Artists confirmed for Northern Ballet Theatre’s 40th Anniversary Gala

Northern Ballet Theatre is pleased to announce the line-up for its 40th Anniversary Gala on 12 December at the Grand Theatre, Leeds. Artists from across the UK and Europe will perform in Leeds for one night only in recognition of NBT’s achievements and in celebration of its 40th anniversary. The following artists will join NBT and the NBT Orchestra for this unique event:

Eva Kolarova and Ramy Tadrous-Zaky from Ballet du Rhin will perform In the Mood For Love to music by Ludwig Van Beethoven.

Nao Sakuma and Joseph Caley from Birmingham Royal Ballet will perform Spring, a pas de deux from The Seasons, with choreography by David Bintley and music by Giuseppe Verdi.

English National Ballet’s Vadim Muntagirov and Shiori Kase will perform an extract from Le Corsaire.

Noelani Pantastico and Asier Uriagereka from Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo will perform the Act 1 Balcony pas de deux from Romeo & Juliet choreographed by Jean-Christophe Maillot to music by Sergei Prokofiev.

Phoenix Dance Theatre presents Fast Lane, Sharon Watson’s first choreographic work since becoming Artistic Director. Josh Wille, Azzurra Ardovini, Philip Sanger, Amanda Lewis and Judith Clijsters will perform to music by Peter S Jones.

Rambert Dance Company presents an excerpt from A Linha Curva which made its UK première as part of the Sadler’s Wells spring season in May 2009. Estela Merlos, Robin Gladwin, Miguel Altunaga, Jonathan Goddard, Thomasin Gulgec and Eryck Brahmania will dance Itzik Galili’s choreography.

The Royal Ballet’s Principal Dancers Leanne Benjamin and Edward Watson will perform Manon Act 1, Scene 2 (Bedroom pas de deux) with choreography by Kenneth Macmillan to music by Jules Massenet.

Stuttgart Ballet’s First Soloists Sue Jin Kang and Filip Barankiewicz will perform the Taming of the Shrew (Kampf pas de deux, Act 1) to music by Kurt-Heinz Stolze after Domenico Scarlatti.

Arman Grigoryan, Principal Dancer with the Zurich Ballet will also perform at the Gala.

NBT presents two new works: On Such a Night choreographed especially for the Gala by Gillian Lynne to music by Stephen Sondheim; and Powerhouse Rhumba by NBT’s Artistic Director, David Nixon to music by Graham Koehne. NBT will also perform Ossein by Wayne McGregor, Associate Artist of the Royal Opera House and Artistic Director of Random Dance Company to music by JS Bach.

Tickets for the Gala are priced £25 – £60 to include a complimentary glass of champagne and a programme. Two fundraising dinners will take place after the Gala with tickets priced £150-£200 to include a champagne reception, the performance and a three course meal. First Direct, Harvey Nichols and City Inn (Leeds) are supporting the Gala event.

The 40th Anniversary Gala will raise funds for momentum, NBT’s capital campaign for a new purpose built headquarters in central Leeds with Phoenix Dance Theatre. The building is due for completion in August 2010.

Wayne McGregor comes to Leeds next week to rehearse Northern Ballet Theatre (NBT) dancers in his piece, Ossein, which the Company will perform as part of their NBT Gala on Saturday 12 December at Leeds Grand Theatre.

Wayne is the Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet, the first in 13 years and the only one to come from contemporary dance. He is Artistic Director of Wayne McGregor | Random Dance, a Resident Company at Sadler’s Wells. He is also the government’s first Youth Dance Champion.

He was last week awarded an International Theatre Institute Award for Excellence in International Dance.

Ossein, is choreographed to music by JS Bach. This will be the first time one of McGregor’s works will be performed in Leeds.

For further information contact NBT Media & PR Manager, Ruth Burke-Kennedy.

Buy tickets for A Christmas Carol from Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Nottingham Theatre Royal Box Office: 0115 9895555

Information & Photos of Northern Ballet Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol.

