Northern Ballet

Northern Ballet, formerly Northern Ballet Theatre, is a dance company based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a strong repertoire in theatrical dance productions where the emphasis is on story telling as well as classical ballet. The company tours widely across the United Kingdom.

Northern Ballet
General information
Name	Northern Ballet
Previous names	Northern Dance Theatre Northern Ballet Theatre
Year founded	1969
Founders	Laverne Meyer
Patron	Earl of Wessex
Website	northernballet.com
Senior staff
Chief Executive	Mark Skipper DL
Artistic staff
Artistic Director	David Nixon OBE
Music Director	Jonathan Lo[1]
Other
Orchestra	Northern Ballet Sinfonia
Associated schools	Academy of Northern Ballet

History

Northern Dance Theatre, the name by which the company was originally known, was founded in 1969 by Canadian-born Laverne Meyer; a dramatic dancer whose formative years were spent with Bristol-based, Western Theatre Ballet, the first ever British dance company to be based outside London. The company's first performance was on 28 November 1969 at the University Theatre, Manchester, with the orchestra being supplied by musicians of the Royal Northern College of Music.

In the first six years, the repertory included significant revivals, Kurt Jooss's The Green Table and Andrée Howard's Death and the Maiden, alongside new works by Peter Wright, John Chesworth, Charles Czarny, and Clover Roope.[2]

Robert de Warren

Robert de Warren was appointed artistic director in 1976. A classically-trained dancer, he had previously worked with the Royal Ballet, as well some of the larger West German ballet companies. He renamed it Northern Ballet Theatre (NBT) and began to work on full-length classical ballets, rediscovered works and brand new dance-drama creations. During 11 years as artistic director he expanded the company to more than 30 dancers and staged works by such diverse choreographers as August Bournonville, Michael Fokine, Walter Gore, John Cranko and Royston Maldoom.

De Warren's creative drive brought many artistic collaborations to the company including dramatic choreographers Andre Prokovsky and Geoffrey Cauley who was given space to experiment on such on-off, site-specific, works as 'Paradise Lost' and who made what was for many years the company's signature piece, Miss Carter wore Pink, a dance-drama based on the books of Helen Bradley and featuring live narration by actress Patricia Phoenix. Among the stage designers brought in by de Warren were Clive Lavagna and Philip Prowse, then director of the Glasgow's experimental Citizens Theatre.

De Warren brought Dame Alicia Markova to the company as coach on productions of Les Sylphides and Giselle. He secured Rudolf Nureyev as artistic laureate and regular guest artist, and Princess Margaret as the company's Royal patron. The last of his collaborative works for the company was 'A Simple Man', the L.S. Lowry ballet, by choreographer Gillian Lynn and starring dancer and actor Christopher Gable. De Warren left the company in 1987 to go to the Scala, Milan.

Christopher Gable

The appointment of Christopher Gable as NBT's third artistic director in 1987 saw the company gain a reputation for imaginative new works and for impressive revivals of old classics.

His appointment owed much to chance. In 1987, for the centenary of the birth of the painter L. S. Lowry, Salford City Council commissioned Gillian Lynne to create a new ballet for the company to celebrate the life and work of the Salford-born artist. At this time the company was still under the artistic direction of Robert de Warren. The work with Lynne and Gable would be the last of his inspired artistic collaborations. Lynne was determined in her choice of dancer for the role of Lowry, enticing ex-Royal Ballet star Christopher Gable back to the dance stage for the first time in more than 20 years.

Gable's appointment as artistic director was popular with the company. He focused as much on the theatre as the ballet in the company's title. With the emphasis on classical dance drama, the success of A Simple Man was followed by full-length productions of Swan Lake, Romeo & Juliet, A Christmas Carol, the Brontes, Don Quixote, Dracula, Giselle and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Throughout his 11 years with NBT, Gable remained artistic director of the Central School of Ballet, which he co-founded with Ann Stannard in London in 1982. The company was located at Spring Hall, Halifax briefly, in 1990.[3] Gable's death in 1998, from cancer at only 58, left the company with a reputation that was gaining steadily on the worldwide dance stage. Northern Ballet Theatre productions had been requested and performed by other companies including Norwegian National Ballet, Atlanta Ballet and the Royal New Zealand Ballet.

