Little ones will be dancing with excitement at the news that Northern Ballet’s Tortoise & the Hare is racing on to the big screen at cinemas nationwide this weekend.
The bite-sized ballet is being shown on Saturday as part of Northern Ballet’s first ever cinema season for children.
Choreographer Sir Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, danced by his New Adventures company, returns to Milton Keynes Theatre this month and the revival will have audiences flocking to the venue.
First performed in 1995, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake is an unconventional take on the beloved nineteenth century classical ballet. Although still set to Tchaikovsky’s magnificent score, this interpretation replaces the customary corps of swan maidens with a posse of feral, bare-chested male birds and adds a homoerotic twist to the traditional tale of love, freedom and identity.
These bold choices ruffled plenty of feathers when audiences first encountered the production.
The dancers of English National Ballet are prepping their pointe shoes ready to thrill theatregoers with the timelessly romantic tragedy of Manon this season.
Legendary British choreographer Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Parisian period drama is a highlight of the ballet repertoire, yet it is rarely seen outside London. Indeed, English National Ballet is touring Manon for only the second time in thirty years this season and Milton Keynes Theatre is one of just three venues outside of London to be hosting the production. (The other two regional venues are Manchester Opera House and Mayflower Theatre, Southampton.)
The late MacMillan choreographed this steamy three-act ballet in 1974. He was inspired by French author Abbé Prévost’s controversial 1731 novel, L’historie du chevalier des Grieux et de Manon Lescaut, which was considered so scandalous at the time of its publication that it was banned in France.
Today is World Ballet Day, the one day of the year that balletomanes and ballet newbies alike are urged to press pause on their everyday activities and watch ballet!
American writer and dance critic Edwin Denby (4th February 1903 – 12th July 1983) is attributed to the quote: “You don’t have to know about ballet to enjoy it, all you have to do is look at it” and I fully support this sentiment. Simply witnessing ballet dancers do what they do best is enough to inspire admiration for ballet’s athleticism, aesthetics, artistry and amazing history and culture.
New English Ballet Theatre is returning to The Peacock Theatre in London’s West End this week with a brand new double bill, The Four Seasons / Remembrance.
As a modern ballet company, New English Ballet Theatre makes a heroic effort to drive the art of classical ballet forward through continual reinvention. It proudly promotes the talents of the next generation of exceptional artists – not only showcasing fledgling dancers but also emerging choreographers, musicians, designers and visual artists – by giving them paid employment in a profession they love.
As a result, the critically acclaimed neoclassical troupe – which was founded by its visionary artistic director, Karen Pilkington-Miksa, in 2011 – is developing a reputation for being one of Britain’s most exciting young ballet companies.
This autumn’s double bill promises to be a visual and musical spectacle of passion, hope and remembrance.
