From The Green Room

Dance for Parkinson's - English National Ballet on the BBC

2012-01-18T08:39:00.000-08:00

This ground-breaking project offers people with Parkinson’s, their carers and family members an artistic and engaging dance activity within the professional environment of English National Ballet.

The project has seen real and tangible positive results for participants, and these were covered in BBC's Inside Out programme on Monday 16 January 2012.

We are absolutely thrilled that ballet has been seen to improve the quality of life of people with Parkinson's and it is wonderful to see the work being recognised publicly. Congratulations to all involved!

For more information, see here.

Big Ice Dance Workouts open today

2012-01-09T03:03:00.000-08:00

Today sees the return of the Big Ice Dance Workouts, an antidote to the January blues at Somerset House Ice Rink.

Join our dance artist for a 20 minute ballet warm-up off the ice to music from Strictly Gershwin and then test your new skills on the ice with the Somerset House expert coaches where you’ll learn to perform a skate routine to Strike up the Band.

So, dust off your ballet shoes and don your Big Dance boots and we’ll see you on the Ice!

For more details and to book please visit: http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/ice-rink/lunchtime-workouts or call 0844 847 1520

Tickets should be purchased for the 12.30 ice rink session on the dates listed above.

20 minute off rink warm up free.

New website launched

2011-12-06T02:35:00.000-08:00

Our new website has now launched, in time for The Nutcracker opening on Thursday.
We hope you enjoy the new features!

In other news the Christmas Tree has now gone up in Markova House!

Craig Hassall to take up new role at Raymond Gubbay in February 2012

2011-11-09T03:24:00.000-08:00

Managing Director of English National Ballet Craig Hassall to take up new role at Raymond Gubbay in February 2012

English National Ballet is sad to announce that Managing Director Craig Hassall is to leave the Company in 2012 to take up the new role of Chief Operating Officer at Raymond Gubbay Limited.

Craig has been with English National Ballet since Spring 2005 and joined us from Sydney Theatre Company. Craig also worked on the Sydney 2000 Olympics, and has been working with Ruth Mackenzie as an Artistic Advisor for London 2012.

Since joining English National Ballet Craig has transformed the Company into one of the country’s strongest arts organisations in terms of its financial situation with Craig having overseen its most successful years to date. The Company recently had its best-ever selling season of The Nutcracker at the London Coliseum with over 58,000 seats being sold in December 2010. In the time Craig has been with us, the Company’s profile has been raised enormously, and his dedication to the Company’s ethos of taking ballet to the widest possible audience at a price everyone can afford has remained unshakeable.

Craig Hassall commented, “I have enjoyed seven wonderful years at English National Ballet and have seen the Company change a great deal over this time. It has been a constant joy to see the high quality of the performances in London, throughout the UK and abroad. I will leave with a great fondness for this important international organisation and tremendous respect for its dancers, crew, orchestra and staff. The opportunity to work with a great colleague of English National Ballet, namely Raymond Gubbay Limited, is a great one and I very much look forward to this next chapter. I hope to help to build on the success of Raymond’s company and to help expand into new markets and experiences for audiences throughout the UK.”

English National Ballet has a longstanding relationship with Raymond Gubbay and created the first in-the-round ballets in 1997 with Derek Deane’s Swan Lake, which has since been seen by over 500,000 people. In 2008 the Company added Strictly Gershwin in-the-round to the repertoire, which enjoyed a second sell-out season in June this year.

English National Ballet’s Chairman John Talbot added “Craig joined English National Ballet some seven years ago and has played a leading role in ensuring the financial stability that we enjoy as well as being a very creative thinker who has led many exciting initiatives over that period. I wish Craig every success in his new role.”

English National Ballet looks forward to its continuing relationship with Raymond Gubbay, working with Craig in his new capacity.

