Press Release: BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET IN BBC FOUR TELEVISION WORLD PREMIERE

[Jan McNulty]

BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET IN BBC FOUR TELEVISION WORLD PREMIERE

 

The King Who Invented Ballet: Louis XIV and the Noble Art of Dance and Birmingham Royal Ballet’s newest work The King Dances to be broadcast on BBC FOUR on Sunday 13 September at 8pm.

 

Birmingham Royal Ballet Director David Bintley is swapping the Birmingham Hippodrome stage for The Palace of Versailles in his latest TV appearance. Following on from the success of the March 2014 documentary Dancing in the Blitz: How World War II Made British Ballet, David Bintley presents his second programme for BBC FOUR for which he goes back in time to 17^th Century France to discover the roots of classical ballet as we know it. 

 

Filmed over the last year, The King Who Invented Ballet is a 60 minute documentary which shows how Louis XIV’s patronage and passion for dance brought about the evolution of ballet from an instrument of propaganda in the French royal court into a professional art form in its own right. 

 

Framed through Bintley’s own personal fascination with Louis XIV, the film charts how ballet developed during the reign of Louis (also known as the Sun King) whilst also following Bintley’s creation of The King Dances, a brand new one-act ballet for Birmingham Royal Ballet which received its world premiere at Birmingham Hippodrome in June and which will receive its television world premiere on BBC FOUR directly following the documentary. 

 

During Louis XIV’s reign, dance was central to the lives of the nobility. Louis, himself a keen dancer, ensured that it would develop into an art form that could be taught, preserved and shared, commissioning the invention of dance notation and the foundation of the world’s first ballet school- the Académie Royale de Danse. 

 

The King Who Invented Ballet looks at the central social importance of dance in Louis’ era and features specially shot pieces that help to illustrate what 16^th and 17^th century dance was like and how it changed from being dominated by the male nobility to introducing the first professional female ballerinas- the pioneers of women in dance. 

 

David Bintley also visits stunning locations including Waddesdon Abbey in Aylesbury, The Paris Opera, The Louvre, The Palace of Versailles and the Biblioteque Mazarine to bring to life the world of Louis XIV and explore the artistic and political legacy he left behind.

 

Bintley’s new ballet for Birmingham Royal Ballet, the 35 minute The King Dances explores Louis’ journey to kinghood. It is inspired by the Ballet de la Nuit, the seminal dance work from 1653 that introduced the fourteen year old Louis as the Rising Sun and the saviour of France after a period of civil war known as the Fronde. Featuring an original score by Stephen Montague, costumes and deigns by Katrina Lindsay and lighting by Peter Mumford, The King Dances is performed by fourteen male dancers and one female dancer. It was filmed specially for its television world premiere on BBC FOUR at Birmingham Hippodrome in June 2015. 

 

ENDS.  

 

Notes to editors:

• The King Who Invented Ballet: Louis XIV and the Noble Art of Dance and The King Dances will be shown on BBC FOUR on Sunday 13 September 20.00-21.40

     Producer/ Director: Paul Wu 

     Executive Producer: Mark Cooper for BBC Music Television

 

• The King Dances will tour in October 2015 in a triple bill of works from Birmingham Royal Ballet entitled Variations. Tour dates are as follows: 

• Sadler’s Wells Theatre London, 16 – 17 October
• Theatre Royal Plymouth, 30 – 31 October

[Arky]

Thanks, Janet. I'm sure many people will be watching and/or recording!

[alison]

Bumping: this is tomorrow night - or today if you prefer!

[Beryl H]

Really looking forward to this, with Darcey Bussell's Ballerinas beforehand at 7pm, this makes 2 hour 40 minutes of good ballet on BBC4, plus the history of horse ballets (which I believe came before the human ones) on Tuesday!

[Mary]

Did anyone else watch this?

If there is another thread on it, apologies.

I really enjoyed it. David Bintley is such an articulate presenter. The documentary did have some silly features such as unnecessary bursts of pop music, but, on the whole, it was good I thought: pitched at an audience somewhere in the middle between complete newcomers and the experts.

It is always hard to decide about  a ballet seen on TV and I wouldn't want to say much about a first viewing on TV-but I liked The King Dances. It was perhaps difficult for the piece to reconcile  the central paradox that it was a dance in modern style- for the most part- about dance of an older and different style. At times this worked and at times perhaps not.

Also it was hard for it to have a meaningful narrative about a past dance form which involved 12 hour allegorical setpieces...the two just don't mix. So, Bintley's stated aim to make the pas de deux of the Sun King and a personification of the moon stand for ALL Louis's relationships with women including his wife, mistress and the dancers, struck me as a bit ambitious to say the least, and in fact the very attractive pas de deux didn't convey any of this to my ( ignorant) eyes.

 

 

 

However, that said, lots of good dancing and some lovely moments.

[Jan McNulty]

I enjoyed the documentary very much.  David Bintley is both erudite and articulate, which makes for easy viewing.  I saw The King Dances earlier in the summer and loved it but I didn't think it came over as well on the small screen.  It is really dramatic from the start with the flaming torches in the flesh, and this level of drama didn't come across.  I still enjoyed the performance though and am looking forward to seeing it again at Sadler's Wells in October.

[jm365]

I completely agree with Janet.  I think The King Dances is one of Bintley's really good pieces and I'm delighted it is coming to London.  I saw it in Birmingham and thought it a knockout.  I do hope there was a good audience for the tv programme as I thought the documentary section was extremely interesting and engaging.

[Jacqueline]

I enjoyed this programme very much. It was well put together, full of interesting insight and information and with some great imagery. I did enjoy the Sun King on the zebra crossing and his brief acknowledgement of the tourist with the camera! That just appealed to my sense of humour.  Although I agree the bursts of modern music were jarring and unnecessary.

I find the Baroque style of dance fascinating and most attractive, elegant and expressive. No splayed legs and in your face 'choreography' here thank you. As one of the guests said, it was all about expressing emotions through movement and the meaning was indeed clear. I also liked that little scene in the dance class where Mr Bintley was put right over arms in fifth, with the explanation about that which is not parallel and of course, the position of the arms being an opportunity to display a beautiful costume. 

The contrast between the dance for the peasantry and the elite was also very clearly demonstrated and explained. They weren't so much trying to make the peasants look coarse and slightly absurd - although the steps were amusing - as to show the huge and unbridgeable distance between those within and without the golden gates of the palace. No wonder the later peasants revolted. One would just have to really.

As for the King Dances, I agree it didn't come across particularly well on the small - in my case 42" - screen. It is clearly a dramatic piece and I would think needs to be seen live. For me, it began to drag a little and although Mr Bintley did say it was not supposed to be a recreation of Baroque but more of a modern take - or words to that effect unless I am misremembering - I did think that parts were rather too far removed from the Baroque style and it didn't say anything to me. I would like to see it again, preferably live and as such I don't want to sound as though I am criticizing.

I also enjoyed the repeat of Darcey's ballet heroines which preceded the above. Wasn't Suzanne Farrell a gorgeous dancer? 

[Beryl H]

Very informative programme, and some beautiful locations, I didn't realise the POB is in such a direct line from Louis XIV, with free entry to the school. The King Dances is quite a strange mysterious work and I am glad to have the opportunity to know more about it, my thought was that onstage it would be another "darkie" but Janet says the opposite, so it will be very exciting to see it at live in October at SW, William Bracewell looked wonderful as the Sun King, and what a difference that long wig makes, liked the dreamy pas de deux, although modern looking the ballet probably needs it.