Read an article about our new building from the Yorkshire Post magazine, published on Saturday 7 June …
“The new, as yet un-named building, will be the only centre in the UK to house a contemporary dance company alongside a classical narrative one, with a school and a dance degree course. NBT’s orchestra will also benefit from the new facilities with the chance to do in-house recordings of commissioned scores and the possibility of lunch-time recitals by the musicians. Mark Skipper (NBT Chief Executive) adds: “The new dance centre and more importantly what will take place inside it, will establish Leeds as a powerhouse for dance in the UK… it will be source of pride for the wider community, everyone in Yorkshire and beyond who values our work.”
Over the past two years, we have been working in partnership with Beckfoot School, Innovation North - Leeds Metropolitan University and Creative Partnerships on an exciting project called Symbiosis, exploring dance through science and science through dance. This multi-faceted project is culminating this summer with the launch of an interactive DVD at a conference for teachers, educators and arts specialists at Beckfoot School in Bingley on Wednesday 16 July 2008.
David Nixon’s Olivier Award Nominated Production, A Midsummer Night’s Dream visits Cardiff next week. The ballet will be on stage from 27th to the 31st of May in the city. To find out more information, or to book tickets, click here.
Here is a provisional casting for the production:
Tues 27
Theseus - Martin Bell
Hippolyta - Martha Leebolt
Hermia - Georgina May
Helena - Pippa Moore
Lysander - Kenneth Tindall
Demetrius - Christopher Hinton-Lewis
Puck - Ashley Dixon
Wed 28
Theseus - Hiro Takahashi
Hippolyta - Keiko Amemori
Hermia - Georgina May
Helena - Christie Duncan
Lysander - Kenneth Tindall
Demetrius - Toby Batley
Puck - Victoria Sibson
Thurs 29 matinee
Theseus - Martin Bell
Hippolyta - Martha Leebolt
Hermia - Hannah Bateman
Helena - Christie Duncan
Lysander - Kenneth Tindall
Demetrius - Christopher Hinton-Lewis
Puck - Kieran Stoneley
Thurs 29 eve
Theseus - Darren Goldsmith
Hippolyta - Pippa Moore
Hermia - Lori Gilchrist
Helena - Michela Paolacci
Lysander - Yi Song
Demetrius - David Ward
Puck - Victoria Sibson
Fri 30
Theseus - Hiro Takahashi
Hippolyta - Keiko Amemori
Hermia - Georgina May
Helena - Michela Paolacci
Lysander - Kenneth Tindall
Demetrius - David Ward
Puck - Kieran Stonley
Sat 31 matinee
Theseus - Hiro Takahashi
Hippolyta - Keiko Amemori
Hermia - Lori Gilchrist
Helena - Christie Duncan
Lysander - Yi Song
Demetrius - Toby Batley
Puck - Victoria Sibson
Sat 31 eve
Theseus - Martin Bell
Hippolyta - Martha Leebolt
Hermia - Georgina Roberts
Helena - Pippa Moore
Lysander - Kenneth Tindall
Demetrius - Christopher Hinton-Lewis
Puck - Ashley Dixon
“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…”
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.
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.
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.
The day started well and we set off from Nanjing on schedule. The coaches with NBT on board headed one way out of the hotel and the coach with the Hangzhou Orchestra headed the other! We were 15mins into the journey just passing through central Nanjing on a flyover Expressway and the whole road was stopped. The tail back lasted for 1 hour 30 minutes. By the time we got to the problem it turned out to be a policeman directing traffic from a side road and holding up the expressway. It turned out that today was a public holiday and so it was very busy traffic wise. To add insult to injury the Orchestra driver phoned up and said they had arrived in Yangzhou whilst we were sitting on the flyover!
