teak Lee sings, dances and speaks as if deining independence were her Christmas present to the world, lighting the serious
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Photograph: JOHAN PERSSON.
Variety Lights
screenplay by David Ives and Paul Blake, creaks beneath its predictable progress. Two successful song and dance men, former World War II soldiers and buddies, trick two singing sisters into accompanying them to a Vermont country inn where they plan to prepare their new show. Without snow, the inn lacks customers, and its owner, their respected Army commander, faces disaster, so the enterprising performers turn their eforts into a beneit to save the day. As usual, one couple hits it of straightaway; the other struggles through several misunderstandings before the inal clinch. Though Robert Alton created the ilm’s dances and musical staging, the show’s choreographer, Stephen Mear, took his inspiration from Hermes Pan, who worked with Fred Astaire, who starred in Holiday Inn, and from Jack Cole. Mear is completely at home among the sequins, bluesy ballads and teasing rhythms of the 1940s and 1950s, so the numbers unfold with absolute assurance and immaculate style. “Let Yourself Go” opens the evening with a bang, introducing a cheerful chorus of polished dancers who sing, swing, swoon languidly into their partner’s
arms and tap with the crisp panache of seasoned hoofers. Unlike many of his colleagues in this ield, Mear resists attaching up-to-theminute decorations to his dances. They don’t include electric boogy or the teen bandstand crazes of the 1950s, they’re not athletic competitions, and they haven’t absorbed the formal rigidity of Come Dancing. The sisters lirt innocently in “Sisters,” their signature double act, deploying little sidesteps and artfully placed feather fans; the unison tapping in “Blue Skies” and “I Love a Piano” builds an irresistible momentum that sweeps the audience into its excitement. The show is slow by current standards, but diferent strokes work for diferent folks, and the audience responded with warm appreciation.
Above: he cast of White Christmas.
and original songs for Liza Minnelli and Barbra Streisand to their credit, the composer (John Kander) and the lyricist (Fred Ebb) draw an audience all by themselves. This time the duo landed in a wordy spoof of a backstage murder mystery in which a no-talent diva and several others die, one by one, during rehearsals for a musical western, Robbin’ Hood. The cop, Frank Cioi, who steps in to solve the crime, is a fan of musicals – he also gets the girl. Halfway through a national tour interrupted by a month in the West End during the holidays, this production seldom achieved its intended efect in Dartford. The band Below: he cast of Curtains.
blanketed many lyrics, the stage seemed small, neither Boston nor Wild West accents sounded convincing, and almost nobody laughed. Rupert Holmes’ new dialogue, adapted from the original book, raced out of every mouth like Cinderella leaving the ball, and as the afable Cioi, even Jason Manford, a talented standup comic, couldn’t infect the cast or the audience with his enthusiasm. So the evening felt long and laboured, except for Alistair David’s choreography, which manufactures its own laughs from a wry pastiche of well-worn dance conventions. Rough-riding cowboys swing their gals in the opening “Wide Open Spaces”; lugubrious ghouls prowl in a hilarious display of extravagent grief to “The Woman’s Dead.” A kickline supports “Show People,” and couples in spangled gowns and black tie swirl around Cioi’s lovesick waltz with Niki. The troublesome staging of the new show’s “In the Boat” begins as a male trio of canoers and winds up as an intricate counterpoint of dashing sailors and paddling bathing beauties, a delightful fusion of Busby Berkeley with Gilbert and Sullivan. Light as soulés and bright with humour, David’s dances raise Curtains to its only satisfying heights. n
ying somewhere between those two theatrical extremes, Curtains is ready-made for those who follow musicals the way others follow football. The man sitting beside me at the Orchard Theatre in Dartford nailed its appeal succinctly: “The book’s not much,” he said. “I only came because of Kander and Ebb.” Collaborators since 1962 with Cabaret, Chicago
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Photographs: Top JOHAN PERSSON. Bottom RICHARD DAVENPORT.
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FRANCE/dance S
eeing the Paris Opéra Ballet on stage proved to be something of a fool’s errand in December, as France was gripped by a nationwide general strike over pension reform. By what should have been the second week of shows for Raymonda and Le Parc, a dozen performances had already been cancelled. The dancers were vocal about their fears, too. While current arrangements allow them to retire at the age of 42, government plans to fold France’s many special pension schemes into a single, uniied system have led to speculation that the company would lose their beneits. Of the 154 dancers, 120 took part in street demonstrations on December 5; the French government has yet to announce what the future holds for them. Only the opening night of Raymonda was unafected. Rumour had it that Rudolf Nureyev’s production had been shelved because Nicholas Georgiadis’ sets and costumes had been worn out, but director Aurélie Dupont opted to restore them. Visually, it remains a glorious production, with painted sets evoking medieval imagery and luxurious tutus (the Vision scene’s structured silver numbers for the corps de ballet and the Hungarian Grand Pas, in shades of red and gold, are especially memorable). Only Abderam’s would-be exotic tent, which hangs over Act
II, looks a little lost on the stage of the Opéra Bastille. Nureyev’s Act I wasn’t missed, however. He may be the only stager in history to have looked at Raymonda and thought it needed more steps. The leisurely numbers meant for character dances, or to set the courtly tone of Raymonda and Jean de Brienne’s romance, here become irritating interludes for Henriette, Clémence, Bernard and Béranger, elevated from secondary characters to a boisterous presence (much shoving and competing via pirouettes is involved). The evening improved greatly after the irst interval. Acts II and III are closer to Petipa’s intentions, with additional variations and stage time for Abderam – a character after Nureyev’s heart – in Act II. Stéphane Bullion was solid if technically uninspiring in the role, but Dorothée Gilbert (Raymonda) and Hugo Marchand (Jean de Brienne) grew in stature as the performance went on. Marchand has a way of making his partners relax on stage, and after a tense
Act I, Gilbert came alive, polishing of her variations with authority. She has always had sangfroid in spades, and Hannah O’Neill and Sae-Eun Park’s pristine solo turns as Henriette and Clémence only seemed to spur her on. Her Act III variation with the handclaps was the climax it ought to be, the slow, deliberate way she curled and uncurled her wrists speaking volumes. here was less to worry about for audiences outside Paris: despite transport disruption, the Cannes Dance Festival went ahead with no cancellations. This biennial event, which celebrated its 22nd edition, has achieved a higher proile under current director Brigitte Lefèvre, who ruled over the Paris Opéra Ballet for more than two decades. Her programming is pleasingly diverse: over one weekend in December, it was possible to see Moscow’s Stanislavsky Ballet alongside the James Sewell Ballet (with a disappointing new work, Titticut Follies) and several contemporary productions.
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By Laura Cappelle While Alexei Ratmansky’s new historically informed production of Giselle for the Bolshoi was the talk of the ballet world this autumn, the Stanislavsky – down the street in the Russian capital – brought its own production to Cannes. Slightly reworked by current director Laurent Hilaire ahead of a redesign, it is entirely coherent, with extensive mime and an engaged cast (down to Polina Zayarnaya’s spoiled Bathilde, a true highlight). Despite slightly ragged ports de bras in Act I, the corps returned to breathe as one as the Wilis. The charismatic Georgy Smilevsky proved luxury casting as Hilarion, Ivan Mikhalev made a foolhardy Albrecht, and Oksana Kardash conirmed she is one of the inest Russian ballerinas working today. She is a gifted actress in the vulnerable style of Olesya Novikova, with an exquisite, ethereal upper body, and from a haunting Myrtha a few years ago, she has grown into a worldclass Giselle. If she danced with the Bolshoi or the Maryinsky, Kardash would be an international star; in the event, the Stanislavsky is very lucky to have her. n
Right: Hugo Marchand and Dorothée Gilbert in the Paris Opéra Ballet’s production of Raymonda. Photograph: SVETLANA LOBOFF.
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ILANoLTRE, Milan’s international contemporary dance festival, began in the 1980s and now presents over two weeks of dance performances, workshops and encounters. A rich ofering at Teatro Elfo Puccini included two very diferent works, united by perfection in lighting, sets, sound, and an astonishingly high quality of choreography and dance. The mix bound the audience to the performers, creating an almost hypnotic and signiicant suspension of time. Susanna Beltrami, who runs the DanceHaus company in Milan, presented the premiere of her latest work: Ballade, preghiera profana. Beltrami is ininitely inventive with the moves she gives her 13 male dancers and vocalist, and with her use of props. Alone, there is nothing particularly original, but her assemblage of these elements (whipping wet hair through the air, a unicycle, sexual luidity, dry ice) is dramatic and fascinating. Composer Cesare Picco’s marvellous music efectively mixes rap, jazz and mood music, and he was on stage throughout playing an ampliied grand piano. US-born choreographer Richard Siegal’s piece New Ocean, performed by the German company, Ballet of Diference, was based on ideas from Merce Cunningham’s 1994 Ocean. Inspired by the mathematical structures Cunningham used, New Ocean is constructed from interchangeable sections that are varied at each performance. His eclectic group of dancers don’t have
any contact between them, working in isolation. Some are on pointe, and as with Beltrami’s piece, traditional gender roles are intriguingly blurred. Siegal uses bold theatrical efects with banks of blinding lights, clouds of smoke enguling the stage, and a massive falling wall, yet it is the attention to detail and his discipline to not overuse those efects that are of the highest calibre. vette Chauviré’s version of Giselle has been performed on and of at La Scala since she danced in it herself in 1950, and – like Alexei Ratmansky’s recent version for the Bolshoi Ballet – it has sets based on Alexandre Benois’ 1924 designs for the Paris Opéra. It is deeply satisfying that as the curtain goes up, the old-fashioned painted backcloths and gauzes provoke a gasp from the tourist-heavy audiences, momentarily distracting them from their phones. Svetlana Zakharova and David Hallberg were dancing together again, ive years after Swan Lake at La Scala, shortly before Hallberg
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Below let: he dancers of Ballet of Diference in New Ocean. Below right: Roberto Bolle and Marianela Nuñez in Onegin.
Photographs: Let THOMAS SHCERMER. Right BRESCIA AND AMISANO.
sufered his devastating injury. It forced him to cancel his performances with Zakharova in Ratmansky’s The Sleeping Beauty the following year. Hallberg was back in sublime form. The two dancers relect each other physically, with their elegant, lithe limbs, and their eloquent feet. Zakharova’s leg, though, insists on creeping up unnecessarily high – a personal bête noire, and a trait she shares with many current Giselles. legendary Giselle, Carla Fracci, now a vivacious 83-year-old, was in the audience to see Marianela Nuñez as Tatiana and Roberto Bolle as the eponymous Onegin of John Cranko’s ballet. Although Fracci was dancing Giselle in the 1960s – the balletomane’s must-have video with Erik Bruhn and the American Ballet Theatre was recorded in 1968 – she had to wait until 1993 before La Scala mounted Onegin for her. She had been friends with Cranko since he choreographed Juliet on her when she was 21 yet, miraculously, Fracci at 56 was a thoroughly convincing Tatiana. Nuñez is perfectly suited to the role, with her attention to detail in the technique, the thoughtful portrayal
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By Graham Spicer of her evolving character, and her abandonment in Cranko’s athletic pas de deux. She is compelling from the confused and besotted teenager to the self-possessed heroine of the piece. Onegin is a role that Bolle has grown into. His boyish face, which he retained well into his thirties, has caught up with his body and the role of the preening, stufed shirt socialite its him like a glove, his joyful enthusiasm when he appears in Tatiana’s dream is believable, and as a partner he is attentive and robust – no wonder Nuñez throws herself at him with such carefree recklessness. An outstanding cast included the Olga of Martina Arduino, whose fresh face sparkled playfully in her delightful pas de deux with Nicola Del Freo as Lensky. Del Freo is one of La Scala’s most exciting dancers. He is technically complete and a sensitive actor, with a handsome face and he looks very ine in period costume too. Completing the main cast was another of La Scala’s growing band of top-notch dancing actors, Gabriele Corrado (himself an excellent Onegin), who was an authoritative and dependable Prince Gremin. n
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S
t Petersburg hosted the tenth International Diaghilev PS Festival last November. This time it marked two anniversaries: 110 years since the irst performance by Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes and the 130th anniversary of the birth of Vaslav Nijinsky. Natalia Metelitsa, director of the St Petersburg Theatre Museum, ofered a marathon fortnight that began with Hommage à Nijinsky featuring contemporary interpretations of the great dancer’s most illustrious roles. Jean-Christophe Maillot’s Daphnis and Chloë opened the tribute on the stage of the Baltic Sea House Theatre. The choreographer puts himself at a distance from the original pastoral by the Greek poet Longus, focusing instead on the emotions of the naïve young shepherd and shepherdess Daphnis (Simone Tribuna) and Chloë (Anjara Ballestores) who are joined by the experienced-in-love Dorkon (Matèj Urban) and Lykanion
Photograph: MARK OLICH.
(Marianna Barbás). Maillot is excellent in creating duets that efectively relect the multi-faceted relationships between the four characters. I was enchanted by Daphnis and Chloë’s irst duo when the dancers do not touch each other: their arms just outline in the air the partner’s contours with the pulse of emotion expressed in the tremolo of arms and ingers; the exploration of desire, initially tentative, slowly develops into a more daring courtship. Dorkon and Lykanion’s duets, imbued with lame-like energy and abandon, show the two timid youngsters what erotic desire might be. Marco Goeke’s interpretation Le Spectre de la rose produced a very strange impression. What is left of the original idea? Just rose petals strewn over the stage, and the rose-red Below: A scene from Johan Inger’s new version of Petrushka.
trouser suits of the male corps de ballet. They form a line, their backs half towards the audience, unzip their lies and start urinating with rose petals. A Girl (Anissa Bruley) clad in wide black trousers and a lesh-coloured skin-tight top does obscure, unintelligible movements with her arms and torso; convulsions and quiverings follow one another. The choreographer has changed the relationships between masculine and feminine roles: The Girl shows independence, and lacksthe yearning of the original heroine dreaming of the rose. The Rose (Daniele Delvecchio), dressed in a red jacket, jumps and leaps, but his movements, neither high nor wide, are disconnected from the music. Jeroen Verbruggen purposefully gave his piece, Aime-je un rêve, a diferent title from the traditional L’après-midi d’un faune. The choreographer chose one of the irst lines from Stéphane Mallarmé’s poem “Aimaije in rȇve?” in order to highlight the introspective aspect of the ballet alongside the bestiality generally associated with it. The work is an enigmatic duet for The Man (Alexis Oliveira) and The Faun (Benjamin Stone), in which bestiality and tenderness confront but complement each other. Verbruggen examines questions and doubts related to sexual identity and the true desires of our bodies. Contrasting emotions are at play: The Man challenges The Faun as much as The Faun lures The Man. Johan Inger’s Petrushka is a touching tale of the
puppet set against the controversial world of fashion and consumerism, where the praise of young bodies is paramount. The scene set in a couturier’s atelier is imbued with grotesque satire: celebrities and socialites try on and buy gorgeous clothes, struggling to be the irst buyers, with mannequins strolling along the cat-walk like obedient servants. The personages of Mikhail Fokine’s original ballet – Petrushka (George Oliveira), the Moor (Alexis Oliveira) and the Ballerina (Anna Blackwell) – become mannequins and the Magician is now a world famous couturier (Lennart Radtke). The fashion guru carefully dresses the mannequins, who later appear in the Shrovetide fair booth. The Magician (by implication Diaghilev) directs the show and watches every movement of his puppets. When the show is over, the mannequins are stripped of their colourful attire and thrown onto a pile of other used mannequins. There, the puppets go on living their own lives: the struggle between Petrushka and the Moor for the Ballerina’s love breaks out. During the scule Petrushka is broken to pieces and his head put on a pedestal. As the lights dim, quite unexpectedly, Petrushka’s head turns and looks straight at the audience. Petrushka is still alive! Inger’s ballet is a lovely, clever and touching piece of choreography. n Igor Stupnikov’s review of the Diaghilev PS Festival continues next month.
WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 • 73
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Notes from
W
hen the curtain fell on the inal Lincoln Center performance of Paul Taylor American Modern Dance on November 19, the company received loud cheers and a rain of lowers. That’s not unusual at the end of a season, especially a good one, but this occasion prompted an absolute blizzard of bouquets, and the cheers surely included more than a few tears. It was the end of a modern-dance era. That may sound like a cliché, but clichés can be rooted in truth, and the truth here is bittersweet: Taylor died in 2018, and his company, determined to survive, must do so without him, and without several dancers, including some justly admired ones who have announced they were leaving: Michael Trusnovec, Michelle Fleet, Robert Kleinendorst, Parisa Khobdeh, Jamie Rae Walker, Laura Halzack and Sean Mahoney. Michael Novak, who retires as a performer, has become artistic director. What we will see from now on will be in some ways a new company. There are reasons for optimism. Taylor could inspire loyalty; some of the dancers who have stayed on surely did so out of respect, but, of course, Taylor also provided dancers with incomes, as well as artistic opportunities. Like most Taylor dancers, past and present, Novak was theatrically intelligent, both in the Taylor repertoire and Photograph: PAUL B GOODE.
with groups outside it: he was a memorable Faune in one of Ann Hutchinson Guest’s stagings of Vaslav Nijinsky’s L’Après-midi d’un faune. Yet his distinctive stage presence will be missed, as will the appropriately surnamed Fleet, the afable Kleinendorst, and, perhaps most of all, the remarkably versatile and compelling Trusnovec. hese dancers, and others, too, must have dances to dance. It’s still too early to guess what Novak’s choices will be for the company, but certain dance fans argue that when the artistic leader of a company dies, that company should also expire. Yes, notate and ilm its dances, devise manuals to clarify its pedagogical principles, and then disband – totally. If anyone else wants to perform those dances, let a licensing commission of some sort provide the necessary permissions. Clear the decks, start anew. Even with old works. This sort of argument usually is made by fans of modern dance, which has an ongoing love of the new. Yet balletomanes have also
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Above: Paul Taylor Dance Company in Esplanade.
made it: for instance, at the death of George Balanchine. A more sensible option, in my opinion, is that a group lives on, preserving the repertoire while acquiring new compositions by other choreographers and maintaining a company school, thereby ensuring both continuity and innovation. The Martha Graham and José Limón companies took this route, and it looks as if Taylor may follow them. This has already caused some to fear that, with many troupes dancing the same works (as could easily happen – just ponder today’s global ballet schedules), companies will start looking alike. Yet audiences in disparate locales will then have opportunities to see, and appraise, some muchdiscussed creations, even keeping them alive; consider in the 19th century the proliferation of productions of, say, Giselle or La Sylphide. o one can predict what the closing of the Taylor season portends. The inal
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By Jack Anderson
programme was an unusual triple bill, two works by Taylor, and a premiere by someone else. That novelty was all at once, by Pam Tanowitz, a choreographer currently much in demand who kept 17 dancers loping and hopping in and out to Bach in a lively, but not really memorable manner. Both Taylor pieces were curiosities; one, also to Bach, could even be called a masterpiece: Esplanade, in which Taylor makes basically ordinary movements become almost miraculously virtuosic. Diggity, with music by Donald York, could be called a romp in a park, for its dancers stroll amidst metallic sculptures of dogs by Alex Katz. Although the humans keep busy, the dogs just sit there looking quizzically about, as if thinking “what fools these mortals be.” Dogs can do that, of course. Taylor was long able to yoke disparate movements together, which could make him simultaneously pleasing and perplexing. He startled both with dances in which people scarcely seemed to move at all and with complicated dances in which every step was rooted in the ordinary. He devised ceremonies of innocence and bloodthirsty rituals, attacks upon religion and angelic celebrations. If such extremes were commented upon, he might have responded by saying: “Oh sure: life’s like that.” With all his imaginative extravagance, Paul Taylor remained a realist. n
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Karim Zeroual and Amy Dowden in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing, which is reviewed overleaf.
78 - Strictly surprising
82 - Something new
Marianka Swain reviews an unpredictable series
We discover the hot new dance trends for 2020
Photograph: GUY LEVY, courtesy of the BBC.
86 - Simon’s Guide to Swing
88 - Notes from the Dance Floor
Our columnist on New Year
The British Nationals
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Strictly Surprising
Our resident blogger Marianka Swain summarises a peculiar series of Strictly Come Dancing
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nexpected: that’s the key word of Series 17. It’s been a notably surprising Strictly Come Dancing right from the start, as Jamie Laing withdrew from the line-up due to injury before the competition had even started – swiftly followed by numerous odd eliminations, controversial judging decisions, and favourites felled by a single dance. Topping the leaderboard was no guarantee of survival in this changeable year; conversely, we saw inalists seemingly spring from nowhere. Let’s just say the bookies probably had a good Christmas. Or perhaps not, since we did have some guarantees – and one of those was the endearingly modest, soap star/ racing driver, normal macho bloke-
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yet-natural expressive dancer Kelvin Fletcher, a contestant who might have been bred in a lab for optimum Strictly performance. Poor Jamie Laing’s corpse was barely cold before we were howling at Fletcher’s snake hips, his Week One samba setting pulses racing across the nation. More important, he soon formed an incredibly engaging partnership with pro favourite Oti Mabuse, excelling across a variety of styles thanks to their combination of solid technical grounding, hard work, and superb ability to tell a story through music and movement. Mabuse thought her Strictly was all over; instead, she’s had her best run since Danny Mac in Series 14. Another leading contender, CBBC’s Karim Zeroual, had a bumpier road to the inal, landing in two dance-ofs along the way. Though an impressive technician, he remained a more accomplished soloist than partner, and was most comfortable when
drawing on his previous training, churning out pirouettes amidst frantic movement. It meant he didn’t always adapt to each ballroom style well enough, or supply the right emotional connection, leaving voters to admire rather than love his routines. In contrast, comedian Chris Ramsey made an astonishing run all the way to the semi-inal, thanks mainly to a hugely likeable partnership with Karen Hauer. What Chris lacked in technical inesse, he made up for in authentic chemistry with Karen and with the audience – plus a concerted, and generally efective, campaign for votes. Ramsey certainly illed the tryer niche that every Strictly series needs, though arguably was less of a true “J word” candidate than footballer Alex Scott. Initially tentative, Scott’s competitive ight seemed to kick in when partner “Ginger” Neil Jones – enjoying his irst series as a fully-ledged pro – was injured, meaning Scott had to lead latePhotograph: RAY BURMISTON courtesy of the BBC.
Strictly Surprising substitute Kevin Clifton through their routine. (In an injury-plagued series, we also lost the charismatic Paralympian Will Bayley.) Strong performances followed from Scott, as she turned a potential meltdown into a triumph. Sadly, her run was cut short – but not as short as Dev Griin’s. The DJ went from a 36-scoring dance one week into a shock elimination in just Week Four, while several less talented celebrities galumphed on. It was also a shame to see actress Catherine Tyldesley and new South African pro/breakout star Johannes Radebe leave so soon, and, although not exactly charismatic, the competition was certainly poorer without fearless vlogger Safron Barker. Yet the biggest travesty was the loss of RuPaul’s Drag Race judge Michelle Visage – one of the series’ most consistent, and consistently exciting, contestants, whose routines with
Giovanni Pernice were always creative, articulate, witty and full of impact. he pair went out on a controversial Couple’s Choice number, and this recently introduced, but still hazily indeterminate category really did wreak havoc this year. Readers of this magazine (perhaps we should get a subscription for the Strictly producers?) will ind it bizarre that the show simply characterises contemporary as angsty wafting, street as eager stomping, and musical theatre as sub-Fosse jazz hands – with the odd novelty pastiche hurled in. What a shame that this enormous platform for dance isn’t interested in exploring all of the possibilities these genres have to ofer, instead relying on X Factor-esque weepy VTs and critiquing the numbers on increasingly spurious grounds. Why have expert judges giving out scores
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Above: he Strictly Come Dancing 2019 celebrity dancers. Opposite: Oti Mabuse and Kelvin Fletcher dance a quickstep.