Information on further events at the theatre, touch tours, audio described performances and workshops.

A Christmas Carol (Photo: Bill Cooper)

Please note, casts are subject to change without notice.

Tuesday, 17 November

Evening, 7.30pm

• Scrooge: Darren Goldsmith
• Young Scrooge: Christopher Hinton-Lewis
• Belle: Pippa Moore
• Bob Crachit: Hironao Takahashi
• Mrs Crachit: Nathalie Léger
• Ghost of Christmas Past: Julie Charlet
• Ghost of Christmas Present: Tobias Batley
• Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: Michael Berkin
• Nephew: John Hull
• Nephew’s Wife: Georgina May

Wednesday, 18 November

Evening, 7.30pm

• Scrooge: Christopher Hinton-Lewis
• Young Scrooge: Kenneth Tindall
• Belle: Martha Leebolt
• Bob Crachit: Tobias Batley
• Mrs Crachit: Dreda Blow
• Ghost of Christmas Past: Pippa Moore
• Ghost of Christmas Present: Yi Song
• Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: Graham Kotowich
• Nephew: Giuliano Contadini
• Nephew’s Wife: Hannah Bateman

Thursday, 19 November

Matinée, 2.30pm

• Scrooge: Sebastian Loe
• Young Scrooge: Hironao Takahashi
• Belle: Michela Paolacci
• Bob Crachit: Tobias Batley
• Mrs Crachit: Nathalie Léger
• Ghost of Christmas Past: Isabella Gasparini
• Ghost of Christmas Present: David Ward
• Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: Michael Berkin
• Nephew: Yi Song
• Nephew’s Wife: Victoria Sibson

Evening, 7.30pm

• Scrooge: Martin Bell
• Young Scrooge: Hironao Takahashi
• Belle: Michela Paolacci
• Bob Crachit: Kenneth Tindall
• Mrs Crachit: Victoria Sibson
• Ghost of Christmas Past: Ayana Kanda
• Ghost of Christmas Present: Christopher Hinton-Lewis
• Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: Graham Kotowich
• Nephew: Yi Song
• Nephew’s Wife: Martha Leebolt

Friday, 20 November

Evening, 7.30pm

• Scrooge: Sebastian Loe
• Young Scrooge: Hironao Takahashi
• Belle: Michela Paolacci
• Bob Crachit: Tobias Batley
• Mrs Crachit: Nathalie Léger
• Ghost of Christmas Past: Isabella Gasparini
• Ghost of Christmas Present: David Ward
• Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: Michael Berkin
• Nephew: Yi Song
• Nephew’s Wife: Victoria Sibson

Saturday, 21 November

Matinée, 2.30pm

• Scrooge: Christopher Hinton-Lewis
• Young Scrooge: Kenneth Tindall
• Belle: Martha Leebolt
• Bob Crachit: Martin Bell
• Mrs Crachit: Dreda Blow
• Ghost of Christmas Past: Isabella Gasparini
• Ghost of Christmas Present: David Ward
• Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: Michael Berkin
• Nephew: Yi Song
• Nephew’s Wife: Victoria Sibson

Evening, 7.30pm

• Scrooge: Darren Goldsmith
• Young Scrooge: Christopher Hinton-Lewis
• Belle: Pippa Moore
• Bob Crachit: Hironao Takahashi
• Mrs Crachit: Jessica Morgan
• Ghost of Christmas Past: Julie Charlet
• Ghost of Christmas Present: Tobias Batley
• Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: Michael Berkin
• Nephew: Kenneth Tindall
• Nephew’s Wife: Georgina May

Julie Charlet as the Ghost of Christmas Past and Darren Goldsmith as Scrooge in Northern Ballet Theatre's A Christmas Carol (Photo: Bill Cooper)

Buy tickets for A Christmas Carol from Nottingham Theatre Royal.

Nottingham Theatre Royal Box Office: 0115 9895555

Information & Photos of Northern Ballet Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol.

Information on further events at the theatre, touch tours, audio described performances and workshops.

