Birmingham Royal Ballet's tour blog

Beauty and the Beast videos

Robintheoffice — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:12:58 +0000

Here are two video clips from Beauty and the Beast, choreographed by our own Director David Bintley.

In the first, we see the two title characters meet for the first time, with the Beast’s humanity struggling against his animal instincts.

This second clip comes at the start of Act II, and sees the Beast throwing a lavish ball for Belle. She has been living at his castle for some time now, and is starting to see beyond his terrifying appearance. However she does not share the love that he feels for her, and rushes from the room in tears when he asks for her hand in marriage.

Birmingham Royal Ballet dances Beauty and the Beast at The Lowry, Salford, until the end of the week.

2012 Salford Swan Lake season on sale!

Robintheoffice — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:50:33 +0000

Tickets to see Birmingham Royal Ballet dance Swan Lake at The Lowry, Salford, this autumn have gone on sale today.

This evening also sees the Company open a week of performances of Beauty and the Beast at the same venue.

Click here for details of all performances.

These performances of Swan Lake will be the first of the 2012-13 season, which begins and ends as the academic calendar. The shows will precede even the Company’s first dates at home venue Birmingham Hippodrome.

You can see a rehearsal clip from Swan Lake, featuring Birmingham Royal Ballet Principals Gaylene Cummerfield and Matthew Lawrence, below.

Birmingham Royal Ballet dance Beauty and the Beast, at The Lowry, Salford, until the end of this week. The production is choreographed by the Company’s own Director, David Bintley. Click here to book tickets now.

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Beast from top to toe

Robintheoffice — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:07:11 +0000

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s production of Beauty and the Beast arrives at the Lowry, Salford this week! Here’s a detailed look at the titular terror from top to toe!

1. Face: The Beast’s mask is made of a special foam and fits the dancer like a second skin. Each dancer performing the role has an individual mask created, moulded specifically to the contours of their face.

2. Eyes: For the first ever performances of the ballet in 2003, many of the costumes were being created at the same time as the first photographic artwork was being taken. For the posters, an image was obviously needed of someone in the Beast’s mask, only recently completed. Rather than call one of the dancers out of rehearsals for the ballet, however, Director David Bintley stepped into the role himself, and it is his own eyes you may have seen peering out at you through the Beast’s face!

3. Muscles: In creating the look of the costume, designer Philip Prowse took elements from bears, wolves and other creatures. Says David: ‘The Beast is not specifically this kind of animal or that kind of animal, but another thing to a human being, and that’s what I think is Belle’s visual repulsion; he represents a threat to her humanity.’

4. Hide: The ‘skin’ of the Beast’s costume is made from a velour-like material, which restricts the dancers’ movements as little as possible, and yet still moves seamlessly like the hide of a real animal. Despite being one of the most dramatic characters in the Birmingham Royal Ballet repertory, the costume is one of the quickest to get into during preparations for each performance, as the all-in-one mask nicely eliminates the need for lengthy wardrobe sessions in Hair and Make-Up!

5. Waist: When the ballet made its debut in 2003, the Beast’s costume was so hot on the inside that the dancer performing the role lost half a stone on the opening night! Slight changes have been made since, however, meaning the cast will still have to hit the gym to stay in shape!

6. Feet: At the end of the story, the Beast is eventually transformed back into the prince, calling for a quick change on the part of the dancer. In the short space of time, there isn’t enough time to secure ballet pumps once the Beast’s boots have been removed, and they would be too large to wear underneath, so the dancer is left barefoot for the final pas de deux.

7. Name: David says he was intrigued by idea of calling people ‘beastly’ whenever they display characteristics such as pride, and malice; traits actually fairly unique to humans, rather than the animal kingdom. ‘People are more ‘beastly’ than animals are,’ he says. ‘We have a funny way of viewing things; if you call someone ‘beastly’ it’s not meant as a compliment, but to be beastly means to be like a beast, an animal. That is why the prince is turned into a beast, because he is arrogant, cruel, and as a human would say…beastly.’

