Press Release: English National Ballet announces further plans for Spring - Summer 2023

[Jan McNulty]

For immediate release: Wednesday 29 June 2022 

English National Ballet
Spring - Summer 2023 Season Update 
www.ballet.org.uk  

 

English National Ballet today announces further plans for spring - summer 2023, completing its 2022 - 2023 Season.

From 15 - 25 June 2023, Royal Albert Hall and English National Ballet will present Christopher Wheeldon’s Cinderellain-the-round. First performed in 2019 by English National Ballet, this grand-scale restaging of the magical production features over 90 dancers and combines magnificent sets and costumes, theatrical surprises, and lively choreography set to Prokofiev’s famous score performed by English National Ballet Philharmonic.

Following its recent premiere in London and a UK tour in autumn 2022, English National Ballet presents Raymonda by Tamara Rojo internationally for the first time with performances at the Teatro Real, Madrid, 10 – 13 May 2023. Updating the ballet’s setting to the Crimean war and drawing inspiration from the groundbreaking spirit and work of the women supporting the war effort, including Florence Nightingale, Raymonda is recast as a young woman with a calling to become a nurse. Starring a huge cast of dancers, this critically acclaimed adaptation keeps the best of the 19th-century original including Alexander Glazunov’s score, adapted and edited by Gavin Sutherland and Lars Payne.

English National Ballet’s annual celebration of rising talent within the Company, Emerging Dancer, returns to a live theatre audience on 30 May 2023 at Sadler’s Wells, London. The event, which will also be live streamed, sees six selected finalists mentored by their peers perform in front of a panel of eminent judges. The winner of Emerging Dancer is announced alongside the People’s Choice Award and the Corps de Ballet Award, introduced to recognise the hard work and dedication of an exceptional member of the corps. 

As previously announced, Creature by Akram Khan returns to Sadler’s Wells, London with performances from 22 March – 01 April 2023. 

-ENDS- 

English National Ballet is grateful for the generous grant it has been awarded through the Government's Culture Recovery Fund, which allows it to continue to create, perform and serve its audiences.


Notes to Editors

English National Ballet is a National Portfolio Organisation supported by Arts Council England. 

Ballymore is Principal Building Partner of English National Ballet.

English National Ballet is an Associate Company of Sadler’s Wells.

Raymonda by Tamara Rojo, after Marius Petipa
A Co-Production between English National Ballet and Finnish National Ballet
Production Partner: Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
Lead supporters of Raymonda: Doug and Ceri King, Sir Damon and Lady Buffini, Manuel and Amparo Falcó

Creature by Akram Khan
A Co-Production between English National Ballet and Opera Ballet Vlaanderen (OBV) 
Co-Producer: Sadler’s Wells, London. Production Partner: The Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater
Production Sponsor: Cunard
Lead Supporter of Creature: Valentina Kislaya

On-Sale Information:

Priority booking for Cinderella in-the-round opens on Thursday 30 June with general booking opening on Friday 1 July. 

Booking for Creature and Emerging Dancer will open in autumn 2022.

Become a Friend today to enjoy priority booking, access to exclusive events throughout the Season, and great discounts. Sign up to our e-newsletter to find out when booking is announced.

Performance details are subject to change. Please see www.ballet.org.uk for the latest information.

 

English National Ballet’s 2022-2023 Listings: 

 

Swan Lake
Liverpool Empire
Wednesday 28 September – Saturday 01 October 2022
www.ballet.org.uk/swan-lake

 

Swan Lake
Manchester Palace Theatre
Wednesday 05 – Saturday 08 October 2022
www.ballet.org.uk/swan-lake

Akram Khan’s Giselle
Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris 
Wednesday 12 – Saturday 15 October 2022
www.ballet.org.uk/akram-khan-giselle

 

Ek/ Forsythe/ Quagebeur    
Sadler’s Wells, London
Wednesday 09 – Saturday 12 November 2022 
www.ballet.org.uk/ek-forsythe-quagebeur

 

Raymonda
Bristol Hippodrome
Wednesday 23 – Saturday 26 November 2022
www.ballet.org.uk/raymonda