Please note, casts are subject to change without notice.

Since September Catherine Mullaney and Stephanie Bell from Northern Ballet Theatre’s (NBT) Communications Department have been visiting primary schools across Leeds with the Schools Roadshow. Using footage from NBT rehearsals and interviews with the dancers this free assembly aims to give pupils an introduction to the world of dance and ballet.

So far this year the Roadshow team have visited 14 schools speaking to a total of 3300 children. But the biggest audience so far was at Headfields Junior School who have 600 pupils! Having already visited the NBT studios and watched rehearsals, Headfields School were big NBT fans but this was the first time all the pupils got to see and hear more about the Company. Following the visit they decided to say thank you by sending some beautiful drawings and letters to the Roadshow team.

Picture: Amna Ditta

by Khadija Kara

by Maani Mahmood

Catherine and Stephanie are now taking roadshow bookings for 2010, please call 0113 274 5381 or email.

Buy tickets for A Christmas Carol from Sheffield Lyceum Theatre.

Sheffield Lyceum Theatre box office: 0114 249 6000

Information & Photos of Northern Ballet Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol.

Information on further events at the theatre, touch tours, audio described performances and workshops.

A Christmas Carol (Photo: Bill Cooper)

Please note, casts are subject to change without notice.

Tuesday, 10 November

Evening, 7.30pm

• Scrooge: Darren Goldsmith
• Young Scrooge: Christopher Hinton-Lewis
• Belle: Pippa Moore
• Bob Crachit: Hironao Takahashi
• Mrs Crachit: Jessica Morgan
• Ghost of Christmas Past: Julie Charlet
• Ghost of Christmas Present: Tobias Batley
• Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: Michael Berkin
• Nephew: Kenneth Tindall
• Nephew’s Wife: Georgina May

Wednesday, 11 November

Evening, 7.30pm

• Scrooge: Christopher Hinton-Lewis
• Young Scrooge: Kenneth Tindall
• Belle: Martha Leebolt
• Bob Crachit: Tobias Batley
• Mrs Crachit: Dreda Blow
• Ghost of Christmas Past: Pippa Moore
• Ghost of Christmas Present: Yi Song
• Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: Graham Kotowich
• Nephew: Giuliano Contadini
• Nephew’s Wife: Hannah Bateman

Thursday, 12 November

Matinée, 2.30pm

• Scrooge: Darren Goldsmith
• Young Scrooge: Christopher Hinton-Lewis
• Belle: Pippa Moore
• Bob Crachit: Hironao Takahashi
• Mrs Crachit: Nathalie Léger
• Ghost of Christmas Past: Julie Charlet
• Ghost of Christmas Present: Tobias Batley
• Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: Michael Berkin
• Nephew: John Hull
• Nephew’s Wife: Martha Leebolt

Evening, 7.30pm

• Scrooge: Martin Bell
• Young Scrooge: Hironao Takahashi
• Belle: Michela Paolacci
• Bob Crachit: Kenneth Tindall
• Mrs Crachit: Victoria Sibson
• Ghost of Christmas Past: Ayana Kanda
• Ghost of Christmas Present: Christopher Hinton-Lewis
• Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: Graham Kotowich
• Nephew: Yi Song
• Nephew’s Wife: Martha Leebolt

Friday, 13 November

Evening, 7.30pm

• Scrooge: Christopher Hinton-Lewis
• Young Scrooge: Kenneth Tindall
• Belle: Martha Leebolt
• Bob Crachit: Martin Bell
• Mrs Crachit: Dreda Blow
• Ghost of Christmas Past: Pippa Moore
• Ghost of Christmas Present: Yi Song
• Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: Graham Kotowich
• Nephew: Giuliano Contadini
• Nephew’s Wife: Hannah Bateman

