Bulletinpointe.

Exclusive interview with Choreographer Patrick de Bana

iamdollywilliams — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:14:11 +0000

In July and August two very special productions will be performed at the London Coliseum: Cléopâtre – Ida Rubinstein from Les Saisons Russes du XX1e Siecle and Jane Eyre from Shanghai Ballet Company. Both productions have been choreographed by German born choreographer, Patrick de Bana and I recently got to chat with him about his forthcoming work.

Patrick de Bana

Through a surprisingly clear phone line I managed to interview Patrick whilst he is working on a production in Russia. What struck me first and throughout the interview is how lovely Patrick seemed, he was so happy to discuss his work and it was evident within minutes of the conversation how much he loves choreographing.

I wanted to found out a bit about the productions and what we should expect from them. Patrick explained that Cléopâtre – Ida Rubinstein and Jane Eyre are very different. Cléopâtre – Ida Rubinstein is a tribute to the enigmatic actress/dancer Ida Rubinstein (1885-1960) and star of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. Patrick described the production as a ‘patchwork of dancers, combining them together to have everything’. He went on to describe his admiration for Ida Rubinstein, ‘She is a wonderful dancer and actor’. He continued to explain that he likes to learn from experience as a choreographer, to be connected to life and to find somebody that is not acting but being the role was special. He described Ida Rubinstein’s performance as ‘like a movie’ and this was his aim for the ballet.

Patrick de Bana’s Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre on the other hand, Patrick explained, is an English novel that he fell in love with when he watched the movie only weeks before being approached to produce it with the Shanghai Ballet Company. Patrick has adapted Brontë’s famous novel to put the character of Bertha Mason, Edward Rochester’s ‘mad’ wife, as more of a focus in the ballet. Patrick stated that without her it would be just another love story and she is the catalyst for this famous plot. He suggested that the character is a caged animal that is pivotal to the drama and he wanted his ballet to show this.

When chatting to Patrick I wanted to find out what made him tick as a choreographer and straight away this was very clear. I asked him what his biggest challenge was when choreographing, to which he answered ‘Trying to do my best, I am person that puts 100% concentration into a production’ and that ‘trying to live in the moment’ was his greatly aim in life.

I asked him what he loved most of his work and it was to be a contemporary storyteller. Patrick discussed his love for history, which is what drew him to such classical stories, and that from his training as a dancer he had learnt about Ballet Russes and its history and so was thrilled to be able to work with such classical dancers and such great stories. He compared the Russian ballerinas of the past to the supermodels of today.

When I asked how Patrick transitioned from dancer to choreographer, he laughed and told me that he

Lize Lipa as Cleopatre/Ida Rubinstein

decided years ago that when he quit dancing he wanted to become a dog breeder as he loves dogs and thought it would be a nice change but that a friend got him to attend a workshop and he intensely fell in love with choreographing so this is what he wants now.

To sum up, I asked Patrick what the audience should expect from both productions to which he simply responded ‘quality and emotions’. We spoke a little further and he went on to state that the audience will find ‘people doing what they love to do’.

After speaking with him, you can’t help but get excited to see the productions, I think they will be a real treat with classical stories told beautifully and intertwined with the history of the ballet.

Cléopâtre – Ida Rubinstein from Les Saisons Russes du XX1e Siecle returns to the LONDON COLISEUM – July 16^TH-20^TH 2013

Listings information:

London Coliseum, St Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4ES

Dates: July 16^th-19^th at 7.30pm, July 17^th at 2.00pm; July 20^th at 2.30pm and 7.30pm

Tickets: www.eno.org or 020 7845 9300

Ticket prices: Stalls £75 Premium, £65; Dress Circle £75, £60, £50; Upper Circle £40, £30; Balcony £20, £15; Special Matinee All Seats £22.50

SHANGHAI BALLET COMPANY perform the UK debut of Jane Eyre at the London Coliseum August

Listings Information:
London Coliseum, St Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4ES

