Northern Ballet Theatre - News Blog

The ‘Dancition’ Festival which took place on the 16th April at Park Lane High School was a huge success and everyone involved in the project thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Representatives from the project sponsor HBOS watched as the 4 primary schools and 1 secondary school performed the dance pieces that they had devised over the Spring term, ranging from a sports inspired piece to an alien invasion! Following the success of the event, we are delighted that HBOS will be sponsoring another project in the area in the Autumn.

Read whole update

Northern Ballet Theatre (NBT) was very sad to hear the news of the death of Laverne Meyer, the Company’s founding Artistic Director, on Friday 25 April 2008 aged 73.

The Company dedicated the final performance of Hamlet at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London to Laverne. Daniel de Andrade, NBT’s Ballet Master, addressed the audience with a speech written by Artistic Director, David Nixon, who is away in America, which said:

“Laverne was instrumental in forming this small company which over its’ nearly 40 years of existence has risen to one of the four largest ballet companies in England with a loyal audience. We are extremely grateful to his pioneering spirit and passion for dance.

In honour of his memory and contribution to NBT we wish to dedicate this final performance of Hamlet to his memory. What better way or place to celebrate his love and passion for our beloved art of dance than here in the dance house of Sadler’s Wells.”

The Company would like to extend its deepest sympathies to the friends and family of Laverne.

Laverne Meyer was a Canadian-born dramatic dancer who trained at the Sadler’s Wells School and whose formative years as a dancer were spent with Bristol based Western Theatre Ballet. Laverne founded Northern Dance Theatre, as the company was then known, in 1969 and it gave its first performance at the University Theatre, Manchester, on the 28 November, accompanied by musicians from the Royal Northern College of Music. The Company was formed of just 11 dancers, compared to today’s 40, with an emphasis on small-scale classical and modern works. Based in Manchester, Northern Dance Theatre set about building itself a strong identity and a loyal audience in the North. Robert de Warren took over as Artistic Director in 1976.

Seven students from NBT’s pre-vocational training programme are taking part in a special performance at Sadler’s Wells in London on 15 July. Top choreographer Sharon Watson is creating a new dance piece for the group and fellow Yorkshire Young Dancers from the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. The group will also collaborate with eight students from Yorkshire Young Musicians who are creating a new composition for the performance with Andrew Stamatakis-Brown.

The performance is a celebration of the achievements of this country’s most talented young dancers and musicians supported by the Department for Children, Schools and Families’ Music and Dance Scheme.

Rehearsals are well underway and the group will give a special preview performance at the Riley Theatre in Leeds on 27 June. Read the full media release here.

Northern Ballet Theatre’s Autumn/Winter tour information is now up on the NBT website:

Click here to view Tour Map

Click here to view Tour List (Chronological)

For more information click here

“Graeme Stewart slips on his dancing shoes for an extraordinary night at the Grand Opera House

Northern Ballet Theatre have achieved something extraordinary with A Midsummer Night’s Dream. They have taken one of English literature’s best-loved plays, changing nothing and everything at the same time.

With a creative team including artistic director David Nixon, set designer Duncan Hayler and music director John Pryce-Jones, the production is a stunning display of visual and musical delights, and certainly one of the best contemporary interpretations of Shakespeare’s masterpiece…”

Read the rest of the review here.

Northern Ballet Theatre (NBT) is an award winning, ambitious touring company based in Leeds, which has gained an enviable reputation as the UK’s number one narrative dance company. We are now looking for two exceptional candidates to fill the following newly created positions:

Corporate Fundraising Manager   

The successful candidate will be able to secure support for NBT’s extensive national tour and the creation of new productions. A background in fundraising with strong communication skills is essential. You will be an outgoing individual with experience of successfully securing and managing corporate funding partnerships.

Salary £25,500 – £27,500 pa

Closing Date for applications: Mon 12 May

Interviews will be held in Leeds: Fri 23 May

Audience Development Officer

This post will further Northern Ballet Theatre’s commitment to attracting new and diverse audiences. The successful candidate will have at least one years’ experience of working in marketing and/or audience development within the arts. Must have excellent written and oral communication skills and be able to engage with audiences at all levels.