Saturday, 12 November

Matinée, 2.30pm

• Scrooge: Sebastian Loe
• Young Scrooge: Hironao Takahashi
• Belle: Michela Paolacci
• Bob Crachit: Tobias Batley
• Mrs Crachit: Nathalie Léger
• Ghost of Christmas Past: Isabella Gasparini
• Ghost of Christmas Present: David Ward
• Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: Michael Berkin
• Nephew: Yi Song
• Nephew’s Wife: Victoria Sibson

Evening, 7.30pm

• Scrooge: Darren Goldsmith
• Young Scrooge: Christopher Hinton-Lewis
• Belle: Pippa Moore
• Bob Crachit: Hironao Takahashi
• Mrs Crachit: Jessica Morgan
• Ghost of Christmas Past: Julie Charlet
• Ghost of Christmas Present: Tobias Batley
• Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come: Michael Berkin
• Nephew: Kenneth Tindall
• Nephew’s Wife: Georgina May

Julie Christmas as the Ghost of Christmas Past and Darren Goldsmith as Scrooge in Northern Ballet Theatre's A Christmas Carol (Photo: Bill Cooper)

Buy tickets for A Christmas Carol from Sheffield Lyceum Theatre.

Sheffield Lyceum Theatre box office: 0114 249 6000

Information & Photos of Northern Ballet Theatre’s production of A Christmas Carol.

Information on further events at the theatre, touch tours, audio described performances and workshops.

Please note, casts are subject to change without notice.

Tobias Batley nominated for top dance accolade. Photo: Bill Cooper

Northern Ballet Theatre (NBT) First Soloist Tobias Batley has been nominated for a Critics’ Circle National Dance Award in the category of Outstanding Male Performance (Classical).

Described by the Critics’ Circle as a “versatile dance-actor” and “an able comedian”, Tobias is nominated for his portrayal of Anthony, the leading male role in David Nixon’s Swan Lake, in which “he gave a performance of remarkable and poignant intensity”. He is nominated alongside Sergei Polunin from the Royal Ballet and Esteban Berlanga of English National Ballet.

Tobias joined NBT in 2004 and since then has risen rapidly through the ranks, distinguishing himself in many soloist roles for the Company. His favourite of these include the title role in Dracula, Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights and Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

“It’s very exciting to be nominated for such a prestigious award,” he says. “I’m flattered to be considered alongside dancers of such a high calibre. I’m particularly pleased to be nominated for this role as it is one I have really enjoyed performing.”

Ex-NBT dancer Sarah Kundi has also been nominated for an award in the Outstanding Female Performance (Classical) category. Sarah performed with NBT for four years and left to become a member of Ballet Black in November 2008. She has been noted by the Critics’ Circle for her “polished and confident” performances in Will Tuckett’s Depouillement and in Martin Lawrance’s duet Pendulum.

No strangers to the National Dance Awards, NBT received the Audience Award in 2004, 2005 and 2006. Last year the Company was awarded the coveted Patron’s Award which is given to an individual or organisation that has significantly furthered the cause of dance in the UK.

This year’s winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on 21 January 2010.

Yorkshire Young Dancers Centre For Advanced Training

The Yorkshire Young Dancers (YYD) Centre for Advanced Training scheme, are inviting both primary and secondary school teachers to attend a free and motivating teacher training day hosted by Northern Ballet Theatre (NBT) and Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD).

The day will be aimed at both primary and secondary level teachers, who are leading or aiming to run dance sessions within their school. The programme will:

• Introduce teachers to the Yorkshire Young Dancer Scheme and how their students can become involved.
• Offer advice on how to spot and nurture ‘Gifted and Talented’ students within your school / class.
• Concentrate on creative ideas suitable to Key Stage 2, 3 and 4 National Curriculum.

Teachers of Key Stage 2 will work primarily with Northern Ballet Theatre and teachers of Key Stage 3 & 4 will work mainly with Northern School of Contemporary Dance.

Participants will experience a practical dance session, from their student’s point of view, this will aid in the development of creative lesson planning which can be tailored to suit individual groups. We will also be looking at safe and effective warm up exercise and techniques.

