news
January 23 2012
Critics' Circle National Dance Awards 2011
The 12th National Dance Awards winners were announced at The Place, London on the 23rd of January 2012. Winners from The Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet were:
Best Classical Choreography (sponsored by The Ballet Association)
David Bintley for Cinderella by Birmingham Royal Ballet
The Dancing Times Award for Best Male Dancer
Steven McRae / The Royal Ballet
Outstanding Male Performance (Classical)
Gary Avis / The Royal Ballet
Gary Avis and Steven McRae with their awards. Photo ©Dave Morgan
The full list of winners is on the Critics' Circle website.
More photos by Dave Morgan on the Balletco website.
January 14 2012
Royal Ballet 2011/2012 Period 4 casting†
(m = matinée)
Ballo della regina / La Sylphide May 21 - Jun 15
Ballo della regina
Nuñez, tba (May 21, 24, 26; June 12)
Cuthbertson, Bonelli (May 22, 26m; June 7, 15)
La Sylphide
Cojocaru, McRae (May 21)
Marquez, McRae (May 24, 26)
Rojo, Pennefather (May 22, 26m)
Lamb, tba (June 7, 15)
Cojocaru, Kobborg (June 12)
Bournonville's La Sylphide: Sorella Englund as Madge with members of the Royal Ballet. Photo Johan Persson ©ROH/Johan Persson 2005
The Prince of the Pagodas June 2-29
Nuñez*, Rojo*, Kish* (June 2, 6, 18)
Cuthbertson*, Yanowsky*, Pennefather* (June 9, 21, 27)
Lamb*, Morera*, Bonelli* (June 13, 29)
Birthday Offering / A Month in the Country / Les Noces June 30 - July 9
Birthday Offering
Rojo*, Bonelli* (June 30; July 4, 7)
Nuñez*, Soares (July 3, 6)
A Month in the Country
Yanowsky, Pennefather (June 30; July 4, 7)
Cojocaru*, tba (July 3, 6)
Les Noces
Arestis, Hirano* (June 30; July 4, 7)
McNally*, Hristov (July 3, 6)
Titian 2012 July 14-20
(casting to be announced)
†all casting is subject to change so please check on the Royal Opera House website
*denotes a debut in the role
October 24 2011
Deborah Bull – her dancing life
Two videos in which ex-Royal Ballet Principal Dancer Deborah Bull talks about her life
in dance and introduces her book The Everyday Dancer (with a little help from Christina Arestis and Edward Watson).
October 13 2011
Royal Ballet 2011/2012 Period 3 casting†
(m = matinée)
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland March 17 – April 16
Cuthbertson, Bonelli (Mar 17, 26; Apr 13, 16)
Lamb, McRae (Mar 19, 27; Apr 9m)
Nuñez, Pennefather (Mar 24m, 29; Apr 3)
NEW Scarlett / Polyphonia / NEW McGregor April 5–23
New Scarlett casting tbc
Polyphonia
Benjamin, Brunell*, Cuthbertson*, Mendizabal*, Kish*, Dyer*, tba, Trzensimiech* (Apr 5, 10, 18)
Lamb, Takada*, Choe*, Raine*, Stepanek, Hay*, Ondiviela* Zucchetti* (Apr 12, 14, 23)
New McGregor casting tbc
Marianela Nuñez and Carlos Acosta in La Fille mal gardée. Photo by Bill Cooper ©ROH/Bill Cooper 2005
La Fille mal gardée April 20 – May 16
Nuñez, Acosta (Apr 20, 26)
Cojocaru, Kobborg (Apr 24, 28)
Morera, Cervera (Apr 28m; May 2)
Choe, tba (May 4, 9)
Marquez, McRae (May 11, 16)
†all casting is subject to change so please check on the Royal Opera House website
*denotes a debut in the role
October 8 2011
The Launch of The Frederick Ashton Foundation
(From the Royal Opera House press release)
The Frederick Ashton Foundation is launched today, with the principal aim of perpetuating the legacy and work of the distinguished English choreographer. The Frederick Ashton Foundation is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. It will be based at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Frederick Ashton at a rehearsal of Facade. Photo by Anthony Crickmay ©V&A Theatre Museum
The formal objects of The Frederick Ashton Foundation are “to utilise the legacy of the distinguished English choreographer, the late Sir Frederick Ashton, to advance the education of the public in and the appreciation and performance of the art of ballet and its allied arts in the United Kingdom and throughout the world, and for the public benefit to pursue a broad range of activities and programmes, including ballet reconstructions and revivals, publications, and lectures and videos, and to promote research in all aspects of the subject and to publish the useful results.”