We finally arrived at 1.15pm the journey having taken twice as long as it should have (memories of Wuxi to Hangzhou here). The hotel had not allocated rooms as requested but had a least split them into singles, doubles and twins. With the second coach arriving 10 minutes after the first everyone was able to check in really quickly. At 2.30pm the Technical department accompanied by the Interpreters walked the 5 minutes to the Grand Theatre. The theatre is very similar to those in Wuxi and Nanjing. Fortunately they had heeded our warning from the experience in Nanjing and the heating was on even for the get in.
The dancers spent the afternoon out and about but Yangzhou is a very flat place and the wind is biting cold so most of them didn’t stay out for long. The City seems to be part of a tremendous building programme and even more than some of the previous cities. Everybody was delighted that the hotel has a wave machine and themed swimming pool or ‘the place of frolicking water’ as the Chinese would call it. Unfortunately they have closed the facility for the Winter! There is also a Spa with sauna and gym etc or ‘the centre of wellbeing’ along with a tenpin bowling alley.
The Technicians finished at 10pm with all the set in position and lights rigged. All set for an early focus tomorrow and then prepare for class at 12.30.
We were given another piece of aggravating news today. Shanghai has the same movement of vehicles restrictions as Beijing so we need to unload the Containers at Midnight on the day of arrival in Shanghai.
Everybody is slightly nervous after today’s coach journey. With the Wuxi to Hangzhou and Nanjing to Yangzhou journeys both taking twice the estimated time it doesn’t bode well for Yangzhou to Shanghai on Tuesday which is scheduled to take 5 hours!!
Nigel and I decided not to do the day trip to the Great Wall with the company again, as we’d done that seven years ago. We didn’t have the energy to make our own trip to the more remote part of the wall. After the relaxation and obvious therapeutic benefit of two consecutive days of Chinese medical massage (we had slept like babies) we didn’t want to over-excite our senses by doing something silly like taking a leisurely coach ride. Usually, coach trips in China are pretty exhilarating. But more on that later.
In fact, being a passenger in taxis in the cities is quite an experience too. In the cities, it’s more akin to slow rally driving, and most often the seat belts don’t work or aren’t there. Nobody really follows lanes - they just dash in and out where they think their car might fit, sounding their horns – ta-taaa – as they manoeuvre. It’s as if they’re expecting applause for their feat of spatial acuity. In fact, I’m impressed by their driving skills. In Beijing, for example, most of the road system, which has doubled in area since we were here in 2000, is wide with at least ten lanes, divided carriageways of course. But they don’t really get to drive at thirty miles per hour very often. Even so, the traffic mostly keeps moving. It’s on the whole an efficient and safe way to travel. I’m convinced all those years of travelling on cycles instilled a sense of travel community. I’ve not seen any road rage in the cities. And the traffic is colossal and never-ending. So the taxi we’re in becomes the filling in a bus sandwich, or more often the interloper snaking its way across lanes from right to left, left to right. It doesn’t matter. But whether from good luck or simply more superior road sense, we’ve had no scrapes. I am on the side of superior road sense. I think Chinese drivers in their bustling cities have developed an acute sense of spatial awareness. They are good at squeezing in to that quickly diminishing gap in the traffic. I’ve seen a row of seven cars abreast where there really are just five marked lanes. Throw the few enduring bicyclists and moped riders into the mix and it’s probably best to keep smiling, or laughing nervously so at least your driver thinks you’re enjoying the sights.
Last evening here in Nanjing as Nigel and I were walking to a restaurant we witnessed a car accident. But I was amazed as there was hardly any traffic. Nanjing is much less crowded than Beijing. Obviously two cars went for the same lane. The first one got in the lane and the second one followed too closely and ran up the back of it. Fortunately, it wasn’t a very bad result, although the crash made quite a crunch.
