Jan McNulty

I've just picked up via Twitter that Wilton's Music Hall has a short dance festival on next week. It looks interesting and I wish I could go. Details are here: https://www.wiltons.org.uk/whatson/178-wilton-s-strike-dance-festival

Oh, the lovely Dusty Button. Nice to see her career has progressed since she left BRB - she's now a principal with Boston Ballet.

Ooooh that sounds interesting. Thanks Jane!

Sorry about Codarts but nice that your DD still has decisions to make (if you see what I mean).

Associated Press article in the NY Times: http://mobile.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/04/26/world/europe/ap-eu-romania-opera-dispute.html?_r=0&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fm.facebook.com%2F

Join the revolution with the London Première of Northern Ballet’s 1984 As one man risks everything to fall in love, join Northern Ballet for the London Première of Jonathan Watkins’ critically acclaimed 1984. ‘The ballet equivalent of a page turner’ (The Stage), Northern Ballet is bringing this cult-classic to life for seven performances only at Sadler’s Wells from 24 – 28 May 2016. Tickets can be booked by calling the Box Office on 0844 412 4300 or online at sadlerswells.com. In Northern Ballet’s 1984, Ministry of Truth worker Winston Smith lives in a world of absolute conformity, his every action scrutinised by Big Brother. Whilst outwardly conforming to Party doctrine, he is secretly disillusioned, illegally documenting his thoughts in a diary. When one day he receives a love note from Julia, the pair begin an illicit affair,leading a dangerous double life putting physical desire above Party discipline. As their romance develops and they prepare for an act of political rebellion, Winston and Julia discover that Big Brother is always watching and no one can be trusted; least of all themselves. Choreographed by Jonathan Watkins, whose recent credits include Kes for Sheffield Crucible Theatre, Northern Ballet’s 1984 is the first full-length ballet adaptation of George Orwell’s renowned novel. The production had its World Première in September 2015, and is set to an original score by Tony nominated Composer Alex Baranowski, who recently worked with Mercury Prize winning band The xx. The creative team also includes Set and Costume Designer Simon Daw, Lighting Designer Chris Davey, Video Designer Andrzej Goulding and Dramaturg Ruth Little. Jonathan Watkins said: ‘George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four has been a constant inspiration to me since I first read it at 15. It is a powerful and thought-provoking allegory that now, more than ever, has resonance with the times in which we are living.’ Northern Ballet’s Artistic Director, David Nixon OBE, said: ‘This production challenges the idea of what stories can be told through dance and the dramatic talent of our dancers will draw the audience into the very core of this literary masterpiece.’ Tickets for Northern Ballet’s 1984 are on sale now and can be booked online at sadlerswells.com or by calling the Box Office on 0844 412 4300. -ENDS- Notes to Editors Praise for 1984 ‘**** - Bold and inventive new dance-drama’ – The Stage ‘****’ – The Independent ‘This is gripping storytelling – the ballet equivalent of a page-turner.’ – The Stage ‘**** - Terrific’ – The Guardian ‘**** - Clever, consistent and powerful’ – The Telegraph ‘A brave new ballet’ – The Telegraph ‘An ambitious, compelling and, ultimately, moving new ballet’ – The Telegraph ‘**** - A masterstroke in dance,’ – Yorkshire Post ‘Powerful and thought-provoking’ – Yorkshire Evening Post ‘**** - A chilling climax’ – Financial Times ‘This is a slickly impressive piece’ – The Sunday Times ‘A thrilling and chilling dance premiere’ – British Theatre Guide ‘A new dance drama that crackles with theatrical energy’ – Mail on Sunday ‘The most complete, most impressive production I have ever seen from Northern Ballet.’ – Manchester Theatre Awards Production Credits Choreography Jonathan Watkins Music Alex Baranowski Set & Costume Design Simon Daw Lighting Design Chris Davey Video Design Andrzej Goulding Dramaturg Ruth Little 1984 – Tour Dates Southampton, Mayflower Theatre 4 – 7 May 2016 Box Office 02380 711 811 mayflower.org.uk London, Sadler’s Wells 24 – 28 May 2016 Box Office 0844 412 4300 sadlerswells.com Northern Ballet For more details of Northern Ballet's tour, on sale dates and booking information, please visit northernballet.com/whatson. Nominated for Best Company at the 2015 National Dance Awards and voted Best Company at the 2014 TaglioniEuropean Ballet Awards, Northern Ballet is one of the UK’s five large ballet companies. Based in Leeds it performs throughout the UK as well as overseas. Northern Ballet’s productions mix classical dance and theatre, embracing popular culture and taking inspiration from literature, opera, or giving a unique interpretation of popular classical ballets. Northern Ballet is the busiest touring ballet company in the UK and is typically on the road for around 32 weeks of the year. The Company of 46 dancers tours a combination of full-length new work and established repertoire to cities throughout the UK. Northern Ballet also tours widely with its specially created ballets for children, the first three of which were adapted for TV by CBeebies, and also performs a mixed programme showcasing the versatility of its dancers.