Dates: August 14^th – 18^th

Tickets: on sale now: 020 7836 0111 or www.eno.org £15-£65

Performance times:7.30pm; matinee 2.30pm Saturday August 17^th

Filed under: Dance, Press Release Tagged: Ballet, Ballet Russes, Bulletin Pointe, BulletinPointe, Choreographer, cleoptare, Coliseum Theatre, Dance, exclusive, german, history, iamdollywilliams, Ida Rubinstein, interview, Jane Eyre, Les Saisons Russes du XX1e Siecle, London, london coliseum, Patrick de bana, pointe, Sergei Diaghilev, Shanghai Ballet Company, storytelling

Reflections – short ballet film

iamdollywilliams — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 08:52:27 +0000

A short but powerful video for today:

Found on Vimeo, here is the information supplied:

A short Film about what you see when you look at your own reflection, in this instance professional Ballerina.

“The only real conflict you will ever have in your life won’t be with others but with yourself.”

Producer & Director: James Dyer

Director Of Photography: Joe Dyer

Actress: Amber Doyle

Make Up Designer: Candy Alderson

Editor: Jarrad Templeton

Colourist: Marty McMullan at Rushes

Composer & Sound Design: Teitur Arnason

Filed under: Dance, Video Tagged: Amber Doyle, Arts, Arts and Entertainment, Ballerina, Ballet, barre, Bulletin Pointe, BulletinPointe, Candy Alderson, Dance, iamdollywilliams, James Dyer, Jarrad Templeton, Joe Dyer, Marty McMullan, mirror, pointe, reflection, Short film, Teitur Arnason, Vimeo

Tamara Rojo – Changing Perceptions

iamdollywilliams — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 08:34:31 +0000

Wow Bulletin Pointe has been very quiet over the past month due to my dissertation. Now that that is handed in, all systems are go! The paper was on marketing strategy in the ballet industry and a summary will be posted soon

Now back to ballet, this morning I stumbled upon a recent BBC news clip with Tamara Rojo chatting about how she is trying to change the perception of ballet to be edgier and up to date. It’s a great clip so thought I would share a link, enjoy:

http://bbc.in/103mjB3

Filed under: Dance, Video Tagged: agony and ecstasy, Arts, Ballerina, Ballet, BBC News, Bulletin Pointe, BulletinPointe, changing perceptions, Dance, English National Ballet, iamdollywilliams, Le jeune homme et la mort, london coliseum, Performing Arts, pointe, principal ballerina, Tamara Rojo, video

The National Ballet of Canada – Romeo and Juliet

iamdollywilliams — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 16:48:09 +0000

The National Ballet of Canada
Romeo and Juliet
UK PREMIERE
Wednesday 17 – Sunday 21 April
Tickets: £12 – £45
Ticket Office: 0844 412 4300 or www.sadlerswells.com

“Whether it’s a ravishing romantic pas de deux full of soaring lifts or a geometrically complex ensemble number in brilliantly resolving patterns, Ratmansky’s Romeo and Juliet is a choreographic delight” The Toronto Star

“Romeo and Juliet is a must-see. Ratmansky’s greatness lies in his ability to mirror music in dance. The emotional arc of the characters is cunningly shown in movement. In fact, the music and the dance seem inseparable.” The Globe and Mail

Canada’s premier dance company The National Ballet of Canada makes its first London appearance in 26 years presenting the European premiere of its new production of Romeo and Juliet, which was created in 2011 to mark the company’s 60th

Choreographed by former Bolshoi Ballet director and current Artist in Residence at American Ballet Theatre Alexei Ratmansky and set to Sergei Prokofiev’s famous score inspired by Shakespeare’s timeless love story, the production features Renaissance-inspired sets and costumes by Tony Award-winning designer Richard Hudson and lighting design by Jennifer Tipton. Ratmansky is one of today’s most in-demand choreographers, celebrated for his inventive and complex choreography and his distinguished contribution to the classical ballet repertoire.