Birmingham Royal Ballet dances Beauty and the Beast from Tuesday, 24 January to Saturday, 28 January 2012 at the Lowry, Salford.

Lowry Dance Ambassadors

Robintheoffice — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:32:07 +0000

Birmingham Royal Ballet heads to the Lowry 24-28 January for our first shows of 2012!

Since we were last there in 2011, the North-West has gained a major new player in the online dance community, in the form of the Lowry Dance Ambassador scheme.

Begun in July following work between The Lowry and NorthWestDance, it aims to create opportunities for young people with an interest in dance in the North West to work with acclaimed choreographers and dancers, both national and international.

So far it’s seen them attending performances and rehearsals by a wealth of companies, as well as coming to the Midlands to spend time here with us. Naturally, the young people have also been writing about their experiences.

If you’re looking to develop an interest in a new subject like dance, accessible initiatives like this in your own area are crucial. So it’s great to see that Dance Ambassadors have worked hard at establishing their online profile so you can find them all over the internet.

You can read their work here on their tumblr or here on the Lowry blog.

As well as this, you’ll find them on twitter at @lowryyouthdance. If you’re already on there yourself and looking for more dance-related tweeters, we’d also recommend checking out the list of who the Dance Ambassadors themselves are following.

Birmingham Royal Ballet performs David Bintley’s Beauty and the Beast at The Lowry, Salford, 24-28 January.

Nutcracker children already in rehearsals!

Robintheoffice — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:22:04 +0000

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker includes a number of parts danced by children. Even while the Company were away performing in Sunderland, London and Plymouth this Autumn, the children for our 2011 shows had already been selected and were busy rehearsing their roles.

In a special guest post written at the start of the season, Julie, mother of one of this year’s Nutcracker children, writes about her daughter’s involvement in the ballet, which tours to the 02 this winter:

I logged into my email account and there, in the subject, was “NUTCRACKER”!!! It leapt out of the screen and I just couldn’t believe it!! A message from Company Manager Paul Grist informing us that our 11 year old daughter had been selected by Birmingham Royal Ballet to take part in The Nutcracker. Sophia is a year 7 student at Elmhurst School for Dance in Birmingham (the school associated with Birmingham Royal Ballet). That was the first surprise. The second surprise was that the children would travel down to London to take part in the performances at the O2 arena.

Now, in our family, we aren’t strangers to BRB and their tours. Back in 2009 when my young daughters attended the Elmhurst Pre Vocational Saturday Programme they were very fortunate to be asked to be in David Bintley’s Sylvia. Imy, then 10, went on tour with BRB to Sunderland, Plymouth, Manchester and London, and Sophia, 9, joined her sister for the run at the Hippodrome. Imy’s experience of touring with the Company, observing the life of the professional ballet dancer, the unique opportunity of watching world class ballet dancers just a few feet away, and being on stage at venues like the London Coliseum, made her even more determined to audition for Elmhurst to take up vocational ballet training, and she started at the main school in September 2010. Links between the school and Birmingham Royal Ballet are strong and integrated with company members taking class for the older students. Children from Elmhurst are often cast in BRB ballets. Take a look at the cast list with your programme and you will regularly see the phrase “Children are drawn from Elmhurst School for Dance, by kind permission of the Principal and the Artistic Director” from year 7 up to the graduating year in sixth form. Imy also appeared in Coppélia during June 2011 with a group of Elmhurst students. She entered the stage on a carriage wearing an amazing golden dress, sprouting a little pair of wings, just so enchanting!

So as summer fades and our thoughts turn to shorter days and Christmas, Sophia is loving her rehearsals along with fellow students from Elmhurst, learning the children’s repertoire for Nutcracker. She is delighted to be part of this amazing ballet, and excited beyond belief about the O2! Our family Christmas will be different this year as Sophia will travel down to London on Boxing Day. Having previously experienced the first class organisation by BRB and excellent care provided by the Chaperones, we are confident that Sophia will have a wonderful experience. Our tickets are booked at both venues, family will join us to watch at the Hippodrome and friends in London will be with us to celebrate and enjoy the O2! We wish the very best to everyone involved in The Nutcracker!!! Thank you to Birmingham Royal Ballet and Elmhurst for giving my children these wonderful opportunities’!!!

