Dance venues and companies resuming activities this autumn

[Lynette H]

It certainly looks like ballet and dance are resuming this autumn, but I was wondering just how patchy this is across the country.  Most of the large ballet companies have announced performances this autumn and booking is open.  So In London for example, the ROH is  reopening, and Sadler's Wells has shows open for booking from this month through to January, as does The Place.  But that doesn't mean dance is back at all venues. For example, the Southbank centre has no dance performances listed until April next year. The Barbican currently only lists a filmed performance for Ballet Black. There isn't any dance listed at quirkier places like the Coronet or the delightfully eccentric Wilton's, not major venues for dance, but where it regularly featured.  So far I don't seem to have spotted listing of performances from companies like Ballet Boyz or Rambert.  So I'm wondering just how smaller companies and venues have fared, where much of the work probably involved freelancers.  

 

And that's just looking at London - I'm sure the picture is quite complex and different across the country.  I thought it would be interesting to hear from others about how their local arts economy seemed to be faring.  I seem to recall quite early on in lockdown that a theatre in the midlands closed completely. (Northampton ?).  Are there venues out there that don't seem to be coming back to life ? What's happening in your part of the world ? 

 

There are companies/ individuals based outside London which I've seen on their visits here  for example, more or less at random, National Dance Company Wales, Aakash Odedra, Company Chameleon, Mark Bruce Company.  Smaller companies seem to have had a much harder time of it. If there is any news of smaller companies planning a return to live performance, it would be good to have a thread about it. 

[MaddieRose]

I'm in the East Midlands, and from what I've seen Nottingham Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall are trying to get back to normal. They had Rambert2 in June and are having Northen Ballet for Merlin in September, along with things like Riverdance and musical theatre. 
 

Over in Derby I think the theatres have been a bit more impacted, although from my experience there's not a theatre in Derby that's really suited to 'big' dance groups. The Assembly Rooms have been closed since 2014 because of a fire, and due to mounting costs they voted in April to demolish it and rebuild something else. The Guidhall, a smaller theatre, has been closed for refurbishment since 2018 or 2019, and I imagine COVID must have had a bit of an impact on the refurb process. Derby Theatre has no dance on the program, but I don't think it's ever been a 'dance' theatre. 
 

Over in Mansfield the Palace Theatre is doing a lot more film screenings than it used to, but will probably stay afloat because of it's Christmas Pantomime, which from my own experience as a child always does well by getting in the school groups. They are the opening theatre for Ballet Theatre UK's Tour of The Snow Queen in October. 

Pushing the definition of 'small company', but my old dance school and a friend's old school have both been booted out of theatres they've had their yearly show in for many years because of funding issues. Both the schools and theatres have lost funds, but the theatres have cut off the priority booking for the weekends the studios always had, so they can try and get shows in that will both have longer contracts and sell more tickets. I can't really blame the theatres for wanting to make money, but both studio's have been doing their yearly shows there for at least 10 years, so it is a shame. 
 

Most people I know will go to the theatre for pantomimes at Christmas and maybe for any popular musicals or shows, like Riverdance. I have my fingers crossed when I say this but hopefully the theatres near me won't lose out on another panto season, because then I think they might fare a bit better financially and have more variety on the line up. 

Edited September 5, 2021 by MaddieRose

[San Perregrino]

Here are a couple of encouraging green shoots of recovery:

KVN Dance Company is currently dancing Coppélia (Reimagined) at the Cockpit Theatre in London until 11th September. 

McNicol Dance Collective will present Awakenings at the Bloomsbury Theatre on 
13th/14th November.

 

On a larger scale, Matthew Bourne’s new production The Midnight Bell starts it’s national tour on 9th September in Cheltenham 

 

[Ian Macmillan]

The KVN Coppelia is most certainly reimagined - see reviews in Links a couple of days ago.  And there's a piece on Bourne's Midnight Bell in this morning's Links. - is it to be his last?

 

[SheilaC]

Mark Bruce has just sent out an email aimed at recruiting new dancers, so they intend to continue, but there's no reference to future performances.

 

Ballet Black is performing in York, in October (the same programme as at the Linbury).  

 

Phoenix (under their new director, Dane Hurst) is performing an interesting programme in York, in November, as well as premiering a new piece by Hurst, choreographed to Bernstein's Westside Story Suite, in partnership with Opera North, in Leeds, Newcastle, Salford, Nottingham, from October.  On 3 December Phoenix have a gala, celebrating 40 years of the company, and including dancers from the National Dance Company of Wales, Scottish Dance Theatre, Ballet Black, Motionhouse, ACE dance and Music, plus their neighbours, Northern Ballet.

[alison]

If anyone has any significant information, e.g. webpages etc., it would be useful to put those in the "News" section, give the companies a bit of support   I'm sure they'll need everything they can get their hands on.