To book a place on the day, contact Becki at Northern Ballet Theatre on 0113 274 5355 or becki.smith@northernballettheatre.co.uk.

We hope you will be able to join us.

Northern Ballet Theatre and Phoenix Dance Theatre Dancers in front of the new hoardings (Photo: Justin Slee)

Striking hoardings featuring dancers from Northern Ballet Theatre and Phoenix Dance Theatre have been revealed around the site of the new home for both Companies on Quarry Hill in the centre of Leeds.

Northern Ballet Theatre and Marketing Leeds have worked together to develop the hoardings which have been designed to raise profile of the new centre for dance, and for momentum, the campaign to raise funds for the completion of the building. The hoardings run along York Street and celebrate Leeds’ status as an important city for dance.

Northern Ballet Theatre Dancers in front of the new hoardings... (Photo: Justin Slee)

Mark Skipper, Chief Executive of NBT explained:
“We wanted to let people know that the building taking shape on Quarry Hill is going to be an important centre for dance in the UK. Our new building is a symbol that Leeds is a bold, creative and diverse city with the foresight to invest in the country’s fastest growing art form. The artwork is a great opportunity to celebrate this and to acknowledge the people who have supported the momentum campaign so generously. We’re delighted Marketing Leeds has added their support to this venture.”

The new centre for dance will be completed in August 2010 and open officially in January 2011. It will be the headquarters for Northern Ballet Theatre and Phoenix Dance Theatre as well as the Northern Ballet Theatre Academy and will also be home to Leeds Metropolitan University dance degree courses.

Northern Ballet Theatre dancers in front of the new hoardings... (Photo: Justin Slee)

Professional Division Students (Photo: Hannah Kirkpatrick)

Photo: Hannah Kirkpatrick

The start of the half-term break found the Professional Division students spending their weekend at Northern Ballet Theatre Academy for an intensive course which saw them doing things a little out of the ordinary. . .

Whilst the younger students began a normal ballet class with Cara, the older students had a yoga class with Nichi Green (from the Yogaspace) which made them all very relaxed and perhaps even a little bit sleepy! As they went into their ballet class to be woken up by Yoko, the younger students met Bgirl Firefly who gave them a class in hip-hop and street dance. The students were ‘top-rocking’ and ‘threading’ in no time and enjoyed learning the new moves. After the lunch-break, Firefly worked with the older levels teaching them some basic street dance moves and then giving some slightly more difficult combinations to work on. Meanwhile the younger students were practicing their preparations for Halloween with a make-up workshop taken by make-up artist Ame Boyd. I walked into the classroom to be met by students with broken noses, deep scratches, scars and bullet wounds and as I’m very squeamish I had to keep reminding myself that these were fake wounds and not actually as real as they looked! I left the room with a deep, bleeding scratch on my hand (fake, thankfully!) and gathered all the students to watch Firefly show off some of her moves. The students all sat open-mouthed at Firefly’s incredible performance and there was lots of cheering and clapping as everyone thanked both Firefly and Ame for a brilliant day.

Fun Hallowe'en Make-up (Photo: Hannah Kirkpatrick)

Photo: Hannah Kirkpatrick

As the students left at the end of their first day, there were many reminders to ensure they arrived at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford by 7.00pm as we had arranged for all the students to watch NBT perform Wuthering Heights. The production was amazing with fantastic music, a brilliant representation of the story and outstanding performances by all involved. At the end of the performance, the students gave a standing ovation during the curtain call with a lot of cheering, showing how much they had enjoyed the production.

On Sunday morning, the older students had ballet class with Cara first thing and the younger students did a workshop with Catherine and Steph from the communications department. The students talked about advertising and discussed TV adverts and posters, giving ideas about what they liked and didn’t like before they were set a task to design a poster for either A Christmas Carol or Peter Pan. There were many good designs and a selected few are shown below (and some are on display outside our office at West Park). As the younger students finished off their artwork and headed to the studio for their ballet class, the older students moved from ballet class to street dance, this time with Hannah Thompson. Hannah taught the older students some more street dance moves, including locking, popping and waving and put together a short routine from each component. After hard work from both groups in their respective classes, all students had a lunch break before the older students finished their weekend off with a further yoga class and the younger students got their chance to learn some more funky moves with Hannah.