Raymonda 
Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
Wednesday 30 November – Saturday 03 December 2022
www.ballet.org.uk/raymonda

 

Nutcracker 
London Coliseum
Thursday 15 December 2022 – Saturday 07 January 2023
www.ballet.org.uk/nutcracker

 

Swan Lake
London Coliseum
Thursday 12 – Sunday 22 January 2023
www.ballet.org.uk/swan-lake

 

Akram Khan’s Giselle
Festspielhaus St. Pölten, Austria
Friday 24 & Saturday 25 February 2023
www.ballet.org.uk/akram-khan-giselle

 

Creature by Akram Khan
Sadler’s Wells, London
22 March – 01 April 2023
www.ballet.org.uk/creature

 

Raymonda 
Teatro Real, Madrid
10 – 13 May 2023
www.ballet.org.uk/raymonda

 

Emerging Dancer
Sadler’s Wells, London
23 May 2023
www.ballet.org.uk/emerging

 

Cinderella in-the-round
Royal Albert Hall
15 - 25 June 2023
www.ballet.org.uk/cinderella-intheround

 

About English National Ballet
English National Ballet has a long and distinguished history. Founded in 1950 as London Festival Ballet by the great English Dancers Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin, it has been at the forefront of ballet's growth and evolution ever since.

 

English National Ballet brings world-class ballet to the widest possible audience through live performances across the UK and on eminent international stages; its digital platforms Ballet on Demand and BalletActive; its distinguished orchestra, English National Ballet Philharmonic; and being a UK leader in creative learning and engagement practice, building innovative partnerships to deliver flagship programmes such as English National Ballet's Dance for Parkinson's.

 

Under the artistic directorship of Tamara Rojo CBE, English National Ballet has introduced ground-breaking new works to the Company's repertoire whilst continuing to honour the tradition of great classical ballet, gaining acclaim for artistic excellence and creativity. 2019 saw English National Ballet enter a new chapter in its history when it moved into a purpose-built state-of-the-art home in east London, Mulryan Centre for Dance, bringing a renewed commitment to, and freedom for, creativity, ambition, and connection to more people, near and far, than ever before. www.ballet.org.uk 

 

About Arts Council England 
Arts Council England is the national development agency for creativity and culture. We have set out our strategic vision in Let's Create that by 2030 we want England to be a country in which the creativity of each of us is valued and given the chance to flourish and where everyone of us has access to a remarkable range of high quality cultural experiences. We invest public money from Government and The National Lottery to help support the sector and to deliver this vision. www.artscouncil.org.uk

Following the Covid-19 crisis, the Arts Council developed a £160 million Emergency Response Package with nearly 90% coming from the National Lottery, for organisations and individuals needing support. We are also one of several bodies administering the Government's Culture Recovery Fund and unprecedented support package of £1.57 billion for the culture and heritage sector. Find out more at www.artscouncil.org.uk/covid19  

About Ballymore
Ballymore: 40 years of forward thinking

Ballymore is a leading property developer with a multi award-winning portfolio of some of Europe’s largest and most transformative urban development projects. 

Our projects are defined by their vision, originality and commitment to quality and we are driven to set new, lasting standards in design, creativity and architecture.  Every place we create has a unique personality inspired by its location, history, people and culture, nurtured through strong relationships with our expert partners and those we develop with local communities.  

 

We enliven areas well before the first foundations are laid and we remain long after the last brick is in place to ensure our customers are well looked after and the communities continue to thrive.  

 

Our landmark developments in the UK span the breadth of Greater London, from our new riverside communities in Royal Wharf, London City Island and Embassy Gardens, where we have transformed underused land into lively new neighbourhoods, over to Brentford where we are reconnecting the High Street with the waterfront and revitalising the town centre.   

 

In Ireland, we develop homes across a number of counties and have established Dublin Landings as a new commercial centre at North Wall Quay. We are also working in partnership with Diageo and CIE to design and deliver mixed-use developments at the Guinness brewery and Connolly Station in Dublin. 

[Lizbie1]

It's a shame that they're not bringing Swan Lake to the Albert Hall, considering its 2020 cancellation.

[capybara]

Not much space, if any, for the new AD to

put his/her stamp on the repertoire. A triple bill around March/April 2023 would have been preferable to another (longish) run of Creature.