Best in Series Best performance: Kelvin’s quickstep Perfect score for a perfect dance (above). Best costume: Michelle as Morticia With Giovanni her rightly adoring Gomez. Best move: Kelvin’s lying push-ups Runner-up: Our pros giggling and lapping their way through the Bruno Tonioli Karaoke Candy Floss Fever Dream. Best line: Motsi to a rumba-ing Kelvin: “Hold on, that’s my sister!” Runner-up: Motsi summarising Anton Teethgate – “You’re great, the teeth are beautiful, bye bye!” See also: Motsi accidentally talking afairs to poor Neil Jones, getting stuck on a “downstairs” rif, and ofering up her hairpiece since a 10 wasn’t enough. Year of Motsi!
Photograph: GUY LEVY courtesy of the BBC.
if it’s purely a subjective, emotional response? Surely that’s for voters at home, not those holding paddles. If all the Couple’s Choice numbers were done in one week, that might make it slightly fairer – and ditto for some of the other ill-deined styles, which could use a proper professional demo on the show. As it is, we have the technique of a Latin or ballroom dance rigorously analysed, while others slide by on vague Charleston gurning, burying salsa in disco, or shoving forward a proud nan to hide their Couple’s Choice deiciencies. I’m not saying we should go back to wall-to-wall Week One waltzes and cha chas (god help us), but ➣
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Strictly Surprising
the mix ’n’ match approach is now untenable when dances are treated so vastly diferently. Yes, Strictly is primarily an entertainment show, but if you’re not going to make your competition structure fair, why bother having one at all? Exacerbating the problem this year, the judges vastly overmarked marginal improvement from the less good dancers while punishing frontrunners for slight errors or peculiar music/ choreographic choices – leading to skewed leaderboards and painful eliminations. Did we really need an extra week (or two, or three) of perennially unfunny sports presenter Mike Bushell? The public made its opinion perfectly clear, so it began to feel like the judges abusing their power. The dance-of itself also needs reform: it’s unfair on contestants who can’t make immediate improvements, like re-choreographing a routine that the judges didn’t like, and, when applied so literally to the dance in front of them, means the panel too often sacriiced contestants with a great track record and boundless potential. That’s bad for the competition, and for the show’s entertainment value. However, new judge Motsi Mabuse (interviewed in the November issue of Dancing Times) was an otherwise likeable addition. Some of her critiques descended into word salad, and there was too liberal use of the 10 paddle, but she also supplied some of the Photographs: GUY LEVY courtesy of the BBC.
funniest and sharpest lines in each episode, and her clear passion for dance shone through. Nevertheless, I mainly found myself agreeing with pedantic judge Craig Revel Horwood and his scrooge-like scoring – I’m not sure if that says more about him or me… I was also increasingly aggravated by what felt like manipulation to boost certain pairings – in particular, the well-past-his-sell-by-date Anton du Beke and Emma Barton, the latter coming in with dance experience and potential that was never actually realised, but instead over-marked. Still, the series had plenty of high points. I’ll look back fondly on Visage and Pernice overcoming theming nonsense to produce a fab-u-lous Addams Family foxtrot, as well
Above: he Strictly Come Dancing 2019 judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse Shirley Ballas, and Bruno Tonioli. Below let: Michelle Visage and Giovanni Pernice. Below right: Emma Barton and Anton du Beke.
as Zeroual’s turbo-charged jive, Tyldesley’s emotive rumba, Barker’s simply beautiful waltz, Scott’s suave Charleston, and numerous Fletcher/ Mabuse routines – from smouldering rumba and moody tango to swaggering American smooth and rockin’ jive. We moan because we care, and because we know how great this show can be at its best: both bringing together a nation in divisive times, and sharing the joy of dance with millions. See you next year for more Strictly drama. In the meantime… keep dancing! ■
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NEW YEAR, NEW DANCES
Looking for a fresh challenge? Marianka Swain recommends some intriguing dance styles and itness classes
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aking New Year’s resolutions often feels like a dispiriting task, involving, as it does, so much selfdenial – numerous indulgences to give up or limit. Instead, why not focus on introducing new and exciting elements into your life, beginning with dance styles or classes you’ve never tried before? There are all kinds of innovative experiences out
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there, including styles from other countries and cultures, crossover with circus or boxing, retro with a twist, and the ultimate diva moves. Here’s my pick of the best – make 2020 the year you discover a new favourite! PREPARE TO SLAY Channel your inner Beyoncé, Rihanna, Ariane or Lizzo with this ierce and fabulous SOS BOSS class. It’s all about learning how to emulate your favourite supreme divas – and then apply that conidence and empowerment to every area of life, both on and of the dance loor. Beginners are welcome, with sass-fuelled instructors skilled at breaking down key moves like hair whips and twerks, plus you’ll Photographs: Top GARY MORRISROE. Bottom Courtesy of SOS Boss.
New year, new dances be joining a supportive community of fellow queens in the making. Classes at School of SOS schoolofsos.com
Opposite: Shway at Gymbox. Below: Class at School of SOS.
TAKE FLIGHT Ever dreamed of running away to join the circus? Get your taste of the Big Top with an aerial hoop class: an exercise routine, but taught while up in the air, supported by a steel frame suspended from the ceiling. Learning diferent moves, tricks and combinations while pulling yourself up onto and negotiating the hoop means developing core muscles and upperbody strength – the latter not always addressed in dance itness classes – as well as stamina, coordination and lexibility. Plus you get to defy gravity! Classes at The Factory factorylondon.com
joyful liberation: letting yourself go and embracing the music. A perfect counter to grey January – you’re guaranteed to leave class beaming. Classes at Gymbox gymbox.com
GET FUNKY Retro dance styles are coming back into fashion, and a Shway class is all about the 1970s. Think sassy disco attitude and the cool vibes of the underground club scene, with an emphasis on fearless self-expression via throwing big, powerful shapes. It combines rigorous attention to detail, particularly hip and chest isolations and articulate hands and arms, with
DISCOVER BOLLYWOOD REMIXED It’s folk dance, but not as you know it: Urban Bhangra takes the traditional north Indian style and fuses it with elements of modern commercial dance. The Bollywood Co’s classes are taught to an addictive mix of desi dance loor hits and urban beats, and aim to provide a strong foundation of bhangra, along with new moves introduced each week. It’s a cool, contemporary take on a beautiful ageold artform – and the stamina and skill required means it’s great for itness too. Classes at Danceworks thebollywoodco.com TELL HULA TALES The London School of Hula and ’Ori brings authentic Polynesian dance to the UK, with a foundation of community and harmony with the world around us. Newcomers are welcome to try out these dance styles, taught to a soundtrack of fastpaced drums and graceful melodies. Hawaiian Hula ’auana is the more contemporary form, involving detailed storytelling through the sinuous motion of limbs and hips. It’s excellent for developing physical control, isolations and narrative through movement – as well as connecting to a vibrant culture. Classes at Pineapple Dance Studios lsho.co.uk TAKE IT SLOW Sometimes described as “African tango”, because of its grounded, sensual intimacy, kizomba also takes inluence from Angolan dances semba and tarraxinha, and from Caribbean zouk. It’s all about close partner connection and responding to music in the moment, with a subtle leadfollow dynamic and continuous,
rhythmic motion. Lots of these skills are transferrable for Latin or Argentine tango dancers, but this is a chance to explore new steps, and enjoy an organic, fun style; “kizomba” comes from the Angolan word for “party”. Classes at Caramelo Latin Dance caramelolatindance.co.uk GET INTO K-POP Dance is an integral part of Korean pop (K-pop), which blends traditional and diverse modern musical styles. Bands perform in tight formations and include repeated movements that fans can copy, aided by tutorial videos posted online. Minho Jung teaches a new routine every couple of weeks, inspired by trending music, and also helms a lyrical K-pop class that helps improve emotional communication and contemporary technique. He’s keen to develop dance skills while bringing together K-pop devotees. Classes at Danceworks danceworks.com JOIN THE CARNIVAL Longing for a boost of tropical heat and partying in the streets to combat the winter blues? Get in the Caribbean spirit with IslandSoul Energy, led by dancer and DJ Gaby “Cocoa” Cooke. This high-octane workout is designed to raise the heart rate and build up a sweat via exhilarating choreography combining Afrobeat, soca vibes and reggaeton grooves. With irresistible beats urging you on, it’s intense cardio and toning – but doesn’t feel like a chore. After-class rum punch optional. Classes at The Dance Studio Leeds thedancestudioleeds.com FIGHT TO THE FINISH Challenge those who dare suggest that ballet dancers aren’t tough to take this BBBox class: barre work meets boxing, Muay Thai and parkour. It’s a ierce, focused and eicient workout that aims to use every muscle in the body via a range of disciplines, developing a rock-solid core, and deined and sculpted limbs – plus the kind of badass conidence that should see of anyone from rival dancers in the corps to strangers trying to edge ahead in the bus queue… Classes at Danceworks danceworks.com ■
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Tips on
technique
Take a spin James Whitehead looks at the details of the Natural Spin Turn
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he Natural Spin Turn (I’ll just refer to it as the spin turn from now on) is possibly the irst basic variation dancers encounter that’s a little more involved, with diferences in rise and fall, foot and leg actions and much stronger rotation all thrown in the pot at once to master. Although it is not listed in waltz (or valse) steps prior to the early 1920s, by the 1930s it was listed in all the mainstream technique books, such as my much loved, signed copy of Eve TynegateSmith’s The Text Book of Modern Ballroom Dancing of 1933. It has therefore been danced for probably 90 years. It’s also one of those variations where habits creep in from time to time and, at whichever level we are dancing, it is good to revisit and show the very best mastery of the spin turn whenever possible. We must give signiicant thought to the feet and legs to achieve a good set of actions through the spin turn. In order to produce a quality of movement through steps four, ive and six of our spin turn, we have to ensure steps one, two and three are completed well, with our weight irmly over the standing leg, which concludes the last part of step three by lexing (lowering) and providing suicient leverage from which we can start to rotate the body to the right over it. 84 • DANCING TIMES
Quite often in quickstep we see those irst three steps yield a few grey areas with the slow-quick-quick timing not danced precisely enough to allow time during the last “quick” to lex the leg and provide that all-important
Photograph: FREDRIC FRENNESSEN.
anchor for our body turn. The problem then is a knock-on efect to the waltz whereby all those quickstep bad habits transfer across as the legs have been trained that way courtesy of the quickstep. Take your time during practice to ensure the accuracy of rise and fall during the natural turn, and particularly step 3, the closing action whereby, as part of the step, the lowering and use of the leg for the body rotation has started.
If step three is danced well, step four normally follows well too, but do ensure the leader’s left leg is turned in to the line of the right leg as it is placed down the line of dance. Maintain the body weight over the ball of the foot although the heel will just kiss the loor with a well-controlled feather touch. The follower’s Spinning around: Professional Ballroom dancers Domen Krapez and Natascha Karabey.
Tips on technique lowering at the end of step three (particularly for quickstep when we have such little time to close, lex, rotate and drive – we should really practice those faster lowerings so much more than we do!) should enable the correct rolling through the right foot, the heel-ball action, of step four. n maintaining the weight to the ball of foot at the later part of step four we are therefore able to rotate on the ball of the foot. Particularly for the leader we very often see the left foot back with too much backward body movement, dancing heavily into the heel and without any foot rotation, and then turning the body whilst on the leg to the next direction; the result is never the best. Ensure the leader’s left foot action is clear and functional. Step ive of the spin turn incorporates the brush for the followers and that rising action from the leader rolling through the feet, heel to ball. Just think, for a moment, that everyone who has ever been taught the spin turn (perhaps a little beyond their irst few classes on it) will have been taught the brush and the “unusual” heel lead. In fact, it’s so striking a feature that you could say it is revered in the spin turn. With that in mind – don’t miss them out! However much movement you dance over your spin turn, ensure an accuracy that lives up to its reputation. If the leader’s heel lead is not happening, rewind and look at what is occurring over the end of step four as it is so often the action of the previous standing leg that causes the next step to be taken incorrectly. Ensure there is lex in the knees, and feel the leader shift the pelvis and centre strongly
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from the left foot of step four to the right foot of step ive; it’s not supposed to be just a dip your toe in the water afair, rather a “whole body” experience. For the follower, ensure you make every efort to pass the feet completely together – that is ankles, heels and toes together. The knees, although straighter, should remain slightly lexed and turned towards the leader. If it is going well, then allow the volume of shape to increase before the last step but please take care to ensure the weight and centres dance towards each other. Ensure a controlled lowering through step six by a well-timed resistance to the ankle and knee lex. You will notice I have (until now) slightly sidestepped the step ive debate of: is it in contrary body movement position (CBMP) or with contra body movement (CBM) or both? Clearly step four is taken in CBMP but it’s helpful to think of a pivot as starting to travel sideways, then forwards, then sideways, then backwards, as opposed to just forwards then backwards (which turns into a rock rather than a pivot). In that sense it would suggest CBMP is undone from step four, then due to the next sideways feel it is momentarily undone. The right foot of the leader may not be placed in CBMP straight away but certainly the continuity of body rotation with CBM gives that same feel to the end of step ive. Whichever sides of the several fences you’re on, just ensure as step ive is taken for the leader the left side continues forwards to efectively “overtake” the follower, and you should have quite strong CBM. It is amazing how much detail goes into one igure, but
echnique clinic his month, Phil Meacham, our Dance Doctor, says: stop turning your promenade! t is an old chestnut with regards to leaders constantly trying to turn promenade igures the wrong way in ballroom. It seems to happen in the whisk in the waltz, almost every promenade igure in tango and, as I saw last weekend whilst judging, the rot has set into promenade weave in foxtrot. When you dance a promenade, leaders, you should always rotate your body position to the right to turn the follower into the promenade. The position for the follower is usually one quarter of a turn into promenade more than the leader, so why, then, would we insist on turning the leader’s shoulders away from the follower to create a very ugly V-shape position between the partners? Maybe it harks back from our early instincts regarding moving both our bodies in the same direction at once, and that shape has often been characterised in many 1970s and 1980s situation comedies over the years, with both dancers turning strongly into promenade, pushing their connected arm forward like the bow of a ship and walking rather like John Cleese through the middle. It just simply is not that way. The promenade should be an elegant igure with the leader suggesting to the follower that they would like them to move in the same direction, whilst stepping across the line of their supporting foot and very slightly leading the way before the follower comes through in the promenade position. This can only be achieved if the leader turns the shoulders and the trunk of the body to the right to indicate to the follower that the promenade is going to occur. If, as often seems to happen, the leader chooses to turn the shoulders the opposite way, there is nothing but complete chaos created with both the leader and the follower trying to get their hips through the same hole. If we take the example of the whisk in waltz: as the leader steps forward on the left foot there is a slight body rotation to the left, almost in my mind to a slight CBMP action before rotating the opposite way to the right and placing the follower comfortably and efectively into the whisk or promenade position. Too often the shoulders end up turning the wrong way, and the result is that the following igure, usually a chassé or similar, then has to be distorted and turned to the right at the end in order to regain the normal shape and position. So please remember, promenade is for the leader to rotate to the right to create the promenade position for the follower. There is just no other way of getting this right. ■
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Email nicola@dancing-times.co.uk if you would like to consult our Dance Doctor, Phil Meacham here we have only really scratched the surface. Try to achieve the best quality foot and leg actions you can,
and you should be in with a ighting chance of showing some good qualities in this famous ballroom igure. ■
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Simon’s guide to Swing Simon Selmon shares the secrets of his “hour of power” – the perfect preparation for a new year
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s I write this month’s column, I am looking out of the window at the grey skies of December. It’s raining and there is an election looming, the likes of which I have never experienced in my lifetime, with our country divided and the results having the potential to change the course of our future. It’s a strange mixture of doom and gloom, mixed with hope and positivity, but whatever happens, I always say: let’s keep dancing! Swing dance, for me, brings people together from all walks of life and it always has. From giving people a moment of joy, escape and comradeship and a vehicle to change their lives and build self-respect, early integrated ballrooms were one of the irst places where people could mix as equals and you didn’t ask “Who are they?” but rather “Can they dance?” As we start 2020, it’s traditionally a time for New Year’s resolutions, classes will be bursting at the seams and dance loors full of optimism and hope for the coming year. Last year I, too, made my annual resolution, as I have done most years of my life, but this time was very diferent. I’m pleased to report: one year on, I have stuck to my resolution. Quite simply, it has changed my life, improved my dancing, revolutionised my dance business and helped me 86 • DANCING TIMES
personally not only to reach my goals but also help me ind them in the irst place. The beneits have not only been to myself but also to those around me. I would like to share that one, simple resolution I made with you, and hope you may ind it useful too. I decided to start my day with a ritual I picked up on from Tony Robbins, a motivational speaker, in a YouTube clip called “Hour of Power”. Practically every day (I get a few days of for good behaviour) I do my hour of power before breakfast. It sets me up for a much more productive day, and whilst I may fall of the wagon more often than I would wish to admit in writing, overall, I have been pretty consistent and have seen some huge beneits. It has helped me physically, which in turn has improved my dance performance and given me a roadmap to follow for my dance business. At this point some of you may be wondering – what is the hour of power? It is a morning ritual I have made a habit of before breakfast, consisting of six elements, divided over three 20-minute chunks. I used to wake up, jump out of bed, straight down to breakfast and then get cracking with the day. I was busy, busy, busy, but, like the song “busy doin’ nothing, workin’ the whole day through”. In reality I was driving down a road without a satnav, not thinking about where I was going.
up, but I stay in bed, eyes closed (as though I’m still asleep) and start with a few breathing exercises to focus my mind. The next segment is gratitude: I think about three things that happened the day before that I’m grateful for, for instance, inishing my Dancing Times article, teaching a great class or just helping to bring a smile to someone’s face. Next, I think about my todo list and what I want to accomplish today, what will help move me towards my long-term goals (in the past, they were the things I would normally put of doing until the end of the day, if at all). I start with the “big rocks” – usually the things I know I need to do but, for some reason, I like the least. The inal task of this segment is goal-setting. I picture in my mind how I want my life to look and who I want to be. I imagine living my ideal life, in my ideal environment. The next 20 minutes is for exercise and getting the body moving in one form or another. I like to vary between yoga, Pilates, cardio or often my own mixture of balance and strengthening the core. This morning setup, as I like to call it, will be
in addition to any dancing I might do later in the day, but I have found it of huge value to do this consistently over the last year. My physicality and posture have improved, and even though I usually start my dancing with a warm-up this small “pre-warm-up warm-up” has stepped up my game. The inal 20 minutes is for reading or writing. Personally, I write more efectively in the morning and ind that thoughts just pour out compared with later in the day when I’m tired. Getting pen to paper (or inger to keyboard), even for just a short time, seems to allow me to come back to it later in the day more efectively. They always say the hardest thing is just to start. If I’m not writing, then I use this time to “sharpen the saw” and read or study something that will develop me as a person. This simple hour has improved my focus and self-discipline, which, in turn, has spilled over into my dancing in many ways. From better concentration in rehearsals to improved performance, having greater clarity in where I want to go and what I want to achieve, and even just overcoming resistance to starting tasks, my hour of power has really made a big diference. I guess now I have to ask myself what my resolution will be this year… ■
o here’s my hour of power… For the irst 20 minutes, I meditate. I wake
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Photograph: SPENCER SELOVER - PEXELS.
