Jan McNulty

Links - Monday 01 June, 2020

 

 

Documentary Review - Men at the Barre:  Maggie Foyer, Seeing Dance

 

Streaming Review - Dutch National Ballet, Mata Hari:  Lyndsey Winship, Guardian

 

Feature/Streaming Review - Stephen Petronio, #GimmeShelter:  Brian Seibert, NY Times

 

Streaming Update - International dance online:  Teresa Guerreiro, Culture Whisper

 

Video Feature - Boston Ballet and BSO collaborate in “at home” video:  Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald

 

Feature - Masked dancers get back to work in Eastern France:  Staff, The Star

It’s well worth popping along to the Stage Door.  The talks so far have been excellent.  It was really interesting listening to Sarah yesterday afternoon.

It seems a very intermittent problem.  

In 2003 Northern Ballet performed Birgit Scherzer's Requiem!!, which lasted just over an hour.  As the company was only about 30 dancers strong at the time it was performed on its own.  We were a bit dubious but I must say that we did not feel in the least bit short-changed by the length of the show.  It was intense and electrifying and, to us, very wonderful.

 

Could Two Pigeons be concatenated into one act?

 

I always find The Dream satisfying in itself.

 

Not strictly ballet but Akram Khan's works tend to run without an interval.

See you there!

Links - Sunday 31 May, 2020

 

 

Conversation - Where dance and fashion collide:  Iris van Herpen and Damien Janet, NY Times

 

Streaming Review - Royal Ballet, The Cellist:  Aliya Al Hassan, Broadway World

 

Streaming Review - Australian Ballet, Paquita, La Sylphide:  Michelle Potter, ... on dancing

 

Gallery – Avatâra Ayuso & Zhao Zhibo, LIMBO 无间:  Foteini Christofilopoulou, DanceTabs

 

Streaming suggestions - From San Francisco:  Janos Gereben, SF Examiner

 

Feature - Dance Diary May 2020:  Michelle Potter, ... on dancing

That's lovely.

 

I saw them in Liverpool when they premiered Pepperland and then in Bradford when they did a short tour of Pepperland.

The latest announcement from ENB about their Watch Parties:

 

ENB at HOME: Wednesday Watch Parties - June 

 

 

English National Ballet’s ‘ENB at HOME’ programme continues to provide free access to full-length ballets and online content, providing ways for people to keep fit and active during this time and keeping ballet accessible to everyone, everywhere.  

 

Through their Wednesday Watch Parties, which are a part of ENB at HOME, English National Ballet invites audiences around the world to enjoy never before seen full-length recordings of Company performances. The Wednesday evening (7pm) premieres on Facebook and YouTube give people the chance to see some of English National Ballet’s most loved productions for free, from their own homes, with recordings available for 48 hours.

 

The ballets which have been streamed in the series so far have been viewed more than 570,000 times by people in over 100 countries. Following a short break, Wednesday Watch Parties will return with a celebration of Sir Kenneth MacMillan, by streaming two of his productions:

 

Wednesday 17 June – Song of the Earth

Wednesday 24 June – Manon

 

First performed in 1965, MacMillan’s choreography for Song of the Earth was different from anything he had previously devised. Featuring three central figures, a Woman, a Man, and a Messenger, this powerful, moving exploration of life, death, and renewal is set to Mahler’s song cycle, Das Lied von der Erde, performed live by English National Ballet Philharmonic. The streamed performance was filmed at the Palace Theatre Manchester in October 2017 when English National Ballet performed this masterwork as a part of the national celebration of MacMillan in the 25th anniversary of his death.

 

Famous for its expressive choreography MacMillan’s Manon features some of the most demanding and fulfilling roles in ballet. The young and naïve Manon is torn between two lives: privilege and opulence with the wealthy Monsieur GM, or innocent love with the penniless student Des Grieux. Aristocrats and beggars, courtesans and harlots fill the stage as audiences are taken from a gambling den in 18th-century Paris to a desolate Louisiana swamp in one of British ballet’s most dramatic stories. Recorded at the Manchester Opera House in October 2018, Manon is accompanied by Jules Massenet’s haunting music performed by English National Ballet Philharmonic.

 

ENB announced today the conclusion of Artistic Director Tamara Rojo’s daily ballet classes, following an incredible 40 classes that she has recorded since 20 March.  Tamara’s classes proved popular with professional dancers and ballet fans alike as a way to keep fit as well as an opportunity to train with one of the best ballet dancers in the world, and have been watched over 1.7 million times on YouTube and Facebook, Tamara said:

 

“On behalf of ENB I would like to thank everyone who have been enjoying our online classes and Wednesday Watch Parties. Thank you for sharing this time with us and for your encouragement and support, it really means the world to us. 

 

“It has been an honour and a privilege to bring daily class to you all and I can hardly believe we have reached 40 classes broadcast from my kitchen. This marks the end of my series of classes as it is now time for me and my colleagues at ENB to concentrate on the future of the company and, together with the government and our other colleagues in the performing arts, to find ways to return safely to our studios, theatres and to our work. 

 

“Around the world things are slowly going back to normal, which is encouraging, so when it is safe and appropriate to do so please return to your teachers, return to your schools, return to your training and return to the theatres near you so that you can continue to support our beloved art form.”

 

The 40 classes Tamara recorded are still available on ENB’s website and YouTube channel alongside the full range of classes that form the ENB at Home programme. These include beginners classes, family workshops, Dance for Parkinson’s, Youth Ballet, Boys’ classes, Ballet Fit and classes for those with limited mobility. ENB at Home will continue with new Wednesday Watch Parties, a weekly ‘Ballet for Summer Fitness’ class and more. Keep an eye on ENB’s social channels for updated information on these classes and ENB at HOME content. 

 

-ENDS- 

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

 

Notes to Editors

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 performances across the UK and on eminent international stages including The Bolshoi Theatre and Palais Garnier; 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 with a move into a purpose-built state-of-the-art home in East London which brings a renewed commitment to, and freedom for, creativity, ambition, and connection to more people, near and far, than ever before. www.ballet.org.uk

 

ENB Future Fund

Launched to celebrate our 70th Anniversary, ENB Future Fund enables the Company to make confident longer-term plans for all areas of our work. This is vital now, more than ever.

 

Covid-19 is the biggest challenge we’ve faced in our 70-year history. It is having a significant effect on the way we rehearse, operate and perform and affects our long-term sustainability.

 

Donations to the Future Fund support our important work to continue to connect, inspire and enhance well-being across our artistic, engagement and community programmes. As a charity, we rely on people’s support now more than ever.

We want to continue changing the perceptions of what ballet is and what it can be. Any donation, large or small, will go towards protecting our work and ensuring we remain accessible, welcoming and relevant for all.

 

To find out more about supporting English National Ballet, please contact the Development team on support@ballet.org.uk or call 020 7590 2950.

 

About Arts Council England

Arts Council England is the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people’s lives. We support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, we will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from the National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. www.artscouncil.org.uk

Birmingham Hippodrome has now announced that it is closed until 2nd November.

 

The effect of this for us ballet fans is that BRB's autumn mixed programme and Romeo and Juliet have now been lost.

 

I know it's better safe than sorry but I'm feeling a bit sad today:

 

https://www.birminghamhippodrome.com/extended-closure-of-birmingham-hippodrome/

Me too.  That was so beautiful.

Thanks Capybara, what an excellent idea.

 

I've moved the comments over and they now appear ahead of your opening comment as they were posted before you opened the discussion.

 

I really enjoyed Men at the Barre last night.  I thought it did a lot to show how much goes into the "making" of a ballet dancer and debunked many myths.  All the dancers came over really well.

 

What a shame it was "hidden away" on BBC4 though.  I thought it was worthy of at least BBC2 if not BBC1.

Capybara has started a thread in performances seen to discuss what has now been shown.  I've moved the comments about Men at the Barre over.

 

 

Another take on the dance of the little swans:

 

 

Hello ballerinatr and welcome to the Forum!  I've moved your post to the more appropriate "Doing Dance" Forum.

 

In line with the Acceptable Use Policy on commerce could I please ask you to add a signature to your profile.

 

"Commerce There is no bar to people representing commercial ventures from signing up to BalletcoForum with a view to spreading information about their wares or offering relevant services.

That said, we are not an advertising hoarding and repeated postings of the same or similar information will not be tolerated, nor frivolous posts which merely seem designed to get the company name ‘up there’. Nor will we allow vendors to use BalletcoForum as their shopfront: if you have a selling business you should use your own website for trade and market testing, not this one.

Members who have commercial interests must indicate that by adding a Signature line to their postings, stating the name and type of their business and giving their website and/or business email address for enquiries. Signatures are best displayed as text but smallgraphic logos are permissible. (Set up a Signature via Account Settings in the dropdown menu under your name.) If members wish to contact businesses, associate schemes or other commercial enterprises this should be done via the vendor’s website or email, not by starting threads on the forum. Sending promotional ‘mailshot’ messages to other users is not allowed."

 

But better safe than sorry.

 

Oliver Dowden writes in The Guardian:

 

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/may/24/the-world-looks-to-british-theatre-so-lets-get-it-back-on-track

I think with sport it has been justified because it is out of doors where the risk is considered less.

Thanks for posting MJW.  Let's hope Prince Charles adding his voice helps.

Official press release from Northern Ballet about Dracula being screened this coming Sunday 31/05

 

1 hour ago, Naomi M said:

National Ballet of Japan will stream MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet from Friday, May 29th. 

Ayako Ono and Yudai Fukuoka are in the leads (some might remember them in Birmingham Royal Ballet's Aladdin and Prince of the Pagodas)

https://www.nntt.jac.go.jp/release/detail/23_017336.html

 

I do indeed remember seeing them in BRB's Aladdin.  They were fabulous!!

Yes it is visible.

Birmingham Royal Ballet premiered Or Else We Are Lost on Friday evening featuring Céline Gittens and Max Maslen and choreographed by Kit Holder.  I really enjoyed it!

 

 

The talk with Shannon Lilly was fantastic!!  Thanks for organising.

 

I'm looking forward to Sarah Kundi next week.