Ballet gets Beastly this Christmas
By Terry Grimley, Birmingham Post


Birmingham Royal Ballet will break with a 13-year tradition by resting its popular Christmas production, The Nutcracker, this year.

A lavish new version of Beauty and the Beast, choreographed by company director David Bintley, will take over the pre-Christmas slot at the Birmingham Hippodrome for one year while Sir Peter Wright’s acclaimed production takes a rest before a promised return for Christmas 2004.

Yesterday, it was also announced that Prince Charles has agreed to become president of the company. He succeeds Princess Margaret.

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Here is the BRB Press release:

Birmingham Royal Ballet Overview 2003-4

Following the closure and subsequent re-opening of the Hippodrome Theatre, Birmingham Royal Ballet has aimed to consolidate its financial position and to clear its operating deficit gained during the closure period. At the end of the 2002/2003 financial year, the Company aims to have more than halved this deficit and is currently performing over target on its three-year recovery plan. Whilst this prudent management has been enormously successful, the creative aspirations of the Company have been affected. Although BRB remains committed to its financial recovery and long-term security, the 2003/04 season will see major new works, collaborative projects and the further development of the choreographic talent within the Company.

BRB’s subscription season, details of which are unveiled today, aims to present a full balance of both new and heritage works alongside full-length popular classics and a major new seasonal ballet, Beauty and the Beast, to be premiered in December 2003. This new work by David Bintley with a commissioned score by Canadian Glenn Buhr and designs by Philip Prowse has been made possible by the continued financial support from the Company’s principal sponsor, Powergen UK plc.

West Midlands based, international choreographer and Kathak dancer Nahid Sidiqui is currently working with the Company on a unique collaboration entitled Krishna. The work, to be premiered in September 2003, will be sponsored by Carlton and will form part of a mixed programme of ballet to include George Balanchine’s Apollo, sponsored by American Airlines and David Bintley’s The Sons of Horus.

BRB’s subscription packages offer a blanket 25% discount on all tickets purchased and, as with all tickets for BRB performances at the Hippodrome, are sold without the 5% booking fee charged by the Theatre. This year BRB has maintained its ticket prices from November 2001 and will aim to ensure that low-cost ways of attending the Company’s performances are introduced wherever possible.

In 2003 the Company will, alongside the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD), co-present one of the foremost international dance competitions, the Adeline Genée Awards. Held last year at the Sydney Opera House, the competition will have two days of semi-finals, which will be open to the public culminating in a live final to be held on Sunday 28 September at which BRB will perform. In addition to the competition, the Royal Academy of Dance has chosen Birmingham to host its international conference, which will be hosted by BRB over the weekend of 26-28 September 2003.

Alongside its usual performance schedule the Company will, in March 2004, present a unique, one-off gala performance entitled Sir Fred and Mr B. The evening, a fundraiser for the future development of the Company, will pay tribute to the works and lives of Sir Fredrick Ashton and George Balanchine, both of whom would have celebrated their centenary year in 2004.

BRB is currently negotiating a series of performances in the USA, which will again pay tribute to Ashton and Balanchine. The Company is also in talks aimed at presenting a series of performances in China during May 2004.

Off-stage, the Company has maintained its commitment to staff development and has implemented a new contract for all dancers. This new agreement, replacing an agreement inherited from the Royal Opera House, creates a more sensible and safe working pattern and allows more flexibility for performances other than those presented on the main stage.

BRB continues to develop its policies towards health and safety and ensures that the Company’s current employment practices take into account new legislation.

<small>[ 11 February 2004, 03:20 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

BRB’s REPERTORY FOR 2003/04

The Immortals

This triple bill contains two Company premieres and a world premiere of a ballet that fuses Eastern and Western dance styles.

Apollo

Music: Igor Stravinsky
Choreography: George Balanchine
Staged by: Richard Tanner
Lighting: Peter Teigen

George Balanchine’s exquisite and timeless masterpiece, Apollo is seen as a key work of the 20th century. The story of Apollo’s birth and his gifts of dance, song and poetry from the muses Terpsichore, Polyhymnia and Calliope are powerfully displayed through Balanchine’s distinctive style and Stravinsky’s magnificent score.

The Sons of Horus

Music: Peter McGowan
Choreography: David Bintley
Designs: Terry Bartlett
Lighting: Peter Teigen after the original designs

The Sons of Horus was created following David Bintley’s interest in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs concerning death and what happens to the body after death. To prevent the body from decay, the lungs, liver, stomach and intestines were removed and then preserved in four stone jars. The jars were carved to look like the four Sons of Horus - the human-headed Imsety, the jackal-headed Duamutef, the falcon-headed Qebhsnuf and the ape-headed Hapi. These were Gods whom the Egyptians believed possessed special powers to protect the organs during the separation from the body.

Krishna

Music: Hariprasad Chaurasia
Choreography: Nahid Siddiqui
Designs: Kate Ford
Lighting: Peter Teigen

Krishna is a unique collaboration between Birmingham Royal Ballet and leading Kathak dancer and choreographer Nahid Siddiqui. Through a dynamic fusion of East and Western styles, the life of the Hindu god is retold.