But, no doubt, the contractual arrangements for both that and Cinderella included guaranteed re-runs.

I haven’t done a proper count but there would appear to be 24 performances on tour in the UK and a total of 9 weeks in residence at the three London venues combined. Mmmmh!

[jmhopton]

Not at all impressed that Madrid is getting Raymonda rather than Manchester where it should have debuted. I'd hoped to see it at Bristol as I had to cancel my London trip last January but it's just the week I'd pencilled in 2 possible consecutive nights for Mayerling to save on travel. I seem fated never to see it. An awful shame it wasn't streamed as that would have been a great compromise.

[LinMM]

A tad disappointing to be honest.  I know they are different etc but just wish ENB were not doing Cinderella next year. Also I won’t be seeing Creature in the Spring so looks like I will be just giving Swan Lake a look over for next season …though also glad emerging dancer is back at Sadlers finally! 

[TSR101]

It would surely have been better to go with Swan Lake or Romeo and Juliet in the Round given that they did Cinderella in 2019. 

[Sim]

I am sad that we have yet a longer wait for a revival of Mary Skeaping’s Giselle. 😢

[PatC]

I’m sad that there is nothing from their back catalogue at all. LFB / ENB we’re my first ballet going company and I look back at the works and casts from that time with huge nostalgia.

[LinMM]

I wonder if this next season announcement is showing that they are not expecting a replacement for Tamara any time soon. It’s looking like someone may not be in place by September at least. 

[FionaM]

3 minutes ago, LinMM said:

I wonder if this next season announcement is showing that they are not expecting a replacement for Tamara any time soon. It’s looking like someone may not be in place by September at least. 

I have to say the length of time this recruitment process is taking does not give me confidence in the board. 

[Jan McNulty]

2 hours ago, FionaE said:

I have to say the length of time this recruitment process is taking does not give me confidence in the board. 

 

It took Northern Ballet the best part of 8 months to announce Federico Bonelli as AD!  David Nixon CBE had been due to retire in December 2021 and ended up staying on until the end of April 2022 as FB wasn't officially due in office until 1st May...

 

However, in ENB's case I assume the timescales are tighter with Tamara Rojo due to take up the reins at SFB later in the year.  The timing of the search is quite late in the year and prospective candidates may not be immediately available.

[LinMM]

Yes that’s what I’m thinking. Tamara initially said she would be in place at ENB until end of December to help the new person coming in etc but looks like either appointment is taking longer than expected or people who are appropriate and who may want the job are just not free in the initial part of the Autumn season so more difficult for them to have any real say in the 2022-23 season. 

[alison]

It might be worth mentioning, for those who don't mind booking in advance of casting, that there are some good bargains to be had on ENB's Cinderella in the round at the Albert Hall in various of the "Boxing Day / New Year's sales" that are on at the moment.

[LinMM]

It’s just been announced that Jeffrey Cirio is guesting in Creature at Sadlers Wells in the Spring which will be good for those who want to see this ballet as he was really very good last time but Cirio or not it’s not for me! 

[zxDaveM]

1 hour ago, LinMM said:

It’s just been announced that Jeffrey Cirio is guesting in Creature at Sadlers Wells in the Spring which will be good for those who want to see this ballet as he was really very good last time but Cirio or not it’s not for me! 

 

he was indeed - but I'll be giving it a swerve too

[FionaM]

I thought ‘Creature’ made a lot of profound statements about the state of humanity today.  I’ll be going again to understand better.  
 

I saw Cirio and Hernandez in the main role … both were excellent, and very different interpretations.  

 

The female leads were phenomenally emotional … Takahashi and Oliviera

[capybara]

6 minutes ago, FionaE said:

The female leads were phenomenally emotional … Takahashi and Oliviera

I have a strong memory of Emily Suzuki being phenomenal in the leading female role.

I agree that Creature is thought-provoking but I found it’s setting, structure and, even, story line, far from clear.

[FionaM]

13 minutes ago, capybara said:

I have a strong memory of Emily Suzuki being phenomenal in the leading female role.

I agree that Creature is thought-provoking but I found it’s setting, structure and, even, story line, far from clear.