Stepping Out The same-sex ballroom and Latin dance scene Marianka Swain looks back on samesex dancing in 2019 and previews 2020
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his was the year that same-sex dance broke new ground, with numerous dancers venturing into new competitions, performance spaces and television programmes – as well as celebrating same-sex history, like 20 years of the Pink Jukebox Trophy (PJT) at London’s Rivoli Ballroom. We also saw the birth of a new competition: the UK Equality Open. Organiser Pete Meager was hugely excited to “bring competitive equality dancing further aield, around the UK”, provide another opportunity for dancers from the UK to compete “on home turf”, and also welcome an “international presence”. Davide di Prete was among those “very happy to take part in the irst ever UK Equality Open in Wimborne”, and he “can’t wait for the next one in Manchester”. Davide was also proud that his home country hosted the EuroGames for the irst time, and hopes to see more Italian couples competing in future. The Rome event was by no means drama-free, but attendees banded together to overcome both organisational challenges and stiling heat. Jacky Logan recalls being part of the Pink Dancers showdance team, performing a piece devised by Ralf Schiller: “It was unique, and the costumes gave everybody a thrill, but dancing for six
Photograph: REGINA COURTIER.
homas Marter and Stefan Lehner on the dance loor.
minutes in a piece of tinfoil was the hottest experience I’ve had for a while!” Jacky is excited for the 2020 EuroGames in Düsseldorf, especially as she’ll be marking 22 consecutive years of competing with her wife Mary. She also notes that the Pink Jukebox is going strong: “At least four new people come every session, and the feedback is always incredibly positive.” That’s great news for the continuing success – and growth – of same-sex dance. Additionally, a major trend this year was samesex dancers thriving in mainstream competitions; while far from universal acceptance, big strides were made. Darren Whitby and Vishesh Mehta were thrilled to win the same-sex category at the Bristol Friendly on the
university competition circuit. “It had the largest number of samesex competitors I’d ever seen at a mainstream comp, with multiple rounds before the inal, showing mainstream competitions are valuing same-sex dancing more,” reports Darren. John Church and Alex Lewall were very pleased to win the Over-35 PreChamp Ballroom title at the UK Closed in Bournemouth in July, while Stefan Lehner and Thomas Marter did well at Blackpool’s WDC/AL European Championships, and were also invited to perform at the Austrian National Championships – “which was a irst and an extraordinary honour,” says Stefan. aroline Privou and Petra Zimmermann got their best ever mainstream competition results in 2019: making two inals in Senior Over-30 and Senior Over-35 at Blackpool’s WDC/AL European Championships; 16th place in Senior at Blackpool Dance Festival; seventh in Senior at the International Championships; second place in Senior I at the German Open Dance Championships; and, in the Senior 40 category, winning a gold medal at the WDC Dutch Open. “We got a lot of encouragement from people we regard as ballroom icons,” says Caroline. “However, at the same time, we are still consistently not
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marked by some judges, even in the early rounds. No matter what you do, there will always be someone who thinks diferently. So maybe the essence of this year’s mainstream experience is to concentrate even more on doing what you know in your heart is right. We will focus on honing our craft and being the best dancers we can be, and we will keep an open mind and a positive attitude, hoping that, some day, we will also change those people’s minds.” Vernon Kemp certainly sees progress; at the ISTD Grand Finals in Blackpool, he reports that “same-sex couples and same-sex partnering by teachers” is no longer considered remotely unusual. That change is certainly helped by the visibility of same-sex dance – from Piia Korpi and Santra Rinne’s successful appearance on the BBC’s new show The Greatest Dancer, to professionals Johannes Radebe and Graziano Di Prima partnering beautifully on Strictly Come Dancing, and Joshua Keefe reaching the inals of Australia’s version with Shane Jenek AKA drag queen Courtney Act. Surely, with Dancing on Ice announcing their irst samesex competitive pairing, 2020 will be the year that Strictly inally takes the plunge? ■
Key 2020 dates February 15: Pink Jukebox Trophy April 11: Le RendezVous de Paris June 20: Berlin Open August 5: EuroGames Düsseldorf October 3: UK Fun Competition November 14: UK Equality Open
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Notes from the
dance floor
The British National Championships
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s we wade through these dark winter months, the ballroom dancer’s calendar is punctuated with a little sparkle: a halfway point between the clocks going back and the Christmas holiday – the National Championships, or “closed” British event that’s one of Blackpool’s famous ive festivals. It’s always been known as “the friendly festival” – a coming together of familiar faces regularly seen on the domestic Sunday Circuit albeit in the hallowed environs of the Winter Gardens’ Empress Ballroom. Like its international counterpart, the British Open, there are a number of events and meetings that go on around the competitions: gala showcases, annual meetings and lectures – all of which make for a busy few days. A prelude to the 45th annual event took the form of the irst-ever Gala Night for the British Competitors Dancesport Corporation (BCDC), showcasing the talent of 20 leading Youth, Amateur and Professional ballroom and Latin couples in the Spanish Hall. It sadly coincided with the Allied Dance Association’s Northern Cavalcade in Liverpool – an event that has been held on the eve of the Nationals for 88 • DANCING TIMES
Professional Ballroom winners Mark and Olga Elsbury take a bow at the British National Championships
many years – and must have split both the pool of talent and potential audience. However, this provided an interesting comparison: the Blackpool event gave competitors the chance to nestle in before the championships got under
way and this was a deinite plus point as was the fundraiser, garnering much needed inancial support for Amateurs competing abroad. However, this had a very diferent feel to the Cavalcade. The BCDC was founded more than 30 years ago with an illustrious list of dance elite who have since been at the helm. Many of these were present and therefore there was a
Notes from the dance floor slightly more “oicial” feel about this gig. The doyens of dance were seated at VIP tables, with the rest of us seated in rows beside the loor. In comparison, the Cavalcade has always had more of a collegiate feel. s the competitions got under way, it was plain to see there were some noticeable absences from the competitors, including some
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reigning titleholders and inalists, particularly within the Senior ranks. This can sometimes provide a little extra excitement, as new challengers for the title up their game. However, it can also afect the quality of inals, pitting show against substance – a battle of performance versus technique. At a time when groups like BASE, the Body for Artistic Standards of
Excellence, campaign for more diligent application of technique, it seemed contradictory to reward Latin leaders who are happy to stand still for 16 bars of music while the follower poses and preens, as others with better basic action were passed over. Also absent from the event this year was DSI TV, which wasn’t able to cover it. This was a shame as attendance to the festival is becoming increasingly more costly and there were noticeable gaps in the audience on the inal night, which has traditionally been a high point that includes the Professional Ballroom. We did, however, see the return of one old “friend”, the leaking roof, which despite a multimillion-pound refurbishment is still having problems. Unlike 2014, when we had a palm tree furnish the loor, this time the water ingress only made an appearance on the inal night and saw a proportion of the loor roped of for safety. Sadly, this was the night of the Pro Ballroom for which there was a larger ield, of higher quality
than in recent years. It was such a shame that their preliminary round was not split into two heats to allow competitors more space on a loor of reduced length. The Empress Orchestra continues to swell its catalogue with new compositions and orchestrations – a cherished accompaniment for ballroom and Latin. Ashley Frohlick has often leaned towards original compositions rather than devise scripts for existing music, with a few noted exceptions. Personally, I love the deliberate phrasing for “Unforgettable”, the standard made famous by Nat King Cole but am less of a fan of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”, which as a paso doble takes an anthemic ballad and injects a style that reminds me of a soundtrack to a spaghetti western. Still you can’t please all of the people, all of the time and better live music than none at all. Overall, I felt that this year’s Nationals were a bit lacklustre but there was still suicient sparkle to take us through to brighter times. ■ HELENA FITOUSSI BRITISH NATIONALS: RESULTS OF THE MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIPS Professional Ballroom winners: Mark and Olga Elsbury Professional Latin winner: Gunnar Gunnarsson and Marika Doshoris Amateur Ballroom winners: Kyle Taylor and Izabela Skierska Amateur Latin winners: Petar Daskalov and Zia James
Photograph: DANCEFILE.
WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 • 89
S mewhere in time
Ballroom’s golden age
Jack Reavely remembers a few ballroom stars from the North of England Championships in 1949 ind myself back in the year 1949, which in my memory seems not so long ago, as it undoubtedly is. However, I recall the famous Empress Ballroom in the Winter Gardens at that time. When you enter these premises you always feel a hush, and dancers tend to be awestruck the irst time they visit, especially when they are so fervently aware of those who have graced the loor of that wonderful ballroom over so many years. The famous North of England Professional Championship in 1949 was extremely well supported. It created great interest as the title was held in high esteem by all of the professional dancers. Its counterpart was the North of England Amateur Championship, which was won, on that occasion, by Harry SmithHampshire and Betty Lewis. Harry eventually partnered and married a beautiful young woman called Doreen Casey and they won every major championship title all over the world. Harry provided thought-provoking articles for Dance News and was a fabulous technician who understood why things had been written the way they were. He and Doreen also became exponents of the Viennese waltz, way ahead of anyone in the world of
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90 • DANCING TIMES
dance. As professionals, they realised that this dance, in competitions and championships all over Europe, created 20 per cent of the marks. They decided, then, to work like Trojans in an attempt to dominate in that dance and they did just that. When practising, they danced no less than 64 bars of leckerls in each direction and, on several occasions, Doreen felt so sick she almost swooned. However, by gritting her teeth and disciplining her mind, she eventually managed to portray this amazing dance beautifully without sickness or dizzy spells. I remember vividly that once, when they were demonstrating at the Locarno Ballroom in Glasgow, they danced so many leckerls that the
perspiration lew from Harry’s brow and hit my own face as I stared in awe at their undoubted expertise. It is interesting to note, on that occasion in 1949, as was the norm at the time, only four couples were passed through to the grand inals of the North of England Championship. The reason for this was that it was thought the poor judges simply had insuicient time to suss out the diferent performances and therefore, if six couples were brought back for a inal, the judges couldn’t do justice to the results. The North of England Professional Championship that year was won by a wellHarry Smith-Hampshire and Doreen Casey, photographed by William Turnbull in 1950.
known couple, Eric Hancox and Betty Wych, who were simply terriic, especially in the understanding of technical nuances and the use of syncopated actions, particularly in the quickstep. Eric had been a major in the army and he carried that experience onwards into his civilian and dance life. He was impeccably dressed and his hairstyle was as if created by Brylcreem, a hairdressing lotion for gentlemen in that period, and it gleamed under the spotlights. The runners-up were Barry Lycett and Olga Sheard and in third place were Sid Perkin and Doris Prater, who, of course, both became ballroom legends. Sid’s collars used to shine on the dance loor and it was rumoured that he had them cleaned at a Chinese laundry in a special process, which was top secret. By gosh, he was an impeccable dresser. It is interesting to note that, at that time, the Oicial Board of Ballroom Dancing (today the British Dance Council) was very strong in number. A photograph of one of their meetings showed 42 members. Within that group, there were only three women, but they were all ultrafamous. Mrs Ida Ilett was the organiser of Blackpool Dance Festival, Phyllis Haylor was a former world professional champion and a celebrated coach of immense stature and Josephine Bradley, the originator of the slow foxtrot technique, was held in the highest possible esteem. Dancers would lock to her studio in London in the hope of being able to book a lesson with her. That year, 42 couples danced in the North of England Professional event and 75 in its Amateur counterpart. Those days in the Empress Ballroom remain as an indelible print in the minds of all who attended. ■ Photograph: DANCING TIMES ARCHIVE.
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Dancer of the month Interviewed by Margaret Willis
Edivaldo Souza da Silva
BORN: March 1994 COMPANY: Birmingham Royal Ballet STUDIED/TRAINED: Escola Estadual de Dança Maria Olenewa, The Royal Ballet School MAJOR PERFORMANCES: Prince Florimund in The Sleeping Beauty, Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, the Nutcracker Prince in The Nutcracker
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his month’s interview with our Dancer of the Month could start with the eyecatching headline: “From the poverty of a Brazilian favela to the glitz and glamour of the UK’s Buckingham Palace.” “Yes, it’s true – it’s amazing even to think about it,” chuckled Edivaldo Souza da Silva, irst artist with Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB). “Especially
since I never danced a step until I was 13.” He started of at top speed with his incredible life story – though I have to say this was an anxious interview for me. I had just inished talking to fellow BRB dancer Yaoquin Shang (see Dancing Times, October 2019) during the company’s visit to London’s Sadler’s Wells. I had been told that, because Edivaldo was dancing in
Photographs: Right BILL COOPER. Let RICHARD BATTYE.
Edivaldo Souza da Silva as Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet.
the matinée triple bill, he would meet me the next day for our interview. As I needed to arrange the time, Yaoquin kindly ofered to call him backstage at the end of her interview. The audience was just starting to enter the auditorium for the irst ballet of the afternoon, and she needed to
get backstage to prepare for her performance in the next piece. She looked startled when she made contact with Edivaldo. “I’m ready now” was his response, and within seconds, grinning from ear to ear, he appeared, having whizzed out of the stage door, into the front of house and was now galloping up two lights of stairs to where we were sitting. I could tell it was going to be a lively chat! ➣
WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 • 93
Edivaldo Souza da Silva I thought you were dancing this afternoon? I questioned. “Yes, in the second piece, but we have time,” he beamed conidently. So we began with our very speedy chat to the accompaniment of music and applause from the audience, and with me, as the irst ballet proceeded, wondering about warm-ups, make-up and costumes. Edivaldo wasn’t worried, however, and set of at a breakneck pace to tell me of his journey halfway across the world to follow his dream. Edivaldo – Ed – was born on March 29, 1994, and lived in a favela of Rio de Janeiro with his grandparents, brother, sister and aunties. “Fortunately, when I was ten, we moved out and the school I went to advertised a project that ofered free dance, art and theatre classes. So, when I was 12, I turned up at one of the classes with my sister and did folk, jazz and African dance. “I didn’t tell any of my friends, but when my sister started ballet, she mentioned to me one day that her teacher asked if I could come and try the class. I had that teenage attitude of, ‘No, I won’t do it’, and refused several requests. My sister had an incredible teacher, an ex-dancer named Nildo Muniz, who inally persuaded me to try a class, and because he was so passionate about dance I agreed, though I was still not sure how much I wanted to get into ballet. However, I have to confess I loved it straight away. I was the only guy in the class and had to start at the very beginning, learning over and over how to stretch my foot properly. There was no reference at the beginning to ballet being anything more than 94 • DANCING TIMES
exercise. I only went to a few classes with Nildo, as he quickly took me to his friend Marluce Medeiros’ dance school to learn ballet with more frequency, so that he, Nildo, could take me to audition at a professional ballet school in Rio. “Everything was so new to me, especially wearing
tights and ballet shoes,” he continued. “I was now with ‘proper’ kids [those studying earnestly] and felt like a ish out of water. I started by just copying steps, and within two and a half months, I found myself on stage.”
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ildo had plans for Ed – his aim was to give
youngsters opportunities, to have goals, and he reached them through the discipline of ballet. When he saw Ed’s potential, he organised for him to go to a proper dance school in the Rio suburbs – EEDMO, the Escola Estadual de Dança Maria Olenewa – where he himself had been trained and worked, as
Dancer of the month had the former Royal Ballet principal, Roberta Marquez. “When I turned 14, I would go every day and was put into a class of my own age. Along with the lessons, I also learned about music and the history of dance. I still kept going to the small school. I had ive classes a day and did my regular school work on the bus. Sometimes I went for the whole weekend, as there was a project on Sundays from 9am to 3pm. I was studying and performing in the school shows in the theatre, so I had this drive that kept me going with the desire to achieve everything in the language of ballet.” In 2010, Ed joined the junior company of the theatre – CIA Jovem Rio de Janeiro – for ages from 14 to 21. “I was the youngest and skinniest,” he laughed, “but I was always learning
from being with other young students like me. It was a growing experience.” Now his daily schedule was 9.30am to 1pm with the company, afternoons spent in ballet classes, and going to academic school in the evenings. In reporting this, Ed had only great joy in remembering the long days. “I met a lot of incredible people,” he told me, “and made huge progress in my dancing. I would watch professionals performing in the theatre and anything I could ind on YouTube. I especially loved to watch Carlos [Acosta] and Marianela [Nunez] – they both inspired me so much.” One day, the director of the school, Maria Luisa Noronha, told Ed he was progressing well and should try for something else, such as the international competition,
Opposite: Edivaldo Souza da Silva in rehearsal. Below: Edivaldo with Miki Mizutani in he Nutcracker.
the Prix de Lausanne. Applying, however, set a task for the young Edivaldo. “I had to sign up to apply and didn’t have any English. I also had to send a video and had no idea how I could do that, but everyone ofered to help. A friend of a friend took a short, very amateurish, recording of me and we sent that of. I was 16 years old and went there for the whole week – it was my irst time ever travelling by airplane. I knew there were more performing opportunities in Europe than back home in Brazil, so I liked the idea of ‘being seen’ at the competition.” Seen he was. Ed was invited by Gailene Stock [then director of The Royal Ballet School] to do an audition for the Upper School. “I was successful and so excited. I love my family so much. When they heard I had been accepted, they realised it would cost a lot to send me to school abroad, but they said ‘we will ind a way for everything’. As it was, I was ofered a full scholarship and sponsored by four incredible people. “Everything was new and an adventure. I found I was back in the same situation and was learning like a new boy. The level was insane. Everything was diferent. The style was incredible. How was I to learn the British style when I had learned such a mix of things? Then there was the language! As soon as I saw my favourite ‘stars’ dancing in the Opera House, though, I thought, ‘Am I really here?’” e certainly was, and in his second year came that visit to
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Photographs: Let TY SINGLETON. Right CAROLINE HOLDEN
Buckingham Palace, where the students danced a scene from Raymonda for a royal and invited audience. “I was overwhelmed by it all,” he confessed. In his third and inal year at the Upper School, Ed found himself experiencing the professional life of a ballet dancer when he got to perform with The Royal Ballet and BRB as a student. “Everything seemed intense – and then I got injured and had to have surgery. I was of for four months. Happily, I recovered in time for our inal school performance where I danced a pas de deux on stage. “I was delighted and so grateful to receive a contract with BRB, and started my professional life, though there were complications that meant two more surgeries. During the diicult times recovering and after, I had opportunities to perform various roles, including the Prince in The Nutcracker and Prince Florimund in The Sleeping Beauty – both Peter Wright’s productions. It was an honour and a massive achievement for me. Now, ive years on, I’m so grateful for all I have learned and for all the roles I have danced.” Ed was promoted to irst artist in 2018. Back at Sadler’s Wells, the clapping had now begun in earnest in the auditorium, and one envisaged the dancers taking their bows. A few minutes later, the chatty, smiling audience poured out for interval drinks. “I think I had better go,” Ed said, still grinning. “I’m on next and have to change and prepare, but I have time.” With that he was of as fast as he had arrived, and I was the one left breathless. Here’s hoping his visit to Buckingham Palace was not quite as speedy! n
WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 • 95
OREA Auditioning Now
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In brief
Ashton in Ecuador
IN OCTOBER 2019, the EnAvant Dance Company in Guayaquil, Ecuador, in association with the Frederick Ashton Foundation, presented a Homage to Sir Frederick Ashton (Ashton was born in Guayaquil). The homage formed the inal part of a triple bill given by the company at the Teatro Sánchez Aguilar on October 25 and 26. Ashton Foundation répétiteur (and Foundation trustee) Lynn Wallis, assisted by Isobel McMeekan (a participant on the Foundation’s shadowing scheme to train up the Ashton répétiteurs of the future), taught and staged a number of divertissements from the early Ashton
Above: he statue of Sir Frederick Ashton in Guayaquil. Below: Lynn Wallis (let) and Isobel McMeekan.
repertoire, including the Red Couple and the White pas de deux from Les Patineurs, Margot Fonteyn’s solo from The Wise Virgins, the Tango from Façade and the inal section of Valses
Photographs: Courtesy of THE FREDERICK ASHTON FOUNDATION.
nobles et sentimentales. The divertissements were preceded by an introduction given by Wallis, supported by a Powerpoint presentation of relevant ballet images and photographs of the young Ashton, Ninette de Valois, Constant Lambert and Fonteyn, as well as Ashton at the end of his career. The particular dances were selected to relect the experience of the young artists of En-Avant, a company made up of 12 professional dancers recruited annually and augmented as necessary, under the artistic direction of Jessica Abouganem. (See Dancing Times, July 2019, for more information about the company.) During Lynn and Isobel’s visit to Guayaquil, a statue of Sir Frederick by Juan Pablo Toral, situated outside the house where he was born, was formally unveiled by the Municipality in front of an invited audience of distinguished guests, including relatives of Ashton, Wallis and McMeekan and the dancers and staf of the En-Avant Dance Company. n CHRISTOPHER NOURSE
H NAFISAH BABA, winner of the BBC’s Young Dancer competition in 2017, will be appearing in KATE PRINCE’s Message In A Bottle, which opens at the Peacock Theatre in London’s West End on February 6. Danced to hit songs by Sting and The Police, the production also features LUKAS MCFARLANE, TOMMY FRANZÉN and NATASHA GOODEN, as well as the ZOONATION company. H Dancers HARRY ALEXANDER, VIDYA PATEL and EDD ARNOLD will be taking part in Thick and Tight’s Romancing The Apocalypse at the Lilian Baylis Studio from January 9 to 11 as part of the London International Mime Festival. Each dancer will perform a solo that embodies “a famous character from history in distinct and radical ways, challenging perceptions of what dance can be and how it can be used to further queer culture”. H The line-up has been announced for the 2020 edition of MOVE IT, the UK’s largest dance event, taking place at ExCeL London from March 13 to 15. Headliners include LAYTON WILLIAMS, tap star CLARE HALSE, ballroom and Latin dancers NEIL AND KATYA JONES, and FLAWLESS. See page 104 for more information and to take advantage of an exclusive ten per cent of tickets deal for readers of Dancing Times.
WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 • 97
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Obituaries Shirley Rees-Edwards
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hirley Rees-Edwards, a life-long dancer and inspiring teacher, has died peacefully in Cambridge at the age of 86. From the age of three, Shirley went to dance classes, and was never far from a dance school or company for the remainder of her life. Starting at the Ajello School in Torquay, at the age of 14 she passed an audition to join The Royal Ballet School. Two years later, in 1949, Shirley switched to the Rambert School, which better suited her favoured style. Almost immediately, Marie (Mim) Rambert transferred her to Ballet Rambert, where she became, at 16, its youngest soloist. During her time with the company, she worked with many choreographers and dancers. These included Rambert herself, Walter Gore, Paula Hinton, Tutte Lemkow, Sara Luzita, Margaret Hill and Sally Gilmore.
For four hectic years, Shirley travelled up and down the UK performing principal roles in Giselle, Kaleidoscope, Prismatic Variations, Movimientos, Scherzi della Sorte and Façade. Rambert remained a mentor and supporter for many further years. Shirley left the company in 1953, marrying Robert (Bob) Edwards in 1956, moving to Germany with Bob’s work in the specialist car business, and giving birth to a son, Dale, in 1962. On returning to the UK in the 1960s, the family settled in Bournemouth where Shirley (pictured above right) formed irst her own dance school and then her own company, Southern Ballet. Looking at the list of dancers with Southern Ballet, one is struck by the signiicant numbers who went on to start their own dance schools, a sign of Shirley’s development from
dancer to educationalist, with an unforgettable style of teaching, in equal measure strict, exacting and kind. It was an approach to instruction she took to many diferent dance companies around the world. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Shirley took up positions at Mexico City’s Compañía Nacional de Danca, the Israel Ballet, and the Ballet de Zaragoza and Ballet de Euskadi in Spain. As Classics head at Bodywork in Cambridge, her inal appointment, which she held with distinction from 1993 to 2014, Shirley taught and choreographed aspiring dancers and dance enthusiasts with ages ranging from three to 70. Her entry into the room would ensure all stood up a little straighter, and although she might deliver a few strict words, she had the ability to make each and every one in the group feel like a professional dancer.
While choreographing a Bodywork ballet, she would, from time to time, close her eyes and think hard, trying to remember how Rambert would have choreographed those steps when Shirley herself was a young dancer and, for a few moments, we too would be transported to the boards of the Mercury Theatre recalled from her early days with Ballet Rambert. Shirley Rees-Edwards lived for dance and was an inspiration to so many. She is survived by her son, Dale. MARTIN JONES Shirley Rees-Edwards, born May 10, 1933; died October 15, 2019.
Eunice Bartell
E
unice Bierdryski Bartell (pictured above), the dancer
and teacher particularly associated with the Russian Ballet Society, died peacefully on October 30. Born Eunice Gibson in Glasgow in 1922, she had a rich and varied professional ballet career. In the 1940s she became ballerina with the Anglo-Polish Ballet, where she met and married a young dancer named Leon Bierdryski. The couple joined Ballet Legat when it was formed in 1952, with Eunice
Photographs: Top Courtesy of BODYWORK. Below Courtesy of THE RUSSIAN BALLET SOCIETY.
becoming ballerina, and the pair later succeeded Nadine Nicolaeva Legat as principals of the Legat School of Russian Ballet. After Leon’s untimely death, Eunice remained principal of the school until 1986 when she returned to Scotland and worked tirelessly for the Russian Ballet Society. It was through the Society that Madam Bartell made it her mission to nurture and inspire a lasting appreciation for the
Legat System of Classical Ballet Training with both teachers and students around the world. “Mrs B”, as she was afectionately known to her pupils, was an inspirational teacher who sellessly shared her vast experience and helped many dancers go on to enjoy successful, professional careers. n FIONA DEAR Eunice Bartell, born October 11, 1922; died October 30, 2019.
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Media M
Barbara Newman reviews a new book on Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham Redux Published by powerHouse Books, New York. £62.99. Distributed by Penguin Random House and Turnaround Books MARIANNE PREGERSIMON, WHO PERFORMED with Merce Cunningham’s embryonic dance company from 1950 to 1958, once tried to explain his inimitable presence as a performer. She said, “Merce created this wonderful technique for us to learn that he never used because he just danced... when you saw him dance a solo, it was really diferent from anything that we did as a group. The solo was this creature, just being. We, on the other hand, were dancing.” James Klosty’s mammoth new book, Merce Cunningham Redux, reaches beyond
words, documenting through remarkable black and white photographs some of the unique qualities of the man, his dancers and his dances. First published in 1975 and now expanded by a further 140 pages of pictures, this volume also contains the 17 essays Klosty collected for the original edition.