Travelling by coach on the freeways is a different matter and can be counterproductive if you’ve spent good money on a Chinese massage. The coach drivers, like the rest of the motoring fraternity, are audibly keen to get to their destination, sounding the horn every few minutes as they go. The message translates roughly as I’m coming through so get out of my way or don’t even think about changing into my lane. The day we were coaching from Wuxi to Hangzhou the fog was horrendous and had interrupted our journey, the police choosing to close the motorway for an hour and a half. Soon, we understood why when just a few minutes later we took a turning onto a motorway that was still under construction. As we travelled along the road-in-progress, inwardly questioning the wisdom of using this road given the visibility was still alarmingly low, the coach driver picked up speed. He was sounding his horn every minute and more often when he overtook on a dual carriageway into the oncoming traffic lane in the fog - trusting in his intuition or taking absurd risks - which ever way you want to look at it. Soon we passed a shocking sight. The lane that wasn’t finished came to an abrupt halt and at its edge was a huge drop to a ditch. Teetering on that edge was a car that had simply run out of road. I spent most of that trip with my hand over my eyes. Nigel spent most of that trip trying to decide whether he was going to tell the driver to slow down ‘the next time he does something ridiculously dangerous’. But then it became a matter of deciding degrees of ridiculous riskiness. So when the last risk was riskier than the current one … well, I’m sure you get the point. Of course, with the weather it was a difficult journey for the driver – a three-hour drive turned into six hours. So that does take some stamina, and clearly some nerve. I guess we’ll all be looking forward to our next long coach journey?
The Technicians departed at 8.15am for the Zijin Theatre which was a 45 minute drive across town at that time of day. The theatre just says “YES” to everything. NBT Technicians are totally in control – not quite like Beijing!! Whilst the fit up was taking place, the dancers returned to the adjacent studio for class. Unfortunately the Chinese opera orchestra was rehearsing next door and we had to ask them to leave for a while. The noise level - not the music, was horrendous!! Class went well and the dancers are in good shape for tomorrow’s performance
The Stage Department completed all of their work in record time by 5.45pm. The Electrics Department had focussed the lights and were back at the hotel by 8.30pm with just booms to do tomorrow – probably the quickest fit up we have had so far on this tour and leaving the stage clear for class.
This afternoon, the Dancers had a chance to look around the town. Nanjing is a bustling city and is a mix of western and pure Chinese. Turn a corner and huge neon lit signs are awash, turn again and hanging ducks etc. are there on the street stalls. The hotel is on the outskirts of the inner city and so quite a calming place to be away from the noise and bustle. The cost of things here is significantly cheaper than Beijing. A meal for 3 including 2 beers and a coke cost 76 Yuan (about £5). It was a good meal as well. Getting a taxi in Nanjing is very hit and miss. They don’t seem to like our Western faces too much but when you do get one they are really friendly.
Finally, this hotel has an even more brazen brothel than the last. It’s called COUNT and the publicity material leaves little to the imagination. It has caused great hilarity for all. The ones that dared go to the 5th floor were met by ladies in short maid outfits and a gentleman making gestures that cannot be described here when asked if this was where they could get a beer!!
Rather an early start this morning to get to the airport for the flight to Nanjing. The Poly Plaza hotel were somewhat particular with their check out procedures but all was achieved on schedule. The flight was uneventful and check in to the Jinling Jingyuan Plaza Hotel went very smoothly with the hotel having allocated the rooms before we arrived and in accordance with our Rooming List.
As the Company have had 3 days off over Christmas, it was vital that they got back into training. Although the stage of the Zijin Theatre is not available to us until 28 December, there is a very good studio in a building adjacent to the theatre with decent floor, barres and a piano.
After a very hectic schedule of planes, buses, unpacking, class, rehearsals, shows etc we were finally able to ‘move into’ our hotel in Beijing. After 1 day of Class and 3 days of performances we are all ready to see some sights. Although I did the main attractions of China before, I was eager to go again to really look and take in the scenery, rather than just click on my camera.