Salary £17,500 pa

Closing date for applications: Mon 12 May

Interviews will be held in Leeds: Thurs 22 May

For an application pack visit

http://www.northernballettheatre.co.uk/company.html or contact Diane Tabern on 0113 274 5355 or diane.tabern@northernballettheatre.co.uk

Northern Ballet theatre welcomes applications from all sectors of the community

Dancition project in Calderdale Schools

Our Dancition project, supported by the Halifax, involves four primary schools and a secondary school from Calderdale, and aims to increase the understanding and enjoyment of dance and creativity as a way of learning, to develop teachers’ skills in delivering dance activity and to aid the transition from primary to secondary school. The project has involved a teacher inset session, workshops for pupils in school, and a trip to the theatre to see a Northern Ballet Theatre production. During the spring term, the schools have been developing a piece of dance to be performed at the Dancition Festival at Park Lane High School on Wednesday 16th April.

Our project with Northern Ballet Theatre
By Samantha Kaye, Year 5 at Withinfields Primary School 

When Northern Ballet Theatre came into our school
Our teachers were from the Northern Ballet. Their names are Sophie, Kate and Richard. Richard is a pianist. He played fast and slow music and we dance in different ways depending on the sort of music. Sophie was showing us what to do and to do it in time with the music. Kate was at the back showing people at the back what to do so they knew what to do.

The workshop in school
We did lots of different moves, trying different ways to move around the hall like skipping, tippey toes, running, hopping and walking fast and slow and lots more. It was a bit tiring at some times depending on what you were doing.

Visiting the Grand Theatre to see The Nutcracker
The theatre was very nice and the dances were very posh and professional. You could hear the sound the dancers’ shoes were making on stage. The music was just right for the dance they did, like when the soldiers shoot their gun at the rats and rat king. The rat king was very mean to the Nutcracker - he was his enemy. The costumes were very nice like the Nutcracker’s. They had all the main features.

Making our own dance - The Big Top
There will be acrobats, tightrope walkers, clowns, lions, horses, magicians and much more. I am playing the tightrope walker and magician’s assistant. We are using tricks, handstands, cartwheels, wobbling and much more. Mr Collins gave us some of the ideas and we had some too.

“I’m relaxed and looking forward to it.” Emily Rushton

“Really excited but a bit nervous.” Chloe Deery

“I’m excited but a bit scared. I might fall off the tightrope.” Natasja Ackroyd

“Very excited but a little worried in case I forget my words.” Jessie Deery

In March, the Government announced that it would be investing a further £5.5 million in dance following the publication of the Dance Review, written by the Royal Opera House Chief Executive Tony Hall.
The funding would be invested in, amongst other schemes, six new Centres of Advanced Training (CATs) between now and 2011. NBT, in partnership with the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, set up the first CAT in the UK and remains the only CAT for classical dance.

David Nixon has responded to the announcement:
“An investment in young people is an investment in the future. As the very first Centre for Advanced Training, Northern Ballet Theatre has seen first hand the effect this kind of funding can have on young people. I feel strongly that we must develop high standards and quality access across the country and this announcement makes huge steps towards achieving these goals.”

Read the full announcement

Read a dance industry responce by Dance UK

Read about our Centre for Advanced Training

David Nixon is currently in America working at BalletMet to revive his version of Romeo & Juliet for the Company’s thirtieth anniversary celebrations. David’s Romeo & Juliet for BalletMet premiered in 1998 and performances this year take place from 1-4 May at the Ohio Theatre.
Check out BalletMet’s website for further information: http://www.balletmet.org/performances_romeo.php

David Nixon’s new dance piece for Ballet Central

In the UK David has created a new dance piece for students at the Ballet Central. Steps to Bach is a neoclassical work that the students will perform as part of their tour throughout the UK.
David, who is an Artistic Adviser at Ballet Central says of the piece:
“The music is Bach and I don’t often get the chance to create Bach. There’s no reason not to take music that has been used for a Balanchine work and is well known to give the dancers a feel of what neoclassical is, both the speed of it and the quality of the adage work.”