And there is a short (and brilliant) video on the RNLI website: http://rnli.org/NewsCentre/Pages/RNLI-issues-its-own-call-for-help-as-Mayday-fundraising-events-sweep-the-nation.aspx

Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company Patrias Tuesday 12 - Saturday 16 July Performances: Tue - Sat at 7.30pm, Sat at 2.30pm Tickets: £12 - £38 Ticket Office: 020 7863 8000 or www.sadlerswells.com To mark the 80th anniversary of the tragic death of Spain’s literary hero Federico García Lorca at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Paco Peña Dance Company returns to Sadler’s Wells on Tuesday 12 - Saturday 16 July with the deeply personal new work Patrias – an exploration of the emotional and cultural impact on Spain of the three-year conflict and the death of one of its most prominent victims. Featuring choreography by Fernando Romero and performances by Angel Muñoz and Mayte Bajo, Patrias is a multi-layered and impressionistic piece of theatre combining flamenco with spoken word, audio effects and video projections. The production includes original recordings of music performed by Lorca on the piano. Poetry by Pablo Neruda, Antonio Machado and Vicente Aleixandre also feature, as well as Pablo Picasso’s monumental protest painting Guernica. The celebrated Andalusian poet, artist, playwright and musician Federico García Lorca was executed by Franco’s nationalist troops in August 1936, at the start of the Spanish Civil War which saw an estimated total of 500,000 deaths. Lorca is often described as the greatest Spanish writer of the 20th century and while his death will forever link him with the war his work represents a constant source of nourishment for flamenco and Andalusian folklore. The Spanish word ‘patria’, meaning motherland, is today fraught with ambiguity as a consequence of the rhetoric of the Civil War. With the use of the plural, Peña suggests that Spain was divided into two countries during the conflict, acknowledging both the positive significance of the word and the tragic burden of its history. Legendary London-based flamenco guitarist Paco Peña was himself born in Córdoba in the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War and grew up in the repressive environment of Francoist Spain, before moving to the UK in 1966, exactly 50 years ago. He said: “Life, as I grew up, was very much affected by the consequences of the Civil War; the many lives lost and many more destroyed were ominous reminders of the extreme polarity of ideas that had prevailed. By bringing home the harsh reality of what Spanish people lived through at that time, I hope this humble look at a great artist and the tragic circumstances that took his life help to remind us that Lorca is and will remain essential.” Lorca is known to have said: “I am a brother to all men, and vehemently reject the person who sacrifices himself for an abstract, nationalist ideal because he loves his country with a blindfold over his eyes. I express Spain in my work and feel her in the very marrow of my bones; but before that I am cosmopolitan, and a brother to all. He also said about his native Granada: “I believe that being from Granada gives me a sympathetic understanding of those who are persecuted – of the Gypsy, the Negro, the Jew, and of the Moor which all Granadinos carry inside them.” Free post-show flamenco class for same day ticket holders: Wednesday 13 July NOTES TO EDITORS About Paco Peña Paco Peña is a flamenco guitarist from the Andalusian city of Córdoba, he moved to London in 1966 and started off by playing in a Spanish restaurant in Covent Garden. With his virtuosity and artistry, he soon made a name for himself as a solo guitarist in a city that was gripped by Jimi Hendrix mania. Just four years later, at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on London’s South Bank, Peña presented his first show with his own flamenco company. Since then he has taken flamenco around the world, giving solo concerts as a guitarist, conceiving and presenting a series of artistically ambitious shows, composing a flamenco mass and a requiem, and founding a centre for flamenco in Córdoba, where he still spends part of each year. His dance company has for many years now performed regularly at Sadler’s Wells, London. While always remaining true to the tradition and essence of flamenco Peña has expanded its horizons and frame of reference. As a guitarist, composer, dramatist, producer and artistic mentor, never distorting flamenco with flamboyance, he has preserved its authenticity, yet also renewed it through innovation. In so doing, he has been part of phenomenon that has transformed perceptions of this archetypal Spanish art form, around the world and even in Spain itself. About Federico García Lorca Federico Garcia Lorca, born in Andalusia, is often considered the most important Spanish poet and playwright of the 20th century. He was also a talented musician (a pianist, composer and guitarist) and graphic artist. In a lively career that