I think it’s good to challenge the audience with more complex story lines … Mayerling, Winter’s Tale, Like Water for Chocolate … all jump to mind as ones in this category.  
 

The first two are now recognised masterpieces.  They do require multiple viewings or really good prior knowledge to appreciate fully.  

[capybara]

38 minutes ago, FionaE said:

I think it’s good to challenge the audience with more complex story lines … Mayerling, Winter’s Tale, Like Water for Chocolate … all jump to mind as ones in this category.  
 

The first two are now recognised masterpieces.  They do require multiple viewings or really good prior knowledge to appreciate fully.  

I completely agree about the need for challenge. Perhaps it was just my frame of mind with Creature - but I did see it three times.

I don’t recall any difficulty on my first viewings of Mayerling, WT or LWFC. But I have spent intervals explaining those and other story ballets to people sitting near me. In the case of LWFC this seemed necessary with the first cast but not the second and third pairings!!!

[LinMM]

I don’t mind a complex ballet and being challenged by ideas etc and love some quite extreme dramas in non dance theatre etc but I’m not prepared to sit through a show with such horrible music/soundscape whatever one wants to call it especially when it’s completely deafening! That’s the main reason I don’t want to see it again so soon. 
I might go again in a couple of years when I’ve more or less forgotten what the experience was like! 
 

[FionaM]

I agree the music was challenging too.  I only noticed a few of the references to famous scores … Rite of Spring for instance … which is iitself a challenging score for those new to it.  
 

In that respect the Akram Khan Giselle has an advantage … strains of the very well known original score could be heard throughout the similarly adapted ‘new music’. 

[Emeralds]

Haven’t seen Creature yet but since Cirio is making the trip back, will check it out (must bring ear plugs though).

I found the soundtrack for the AK Giselle excessively loud too- just like the one for the musical Hamilton. Wonder why the composers think most of the audiences attending these works have profound hearing loss and apparently can’t hear the music at normal volume. It is damaging to the hearing of performers, ushers and crew who are working on the show every night too.

[LinMM]

I saw Akrams Giselle in Southampton and although wasn’t exactly my favourite score it was bearable there but Sadlers Wells seem to always have  the sound up a notch or two which is where I saw Creature. 
It’s worth going to see if you’ve never seen it as the dancing especially by Cirio is extraordinary but the music is probably something you wouldn’t want to hear too often to be honest! 
The set is very claustrophobic and hardly changes but this is probably part of the mood of the ballet everybody seems trapped in this room in the middle of the Arctic nowhere apparently and on that level you could say the Ballet was successful as I couldn’t get away fast enough at the end lol! 
It’s just one of those pieces that I only need to see about every 3-4 years. 

 

[Scheherezade]

On 07/01/2023 at 14:46, LinMM said:

I might go again in a couple of years when I’ve more or less forgotten what the experience was like! 

 

It will take a lot longer than a couple of years for me to forget what the experience was like. I agree that Cirio was brilliant, as in everything. I just wish he was guesting in something - anything - else!

[LACAD]

I’ll give it another chance for Jeffrey’s sake. I wonder as well if there will be any tweaks made to the piece (iirc originally the work was meant to be a bit shorter and without an interval), but I’m not sure if Khan is one to alter his works.

[Emeralds]

It’s a very, very long run of Creature and seems incredibly optimistic on the part of Rojo/Watkin, the sponsors and Sadler’s Wells. I think it would have been more prudent to split it with a repeat of the Forsythe, Quagebeur, Ek mixed bill which lots of people had to miss because of transport strikes (but I would present it in the order of Quagebeur- Ek - Forsythe instead to get the full impact of each work). I suppose when Creature was programmed to start advance sales, they believed the sales in the premiere season would be replicated, but I don’t think Creature is the kind of work that would easily inspire a lot of repeat attendances the way Playlist (either the short or extended version), Dust or Akram Khan’s Giselle would. 

[art_enthusiast]

Totally agree- I unfortunately had to miss the Forsythe mixed bill in November due to Covid, and I also missed Playlist earlier in the year due to other commitments. If they were repeating either of those, I'd get tickets immediately! Not too sure about Creature.