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Terpsichore

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  1. We should like to renew our usual invitation to adult dancers in the North of England who would like to dance in public. We shall hold a company class at Dance Studio Leeds on Saturday 30 March 2024 between 14:00 and 15:30. Our guest ballet mistress will be Fiona Noonan who trained at the Queensland Ballet Academy and performed with the Queensland Ballet. As this event is fully sponsored attendees will not be charged. Full details of the event are on the registration card. We look forward to meeting as many new dancers as possible on Saturday,
  2. Following our matinee and evening performances at Chroma Q Theatre in Leeds on 25 Nov and our guest appearance in "Shale Your Tutu" at York St John University, Powerhouse Ballet is now on a roll. Our next event will be our January company class with Fiona Noonan on 27 Jan 2024 between 09:45 and 11:15 at Dance Studio Leeds. As always we welcome new members. Anybody who wishes to join us in class should click this link and press the "Book Now" button. https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/53844
  3. We had a great day yesterday but it could easily have gone wrong as two of our most talented and experienced dancers were indisposed owing to illness and injury. Our wonderful teacher and choreographer took it all in stride. She adjusted the choreography and restored our confidence completely with the result that our dancers excelled themselves. They danced magnificently in both the matinee and evening performances. I had hoped to show you our cast photo but it exceeds the 500KN limit. Fingers crossed, this link will take you to the same photo on Facebook. Our next class will take place at Dance Studio Leeds on 27 Jan 20024 between 09:45 and 11:15. It will be given by Annemarie Donoghue of Northern Ballet.
  4. Today Powerhouse Ballet will contribute to the matinee and evening performances of Dance Studio Leeds's annual "Celebration of Dance" gala at the Chroma Q Theatre. Dance Studio Leeds hopes to raise funds for bowel cancer relief and research and I am proud to say that my blog is one of the sponsors of the gala. We are dancing a short extract from "La Sylphide" which Jane Tucker of Northern Ballet has adapted for us. The scene is where James meets the sylphs in the forest after having left Effie and all their wedding guests at home. This is our first ever ballet with a male dancer and we are very lucky to have found Frank Lee who will dance the male lead. I won't say "hero" because James is a bit of a plonker. He parted with his wedding ring to a sylph who exists up a chimney and acted boorishly in chucking out an old lady who wanted nothing more than to warm herself by his hearth and sup a few drams of his whisky. As you know he is scammed into buying a scarf that is toxic to sylphs with the result that he loses his fantasy sylph as well as Effie. La Sylphide is not a long show. Bournonville's choreography is not easy but I hope we can expand it into our first full-length ballet. I shall also audition for the role of Madge. I am very excited about today's show and I will let you all know how we get on.
  5. Good morning all Today is our last rehearsal before next week's show. As usual, Jane Tucker of Northern Ballet Academy and the Northern School of Contemporary will give us a full class to be followed by a rehearsal, Most of the class already had romantic tutus from Giselle of which we danced an extract last year. One of our members who is as adept with a needle and thread as she is enchanting as a dancer has made some wings and sleeves to transition from wilis to sylphs. Our choreographer, director and producer Jane Tucker has created a magnificent show. As usual, the class is open to any member of our company (or indeed any subscriber to this website) who can make it to Dance Studio Leeds by 14:00.
  6. As many of you may have guessed, I am a big fan of the Dutch National Ballet. Over the years I have developed an interest in and affection for the Netherlands. I find we in Britain have a lot in common with the Dutch. One of the interests we share is obviously dance but another seems to be cricket. Today, England is playing the Netherlands at the Cricket World Cup (see the BBC Sports website). While I am obviously rooting for England I celebrate the Netherlands's emergence as a major cricketing nation and look forward to its joining Ireland as another European test-playing competitor.