spanned just 19 years, he revitalised the essence of Spanish poetry and theatre. He is credited with helping to inaugurate a second Golden Age of the Spanish theatre in the early 1930s. Lorca’s Andalusian origins were fundamental to his artistic personality. He is known above all for his specifically Andalusian works, including the poetry collections Romancero gitano (Gypsy Ballads) and Llanto por Ignacio Sánchez Mejías (Lament for a Bullfighter), and, among his plays, for three tragedies: Bodas de sangre (Blood Wedding),Yerma and La casa de Bernarda Alba (The House of Bernarda Alba). He became a prominent artistic figure in Spain and spent periods in New York and Cuba (1929/30) and in Argentina (1933/34), where he became friendly with the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda.He had a close and passionate friendship with the painter Salvador Dalì. Shortly after the start of the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), when Andalusia became the first region to fall to Franco’s Nationalists, Lorca was executed near Granada by a Nationalist firing squad. It is likely that Lorca was condemned for both his homosexuality and his libertarian views. He was among the 30,000 citizens of Granada who died in the conflict. About the Spanish Civil War In the 1930s, Spain was divided between the right-wing Nationalists and the left-wing Republicans. Broadly speaking, the Nationalist party comprised monarchists, landowners, businesspeople, the Roman Catholic Church and the army, while the Republican party comprised urban workers, the trade unions, agricultural workers, socialists and liberal intellectuals. An economic crisis had contributed to the fall in early 1930 of the military government – led by General Primo de Rivera and supported by King Alfonso XIII – that had been in place since 1923. Elections took place, the Republicans came to power and the King left the country (he died in exile in Rome in 1941). A succession of governmental changes and crises culminated in elections in February 1936 which resulted in a leftist Republican government. This was followed in July by a well-planned military uprising against the Republicans which marked the start of the Civil War. General Francisco Franco assumed leadership of the Nationalists, who rapidly gained control of a substantial proportion of Spain, and he took charge of a parallel government based in Burgos while the Republican government remained in Madrid. Over the course of the Civil War, in which up to 500,000 people are thought to have died, the Nationalists received support from Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany (whose airforces undertook the notorious bombing of the Basque town of Guernica in 1937), while the Republicans received aid from the Soviet Union, and from the International Brigades, which comprised volunteers from the rest of Europe and from the United States. Famously, the volunteers included such figures as the writers Ernest Hemingway and George Orwell. The Civil War came to an end in March 1938 when the Republican government took exile in France, its armies surrendered and disbanded, and Nationalist forces entered Madrid. General Franco remained Spain’s head of state for 37 years, until his death in 1975. Just three years later, with the signing of a new Spanish Constitution in December 1978, Spain had made the transition from a dictatorship to a democratic constitutional monarchy under Franco’s chosen successor, King Juan Carlos I (the grandson of King Alfonso XIII). About Sadler’s Wells Sadler's Wells is a world-leading dance house, committed to producing, commissioning and presenting new works and to bringing the best international and UK dance to London and worldwide audiences. Under the Artistic Directorship of Alistair Spalding, the theatre’s acclaimed year-round programme spans dance of every kind, from contemporary to flamenco, Bollywood to ballet, salsa to street dance and tango to tap. Since 2005, it has helped to bring over 100 new dance works to the stage and its award-winning commissions and collaborative productions regularly tour internationally. Sadler’s Wells supports 16 Associate Artists, three Resident Companies, an Associate Company and two International Associate Companies. It also nurtures the next generation of talent through research and development, running the National Youth Dance Company and a range of programmes including Wild Card, New Wave Associates, Open Art Surgery and Summer University. Located in Islington, north London, the current theatre is the sixth to have stood on the site since it was first built by Richard Sadler in 1683. The venue has played an illustrious role in the history of theatre ever since, with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and English National Opera all having started at Sadler’s Wells. Sadler’s Wells is an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation and currently receives approximately 10% of its revenue from Arts Council England.