On the 24th we got into a taxi and went off to the Summer Palace. It was even more beautiful than I remembered. The temples, small and large, were all being repainted (probably because of the Olympics) in very bright colours, mostly blue, gold and red. The prettiest Temple was built for one of the Empress Cixis’ birthdays. Inside, were housed many of her presents ranging from a big clock made of Ivory to beautiful statues of peacocks. Her throne was made of dark wood with gold cushions and pillows. Everyone’s favourite part and probably most impressive is the life size marble boat resting in the frozen lake. Unfortunately the lake was not as frozen as last time!! It was a wonderful day but my toes were freezing.
Next the 25th – Christmas day. After a pretty crowded and stressful tube ride, which cost 2 Yuan one way – 14p, we found the Lama Temple. The street leading up to the entrance is lined with about 100 stalls of people selling incense to be used inside. The Lama Temple is made up of about 40 smaller temples all housing different Buddha. The Chinese people come here to give thanks to them for example ‘The Buddha of Medicine’ and ‘The Buddha of past, future and present. Outside the temples are large pots which people burn their incense in while praying. There is constant scent of Lavender, Jasmine and Rose in the whole area. Each temple is different, some housing 3 Buddha, some housing 20. At the base of the statues there are offerings of incense that have not been burned and fruit. Everywhere you look there are people constantly kneeling and standing up. They chant with their hands in prayer which are positioned at the forehead. The finale of the temple is a Buddha that stands 30’ tall. On the way out we saw one of the Dali Lama’s thrones and I bought my own laughing Buddha.
Next we went to the Temple of Confucius. It was under a bit of construction but we were still able to see where Emperor Qinglong would give important speeches. It was very impressive; painted gold with very detailed engravings, but like most Chinese relics, the buildings they stand in are the most beautiful. The ceilings are always decorated with intricate patterns and there is never a bare space on the walls.
Lastly, The Great Wall of China – Seems ridiculous to say it is my favourite, it’s just a wall, but it really is amazing. On a clear day there is no end of it in sight. We returned to the same place as on the last visit but turned left instead of right this time. It was a bit steeper this way, so we were pretty out of breath within the first 5 minutes. This time there were many more vendors hoping to sell you anything and everything. It is an incredible place that gives me a thrill when I think about being on one of the Seven Wonders of the World. BUT can you believe there is a Starbucks at the entrance?
Touring through China is a challenge and it was never going to be easy but with this being my second time on tour with NBT in China, I thought it would be easier. In some ways it certainly has been. The technical staff we have on this tour have been excellent and have needed to be. Their patience has been stretched a couple of times in each venue. This is mainly due to the fact that each venue has different ways of doing things and very different systems in place. The Poly Theatre in Beijing was a challenge. From the moment we discovered that there was an access to the City issue with the containers to the no gaffa tape on stage rule. At present no trucks at all are allowed into Beijing until midnight and have to clear the City limits by 6am. As Beijing is a major building site at present you can imagine the queues at the City limits waiting for the clock to strike midnight. At this point it must be like a Le Mans start. By 12.30am long convoys of trucks wend their way into the city as in some kind of protest akin to the fuel tax protests in the UK a few years ago. By 1am on 19/20 December the first of our containers arrived and backed into the loading dock under the supervision of the local police and security/army guards at the theatre. Unloading took about 45 minutes with the help of a team of 10 guys hired in by the promoter. With the doors shut on the empty container we thought it wouldn’t be long before the second container took its place in the dock. 10 minutes later nothing had moved. What I discovered walking to the front of the truck and speaking with our translator Flora, an absolute angel, was that the driver had been caught smoking in the dock by the security/army guard. The driver was being chastised beyond belief and his boss was being instructed that the driver must be punished. Until this was all agreed nothing was moving. After a further 20 minutes the truck finally moved and I was told that an agreement with the driver’s boss had been reached but I couldn’t find out what it was. The second trailer smoked its way into the car park and tried to back into the dock area. Alas the skill needed was beyond the driver so the container was unpacked there in the car park and another 20 metres of distance was added to the route in. Finally at 3.15 am we went upstairs and retired to our rooms grateful that the theatre and hotel were in the same complex.