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Giselle

Music: Adolphe Adam
Choreography: Marius Petipa after Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot
Production: David Bintley and Galina Samsova
Designs: Hayden Griffin
Lighting: Mark Jonathan
Sponsored (1999) by Powergen UK plc

The doomed story of a love affair between a young peasant girl and a nobleman and his subsequent betrayal of her, is seen to be the epitome of romantic classical ballet. Giselle is unaware that the man she loves, Albrecht, who has been masquerading as a peasant, is secretly engaged to a Baroness. When Albrecht’s true identity is revealed Giselle is distraught and kills herself. She is then transported to an eerie forest where would-be brides and other tortured souls are destined to remain. When Albrecht is lost in the forest, the spirit of Giselle must save the life of her unworthy lover or condemn him to a violent death.

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Beauty and the Beast

Music: Glenn Burr
Choreography: David Bintley
Designs: Philip Prowse
Lighting: Mark Jonathan
Sponsored (2003) by Powergen UK plc

A bewitching tale and an exciting new Christmas family treat from BRB.
An impoverished merchant travelling wearily home stumbles on a sumptuous but deserted castle and takes refuge from the storm. He rests and is tended by invisible forces. But when he repays this kindness by stealing a single rose, a fearsome Beast appears and exacts a terrifying forfeit.

BRB’s Director David Bintley is creating this spectacular ballet working with Philip Prowse, who has designed the Company’s productions of The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake and with Canadian composer Glenn Buhr, whose appealing music is influenced by the classical tradition, jazz, Broadway, and music of the Near East and India. This Birmingham season will include the ballet’s world-premiere performance.

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Swan Lake

Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Choreography: Lev Ivanov, Marius Petipa, Peter Wright
Production: Peter Wright and Galina Samsova
Designs: Philip Prowse
Lighting: Peter Teigen
Sponsored (1981) by the Royal Opera House Trust

Sir Peter Wright and Galina Samsova’s majestic production of Swan Lake tells the story of the young Prince Siegfried and his doomed love for the enchanted swan princess, Odette.

Accompanied by one of the loveliest Tchaikovsky scores, the ballet has the power to transport one through an enchanted landscape, to a moonlit lake where, every night, a magical transformation takes place. This production of the much-loved classic, with sumptuous designs by Philip Prowse, was first performed by Birmingham Royal Ballet in 1981 and has since successfully toured throughout the UK and overseas.

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Creative Partnerships Project - 10 March 2004

Presented on the main stage of the Hippodrome Theatre, Telling Tales will be the culmination of an 18-month project working with a group of schools within the Birmingham area as part of the national Creative Partnerships programme. Concentrating on the theme of journeys, Telling Tales will give a moving and entertaining insight into the personal journeys undertaken by the participants.

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Fundraising Gala - Sir Fred and Mr B. - 11 March 2004
A unique gala evening of dance and entertainment celebrating the centenaries of Sir Frederick Ashton and George Balanchine. Featuring BRB Company members, international guest artists and a few surprises, the evening will raise funds for the future development of Birmingham Royal Ballet. An evening that promises to be one of the highlights of the dance calendar.

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La Fille mal gardée

Music: Ferdinand Hérold (arranged by John Lanchbery)
Choreography: Frederick Ashton
Scenario: Jean Dauberval
Designs: Osbert Lancaster
Lighting: Peter Teigen, after the original design

To celebrate his centenary year BRB performs Ashton’s captivating romantic comedy blending a wicked sense of fun with heart-warming romance and spellbinding classical dance. This extremely popular ballet tells the story of two young lovers - Lise and Colas. Ashton’s humorous choreography includes clog-dancing, morris and maypole dancing

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Two Pigeons

Music: André Messager
Choreography: Frederick Ashton
Designs: Jacques Dupont
Lighting: Mark Jonathan

The Two Pigeons is romantic ballet at its most charming. Based on La Fontaine's delightful fable, The Two Pigeons tells the tale of young love tempted to stray, homecoming and forgiveness. The two lovers are eventually reunited in scenes of delightful theatricality.

Dante Sonata

Music: Franz Liszt, arranged by Constant Lambert
Choreography: Frederick Ashton
Staged by: Jean Bedells and Pauline Clayden
Designs: Sophie Fedorovitch
Lighting: Mark Jonathan

First restaged for BRB in 2000, this powerfully dramatic work has won a place in the Company’s repertory. First presented in 1940 with Margot Fonteyn and Robert Helpmann among the principal dancers, the ballet depicts an embattled conflict between the forces of good and the forces of evil.

In presenting these two Ashton ballets David Bintley, Director of BRB upholds his commitment to continue to perform works from England's great ballet heritage.

<small>[ 09 May 2003, 09:45 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

It's ballet nonsense! Feb 6 2004
By Neil Elkes, Evening Mail


Council taxpayers are being short changed over a £1 million subsidy given to the Birmingham Royal Ballet, it was claimed today.

The allegation was made by Coun Nigel Dawkins who said the ballet company spent most of the year on tour, taking its highly acclaimed performances to other cities and countries.

He said this spring, audiences in Bradford, Manchester, Plymouth and Sunderland will have as much opportunity to see the BRB as city theatre-goers.

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