Hopefully you can see this tweet re BRB in RNLI wellies: https://twitter.com/benwooldridge/status/724906473399193600

Just found and enjoyed the two ballet segments, around 18 minutes in for RB and 1hr20 minutes in for BRB. I thought both pairs did remarkably well on such a tiny stage. I thought the Midland Youth Jazz Orchestra did very well but didn't pack nearly as hefty a punch as the bands used by BRB in the past.

There is a thread started (with some wonderful photographs by John Ross) on the Performances Seen forum. If anyone has seen Little Lord Fauntleroy it would be great if you could put some comments on there: http://www.balletcoforum.com/index.php?/topic/12340-london-childrens-ballet-little-lord-fauntleroy-london-april-2016/#entry167990 I've moved Nancy19's post there.

Does anyone know the approximate timings for the RB and BRB segments so I can have a quick peep before I watch the whole thing?

I think they are still trying to dry the theatre out! My friend was laughing at me because I ended up with panda eyes from runny mascara on Saturday...

My loooong weekend was utterly fabulous!!! Apart from seeing NB's wonderful Swan Lake a major highlight was seeing the Peregrines that perch on the spire of Norwich Cathedral. In the hour we spent looking through the scopes set up by the Hawk and Owl Trust we saw Mum then Dad preening and swapping places on the nest. You can't see the nest but there is a live webcam at the moment. There are four eggs and they will hopefully hatch this week: Link for the webcam: http://upp.hawkandowl.org/norwich-peregrines/norwich-cathedral-peregrine-live-web-cam-2016/

So sorry to hear about your Dad Julie. Sending hugs to you all. Jxx

Maybe they grow!

Hello Trockodile and welcome to the Forum! I can't answer your question but hopefully other members will be able to give you some feedback.

Yes, but I think they wanted to use the acronym!

Here's a short film with some rehearsal extracts and an interview with Hannah Bateman. I can't wait for 19th May!

I have just come across this via twitter. It is aimed at dancers who have graduated in the last 2 years. http://www.dancebase.co.uk/professional/apply-for-the-201617-debs-programme-590

This wonderful news has been posted on the Central School of Ballet website: http://www.centralschoolofballet.co.uk/news.php

According to another member of the forum, Colin Towns Mask Orchestra has some of the best jazz musicians in the world! They certainly sounded wonderful, as did Echoes of Ellington. I too loved the "jamming" in the interval. I can't wait to see the full performances again this summer.

My friend and I came home from a superb weekend in Norwich, enjoying four performances of Swan Lake. I really love this production! It fits the current NB roster like a glove and the standard of performance has been spectacular! On Thursday evening I finally caught up with Joseph Taylor as Antony with Giuliano Contadini as Simon, Abigail Prudames as Odette and and Ayami Myata as Odilia. It has been a joy watching Joseph develop as an artist over the last couple of years and this has been his best role so far. As well as dancing beautifully you could see every thought passing across his face. His interactions with the other dancers were very intense and utterly believable. It was also the first time I had seen Abigail as Odette - she was a total delight. Her head and neck movements were particularly fine. Ayami Myata and Giuliano have continued to grow into their interpretations. All in all, it was a scintillating performance to start our extended weekend. On Friday night we had another powerhouse performance from Javier Torres' cast. Saturday afternoon's cast was Jeremy Curnier as Antony, Ashley Dixon as Simon, Antoinette Brooks-Daw as Odette and Abigail Prudames as Odilia. The waves of emotion coming off the stage took my breath away. I was in tears after the white act adagio, in the duets between Antony and Odilia and then Simon in Act 3 and was in floods by the end. Jeremy is another dancer whose career I have enjoyed watching and Saturday afternoon was the best performance I have ever seen him give. His duets with Ashley were particularly electrifying. For me this was the most emotional performance of the weekend and one I shall long remember. Saturday evening's stellar cast was Toby Batley as Antony, Giuliano Contadini as Simon, Martha Leebolt as Odette and Hannah Bateman as Odilia. What can I say... well I could say a lot but will just say it was sublime! It was wonderful to see the glorious performance of Hannah as Odilia, back in a leading role after injury - she was divine. Her embarrassment in act 1 when she realises Antony does not share her feelings was delicious. The Neapolitan in act 2 was, as ever, a highlight. Kevin Poeung and Matthew Koon were nano-second perfect together and so exciting to watch. I also enjoyed Riku Ito/Jeremy Curnier and Matthew Topliss/Ashley Dixon. All the dancers looked as though they were having a ball in the party scenes. The lady swans were exemplary throughout. It is the final week of Swan Lake in Milton Keynes this week - how I wish I could be there!

As far as I am aware, but nothing is on the website so I can't remember how I know, it is The Tempest and a mixed programme of Wink, Moor's Pavane and Shakespeare Suite. The Lowry and Plymouth are getting The Dream instead of Shakespeare Suite, which I assume is because the Royal also do The Dream. Here is a bit more detail about the mixed programme, which is being shown in Birmingham in June: https://www.brb.org.uk/whats-on/event/shakespeare-triple-bill

It was the Othello segment from David Bintley's Shakespeare Suite which is being seen in full in Birmingham in June and (I think) as part of the season at Sadler's Wells in October. The music is Duke Ellington.