The National Ballet of Canada ranks among the world’s top ballet companies. Under the artistic direction of Karen Kain the company, which boasts 71 dancers as well as its own orchestra, has developed a unique repertoire which it has toured to stages all over the world. “Romeo and Juliet, which was created specifically for the company, is the ideal work to showcase The National Ballet of Canada’s diversity and its talented dancers to an audience who hasn’t seen the company perform in almost three decades,” says Kain.

Co-presenting sponsors: Thomson Reuters and RBC Wealth Management

Official Airline: Air Canada

Filed under: Dance, Press Release Tagged: Air Canada, Alexei Ratmansky, American Ballet Theatre, Ballerina, Ballet, Bulletin Pointe, BulletinPointe, Dance, iamdollywilliams, Juliet, Karen Kain, London, Narrative Dance, National Ballet of Canada, pas de deux, Richard Hudson, romantic, Romeo, romeo and juliet, Romeos & Juliets, sadler's wells, shakespeare, UK premiere

Interview with Awareness Through Dance

iamdollywilliams — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 15:50:28 +0000

After recently meeting at the MOVE IT show in London, I had a quick Skype interview with Megan Preston, Founder and Director of Awareness Through Dance – a not for profit organisation specialising in dance career development and providing dancers with international opportunities to work with charities to raise awareness through dance.

The interview was to learn about the company and how dancers could get involved. Here is what Megan had to say…

Can you tell me your role within the company and what you do?

Well, I run the company. I started it on 21st of March, so it is one year old next week. I started it because I felt there was a need for more help for dancers. Once you have graduated college there is no union, no trusted community. There is community in the sense that you are at class with each other but actually in regards to helping each other out with understanding how to write an appropriate CV , how to market yourself properly, or helping with connections, there is not really much there. There is definitely a gap in the market in terms of providing assistance to dancers in a young profession. Really by the time you are 30 your dance career is coming to an end, people tend to leave school early and they haven’t had the academic education that a lot of people have had. Dancers also have to deal with a lot of judgement, rejection and criticism, which leads to dealing with self-belief and confidence issues, which I am also really interested in. On the flip side of that I have been very lucky to have travelled throughout my childhood and been involved with charity work. I believe I have learnt a lot about myself and myself in context with the world by doing that. I think it gives you a sense of understanding about who you are by being able to place yourself in the world. Dancers don’t often get a chance to travel to those places, because it costs time and money so I wanted to be able to provide those opportunities to dancers. I think dance has a lot to offer through creativity, we can inspire a lot of people and provoke emotions not many other mediums can, dance and dancers can raise awareness of many causes and global issues. So there are the two parallel initiatives of the company the charity side and the career development side.

Can you describe some of the projects that have happened and are coming up?

Last year we did lots, one of the first big events that we did was a networking event. We held it in a nightclub before it opened and we had topic tables, each area of the had a label with a different topic. It was kind of like a speed dating thing where people had to rotate and had to discuss whatever the topic was at that area. We tried to get as many dancers as possible from young dancers to more experienced ones so that people could ask and get a knowledgeable response.

Another event we did was a career development seminar. We held a mock audition where two top choreographers came in and instead every person that took part had working professional dancers watching and writing notes on them specifically. We also had Dance Cast, which is an online casting site, come in and talk about the best ways to market yourself and the best ways to come across well as a performer.

On the charity side, we partnered with Movement for Hope and performed at the Bloomsbury theatre in aid of raising awareness for neurological conditions. The whole evening was a public engagement evening encouraging general public to listen to scientists speak of research and causes of various conditions, intertwined with dance to make it an all inclusive evening. That was a really experimental event but it worked.

If someone was interested in the career services or being involved, what is the best route for them?