In the morning breakfast was a cheery affair looking forward to working in the theatre we had seen the night before. On entering the theatre we were told that no gaffa tape could be used on the Korean oak floor that we were told had come from Russia. From that point on it seemed to be that they had learnt one word of English and that was the word ‘NO’ Even when going through the translator the answer seemed to be always ‘NO’. But if we really pushed and pushed for what we required and kept smiling then eventually it seemed to turn up. Well most of the time. The biggest issue was the petal drop in Act 2. They had not seen this done before and were not happy with the petals falling past the lighting bar. No reasoning or even myself telling them we had done over 250 performances of the production and never had there been an issue of the theatre catching fire seemed to wash with them. My final offer to buy them a new theatre if the effect caused the building to burn down did not even come close. We had to move the lighting bar downstage and the petal bag had to move upstage. They seemed happy with that. But after the 1st show they insisted we bring in the lighting bar and check for stray petals. Only eight petals had the gaul to land on the lighting equipment but each one was carefully extracted before we could fly the bar out again.
Joe Marchant, our Flyman/Rigger, had a nightmare of a day trying to get the flying system working safely. The Chinese flyman had never been shown the safe way of working the system and not wishing to lose face they refused to listen to Joe’s instruction. This caused a few heated debates through Flora. Meanwhile on stage Steven Wilkins (Wilky), our Chief Stage Technician for the China Tour, was being told we could not screw into the floor and not use certain flying bars for scenery. Thanks to the Chinese lighting people we have touring with us, lighting seemed to be going smoothly. Rich, Paul, Martin and Chris (Lighting Team) were all put under various amounts of pressure through the day but mainly the pressure of ‘NO’ was mainly kept to Wilky, Joe, Nic and Paul. (Stage Team)
On the first day we all finished at 10pm. We lost around 3 hours of the day having to argue and discuss each thing we wanted to do. The second day started in much the same way with ‘NO’ being the order of the day. The electric flying bars were strictly under the control of the in house personnel and it was hit and miss whether we got what we asked for. By 11am the focus started and the stage work was coming to an end. By 12.30 the main focus of the lights was complete and we had only the side lights to do. Class then took place on stage. A welcome break for the technical crew. Back at 2pm we beavered on and the Technical Rehearsal went quite smoothly. Just before the start of the Technical though, the person in charge of the electric flying handed the reins over to Martin. Martin had never seen or operated the system before and it was amazing that the rehearsal went so well.
To add other things into the mix we were not allowed to go anywhere with out a pass. Not even if we had made friends with the guard and he knew us. We were not allowed to sit in the auditorium seats at all and the drinks machine had given up as well.
The first night and subsequent shows went very well indeed. The Technical staff on tour have been pushed to the edge and have been amazing.
The get out started well until we caught them inch by inch peeling back our dance tape to make sure that we had not damaged the floor. I know you have an image in your head of a highly polished oak floor and you are wondering why I am going on about this so much. But let me dispel this image and replace it with an image of a painted black extremely well -used floor that has had the paint ripped from it in various places. I hope you can see the frustration.
The containers were packed and all was finished by 3am. No driver getting punished this time although we still had to wait for the containers to arrive!
Having had a couple of days off I can look back and smile and make light of what the Tech team was put through. But things like this are a small part of what happens when we enter a new venue. We never know what we are going to face and only a great deal of experience and teamwork gets us through.
In the future I would hope that we in the UK can bring Chinese technicians over from the larger theatres and let them see how we work in the UK. I believe for the long term future of the theatres in China and the welfare and mental state of the Technicians arriving with companies from the West it would be very fruitful.
The party has continued over 25 and 26 December. It seems there was a wide variety of options for Christmas lunch from traditional turkey and Christmas pudding (although not quite the same as at home) to the delights of Raffles’ take on turkey to Tepanyaki. All tastes were catered for.
