Press Release: Digital Dance: Birmingham Royal Ballet's Home From Home

[Jan McNulty]

PRESS RELEASE

Thursday 2 April 2020
 

BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET: HOME FROM HOME

 

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BBC ARTS: ‘CULTURE IN QUARANTINE’, BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET LAUNCHES NEW ONLINE CONTENT:

 

BALLET CLASS: LIVE
FRIDAY 3 APRIL FROM 11.00 BST | BBC.CO.UK/ARTS

 

THE SWAN
WEDNESDAY 8 APRIL AT 15.00 BST | BBC.CO.UK/ARTS & BRB.ORG.UK

 

 

Birmingham Royal Ballet is launching Home From Home, a new series of online content which will give an exclusive insight into the company’s daily routine and specially curated performances as they stay fit and creative whilst in isolation at their homes across the globe.

 

The Birmingham Royal Ballet: Home From Home series will open with Ballet Class Live, an exclusive live-streamed class led by Ballet Master Dominic Antonucci that company members will be dialling into voluntarily from wherever they live in the world.

 

Initial programming will also include a very special ‘living-room’ performance of The Swan, set to Camille Saint-Saëns's Le Cygne from Le Carnaval des animaux, introduced by Birmingham Royal Ballet Director Carlos Acosta and performed at home by principal dancer Céline Gittens, accompanied by principal pianist Jonathan Higgins and cellist Antonio Novais from Birmingham Royal Ballet’s orchestra, the Royal Ballet Sinfonia.

 

Both projects have been created in partnership with BBC Culture in Quarantine. Launched by BBC Arts, Culture in Quarantine is a virtual festival of the arts rooted in the experience of national lockdown whereby UK Creative industries can come together to share content and ideas. Jonty Claypole, BBC Head of Arts, says:

 

“The mission of Culture in Quarantine is to support the arts and ensure the greatest possible access to culture in people’s homes.

We’re thrilled to be working with one of the greatest dance companies in the world, Birmingham Royal Ballet, on this unique project.

In Ballet Class Live, anyone at home can join Birmingham Royal Ballet in warm-ups and basic steps. And in a special performance, Céline Gittens will dance the iconic ‘The Swan’ solo, which has an added poignancy at this time of isolation and national lockdown.”

 

HOME FROM HOME: BALLET CLASS LIVE
Friday 3 April from 11.00 BST via BBC.CO.UK/ARTS

Tune in to watch (and participate) with the Birmingham Royal Ballet company as they dial in to a special ballet class live from their homes all over the world including Australia, France, Japan, New Zealand, the USA and UK.

 

 

Led by one of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Ballet Masters Dominic Antonucci, the class will give access to the daily physical warm up routine of these world-class dancers, with online participants including Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet Carlos Acosta, who says:

 

“Every dancer needs to stay fit and flexible and maintain an active and healthy lifestyle. During this period of self-isolation and quarantine, it is vitally important that our company, based in their homes all over the world, continue to meet up online and take daily ballet class.

As part of the Birmingham Royal Ballet: Home From Home series, we will be giving exclusive ballet class access to BBC’s Culture in Quarantine from 11.00am GMT on Friday 3 April.

Why not tune in and watch our company of world-class performers in class, and why not even participate yourself from the comfort of your own home?”

 

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Home From Home: Ballet Class Live will be led by Ballet Master Dominic Antonucci and accompanied by pianist Ross Williams

 

HOME FROM HOME: THE SWAN
Wednesday 8 April at 15.00 BST via BBC.CO.UK/ARTS and BRB.ORG.UK

 

 

At 3pm on Wednesday 8 April, BBC’s Culture in Quarantine will make available a specially curated performance of The Swan, introduced by Carlos Acosta and performed by Birmingham Royal Ballet principal dancer Céline Gittens, accompanied by principal pianist Jonathan Higgins and cellist Antonio Novais from Birmingham Royal Ballet’s orchestra, the Royal Ballet Sinfonia.

 

This poignant piece, set to Camille Saint-Saëns's Le Cygne from Le Carnaval des animaux, was originally choreographed by Mikhail Fokine for legendary ballerina Anna Pavlova and is popularly known as The Dying Swan.

 

Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, Carlos Acosta says:

“Welcome everybody in this moment of stillness.

We are going to try an experiment; I frankly don’t know how it’s going to turn out. We are going to perform for you one of my favourite pieces, The Swan. I have purposely changed the end, so this is a dance about life, about hope.

This is a dance of promises, it represents the end of something and the beginning of something else, and in these crazy times that we are living we all need a new beginning.

This is a gift from Birmingham Royal Ballet to you, enjoy”

ENDS
 

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Birmingham Royal Ballet

Based at Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham Royal Ballet is the United Kingdom’s leading touring ballet

company performing a range of traditional, classical and heritage ballets as well as ground-breaking new works with the aim of encouraging choreographers of the future.