We have the volunteer dance books on the website and we are constantly getting in touch with charities to tell them what we are doing and asking if they could use dance to spread awareness of their cause. We did an event with a homeless charity at Christmas; we went into a homeless shelter and did performances there. Obviously we don’t have a huge amount of events coming in all the time to suit everyone that is on the books but I would also say just to get involved with anything that we are doing, if we hold an event, come along and say hi, the more we know you as a person the more likely we are to get you involved. We hold dance events all the time so becoming part of the community is the best way to do it.

And in terms with the career development?

We do coaching which you can sign up for on the website, I am a qualified coach as are two other coaches that I have brought on board. The past year we have coached 26 dancers. Also there is the seminars and collective forums which are group sessions for dancers.

So when you say coaching?

Coaching uses confidence building techniques to address self-belief issues, it looks at your sense of value and your underlying beliefs helping you to overcome the things you think you can’t do. The collectives are group sessions that we hold once a month which is a facilitated discussion, it is a little bit less formal than one on one coaching. It’s a mixture of dancers from all ages and genres and they talk about what happened last month and what they are excited for next month and share concerns and experiences to help each other out.

How to do see the company going forward?

My big dream is that it is a global network for dancers to be a member of. So for example if I was a dancer going over to L.A. for two months I would know that if I went to the Awareness Through Dance building I could have access to all the services that they offer. I want it to hold regular events , seminars and workshops covering a whole load of things in different dance cities and you can pop in. I don’t see it being a union, just somewhere where dancers feel safe and they can get trusted advice and guidance. We would then do the international charity projects within that.

I know that you are doing an international project in Kilimanjaro; can you explain that a little more?

Rhe Leap to the Peak project is our biggest project at the moment. There are 15 of us and we are going in June,to Nairobi for 4 days first. In Nairobi we are visiting two clinics and donating medical supplies and medical advice with Movement for Hope, which is the neurological charity; epilepsy is a big issue in Kenya. The next day we go a high school and do dance workshops with the kids there and they are going to teach us their styles of dance, that is going to be fun. My friend owns an orphanage out there so the evening of the second day we are visiting an orphanage and the kids are going to give us a performance and we are going to donate costumes to their arts development projects. The next day we partner with professional dancers in Nairobi and we spend the day working with them and sharing dance styles to create a piece that we will perform in the evening to the public. It’s kind of a big dance 4 days in Nairobi. The next day we wake up and travel to Kilimanjaro and we climb Kilimanjaro!

It will be amazing, the trek will take 8 days and that is in aid of Giving Africa. We are helping to raise funds for a school in Burkina Faso, one of the worlds poorest countries. We have been fundraising for the last 6 months and have raised about £15,000 so far but with a lot more to go in the next 6 months.

A question for the company as a whole, does it matter what style of dancer you are?

No, one of my strongest feelings is that whether you are commercial, contemporary, ballet or musical theatre, we are all dancers. I want to bring the sense of being a dancer or a dance lover together. The career services are for professional dancers but the volunteer dance services are for all people that aren’t necessarily dancers but who just enjoy dance.

Last question, what is the best advice you have for aspiring dancers?

Firstly get your training in, go to class all the time and go to different styles, don’t just focus on what you think you are good at. Go to ballet even if you don’t like ballet, it has a great underlying technique.

Secondly, don’t be afraid to ask questions, I like dancers who aren’t scared of being vulnerable, being vulnerable is one of the best ways of learning something about yourself. Ask ask ask! Speaking in this industry it just as important as dancing - you need to know the right people!

I was really inspired by what Megan said and feel this is a company doing great work. I just want to thank Megan for her time and for sharing her information.

If you would like to find out more about the possible career development with Awareness Through Dance or to register for the Volunteer Dance Books, check out the website at: http://www.awarenessthroughdance.org/

In the words of Awareness Through Dance: ‘Dont just dance…Move the world’

Filed under: Dance, Press Release Tagged: Art, Arts and Entertainment, Awareness through dance, Bloomsbury Theatre, Bulletin Pointe, BulletinPointe, career development, Charity, Companies, Dance, dance charity, dance development, dance news, dancers, Exclusive interview, iamdollywilliams, interview, Kilimanjaro, Leap to the Peak, Megan Preston, Modern, movement for hope, Nairobi, networking, neurological, Performing Arts, raise awareness, skype

Congratulations Scottish Ballet!

iamdollywilliams — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 16:43:31 +0000

A massive congratulations to Scottish Ballet for winning a South Bank Sky Arts award for their production of A Streetcar Named Desire.