Click here to read the full media release and tour dates.

Dance Education Officer Caroline Burn springs into action this month as she joins the Company on tour to Belfast, London and Norwich. As well as leading workshops in local schools, she will hold Get Closer events at theatres. The events, such as Ballet Explored, Pre-performance talks, touch-tours and audio described performances provide a unique insight into the Company and the production to enhance your theatre visit…

Click here for the full update

Last week saw the end of our project at Montagu Junior School in Mexborough, which combined creative dance workshops and narrative writing activities during the 5-week project with Year 5 pupils.

The project, involving NBT Dance Education Officer Sophie Alder, Creative Writer Maya Chowdhry and Learning & Access Manager Rashmi Sudhir from Kala Sangam encouraged pupils to improve their vocabulary, self-esteem and literacy skills while exploring themes from the ancient Indian festival of Holi, including new beginnings, seasons, colour and play.

We ended the last day with an informal performance for peers and parents, sharing some of the written work the children had produced and dances they had created from their stories. All pupils made noticeable progress during the course of the project, developing the confidence to express their ideas and proudly took ownership of the characters they created through words and movement, and stories they told through them. It was a great end to a fantastic project!

A Teacher’s Resource Pack is now available for NBT’s production of Hamlet.
To download the pack or for more teacher’s resources, visit NBT’s Learning & Access pages here.

There are still a few places available on our ‘Urban Tales’ Easter Course so hurry and book your place today.

Energise your Easter break with this exciting fusion of contemporary dance and popular urban dance techniques. You will have the chance to learn and create your own dances, accompanied by live music, led by NBT dance education officer Sophie Alder and urban dance artist Ed Stephen.

When: Tuesday 1 April - Friday 4 April 2008
9.30am - 3.30pm daily

Where: West Park Centre, Spen Lane, Leeds, LS16 5BE

Who: Anyone aged 11-16

Cost: £65

Download the application form today [application form] or for more information contact Kate on 0113 274 5355 or email kate.laho@northernballettheatre.co.uk

For more information click here

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NBT have produced a new trailer for their production of Hamlet, in the run-up to taking the ballet to Sadler’s Wells in London. The advert features new pictures of the production and exclusive music by Philip Feeney.

Click here to watch the new trailer

More photographs of the Momentum Launch event last month can now be found on the new Momentum website.
The events gallery can be found here: http://www.building-momentum.co.uk/events.aspx

Edinburgh Evening News (Published Date: 05 March 2008):

“Three fairies appeared at the platform at Waverley station today to promote a performance of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

The Northern Ballet Theatre is performing the play at the Capital’s Festival Theatre, from tonight until Saturday.”

Edinburgh Evening News website

“…This month we are teaming up with South Asian Arts Company Kala Sangam to deliver a five-week dance and literacy project at Montagu Junior School in Mexborough. The project will encourage pupils in Year 5 to improve their vocabulary, self-esteem and literacy skills through creative dance workshops and narrative writing activities. NBT Dance Education Officer Sophie Alder, Creative Writer…”

 Click here to read full update

This season’s programmes for A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hamlet are now available on the Northern Ballet Theatre website as PDF files. You can download them from here by right-clicking the below links:

A Midsummer Night’s Dream Programme

Hamlet Programme

“Northern Ballet Theatre’s inventive and immersive take on Shakespeare’s Hamlet tragedy is set in Nazi-occupied Paris where Hamlet attempts to come to terms with his father’s death. In the dizzying intro scenes of ghostly visions…”

Read the whole review here

Northern Ballet Theatre and Phoenix Dance Theatre revealed a stunning new vision for a centre of excellence for dance in Leeds last night at the launch of momentum, the campaign to raise the remaining funds required for the new buidling. HRH The Earl of Wessex attended the launch where new designs by the Strategic Design Alliance, a partnership of Jacobs and Leeds City Council’s in-house architects, were unveiled. In addition, Leeds Metropolitan University announced that it is investing in the new dance centre in an exciting partnership with NBT and Phoenix.