Among the contributors are various composers and painters associated with Cunningham’s repertoire – John Cage, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns – as well as such stellar collaborators and observers as Carolyn Brown, Paul Taylor, Lincoln Kirstein and Yvonne Rainer. Embedded in the company from 1967 to 1972, Klosty shot in rehearsal and during performances, in class and backstage, in the troupe’s several homes and on tour. His focus, naturally, falls on the dancers of those years, whom he names in rehearsal photos but not in performance pictures, and on certain works – Second Hand, Winterbranch, Place and Canield – that he identiies as “particularly important to me.” Impatient readers might hurry through this massive chronicle, mistaking it for
a cofee-table book; after all, it’s priced at £62.99 and weighs seven pounds. However, the absorbing contents, like Cunningham’s dances, demand close attention if you hope to discern their subtleties. Positioned judiciously to complement each other, the artists’ thoughts sit side by side with relevant photographs; for example, the composer Pauline Oliveros’ “Notes for a Canield Event” immediately follows Canield’s performance images. Autobiographical, philosophical and sometimes gnomic – Cage’s anecdotes all concern food – the words explore the crucial concepts sustaining Cunningham’s work; ignoring steps and underlying subtexts, which now dominate many conversations about choreography, the dancers discuss phrasing, rhythm, and energy. Approaching dance from every angle, the speakers plant unstated questions in an attentive reader’s mind and leave them unanswered. The photographs (some reproduced here) address these questions silently, somehow depicting elusive aspects of performance such as charisma, character, individual responsibility and kinetic interaction that has nothing to do with physical contact. It’s not easy to grasp
these ideas or to master them. Valda Setterield, a member of the Cunningham company from 1964 to 1974, once described to me her irst classes with Cunningham: “suddenly I was seeing things that I had never seen and couldn’t name and couldn’t imagine – how extraordinary – but possibly I could do them.” Klosty’s eloquence lies in his camera, and fortunately he leaves the experts to articulate their experiences; I’m still trying to understand the term “incorporeal movement,” which he employs in his Foreword. He also states there that he waited to publish this book until Cunningham’s centennial year, during which his achievements have been extensively celebrated. Time has, inevitably, changed his choreography as it always changes choreography; dynamic details are lost, intentions – if they were ever known – are forgotten. In conjunction with the archival material held by the Cunningham Foundation, testaments like this book help deine the dances’ essential elements, those hardest to pinpoint and preserve. Dancers, stagers and the public might want to consider it alongside Carolyn Brown’s autobiography, Chance and Circumstance. She was Cunningham’s partner on stage for 20 years and Klosty’s partner ofstage for some of them, including the period covered by his photographs. The combined perspectives of his images, her writing and the incisive comments he assembled will bring you as close as you’re likely to come to the original shape and efect of Cunningham’s radical creations. n
WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 • 101
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Education Edu
Auditions, performances, funding, summer schools and awards
Auditions for Rambert 2 Rambert is seeking young dancers for the 2020-21 cohort of Rambert2, and registration for auditions is now open. The open auditions will be held at Rambert’s studios in London from February 1 to 4, and the company will run from September 2020 through to October 2021. Dancers interested in auditioning need to register online via the auditions tab on Rambert’s website, at rambert.org.uk. Dancers are also requested to familiarise themselves with the work of the choreographers in Rambert2’s current and recent repertoire, as well as the movement of Ohad Naharin.
New Zealand School of Dance The New Zealand School of Dance (NZSD) in Wellington ofers three years of top quality, preprofessional dance training, with both ballet and contemporary dance equally valued. It provides a vibrant atmosphere of youthful exploration within a positive caring environment. While the school is far from the international cultural centres, director Garry Trinder has sought to ofset this by building a prominent presence at top international dance competitions, including the Prix de Lausanne, and the Youth America and Asian Grand Prix, thus keeping abreast of world standards and trends. In a well balanced programme of eight works for NZSD’s graduation performances on November 25 and 26, the four contemporary pieces all shared a released quality, Photographs: STEPHEN A’COURT.
both strong and luid, that enabled the dancers to take to the air or melt to the loor with seamless ease. However, each work found its unique lavour. Re:Structure, by Ross McCormack, focused on a single element, a ive-metre pole. Courtney Lim’s strong, lithe body becomes one with the pole as she swings it in rhythmic circles to an atmospheric sound score. Interwoven with the arms of the seven dancers, the pole becomes a catalyst for a kaleidoscope of patterns and structures. It’s an extraordinary idea, given a strong performance. Excerpts from Sam Coren’s, Not Odd Human, was a neat bit of droll dance drama and a good it for the artists’ talents. Dressed in a ragbag assortment of cod Medieval costume, the dancers cavort in lively folk-inluenced contemporary dance. It was introduced and rounded of by Jef (Alec Katsourakis) ofering a quaint take on the philosophy of being human with admirable comic timing. Velociraptor was a feast of ine dance,
performed with conidence and technical skill. Despite Scott Ewen’s complex concept of moral choices, the dancers’ integrity gave it meaning. Carivale.4, created by Raewyn Hill with the dancers, was the closing item. A landslide of intense dance and a highly successful exercise in group dynamics. The ierceness rose and fell in waves and the uniformity of the red robes couldn’t stile the individualism in this one
Above: Students of New Zealand School of Dance in Round of Angels. Below: Rench Soriano in Five Variations on a heme.
body of many moving parts. Punctuated by thrusting arms and cries it proved a triumphant anthem of youth seizing the future. George Balanchine’s Concerto Barocco with ten female dancers and one male and Gerald Arpino’s Round of Angels, with six male dancers and one ➣
WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 • 105
Auditions, performances, funding, summer schools and awards female, neatly balanced the genders. Balanchine has long been a staple on the NZSD graduation programme, and the style is now well entrenched as evidenced in conident performances. Each of the two casts was well rehearsed, the dancers displaying strong pointes and fast footwork while catching the crisp musicality of Balanchine’s tricky canons. First cast Riley-Jane Dickie brought a warm, mature presence and had a most attentive partner in Callum Phipps. In the second cast, Tessa Karle, well supported by Jordan Lennon, was a delight. Her strong, clean lines and gamine charm made her one to watch. Arpino’s work, made in 1983, is of its time as men reclaimed centre ground on the ballet stage. Mahler’s music brings spiritual depth while the steely silver-blue unitards suggest visions of heavenly bodies in space. The choreography for the men allows for both strength and sensitivity, and the sole female barely touches the earth as she is supported in soaring lifts. Brittany-Jayde Duwner, a young dancer of impeccable line and lexibility, looked ravishing in the central role and was well partnered by Lennon. The standard of partnering, across the styles was exceptional, support was unobtrusive and irm, lifts secure with noticeable trust and respect between the dancers. There was one solo item on the programme, and what a solo! Rench Soriano, who has gained a contract with The Washington Ballet, danced Five Variations on a Theme by David Fernandez. It needs both killer technique and quiet conidence and these Soriano had in spades. Leaping through space, 106 • DANCING TIMES
whizzing like a top, then pausing to smile, he gave it his all in a brilliant showing. Excerpts from Helgi Tomasson’s Handel – A Celebration, another excellent choice, ofered challenging opportunities for the 26 dancers. The duet with Soriano and Dane Head, another exciting young talent, raised the temperature while the quartet, including red hot Sumika Ikemoto and Timothy Ching, maintained it. Dickie and Lennon led the ield, but this was a company efort and truly a celebration. Congratulations to staf and students for a school that leads the way. MAGGIE FOYER
Scottish Youth Dance YDance (Scottish Youth Dance) – the national dance organisation for children and young people in Scotland – is searching for youth dance groups to participate in its national youth dance performance platform, Destinations 2020, to be held at Macrobert Arts Centre, Stirling, on March 7. The showcase brings together Scottish youth dance talent
in an evening of diverse performances for dancers aged between 12 and 21. The selected groups will perform alongside other companies from across Scotland, including the National Youth Dance Company of Scotland. Any group who would like to apply should visit ydance. org for more information. The deadline for applications is January 19.
Norma Abbott Bursary Sonia Chandaria Tillu, the Birmingham-based kathak dancer, choreographer and artistic director of Sonia Lisa Dance Company, has been named the recipient of the 2019 Norma Abbott Dance Bursary, which awards £500 annually to support West Midlandsbased emerging dance practitioners with their professional development. She intends to use her award to ofer a new perspective on her future dance practice, building the foundations for a strong, innovative and unique outreach dimension. The bursary was set up in 2015 by Peter Abbott in memory of his wife, Norma, who worked for
many years as a Customer Service assistant at MAC in Birmingham. She was a keen dancer and a tireless advocate for participation in dance. The call-out for the 2020 Norma Abbott Dance Bursary will be announced in autumn 2020.
Helsinki International Ballet Competition The ninth Helsinki International Ballet Competition will take place on the stage of the Finnish National Opera and Ballet from June 1 to 8, 2020. Founded in 1984 by Doris Laine (1931–2018), a ballerina with the Finnish National Ballet who later had a career as a cultural politician and an advocate of dance, the 2020 competition will honour her memory with the introduction of the new Doris Laine Award, to be given to a future ballet star with exceptional artistic talent. The winner will be chosen by the competition jury. Previous winners of the competition include Below: Dancers taking part in YDance’s 2019 performance, Destinations.
Photograph: PAUL WATT.
Education Maria Baranova, Iana Salenko and Marian Walter. Applications are now being accepted from dancers wanting to take part in the competition, with a closing date of January 17. To enter, or to ind out more, visit ibchelsinki.i or see page 66 of the October issue of Dancing Times.
Tring Park School Tring Park School for the Performing Arts has oicially opened its new £8 million boarding block. The Elizabeth House building, designed by architects Burrell Foley Fischer and constructed by Stepnell, consists of three loors and a lower ground loor, which contains a state-ofthe art boarding house for 70 pupils, six academic and vocational teaching spaces, a theatre workshop, two staf apartments and other pupil facilities. The irst boarders, all girls, have already moved in, and include a mixture of younger pupils and sixth formers. However, the unique modular design of the building means it can be “locked of” vertically and horizontally depending on boarding requirements on any given year and depending on the numbers of boys and girls. Stefan Anderson, principal of Tring, said: “This new building is revolutionary in terms of what it ofers us when it comes to boarding facilities and new teaching space. It allows the school to move all boarding pupils onsite for the irst time; previously, our sixth formers were based in houses that we own in Tring. These houses have been sold to fund this new development. “The new building provides the most spacious and modern boarding facilities and gives us the Photograph: KATE PARKES.
opportunity to refurbish the existing onsite boarding facilities to a similar standard. It also provides much-needed additional teaching spaces. The 70 pupils that have moved into the new block are thrilled with the comfort and design of their termtime home-from-homes. We couldn’t have achieved this new building if it wasn’t for the generous donations made and the incredible fundraising eforts by our team at the school.” Tring Park School is both a day and boarding school for students aged eight to 19. Alongside a broad academic curriculum, the school ofers courses in dance, acting and musical theatre to learners up to the age of 16. Sixth form students are able to study acting, musical theatre and commercial music up to the age of 18 while dancers can take a three-year course, graduating at 19. For more information, see pages 14 and 16, or visit tringpark.com.
Ballet for boys London Children’s Ballet (LCB), who recently appointed former Birmingham Royal Ballet dancer and choreographer Ruth Brill as artistic director, is to ofer a special course of ballet classes exclusively for boys. Commencing in March, this eight-week programme is aimed at boys aged nine to 16, and will enable them to train on Sundays in an all-male environment and focus on the technique unique to male dancers, giving them a chance to build their conidence. For 2020, Ballet for Boys will be led by James Lovell, an alumnus of LCB who has performed with Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures. Visit londonchildrensballet.com to ind out how to apply. ■
Heidi Hall to leave Central School of Ballet
HEIDI HALL, DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL SCHOOL OF BALLET, has announced she will be leaving the school at the end of the 2020 spring term. Before departing, she will oversee the school’s move to new premises on the South Bank in London early this year, and will then take on a role as director of an educational foundation in Cambridge. Hall (pictured above) will, however, remain involved with Central and will join the Board of Governors in April. Christopher Marney, currently artistic director of Ballet Central, will take on a new leadership role this month focusing on expanding his artistic vision for the organisation at all levels encompassing Central’s professional-level training programmes through to the Junior School. Marney will also lead Central’s staf in a direction “vital for a dance organisation of this generation”. The recruitment of a new executive director to run Central operationally in its new home is now under way. Hall has devoted much of her career to Central School of Ballet. She completed her professional training there in 1995 and went on to have a successful performing career. She returned to Central in 2012 as company manager to Ballet Central, and was subsequently promoted to deputy director and then, in September 2016, to director of the School. Hall was recognised with the Rising Chief Executive Award by the annual Third Sector Awards who noted her part in transforming Central into a worldleading professional dance organisation and spearheading the campaign to raise £9m to fund the speciic it-out required for Central’s bespoke new building in Southwark. Ralph Bernard, chairman of Central’s Board of Governors, said: “Everyone at Central is deeply grateful for Heidi’s exceptional leadership and dedicated service. Her commitment to the highest professional standards and her extraordinary vision has led Central to be recognised as one of the world’s leading dance schools. We are delighted that she has agreed to take up a role as governor at the school next year. This will enable us to continue to beneit from her support to Central as we embrace our most exciting development since the school was founded in 1982.”
WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 • 107
Health
By Debbie Malina
Energy matters In the November 2019 issue, we looked at the subject of bone health and osteoporosis. his month we investigate the complex area of Relative Energy Deiciency in Sport (RED-S), which can be closely connected to osteoporosis and possibly afects many young dancers
F
or a dancer or athlete to reach their full potential, it has long been recognised they need to be physically and mentally healthy. Three elements are involved in achieving this: optimal training, nutrition and recovery. Integrated periodisation of all these factors is crucial to achieving the adaptations necessary for training. The situation of low energy availability arises when nutritional intake is insuicient to cover the energy demands of training – and resting – for metabolic processes. Where there is low energy availability, combined with the efects of external psychological stress and inadequate sleep, the body goes into an energy-saving mode. Many hormone pathways will be dampened, such as those of the reproductive systems in male and female exercisers. RED-S recognises that the impact of energy deiciency also afects other systems such as cognitive ability. Even short-term troughs of low energy availability during the course of a day can cause adverse hormonal changes. Everyone has diferent fuel requirements compared with other dancers, which is why it is necessary to tailor the timing, quantity and quality 108 • DANCING TIMES
of nutrition according to gender, age and activity.
normal circumstances, individuals in their teens or early twenties would be building up their bone mass to its highest, or peak levels. When oestrogen levels drop in a young girl, this can lead to lower bone mass density or osteoporosis, possibly resulting in stress fractures and other injuries.
Female Athlete Triad Over the course of nearly three decades much discussion has been focused on the potential long-term consequences of intensive dance training from an early age with regard to reduced bone mineral density along with other metabolic efects. In the early 1990s the medical and scientiic community began using the term “Female Athlete Triad” to describe three speciic elements that may be present in a young female athlete or dancer: disordered eating, amenorrhea and osteoporosis. Disordered eating can range from limiting calorie intake to avoiding a range of speciic foods perceived by the individual as likely to increase weight. Amenorrhea may occur when intense exercise is not matched by suicient calorie intake, leading to a decrease in the hormones that regulate the menstrual cycle. While there may be a number of reasons for missing a period, from pregnancy to illness, this should always be investigated if the situation continues for several months. Osteoporosis was regarded as the third aspect of the Female Athlete Triad. Under
RED-S From the time the Female Athlete Triad was irst identiied, dance and sports medicine has continually evolved to the extent that a broader, more comprehensive term has been introduced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to describe this clinical syndrome: Relative Energy Deiciency in Sport or RED-S. The IOC published a Consensus Statement in the British Medical Journal in April 2014 entitled “Beyond the Female Athlete Triad: Relative Energy Deiciency in Sport (RED-S)” and this was updated again in 2018: “The syndrome of RED-S refers to impaired physiological functioning caused by relative energy deiciency, and includes, but is not limited to, impairments of metabolic rate, menstrual function, bone health, immunity, protein synthesis and cardiovascular health.” In this statement the IOC identiies the prime factor behind the syndrome as “an energy deiciency relative to the balance between dietary energy intake and the energy expenditure required to support homeostasis, health and the activities of
daily living, growth and sporting activities. RED-S is a recently developed clinical concept focusing on the suboptimal health and suboptimal athletic performance consequences of low energy availability.” Since 2014, scientists involved in this area have wrestled with the complexities of some elements of the deinition, although the accepted view is that the underlying cause of RED-S is the same as that which underpins the Triad – low energy availability. Perhaps the most interesting aspect to this development is that RED-S is seen to be applicable to female and male athletes/ dancers and also to
Health anyone who exercises, of all ages and levels.
Vigilance Previous to this, parents, teachers or healthcare providers were advised to keep a careful eye on girls and young women showing signs or symptoms that could give cause for concern, whereas more recent research has shown that boys and young men should also be regarded as being potentially vulnerable to low energy availability. Recognising that a student or dancer seems to be dealing with this condition requires vigilance on the part of anyone involved with his or her wellbeing. So far as girls and young women are concerned, it would be sensible to look out for a range of symptoms such as weight loss, periods that are irregular or have
stopped, tiredness and inability to concentrate. They may display signs of disordered eating – preoccupation with food and weight – have brittle hair or nails, dental cavities caused through bulimia, are especially sensitive to cold, their heart rate and blood pressure may be low, or, of particular concern, have chest pain and heart irregularities. With boys and men there may be growth issues with deceleration of expected height and weight gain, indicating insuicient energy availability. It is inevitable that individuals go through the changes of puberty at diferent rates, so should not compare themselves to others of their age. Delayed or arrested puberty, however, can be a sign of low energy availability in a young dancer or athlete. Disordered eating and eating disorders are also relevant with male dancers. Recurrent injury to bone and/or soft tissue, and also illness in male and female dancers requiring time of training for more
than three months can be a consequence of low energy availability. There may be bone stress responses – stress fractures in particular – in weight-bearing exercises and when increasing workload as a student progresses from junior to senior level. This combination of issues can be career shortening, and also has the potential to afect overall health with possible bone weakness and long-term efects on the reproductive system as well as cognition and heart problems.
How to address the problem Finding the right time to broach the subject is almost always going to be diicult for a parent, teacher or anyone else who is involved with the young person’s wellbeing, and equally so for a student to recognise or admit they have a problem. Nonetheless, it is always better to deal with any concerns sooner, rather than turning a blind eye to any of the symptoms. When a dancer is starting their career it is important
“In the early 1990s the medical and scientiic community began using the term ‘Female Athlete Triad’ to describe three speciic elements that may be present in a young female athlete or dancer: disordered eating, amenorrhea and osteoporosis” for them to look after themselves now, and for the future, by addressing signs that could mean they are struggling with RED-S. Diagnosis requires an extensive physical examination by an appropriate health professional. They may ask a number of questions about nutrition, exercise habits and periods, and are likely to order blood tests to check for anaemia and other areas related to the syndrome. When dealing with younger students, the practitioner may require a greater level of information from several professionals directly involved with their care to gain a wider picture of the dancer’s overall health.
New website A new website has been created (health4performance) that is supported by the British Association of Sport and Exercise ➣ Photograph: SHUTTERSTOCK.
WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 • 109
Energy matters
Medicine (BASEM). This was developed to raise awareness of RED-S, improve identiication and suggest efective management for athletes and dancers at risk of the syndrome. Those concerned with this evolving area of clinical study hope to start conversations on the topic, and encourage clinical research into the issue. The site was brought about through the endeavours of a working group comprising doctors and advisors with extensive experience in the ield of dance, exercise and sports medicine and science. Dr Nick Allen, clinical director for Birmingham Royal Ballet, was part of this group. He explains that the website was established to provide guidance on the subject: “As a working group we came up with a strategy to create an information bank for dancers, athletes, friends, parents, coaches and medics. There are many portals within the website enabling anyone who knows of, or is connected to, somebody whom they suspect might have an issue of energy 110 • DANCING TIMES
deiciency to look for more details or guidance on what they should be aware of. It is a good starting point. “Here in the Midlands we have been working with Dr Kim Gregory who is a consultant in Sport and Exercise Medicine at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham with a view to producing a more dance-speciic approach to the syndrome so we can identify problems better for those working within dance medicine.”
NIDMS clinics “For any parent, trainer or teacher with concerns,” continues Dr Allen, “I would advise they look at our website as there is plenty of sign-posting. If a student or dancer goes through one of the NHS-funded dance clinics established by the National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science [NIDMS] based in London, Birmingham or Bath, it is worth remembering that the staf in these clinics are fully aware of RED-S related issues and should be able to identify any problems. Some patients may need dietary support while others could require greater psychological help; it is our role within the clinics to ind this out. “You could say that we do not shout out enough about the fact these issues are being addressed within the clinics, this is probably because they are not seen to be a separate matter; it is a dance-centred environment and that is what they were
set up for. Specialised pathways are being developed to look at speciic areas in more detail as we learn more about RED-S. “As an example, when a dancer or athlete has secondary amenorrhea and all other possible causes have been ruled out, the management for this issue can it into one of two camps – either we look at diet, enabling the relative energy deicit to be overcome, or consider the situation as an eating disorder requiring mental health support. Sometimes the two elements overlap. “Look at the Tour de France riders and consider how many thousands of calories they get through in a day – up to 11,000; they are also known for maintaining low body composition. This shows it is possible to maintain a healthy body mass and produce an immense amount of power when you fuel appropriately; you do not have to do this by restricting your diet, it is down to training and eating correctly.
“When a dancer restricts their calories, their cognitive function can also be afected, which may, potentially, become an issue regarding some of the decisions they are making. In this situation the people around them are the best support they can have, as the individuals are not able to look after themselves in the way they should. There are so many things that happen when somebody has relative energy deiciency, it is not simply about osteoporosis, it is also cognitive and can have many consequences.” n
More information Visit health4performance.co.uk. The British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine (BASEM) can be contacted by telephoning 01302 623 222 or emailing enquiries@basem.co.uk. For the National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science, visit nidms.co.uk, email manager@nidms.co.uk or telephone 020 7940 9804. Photograph: SHUTTERSTOCK.