 

The company’s Director from January 2020 is the internationally renowned Carlos Acosta.

Birmingham Royal Ballet performs at Birmingham Hippodrome for approximately ten weeks of the year and the remainder of the year tours throughout the United Kingdom and overseas.

 

The Royal Ballet Sinfonia is Britain's busiest ballet orchestra, playing for Birmingham Royal Ballet's wide-ranging

programme. The Sinfonia also plays frequently for The Royal Ballet and other leading ballet companies, including

performances with: The Royal Ballet, Paris Opéra Ballet, New York City Ballet, Australian Ballet, Les Grands Ballets

Canadiens, the Kirov, Norwegian Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and La Scala Ballet.

 

 

BBC Arts

We believe arts and music make the world a better place by bringing people together through shared experience and

understanding, providing a place of inspiration, a means to navigate a complex world and significant health benefits.

The BBC is the biggest creator of Arts content and is Britain's creative partner – allowing the UK to experience the

very best arts - when they want, how they want.

 

• The nation’s stage: access to arts and culture programming for all through the licence fee – we create and showcase

more arts and culture than any other broadcaster

 

• An Innovator: constantly finding new ways to bring the best quality culture to audiences - working with the Arts

sector as partner and acting as a hot-house for new talent

 

• Britain’s creative partner - a bold force in the UK creative sector as creator and commissioner, also a platform for

new talent

 

• An investor in quality - we only present the highest quality Arts and culture programming, crafted by skilled

production teams and shared with all audiences

 

• Bringing the nation together - like no other we create and amplify moments in Arts and culture, cutting through

with a broad audience

www.bbc.co.uk/arts

[Jan McNulty]

Don't forget the live-streamed class is starting at 11 this morning:

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ebfz3d/live/c8x38g

[trog]

Nice class to do in limited space. Did you see Mathias Dingman's children running around the garden? Miki Mizutani's little dog is cute too!

[Jan McNulty]

It still seems to be available using the link.  It's a bit fiddly to get to it.  If you just have the screen with the picture of 3 dancers move the cursor along the bottom from left to right till you see something happening!  (I'd got the screen set up and ready to go so for me class started 22 minutes in to the recording!).

[Jan McNulty]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/2LtS2qKgXf737QdhRkt6h2N/carlos-breathes-new-life-into-dying-swan

 

Celine Gittens is The Swan, introduced by Carlos Acosta.

[CCL]

This was an absolute jewel of a performance from Celine Gittens, and from pianist Jonathan Higgins and cellist Antonio Novais. Carlos Acosta’s intro was lovely too - a beautiful present from BRB

[Two Pigeons]

This was covered by Lyndsey Winship in the Guardian.

 

I didn't knew she knew BRB existed!

 

[Jan McNulty]

15 minutes ago, Two Pigeons said:

This was covered by Lyndsey Winship in the Guardian.

 

I didn't knew she knew BRB existed!

 

 

You can read what she thought in Today's Links.

 

 

[Jan McNulty]

I've just come across this on Instagram.

 

 

[CCL]

Ooh - I can’t wait to see this - thanks for the heads up Janet 😊

[toursenlair]

I wish they would find a way to stream Hobson's Choice. I have the DVD but (after I got it) I found out it's only a PAL version and there is no NTSC available so we North Americans are shut out.

[Guest oncnp]

43 minutes ago, toursenlair said:

I wish they would find a way to stream Hobson's Choice. I have the DVD but (after I got it) I found out it's only a PAL version and there is no NTSC available so we North Americans are shut out.

I am in the US so I bought a DVD player that is all regions to get around this. 

Edited April 27, 2020 by oncnp

[Jan McNulty]

It was just beautiful; so uplifting and joyous.

[Jan McNulty]

Just found this on IG.  Coming up tomorrow:

 

 

[Jan McNulty]

BRB's Facebook page will be hosting a live chat between principal Tyrone Singleton and retired principal Jenna Roberts at 19:30 tonight.  This will be followed by a showing of the pas de deux  from Concerto (at 20:00).

 

https://www.facebook.com/bhamroyalballet/videos/298670174644430/

 

 

[DanJL]

That was heaven! Thanks for posting the clip Jan 🙂

[capybara]

Damn - missed it.

[Jan McNulty]

15 minutes ago, capybara said:

Damn - missed it.

 

It can still be seen on BRB's FB page using the link above.  I found that I have to open in a new tab for it to play.

[capybara]

51 minutes ago, Jan McNulty said:

 

It can still be seen on BRB's FB page using the link above.  I found that I have to open in a new tab for it to play.

 

Thanks, Jan.