A Christmas Carol & Peter Pan Posters

The students left to waiting parents who were dutifully shown some of the street dance moves before heading home to look forward to a well-deserved week off. After a weekend of doing something different, the students seemed tired but happy with the whole weekend so it was a successful end to the first half of the autumn term.

Photo by Northern Ballet Theatre

On Friday 9 October staff from Northern Ballet Theatre and Phoenix Dance Theatre camped out in a tent on Millennium Square as part of Leeds’ fifth annual Light Night.

After weeks of planning we were glad the date had arrived and we could show off our brand new interactive dance video. The video which was designed for complete dance beginners, with a step-by-step voice over, included a warm-up featuring NBT dancers, then you could choose to learn either Dance of the Knights from NBT’s Romeo & Juliet or Phoenix’s brand new piece Fastlane.

Photo by Northern Ballet Theatre

The event was a huge success, even the rain helped a little as our tent provided the only shelter on Millennium Square, but we stayed busy all evening with people of all ages taking part.

Photo by Northern Ballet Theatre

NBT is delighted to announce that we are part of a second major Cultural Olympiad Yorkshire project.

Northern Ballet Theatre, Opera North, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Yorkshire Dance, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Leeds Met Gallery and Studio Theatre, Situation Leeds, Leeds City Council and Leeds Art Gallery for Leeds Canvas. (Photo: HANSON)

Northern Ballet Theatre has joined forces with Opera North, West Yorkshire Playhouse, Yorkshire Dance, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Leeds Met Gallery and Studio Theatre, Situation Leeds, Leeds City Council and Leeds Art Gallery for Leeds Canvas. Leeds Canvas has been selected as the Yorkshire region winner of a £500,000 commission for Artists taking the lead, one of the major projects for the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

Internationally acclaimed filmmakers and artists the Quay Brothers will use the entire city as the ‘canvas’ for a series of art interventions and installations, building up to a spectacular one-off event centred around Leeds’ Dark Arches.

Quay Brothers

Leeds Canvas is one of 12 commissions that will be realised across the UK over the next three years, each inspired by their location and celebrating the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

David Nixon, Artistic Director of NBT said:

“I am delighted that the proposal put together by the Leeds Creative Partnership team has been successful. This project has the possibility to transform Leeds and reach far beyond this city’s boundaries. Through collaboration our possibilities are magnified and our individual strengths personified and by inviting exceptional artists to work with us in Leeds we will create exceptional experiences and opportunities that we hope will have a lasting legacy. The 2012 Olympic games will be such a special time for the country and it will provide us with the opportunity to come together as one community and create some truly exciting work that touches many, many people.”

This is the second Cultural Olympiad project NBT is part of. Last week we announced that we were leading the ‘Don’t Just Sit There’ project.

• View the full Leeds Canvas media release.
• ‘Don’t Just Sit There’ Project
• Artists Taking The Lead: Leeds Canvas
• London 2012: Getting Involved, Cultural Olympiad

We have some spectacular new production photos of our production of A Christmas Carol online at the main website…

Northern Ballet Theatre Photos by Bill Cooper

Visit the A Chrstmas Carol gallery for larger images…

Wuthering Heights - Northern Ballet Theatre Photo by Merlin Hendy

Bradford, alhambra Theatre box office: 0871 297 5454

Information & Photos of Northern Ballet Theatre’s production of Wuthering Heights.

Information on further events at the theatre, touch tours, audio described performances and workshops.

Please note, casts are subject to change without notice.