Until the production hits the road, you can read more about the children’s experiences on our tour blog’s new sister-site, ‘BRB at Home’.

Click here for details of The Nutcracker at all venues this season.

Autumn Glory reviews

Robintheoffice — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 08:49:50 +0000

Our autumn tour came to a close last week. Once more our Autumn Glory programme continued the triple-bill tradition of polarising opinion, with critics, bloggers and tweeters all picking a different one-act ballet as their favourite. And, like last year, we have once again gathered together a selection of your thoughts and opinions. Links through to the full reviews and posts appear where available.

Of the three individual pieces, Checkmate received the most mixed reviews. Zoë Anderson for the Independent wrote that it was ‘a strong revival, with clean technique and bold lines.’ Clement Crisp of the Financial Times wrote that ‘seen on the stage for which it was intended, the choreography’s manoeuvres were grandly effective’, awarding the whole programme five stars, while Graham Watts for Londondance.com reported: ‘It is always a pleasure to be reacquainted with this touchstone of British ballet, and a delight that this limited remnant of de Valois’ choreography (only 4 of her 200 works have survived since the 1950s) remains in such good condition.’

Fab eve with @BRB in all its AutumnGlory: always a pleasure to revisit Ashton's Sym.Variations but also loved Samara Downs leading Checkmate—
The Ballet Bag (@theballetbag) October 19, 2011

Some critics, however, felt that the piece itself had not stood the test of time. ‘If Symphonic and Poll still look as fresh as spring daisies, Checkmate …is more of an elegantly pressed flower these days.’ said Mark Monahan in the Telegraph, while Luke Jennings for the Observer described it as ‘a revered heritage piece. So revered, in fact, that its turgid pace and heavy-handed choreography tend to be overlooked’. Clifford Bishop for Thisislondon.co.uk even suggested that ‘Checkmate might be more impressive without the dancing’.

There was great praise for Symphonic Variations. ‘The complete lack of extraneous material or adornment made it an intensely moving experience’ wrote Maggie Watson for Oxford Dance Writers, while Clement Crisp declared ‘Hand on heart, I must declare that I have never been so affected by this masterpiece since I saw its premiere.’

Magnificent 3bill from @BRB: tension and drama in Checkmate, sublime Symphonic Variations, glorious fun in Pineapple Poll.—
Alastair Knott (@A_JKnott) October 18, 2011

‘Worth the whole Triple Bill’ wrote Mark Ronan on his own blog. ‘The six [dancers] must function perfectly together, almost as if they were a corps de ballet, though the choreography is not remotely corps de ballet material.’

‘twenty minutes of sheer bliss,’ wrote G.J.Dowler for The Classical Source. ‘…The six dancers delivered this fiendishly challenging choreography with real style and care. Yes, this work is precious and stands at the very pinnacle of the achievements of ballet in this country, but, like the most treasured Stradivarius, it must be played to come alive. It is not a museum piece, but a living dance work which requires the oxygen of performance.’

The stripped-back production – and the classical-Greece-influenced leotards – were not to everybody’s tastes, however. ‘I found the choreography forgettable even if I was having a bit of a Chippendale’s experience as I sat blushing in my chair,’ wrote webcowgirl on her own blog. However Clifford Bishop on Thisislondon.co.uk summarised it simply as: ‘a dance in which, strictly speaking, nothing happens, and doesn’t happen so beautifully that you wish it would never end.’

.@BRB so very wonderful tonight, Pineapple Poll completely stole the show but Checkmate & Symphonic Variations great too!—
Cloud Dance Festival (@clouddancefest) October 19, 2011

Pineapple Poll proved a suitably show-stopping conclusion to the programme. ‘A whirligig of colour and action’ wrote Neil Norman in the Stage, while his review for the Express added that it was ‘one of the maddest things I have ever seen.’ G.J.Dowler agreed with him: ‘Pineapple Poll is, quite simply, barking mad,’ he wrote, ‘a silly concoction to a silly story – but it is adorable, funny and highly enjoyable.’

