Our annual London season at Sadler’s Wells, sponsored by Manchester Airports Group, kicked off with a high profile opening night event. Guests from the worlds of art, business and media were all in attendance (photographs by Belinda Lawley). As ever the Company’s dancers and orchestra gave their all, delighting audiences throughout the week.

 “Move over Nutcracker, this is big boys ballet – brutal, testosterone-driven and utterly gripping.” Islington Gazette

 “The jarring and jagged routines from the troupe, led by Hinton-Lewis in the lead role, perhaps brought the raw torment of the piece across like no theatrical performance could.” Camden New Journal

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“Nixon is a master of psychological narrative: relationships are characterised by movement values, volumes are uttered in looks, glances and small gestures.” Gross Britannien

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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.

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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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

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….

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

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

Northern Ballet Theatre (NBT) and Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD) will hold an open dance class in Leeds on Sunday 20th January 2008 at the West Park Centre, Spen Lane, Leeds, LS16 5BE. The open day is an opportunity for young dance enthusiasts from NBT’s hometown, and across Yorkshire, to sample a ballet or contemporary dance class and learn more about the Yorkshire Young Dancer (YYD) Scheme. The open day is free and must be booked in advance through NBT’s Classical Training department on 0113 274 5355, email: classicaltraining@northernballettheatre.co.uk

The Learning & Access department’s monthly update can be found here

This section of the website has also been updated with all the relevant information for the new season including the latest on forthcoming talks and events.

You can search these events by venue on the Tour Page

This week, audiences have the chance to get closer to the action of The Nutcracker with a number of events at Leeds Grand Theatre. Ballet Explored on Thursday is a chance to watch the dancers take their daily class on stage, as well as finding out more about the company and the production with a talk by company dancer, Andrew Davidson.

And then on Saturday, there is a chance for the whole family to get creative and join in the festivities at our Nutcracker Family Fun Day. Children and adults alike will have fun making masks and headdresses in the craft workshop, and learning steps from the show in the dance workshop, before sitting back to enjoy the matinee performance of The Nutcracker.

Ballet Explored - Thursday 6th December, 11.15am - 12.15pm. £2.50
Nutcracker Family Fun Day - Saturday 8th December, 10am - 12.45pm. £4 children / £7 adults. Ticket deals available for the matinee performance

To book for these events, call the Leeds Grand Theatre box office on 0870 122 2815

News just in: NBT have won the Manchester Evening News Best Dance Award for The Three Musketeers.
Others nominated in this category were;

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, at The Lowry
Carlos Acosta, at The Lowry
Henri Oguike Dance Company, at The Lowry
Richard Alston Dance Company, at The Lowry

More news to follow as and when we get it…
Read more about the nomination

The Sugar Plum Fairy aka NBT Soloist Georgina Roberts will be flitting through Leeds tomorrow to open Gateway Yorkshire’s Christmas shop. Georgina will bring festive magic to the first sales of Christmas cards and gifts when the shop, in Leeds City Train Station, opens its doors at 10am.

Each year Gateway Yorkshire, the Tourist Information Centre, sells cards, advent calendars, children’s presents and wrapping to support a wide range of charities. 80p of each pound goes to charity.

NBT’s production of The Nutcracker opens at the Leeds Grand Theatre tonight and will run until 8 December. To find out more about NBT’s production click here.

Charities supported by the sale of cards and gifts include Alzheimer’s Society, A.R.C, Barnardo’s, British Heart Foundation, British Red Cross, Cancer Research UK, CARE, Cystic Fibrosis Trust, Diabetes UK, Epilepsy Action, Help the Aged, Leonard Cheshire, Leukaemia Research, Macmillan Cancer Support, Mencap, Mind, Multiple Sclerosis Society, National Autistic Society, NCH, NSPCC, Parkinson’s Disease Society, Perennial Gardeners’ Royal Benevolent Society, Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation, Royal National Institute of Blind People, Royal National Lifeboat Institution, Save the Children, Shelter, SSAFA Forces Help, The Children’s Society, The Home Farm Trust, The National Deaf Children’s Society, The Stroke Association, The 1959 Group of Charities, Candlelighters (Local Charity).

On Saturday night NBT said an emotional farewell to Principal Artist Chiaki Nagao, who gave her final UK performance in the role of Juliet in NBT’s Romeo & Juliet at the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford.