Tuesday, 20 October

Evening: 7.30pm

• Cathy: Martha Leebolt
• Heathcliff: Christopher Hinton-Lewis
• Young Cathy: Pippa Moore
• Young Heathcliff: Ashley Dixon
• Hindley: Martin Bell
• Mr Earnshaw: Michael Berkin
• Ellen: Nathalie Léger
• Joseph: Darren Goldsmith
• Edgar: Hironao Takahashi
• Isabella: Hannah Bateman

Wednesday, 21 October

Evening: 7.30pm

• Cathy: Julie Charlet
• Heathcliff: Kenneth Tindall
• Young Cathy: Ayana Kanda
• Young Heathcliff: David Ward
• Hindley: Thomas Aragones
• Mr Earnshaw: Yi Song
• Ellen: Victoria Sibson
• Joseph: Michael Berkin
• Edgar: Ashley Dixon
• Isabella: Pippa Moore

Thursday, 22 October

Matinée: 2.30pm

• Cathy: Martha Leebolt
• Heathcliff: Christopher Hinton-Lewis
• Young Cathy: Michela Paolacci
• Young Heathcliff: Ben Mitchell
• Hindley: Martin Bell
• Mr Earnshaw: Michael Berkin
• Ellen: Nathalie Léger
• Joseph: Darren Goldsmith
• Edgar: Hironao Takahashi
• Isabella: Hannah Bateman

Evening: 7.30pm

• Cathy: Georgina May
• Heathcliff: Tobias Batley
• Young Cathy: Antoinette Brooks-Daw
• Young Heathcliff: Jeremy Curnier
• Hindley: Giuliano Contadini
• Mr Earnshaw: Kenneth Tindall
• Ellen: Nathalie Léger
• Joseph: Martin Bell
• Edgar: Yoshihisa Arai
• Isabella: Lori Gilchrist

imove has awarded £855,000 to three groundbreaking partnerships between leading Yorkshire-based organisations for the creation of an ambitious series of projects linking art and sport in exciting new ways in the run up to London 2012.  Inspired by the forthcoming Olympics, the imove Programme aims to transform the relationship between people in Yorkshire and their moving bodies through unique crossovers between culture, sport and physical education.

One of the projects, Don’t Just Sit There, will be led by Northern Ballet Theatre, and will include Education Leeds, College of Chinese Physical Culture, Rotherham-based Open Minds Theatre Company, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Marketing Leeds and the Rugby Football League. Together the partners will harness their resources to tackle issues arising from sedentary lifestyles.

Back row left to right: Paul Kaiserman, ArtForms, Education Leeds; Simon Wells, Open Minds Theatre Company; Michael Bursey, College of Chinese Physical Culture; front row left to right: Jordan Tansey, Hull FC, RFL; Amanda Lewis, Phoenix Dance Theatre; Megan Hughes, Northern Ballet Theatre Academy. Photo Paul Floyd Blake.

The project aims to teach people about their bodies and increase participation in sport and physical activity using dance, physical theatre, music, sport and alternative movement forms. Planned activities include:

• Spirit Alive – a child-led mini-sporting festival
• Energisers – mass participation events aimed at adults and students, at the centre of which will be a rugby-pitch sized immersive, light-filled Colourscape structure
• Work in schools across the region with artists in classical and contemporary dance, physical theatre, Chinese movement, music, Indian and African dance, West Indian Carnival and new Zealand Haka

Jon Ingham, NBT’s Director of Fundraising, said:

“The project will use dance, physical theatre, sport, carnival and music to share the Olympic experience and create a sense of excitement about the approaching Games. We will encourage people to get involved in cultural and sporting activities and become active participants, rather than merely observers.”

imove is funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the 2012 Olympic Games. Yorkshire Forward and Arts Council England, Yorkshire, have also invested in the programme. For more information visit http://www.culturalolympiadinyorkshire.com/

As of mid-October the concrete cores are now complete and work has begun on the steel-work. Construction of the steel frame continues; it is quickly taking shape ready for the floors, roof and walls.

See a time-lapse video of the construction work so far.

Donate to the momentum project.

Visit the Building-momentum website for lots of images, information and interactive floor-plans.