English National Ballet at Tate Britain

2011-11-09T03:20:00.000-08:00

27 February – 4 March 2012
Next March English National Ballet will take up residency in Tate Britain's Duveen galleries to celebrate the opening of the major exhibition Picasso & Modern British Art and the Company’s Beyond Ballets Russes season. Inspired by Picasso's visionary costume and set design work with the Ballets Russes, this collaboration will offer a rare insight into how English National Ballet rehearses repertoire and creates commissions. The climax of the residency will be world premiere performances of three newly commissioned ballets at Late at Tate on 2 March 2012, animating works from Picasso & Modern British Art. These pieces will be performed alongside David Dawson’s Faun(e).

During the residency week (27 February – 4 March 2012) the Duveen galleries will be brought to life with sights such as the full Company of 67 dancers taking their morning ballet class along a barre stretching the length of the North Duveen Gallery and rehearsing pieces including The Rite of Spring and Firebird. There will also be workshops for people of all ages to join, as well as talks, discussions and demonstrations highlighting the links between dance and the visual arts, especially in the legacy of the Ballets Russes.

English National Ballet’s residency at Tate Britain is an extraordinary opportunity to witness dance and visual art together, and explore how Picasso was so enthused by the great ballet Company. Picasso worked closely with Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes from 1916, designing several other ballets including Parade and Pulcinella. He frequently sketched the dancers in rehearsal and off stage and married one of the company’s dancers, Olga Khokhlova. In 1919 he came to London with the Ballets Russes to create the designs for Le Tricorne and this visit to London will be feature in Picasso & Modern British Art at Tate Britain. Parade and Tricorne are both in English National Ballet’s repertoire and Picasso himself oversaw the creation of the sets and costumes. This history has inspired the collaboration between Tate Britain and English National Ballet.

English National Ballet’s residency programme at Tate Britain celebrates the legacy of the Ballets Russes alongside the Company’s Beyond Ballets Russes season, performed at the Coliseum in March 2012. Beyond Ballets Russes includes the World Premiere of a new production of Firebird, inspired by Picasso’s work, as well as MacMillan’s The Rite of Spring and David Dawson’s Faun(e) alongside its inspiration - Nijinsky’s original L’après-midi d’un faune.

My First Sleeping Beauty – Press Launch

2011-09-26T07:01:00.000-07:00

My First Sleeping Beauty - Written by Marketing Intern, Jessica Wilson.

From an idea that was proposed some time ago, it was a great privilege to be present at the professional and definitive launch of the My First... scheme as a collaboration between English National Ballet and English National Ballet School. Anu Giri, one of the co-directors of the school, along with Wayne Eagling, Artistic Director of both company and school, emphasised the hard work of the third year students at English National Ballet School, with 45% of the professional company being graduates of the school. To observe the sheer hard work that has gone into producing such a novel and simply fun idea was an inspiration – following the immense success of the Angelina Ballerina productions – as another avenue of performance is to be explores from April 2012, bringing ballet to young audiences.

The first of the ballets to be adapted for the My First... series will be My First Sleeping Beauty. The third year students involved will be given the opportunity of their first semi-professional tour, with My First... acting like an apprenticeship scheme in progressing to the professional company or other professional work. It became clear that the new series would also provide a capacity for the students to hone their performance skills and learn more about themselves as performers, which simply cannot be achieved through class alone. A clear objective for the ballets from the outset was to encourage younger audiences to attend and appreciate ballet. It is no secret how long the full length Sleeping Beauty actually is: as a result, the adapted version will feature much of the original choreography but at a reduced length. It is hoped that as a consequence of the My First... series, young children will eventually see the full works and love these to the extent English National Ballet and English National Ballet school hope.

My First Sleeping Beauty will be choreographed and designed by Matthew Hart, who has huge enthusiasm for the upcoming project. Hart previously choreographed a new version of Peter and the Wolf for the Royal Ballet School in 1995 so his approach is sure to be a triumph. An understanding of his audience is vital, and he fully acknowledges the challenge he will be undertaking for 2012: his presence was via an interview played during the launch. Hart is keen to retain the magic of ballet yet offer young children a suitable, approachable, and what he hopes will be the catalyst for their love of ballet, which will last a lifetime. The students of the school will gain real and exciting work experience by dancing principal roles, which is proving to be so vital in any role within the arts sector. Adding to the scheme, which seems to be fast snowballing towards success, the dancers will wear the Georgiadis costumes from the Company’s full production ofThe Sleeping Beauty which will no doubt give the audiences a spectacular taste for the full scale production, with elements of the original set also used.