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Coppélia to support choreographic and
performance skills
GCSE PERFORMING ARTS: DANCE requires next month, will provide practical the study of four professional tasks in support of this. dances to compare and Two very different productions contrast with the set work. Currently this is Siobhan of Coppélia are the focus. Maguy Marin’s postmodern/co Davies’s Bird Song (2004). This study aid is part of a ntemporary dance version is from 1993 series of resources published and Ninette de Valois’s for GCSE (back copies classical ballet was originally are available through the Dancing staged Times website). revived in 2000. Both are available in 1954 but Those published in March and on DVD. April provide a model for When selecting works for comparison teaching appreciation through the exploration of two and contrast it is necessary to articulate dances based on an analytical framework appropriate similarities might have an impact. where differences/ for GCSE. Some familiarity with this is assumed Bird Song is abstract in treatment; performed in although the information below the round; uses musical is free standing. accompaniment as a starting Basic contextual details about point; involves types Coppélia and of music visualisation; includes appreciation tasks are provided filmic techniques in in Part one of this study the set design; and is studied in aid. The AQA Report on the a version made for Examination 2006 states camera. that the more successful candidates Marin’s Coppélia is also structured study dances as a visualisation using music whole rather than focusing and incorporates film, narrowly on comparative/ it is a site specific work adapted but in contrast contrasting issues. To achieve for the camera and effective in-depth study is a narrative. the work could form the basis of choreographic learning visualisation De Valois’s production uses music and be developed into a performance but is performed in a theatre venue and piece. Part two, is in a contrasting style to Bird Song.
By Dr Lorn
zero degr ees
a Sanders
tion and Music: Nitin choreogr Sawhney, aphy: Akra Sculptor: Premiere: m Khan Antony Gorm Part One July 12, and Sidi 2005, Sadler ley, Costu Nash. Larbi Cher me: Kei Ito, ’s Wells, London. kaoui Lighting: Mikki Kuntt u
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Part one: using repertoire
DANCE
Principal: Pamela Howard ARAD, FISTD Classes for Children & Part-time Student Training ISTD and RAD grades & major syllabi
Akram Khan.
Photograph:
GCSE STUDY AID
1. Gauta o in 2006. ulated sopran published of a manip er. 2. The sound music by Scann the topic around voice in earlier in the media 3. Concerns . youth of Asian ct an abstra lthough chiefly is layered with ine the and work, Faultl to the past ent allusions se the movem present becaunt ways. Ideas ted in differe scenes, characters was genera ed from the Malkani’s book: of were initiat language and street and hybrid , texting rap, Hindi in a dance the use of is reflected le, examp Natyam, slang, for Bharata involves arts, street style which , martial rs dance dance The contemporary gestures. everyday ge and dance and the body langua in the on s captured also drew of the youth documentary film gestures the ine. footage of d for Faultl sts unedited contra Gomes create that Peter , Jeyasingh’s use of ics and Additionally rapid sharp dynam n, ), echo (slow motio suddenly freeze which that g devices, positions and editin Gomes’ filmic space and time. with also play
GSCE STUDY AID
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GCSE STUDY AID
DY AID GCSE STU
Blood” in ine, Bruise r 26, 2009 on, “Faultl Sarah Wilkins /reviews, Octobe thestage.co.uk The Stage,
GCSE PERFORMING ARTS: GCSE STUDY AID
the duets, extends to ss is tchfulness lic “Wa l for tenderne ritual.” ions and pub re whose potentia macho kes the tens undercut by h cultu Faultline “evoounding Asian yout any repeatedly deeds in Eden” in ch surr s, “Dirty prea eties to Jenning Luke anxi 11, 2007 seeks er, March yet never The Observ in Britain, message.” particular
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Faultline yasingh’s obana Je Sh Part One a Sanders
By Dr Lorn
aged ten, had his first professional demonstrated role) that new approa larger audienc es could emerge ches and Khan’s classica in the UK. include Polaroi l Kathak performances d Feet (2001), choreography with by Gauri Sharma Pratap Pawar and Caption. Tripathi, present inaugural ed as his performance as in residen ce at the Royal choreographer Festival Hall, London. Khan also expand classical recital: s the Gnosis (2010 typical extract of – an which 2009) include was first performed in s a more contem duet (based porary on a story Dancing Times September from 18 Mahabh arata) which 2007 the integrates accompanying the musician into the action as one of the characters in the narrativ The significa e. nce of South Study Aid Coppélia within- Sept.indd Asian British 18 dance culture was Khan choreog affirmed when raphed and in a section appeared of the opening of the London ceremony 2012 Olympi cs.
Laurent Ziegler.
20/8/07 11:36:43
Enquiries to: 72 Warwick Road, Ealing, London W5 5PT (t) 020 8567 3115
The chor eogr
aphe
Historica
D
l context
uring the 1970s, South Asian dance styles struggled within a cultural environment ballet was where dominant. In 1983, howeve r,
StudyAid
- Oct.indd
19
Khan, of Bangla deshi heritage rs in London , was born in 1974 and, aged seven, began to study Kathak with Pawar. Kathak Pratap , the classica originating l dance style from Northe rn India and Pakistan, is traditio by a solo dancer. nally performed bearing, incisive An upright courtly attack, lyrical and dramat fluidity ic express ion are valued. Rhythmical dexterity is emphas by ankle bells ised and interpla the musicia y between n and exciting rhythm dancer produces at the climax ic improvisation of the recital. Characterised by speedy Kathak is precision, noted for its fast (spins) and the Academ tatkar (percus chakkars y of Nritta (abstrac sive footwor commissioned Indian Dance (Akade k). t) element mi) a s include iconographic using a non-rel dance drama and in poses associa igious theme Hindu gods, ted with of South Asian and a mix for exampl styles, The e, while nrtya (narrative) of Mowgli Adventures aspects (in which religious themes express emotion Akram Khan, s, or charact nrtya is not ers. Typical mimetic but ly, denotes essentia l➣ Dancing
Times \ October
2012 \ 19
20/9/12
13:33:43
Whether GSCE or A Level, we have Study Aids that will help Featuring a wide range of styles, productions, choreographers and more, there are plenty to choose from
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EASTER INTENSIVE COURSE 14 - 17 APRIL 2020 The Park Club East Acton Lane
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Calendar These listings are made as comprehensive as possible but inclusion does not necessarily mean recommendation Copy deadline for possible entries is always the 1st of the preceding month. Please send to editorial@dancing-times.co.uk or post to the usual address. Entry subject to space available. Inclusion of dates is dependent upon information received In addition, we have details of some advance programmes from overseas/UK companies and UK tours. For more details (subject to availability) email as above or call 020 7250 3006. All programmes, casts and information subject to change Tel: 0151 709 3789 Tour continues - we hold details
2Faced Dance
www.ballettheatreuk.com UK tour of The Wizard of Oz (ch: Moore). See website for booking details JANUARY 9: ALNWICK PLAYHOUSE 11: HERTFORD THEATRE 12: BILLINGHAM, Forum Theatre 15: WAKEFIELD, Theatre Royal 16: HORSHAM, The Capitol Theatre 17: MIDDLESBROUGH THEATRE 18: KETTERING, The Lighthouse Theatre 19: BARROW-IN-FURNESS, The Forum 22: COVENTRY, Warwick Arts Centre 23: EXETER, Barnield Theatre 25: NEWARK-ON-TRENT, Newark Palace Theatre 26: SOUTH SHIELDS, Customs House 29: GRAVESEND, The Woodville 30: BLYTH, Phoenix Theatre 31: LANCASTER, Grand Theatre FEBRUARY 2: MARGATE, Theatre Royal
Anton and Erin: Dance Those Magical Movies www.raymondgubbay.co.uk Anton Du Beke and Erin Boag present a world where ballroom meets the movies JANUARY 24: NORTHAMPTON, Royal and Derngate Tel: 01604 624 811 25M&E: BIRMINGHAM SYMPHONY HALL Tel: 0121 780 3333 26M: CARDIFF, St David’s Hall Tel: 029 2087 8444 FEBRUARY 1M&E: GUILDFORD, G Live Tel: 01483 369 350 6,7M&E: SOUTHEND, Clifs Pavilion Tel: 01702 351 135 8M&E: BOURNEMOUTH PAVILION Tel: 0300 500 0595 9M: MANCHESTER, Bridgewater Hall Tel: 0161 907 9000 14,15M: LONDON, Barbican Concert Hall Tel: 020 7638 8891 16M: SHEFFIELD, City Hall Tel: 01142 789 789 20: EASTBOURNE, Congress Theatre Tel: 01323 412 000 23M: OXFORD, New Theatre Tel: 0844 871 3020 26: AYLESBURY, Waterside Theatre Tel: 0844 871 7607 27: CROYDON, Fairield Halls Tel: 020 3292 0002 28: BASINGSTOKE, The Anvil Tel: 01256 844 244 29: LIVERPOOL, Philharmonic Hall
Tel: 0843 208 6000 12-14: SUNDERLAND EMPIRE Tel: 0844 871 7627 Tour continues - we hold details UK tour of An Evening of Music and Dance FEBRUARY 14: BIRMINGHAM, Symphony Hall Tel: 0121 780 3333 15: NORTHAMPTON, Royal and Derngate Tel: 01604 624 811
Curtains
UNITED KINGDOM COMPANIES www.2faceddance.co.uk UK spring tour celebrating the company’s 20th anniversary. Programme includes 7.0. (ch: Fitzgerald), These Are Waterfalls (ch: Darkin) and Hollow in a World Too Full (ch: Fitzgerald). See website for booking details FEBRUARY 6-7: BIRMINGHAM, DanceXchange 12: WEYMOUTH, Bay Theatre 14-15: EASTLEIGH, The Point 26: PLYMOUTH, The House 29: ABERYSTWYTH ARTS CENTRE Tour continues - we hold details
On stage this month
Ballet Theatre UK
www.kenwright.com. UK tour of the Kander and Ebb stage musical, directed by Paul Foster and choreographed by Alistair David JANUARY 14-18: LONDON, New Wimbledon Theatre Tel: 0844 871 7646 21-25: SUNDERLAND EMPIRE Tel: 0844 871 3022 28-Feb 1: LIVERPOOL EMPIRE Tel: 08448 713 017 FEBRUARY 11-15: NORWICH, Theatre Royal Tel: 01603 630 000 25-29: NORTHAMPTON, Royal and Derngate Tel: 01604 624 811 Tour continues - we hold details
English National Ballet
Ballet West
www.ballet.org.uk UK tour of The Nutcracker (ch: Eagling) JANUARY Until Jan 5: LONDON COLISEUM Tel: 020 7845 9300 Casting: JANUARY 2: Khaniukova, Cirio, McCormick 3M: Cojocaru, Hernández, Forbat 4M: Velicu, Saruhashi, Astley 4E: Takahashi, Frola, Martin 5M: Oliveira, Forbat, Dowden
www.balletwest.co.uk Tour of Swan Lake Ballet West mixes professional dancers and students about to begin their careers. See website for booking details JANUARY 25M&E: OBAN, Corran Halls FEBRUARY 1: LIVINGSTON, Howden Park Centre 2M&E: DUNDEE, Gardyne Theatre 8: GLASGOW, SEC Armadillo 9: GREENOCK, Beacon Arts Centre 14E,15M&E: STIRLING, Macrobert Arts Centre 16M&E: EDINBURGH, EICC
UK tour of Le Corsaire (prod: Holmes) JANUARY 8-14: LONDON COLISEUM Tel: 020 7845 9300 Casting: 8,11M: Cojocaru, Hernández, Kase, Mack, Cirio, Woolhouse 9M,14E: Oliveira, Caley, Conway, Arrieta, Saruhashi, Maidana 9E,11E: Takahashi, Frola, Hawes, Souza, McCormick, Dowden 10,14M: Kase, Mack, Khaniukova, Saruhashi, Woolhouse, Bufalá 13: Khaniukova, Cirio, Kanehara, Souza, McCormick, Frola
Birmingham Royal Ballet www.brb.org.uk Tour of Swan Lake (prod: Wright, Samsova) JANUARY 22-26: SOUTHAMPTON, Maylower Theatre Tel: 023 8071 1811 FEBRUARY 19-29: BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME Tel: 0844 338 5000 MARCH 4-7: SALFORD, The Lowry
70th Anniversary Gala JANUARY 17-18: LONDON COLISEUM Tel: 020 7845 9300
Gary Clarke Company www.wastelandtour.co.uk UK tour of Wasteland (ch: Clarke) FEBRUARY 6-7: DERBY THEATRE Tel: 01332 593 939
Mame UK tour of the stage musical directed
and choreographed by Nick Winston JANUARY 7-11: NORTHAMPTON, Royal and Derngate Tel: 01604 624 811 21-25: SALISBURY PLAYHOUSE Tel: 01722 320 333
Mark Bruce Company www.markbrucecompany.com Tour of Return to Heaven (ch: Bruce). See website for booking details JANUARY 30-Feb 1: FROME, Merlin Theatre FEBRUARY 5-8: BRISTOL, Tobacco Factory 12: POOLE, Lighthouse 28-Mar 14: LONDON, Wilton’s Tour continues - we hold details
New Adventures www.new-adventures.net Tour of The Red Shoes (ch: Bourne). See website for booking details JANUARY Until Jan 19: LONDON, Sadler’s Wells 28-Feb 1: MILTON KEYNES THEATRE FEBRUARY 4-8: WOKING, New Victoria Theatre 11-15: BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME 18-22: NORWICH, Theatre Royal 25-29: LIVERPOOL EMPIRE Tour continues - we hold details
Northern Ballet www.northernballet.com 50th Anniversary Celebration Gala JANUARY 2020 4: LEEDS, Grand Theatre Tel: 0844 848 2700 UK tour of Geisha (ch: Tindall) MARCH 14-21: LEEDS, Grand Theatre Tel: 0844 848 2700 24-28: SHEFFIELD, Lyceum Theatre Tel: 0114 249 6000 Tour continues - we hold details
Phantom of the Opera www.uktour. thephantomoftheopera.com UK tour of the West End musical with choreography by Gillian Lynne. See website for booking details FEBRUARY 24-Mar 21: LEICESTER, Curve Tour continues - we hold details
Phoenix Dance Theatre www.phoenixdancetheatre.co.uk UK tour of Black Water (ch: Watson, Ghose, Sengupta) FEBRUARY 12-15: LEEDS PLAYHOUSE Tel: 0113 213 7700 25-26: NEWCASTLE, Northern Stage Tel: 0191 230 5151 MARCH 4: KESWICK, Theatre by the Lake Tel: 01768 774 411 26-27: LONDON, Peacock Theatre Tel: 020 7863 8222 Tour continues - we hold details
WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 • 113
Calendar Rambert www.rambert.org.uk Aisha and Abhaya (ch: Eyal) JANUARY 21-Feb 9: LONDON, Linbury Studio Theatre, Royal Opera House Tel: 020 7304 4000 UK tour of PreSentient (ch: McGregor), Rouge (ch: Motin), In Your Rooms (ch: Shechter) FEBRUARY 20-22: EDINBURGH, Festival Theatre Tel: 0131 529 6000 Tour continues - we hold details
The Royal Ballet LONDON | Royal Opera House Tel: 020 7304 4000 | www.roh.org.uk JANUARY 2: Coppélia (prod: De Valois) (Takada, Bracewell, Whitehead) 3: Coppélia (O’Sullivan, Sambé, Mosley) 4M: Coppélia (Magri, Corrales, Whitehead) 4E: Coppélia (Hayward, McRae, Avis) 7: Coppélia (Morera, Campbell, Gartside) 9: The Sleeping Beauty (prod: Mason and Newton after De Valois) (Nuñez, Muntagirov) 11M: The Sleeping Beauty (as Jan 9) 11E: The Sleeping Beauty (Cuthbertson, Bonelli) 15: The Sleeping Beauty (as Jan 9) 16: The Sleeping Beauty (as Jan 11E) 18M: Onegin (ch: Cranko) (Cuthbertson, Soares, Hinkis, Donnelly, Mock) 18E: Onegin (Osipova, Muntagirov, Hayward, Ball, Avis) 21: Onegin (Nuñez, Hirano, Takada, Edmonds, Clarke) 24: Onegin (Naghdi, Bonelli, O’Sullivan, Sissens, Gartside) FEBRUARY 7: Onegin (Osipova, Muntagirov, Hayward, Ball, Avis) 8: Onegin (Nuñez, Hirano, Takada, Edmonds, Clarke) 12: Onegin (as Feb 7) 17: The Cellist (ch: Marston) (Cuthbertson, Ball, Richardson), Dances at a Gathering (ch: Robbins) 18: The Cellist (as Feb 17), Dances at a Gathering 21: Onegin (Naghdi, Bonelli, O’Sullivan, Sissens, Gartside) 22: Onegin (Cuthbertson, Soares, Hinkis, Donnelly, Mock) 24: Onegin (as Feb 21) 25: The Cellist (as Feb 17), Dances at a Gathering 27: Onegin (as Feb 8) 28: The Cellist (Stix-Brunell, Sambé, Corrales), Dances at a Gathering 29: Onegin (as Feb 22)
Scottish Ballet www.scottishballet.co.uk Tour of The Snow Queen (ch: Hampson) JANUARY 3-19: GLASGOW, Theatre Royal Tel: 0800 912 6971 22-26: ABERDEEN, His Majesty’s Theatre Tel: 01224 641 122 29-Feb 2: INVERNESS, Eden Court Tel: 01463 234 234 FEBRUARY 12-15: NEWCASTLE, Theatre Royal Tel: 08448 112 121
114 • DANCING TIMES
Tango Fire
www.tango-ire.com UK tour of the Argentine tango dance show starring German Cornejo and Gisela Galeassi (ch: Cornejo) FEBRUARY 12: WARWICK ARTS CENTRE Tel: 0247 652 4524 13: NORTHAMPTON, Royal and Derngate Tel: 01604 624 811 14: TUNBRIDGE WELLS, Assembly Hall Theatre Tel: 01892 530 613 15: DARTFORD, Orchard Theatre Tel: 01322 220 000 17: ST ALBANS, Alban Arena Tel: 01727 844 488 18: DARLINGTON HIPPODROME Tel: 01325 405 405 19: BRADFORD, St George’s Hall Tel: 01274 432 000 20: NOTTINGHAM, Royal Concert Hall Tel: 0115 989 5555 22: LIVERPOOL PHILHARMONIC HALL Tel: 0151 709 3789 23: BLACKPOOL, Grand Theatre Tel: 01253 290 190 24: EDINBURGH, Festival Theatre Tel: 0131 529 6000 26: HULL, New Theatre Tel: 01482 300 306 27: GATESHEAD, Sage Tel: 0191 443 4661 29: SWANSEA, Grand Theatre Tel: 01792 475 715 MARCH 1: MALVERN, Forum Theatre Tel: 01684 892 277 2: BRIGHTON, Theatre Royal Tel: 0844 871 7650
CINEMA Bolshoi Ballet Cinema Season www.picturehouses.co.uk www.cineworld.co.uk Screenings of live and recorded ballet performances across the UK. See website for venue details JANUARY 26: Giselle (prod: Ratmansky) FEBRUARY 23: Swan Lake (prod: Grigorovich)
Royal Opera House cinema season 2019/2020 www.roh.org.uk/cinema Screenings of live and recorded performances across the UK from the Royal Opera House JANUARY 16: The Sleeping Beauty (prod: De Valois). Live FEBRUARY 25: The Cellist (ch: Marston), Dances at a Gathering (ch: Robbins). Live
EVENTS Gresham College www.gresham.ac.uk. Barnards Inn Hall, Holborn London EC1N 2HH Tel: 020 7831 0575 Marina Frolova-Walker, Gresham professor of Music, delivers free public lectures on the subject of Serge Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes. All lectures commence at 6pm and will also be streamlined
live on the Gresham College website. Contact the College for tickets JANUARY 21: The Rite of Spring: A Failure and a Triumph FEBRUARY 2020 18: The Ballets Russes: Playing with the Past Further lectures in April and May - we hold details
London Ballet Circle www.tlbc.org.uk Events are usually held at the Civil Service Club, 13-15 Gt Scotland Yard, London SW1. Tickets £5 for members, £8 for non-members. Everyone welcome JANUARY 20: The guest with be Royal Ballet principal Vadim Muntagirov
MOVE IT 2020 www.moveitdance.co.uk ExCel London March 13-15, 2020 (see page 90)
VENUES EASTERN ENGLAND Theatre Royal NORWICH | Tel: 01603 630 000 www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk FEBRUARY 7-8: Richard Alston Dance Company 18-22: New Adventures in The Red Shoes (ch: Bourne)
LONDON Lilian Baylis Studio Sadler’s Wells, Rosebery Avenue, EC1 Tel: 020 7863 8000 www.sadlerswells.com JANUARY 9-11: A Night with Thick and Tight: Romancing the Apocalypse (ch: Hay-Gordon, Perry) 16-17: Project O in Voodoo (Hemsley, Johnson-Small)
London Coliseum St Martin’s Lane, WC2 Tel: 020 7845 9300 www.eno.org JANUARY Until Jan 5: English National Ballet in The Nutcracker (ch: Eagling) 8-14: English National Ballet in Le Corsaire (prod: Holmes) 17-18: English National Ballet 70th Anniversary Gala 26: Ballet Icons Gala 2020
Tel: 020 7304 4000 | www.roh.org.uk For Main Stage see The Royal Ballet LINBURY THEATRE JANUARY 21-Feb 9: Rambert in Aisha and Abhaya (ch: Eyal) FEBRUARY 14-24: Acosta Danza in Soledad (ch: Bonachela), Impronta (ch: Rovira), El Cruce Sobre el Niágra (ch: Boán), Two (ch: Maliphant), new Nunes work
Sadler’s Wells Rosebery Avenue, EC1 Tel: 020 7863 8000 www.sadlerswells.com JANUARY Until Jan 19: New Adventures in The Red Shoes (ch: Bourne) 31-Feb 1: Sadler’s Wells Sampled FEBRUARY 5-7: Michael Keegan-Dolan/Teaċ Daṁsa in MÁM (ch: Keegan-Dolan) 12-15: Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch in Bluebeard (ch: Bausch) . 20-23: Alina Cojocaru and friends in Marguerite and Armand (ch: Ashton), and other works 26-29: Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan in 13 Tongues (ch: Cheng), Dust (ch: Lin)
MIDLANDS Birmingham Hippodrome BIRMINGHAM | Tel: 0844 338 5000 www.birminghamhippodrome.com FEBRUARY 11-15: New Adventures in The Red Shoes (ch: Bourne) 18-29: Birmingham Royal Ballet in Swan Lake (prod: Wright, Samsova)
Buxton Opera House BUXTON | Tel: 0845 127 2190 www.buxtonoperahouse.org.uk JANUARY 2-4: Russian State Ballet of Siberia
Royal and Derngate NORTHAMPTON Tel: 01604 624 811 www.royalandderngate.co.uk JANUARY 24: Anton Du Beke and Erin Boag in Dance Those Magical Movies 27-29: Russian State Ballet of Siberia
NORTH WEST Grand Theatre BLACKPOOL | Tel: 01253 290 190 www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk JANUARY 17-19: Russian State Ballet of Siberia
New Wimbledon Theatre
Storeyhouse
The Broadway, SW19 Tel: 0844 871 7646 www.ambassadortickets. com/wimbledon FEBRUARY 2020 6-7: Russian State Ballet of Siberia
CHESTER | Tel: 0844 815 7202 www.storeyhouse.com JANUARY 2020 30-Feb 1: St Petersburg Classic Ballet in Swan Lake
Peacock Theatre
SCOTLAND
Portugal Street, WC2 Tel: 020 7863 8222 www.sadlerswells.com JANUARY Until Jan 5: The Snowman FEBRUARY 6-Mar 21: Message In A Bottle (ch: Prince)
Brunton Theatre
Royal Opera House
EDINBURGH | Tel: 0131 529 6000 www.edtheatres.com
Covent Garden, WC2
MUSSELBURGH Tel: 0131 665 2240 www.bruntontheatre.co.uk FEBRUARY 27: Kristina Rihanof and Jake Quickenden in Dance to the Music
Festival Theatre
Calendar JANUARY 29: Scottish Dance Theatre in Process Day (ch: Eyal, Behar), The Circle (ch: Gat) FEBRUARY 20-22: Rambert 24: Tango Fire
SOUTH EAST The Churchill BROMLEY | Tel: 0844 871 7620 www.churchilltheatre.co.uk JANUARY 22-25: St Petersburg Ballet
G Live GUILDFORD | Tel: 01483 369 350 www.glive.co.uk FEBRUARY 1: Anton Du Beke and Erin Boag in Dance Those Magical Movies
Grove Theatre DUNSTABLE | Tel: 01582 602 080 www.grovetheatre.co.uk FEBRUARY 5: Kristina Rihanof and Jake Quickenden in Dance to the Music
The Hawth CRAWLEY | Tel: 01293 553 636 www.hawth.co.uk JANUARY 20-21: St Petersburg Classic Ballet
Marlowe Theatre CANTERBURY | Tel: 01227 787 787 www.marlowetheatre.com FEBRUARY 11-15: Russian State Ballet of Siberia 21-22: Anton Du Beke and Erin Boag in Dance Those Magical Movies