The Awards were presented on 12 March at a special ceremony held at The Dorchester hotel in London. The Awards were televised and will next be shown on Sky Arts 1 HD on Sunday 17 March at 6pm.

Full information on the award winners and nominees can be found here: http://skyarts.sky.com/south-bank-sky-arts-awards/2013-winners-gallery.

The awards were attended by A Streetcar Named Desire Choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Director Nancy Meckler,Scottish Ballet dancers Eve Mutso and Tama Barry who performed the roles of Blanche and Stanley respectively and the company’s Artistic Director Christopher Hampson.

This is the second award A Streetcar Named Desire has won this year, following a win in the category of Best Choreography (Classical) at the National Dance Awards.

Here are some of the production images:

And the trailer:

Filed under: Dance, Press Release Tagged: Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Arts, Ballerina, Ballet, Bulletin Pointe, BulletinPointe, Christopher Hampson, Dance, Dorchester, Eve Mutso, iamdollywilliams, London, Nancy Meckler, national dance awards, Pointe shoes, SCOTTISH BALLET, Sky Arts, sky arts award 2013, Streetcar Named Desire, Tama Barry

MOVE IT dance show 2013

iamdollywilliams — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:37:50 +0000

Last weekend was the MOVE IT dance show of 2013. As a MOVE IT ambassador, I went along on Saturday to have a peek at what was happening.

I really enjoyed chatting to everyone and seeing what all the companies are currently doing. I got to chat to companies such as Dance UK, Equity UK, British Ballet Organisation, Awareness through dance, Dance Aid, Consider This Marketing, Dance Direct, Royal Academy of Dance and so many more. Professionals such as Tommy Franzen and Darcey Bussell came along to share their expertise. I even bumped into uni friends who were performing on the main stage:

If you are an aspiring dancer or even just a dance fan, this is a great event to attend each year.

More info about MOVE IT 2013 can be found on their website: http://www.moveitdance.co.uk/

Filed under: Dance, Video Tagged: Ballerina, Ballet, Bloch, British ballet organisation, Bulletin Pointe, BulletinPointe, Capezio, Choreography, contemporary dance, Dance, Dance Direct, Dance UK, dancer, Danseur, Darcey Bussell, hip hop, iamdollywilliams, Inside Dance TV, Kensington, LIPA, London, MOVE IT, MOVE IT 2013, MOVE IT dance, Olympia, perform it, Performing Arts, Pointe shoes, Royal Academy of Dance, The dance register, Tommy Franzen

Ballet Boyz – the Talent 2013 – My review

iamdollywilliams — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 23:30:45 +0000

10 male dancers + 2 great choreographers = a great night and the Ballet Boyz new tour of the Talent 2013.

On Friday (8 March) Ballet Boyz opened their run at Sadler’s Wells, London. I went along to take two of my firsts… My first visit to Sadler’s Wells main auditorium and my first live Ballet Boyz show.

The auditorium itself was not what I expected it to be, it was far more industrial and modern than I had anticipated but having watched the show it was perfect venue. The Talent 2013 consisted of two pieces, one from choreographer Liam Scarlett entitled Serpent and the other from Russell Maliphant entitled Fallen. Both pieces started with an introductory film, giving the audience a nice behind-the-scenes clip to set the scene, which I thought was a nice idea.

The first piece by Liam Scarlett, a young choreographer of only 26, presented a beautiful piece with flowing movement and dynamic partnerships. The choreography had wonderful formations and I loved the synchronised pairings. At one point the dancers lined up facing the back leaning against each other and interlocking only slightly, this was beautiful and a striking vision on stage.

