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Streamed Performance - Northern Ballet - A Celebration of David Nixon


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Northern Ballet were able to perform in Covid-secure conditions at the Leeds Playhouse in October 2020.  The first performances were three different evenings of pdd.  The following week Dangerous Liaisons was presented.

 

This evening is one from the first week.

 

David Nixon chose some of his favourite duets from the works he has made for the company over the past 19 years.  At the live performance he presented this evening and talked about each duet being performed and it is a shame that his articulate and interesting presentation is not included in the streaming.

 

I think the streaming is well presented and, of course, very enjoyable.  There is no orchestra pit at Leeds Playhouse and every year it has been interesting to see where the orchestra has been located - for Hamlet they were underneath the auditorium and those of us on the front row could see the orchestra through grills set in the floor - almost as though we were looking down into a dungeon!

 

For the October 2020 performances the orchestra was at the back of the stage behind a black gauze.  Interestingly I was more aware of the orchestra in the film than I was in the theatre.

 

I really enjoyed this streaming which was a good mix of duets.  Two were from the ill-fated Sleeping Beauty Tale which David said were the only sections retained from the overall ballet.  (It was set in outer space and was quite an interesting take on the traditional fairy tale!).

 

Anyway my favourite pieces were the duet from Midsummer Night's Dream, from The Great Gatsby and from Three Musketeers.  Ayami Miyata was outstanding in Dream and Gatsby.

 

This stream is available for hire until 18th January at a cost of £10 and is well worth the money for any fan of Northern Ballet and anyone who wants to see more of the company.  The fee allows you to watch the stream as often as you want

 

https://northernballet.com/a-celebration-of-artistic-director-david-nixon-obe.

 

The duets were:

 

A Midsummer Night's Dream - Ayami Miyata and Matthew Koon

3 Preludes from I Got Rhythm - Kyungka Kwak and Mlindi Kulashe

Little Mermaid - Minju Kang and Lorenzo Trossello

Great Gatsby - Ayami Miyata and Riku Ito

Sleeping Beauty Tale - Sarah Chun and Jonathan Hanks

Three Musketeers - Antoinette Brooks Daw and Kevin Poeung

Sleeping Beauty Tale - Abigail Prudames and Joseph Taylor

 

I do hope the other evenings are also going to be streamed.

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I endorse what Jan says, it's well worth the £10 cost to rent, with the final viewing date for renters now extended to 15 February. The programme is a varied range of pas de deux, with a mix of music as well as choreography, from Gershwin to Malcolm Arnold. (If I remember correctly, the premiere of The There Musketeers was on the day that Arnold's death was announced, a sad coincidence).

Anyone who was able to see the recent very interesting London Ballet Circle interview with David Nixon will especially enjoy seeing some of his best work, including an excerpt from the ballet he said would be his last, The Little Mermaid.

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15 minutes ago, SheilaC said:

I endorse what Jan says, it's well worth the £10 cost to rent, with the final viewing date for renters now extended to 15 February. The programme is a varied range of pas de deux, with a mix of music as well as choreography, from Gershwin to Malcolm Arnold. (If I remember correctly, the premiere of The There Musketeers was on the day that Arnold's death was announced, a sad coincidence).

Anyone who was able to see the recent very interesting London Ballet Circle interview with David Nixon will especially enjoy seeing some of his best work, including an excerpt from the ballet he said would be his last, The Little Mermaid.

 

I believe you are correct about the premiere of 3M coinciding with the death of Malcolm Arnold.  It's a shame we didn't get anything from Ondine as David speaks so fondly of it and I remember some terrific performances at the Leeds Playhouse (even though I really disliked the music!).  By a sad coincidence HW Henze died a day or so before the NB premiere of Ondine.

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