Theatre Royal BRIGHTON | Tel: 0844 871 7650 www.atgtickets.com/venues/ theatre-royal-brighton FEBRUARY 17-18: Russian State Ballet of Siberia
SOUTH WEST The Lighthouse POOLE | Tel: 0844 406 8666 www.lighthousepoole.co.uk JANUARY 15-18: St Petersburg Classic Ballet
WALES Wales Millennium Centre CARDIFF | Tel: 0870 040 2000 www.wmc.org.uk Donald Gordon Theatre JANUARY Until Jan 4: Les Misérables 8-18: The King and I 21-26: Six
YORKSHIRE AND HUMBERSIDE Leeds Playhouse LEEDS | Tel: 0113 213 7700 www.leedsplayhouse.org.uk JANUARY Until Jan 25: The Wizard of Oz
Shefield Lyceum SHEFFIELD | Tel: 0114 249 6000 www.sheieldtheatres.co.uk JANUARY 7-11: St Petersburg Classic Ballet in The Nutcracker
LONDON MUSICALS 9 to 5: The Musical www.9to5themusical.co.uk SAVOY THEATRE, London WC2 Tel: 0844 871 7687, Prices: £20 - £99.50 ch: Stevens. Mats Wed & Sat
Amélie The Musical www.ameliethemusical.com THE OTHER PALACE, London SW1 Tel: 020 7087 7900, Prices: £29.50 - £65 dir: Fentiman. Mats Thu & Sat Limited season to Feb 1
Tel: 0844 482 5151, Prices: £27.50 - £127.50 ch: Bourne, Mear. Mats Thu, Sat & Sun
Matilda The Musical www.matildathemusical.com CAMBRIDGE THEATRE, London WC2 Tel: 0844 412 4652, Prices: £20 - £62.50 ch: Darling. Mats Wed, Sat & Sun
Les Misérables www.lesmis.com SONDHEIM THEATRE, London W1 Tel: 0844 482 5151, Prices: £15 - £55 Mats Wed & Sat
www.wiener-staatsoper.at VIENNA, Volksoper (VO) and Staatsoper (SO) JANUARY 3: Le Corsaire (prod: Legris) (SO) 7: Coppélia (prod: Lacotte) (VO) 8,11,13,17,23,26: Onegin (ch: Cranko) (SO) 22,28: Carmina Burana (ch: Orlic), Afternoon of a Faun (ch: Nebyla), Bolero (ch: Lukács) (VO) 27,29: Jewels (ch: Balanchine) (SO)
BELGIUM Dance at La Monnaie/ De Munt
& Juliet
The Phantom of the Opera
www.andjulietthemusical.co.uk SHAFTESBURY THEATRE, London WC2 Tel: 020 7379 5399, Prices: £22.50 - £99.50 ch: Weber. Mats Thu & Sat
www.thephantomoftheopera.com HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE, London SW1 Tel: 0870 890 1106, Prices: £20 - £55 ch: Lynne. Mats Tue & Sat
www.lamonnaie.be or www.demunt.be BRUSSELS, La Monnaie/De Munt JANUARY 29-Feb 9: Rosas in Achterland (ch: De Keersmaeker)
The Book of Mormon
The Prince of Egypt
Royal Ballet Flanders
www.theprinceofegyptmusical.com DOMINION THEATRE, London W1T Tel: 0345 200 7982, Prices: £19.50 - £139.50 ch: Cheesman. Mats Thu & Sat Limited season from Feb 5
www.balletvlaanderen.be ANTWERP, Stadsschouwburg JANUARY 25-26,29-31: RASA [after La Bayadère] (ch: Proietto)
School of Rock
Danse Danse
www.uk.schoolofrockthemusical.com GILLIAN LYNNE THEATRE, London WC2 Tel: 020 7087 7750, Prices: £15 - £150 ch: Hunter. Mats Thu, Sat & Sun
www.dansedanse.ca MONTRÉAL, Théâtre Maisonneuve, Place des Arts JANUARY 30-Feb 1: Compagnie Marie Chouinard
www.bookofmormonlondon.com PRINCE OF WALES THEATRE, London W1 Tel: 0844 482 5110, Prices: £39.50 - £97 ch: Nicholaw. Mats Wed & Sat
Come From Away www.comefromawaylondon.co.uk PHOENIX THEATRE, London WC2 Tel: 0844 871 7615, Prices: £25 - £95 dir: Ashley. Mats Wed & Sat
Curtains www.curtainsmusical.com WYNDHAM’S THEATRE, London WC2 Tel: 0844 482 5120, Prices: From £17.50, ch: David Limited season to Jan 11
Thriller Live www.thrillerlive.co.uk LYRIC THEATRE, London W1 Tel: 0844 482 9674, Prices: £26 - £58 ch: Lloyd. Mats Sat & Sun
Dear Evan Hansen
Tina: The Musical
www.dearevanhansen.com/london NOËL COWARD THEATRE, London WC2 Tel: 0344 482 5151, Prices: £27.50 - £177.50 dir: Meford. Mats Wed & Sat
www.tinathemusical.com ALDWYCH THEATRE, London WC2 Tel: 0845 200 7981, Prices: £10 - £129 ch: Van Laast. Mats Thu & Sat
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
www.waitressthemusical.co.uk ADELPHI THEATRE, London WC2 Tel: 020 7087 7754, Prices: £29.50 - £135 ch: Brock. Mats Wed & Sat
www.everybodystalkingabout jamie.co.uk APOLLO THEATRE, London W1 Tel: 0330 333 4809, Prices: £20 - £95 ch: Prince. Mats Wed & Sat
Hamilton www.hamiltonthemusical.co.uk VICTORIA PALACE THEATRE, London SW1 Tel: 0844 248 5000, Prices: £37.50 - £200 ch: Blankenbuehler. Mats Thu & Sat
The Lion King www.thelionking.co.uk LYCEUM THEATRE, London WC2 Tel: 0844 871 3000, Prices: £20 - £52.50 ch: Fagan. Mats Wed, Sat & Sun
Waitress
White Christmas
CANADA
National Ballet of Canada www.national.ballet.ca TORONTO, Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts JANUARY Until Jan 4: The Nutcracker (prod: Kudelka)
CUBA National Ballet of Cuba www.balletcuba.cult.cu HAVANA, Gran Teatro JANUARY 3-5: The Nutcracker (prod: Alonso)
CZECH REPUBLIC Czech National Ballet
www.whitechristmasthemusical.co.uk DOMINION THEATRE, London W1T Tel: 0345 200 7982, Prices: £25 - £175 ch: Mear. Limited season until Jan 4
www.narodni-divadlo.cz PRAGUE, National Theatre (N), Estates Theatre (E) JANUARY 9: The Nutcracker - A Christmas Carol (ch: Vàmos) (N) 14-15,18: Leonce and Lena (ch: Spuck) (E)
Wicked
DENMARK
www.wickedthemusical.co.uk APOLLO VICTORIA THEATRE, London SW1 Tel: 0870 400 0889, Prices: £45 - £55 Mats Wed & Sat
Mamma Mia!
OVERSEAS
www.mamma-mia.com NOVELLO THEATRE, London WC2 Tel: 0844 482 5115, Prices: £20 - £95 ch: Van Laast. Mats Thu & Sat
Resident/Guest performances are listed alphabetically by country, then by company name.
Mary Poppins
AUSTRIA
www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk PRINCE EDWARD THEATRE, London W1D
Vienna State Ballet www.volksoper.at
Royal Danish Ballet www.kglteater.dk COPENHAGEN, Royal Theatre Old Stage JANUARY 12,15,17: August 2.0. (ch: Bjørn, Hübbe), Ballo della regina (ch: Balanchine), Raymonda Act III (ch: Petipa) 16: Hübberiet 1
ESTONIA Estonian National Ballet www.opera.ee TALLINN, National Opera
WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 • 115
Calendar JANUARY 5M&E,12M&E,19,22,26: The Nutcracker (ch: Stevenson) 10: Alice in Wonderland (ch: Schiavoni) 30: A Streetcar Named Desire (ch: Lopez Ochoa)
FINLAND Finnish National Ballet
www.opera.i HELSINKI, Opera House JANUARY 18,23,25M,30: La Bayadère (prod: Makarova) 22,24: Finnish National Ballet School
FRANCE Chaillot, Théâtre national de la Danse www.theatre-chaillot.fr PARIS, Théâtre National de la Danse JANUARY 8-11: Emanuel Gat in WORKS 22-25: Brigitte Seth and Roser Montlló Guberna in Family machine 26-28: David Coria / David Lagos in ¡Fandango! 29-30: Ana Morales 30-31: Olga Pericet
Paris Opéra Ballet www.operadeparis.fr PARIS, Palais Garnier JANUARY 18,20-23,26,29: Rosas in L’Après-midi d’un faune (ch: De Keersmaeker), The Paris Opéra in L’Enfant et les Sortilèges (ch: Hosseinpour) 31: Giselle (prod: Bart, Polyakov)
GERMANY Aalto Ballet www.theater-essen.de ESSEN, Aalto Theater JANUARY 1,11: Rock around Barock (ch: Van Cauwenbergh) 4: The Nutcracker (ch: Van Cauwenbergh) 17,19,29: The Sleeping Beauty (prod: Van Cauwenberg) 26: Onegin (ch: Cranko)
Ballett Am Rhein www.ballettamrhein.de DÜSSELDORF, Opernhaus Düsseldorf JANUARY 1: Swan Lake (prod: Schläpfer) 16-17: Forgotten Land (ch: Kylián), Lamentation (ch: Graham), Steps in the Street (ch: Graham), Cello Concerto (ch: Schläpfer) DUISBERG, Theater Duisberg JANUARY 10,12,19,25: Square Dance (ch: Balanchine), Symphonic Poem (ch: Şucheană), Reformation Symphony (ch: Schläpfer)
Bavarian State Ballet www.staatsballett.de MUNICH, Nationaltheater JANUARY 2: The Nutcracker (ch: Neumeier) 19,25: Spartacus (ch: Grigorovich)
Festspiele Ludwigshafen www.theater-im-pfalzbau.de LUDWIGSHAFEN,
116 • DANCING TIMES
Theater im Pfaltzbau JANUARY 17-18: Ailey II 24-25: Opus 14 (ch: Attou) FEBRUARY 12: The Sea Within (ch: Gruwez) 21: Michael Clark Company in New Work (2020) (ch: Clark)
Hamburg Ballet www.hamburgballett.de HAMBURG, Opera House JANUARY 1,5M&E,12: The Nutcracker (ch: Neumeier) 9-10,18,23: Bernstein Dances (ch: Neumeier) 26,30-31: The Glass Menagerie (ch: Neumeier)
Leipzig Ballet www.oper-leipzig.de LEIPZIG, Opera House JANUARY 1: The Nutcracker (ch: Dury) 24: The Sleeping Beauty (prod: Verbruggen)
Semperoper Ballet www.semperoper.de DRESDEN, Sächsische Staatsoper, Semperoper JANUARY 10,12,17,18M&E,19M&E: The Nutcracker (ch: Watkin)
Staatsballett Berlin www.staatsballett-berlin.de BERLIN, Komische Oper (KO), Staatsoper (SO), Volksbühne Berlin (V) JANUARY 1,3,10: The Nutcracker (prod: Medvedev, Burlaka) (SO) 3-5: Sunny (ch: Gat) (V) 5M&E,7,9,11,31: Theme and Variations (ch: Balanchine), The Second Detail (ch: Forsythe), Oval (ch: Siegal) (SO) 24,28,30: Plateau Efect (ch: Van Dinther) (KO)
ITALY
31: Swan Lake (prod: Grigorovich)
Ballet of Teatro alla Scala
Maryinsky Ballet
www.teatroallascala.org MILAN, Teatro alla Scala JANUARY 3,11,14: Sylvia (ch: Legris) 24-25,28,31: Adagio Hammerklavier (ch: Van Manen), Kammerballet (ch: Van Manen), Sarcasmen (ch: Van Manen), Les Combat des anges (ch: Petiti), Le Jeune Homme et la Mort (ch: Petit)
www.mariinsky.ru ST PETERSBURG, Maryinsky Theatre JANUARY 2M&E,11M&E: The Nutcracker (ch: Vainonen) 3M&E: La Sylphide (prod: Von Rosen) 4M&E: Anna Karenina (ch: Ratmansky) 5M&E: Don Quixote (ch: after Petipa) 6M&E: The Four Seasons (ch: Zhivoi) 7,9-10,31: Swan Lake (prod: K Sergeyev) 8: Le Corsaire (prod: Gusev) 9: Daphnis et Chloé (ch: Varnava) 12M&E: The Nutcracker 24-25: The Fountain of Bakhchisarai (ch; Zakharov) 26M: The Young Lady and the Hooligan (ch: Boyarsky) 26E: The Young Lady and the Hooligan, Leningrad Symphony (ch: Belsky) 28-29: La Bayadère (ch: after Petipa) 30: Les Noces (ch: Nijinska), Le Sacre du printemps (ch: Hodson after Nijinsky)
Ballet of Teatro di San Carlo www.teatrosancarlo.it NAPLES, Teatro di San Carlo JANUARY 2,3M&E,4M&E,5M: The Nutcracker (ch: Picone)
Teatro dell’Opera di Roma www.operaroma.it ROME, Teatro Costanzi JANUARY 2-3,4M&E,5M,7-8: Swan Lake (prod: Pech) 30,31M&E: Glass Pieces, In the Night, The Concert (all ch: Robbins)
MEXICO Ballet Folklórico de México www.balletfolkloricodemexico.com.mx MEXICO CITY, Palacio de Bellas Artes The company performs on Wednesdays and Sundays every week throughout the year. Check website for details
MONACO Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo www.balletsdemontecarlo.com MONTE CARLO, Grimaldi Forum JANUARY Until Jan 5: Coppél-i.A (ch: Maillot)
NORWAY Norwegian National Ballet
Mikhailovsky Ballet www.mikhailovsky.ru ST PETERSBURG, Mikhailovsky Theatre JANUARY 3,4M&E,5M&E,6,7M&E: Cinderella (prod: Messerer after Zakharov) 10,11M&E,12M&E: The Nutcracker (ch: Duato) 15-16: Le Corsaire (prod: Ruzimatov) 18,19M&E: La Bayadère (prod: Duato) 20,23: Don Quixote (prod: Messerer) 25,26E: Swan Lake (prod: Messerer) 26M: Cipollino (ch: Mayorov) 29-31: Spartacus (ch: Kovtun)
Stanislavsky Ballet
OMAN
www.stanmus.com MOSCOW, Stanislavsky Theatre JANUARY 2M&E,3M&E,4M&E: The Nutcracker (ch: Vainonen) 6M&E: The Snow Maiden (ch: Bourmeister) 19-20: Giselle (prod: Hilaire) 24-25: La Esmeralda (ch: Bourmeister) 30-31: Manon (ch: MacMillan)
www.forum.ludwigsburg.de/ startseite/kultur/tanzforum.html LUDWIGSBURG, Forum and Schlosspark JANUARY 10: Danser Casa
Royal Opera House
SWEDEN
Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch
RUSSIA
www.operan.se STOCKHOLM, Royal Opera House JANUARY 3,4M&E,6M,11M&E,17,18M&E,22,24: The Nutcracker (ch: Isberg)
Bolshoi Ballet
SWITZERLAND
Stuttgart Ballet www.stuttgart-ballet.de STUTTGART, Opera House JANUARY 3,5M&E,18,24,26M&E,31: The Sleeping Beauty (prod: Haydée) 10-11: new Adorisio work, new Heise work, new Novitzky work
Tanzforum
www.pina-bausch.de WUPPERTAL, Opera House JANUARY 24-26,28-29,31: Bluebeard (ch: Bausch)
HUNGARY Hungarian National Ballet www.opera.hu BUDAPEST, Erkel Theatre JANUARY 4M,5M: The Nutcracker (prod: Eagling, Solymosi) 18,24,25M&E,26M&E,28-29: Giselle (prod: Lavrovsky)
www.operaen.no OSLO, Opera House JANUARY 16-17,19,24,26: Ibsen’s Ghosts (ch: Espejord) 25,28,31: Hedda Gabler (ch: Aune) 30-31: Jo Strømgren Kompani in The Breakdown (ch: Strømgren)
www.rohmuscat.org.om MUSCAT, Royal Opera House JANUARY 23-25: The Bolshoi Ballet in Onegin (ch: Cranko)
www.bolshoi.ru MOSCOW, Bolshoi Theatre JANUARY 2,3M&E,4M&E,5M&E,6M,7M&E,8M: The Nutcracker (ch: Grigorovich) 14-16: The Flames of Paris (prod: Ratmansky) 18M&E,19M: Coppélia (prod: Vikharev) 21-22: Don Quixote (prod: Fadeyechev) 24,25M&E,26E: Giselle (prod: Ratmansky) 29-30: A Hero of Our Time (ch: Possokhov)
Royal Swedish Ballet
Zürich Ballet www.zuercherballett.ch ZÜRICH, Opera House JANUARY 11,17,26M,30-31: Approximate Sonata 2016, One Flat Thing (all ch: Forsythe)
USA Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre www.alvinailey.org NEW YORK, City Center, 131 West
Calendar 55th St, New York, NY 10019 JANUARY 1: Ode (ch: Roberts), Fandango (ch: Lubovitch), City of Rain (ch: Brown), BUSK (ch: Barton) 2: Ode, Fandango, Mass (ch: Battle), Revelations (ch: Ailey) 3: Highlights of Ailey Classics, Revelations (all ch: Ailey) 4M: Mass, In/Side (ch: Battle), A Case of You (ch: Jamison), Divining (ch: Jamison), Revelations 4E: Divining, Fandango, Greenwood (ch: Byrd), Ode 5M: BUSK, A Case of You, City of Rain, EN (ch: Lang) 5E: Season Highlights
American Ballet Theatre www.abt.org JOHN F KENNEDY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS, Washington, DC FEBRUARY 11-16: Giselle (prod: McKenzie)
Atlanta Ballet www.atlantaballet.com ATLANTA, Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center FEBRUARY 7-15: Elemental Brubeck (ch: Lubovitch), new Rhoden work, Tuplet (ch: Ekman) 13-16: Swan Lake (prod: Wells)
Ballet Arizona www.balletaz.org PHOENIX, Symphony Hall FEBRUARY 13-16: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (ch: Andersen)
Ballet West www.balletwest.org SALT LAKE CITY, Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre FEBRUARY 7-15: Giselle (prod: Sklute)
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo www.trockadero.org US Spring tour. See website for booking details and repertoire FEBRUARY 8: TALLAHASSEE, Ruby Diamond Concert Hall 22: DURHAM, Carolina Theatre MARCH 3: ERIE, Mercyhurst Institute for Arts and Culture 11: ST PAUL, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts 13: DAVIS, Mondavi Center 14-15: BERKELEY, Cal Performances 18: TUCSON, University of Arizona APRIL 18: NEW ORLEANS, Ballet Association 20: LA CROSSE, Viterbo University Fine Arts Center 24: OVERLAND PARK, Carlsen Center at Johnson County Community College
Boston Ballet www.bostonballet.org BOSTON OPERA HOUSE FEBRUARY 27-Mar 8: Agon (ch: Balanchine), In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated (ch: Forsythe), Glass Pieces (ch: Robbins)
Charlotte Ballet www.charlotteballet.org CHARLOTTE, Patricia
McBride and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux Center for Dance JANUARY 24-Feb 15: new Cyrus work, new work TBA
Dorrance Dance www.dorrancedance.com Tour of ETM: Double Down (ch: Dorrance). See website for booking details JANUARY 31: AUBURN, Auburn University, Woltosz Theatre Tour of Myelination (ch: Dorrance). See website for booking details FEBRUARY 21-22: ANN ARBOR, University of Michigan, Power Center
Houston Ballet www.houstonballet.org HOUSTON, Wortham Theater Center FEBRUARY 27-Mar 8: The Sleeping Beauty (prod: Stevenson)
Joffrey Ballet
www.jofrey.org CHICAGO, The Auditorium Theatre FEBRUARY 12-23: Commedia (ch: Wheeldon), Mono Lisa (ch: Galili), Bliss! (ch: Martinez), The Sofa (ch: Galili), The Times Are Racing (ch: Peck)
John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts www.kennedy-center.org WASHINGTON, DC, 2700 F Street NW Washington, DC 20566 Eisenhower Theater (ET), Opera House (OH) JANUARY 21-26: New Adventures in Swan Lake (ch: Bourne) (OH) 24-25: Vuyani Dance Theatre in Cion: Requiem of Ravel’s Boléro (ch: Maqoma) (ET) 28-29: National Ballet of Canada in The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude (ch: Forsythe), Petite Mort (ch: Kylián), Piano Concerto #1 (ch: Ratmansky) (OH) 30-Feb 2: National Ballet of Canada in The Sleeping Beauty (prod: Nureyev) (OH) FEBRUARY 4-9: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (OH)
Joyce Theater www.joyce.org NEW YORK, 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street, New York, NY 1001 JANUARY Until Jan 5: Dorrance Dance in Nutcracker Suite, All Good Things Come to an End (all ch: Dorrance) 7-12: American Dance Platform, with performances by Rennie Harris Puremovement, Urban Bush Women, Limón Dance Company, Bruce Wood Dance, Embodiment Project, Rosie Herrera Dance Theater, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and ODC/Dance 15-18: Cion: Requiem of Ravel’s Boléro (ch: Maqoma) 21-Feb 2: Complexions Contemporary Ballet 4-9: Companhia de Dança Deborah Colker in Cão Sem Plumas (Dog
Without Feathers) (ch: Colker) 11-16: Che Malambo
Mark Morris Dance Group www.markmorrisdancegroup.org NEW YORK, Mark Morris Dance Center, 3 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217 Tour of Pepperland (ch: Morris). See website for booking details JANUARY 25: MINNEAPOLIS, Carlson Family Stage 30-31: HOUSTON, Cullen Theater FEBRUARY 8: KANSAS CITY, Kaufman Center for the Performing Arts
14,15M&E,16,18-21,22M&E,23: Swan Lake (prod: Martins) 26-28,29E: In G Major (ch: Robbins), new Peck work, DGV: Danse à Grande Vitesse (ch: Wheeldon) MARCH 1: In G Major, new Peck work, DGV: Danse à Grande Vitesse
New York City Center www.nycitycenter.org NEW YORK, 131 W 55th St JANUARY Until Jan 5: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater 30-Feb 9: New Adventures in Swan Lake (ch: Bourne)
Miami City Ballet
Oregon Ballet Theatre
www.miamicityballet.org MIAMI, Adrienne Arsht Center (AC), FORT LAUDERDALE, Broward Center (BC), WEST PALM BEACH, Kravis Center (KC) JANUARY 10-12: I’m Old Fashioned (ch: Robbins), This Bitter Earth (ch: Wheeldon), Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux (ch: Balanchine), Symphonic Dances (ch: Ratmansky) (AC) 17-19: I’m Old Fashioned, This Bitter Earth, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Symphonic Dances (KC) 25-26: I’m Old Fashioned, This Bitter Earth, Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux, Symphonic Dances (BC) FEBRUARY 14-16: Nine Sinatra Songs (ch: Tharp), Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes (ch: Peck), Firebird (ch: Balanchine, Robbins) (AC) 21-23: Nine Sinatra Songs, Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes, Firebird (KC) 29-Mar 1: Nine Sinatra Songs, Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes, Firebird (BC)
www.obt.org PORTLAND, Keller Auditorium FEBRUARY 15-23: The Sleeping Beauty (prod: Stowell)
New York City Ballet www.nycballet.com NEW YORK, David H Koch Theater, Lincoln Center JANUARY Until Jan 5: The Nutcracker (ch: Balanchine) 21,23,26: Danses concertantes, Monumentum Pro Gesualdo, Movements for Piano and Orchestra, Stravinsky Violin Concerto (all ch: Balanchine) 22,24,25M&E,28-29: Allegro Brillante (ch: Balanchine), La Source (ch: Balanchine), Firebird (ch: Balanchine, Robbins) 30-31: Bright (ch: Peck), Polyphonia (ch: Wheeldon), new Ratmansky work FEBRUARY 1M,2: Danses concertantes, Monumentum Pro Gesualdo, Movements for Piano and Orchestra, Stravinsky Violin Concerto 1E: Belles-lettres (ch: Peck), In Creases (ch: Peck), Firebird (ch: Balanchine, Robbins) 4,7,8M,12: Bright, Polyphonia, new Ratmansky work 5,8E,11,13: Belles-lettres, In Creases, Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (ch: Balanchine) 6,9,25,29M: Haief Divertimento (ch: Balanchine), Concertino (ch: Robbins), Episodes (ch: Balanchine), Rodeo: Four Dance Episodes (ch: Peck)
Orlando Ballet www.orlandoballet.org ORLANDO, Dr Phillips Center for the Performing Arts FEBRUARY 14-16: Cinderella (ch: Morgan)
Paciic Northwest Ballet www.pnb.org SEATTLE, Marion Oliver McCaw Hall JANUARY 31-Feb 9: Cinderella (ch: Stowell)
San Francisco Ballet www.sfballet.org SAN FRANCISCO, War Memorial Opera House JANUARY 21-Feb 2: Cinderella (ch: Wheeldon) FEBRUARY 2020 11-12,14,16M,20,22M&E: Bespoke (ch: Welch), Hummingbird (ch: Scarlett), Sandpaper Ballet (ch: Morris) 13,15M&E,18-19,21,23M: The Ininite Ocean (ch: Liang), new McIntyre work, Etudes (ch: Lander)
Sarasota Ballet www.sarasotaballet.org SARASOTA, FSU Center for the Performing Arts JANUARY 31-Feb 3: Les Rendezvous (ch: Ashton), Brandenburgs (ch: Taylor), I Napoletani (ch: Walsh) FEBRUARY 28-Mar 1: Paul Taylor Dance Company MARCH 27-28: Romeo and Juliet (ch: Ashton) (VW)
Tulsa Ballet www.tulsaballet.com TULSA, Performing Arts Center FEBRUARY 13-16: Dorothy and the Prince of Oz (ch: Liang)
The Washington Ballet www.washingtonballet.org WASHINGTON DC, John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Center FEBRUARY 19-23: Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (ch: Balanchine), Allegro Brillante (ch: Balanchine), Thais (ch: Ashton), Birthday Ofering (ch: Ashton)
WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 • 117
Listings g
Schools, classes & dances AT, B, C, B&L, O, SW Three Stars Dancing: Derby, [t] 07831 663 857. AT, B&L, S
Afro-Cuban Argentine Tango Ballet B&L – Ballroom & Latin Brazilian Samba Contemporary FLamenco Folk Hip Hop Irish Jazz Musical Theatre Northern Ireland Other Salsa SEquence South Asian SWing Tap Republic of Ireland
Leicestershire 118 Dance Studio: Leicester, [t] 0116 251 7073 / 0116 289 2518. B&L, H, O ABC Ballroom: Leicester, [t] 0116 253 0463. AT, B&L, O, SE, SW Burbage Dance Studio: Hinckley, [t] 01455 616 146. B&L, SW
Scotland
Lincolnshire North/ North East East Midlands
North West West Midlands
Eastern England
Wales South West
South East
Dance schools and classes are listed by region. We have concentrated on schools ofering ballroom/Latin or social dance forms. Please contact the school directly for more details, and contact us on editorial@ dancing-times.co.uk if you would like your school to be included here. Whilst every care has been taken in compiling these listings, Dancing Times cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions.