  7. Powerhouse Ballet will contribute to Dance Studio Leeds's "Celebration of Dance" on 25 Nov at the Chroma Q Theatre in Leeds with a scene from "La Sylphide" directed by Jane Tucker of Northern Ballet Academy. We would love to welcome as many of our members, friends and well-wishers from around the country to our show but they must order their tickets soon. Last year tickets sold out faster than a home match against United at the Etihad Stadium. Here is the link for the matinee performance: https://bookwhen.com/thedancestu.../e/ev-sfcr-20231125150000 And here is the link to the evening show https://bookwhen.com/thedancestu.../e/ev-sf07-20231125190000 We shall also contribute the same piece to York St John University's show on 10 Dec,
  8. Our company class will be given by Annemarie Donoghue of Northern Ballet at Dance Studio Leeds between 14:00 and 15:30 today. I have been Annemarie's pupil for nearly 10 years. I enjoyed my first class with her so much that I wrote a little article about it to which I crave the moderators' permission to link. As you can tell, I was very excited about it. I have attended a lot of classes with Annemarie since then and have enjoyed every one of them. We shall have a lot of fun this afternoon but also learn a lot. If any reader who can reach the studio by 14:00 today would like to join in, here's your invitation.
  9. I was 4 at the time of the last coronation and living in Bowdon which is a district of Altrincham in Cheshire. The coronation made a big impression on me The flower beds in the public gardens were planted with flowers in the national colours and there was bunting everywhere. It was a sort of secular Christmas. One of our neighbours had bought or hired a set for the ceremony and the whole neighbourhood crowded into a darkened room to watch a flickering monochrome image for what seemed an eternity. It was about that time that I first saw ballet. I was far too young to be taken to Covent Garden. But there was a lot more ballet on telly in those days. Shortly after the coronation, we were invited back to watch a ballet on their telly. I can't remember what it was or even the company but it impressed me far more than the service in the Abbey. The first time I saw live ballet was in an open air theatre on Streatham Common. I was aged 6. My father had a teaching job at Brixton Day College and we lived near the Common. Throughout the summer there was a different performance every week. There were plays, concerts, musicals and ballet. Then we moved to Surrey. My father who regarded the male dancers' tights and the classical tutu as slightly indecent discouraged my interest in the art but I still managed to find an aunt, cousin or neighbour to take me to the London Festival Ballet at the Festival Hall in the Christmas holidays.
  10. I saw the show at the Theatre Royal in Nottingham and enjoyed it very much. The format was very similar to the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company's touring programme. There were 4 familiar works in the first half (or 6 if you count Fokine and Descombey's Dying Swans as separate solos disregarding Acosta's bolt-on to make them a duet) and 7 less familiar works. BRB2 included two pieces that had been in HNB's opening performance in 2013. I would have trekked down the M1 for a second or even third viewing yesterday had it not been for Powerhouse Ballet's company class in Salford yesterday afternoon. I am also sorry that I missed the opening night with the orchestra but I had to be in Colwyn Bay at 09:00 on 26 April and I have no flying carpet or private helicopter. I will try to engineer a trip to London or Peterborough to see them there, If anyone is interested I have penned a fuller review in Terpsichore.
  11. Our first class in Wales went very well indeed. Alicia Jelley gave us a delightful class from which I learnt a lot. It was great to work with our Welsh friends again for the first time since the pandemic. The venue which was in a small village a few miles from Mold had everything we needed. Two modern studios with good sprung floors, clean and spacious changing rooms and ample free parking. It took me just over an hour to drive from Manchester. Liverpool, Chester, the Wirral and the North Wales seaside resorts are even closer. We shall return for another class or workshop later in the year.
  12. Although we have welcomed several dancers from North Wales to our company we have never held an event in their country. Today we shall change that with a company class at Elite Studios, Mercia Drive, Myndd Isa, Mold, CH7 6UY between 14:00 and 15:30. The class will be delivered by Alicia Jelley who danced in our very first show in 2019. The venue is very close to the A55 and is within very easy reach of Chester, Liverpool and the Wirral to the north and east and Colwyn Bay, Llandudno, Conwy and Bangor to the west. We hope to welcome many new dancers today as well as reunite with our Welsh friends. Like most of our events, this will be sponsored by NIPC Law so there will be no charge to the dancers. If you want to come, sign up here.
