Northern Ballet - I Got Rhythm - Summer 2012

[Jan McNulty]

If you want to come out of a performance uplifted, full of excitement and fulfilled after a fantastic show, then go and see Northern Ballet's I Got Rhythm!!

 

I've just seen three performances of I Got Rhythm in Leeds and they were all fabulous. This production has two acts, each act consisting of a longer Gershwin suite to start, some individual songs and a suite to finish. The suites are American in Paris, Cuban Overture, Rhapsody in Blue and finally Girl Crazy.

 

The dancers perform with panache and obvious enjoyment and there's some lovely choreography. Because so much is involved most of the company are on somewhere in every performance and it gives some of the younger dancers good opportunities.

 

Personal highlights:

 

Martha Leebolt - glorious in everything she did

Toby Batley - sensational in everything he did

Sebastian Loe and Hiro Takahashi - hilarious in I Got Rhythm

Again Sebastian Loe in I got plenty of nuthin

The Girl Crazy finale

 

It may be light, frothy and showbiz but this is a fantastic production with fabulous performances. Go and see it! It's on in Leeds till tomorrow night and then in Norwich next week.

[Jan McNulty]

I've just got home from a fabulous weekend in Norwich seeing the final four performances of Northern Ballet's current season. As you will have realised, I LOVE I Got Rhythm. If I thought the performances in Leeds were good (and they were) the four performances I saw in Norwich were sensational!

 

This production is such fun and all the dancers look as though they are having a ball. It just makes you want to join in (but I've got 2 left feet so no-one had to hold me back from leaping onto the stage!).

 

More highlights:

 

The Girl Crazy encore with everyone adlibbing and the conga line getting longer on stage by the performance!

Antoinette Brooks-Daw and Ashley Dixon in Embraceable You

Martha Leebolt and Javier Torres also in Embraceable You

Keiko Amemori and John Hull in Bess, You is my woman now

Lori Gilchrist and Martin Bell as the "red" leads in American in Paris

 

The ultimate highlight: Mr & Mrs Martin Bell perfoming The Man I Love together in their final performance before retiring from NB. They looked radiant together and I'm sure everyone who knew it was their final performance had a lump in their throat at the end of this section (I know I did).

 

At the curtain call (before the encore) David Nixon came on stage and gave a valedictory for Christie and Martin and there were some presentations. David gave a valedictory for Georgina May in Leeds last Saturday. She also retired from the company yesterday. Georgina, Christie and Martin have been wonderful ambassadors for the company over the past few years. Georgina created the roles of Aurora and Ophelia amongst others and has been a really expressive and fluid dancer in all her roles. It has been a delight to watch Christie over the years; as another chum said she always looked like the cat who got the cream when she was performing. A beautiful dancer, she also had a wonderful sense of comedy as realised in her portrayal as Helena in MSND. Martin had the most fantastic presence on stage; another great actor he was particularly wonderful as the Prince in Nutcracker and my favourite Theseus/Oberon in MSND. All their fans are going to miss them dreadfully andI would like to send all three of these wonderful dancers my very best wishes for the future.

 

Thanks to everyone at Northern Ballet for a super season. Role on Ondine in September.

[Nana Lily]

Ooh Janet I would love to see this programme, sounds fabulous just not able to fit it in

 

NL