EASTERN ENGLAND Cambridge Joanna Navarre Dance: Cambridge, [t] 07964 586 120. AT, B&L, SW
Essex
Anthony Cliford Dance Studios: Romford, [t] 01708 783 576. B&L, H, J, O Athene School of Dancing, The Dancentre: Chelmsford, [t] 01245 475 288. AT, B&L, SE Billericay Dancing Club: Buttsbury Infant School, Billericay, [t] 01277 654 768. AT, B&L, SE Chelmsford Dance Centre: Chelmsford, [t] 01245 473 355. AT, B&L, H Diamante Dance Academy: Chelmsford, [t] 07505 003 078. B&L Emma’s Dance Academy: Ongar and Waltham Abbey, [t] 07956 116 827. B&L Jenny’s Jems: Warley, [t] 01268 762 626. B&L, SE Julia Spencer School of Dancing: Clacton-on-Sea, [t] 07720 844 619. B&L, H, SE Kings Palais of Dance: Grays, [t] 01375 375 810. AT, B&L, H, O, S Phillips Dancing: Witham, [t] 01245 258 510. B&L, O Simply-the-West: Brentwood, Chelmsford and Great Dunmow, [t] 01621 850 195. B&L Southend Dance Centre: Southend, [t] 01268 743 116. B&L , H, O Steps Ahead School of Dancing: Collier: Collier Row and Romford, [t] 07789 552 846. B&L Time4Dance: North Weald, Blackmore
118 • DANCING TIMES
& Highwood [t] 07872 427 946. B&L United Dance Studios: Stanford Le Hope, [t] 01375 672 864. B&L
Norfolk Ballroom and Latin Classes: Wymondham, [t] 01953 607 474. B&L Hemsby Sequence Dance Club: Hemsby Village Hall, [t] 01603 270 709. SE Larinda and Nigel Smith School of Dance: Great Yarmouth, [t] 01493 789 918. B&L, SE Simply Dance: Spooner Row/Watton, [t] 01953 455 500. AT, B&L, SE, SW Tempo School of Dancing: Great Yarmouth, [t] 01493 665 558. B&L, SE
Norwich Miller Dance: Norwich, [t] 01603 488 249. AT, B&L Old Time Dance: Norwich, [t] 01760 441 055.
Suffolk Academy of Ballroom Dancing: Felixstowe/Newmarket, [t] 01394 282 285. B&L, SE Ballroom Experience Co: Stowmarket/ Bury St Edmunds/ West Sufolk, [t] 0845 053 7475. AC, AT, B&L, S Lait Dance Club: St Matthews Hall, Ipswich, [t] 01473 743 079. AC, B&L, H, O, S
EAST MIDLANDS Derbyshire Déda: Derby, [t] 01332 370 911.
Ballroom Blitz, The Mitchell School of Dance: Barton-uponHumber and Kirton-in-Lindsey, [t] 01652 649 164. B&L, O, SW, S Clarke’s Dance Studio: Boston and Spalding, [t] 01775 840 049. B&L, SE, SW Cliftons Dance Academy: Grimsby, New Waltham, Cleethorpes, Old Clee, Stallingborough and Immingham, [t] 01472 822 270. B&L, H, O, SE, SW Go Dance Studios: Lincoln and Sleaford, [t] 01529 300 930. B, B&L, H, J, MT, O, T Karen Chevalier School of Dance: Grantham, [t] 01476 578 999. AT, B&L, SE The Lincoln Dancentre: Lincoln, [t] 01522 688 676. B&L, O, SE Mayfair School of Dancing: Grimsby, [t] 01472 870 704. AT, B&L, H, O, S Premiere Dance Centre: Lincoln, [t] 01522 510 080. B&L, H, O, SE
Nottinghamshire Ann Culley School of Dance: Papplewick, Nottinghamshire, [t] 0115 963 3428. B&L, SA, SE,O, H, SW Expressions, Mansield, [t] 01623 647 337. B, B&L, H, J, MT, S Regency Dance Centre: Sutton-in-Ashield, Nottingham, [t] 01623 552 737. B&L, B, S, SE
THE NORTH/ NORTH EAST Yorkshire
Butterly Dance Studios: Goole, [t] 01405 780 626. B, B&L, H, MT, T City-Limits Dancentre: Sheield, [t] 0114 234 4866. AT, B, B&L, H, MT, S, SW, T Drapers Dance Centre: Sheield, [t] 0114 269 5703. B&L, S, SW, O En Pointe Dance School: York. B, C, J, MT, O, T Finders Dance Studio: Huddersield, [t] 01484 607 158. B, SE, SW The Hatton Academy of Dance and Arts: South Shields, [t] 0191 454 2889. B&L, S, SE, O Helen Neill School of Dance: Penistone, Sheield, [t] 01226 763 322. B&L, BS, SA, SE, SW Hype Dance Company: Sheield, [t] 0114 2470 6757. B, C, H, J, T Jo’s Dance Centre: Todmorden, [t] 01706 815 260. B&L, BS, H, J, O, S, SE, SW Julie Roper School of Dancing: Hull, [t] 01482 572 883. B&L, SE Lacey School of Dancing: Brough, [t] 01482 666 863. B&L, O, SE, SW Laura Martin Dance: Yorkshire and
Humberside, [t] 07835 037 253. B&L, O Laws Page Dance Centre: Whitby, [t] 01947 604 516. B&L, O, S, SE, SW Rhythm and Dreams Dancing Centre: The First Floor, 833-839 Hessle High Road, Hull, [t] 01482 448 347. B&L, BS, O, S, SW Shandaw School of Dance: Leeds/ Bradford, [t] 01132 390 391. B&L, H, O, S, SE, SW Smith and Jaques Dance Club: Billingham, [t] 01642 560 068. B&L, O Yorkshire Rose Academy of Dance: York, [t] 07891 004 850. B, C, H, J, MT, O, T
NORTH WEST Cheshire Bruce’s School of Dance: Chester, [t] 01244 881 316. B&L, SW Charlesway School of Dance: Deeside, [t] 01244 520 534. B&L, SE DanceBasics: nr Crewe, [t] 01270 669 084. B&L, H, S, SE, SW Dance Fever: Wilmslow, [t] 07973 921 714. B&L, H, S, O DanceWorks: Altrincham, [t] 0161 291 1295. H, J, O Glenda Harding Theatre School: Macclesield, [t] 01625 263 055. MT, O Hartland School of Dance: Cheshire, [t] 07712 069 627. B&L, O, SE Ian Rowe: Crewe, [t] 01270 253 121. B&L, BS, O, S, SE JanNik Dance: Altrincham, [t] 07896 230 945. O Northwich Dance Company: Northwich, [t] 01606 49050. F, H, O, S Pyramid and Parr Hall: Warrington, [t] 01925 442 345. B&L, FL, H, O, S Stockport Dance Centre: Stockport, [t] 0161 429 9507. B&L, F, O, S, SW Whitby Sports and Social Club: Ellesmere Port, [t] 0151 355 4661. B&L Willsher School of Dancing: Ellesmere Port, [t] 0151 339 4362. B&L, S
Cumbria Wilde Dance School: Kirkby Lonsdale/Kendal, [t] 01524 276 455. B&L, SE, SW
Isle of Man Killey Academy of Dancing: Onchan, [t] 01624 623 414. B&L, SE
Lancashire JLC Dance Ltd: Blackpool, [t] 01253 693 350. AT, B&L, O, S, SE, SW Dancers Studio: Preston, [t] 01772 254 161/ 07970 752 341. B&L, F, H, J, O, S, SE, SW Danceworks: Clitheroe, [t] 01200 443 791. B&L, O, S DAPA Centre: Blackburn, [t] 01254 699 221. F, H, J, L, O, S Dawn Chapman School of Dance: Todmorden, [t] 01706 839 113. B&L, BS, H, J, O, S, SE, SW Fever Dance Studio: Preston, [t] 01772 703 704. B&L, BS, F, H, J, O, S, SE, SW Helen Green Academy of Dance: Trawden, [t] 07967 831 661. H, L, O Judy Clegg Dancentre: Rossendale, [t] 01706 227 564. B&L, H, J, S, SE, SW Morecambe Bay Ballroom and Latin Dance Group: Sedbergh, [t] 01539 620 536. B&L, SE, SW
Listings Reeders Dance Studio: Preston, [t] 01772 704 651. B&L, H, O, S, SE, SW Rossendale Dance and Drama Centre: Rossendale, [t] 01706 211 161. B&L, F, H, I, J, S, SE, SW Sanderson Dance and Fitness: Nelson, [t] 01282 617 722. B&L, H, J, O, S, SE, SW
Merseyside Ballroom Blitz, [t] 07799 701 815. B&L, AT, S The Bullen School of Dancing: Southport, [t] 01704 544 675. B&L, S, SE, O June Hopield School of Dancing: Thorton, [t] 0151 476 0109/07789 855 408. B, O The Hipshaw School of Dance: Formby, [t] 01704 576 137. B&L, S, SE, O M S Dance: Wallasey, [t] 0151 639 9901. B&L, SE Martin’s Dance Centre: Liverpool, [t] 0151 228 4586. B&L, O, S, SE, SW Merrall’s Academy: Gayton, [t] 0151 342 7462. B&L, O, S, SW Margaret Redmond: Crosby, [t] 0776 811 3078. B&L, SE Wirral Dance Club: Bromborough, [t] 0151 339 7116. B&L
Greater Manchester Atherton Dance Centre: Atherton, [t] 01942 888 711. B&L, H, O, S Lorraine C Eckersley Dance School: Prestwich/Whiteield, [t] 01706 872 556. B&L, O, S, SE PB Dance Studio: Davyhulme, [t] 0161 746 7786. B&L, F, O, S, SE, SW Sandham’s Dance Studio: Bolton, [t] 01204 795 130. B&L, H, J, O, S Steppin’ Out Dance Centre: Stretford, [t] 0161 865 1443. B&L, O, S
SCOTLAND Aberdeen 2 Left Feet Dance School: Stonehaven, [t] 01569 764 130. B,&L, F, SE Hay Memorial Hall: Banf, [t] 01466 751 273. SE Irene Taylor Dance School: Portlethen, [t] 01224 780 186. F
Edinburgh Woolmet Dance Studio: Edinburgh, [t] 0131 258 1251/ 07810 545 839. H, J, L, O, S, SW
Glasgow Dance Factory Dance Studios: Glasgow, [t] 0141 423 9430. FL, J, H, O The Dance House: Maryhill Community Education Centre, [t] 0141 332 1490. FL, H, L, O, SW
Moray Caroline Coomber Dance: Elgin, [t] 01343 541 983. B&L
SOUTH EAST Bedfordshire/ Buckinghamshire Adrian Marsh School of Dance: Various locations in Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire, [t] 01908 393 315. B&L, O, SW Castle Street Dance Studios: High Wycombe, Bucks, [t] 07594 475 277. B&L, H, O Dallas Dance Club: Luton, [t] 01296 482 280. B&L, H, O, S, SE, SW Dancesport Academy: Various locations in Bedfordshire, [t] 0845 388 9307. B&L
GB Dance: Aylesbury, [t] 07582 551 178. B&L, SE, SW Katsteps Ballroom Dancing: Chesham, Bucks, [t] 01494 580 327. B&L Strictly Salsa: Around Bucks, [t] 07984 149 971. S
Berkshire Barbara and David Stewart: Maidenhead, [t] 01628 629 563. B&L, SE Eva’s Dancing Studio: Slough, [t] 01753 647 230. B&L, O, SW Haymill Centre: Slough, [t] 01753 544 323. B&L, SE LearnToDance: Burnham Park Hall, Windsor Lane, Burnham [t] 01753 360 121. B&L, SE, S, SW Line and Latin American Dance: Wexham Court Primary School, Slough, [t] 01753 595 781. B&L, O Lynn’s School of Dancing: Burnham, [t] 01628 661 472. B&L, O, SW Raymond Miles School of Dancing: Reading, [t] 0118 947 8874. B&L, O, S, SE
East Sussex Brighton Jive Promotions: Brighton, [t] 01273 560 480. SW Hampden Park Old Time Dance Club: Summerheath Hall, Hailsham, [t] 01323 847 506. SE Modern Sequence Dancing: Rox School of Dance: Brighton, [t] 01273 772 462. B&L, S, SW Star Dance School: East Sussex [t] 01273 719 500. B&L
Central and Greater London ACW Dance Studio: Wimbledon, [t] 020 8871 0890. B&L, S, SE, SW Age Concern Beginners Samba: Peel Centre, Percy Circus, WC1, [t] 020 7439 3405. BS Alpha Dancing Club: Eltham, London, [t] 07850 178 869. B&L Ann Langley School of Dancing: Shepperton, [t] 020 8751 2177. B&L, O, S, SE, SW The Basement: Kentish Town, [t] 020 7700 7722. H, J, O, S Central London Dance Vernon Kemp: London W1, [t] 020 7224 6004. B&L, S, SE, SW Ceroc Dance: Brent Town Hall, Wembley, [t] 020 8937 6204. O Curry’s Dance Music: Fulham Town Hall, SW6, [t] 01895 633 960. B&L, SE Dance Addiction: Enield Highway Community Centre, Enield EN3, [t] 020 8363 3636. B&L, F Dance Attic Studios: Fulham, [t] 020 7610 2055. B&L, FL, H, O, S, SW Dance Wise: New Eltham, [t] 020 8294 1576. B&L, H, J, O, S, SW Danceworks: Mayfair, [t] 020 7629 6183. B&L, BS, FL, H, O, S Dancing Club LA: Barnet, [t] 020 8207 2323. B&L, S Daphne Harris School of Dancing: Kentish Town, [t] 020 7439 3405. B&L, SE East London Dance: Stratford, [t] 020 8279 1050. H, O, S Expressions Studios: Kentish Town, [t] 020 7813 1580. AT, H, S, O The Factory: Hornsey, [t] 020 7272 1122. B&L, H, J, O, S Fairhall Dancing: Catford, [t] 020 8699 5262. B&L, O, SE Firely Blues Dance Club: City Firely Bar EC4, [t] 01895 613 703. O, SW Greenwich Dance Agency: London, [t] 020 8293 9741. S, O
Hill Dance Academy: Hackney and Streatham, [t] 0777 2199 103. B&L, BS, O, SW Hutson School of Dancing: South Woodford, [t] 020 8590 3442. B&L, SW Independent Dance School: London W1, [t] 07451 532 5420. B&L, BS, O, S, SE, SW Inspiration 2 Dance: Kensington and Holland Park, [t] 07711 652 875 . B&L, S, O JB’s Dance Studio: London E12, [t] 020 8478 6055. B&L, F, H, O, S, SE, SW J&B Dance: N3, [t] 020 8444 0280. B&L Jive Salsa: London W9, [t] 07956 392 555. B&L, O, SW Karen Hardy Studios: Imperial Wharf, London, SW6, [t] 0871 218 2341. B&L, O Kensington Dance Studio: London W14, [t] 020 7823 9949. B&L, O, S, SW London Swing Dance Society: London WC1, [t] 01895 613 703. SW, O Michael’s Dance Studio: Chingford, [t] 020 8529 8396. B&L, O, S, SE, SW Modern Jive: 400 venues across the UK, [t] 01233 625 362. JI Morley College: London SE1, [t] 020 7450 1832. B&L, F, FL, H, J, O, S, SW Oak Hall: Southbourne Gardens, Eastcote, HA4, [t] 020 8954 3363. SE Old Time: Leighton Crescent, Kentish Town, [t] 020 7439 3405. SE Paul Killick’s Dancesport: London SW1, [t] 020 7589 3071. B&L, O, S, SW Penge Lindy Hop Club: London SE2, [t] 01895 613 703. O, SW POSK: Hammersmith,
[t] 01895 422 776. B&L Practice Makes Perfect Dance Workshops: Thursdays, Belmont SM2, [t] 07950 070 559 [e] practice2perfect@btinternet.com B&L Rivoli Ballroom Dance Club: Crofton Park, [t] 020 8692 5130. B&L, SW Shaw School of Dancing: Ealing, [t] 020 8998 5138. B&L, S, SW Soniya’s Academy of Eastern Dance Collier Row, Wanstead, [t] 07759 076 443. O, SA The Suzi Q Saturday Club: Royston Club, SE2, [t] 01895 613 703. O, SW Sydenham Dancentre: Sydenham, [t] 07790 361 277. B&L, F, S, SE, SW Trinity Hall: Hermon Hill, Woodford, [t] 020 8508 5748. O Wright Rhythm Dancing School: Chingford, [t] 07801 414959/ 07918 068 485. B&L, O, S, SE, SW
Tango only Afro-Tango. Kizomba at Studio AfroLatino: The Space Performing Arts, Falkirk Street, N1, [t] 07956 345 120. Carablanca: The Conway Hall, WC1 [t] 020 7720 7608. Corrientes Tango Club: WC1, [t] 020 7738 4404. El Once Club de Tango: The Crypt, EC1, [t] 020 7582 0910. La Practica: Museum Wine Bar, WC1, [t] 020 7613 0422. Las Estrellas: London W2, [t] 020 7221 5038. Learning Tango: St Paul’s Church Hall, London NW7, [t] 07767 784 238. West Wimbledon Tango: West Wimbledon Society Hall, Wimbledon, [t] 07506 259 769. Milonga: The Lecture Hall, Wimbledon Village, [t] 020 8672 3944.
