Terpsichore Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Ballet West, Romeo and Juliet, Macrobert Centre, Stirling I've seen three performances by Ballet West: The Nutcracker in 2013, Swan Lake last March and now Romeo and Juliet. The other two were good but this is the best by far. This is a very ambitious production with a big cast including some very young children. It would have been a credit to a full time performing company. As most of the dancers are students Ballet West's achievement is all the more remarkable.Several factors made this production special. Excellent choreography by Daniel Job: dramatic and with plenty of detail that is often missed by other productions. Great sets by Ryan Davies and Sara-Maria Barton. A well trained and coordinated corps where even the children performed like pros. Sparkling dancing not only from the principals Jonathan and Sara-Maria Barton but also from the soloists Owen Marris as Tybalt, Andremaria Battaglia as Paris, Miranda Hamill as the nurse, Isaac Bowry as Lord Capulet, Kathrine Blyth as his wife, Andrew Cook as Prince Escalus and Karen Terry as Friar Lawrence.This is a ballet that demands not only great virtuosity from the principals with no less than 4 major pas de deux (the ball, the balcony, the bedroom and the crypt but also great drama. Juliet grows up literally overnight. A playful adolescent teasing her first Act. A woman who knows her mind and is capable of taking enormous risks in defiance of her father. Romeo - passionate in love but also in fury. Drama also from the soloists. Katherine Blyth's grief at her son's death. Her anger on seeing his killer. Her performance gripped the audience - or at any rate it gripped me. Bowry who I had previously seen as Drosselmeyer and Rothbart showed he can act as well as dance. As could Cook whom I admired very much last year.Because the cast is large and the sets were elaborate the show needed a big stage. The Macrobert is not a small auditorium but it did not do justice to the show. This production has already toured China where it was no doubt danced in bigger auditorium. Probably the best place to see this show is the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow where the tour concludes on Valentine's day. This will be a memorable performance and if you live in Glasgow or anywhere near it you really should try to be there.In the programme the company's founder and artistic Gillian Barton wrote how it started from humble beginnings in 1991 and how it has achieved great things with tours of China, finalists and medallists in important competitions and graduates in several major companies. Tonight I met Gillian Barton for the first time. Others including one of the members of my class at Northern Ballet had spoken very highly of that lady and I can quitre see why. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Millie3 Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Thanks for the review. Off to see it next weekend - can't wait! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Macmillan Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 From today's Links, Kelly Apter of The Scotsman saw a performance in Stirling: http://www.scotsman.com/what-s-on/theatre-comedy-dance/ballet-review-romeo-and-juliet-stirling-1-3676658 .... and was reasonably impressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terpsichore Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 From today's Links, Kelly Apter of The Scotsman saw a performance in Stirling: http://www.scotsman.com/what-s-on/theatre-comedy-dance/ballet-review-romeo-and-juliet-stirling-1-3676658 .... and was reasonably impressed. Yes that would have been Saturday night's performance the same one that I attended. This year's tour is shorter than in previous years in that they started on 23 Jan and will finish on Valentine's day (see tour dates and venues). It is also more ambitious as they will conclude their tour at the Clyde Auditorium which is a large venue in a major city. This is an important week for the company and school for another reason. Its graduand Natasha Watson is dancing in the finals of the Prix de Lausanne - the only British dancer to get this far. Performances are streamed live. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porthesia Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 I am watching on 14 February. Looking forward to it very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lehcar28 Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Going this Saturday, I can't wait Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dramascientist Posted February 10, 2015 Share Posted February 10, 2015 Me too, flying in from the continent, cant wait!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Macmillan Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 They get another push from BBC Scotland, I see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-31453252 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BalletWestMum Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Just wondering what everyone thought of Romeo and Juliet in Glasgow on Saturday. Speaking as a mum, I am very disappointed that I paid £10 for a programme and the children didn't even get a mention! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lehcar28 Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 (edited) I didnt see the Glasgow performance, we went to Paisley and I thought it was fantastic. I was so proud to see my daughter on stage, but Yes Ballet West Mum i did say to my daughter it would have been nice to at least have seen a photo of the various year groups in the programme. Other than that it was brilliant Edited February 16, 2015 by Lehcar28 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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