Read the full press release.

A new fundraising website was also launched yesterday to help raise funds for the momentum project.

Click here to visit the new site

Photographs of the launch:

Saturday saw the first public performance of Northern Ballet Theatre’s new dance adaptation of Hamlet, on the stage of the Grand Theatre in Leeds….

Hamlet
Leeds, Grand Theatre
16 - 23 February 2008 

THIS CAST LIST IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

Saturday 16 February (evening)
Hamlet - Christopher Hinton-Lewis
Ophelia - Georgina May
Gertrude - Nathalie Leger
Claudius - Darren Goldsmith
Horatio / RS ex man - Tobias Batley
Polonius - Martin Bell
Laertes - Hiro Takahashi

Monday 18 February (evening)
Hamlet - Hiro Takahashi
Ophelia - Keiko Amemori
Gertrude - Patricia Hines
Claudius - Kenneth Tindall
Horatio / RS ex man - Ashley Dixon
Polonius - Martin Bell
Laertes - Tobias Batley

Tuesday 19 February (evening)
Hamlet - Christopher Hinton-Lewis
Ophelia - Georgina May
Gertrude - Nathalie Leger
Claudius - Darren Goldsmith
Horatio / RS ex man - Tobias Batley
Polonius - Martin Bell
Laertes - Hiro Takahashi

Wednesday 20 February (evening)
Hamlet - Christopher Hinton-Lewis
Ophelia - Georgina May
Gertrude - Nathalie Leger
Claudius - Darren Goldsmith
Horatio / RS ex man - Ashley Dixon
Polonius - Martin Bell
Laertes - Tobias Batley

Thursday 21 February (matinee)
Hamlet - Hiro Takahashi
Ophelia - Keiko Amemori
Gertrude - Patricia Hines
Claudius - Kenneth Tindall
Horatio / RS ex man - Ashley Dixon
Polonius - Martin Bell
Laertes - Tobias Batley

Thursday 21 February (evening)
Hamlet - Christopher Hinton-Lewis
Ophelia - Georgina May
Gertrude - Nathalie Leger
Claudius - Darren Goldsmith
Horatio / RS ex man - Tobias Batley
Polonius - Martin Bell
Laertes - Hiro Takahashi

BOOK NOW

Box Office: 0131 529 6000

Click here for more information on the ballet.

For more information visit NBT’s Learning & Access Department

All for one and one for all:
Olivier Nomination for Northern Ballet Theatre’s Musketeers 

Leeds-based Northern Ballet Theatre (NBT) has been nominated for a prestigious Laurence Olivier Award in the Best New Dance Production category for its highly acclaimed production of The Three Musketeers. Other nominees in the category include The Royal Ballet, Mark Morris Dance Group and Fabulous Beast Dance. The winners will be announced at a star-studded ceremony on 9 March at Grosvenor House in London.   

The production has already scooped a top accolade at the Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards 2007, winning the Best Dance Award in a category that included some of the worlds leading dance artists: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Carlos Acosta, Henri Oguike Dance Company, and Richard Alston Dance Company.

Read more in our press release

The closing date for applications for Classical Training Auditions is looming so please make sure you send in all applications by Monday 18th February in order to make the deadline. We have classes to suit all ages and abilities ranging from intensive pre-vocational training programmes to Open classes.

To download an application pack or to find out more about the associate programme, international summer school and the Yorkshire Young Dancers Pre-Vocational training programme please go to the Classical Training Pages or call the Classical Training department on 0113 274 5355

Go to the Hamlet Website to hear exclusive excerpts of Philip Feeney’s new score for David Nixon’s latest ballet. Here you can also find the full Scenario for the ballet.
Keep checking for more updates in the run up to Hamlet’s Premiere on the 16th February in Leeds.

For more information on the production, please visit our Hamlet website.