All things Swing JANUARY January 10–12 Oxford Swing Festival Venue: Oxford Town Hall Details: Three nights of social dancing, tasters, live music, late night Lindy and even later night blues – all in a spectacular venue. Tickets: £120 for a weekend pass www.oxfordswingfestival.com
January 18 Swing Dance with the Swing Commanders Venue: Westlands Ballroom, Yeovil Details: Wonderful live music for swing dancers in a superb large ballroom. Tickets: £16 or £150 for table of 10 www.westlandsyeovil.co.uk
January 24–26 DJam Swing Dance Festival Venue: Various, Durham Details: A packed weekend of Lindy hop. Tickets: From £170 for the weekend www.dance-at-djam.co.uk
FEBRUARY February 7–9 Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Hop Venue: University of York Details: With multiple Lindy and solo jazz streams, fabulous
tasters and socials with live bands, this ifth edition promises to be a brilliant weekend. Tickets: TBC www.facebook.com
February 7–9 Birmingham Swing Festival Venue: Various, Birmingham Details: Bringing the best of swing dance and music to Birmingham since 2011, the city’s swing festival is back, ofering Balboa, Lindy, shag and solo jazz. Tickets: Various prices from £60 www.birminghamswingfestival.co.uk
February 14–16 Fast Feet Fest Venue: Various, Glasgow Details: Choose between Balboa, fast Lindy or a mixture of both. More details coming soon, for now save the date. Tickets: TBC www.facebook.com
February 17–21 Swing School Stage 1 Venue: Ashton Park School, Bristol Details: For those who want to focus on improving their technique Swing School Stage 1 concentrates on foundation steps and movements. Tickets: £285 per person www.swing-school.com
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Listings Tango Argentino: St. Mary’s Parish Hall, Finchley, [t] 020 8346 4024. Tango in the City: The Union Tavern, WC1, [t] 020 8520 2726. Tango Federico: Chiswick Town Hall, [t] 020 8291 4977. Tango London: The Factory, N19, [t] 020 7272 1122. Total Tango: Museum Wine Bar, WC1, [t] 020 7837 9720. Zero Hour: Boston Arms Pub, N19, [t] 020 7263 0665.
Hampshire Argentine Tango: Archers Road Social Club, Southampton, [t] 07889 288 368. T DM Dance Centre (Diment Macdonald): Southampton, [t] 023 8055 4192. B&L, H, O, S, SE, SW Dance Connection of Gosport: Gosport, [t] 01329 314 061/ 07986 687 463. B&L, O, S, SE, SW Dance Factory: Aldershot, [t] 01252 338 019. B&L, O, S, SW David Smith Dance: Basingstoke, [t] 07791 749 163 B&L, BS, O, S, SE, SW Fiesta Dance School: Basingstoke, [t] 01983 721 654. B&L, H, O, SW La Rueda: Hedge End, Southampton, [t] 07889 288 368. S Luci’s Dance Studio: Totton, [t] 023 8087 1921. B&L, FL, O, S Povey Ronald: Southampton, [t] 023 8022 4163. B&L, S, SW Sally Adams Danceworks: Ringwood, [t] 01425 474 072/ 07790 228 502. B&L, H, O, S, SW Tango’s Dance Club: Lee-on-the-
Solent, [t] 023 9255 3201. B&L Tony School of Dancing: Lymington, [t] 01590 674 211. B&L, O, SW Tracie’s Latin Club: Southampton, [t] 07889 288 368. AT, S, SW Victory School of Dance: Portsmouth, [t] 023 9235 8235/ 07986 895 583. B&L, O, S, SE
[t] 07767 784 238. AT Lesnick School of Ballet and Theatre Arts: Hitchin and Letchworth, [t] 07956 525 659. B, C, J, O, T Melody School of Dancing: Welwyn Garden City, [t] 01707 891 350. B&L The Two Roberts: Borehamwood and Watford, [t] 01923 221 185. B&L, SE
Hertfordshire
Isle of Wight
Alter Ego Dance Studio: Welwyn Garden City, [t] 01707 550 200. H Apton Dance Studio: Bishop’s Stortford, [t] 01279 465 381. B&L, O, SW Barbara’s Ballroom and Latin Dance Classes: Hemel Hempstead, [t] 01442 384 535 / 07930 992 368. B&L Bojangles Modern Jive: Welwyn Garden City, [t] 01438 718 906. SW Culture Dance Club: Hatield, [t] 01707 887 128. B&L, SE De Havilland Ballroom and Latin American Group: Hatield, [t] 01707 262 750. B&L De Havilland Sports and Social Club: Hatield, [t] 01707 262 665. SW, SE Doric Dance Centre: Cheshunt, [t] 01992 624 228. B&L, S, SE, SW GB Dance: Berkhamsted, [t] 07582 551 178. B&L, SE, SW “Hiel” and Toe Scottish Country and Highland Dance Club: Harpenden, [t] 01582 769 607. F, O JiveSwing.Com: Classes in Welwyn, Brentwood, Watford, Hertford, Hatield, Chelmsford, St Albans, Letchworth and Southend [t] 07946 396 777. SW Learning Tango: Berkhamsted,
Pegasus: Newport, [t] 01983 861 488/ 07817 087 914. AT, B&L, H, O, S, SW
LatinQuarter JANUARY January 3–6 Newcastle Salsa Congress Venue: Holiday Inn Newcastle – Gosforth Park Details: Known as one of the friendliest congresses out there, this event ofers the chance to learn, dance and party in a warm, welcoming, inclusive environment. Tickets: Full event pass from £99 www.newcastlesalsacongress.co.uk
January 17–20 Scottish Salsa Congress Venue: Edinburgh Grosvenor Hotel Details: Twice winner of “best dance festival of the year”, the Scottish Salsa Congress boasts world-class teachers, professional performances and “the biggest and best salsa party the UK has ever seen”. Tickets: Full pass from £120, plus £5 booking fee www.scottishsalsacongress.co.uk
FEBRUARY February 1–2 Milonga 3D Venue: The Union Bar, EC4 and The Phoenix, W1, London Details: One of the most popular social tango events in the capital, Milonga 3D covers two days and more than 13 hours of Argentine tango. Tickets: From £12, check
120 • DANCING TIMES
website for details www.milonga3d.com
February 7–9 Carnaval Dance Festival Venue: Finnstown Castle Hotel, Dublin Details: With four rooms of dancing, including one of the best ballroom loors in Ireland, Carnaval Dance Festival ofers a packed line-up with salsa, bachata and kizomba classes, from some of the top artists in their genres. Tickets: Full pass from €130 www.carnavaldancefestival.com
February 14–17 Love Like London Venue: Renaissance London Heathrow Hotel Details: Presented by LIKE Festival and Mambo City, this popular kizomba festival ofers a quality line-up of teachers and DJS. Tickets: Day passes from £95 www.lovelikelondon.com
February 15 I Like It Like That Venue: Lambeth Town Hall, London Details: DJ Julian the Duke and DJ El Gringo promise to burn the loor with top salsa and Latin tunes in a beautiful, art deco town hall, with fantastic wooden dance loor, for your dancing pleasure. Tickets: TBC, check website www.ilikeitlikethat-salsa.com
Kent Beginners’ Salsa Class: Beckenham, [t] 01689 856 763 / 020 8302 4111. S Dance Expressions: Orpington, [t] 01689 833 156. B&L, H, O, Dancing Feet Dance Centre: Rochester, [t] 01634 714 147. AT, B&L, H, S, SW GDC School of Dancing: Lenham, [t] 01622 850 800. B&L, O Goodman Dance Centre: Dartford, [t] 01322 222 508. B&L Grover Dance Centre: Azelia Hall, Beckenham, [t] 01689 856 763 / 020 8302 4111. B&L Hotsteps School of Dance: Orpington, [t] 01689 822 702. B&L, O International Dance Studios: Tunbridge Wells, [t] 01892 458 025. AT, B&L, O JB’s Dance Studio: Folkestone, [t] 01303 252 706. AT, B&L, FL, J, O, S, SE JJ Dance Studios: Beckenham, [t] 07979 752 215. AT, B&L, H, O, S Medway School of Dancing: Tonbridge, [t] 01732 358 355. AT, B&L, H, S, SE, SW Miss Sylvia Walker: Hayes, [t] 01293 776 668. B&L, SE Que Pasa (Bar Cafe Ole): Tunbridge Wells and various surrounding locations, [t] 01322 385 795. S Salsa in Bromley: The Civic Centre, Bromley, [t] 07958 519 595. S Shirley Cox School of Dancing: Biggin Hill, [t] 01959 700 654. AT, B&L, H, J, O, S Social Dance: The Grand Burstin Hotel, Folkestone, [t] 01233 712 323. O, S Star Dance Club: Gillingham, [t] 07733 262 387. AT, B&L, O, S, SE, SW Warmlake Dance Academy: Maidstone, [t] 01622 840 054. B&L, H, O
Oxfordshire Dance Rhythms: Cowley, [t] 01865 875 800. AT, B&L, H, O, S, SE, SW
Surrey Barbara Srour School of Dance: Camberley, [t] 01276 685 699. AT, B&L, O, S, SE, SW Dance Club: Chertsey, [t] 01483 473 363. B&L Dance Options: Cheam, [t] 07732 983 069. B&L, O Foskett School of Dancing: Dorking, [t] 01306 883 808. AT, B&L, H, S, SW Holiday and Dance: Addlestone Community Centre (social dance on irst Saturday of each month), [t] 01895 632 143. B&L Kingston Dance: Kingston Dance Studio, [t] 020 8394 1610. AT LeRoc Surrey Modern Jive: Dorking, [t] 01883 740 559/07944 971 195. AT, B&L, BS, O, S, SW Rob and Wendy’s Dance Club: Cheam, [t] 020 8287 0518. AT, B&L, O Swingin’ at Salfords: Redhill,
[t] 01895 613 703. O, SW Time to Dance: Caterham, [t] 07967 440 587. AT, B&L, O, SE, SW
West Sussex Crawley Dance Academy: Crawley, [t] 01293 612 538. B&L Elite Stage and Dance School: Crawley, [t] 01293 565 264. AT, B&L, H, J, SW Keenes Dance Studio: Worthing, [t] 01903 213 740. AT, B&L, F, O, S, SE, Partners Dancing: east and Wes, [t] 01903 203 192. S Star Dance School: West Sussex, [t] 01273 719 500. B&L
SOUTH WEST Avon Avon Dancers’ Club: Somerset Hall, The Precinct, Portishead, [t] 0117 971 0871. AT, B&L, SE
Cornwall Blue Lagoon Dance Club: Newquay, [t] 01637 873 789. B&L, O idodance: Truro, [t] 01209 861 327. AT, B&L, O, SE, SW Kernow Dance Centre: St Columb, [t] 01726 860 387. AT, B&L, O, S, SE, SW
Devon Ballroom with Dancing Duo: Stowford Centre, Sidmouth, [t] 01803 325 905. B&L, SE Ballroom with Dancing Duo: Chard Guildhall, [t] 01803 325 905. B&L, SE Ballroom with Dancing Duo: Livermead House Hotel, Torquay, [t] 01803 325 905. B&L, SE Ballroom with Dancing Duo: Plymouth City College, [t] 01803 325 905. B&L, SE Club Rainbow: Torquay, [t] 01803 613 580. O, SW Dance Matrix: Harewood House, Plympton. [t] 01752 898 604. B&L Danceworks Devon: Newton Abbot, [t] 01626 365 112. B&L, H, O, S, SE Lansdowne Dance Centre: Torquay, [t] 01803 613 580. B&L, S The Music Mill: Newton Abbot, [t] 01626 361 999. H, J, O Plymouth Dance Academy: Various locations in the Plymouth area, [t] 01752 766 785. AT, B&L, BS, J, O ProjectDance: Devon area, [t] 07795 201 249. B&L, H, O, S Puttin’ on The Ritz: Various locations in the Plymouth area, [t] 01752 335 030. AT, B&L, H, O, SE, SW
Dorset Anglo Dance Studios: Bournemouth, [t] 01202 514 551. AT, B&L, F, J, O, S, SW Dance Crazy: Bournemouth, [t] 01202 527 403. AT, B&L, H, O, S, SW Dance Majic: Poole, [t] 01202 668 722. B&L, F, O, S, SW Nice ’n’ Easy Dance Studio: Bournemouth, [t] 01202 394 017. B&L, O, S Salsa Caliente: Weymouth, [t] 01305 816 202. AT, S, O
Gloucestershire Dance at 8: Bredon Village Hall, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, [t] 01386 556 665. AT, B&L, BS, O, S, W Finesteps: Cheltenham, [t] 07852 960 974. AT, B&L, O, S, SE Hilary Saxby School of
Listings Dancing: Cheltenham, [t] 01242 251 206. B, J, MT, T Packard Dance Centre: Yate, [t] 01454 273 067. B&L, H, O, S, SE
Somerset Bath Uni Ballroom and Latin Club, [e] bds-committee@bath. ac.uk. B&L, SW Bredon Village Hall: Tewkesbury, [t] 01386 556 665. Beginners B&L Burroughs School of Dancing: Weston-Super-Mare, [t] 01934 621 281. AT, B&L, H, S, SE, SW J&B Dance: Bridgwater, [t] 01278 428 742. B&L, SE The Market House Dance Studio: Castle Carey, [t] 01963 351 503. AT, B&L, O, SE, SW Riviera LeRoc Modern Jive, Taunton, [t] 07887 995 849. SW
Wiltshire Dancers of Chippenham: Chippenham, [t] 01249 661 131. B&L, O
WALES Aberaeron Dance Club: Aberaeron, [t] 01570 480 464. AT, B&L, BS, O, S, SE, SW Cowbridge Dance: Mid Glamorgan, [t] 01443 238 867. B&L, SE CSJ Dance: Newport, [t] 01633 769 232. O Dance World: Newport, [t] 01633 252 625. AT, B&L, H, O, S, SE, SW Edwards Dance Studios: Cardif, [t] 02920 616 400. AT, B&L, O, S, SE, SW New Cottage Dance Centre: Hengoed, [t] 01443 815 909. B&L, O, S, SW Richards School of Dance: Rhonnda-Cynon-Taf, [t] 01443 437 074. AT, B&L, O, SE, SW Saturn Dance: Cardif, [t] 02920 191 786. B&L Strictly Dance Ltd: Llantrisant and Porthcawl, [t] 01656 771 713. AT, B&L, S, SE
WEST MIDLANDS Broadway Dance Centre: Birmingham, [t] 0121 356 4663.
AT, B&L, H, J, O, S, SW DanceXchange: Birmingham Hippodrome, [t] 0121 667 6730. FL, H, J, O Dawn Parker: Wednesbury, [t] 0121 526 6204. AT, B&L, H, O, SE, SW Fiona Bennett L.I.D.T.A: Dudley, [t] 01384 243 451. B&L, SE Jean Johnson School of Dancing: Solihull, [t] 0121 705 2501. B&L, O, SE Philip Jackson and Janet Harrison: Birmingham, [t] 0121 422 3032. AT, B&L, O, S, SE, SW Rhythmics Dance Centre: Cradley Heath, [t] 01385 413 725. AT, B&L, H, O, SW Simply The Best School of Dancing: Kingswinford, West Midlands, [t] 01384 866 097. B&L, SE Stan and Yvonne Dancing: Coventry, [t] 02476 469 316. AT, B&L, SE, SW Tony and Christine Hunnisett: Solihull, [t] 01564 779 267. B&L, SE The Whiteman Academy: Birmingham, [t] 07721 579 174. H, J, O
Herefordshire All Seasons Dance and Leisure: Friar Street, Hereford, [t] 01432 353 756 / 07889 053 464. B&L, O, S, SE, SW
Staffordshire Eric Rowland and Mandy Heath School of Dancing: Walsall Wood, [t] 01543 370 549. AT, B&L, H, O, S, SE, SW K.Dee.K Danceworks: 1st Floor, 98-102 Church Street, Stoke-on-Trent, [t] 01782 878 888. B&L, H, J, O, S, SA Martina School of Dance: Tamworth, [t] 01872 330 525. AT, B&L, O, S, SE, SW Style Academy of Dance and Fitness: Rugely, [t] 01889 577 539. AT, B&L, O, S, SW
Warwickshire Excel Dance Club: Leamington Spa, [t] 07974 148 117. B&L, SW
Worcestershire Dance at 8: Worcester, Pershore, Malvern Tewkesbury, [t] 01386 556 665. B, O, SA, SW, T Hilary Saxby School of Dancing: Evesham, [t] 01242 251 206. B, J, MT, T
Dancing Times digital edition Catch up with past issues of Dancing Times now on your smart device at pocketmags.com and all good app stores
Competitions JANUARY January 2–5 Champions of Tomorrow Venue: Empress Ballroom, Winter Gardens, Blackpool Organiser: ProAm Champions www.proamchampions.co.uk
January 12 East Yorkshire Super League Titles Venue: St Mary’s College, Hull Organiser: Amy and Fabio D’Angelo www.amyandfabio.wixsite. com/danceschoolhull
January 15 The Star Ball Venue: The Oaks Hall, Epsom Downs Racecourse Organiser: The Ballroom Dancers’ Federation www.ballroomdancersfederation.com
January 19 Lancashire Gold Cup Venue: Hazel Grove High School, Stockport Organiser: Damien Hay Email: damien.hey@gmail.com
January 19 The West European Super League Day Venue: Caldicot Leisure Centre, South Wales Organiser: Robert and Denise Barley www.silhouettedanceclub chepstow.co.uk
January 21–23 The UK Open Championships Venue: Bournemouth International Centre Organiser: Dance News Ltd www.dance-news.co.uk
January 26 Midlands School Invitation Competition
SEQUENCE AND INVENTIVE DANCE DATES January 12 Northern Counties Dance Teachers Association Venue: Wallsend Memorial Hall Tickets: Cora Ann Leonard on 0191 268 2372 for tickets and to enter dance names.
February 16 West of Britain Venue: Euphoria Dance Studios, Bedworth Tickets: Enquiries, entries and ticket requirements to Martin Bird on 07989 553 934 For more up-to-date information on sequence events, go to msdworld.co.uk.
Venue: Bournville College, Birmingham Organiser: Richard Rose www.richardzdance.com
FEBRUARY February 2 Central Open Venue: Cheslyn Hay Sports Centre, Stafordshire Organiser: David and Helen Trueman www.dancetastic.academy
February 8–9 All England Open Venue: Blackpool Tower Ballroom Organiser: Unity Dance Promotions www.unitydancepromotions.co.uk
February 9 City of Birmingham Super League Points Day Venue: Bournville College Organiser: Richard Rose www.richardzdance.com
February 14 Grand Ball Dinner Featuring Professional Latin Challenge Competition Venue: The Warren, Bromley Organiser: Richard and Teresa Tandy www.richardandteresa.com
February 16 The 2020 Cocarola National League Event Venue: The Warren, Bromley Organiser: Richard and Teresa Tandy www.richardandteresa.com
February 16 West of Britain Solo Titles Venue: Euphoria Dance Studio, Bedworth Organiser: Martin Bird and Kris Turner www.martinbird.net/ west-of-britain-titles.html
February 16 Quick Quick Slow Dance Awards – Super League Day Venue: Quick Quick Slow Dance Studio, Stoke-on-Trent Organiser: Duncan and Hannah Trever www.dhtdancepromotions.com
February 23 Worcester Dance Festival Venue: St Johns Sports Centre, Worcester Organiser: Tony and Christine Hunnisett www.dancextras.co.uk
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WWW.DANCING-TIMES.CO.UK • JANUARY 2020 121
Last Dance Paris and Italy
By Freda Pitt DELIBES’ ENCHANTING SCORE FOR SYLVIA would have been a suicient excuse for the revival of the three-act ballet at the Paris Opéra in mid-November:
Above: Noella Pontois and Cyril Atanasof as Sylvia and Orion in Sylvia, with Jean-Yves Lormeau as Aminta on the ground, photographed by Daniel Cande.
to hear it in its entirety in a theatre was like meeting an old friend. Louis Mérante
Blackpool Closed Championships – Professional Latin By Bryan Allen WITHOUT ANY DOUBT, THIS EVENT is the highlight of the festival, just as its counterpart has become in May. From the start of its irst round until the last of the individual dance results at 1.25am the contest generated excitement and interest. Could the Cliftons, after a deserved poor result in the recent Albert Hall event, rise to the challenge of retaining their Closed British title? When Dr Badman, the chairman of the Blackpool 122 • DANCING TIMES
Tower Company Directors, presented the awards, Keith and Judy’s irst placing in samba, cha cha cha and jive, with second in the other two dances, was good enough for them to win the event. They battled as determined champions should, from the very irst bars of music, and they deserve congratulations. With placings of 1,4,2,1,4, Michael Stylianos and Lorna Lee must have felt both pleased and disappointed. I thought them winners overall and, although their samba was not slick, their jive was
From the archives
was no Saint-Léon, so, unlike Coppélia, the later work was burdened from the start with uninspired choreography. Besides, Sylvia and Aminta never come alive as Swanilda and Franz do. It is a tantalising thought that before deciding on Giselle, Diaghilev intended to take Sylvia to Paris – that might have signalled its French rebirth. As it is, Frederick Ashton is the only choreographer of genius to have tackled the ballet. Even his version (of which a revival is overdue) contained an uncomfortable amount of padding in the crowd scenes, for nymphs, satyrs and assorted fauna. To compensate, there was Sylvia's lovely solo by the spring, the humour of the second act and the exciting last act pas de deux, apart from the wickedly
diicult pizzicato solo. In Paris, Lycette Darsonval, who danced the role of Sylvia in Serge Lifar’s and Albert Aveline’s versions, has as far as possible restored Mérante’s original by reference to the Opéra’s archives, but inevitably she has had to ill in a lot herself (with help from Violette Verdy). The result is not the choreographic masterpiece the music deserves, but it is a piece of good craftsmanship. It was a surprise to ind Orion listed before Aminta; this is because his role is now a virtuoso one. Although this does not make him any less of a cardboard villain, it is so much gained. Eros is less well handled, and it was odd to see him partnering Sylvia like any mere mortal. JANUARY 1980
rhythmically attractive. The major problem, which, thank goodness, will become even bigger, was the quite splendid dancing of David Sycamore and Denise Weavers, last year’s Amateur winners, who inished third place (3,2,4,3,2) and who I thought should have won
the samba, and Sammy Stopford and Shirley Rich. This lady has made the most tremendous improvement, and ofers just enough earthiness mixed with elegance for us to hope that she keeps this mixture in the same proportions. ■ JANUARY 1980
Phillida goes dancing THE WORLD, IT SEEMS, has gone toy mad! Yes! And it is the grown-ups that are far and away the worst ofenders! One has heard of women in Paris dancing with dolls in their arms. Over here, another has gone one better, or should one say “worser”? She chose a large stufed monkey for her toy, and the contrast was, to say the least of it, incongruous. So perhaps there was some method in her madness. FEBRUARY 1924
Photograph: DANCING TIMES ARCHIVE.
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