Another interesting adventure took place before lunch!! Andy Waddington, Technical Director, managed to persuade the barrier attendants at the new National Grand Theatre, that we were very important guests from the UK and needed to have a look at this stunning new arts complex. The design is absolutely amazing with entry under a lake and 3 auditoria housed within a glass dome! We were given unprecedented freedom to wander around and had a good look inside the Opera and Drama Theatres. Unfortunately the Concert Hall was locked so we were unable to get a look. This is probably the finest arts building we have ever seen and we have made it very clear to Young, our Promoter, that we will only ever perform in that venue on future visits to Beijing!!
The evening of 25 December was designated the official Christmas party and was attended by the whole Company from dancers to musicians to technicians – everyone except Yi Song who had taken the opportunity to visit his family. A great time was had by all with an excellent buffet and plenty to drink. Secret Santa, arranged by Michela and Lori, was a triumph and added to the fun of the evening.
Tisch, Company Manager, arranged a trip to the Great Wall on 26 December which was attended by some of the Company. As this is our third visit to China, some people felt that another opportunity for shopping was more pressing than seeing the Wall again and others just didn’t make it out of bed after the partying from Christmas night!!
This evening should be a little more subdued with an early start to the airport tomorrow for the flight to Nanjing. The next week will be pretty busy with performances in 3 cities and will be very hard work for the technicians.
Everybody has had a great time in Beijing and is pleased that we were able to spend Christmas here but all are now looking forward to moving on and finding out what the cities of Nanjing and Yangzhou have to offer.
The Company spent the early part of the day continuing the journey around the famous sites that Beijing has to offer. The Forbidden City and Summer Palace seem to be quite popular. All too soon it was time to go to the theatre for the day’s preparation for the performance. This afternoon was David Nixon’s last class with the Company before he leaves Beijing. A video and selection of photographs from class accompany this report. David also spent some time rehearsing Pippa Moore and Chris Hinton-Lewis who will be dancing Butterfly and Pinkerton together for the first time in Yangzhou on 31 December.
Not only was this our final performance in Beijing but also the closing performance of the 5th Beijing International Dance Festival. The performance, with Keiko and Kenny dancing Butterfly and Pinkerton, was very much appreciated by the audience and we were honoured by the presence of senior Government figures. Young, our Promoter, was delighted with the Beijing season and we all look forward to 3 days off for Christmas before we start out journey again to Nanjing on 27th. Watch this space for David Nixon’s thoughts on his visit to Beijing tomorrow (24 December) and share moments from the NBT Christmas Party on 25 December.
Oh, check out the menu in one of the hotel’s restaurants – our Christmas Lunch?
The Integrated Paralympics Dance Project - Young Advocates Programme, Developing the Paralympic Spirit brought together a large group of partners. - Working in partnership with Northern Ballet Theatre were the British Council (the cultural and education section of the British Embassy) and the China Disabled Persons Federation. This project is the first in a programme of work developing the skills of the Beijing Young Advocates who will meet with their international counterparts in September 2008 at the start of the Paralympics in Beijing.
Whilst the Company was performing in Wuxi and Hangzhou, our Learning and Access Department were busy working on a very special project in Beijing
On Friday 14 December we met with Junhong from the British Council who showed us around the venue were we would be delivering the workshops. She introduced us to some of the participants and representatives from the different organisations who have been involved in bringing the project together in China. After a long journey it was great to see that all our arrangements had been put into place and everything was ready for starting work the following Monday.
This left the weekend for a little team building exercise of sightseeing, very kindly our interpreter Zhili showed us around Beijing - Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Royal Gardens, traditional markets and finished off with the Temple of Heaven. On Sunday we had a stroll around a Chinese Antique Market and got very good at bartering with the stall vendors!
Monday morning back to work, after a very busy Press Launch we started to create movement with the group and develop ideas for the final presentation on Friday afternoon. It was great to work with such enthusiastic young adults who are willing to join in and learn new skills.