The stage was bare and the boys were dressed in simple nude colour tights, this allowed the movement and fluidity of the piece to shine. The music, by Max Richter, was edgy and developed the tension well. The most striking thing for me was the changes in this piece. With the superb lighting from Michael Hulls and the effortless flow of movement when the dancers moved on and off stage, it proved to be a stunning masculine piece that I thoroughly enjoyed.

After the interval it was Fallen by Russell Maliphant. This piece was very much in contrast to the first with a much darker feel. The dancers were dressed in khaki/ denim clothes and performed quite tribe inspired movement and circling patterns. What stood out for me in this piece was the lifts and use of levels. The lifts were air defying and strong, the piece definitely had a military feel and very much felt like a rhythmical interrogation in a prison cell. The momentum built throughout the piece and was accompanied well with the music by Armand Amar and the lighting from Michael Hulls.

Both pieces were performed with very strong technique and the passion from the dancers was clear. I have to

BalletBoyz rehearsing Russell Maliphant’s piece for The Talent 2013 tour

admit this show has made me fall in love with Ballet Boyz and I am eager to see what they bring next. I am also interested to see what both choreographers next bring to the stage, especially Liam Scarlett, I believe we are watching a great choreographer in the making. In all, this was a truly stunning show, with some of the best choreography and technique that I have seen, it most definitely gets a 5 out of 5 from me.

After the run at Sadler’s Wells, the company will continue the tour around the UK, so if you can I highly recommend seeing this. More information can be found at: http://www.balletboyz.com/

Filed under: Dance Tagged: 2013, Adam Kirkham, Andrea Carrucciu, Armand Amar, awesome, Ballet, Ballet Boyz, Bulletin Pointe, BulletinPointe, Choreographer, Choreography, Dance, dancer, Danseur, Edward Pearce, Fallen, Flavien Esmieu, Friday, iamdollywilliams, industrial, Jordan K Olpherts, Leon Poulton, Liam Scarlett, London, Martyn Garside, Matthew Rees, Matthew Sandiford, Max Richter, Michael Nunn, Royal Ballet, Russell maliphant, Sadler's Wells Theatre, Serpent, Taylor Benjamin, the talent, Theatre, William Trevitt

Its arrived!! Northern Ballet’s The Great Gatsby

iamdollywilliams — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 01:09:05 +0000

Its here! its here!!!!

WOW WOW WOW and another one WOW!!

So happy to see this after working on some of the prep. The trailer looks incredible and I am very biased but I don’t care.

The Great Gatsby will premiere at Leeds Grand Theatre this Saturday.

After a week’s run in Leeds The Great Gatsby will head out on a UK tour. I can safely say the costumes and set for this production are exquisite and this is set to be one of Northern Ballet’s major triumphants.

Go go go! Here is a link: http://bit.ly/ZJVp7y

Filed under: Dance, touring Tagged: Ballerina, Ballet, Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin, Dance, F. Scott Fitzgerald, fashion, Gatsby, Great Gatsby, Leeds Grand Theatre, Leonardo DiCaprio, matha Leebolt, Miuccia Prada, Narrative Dance, Northern Ballet, pointe, pointe work, Prada, Toby Batley, tour, trailer, UK

On tour with the Trocks – Part 2

iamdollywilliams — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 22:40:03 +0000

Here is the second part of my tour diary: http://bit.ly/YeOsGP

I seriously had a great time and thank all the people I got to meet! Graduation needs to hurry up so I can go back out there!

Filed under: Dance, touring Tagged: Alhambra, awesome, Ballerina, Ballet, Bradford, Bulletin Pointe, BulletinPointe, Camera, Dance, dance consortium, dancer, Heather Knight, iamdollywilliams, Ian the Trock, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, LIPA, Liverpool, Performing Arts, pointe, Pointe shoes, The Trocks, Theatre, tour