1999 to present

Stefano Giannetti became fourth Artistic Director after a career including dancing and creating principal roles at English National Ballet and Deutsche Oper Ballet. His first work was an adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. However, he was to leave the company after only a year. The fifth, and current, appointment to the role of Artistic Director was given to former National Ballet of Canada principal dancer David Nixon in August 2001.

In February 2002 he presented his revised version of Madame Butterfly. That was followed by his tribute to the music of George and Ira Gershwin, I Got Rhythm. Nixon's first full length new work for the company was Wuthering Heights, a collaboration with composer Claude-Michel Schönberg. It premiered at the Bradford Alhambra Theatre in September 2002.

The company followed this original work with a production of Birgit Scherzer's Requiem!! and Nixon's a new production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which also saw Northern Ballet perform at the West Yorkshire Playhouse for the first time. This was followed by new productions of Swan Lake, Peter Pan, The Three Musketeers, A Sleeping Beauty Tale, The Nutcracker and Hamlet. Autumn 2008 saw the company tour with another new ballet from Cathy Marston telling the classic Dickens story A Tale of Two Cities.

2009 was the company's 40th anniversary; on Monday, 6 September 2010, the company announced that it was changing its name to "Northern Ballet", dropping "theatre" from its title.[4]

In 2011 Northern Ballet premiered two new works - Cléopâtre[5] on 26 February 2011 and Beauty & the Beast[6] on 17 December 2011 both choreographed by David Nixon OBE at Leeds Grand Theatre. In 2012 Ondine was added to the repertoire,[7] originally created by David Nixon for Ballet du Rhin.[8]

2013 also saw the creation of two new full-length ballets; The Great Gatsby[9] and Cinderella.[10] Both productions were choreographed by David Nixon and again received their world premieres at Leeds Grand Theatre.

In 2012 the Company started producing ballet's created especially for young children. The first was Ugly Duckling[11] choreographed by Company dancers Dreda Blow and Sebastian Loe. The second, Three Little Pigs[12] choreographed by dancers Hannah Bateman and Victoria Sibson. The third, Elves & the Shoemaker[13] was choreographed by Northern Ballet Ballet Master Daniel de Andrade with an original score by composer Philip Feeney. The three ballets for children have been adapted by the BBC for CBeebies;[14][15][16] the adaptations kept the music and dance but also incorporated one of the channel's properties, Mr Bloom, into the production to make them more suitable for a television audience.

During 2013, most of the Channel 4 series Big Ballet was filmed at Northern Ballet.[17]

In 2015 Northern Ballet commissioned Barnsley-born choreographer Jonathan Watkins to create a ballet based on George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.[18] A recording of Nineteen Eighty-Four was commissioned by The Space and BBC.[19] It was broadcast on BBC Four on Sunday 28 February 2016.[20] In June 2016 1984 won the South Bank Sky Arts Award for Dance.[21]

In 2017 Northern Ballet produced three new full-length ballets, one based on the Casanova biography by Ian Kelly, the second based on The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne, and a third based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid.[22][23]

Rehearsal and performance facility

Northern Ballet headquarters, Quarry Hill, Leeds

In autumn 2010 the Northern Ballet moved to a new purpose-built dance and teaching facility in the Quarry Hill district of Leeds. Located in the center of the city adjacent to the Leeds College of Music the building is the largest dedicated space for dance outside London. The building was funded through a public / private partnership between Leeds City Council, a grant from Arts Council England and fundraising by the Northern Ballet.[24]

The building features seven dance studios including a 230 seat studio theatre. Six of the dance studios are installed with specialized harlequin floors. Shared with the contemporary dance company, Phoenix Dance Theatre it is the only facility for dance to house both a national classical and contemporary dance company alongside each another.[25]

Academy of Northern Ballet

Under the direction of ballet mistress Yoko Ichino the academy is housed within the company’s Leeds headquarters. The academy offers open classes, an associate program and selective advanced level training for students up to sixteen years of age.[26]