Adding more fun to the fray, English National Ballet launched a worldwide competition for the creation of the artwork for My First Sleeping Beauty, in which winner Mark Ruffle was congratulated and presented with his prize at the launch. Ruffle succeeded against over three hundred entrants with his comical and light-hearted design, which is sure to appeal to the mischievous natures of young children. In amongst the vast information the launch presented, the third year students staged a mini-class to the attendants which fully justified the decision for the partnership between English National Ballet and English National Ballet School for the project. Their flawless skill and perfected presentation is sure to be a success in the upcoming performances of My First Sleeping Beauty, appealing to young audience all over the country. To round-off the morning, a short excerpt ofThe Sleeping Beauty was presented by the students, not dissimilar to a professional company, showing no doubt that the third year students are destined for fantastic careers beyond My First.

Mark Ruffle's Winning Design.

English National Ballet launches global competition to create artwork for My First Sleeping Beauty which tours the UK in 2012

2011-08-23T07:51:00.000-07:00

English National Ballet is launching a competition for young artists to create the poster for My First Sleeping Beauty.

The competition is open to all from 27 July – 31 August, via creative community talenthouse.com, with the brief to create a piece of artwork that will appear on all the Marketing collateral, including the poster. The winner will also be awarded $2000 in prize money, and three runners up will each receive $300.

This promises to be an extraordinary opportunity for a young aspiring artist, perfectly in tune with the aspiration for My First to develop young talent. Celebrated caricaturist and illustrator Gerald Scarfe will work with English National Ballet as Patron of the competition, judging the entrants and presenting the prize. Gerald has previously worked with English National Ballet on Christopher Hampson’s production of The Nutcracker, which he designed and which was enjoyed by almost half a million people in its eight year run.

The winning artwork will be featured on 500,000 pieces of marketing and promotional print, in press advertisements in the United Kingdom and on theatre websites for the My First Sleeping Beauty UK tour. The winner will also earn global exposure by having their artwork featured on www.ballet.org.uk, the Company’s social media platforms, talenthouse.com and on www.culturecritic.co.uk. In addition, the winner will have the opportunity to design the visual identity for future ballets in the My First… series.

The winner of the competition to create the poster will be announced at the launch of My First Sleeping Beauty on 21 September in London.

About My First Sleeping Beauty
Following the phenomenal success of the Angelina Ballerina ballets, which reached audiences well over 200,000 across the UK between 2007 and 2009, English National Ballet, in partnership with English National Ballet School, is continuing the initiative to bring ballet to young audiences. Spring 2012 sees the unveiling of My First… a series of ballets bringing children their first taste of the world of ballet.

The first ballet to be presented in this way will be My First Sleeping Beauty which tours the UK from April 2012. The show will be performed by the third year students from English National Ballet School making it their first professional tour, so it will be a “first” for both audiences and performers. Created with young attention spans in mind, My First Sleeping Beauty is choreographed and designed by Matthew Hart.

Discovering Roland Petit’s ballets

2011-07-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

English National Ballet is performing three of Roland Petit’s most famous ballets this week at the London Coliseum (if you haven’t got you ticket yet, you have a chance to grab one here). While you are waiting for the opening night on Thursday, find out more about these wonderful dramatic pieces…

L’Arlésienne
Inspired by Daudet’s novella, L’Arlésienne tells the thwarted passion of the young man Frédéri for a “Girl from Arles” (who never appears on stage). Despite his fiancée Vivette’s efforts to help him to forget his obsession, as his wedding day approaches he progresses into insanity. To finish, he throws himself from an attic window.
The frame of the peasants corps-de-ballet and the landscape inspired by Van Gogh reconstitutes the vivid Provence atmosphere, while the dramatic tension of the piece is enhanced by Bizet’s incidental music.