  13. That's quite right and I said as much in a longer article that appeared in Terpsichore. I also mentioned and linked to the video clip "An Introduction to Rhapsody" in which Lesley Collier coaches Steven McRea and Natalia Osipova in Rhapsody including the pas de deux. "There are many second companies attached to European companies these days." I will defer to Lusodancer's knowledge and experience on companies throughout Europe. I know that Central has Ballet Central, the Northern Ballet School had Manchester City Ballet and a ballet school in Scotland once had its own touring company. We also have lyouth companies on a national and regional basis. I think the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company is different. The dancers are members of the Dutch National Ballet and are paid for their time. They often perform with the main company. The Junior Company has accelerated the careers of many artists such as Riho Sakamoto and Michaela DePrince. After the masterclass and the screening of Frederick Ashton: Links in a Chain there was a drinks party at which I managed to speak to Caroline Miller, Kit Holder, Oscar Kempsey-Fagg and Frieda Kaden. We did not exactly discuss the details of the new company's funding but someone said that it was a bold move to launch a new company at a time of economic constraint from which I inferred that the funding was coming from the Birmingham Royal Ballet's budget. Both of the young artists seemed to be very happy to have been chosen and I wish them well,
  14. As I was down in Birmingham for work last Tuesday I checked the Birmingham Royal Ballet website to see whether anything was happening that evening. An "Evening with Ashton" at Elmhurst was advertised. It promised a masterclass by Lesley Collier and a film on Ashton that had been commissioned by the Sir Frederick Ashton Foundation. As I had been something of a fan of Collier I booked my place. After I rolled up Carlos Acosta took to the stage and announced that Collier would be coaching 2 members of a new company to be known as BRB2; She would rehearse then in the pas de deux from Rhapsody which she had danced with Mikhail Baryshnikov. The young dancers were Oscar Kempsey-Fagg and Frieda Kaden and they seemed to do very well. It was only in the interval that I understood the significance of Acosta's announcement. Caroline Miller, who was sitting immediately behind me, talked anout BRB2. It sounded very like Ernst Meisner's Junior Company for the Dutch National Ballet so I asked her whether that was the case. Ms Miller confirmed that it was. I was very pleased to hear that news because I have been a fan of the Junior Company ever since they started. They have launched some great careers snd strengthened an already strong company. I have been calling on British companies to take a leaf out of the Dutch book for years. Kit Holder is to be the artistic coordinator. I think he is a very good choice. I have seen several of his ballets and like them very much. The new company is about to start a nationwide tour. They start in Northampton on 25 April and continue to Nottingham, Peterborough, London and Wolverhampton. Their opening night is probably the night to see them because they will perform with an orchestra. I hope to catch them in Nottingham and maybe some of their other stops along the way. If anyone is interested I have written a longer article about them in Terpischore.
  15. We had a great class on Saturday and we are now looking forward to our Sleeping Beauty workshop at Dance Studio Leeds between 12:30 and 15:30 on 12 Feb with Beth Meadway of Ballet Cymru. Beth has very kindly offered to teach is the Fairy Variations, Here is the Mariinsky for inspiration. I am not sure we shall be quite as good as them even though Beth is an excellent teacher but we shall certainly learn a lot more about those roles than we know now. Anyone who is interested can register here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sleeping-beauty-masterclass-with-beth-meadway-tickets-528361191547
  16. I saw the show live and twice in the cinema. I would have been happy to have seen it again and yet again live or on screen had it been available. I am not given to gushing but it was the best show that I saw last year and one of the best in a lifetime of ballet going. I have set out the reasons why I enjoyed it so much elsewhere.
  17. If you are in Leeds this afternoon and fancy a class you would be more than welcome at our company class at Dance Studio Leeds between 13:00 and 14:30 today. Powerhouse Ballet is always ready to welcome new dancers. Our guest ballet mistress today will be Annemarie Donoghue of Northern Ballet Academy. She is a wonderful teacher. Her classes are never easy but they are always fun. As we are a company and not a school, company class is free. You can register here. I look forward to welcoming you later.