The Foundation’s aims will be realised through coordinating and encouraging the work of Associates working in a broad range of areas, including:
a) establishing an online Ashton Archive to include the filming of relevant work in the studio, master classes, and interviews with those who worked with Ashton; cataloguing film archive material in connection with Ashton and his work; and making the catalogue and as much of the original material as possible available to the dance sector and the wider public through the Archive.
b) writers and archivists carrying out research and publishing material in connection with Ashton and his work; cataloguing written and photographic material; and making the catalogue and as much of the original material as possible available to the dance sector and the wider public through the online Ashton Archive.
c) organising and arranging exhibitions, conferences, seminars, lectures and lecture demonstrations on Ashton and his work and other events promoting the Foundation’s aims.
The Foundation will have a close association with the existing Ashton ballet copyright holders (the Ashton Trust) and will, amongst its other activities, work with them to develop the skills of those who will be registered to teach, coach and stage Ashton’s ballets in the future, thus ensuring the survival of the Ashton Legacy for generations to come.
The establishment of The Frederick Ashton Foundation has been made possible by a generous donation from The Tomlinson Family Trust. Tony Dyson, Chairman of the Foundation, said:
“We are hugely indebted to the generosity of Lindsay and Sarah Tomlinson, without whose support we would not have had the means to establish the Foundation. As committed supporters of The Royal Ballet and great lovers of the works of Frederick Ashton, they realise how important it is to ensure Ashton’s legacy is maintained, and we are very grateful to them. I am delighted too that they, together with ROH chief executive Tony Hall and vice-president of The Royal Ballet Lady Sarah Chatto, have agreed to become Founding Patrons of the Foundation.”
Dame Monica Mason DBE, Director of The Royal Ballet, welcomed the initiative, saying:
“I am delighted that it has been possible to set up the Foundation. It is of paramount importance that, as Founder Choreographer of The Royal Ballet, Ashton’s choreographic legacy can be safeguarded for future generations and the rights holders of his works can be supported by the Foundation’s activities.”
Initial projects with which the Foundation is associated include:
November 2011 - Insight Evening at the ROH: a Degas at the Royal Academy event in conjunction with the Royal Academy of Arts
November 2011 – The Royal Ballet In Rehearsal (Enigma Variations)
March 2012 – Birmingham Royal Ballet and The Two Pigeons: rehearsal to be filmed (Birmingham Hippodrome)
April 2012 – The Royal Ballet In Rehearsal (La Fille mal gardée)
Founding Patrons of The Frederick Ashton Foundation
Lady Sarah Chatto
Lord Hall of Birkenhead CBE (Tony Hall)
Lindsay Tomlinson OBE and Sarah Tomlinson
Trustees of The Frederick Ashton Foundation
(Trustees are directors of the limited company)
Tony Dyson (chairman): Architect, Chairman of Dancers’ Career Development (formerly Chairman of Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, Trustee of Rambert Dance Company, Trustee of the Michael Clark Foundation).
David Bintley CBE: Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet and of the National Ballet of Japan
Felicity Clark: Member of the Advisory Council of the Royal Ballet School
Jeanetta Laurence: Associate Director of The Royal Ballet
Dame Monica Mason DBE: Director of The Royal Ballet
Kevin O’Hare: Administrative Director of The Royal Ballet and Director-elect
Anthony Russell-Roberts CBE: Nephew of Sir Frederick Ashton
Executive Director (part-time post)
Christopher Nourse: Freelance dance administrator, Governor of The Royal Ballet (formerly Administrative Director of Sadler’s Wells/Birmingham Royal Ballet, Executive Director of Rambert Dance Company, Managing Director of English National Ballet)