Jan McNulty Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Lauren Cuthbertson in new ballet by Ludovic Ondiviela Sliver of Sky is presented in association with Amnesty International UK Cast includes dancers from The Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Rambert Royal Ballet Principal Lauren Cuthbertson leads dancers from The Royal Ballet, English National Ballet and Rambert, in a new ballet choreographed by Ludovic Ondiviela to be performed at the Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells on Sunday, April 24th. Sliver of Sky is presented in association with Amnesty International UK and takes its inspiration from the human rights issues championed by the charity. The title comes from the words of Albert Woodfox, held in solitary confinement in the US for 43 years until his release earlier this year. From his cramped prison cell there was a slit of a window from which he could see a “sliver of sky”. Ludovic Ondiviela explained the thinking behind the piece: “Reading about the experience of solitary confinement has led me to explore the emotional and psychological journey of the detainees and their families. Human beings are essentially social beings and isolation and extreme loneliness can drive people to madness. How does someone find hope when locked up for 23 hours a day in a 6ft by 9ft cell when the only view of the outside is through a tiny window which offers a sliver of sky? "I would like to thank all of the dancers for so generously giving their time to work on this project and Kevin O’Hare, Director of The Royal Ballet, Tamara Rojo, Artistic Director of English National Ballet and Mark Baldwin, Artistic Director of Rambert for allowing their respective dancers to join us in addition to their busy company schedules. My thanks also go to Guy Hoare for the lighting design and Yohei Sasaki for the sound design.” Lauren Cuthbertson said: “I am really looking forward to working with Ludovic. He is inspiring to create work with and it feels like a true collaboration.” Other dancers taking part in Sliver of Sky are Matthew Ball (The Royal Ballet) Begoña Cao, James Forbat and Francisco Bosch (English National Ballet) Hannah Rudd and Luke Ahmet (Rambert) Kesi Rose Olley Dorey and James Loffler. Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty International UK, said: “There’s no doubt that placing someone in solitary confinement for decades is a form of torture, and Albert Woodfox and the other Angola 3 inmates suffered abysmally during those long years behind bars in Louisiana. “What’s really impressive about Sliver Of Sky, is that it takes a bleak and unpromising subject matter and transforms it into something poetic, haunting and in the end genuinely uplifting. “This is a fitting tribute to the incredible endurance of Albert Woodfox, and also a chilling reminder of what damage countries continue to do when they place human beings in conditions of extreme sensory deprivation.” Sliver of Sky will be performed at the Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells on Sunday, April 24th at 6pm. Tickets cost £75 and include admission to a post-show reception with members of the artistic team and representatives of Amnesty International UK. Sliver of Sky is produced by Inspiration in Motion, a charity promoting dance and related performance arts, focusing on support for new works, making performances accessible to wider audiences and supporting education and training. An allocation of free tickets is available to students on application. Ludovic Ondiviela was a dancer with The Royal Ballet where his choreography frequently featured in Draft Works. He left the Company to concentrate on his career as a choreographer and his creations include Dopamine for Ballet Black, Berlin and Adagietto for Men in Motion, La Ronde directed by Jack Thorpe, 4 times 4 for the Gandini Company (as part of the London Mime Festival). In 2014 he created and directed his first full length ballet, Cassandra, for The Royal Ballet. In 2015 he took part in the choreographic institute with Northern Ballet and created Lost for Ballet Ireland. Free student ticket information from: info@inspirationinmotion.org.uk Tickets from Sadler’s Wells office: 0207 863 8000* sadlerswells.com *Transaction fees apply for telephone, online and concessionary bookings. No charge in person at the Ticket Office. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Ah well, there I was getting all excited, until I saw the ticket price which will, I am sure, exclude many of us ballet fans. However, since it is for a good cause, I won't feel bitter and twisted that I am missing it.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coated Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Yup, same here. I guess I could cancel my tiny direct debit with amnesty and watch this instead... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 Ah well, there I was getting all excited, until I saw the ticket price which will, I am sure, exclude many of us ballet fans. However, since it is for a good cause, I won't feel bitter and twisted that I am missing it.... ditto - the front row was available and I got excited until I discovered they were £75! I'd have had to have had a proper touch on the g-gees to go for that.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caspermil Posted March 27, 2016 Share Posted March 27, 2016 The ticket price includes a post-show reception, which presents the opportunity to mix with the creative team, including dancers. It also supports the newly-created charity Inspiration in Motion, which promotes dance and related performance arts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted April 7, 2016 Author Share Posted April 7, 2016 Ludovic Ondiviela has a crowd-funder going to raise monies towards the costs of rehearsal studios: https://www.youcaring.com/sliver-of-sky-545712 The latest update has a short film of rehearsal footage: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferrylights Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 I was lucky enough to have a chance to attend this fantastic event. My friend and I wrote some of our thoughts about it on our blog, link here. http://pasdeblog.com/sliver-of-sky-by-ludovic-ondiviela-review/ We also got to conduct a short interview with Ludovic Ondiviela before the premier, if anyone is interested in reading it. http://pasdeblog.com/sliver-of-sky-by-ludovic-ondiviela/ Please let me know if it's not okay to post this here, I would be happy to delete if it doesn't follow the balletcoforum guidelines. I just thought it was such a great event for a really touching cause, and the passion of the choreographer and dancers was so apparent throughout. A very inspiring evening. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted April 27, 2016 Author Share Posted April 27, 2016 Hello Ferrylights, Thanks for the link to your blog and your super review contained therein. I really enjoyed reading it. I do wish I could have seen this performance. BTW, if you regularly post on your blog about ballet/dance you could include a link to your home page within a signature block on your profile. Member Terpsichore has done this so anyone interested can pop over to her blog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferrylights Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 Thank you Janet, will do! I'm so pleased you enjoyed reading about it; a truly special event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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