‘Birmingham Royal Ballet exploded in a festival of fantastic dancing and expressive acting that made me completely lose track of my critic’s notebook’, wrote webcowgirl. ‘At the time I thought it was just a case of good choreography but in fact it was the cast that took the structure and covered the whole thing with ribbons and fun.’

@BRB's Pineapple Poll is best way to end a triple bill ballet evening. Cheery & fun!—
amy (@aahhhamy) October 18, 2011

The Telegraph’s Mark Monahan agreed (‘pitch-perfect. … precisely the sort of lively tale that you expect them to embrace, and embrace it they do’) as did Baker Bryony (‘a joyful end to the trio.’) and Mark Ronan (‘all huge fun’…’for sheer exhilaration and the ability to tell a story in dance this is as good as it gets.’)

Luke Jennings for the Observer, however, wasn’t keen, writing: ‘Presumably, like Checkmate, the piece has been revived for heritage reasons and although it’s an equally creaky vessel, and unlikely to appeal to anyone under 50, the dancers get solidly behind it.’

‘Overall Autumn Glory is evidence of a retrogressive, inward-facing artistic policy,’ he continued. ‘Time, surely, for a change of course.’

"Time, surely, for a change of course" says @LukeJennings1 (Observer) of @BRB golden oldies bill. Me too I think: guardian.co.uk/stage/2011/oct…—
(@Balletco) October 23, 2011

‘We ignore history at our peril,’ countered Clement Crisp, describing the programme as a whole as ‘an evening to remind us of the identity of the Royal Ballet (and its Birmingham sibling), of what Dame Ninette called “the English ballet”, and of where it came from.’

Graham Watts voiced similar feelings for Londondance.com: ‘Ninette de Valois believed that any national ballet company must maintain a repertoire that – amongst other qualities – reflects “the spirit of its native land” and I congratulate BRB for keeping this laudable intention alive and in such very good health.’

Falling between the two camps, Mark Monahan wrote: ‘I’d have chosen another work to start the evening, then, but it’s still a highly recommendable bill overall.’

@Balletco @LukeJennings1 @BRB you obviously saw an entirely different programme to me. I thought checkmate was clever and Poll light and fun—
jennifer rowe (@thecupcake_girl) October 23, 2011

Elsewhere the performances were praised by Zoë Anderson for the Independent (‘It’s a terrific programme, danced with care and confidence.’) and Jessica Wilson for TheatreFix (‘With another eclectic programme, Birmingham Royal Ballet yet again set the bar with Autumn Glory with commendable talent and precision’). The musicians were equally lauded for their performances, as were the designers of the three pieces. ‘I particularly mention the three designers,’ wrote Graham Watts, ‘since their timeless contribution to these three works is as vital to their ongoing longevity as the choreography itself.’ The Guardian’s Judith Mackrell also praised, ‘some of the repertory’s most stunning decors: the elegantly balanced, scintillating palette of E. McKnight Kauffer; the limpid visionary abstraction of Sophie Fedorovitch and the wickedly droll, cartooning energy of Osbert Lancaster.’

Thank you to everyone who took the time to support our shows by sharing your opinions on-line!

Click here for details of all Birmingham Royal Ballet’s forthcoming performances.

Peregrine the Pony

Robintheoffice — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 13:39:52 +0000

I wonder who the pony is in the @BRB Fille mal gardée… I do hope it's Peregrine, who of course knows the role from the @RoyalOperaHouse—
Entartete Musik (@entartetemusik) October 21, 2011

The Pony in our current performances of La Fille mal gardée is indeed Peregrine, the same pony used by the Royal Ballet for their production. Claire Lishman, our Media and PR Officer, met Peregrine last week in London and writes:

‘I met Peregrine for the first time this week and instantly fell in love with him. His fringe is brilliant – I’m sure it shields him from all the drama that’s part and parcel of working in the theatre, and of course everybody’s lining up to give him some fuss and attention.