  18. This year has been Powerhouse Ballet's best ever and we have a full programme of events for next year. If you would like to learn more about us, we have invited Ballet Cymru's Beth Meadway to deliver a free 90 minute online only class between 14:00 and 15:30 tomorrow . Anyone, anywhere in the world with a computer and internet connection is welcome to join. All we ask is that you register on our Eventbrite page. It is not every day that you get a chance to take class with an up and coming artist in Wales's classical dance company. If you enjoy the class we have a full programme of workshops and classes across the North of England and North Wales. We also hope to perform in KNT's next gala in Manchester in the New Year. Those who are interested in joining our activities or simply supporting us will find details in my blog,
  19. He has created a magnificent "Swan Lake" for Scottish Ballet which would have been revived in 2020 had it not been for Covid19. I love that work, It seemed to go down a treat in Liverpool when I saw it. I reviewed it in Terpsichore pm 4 June 2016 and probably also here.
  20. David Dawson is one of our leading choreographers but British ballet goers usually have to travel to see his work. That is because he is Associate Artist with the Dutch National Ballet and resident choreographer with the Semperoper Ballett in Dresden. I am on my way back from Amsterdam where I saw the Dutch National Ballet dance Dawson, a double bill consisting of David Dawson's "Legacy Variations" and "The Four Seasons". I have attended some great shows since the world's companies emerged from lock down: Like Water for Chocolate and Mayerling by the Royal Ballet and the last programme of the Dutch National Ballet's van Manen festival to name just three. Yet Sunday's performance of Dawson was the highlight of my year. Legacy Variations was performed by James Stout, Edo Wijnen and Joseph Maseralli. The Four Seasons was a much longer piece with 16 dancers. I have reviewed the double bill in Terpsichore for anyone who may be interested. I mention it here because nobody else seems to have done so. There are still a few more performances. If you happen to be in Amsterdam and can get a ticket I am sure you will enjoy it.
  21. I am delighted to announce that Powerhouse Ballet will hold its first company class in the Northwest since lock down and its first ever in Bolton between 15:30 and 17:00 on Saturday 1 Oct 2022. It will take place at Frances Bleasdale School of Dancing, Mallison House, Kensington Street, Bolton BL1 2PB. The class will be given by Katherine Wong who is touring the UK with 80s Mania. Having trained in Hong Kong and London she holds advanced qualifications in both classical dance and Cecchetti from the RAD and ISTD. The company is currently preparing to dance an extract from Act 2 of Giselle in Leeds next month and looks forward to staging its own show next year. There will be plenty of opportunities to perform. We look forward to welcoming more dancers from Bolton and the rest of Northwest England.
  22. Reflecting further on the plot of Like Water for Chocolate it was not uncommon for the youngest daughter to stay at home to care for her parents in this country in the early part of the 20th century. That was partly out of filial duty but also because so many young men had perished in the First World War. Muriel Spark mentioned that generation of unmarried young women in "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie". Some found satisfaction in their careers but most did not. It even happened in my own family. I had an elderly maiden aunt who was born in the early 1900s who stayed at home to look after my grandmother. After my grandmother died in the early 1950s her home was sold by her siblings and my aunt had to find employment as a housekeeper. Like Tita she was a good cook and good at housekeeping, I don't think she ever had a Pedro in her life but then I would never have known if she had. She died in a retirement home in the early 1980s. There must have been many such stories with emotions bubbling like boiling water on a stove and perhaps some will be the stuff of future drama.
  23. Having spent much of the morning writing about Wheeldon's ballet I watched the film this evening. I can well understand why Wheeldon loved it so much. Watching the film prompted me to order the book. I am sure that I shall like that too. I only managed to see the ballet once but was enchanted by it even though .I did not fully appreciate it. I understood it better after watching Judith Mackrell's Insight videos and more still after seeing the film. I will look out for it when it is screened in cinemas and look forward to seeing it on stage again when it is next performed.
  24. Just to say that I got to see Candoco at The Lowry on 11 May 2022. It is a company about which I had heard a lot but had never got round to watching until now. I have written a short review in "Terpsichore". I liked "Set and Reset/Reset" very much. It took me longer to appreciate "Last Shelter" and I probably need to see it again at least once to understand properly. It was the first show that I had seen following my own injury in March. I could not help contrasting the speed and grace of an artist who was also on crutches with the heavy weather that I made from the multistorey car park to the Quays. Casndoco may have started in a spinal injury unit but it should now be celebrated for its virtuosity and originality.
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