Georgina Butler
Writing. Dancing.

NEWS: English National Ballet revives swashbuckling spectacular ‘Le Corsaire’ – Milton Keynes Theatre, November 2019

 

Escape to an exotic realm of pirates, romance and jealousy when English National Ballet revives its spectacular production of Le Corsaire this month.

Six years after the glittering 2013 world premiere at Milton Keynes Theatre, English National Ballet’s extravagant staging of Le Corsaire is returning to charm dance fans of all ages.

The lavish Russian ballet, which is loosely based on the 1814 poem The Corsair (The Pirate) by Lord Byron, had never been danced in its entirety in the United Kingdom until English National Ballet’s premiere.

Boasting gutsy dancing and amorous adventures on the high seas, Le Corsaire was rapturously received on its first outing and subsequent tour. More recently, it set sail to delight audiences with glorious performances in Japan, Paris and Spain. This pirate drama has universal appeal!

 

English National Ballet. Brooklyn Mack as Conrad in Le Corsaire.

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NEWS: Northern Ballet’s ‘Dracula’ promises to be a ballet with bite – Cinemas Everywhere, 31st October 2019

 

Be enthralled by the dark tale of an enduring horror figure at a live cinema screening of Northern Ballet’s Dracula this Halloween.

Tonight’s performance of the ballet at Leeds Playhouse will be broadcast in cinemas nationwide as an atmospheric alternative to the usual fright night films. Created and choreographed by Northern Ballet’s artistic director David Nixon OBE, this production of Dracula promises to seduce audiences with sensuous dancing, gripping theatre and eerie music.

The gothic narrative follows a series of chilling events that occur when Count Dracula – an elegant and charismatic immortal of the night, who survives by drinking human blood – leaves his native Transylvania and travels to England. This brooding bloodsucker has become obsessed with his barrister Jonathan Harker’s fiancée, Mina Murray. Predictably, once the Count is on Mina’s home turf, he inflicts havoc by terrorising new victims to get close to her.

Amid passion and power struggles, Mina finds herself wavering between remaining virtuous and succumbing to eternity as a vampire. Could Count Dracula really be caught up in an intense search for legitimate love under the cover of darkness, or is he simply a perverted predator biding his time?

Dance lovers seeking a Halloween treat should expect sinister solos and hot-blooded pas de deux scenes as this ballet with bite unfolds.

 

Northern Ballet' Dracula. Javier Torres as Dracula and Abigail Prudames as Mina. Photo by Emma Kauldhar.

 

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NEWS: World Ballet Day 2019 – Wednesday 23rd October 2019

 

Happy World Ballet Day 2019

 

Clear your diary, today is World Ballet Day 2019!

Ballet companies around the world open their digital doors on World Ballet Day, inviting us to witness hard work happening in the studio and creativity at play in rehearsals.

The first ever World Ballet Day took place in October 2012 when The Royal Ballet streamed a nine-hour day of behind-the-scenes footage. This live broadcast attracted 200,000 viewers and, since then, over 3.6 million viewers have watched via the company’s YouTube archive.

Following the success of this initial celebration, The Royal Ballet united with other major ballet companies all over the world to create an annual occasion unlike any other in the dance calendar. Boasting 24 hours of non-stop ballet from all corners of the earth, World Ballet Day offers viewers the chance to discover how different companies strut their stuff. The programme includes company class, rehearsals and interviews with dancers, directors and choreographers.

Unsurprisingly, World Ballet Day is one of my favourite days of the year!

 

World Ballet Day 2019. Journalist, dance writer and dance teacher Georgina Butler watches the annual online celebration of ballet.

 

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NEWS: South African choreographer Dada Masilo reimagines a ballet classic with her alternative ‘Giselle’ – Milton Keynes Theatre, October 2019

 

Johannesburg-born dancer and choreographer Dada Masilo – known for fearlessly deconstructing classical ballets – brings her take on Giselle to Milton Keynes Theatre this month.

The production is visiting the new city as part of the Dance Consortium tour, which presents must-see international contemporary dance across the UK.

Masilo, who dances the role of Giselle, has radically reimagined the definitive Romantic era ballet by uprooting it from its European origins and giving it a trailblazing feminist twist.

Set in a South African village, Masilo’s Giselle tells the tale of a peasant girl who is overwhelmed by betrayal and shame when her duplicitous lover deserts her. Rejected by her family and alienated from the village community, Giselle’s heartbreak sends her mad and ultimately kills her.

Still, it’s not long before she is resurrected as a spooky supernatural being, bent on revenge…

 

Dada Masilo's Giselle. Dada Masilo (front, centre) in the title role of Giselle.

 

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NEWS: Dance troupe Diversity to perform all new routines in ‘Born Ready, The 10 Year Anniversary Tour’ – Milton Keynes Theatre, October 2019

 

British street dance troupe Diversity is celebrating its 10 year anniversary with a landmark tour that includes a one-off performance at Milton Keynes Theatre.

A decade ago, Diversity took the nation by storm when the dance act won the third series of Britain’s Got Talent, beating singer Susan Boyle to victory in a live television final watched by 20 million viewers.

Since then, Diversity has enjoyed eight sell-out UK tours – plus countless other live performances – and the back-flipping BGT favourites are showing no signs of slowing down.

The dancers are planning to blow theatregoers away with Born Ready, The 10 Year Anniversary Tour. This is a production that promises to showcase amazing new routines and express the troupe’s excitement for what the next decade might bring.

 

Diversity 2019. Born Ready, The 10 Year Anniversary Tour.

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