Press Release: Northern Ballet announces World Première of new children’s ballet

[Jan McNulty]

Northern Ballet announces World Première of new children’s ballet 

Ahead of the CBeebies television adaptation broadcast of Elves & the Shoemaker over the Easter weekend, Northern Ballet announces that their new ballet for children, Tortoise & the Hare, will have its World Première in Leeds this October followed by an extensive UK tour in spring 2016.

Tortoise & the Hare is the latest in Northern Ballet’s award-winning series of Short Ballets for Small People which already includes the hugely popular Ugly Duckling, Three Little Pigs and Elves & the Shoemaker. The ballet has been created to introduce families and young children to live dance, music and theatre. 

This adorable and heart-warming production will last approximately 40 minutes, retelling the much-loved Aesop’s fable about a Tortoise who, tired of being teased for his slowness, challenges a speedy Hare to a race.

Choreographed by Northern Ballet dancers Dreda Blow and Sebastian Loe, this is the second children’s ballet by the pair who created Ugly Duckling which was later adapted into a BAFTA winning adaptation by CBeebies. Tortoise & the Hare will be set to an original score by Bruno Merz with set designs by Ali Allen. 

Northern Ballet has recently been awarded a Strategic Touring Grant from Arts Council England to enable the Company to continue to create and tour its ballets for children for the next three years, between 2015-18, commencing with Tortoise & the Hare.  

Selina McGonagle, Director of Learning at Northern Ballet said, ‘We are absolutely delighted to be giving young children and their families the opportunity to experience our latest children’s ballet. The children’s ballets are classic tales beautifully retold through dance and are a perfect introduction to ballet. We hope to inspire children and their families through these entertaining and enchanting performances to develop a love for dance, music and theatre. I’m really pleased that this time we are touring more widely across the UK and we look forward to giving even more audiences the chance to experience these truly magical productions.’

Since their inception, the children’s ballets have been seen live by more than 63,000 people and on TV by more than 1.4 million people in the CBeebies TV adaptations.

-ENDS-


Notes to Editors

Tortoise & the Hare Listings

World Première
Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre, Leeds
Thu 22 – Mon 26 October 2015
11am, 1pm & 3pm
(Sun 25 October: 11am (Relaxed Performance) & 1.30pm)
£6 Adults & £4.50 Children 
Box Office 0113 220 8008
theatreleeds.com
On sale Sat 28 March

Further tour dates to be announced, visit northernballet.com.

[alison]

Tortoise & the Hare is being shown in cinemas - Odeons, at least:

 

Odeon