Artistic staff

Name	Role	Nationality
David Nixon OBE	Artistic Director	Canada
Daniel de Andrade	Artistic Associate & Artistic Director of Children's Ballets	Brazil
Yoko Ichino	Rehearsal Director	USA
Christelle Horner	Rehearsal Director	France
Kenneth Tindall	Artistic Director of Digital & Choreographer in Residence	UK
Hironao Takahashi	Assistant Rehearsal Director & Assistant Artistic Director of Children's Ballets	Japan

Northern Ballet staff[27]

Dancers

Name	Position	Nationality	Training	Other companies including guest performances
Antoinette Brooks-Daw	Premier Dancer	UK	The Trull School of Dancing in Taunton Royal Ballet School
Javier Torres	Premier Dancer	Cuba	Cuban National Ballet School	Cuban National Ballet
Hannah Bateman	Principal Soloist	UK	Susan Robinson School of Ballet Central School of Ballet	Israel Ballet
Ashley Dixon	Principal Soloist	UK	Central School of Ballet
Abigail Prudames	Principal Soloist	UK	Royal Ballet School Elmhurst Ballet School
Mlindi Kulashe	Leading Soloist	South Africa	Cape Town City Ballet Cape Junior Ballet School English National Ballet School	Cape Town City Ballet
Ayami Miyata	Leading Soloist	Japan	Jun Ballet Gakuen Académie Princesse Grace	Ballet Ireland Singapore Dance Theatre
Joseph Taylor	Leading Soloist	UK	Janice Sutton Theatre School Elmhurst Ballet School
Sean Bates	First Soloist	UK	Royal Ballet School
Sarah Chun	First Soloist	USA	Faubourg School of Ballet Joffrey Academy of Dance	Oklahoma City Ballet Kansas City Ballet
Nicola Gervasi	First Soloist	Italy	English National Ballet School	Peter Schaufuss Balletten
Rachael Gillespie	First Soloist	UK	Judith Hockaday School Central School of Ballet	Scottish Ballet Ballet Central
Minju Kang	First Soloist	South Korea	Korea National Institute for the Gifted in Arts The School of The Hamburg Ballet	Bundesjugendballett
Matthew Koon	First Soloist	UK	Academy of Northern Ballet English National Ballet School	Billy Elliot the Musical (title role)
Dominique Larose	First Soloist	USA	Ayako School of Ballet Tanz Akademie Zürich Academy of Northern Ballet
Kevin Poeung	First Soloist	France	English National Ballet School	English National Ballet
Jonathan Hanks	Soloist	UK	Royal Ballet School	Estonian National Ballet
Riku Ito	Soloist	Japan	Yumi Kitamori Ballet Studio The School of The Hamburg Ballet
Nina Queiroz da Silva	Soloist	Brazil	Stella Maris Academia de Danca Miami City Ballet School	Ballet Nacional del Sodre Miami City Ballet
Matthew Topliss	Soloist	UK	Academy of Northern Ballet Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
Filippo Di Vilio	Junior Soloist	Italy	Teatro alla Scala Ballet School English National Ballet School Academy of Northern Ballet
Lorenzo Trossello	Junior Soloist	Italy	Teatro alla Scala Ballet School Royal Ballet School
Miki Akuta	Coryphée	Japan	Kazuko Sugihara Ballet School Art Académie Princesse Grace
Gavin McCaig	Coryphée	UK	The Dance School of Scotland English National Ballet School	Scottish Ballet
Mariana Rodrigues	Coryphée	Portugal	Royal Ballet School
Ayça Anil	Dancer	Turkey	John Cranko School in Stuttgart Central School of Ballet	Istanbul State Opera Ballet Youth Company Ballet Central
Harris Beattie	Dancer	UK	Danscentre in Aberdeen Central School of Ballet	Ballet Central
Helen Bogatch	Dancer	Estonia	Tallinn Ballet School	Estonian National Ballet
Alessandra Bramante	Dancer	Italy	ASDC Dietro le Quinte in Catania Il Balletto di Castelfranco Veneto John Cranko School in Stuttgart
Wesley Branch	Dancer	UK	Tring Park School for the Performing Arts English National Ballet School
Abigail Cockrell	Dancer	USA	Pacific Northwest Ballet University of North Carolina School of the Arts	Sibiu Ballet Theater Bucharest National Opera
Ommaira Kanga Perez	Dancer	Spain	Dance Fortea Joffrey Academy of Dance Pablo Savoye Ballet School	Oklahoma City Ballet
Natalia Kerner	Dancer	Brazil	Ebateca School of Ballet Académie Princesse Grace	Norwegian National Ballet
Kyungka Kwak	Dancer	South Korea	Sunhwa Arts School Ewha Womans University	Universal Ballet Company
Heather Lehan	Dancer	Canada	Canada's National Ballet School
George Liang	Dancer	Taiwan	New Zealand School of Dance Canada's National Ballet School	The National Ballet of Canada
Harriet Marden	Dancer	UK	Central School of Ballet Academy of Northern Ballet
Matthew Morrell	Dancer	UK	Central School of Ballet Academy of Northern Ballet
Julie Nunès	Dancer	France	Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Danse de Marseille Central School of Ballet Academy of Northern Ballet
Andrew Tomlinson	Dancer	UK	Academy of Northern Ballet Canada's National Ballet School	National Ballet of Canada
Albert Gonzalez Orts	Apprentice	Spain	Estudio de Danza María Carbonell in Valencia École Atelier Rudra Béjart in Lausanne
Leandro Olcese	Apprentice	Brazil	Spazio Danza Cicagna in Italy English National Ballet School
Aurora Piccininni	Apprentice	Italy	Conservatory of Valencia