Here is Jérémie Bélingard from the Paris Opéra Ballet performing the last scene of the ballet, when Frédéri becomes mad and kills himself:

Le Jeune Homme et la Mort
Le Jeune Homme et la Mort (The Young Man and Death) shows a young man compelled by love for a cruel mistress. At the opening, he is desperately waiting for her in his Parisian garret; but when she finally turns up, it is only to torment him, daring him to commit suicide. When he kills himself, she returns with the mask of Death.
The last scene offers a stunning view of post-War Paris, originally the Wakhevitch’s set for the film The Room Upstairs (1946). This dancedrama was imagined by the poet Cocteau and choreographed to Bach’s Passacaglia.

Watch Mikhaïl Baryshnikov as Le Jeune Homme at the opening sequence of the movie White Nights (1985):

Carmen
Premiered in London in 1949, Petit’s most popular ballet outraged audiences with its erotic dance routine and its audacious rearrangement of the famous opera score by Bizet. The story of the witty Gypsy girl flows through five scenes with explosive theatricality and harsh realism. Don José first meets Carmen arguing with another woman in a cigarette factory and it is love at first sight. He invites her to a tavern where she dances for him, but while he is watching her the bandits rob him. Don José takes Carmen home where they dance a passionate love duet. Later, she drives him to murder and leaves him alone in despair. Ultimately, furious to see her flirting with the bullfighter Escamillo, Don José stabs his beloved.
The colourful designs by the Catalan painter Clavé and the corseted costumes which made the dancers looking like French music-hall divas give the characters their jazzy ferociousness.

Roland Petit and his wife Zizi Jeanmaire perform Carmen’s pas-de-deux:

All performances will be dedicated to the memory of Roland Petit (1924-2011)

Roland Petit In Memory 1924 - 2011

2011-07-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

Following the tragic news of Roland Petit's death on Sunday, English National Ballet's performances of Carmen, Le Jeune Homme et La Mort and L'Arlesienne will be dedicated to his memory.

Clement Crisp's podcast explores the genius of Roland Petit and our short video gives a glimpse into rehearsals for our season.

Nightly casting is now available on www.ballet.org.uk

English National Ballet and Roehampton University announce breakthrough research into the benefits of dance for people with Parkinson’s

2011-06-06T05:09:00.000-07:00

English National Ballet has been working with people with Parkinson’s since October 2010, and is the first major dance company in the UK to do this. Alongside this work English National Ballet commissioned Roehampton University to carry out research; this research is the first of its kind in the UK.

English National Ballet’s dance classes for people with Parkinson’s led by the Company’s Department of Learning are inspired by Mark Morris Dance Group who are pioneers of Dance for Parkinson’s in the USA. English National Ballet has re-interpreted their approach, making its work unique to the Company, reflecting the resources of an internationally acclaimed classical ballet company. English National Ballet is part of a network of teachers of Dance for Parkinson’s across the UK, supported by Dance Umbrella.

Dance for Parkinson’s was a 12 week project, funded by City of Westminster, which attracted 24 people with Parkinson’s, their family members and carers. Each week the group met for a dance class inspired by Rudolph Nureyev’s Romeo & Juliet.

During the classes participants learnt exercises based on the principles of grace and expression that are fundamental to ballet. Participants also had the opportunity to embody the characters of Romeo & Juliet and learn sequences from the famous Dance of the Knights. A trip to see the ballet at the London Coliseum added value to the participant’s experience.

English National Ballet commissioned Dr. Sara Houston and Ashley McGill from Roehampton University to conduct research into the results of the project by examining the benefits of dance in its artistic form. The researchers reviewed the social and psychological benefits to participants as well as physical changes in posture, stability and mobility over the 12 week period.

The results are groundbreaking, and suggest that dance as seen in this project temporarily relieves some symptoms of Parkinson’s and aids short term mobility, as well as contributing to social inclusion and artistic expression.

The study examined the experience of dancing with Parkinson’s from both qualitative and quantitative angles. Both angles suggest that dancing is an important tool to increase well-being, aid daily life and to give people a sociable, creative outlet. The quantitative results were significant and indicate an increase in stability and balance during the project.