Working with 20 young adults with and without disabilities, the group worked to create a piece of dance that was performed at the end of the week and through the process developed communication, confidence, leadership and team working skills.
Per diem call first thing this morning. The Company received their allowances for the rest of the tour (2 weeks tomorrow we come home) A challenging morning for the Technical Department with every operation under minute scrutiny but somehow they managed to get everything finished in time for class at 12.30. (We will share some of the idiosyncrasies at a later date). The Technical Rehearsal went well. Tonight was our second sponsor’s evening – this time hosted by Leeds City Council. The event took place in a very lavish conference room and was attended by around 150 people including some Government Vice- Ministers. The Lord Mayor of Leeds was once again in attendance and the other speaker was Chris Bailey, Dean of the Arts Faculty at Leeds Met University. Chris had quite a traumatic journey to China. His original flight was cancelled due to fog and he therefore arrived much later than planned but then his luggage went missing, his Interpreter was in Shanghai and the traffic was unbelievable when he travelled across the City to the Poly Theatre. Everything came out well in the end and the Company gave a great opening performance for our Beijing season. The performace was very well received by the audience. 2 more to go in Beijing before we have 3 days off to celebrate Christmas.
On Friday we met with Junhong from the British Council who showed us around the venue were we would be delivering the workshops. She introduced us to some of the participants and representatives from the different organisations who have been involved in bringing the project together in China. After a long journey it was great to see that all our arrangements had been put into place and everything was ready for starting work on the Monday.
This left the weekend for a little team building exercise of sight seeing; very kindly our interpretor Zhili showed us around Beijing, Tijianamen Square, the Forbidden City, the Royal Gardens, traditional markets and finishing off with the Temple of Heaven. On Sunday we had a stroll around a Chinese Antique Market and got very good at bartering with the stall vendors!
Monday morning back to work, after a very busy press launch we started to create movement with the group and develop ideas for the final presentation on Friday afternoon. It is great to work with such enthusiastic young adults who are willing to join in and learn new skills.
Info about the project;
Integrated Paralympics Dance Project, Young Advocates Programme, Developing the Paralympic Spirit. Working in partnership with Northern Ballet Theatre, the British Council (the cultural and education section of the British Embassy) and the China Disabled Persons Federation. This project is the first in a programme of work developing the skills of the Beijing Young Advocates who will meet with their international counterparts in September 2008 at the start of the Paralympics in Beijing.
Working with 20 young adults with and without disabilities, the group will be creating a piece of dance that will be performed at the end of the week and through the process develop communication, confidence, leadership and teamwork skills.
Selina McGonagle Director of Learning & Access, NBT
A magical weekend of fun at Eureka!
We will be visiting Eureka! - The Museum for Children in Halifax on the 24 and 25 November. Join us for a special weekend of dance and events to celebrate Northern Ballet Theatre’s magical Christmas production The Nutcracker.
There will be lots of fun activities throughout the weekend so keep checking our website for further details. For further information about Eureka visit:
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.
Yesterday at the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford, T&A TV interviewed David Nixon (NBT’s Artistic Director) and filmed Company Class, in the run-up to Saturday night’s Gala performance, where Principal dancer Chiaki Nagao will perform as Juliet for the last time.
To mark the revival of David Nixon’s dance version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, NBT, in conjunction with the National Media Museum (NMM) in Bradford, recreated the famous Cottingley Fairies photograph. Dancers Lori Gilchrist and David Ward posed for the photographs which were edited onto an image of Jenny Layton (from NBT’s Centre for Advanced Training) by NBT’s Graphic Designer, Michael Schofield. On Wednesday 24 October at 2pm, Lori Gilchrist will present an enlarged and mounted version of NBT’s photograph to the NMM. The image will then be included in talks and presentations about the Cottingley Fairies at the NMM. For information on when these will be visit the NMM website