He comes from a proud line of performing ponies – his predecessor was called Lise, named after the lead character in La Fille mal gardé. Even though Shetland Ponies are famed for being small, I couldn’t believe just how small he is – I’m having to crouch down in the photo above just to get us both in shot. His small stature not only makes him extra cute, but means that on the rare ocassions when the dancer leading him onto the stage has found his foot caught beneath a hoof, they tend to escape without any serious injury!

@BRB A question from Saturday's matinee – where does the pony stay when it's not onstage? Does it have its own dressing room?—
Sunderland Empire (@SundEmpire) October 17, 2011

When not performing, Peregrine is taken for walks outside (he is always looking for some grass… not an easy task in some cities we visit!), and he has his own area backstage to rest in, where he has his hay and treats. Because he’s so tiny and docile, he generally doesn’t need much space and as long as he’s kept well fed he’s happy. A number of people in London and Sunderland spotted him out and about around the theatre, so if you’re in Plymouth this week keep an eye out too!

The pony in @brb's Fille was getting keen before his entrance. He was chomping at the bit… Apologies. That joke was a bit pony and trap..—
Kit Holder (@KitHolder) October 14, 2011

Click here for details of our final performances of La Fille mal gardée in Plymouth tonight and tomorrow.

You can also find out more about Peregrine over on the Theatre Royal Plymouth’s backstage blog!

Guest post from Plymouth: Amy Dolan

Robintheoffice — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 11:13:07 +0000

Amy Dolan is covering for Company Manager Paul Grist during our performances at Theatre Royal Plymouth this week. She has kindly taken time out to send us an update from the venue:

Hello from Plymouth!

Since Paul’s last post the company spent a week in London at Sadler’s Wells performing the same programme as we are doing here in Plymouth at the Theatre Royal: half a week of Autumn Glory (Checkmate, Symphonic Variations and Pineapple Poll) and the other half performing La Fille Mal Gardée.

The technical staff arrived in advance of the Company early Monday and the Company travelled up from BRB HQ on Monday afternoon on a coach (this is new for this season… all the dancers are travelling to and from the venue by company coach rather than my trains and cars).

On Tuesday we had the usual piano rehearsal and opening night performance in Plymouth of Autumn Glory. The performance went down very well with the Plymouth audience and was great to see the regulars in! After the performance thanks to the lovely people at the Theatre Royal and TRAC we had drinks in the bar for the dancers and technical team.

Yesterday we had two performances and again all went well without too many hiccups! It was also our last performance of Autumn Glory for the autumn season.

Last night we had our technical change over to La Fille Mal Gardée and at the time of writing the dancers (and the pony!) are currently in a piano rehearsal on stage rehearsing ready for tonight’s sold out performance.

We have four more performances left now on the Autumn tour and then back to Birmingham to start Nutcracker season which opens in three weeks time. Preparations for this still continue whilst on tour so time between performances and early mornings are made up of lots of Nutcracker meeting and meetings about the O2.

This is my first time in Plymouth and I am staying in the West Hoe area so I have a lovely walk to the theatre everyday over the hoe. I’ve had chance to go to the Barbican quickly but other than that not had much time for sight-seeing, hopefully I will squeeze some in before heading back up north!

Sadly Saturday will see the last performance of Robert Gravenor (First Artist) with Birmingham Royal Ballet and we all wish him the very best for the future.

Speak soon!

Amy x

Checkmate gallery

Robintheoffice — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:15:33 +0000

We’ve posted a gallery of images from Checkmate on the Company Facebook page. Members of the network can click here to take a look and here’s a sample in the meantime!

Click here for details of our final 2011 performances of Checkmate, at Theatre Royal Plymouth tonight and tomorrow!

Final clip from Checkmate stage rehearsals!

Robintheoffice — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 13:51:29 +0000

We’re in Plymouth this week, performing our Autumn Glory triple bill and La Fille mal gardée at Plymouth Theatre Royal. We’ve already posted a couple of clips from stage rehearsals for Autumn Glory, but here’s an extra one to whet your appetite for the final performances of this tour.

It comes from Checkmate, and features the entrance of Jenna Roberts and Jonathan Payn as the Red Queen and King: