Michelle_Richer Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 (edited) This started off from a chance conversation that a ballet company was coming to the Blackfriars Theatre in Boston Lincs. Blackfriars is a tiny theatre seating no more than 250, with a small stage too. My expectations were low. I had presumed Vienna Festival Ballet was Austrian but was somewhat perplexed as to why such a company would come to this tiny theatre in Boston. They are in fact a UK Ballet company But wow their performance was one of the best I have ever seen starting with the first scene. I have never seen such enthusiasm in the dancers eyes, they were fantastic. They danced scenes from Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Rhapsody in Blue and Swan Lake plus other excerpts . For Swan Lake they performed most of act 2, what was unusual was Odette's solo, it was danced on the opposite leg so to speak as a mirror image of the standard chorography. The whole operation during the show was very slick , occasionally the curtain would go down for no more than a couple of minutes, in that time the scene backdrop had completely changed and so had the gorgeous tutu’s and dresses of the dancers, they were truly quick change artists. The cast consisted of only 11 girls and 4 guys and all incredibly versatile talented dancers. The audience loved them which was a sell out at Blackfriars. During the interval I had a chat to the lady selling the programs, I presumed she was one of Blackfriars theatre staff, she was a member of the company it was Jill Mallek wife of the founder and artistic director of Vienna Festival Ballet, her self once a soloist with that company and we had a really nice chat. One the way out I queried the Odette solo on the opposite leg with Jill and apparently that dancer is a left turner. All in all for me it was a very slick and fantastic performance, If I'm available I will make a point of seeing them at Blackfriars again on the 6th of December performing The Nutcracker, they really are well worth seeing. Edited April 6, 2015 by Michelle_Richer 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 I had presumed Vienna Festival Ballet was Austrian but was somewhat perplexed as to why such a company would come to this tiny theatre in Boston. They are in fact a UK Ballet company Really? I never knew that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2dancersmum Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 I'm glad you enjoyed it Michelle. Vienna Festival Ballet is one of our favourites. They are a small touring company and make a point of visiting small towns, often with small stages, to make ballet accessible to more people on a local basis. A quick look at their website gives you an idea of just how intensive their tours are. My DDs and I loved the whole performance, but in particular Rhapsody in Blue and the excerpts from Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. Our programme seller was director Peter Mallek and the ballet mistress came up during the interval also. A company well worth seeing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Two Pigeons Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 This company deserves more recognition than it receives. It has stayed in business all this time with (I would suspect) no public funding. They have filled a very valuable service for 35 years in places which would not see live classical dance without them. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 And they used to come to the Liverpool Empire in the late 1980s! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 They come to the Floral Pavillion in New Brighton nowadays and not expensive either! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 And they used to come to the Liverpool Empire in the late 1980s! The gala is on Friday 1 May at The Floral. £22 - sounds like no brainer to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Would be a no-brainer for me if I wasn't in MK that evening! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Q Fan Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Oh nooooo...nevermind maybe I will go and report back! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Well it is NB's wonderful Wuthering Heights!!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle_Richer Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 For Vienna Festival Ballet tour dates and locations follow the link: https://www.ents24.com/uk/tour-dates/vienna-festival-ballet They really are worth seeing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emma-cann Posted April 16, 2015 Share Posted April 16, 2015 They're performing the anniversary gala at The Old Rep in Birmingham on 30th May - still lots of good seats left! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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