New English Ballet Theatre - NEBT

[atacrossroads]

I wondered how many of you had heard about NEBT yet? It's a wonderful new company with Darcey Bussell and Carlos Acosta as patrons.

 

This article gives yet another insight into just how competitive the ballet industry is for British trained dancers:

 

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-2161039/Future-stars-given-step-revolutionary-new-ballet-company.html

 

 

I went onto the Peacock Theatre website earlier to book as one of the company is the daughter of my dd's ballet teacher and was amazed and saddened by the availability of tickets.

It's an amazing, ground breaking show, with a very short run, so I'd recommend anyone to see it!

[Ecarte]

Thanks for the post atacrossroads.

 

The article shows the harsh realities of the post vocational training employment, and it is not happy reading.

 

I would love to see the show but it clashes with DD's dancing commitments.

 

Certainly I wish them well and hope to be able to have the opportunity to see them at a later date.

[aileen]

Unfortunately, NEBT clashes with the DanceGB performances at Greenwich and some of the RB triple bill performances (as well as my DD's ballet school shows) and so, sadly, I won't be able to go either. I would point out that there is a performance on Sunday afternoon which may be a good time for some people. The Peacock Theatre (the performances are here but you book through Sadler's Wells) is on the 68 bus route which runs from Euston to Croydon via Waterloo, if that helps.

[rowan]

Yes, that article is definitely not happy reading. These dancers are graduates from top schools too. Do NEBT dancers just get a one-year contract, and then they have to move on elsewhere, so new graduates can get a chance with the company the next year? Have I understood it correctly?

[aileen]

I've always wondered what patrons of this type of organisation actually do. It's a shame that NEBT's famous patrons aren't performing a short piece. That would probably have drawn in the crowds. Apparently, Marienela Nunez and Thiago Soares are performing at the Thursday gala but that won't sell tickets for the other performances.

[atacrossroads]

Rowan, you're right. They have been told that the cast can re audition at the end of the year for the new cast, but I'd imagine that re employing them would be seen as defeating the object of the company, so I guess the hope is that they get enough exposure to move on to greater things.

 

Until a year or so ago, I presumed that graduates of the Upper School went into the Company and that their paths were mapped out for them....I had no idea of the reality.

[JulieW]

Atacrossroads - as it sounds like you've now discovered - only a very small number of graduates from RBS and Elmhurst get into either the RB or BRB.

 

I know a couple of the dancers in NEBT and by looking at their Facebook pages, it seems they've had a great time. Hopefully their performance experience will now put them in a better "place" when it comes to auditioning for other companies if/when they move on.

[Ian Macmillan]

You may get a clearer idea of NEBT's relatively limited aims from this interview with its Founding Director, Karen Pilkington-Miksa:

 

http://www.dancetabs.com/2012/06/interview-karen-pilkington-miksa-founding-director-new-english-ballet-theatre/

 

And it's probably worth keeping in mind that this is its first, pilot season.

[Tulip]

It is very sad and scary, but with everything jobs are few and far between. My son is at uni having achieved 11 GCSEs and 4 A levels in Maths and sciences and is absolutely delighted to have a weekend job on mimimum wage helping children on a kiddy fair ground ride. I don't know what job opportunities will be availabel to him when he does graduate, but whether it is the ballet world or outside the ballet world, jobs at the moment are very very rare.

[glowlight]

You make a good point Tulip - job prospects are scarey and uncertain for all young people, not just dancers.

 

In actual fact I think that the employment rate from vocational schools is very good compared with Universities. Certainly from my dd's graduating class, I think everyone who wanted a job in the industry had got a dance job within 6 months of graduating. Not many University courses can claim that.

[Jan McNulty]

I've just posted the link to this review in the links section but thought I would post here too for maximum exposure: http://www.standard.co.uk/arts/theatre/synergies-new-english-ballet-theatre-peacock-theatre--review-7913112.html

[balletla]

As I said on another post, the aims of NEBT look admirable but I would be more inclined to be supportive if it were showcasing British students, or even just students that have attended British schools, but it appears to be taking on foreign students who have trained outside the UK.

[drdance]

While it might appear to be showcasing non-English dancers, it's most definitely using British choreographers. As a student teacher and very newly qualified dance teacher I taught George Williamson who went onto Elmhurst and then ENBS who is now an emerging choreographer. Work by Jenna Lee (ENB) is also being performed.