Source:[28]

References

1. "Northern Ballet appoints new Music Director". Retrieved 22 August 2019.
2. Walker, Kathrine Sorley. "Meyer, Laverne Ignatius Henry". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/100050. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
3. West Yorkshire Archive Service: WYAS2702 - Spring Hall, Skircoat, building plan (WYC:1260), WYC:1260 Archived 27 April 2014 at Archive.today Potted history of Spring Hall from 1871. Retrieved 27 April 2014
4. "Name change" (PDF). Northern Ballet. 6 September 2010. Retrieved 7 September 2010.
5. Dougill, David (2 January 2011). "Best new dance of 2011". Sunday Times. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
6. "This week's new theatre and dance". The Guardian. 17 December 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
7. "The best dance for autumn 2012". The Guardian. 2 September 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
8. Levene, Louise (14 September 2012). "Ondine, Northern Ballet, at West Yorkshire Playhouse – Seven magazine review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
9. "Northern Ballet: The Great Gatsby – review". The Guardian. 6 March 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
10. "From splits to stilts: Dancers learn circus skills". BBC. 25 December 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
11. "Northern Ballet's Ugly Duckling takes to the road". Ballet News. 9 February 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
12. "Theatre review: Three Little Pigs: A Ballet for Children, Northern Ballet". Yorkshire Evening Post. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
13. "Northern Ballet announces enchanting new ballet for children". Ballet News. 16 April 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
14. "Northern Ballet produces first performance for children". BBC. 21 February 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
15. "BBC promises 'strongest commitment to the arts in a generation'". The Guardian. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
16. "CBeebies Elves and the Shoemaker". BBC. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
17. "Big Ballet at Northern Ballet". Retrieved 28 December 2017.
18. "George Orwell's 1984 is not 'too dark' to be made into a ballet". 28 August 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
19. "1984 on BBC Four". Retrieved 28 December 2017.
20. "Northern Ballet: 1984 - BBC Four". BBC. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
21. Plunkett, John (6 June 2016). "Doctor Foster and Catastrophe win at South Bank Sky Arts awards". Retrieved 28 December 2017 – via www.theguardian.com.
22. "New works for Northern Ballet - Dancing Times". 19 September 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2017.
23. "Ballet News September 2016". Retrieved 28 December 2017.
24. "Building Completion". Northern Ballet. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
25. "Building Momentum". Building Momentum. Retrieved 26 March 2010.
26. Winter, Anna (10 February 2017). "Northern Ballet, the lean company that takes the road less travelled". The Stage. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
27. "Northern Ballet staff". Retrieved 13 December 2018.
28. "Northern Ballet dancers". Retrieved 22 August 2019.

External links

• Official website