Prior to the performance NBT’s Artistic Director, David Nixon, addressed the audience that included Friends of NBT, Chiaki’s current NBT colleagues as well as many past dancers and collaborators who had returned especially for this very special occassion. Setting the tone for evening he said, “Parting is such sweet sorrow. 20 years ago a young woman arrived in the UK with a dream. She worked hard and followed her dream and today we pay tribute to an extraordinary career that has lasted more than a decade and a half.” He continued, “Tonight we are joined by three very special ladies, Carole Gable (the wife of the late Christopher Gable, NBT Artistc Director from 1987-1998), Ann Stannard (who founded the Central School of Ballet with Christopher Gable in 1982), and Chiaki’s mother who has flown from Japan to be here this evening.” David then spoke directly to Chiaki’s mother in Japanese, thanking her for sharing her daughter with us for so many years. He recognised the sacrifice that Chiaki’s family made in supporting her throughout her career, especially with Chiaki so far away from home.

Romeo & Juliet was performed beautifully by the cast and the orchestra of NBT and as it neared it’s tragic and dramatic climax there was a heightened sense of emtion as everyone knew this would be the last time we would see Chiaki in the limelight. In every sense the death of Juliet on stage was more poignant than ever, the tears of the audience even more so. As the curtain fell the venue errupted into applause, saving the standing ovation for one very special lady.

NBT Chief Executive, Mark Skipper and NBT’s Deputy Stage Manager Chun-Yen Chia, who is also Chiaki’s husband, each presented Chiaki with a bouquet of flowers. Dancers, technicians, and representatives from the Orchestra and each administrative department at NBT then filed on stage to present Chiaki with a rose, to join the flowers that littered the stage thrown on by the audience. David Nixon introduced long-standing Friend and Patron of NBT, Janet McNulty who presented Chiaki with a framed poster of Madame Butterfly on behalf of the Friends. He then paid tribute to Chiaki, “When I first came to Northern Ballet Theatre I recreated Madame Butterfly for the Company. It was a ballet that I had first created for my wife in the role of Butterfly. Chiaki took on that role, she worked so incredibly hard, so many hours in the studio, weekends and evenings, she did all that I asked of her and more. My wife did this for me out of love, Chiaki did this because she is dedicated to her craft, and because she is so generous as a dancer. Every member of the Company and the audience here tonight will have such fond memories of Chiaki, but for me she will always be my Butterfly.” 

Self-effacing and modest as ever, Chiaki was reluctant to step forward to receive the applause of the audience that was so rightly hers for the evening. As the curtain fell on a very special event Chiaki’s colleagues continued the applause and plaudits backstage and afterwards at a party held in her honour. Chiaki said, “It has been an emotional evening and I am very grateful that I was able to celebrate my final performance with friends and family.” Everyone at the Alhambra on Saturday felt equally grateful to have been there to thank Chiaki for sharing her extraordinary gift with us.

A feature on NBT’s Cottingley Faires is in today’s Telegraph & Argus.

Click the link below to read more:

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 Chiaki Nagao’s final performance:

This week marks the final week of Chiaki Nagao’s 15 year career with Northern Ballet Theatre. She will perform as Juliet for the last time on Saturday 27 October in Bradford. She will be greatly missed by the Company and the many thousands of audience members she has performed to over the years. Artistic Director, David Nixon, pays tribute;

“Chiaki is an incredibly gifted dancer who has shown total commitment and dedication to each role she has performed with NBT. Someone with such breadth of experience is irreplaceable and we will miss her terribly. We wish Chiaki all the very best for the future and thank her for her invaluable contribution to the life of NBT over these past 15 years.”

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Romeo & Juliet is at the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford from 23 - 27 October 2007. .
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Last Friday night, some of NBT’s Classical Training students took part in a class in Leeds City Centre. 

This event was part of the third Leeds Light Night, an astounding city-wide cultural extravaganza on the night of October 12th. Photos by Amy Dutton.

Last night at Palace Theatre, Manchester, Northern Ballet Theatre performed its dazzling new production of The Nutcracker for the first time. Photographs taken by Brian Slater and Mick Schofield.

Ever wanted to have a go at a ballet class? Well, this Friday night, some of NBT’s Classical Training students will be doing class in Leeds City Centre and we’d love you to join them. Come along between 6 and 7pm outside the Art Gallery if it’s dry or in The Light if it’s wet.

This event is part of the third Leeds Light Night, an astounding city-wide cultural extravaganza on the night of Friday October 12th. Check www.lightnight.co.uk for full details, & email james.hill@leeds.gov.uk for a copy of the brochure. Be a tourist, a night-tripper & a sight-seer in your own city.

Sunday 9th September 2007

11am - 4pm

 The Grand Theatre opens its doors, both front and back stage, so you can discover the hidden secrets of this beautiful Victorian building. Step onto the stage, be a fly on the wall of a rehearsal, get creative in family workshops and have a sneak preview of upcoming shows from the people behind the scenes. See what has changed so far and find out more about phase 2 of the theatre’s transformation.

No need to book, though limited space for some activities. Voluntary donation upon entry.

Leeds Grand Theatre, 46 New Briggate, Leeds, LS1 6NZ

www.leedsgrandtheatre.com