Triple bills on tour

[Pas de Quatre]

It seems a good idea to start a new thread rather than hijacking the Panorama Post-transmission thread.  The last few posts were about Aaron Watkins interview and I commented it was a shame ENB would not be touring the triple bill from Sadlers Wells.  This sent me to search my old programme boxes, as I clearly remember the first time I saw Tamara Rojo live was on a mini tour.

 

I have three programmes of ENB's Tour de Force, 2000, 2001 and one which strangely does not give the year, just the month and date, possibly 2002.  The full company split and toured various smaller theatres rather like BRB used to do, and BRB2 is doing next year.  I am still convinced that this is the way to build up a loyal audience.  Below I will list the ballets, but not all the dancers as it would take too long.

 

2000 - Les Sylphides (Fokine);  Three Preludes, (Ben Stevenson);  Swan Lake Act 11 pas de deux, Le Corsaire, Who Cares? (Balanchine). This was the programme I saw Tamara Rojo.

2001 - Apollo (Balanchine);  Perpetuum Mobile (Christopher Hampson); Grand pas from Paquita

2002 (?) - Square Dance (Balanchine); X.N.TRICITIES (Mauro Bigonzetti); Perpetuum Mobile (Christopher Hampson)

 

These programmes were performed on two dates each at 5 venues in 2001 and 11 venues the other two years.  I know touring is expensive, but is it really impossible to do anything similar today? 

[LinMM]

Perhaps if they did split the Company ….there was some talk last year of possibly ENB forming a younger off shoot company like BRB2 …. Then they could tour the classics to some venues and some smaller mixed classical and more modern Pieces to other venues ….and then reverse the following year? 

[alison]

That was the small-scale tour, to venues which wouldn't have been suitable for the whole company - the company split into two with two different programmes.  When I mentioned it originally, I was thinking more of the times several decades ago when a touring "week" would have been longer and they'd have performed a full-length and a night or two of a triple bill.  For example, I remember them running a combination of La Sylphide (of itself a short "full-length" anyway) and a mixed bill consisting of Night Creature (Alvin Ailey), L'Arlesienne, the Don Q pas de deux and, I think, Etudes.  You used to get a discount for booking both programmes.  I wouldn't have gone to both but for a German student on my corridor who wanted to see the mixed bill, but I ended up being very pleased she persuaded me to go!  It also meant it rang the changes for the dancers, who got something else to dance if the full-length didn't really demand much from them.

[Jan McNulty]

1 hour ago, alison said:

That was the small-scale tour, to venues which wouldn't have been suitable for the whole company - the company split into two with two different programmes.  When I mentioned it originally, I was thinking more of the times several decades ago when a touring "week" would have been longer and they'd have performed a full-length and a night or two of a triple bill.  For example, I remember them running a combination of La Sylphide (of itself a short "full-length" anyway) and a mixed bill consisting of Night Creature (Alvin Ailey), L'Arlesienne, the Don Q pas de deux and, I think, Etudes.  You used to get a discount for booking both programmes.  I wouldn't have gone to both but for a German student on my corridor who wanted to see the mixed bill, but I ended up being very pleased she persuaded me to go!  It also meant it rang the changes for the dancers, who got something else to dance if the full-length didn't really demand much from them.

 

I remember those heady days Alison when we had a mixed programme at the start of the week and a full length at the end or vice versa.

 

I also remember ENB's split tours (that sadly didn't last very long) - I went to see them in Malvern and Crewe one year.  I think it was Lyudmila Semenyaka who was with the company at the time.  The performance I saw had a pianist.  He could not keep up with her in the Don Q fouettés she whipped them out so fast!

 

BRB's midscale tours were a highlight of my ballet going during the years they ran.

 

NB experimented with mid scale touring a few years ago.  The cut down version of Madame Butterfly was absolutely sublime.  Jane Eyre (Cathy Marston) was the second tour and what a success that became!  The company did not tour to 2 venues at the same time, the dancers not involved were involved in choreographic projects back at the ranch.

[alison]

Yes, I saw the cut-down version of Butterfly locally, too - but then I always liked the full version as well.  (They don't tour to High Wycombe any longer, do they?  If not, that's a shame).

[Don Q Fan]

If ENB are not even touring to Liverpool this season, not even with Nutcracker, I don't think there's much hope for a triple bill. I love triples, that would marvellous,  I suppose we can but dream.