What: Ballet Central
Where: The Crescent Theatre, Birmingham
When: Friday 6th April at 7.30 pm
Sutton Coldfield dancer, Imogen Ash is looking forward to returning to Birmingham in April with this year’s Ballet Central tour.
The 18 year-old from Wishaw will be performing in Birmingham when Central School of Ballet’s renowned graduate performing company Ballet Central brings its annual nationwide tour to The Crescent Theatre.
Under the artistic direction of Christopher Marney, Ballet Central’s diverse range of dance and theatre will perform in 20 towns and cities in England and Wales across a five month period.
This season’s breadth of repertoire is testament to the distinguished choreographers that support the young dance company: Matthew Bourne of New Adventures honours Ballet Central with the Fairies Prologue from his gothic-reworking of Sleeping Beauty and, for the first time, Ballet Central will present an excerpt from FAR by multi award-winning choreographer and director Wayne McGregor.
After the success of last year’s Romeo & Juliet, choreographer Jenna Lee returns to Ballet Central with her brand new creation Black Swan, a dark twist on the iconic classic. To celebrate the life and work of Kenneth MacMillan, Ballet Central introduces an excerpt from his rarely-seen 1983 ballet Valley of Shadows inspired by Georgio Bassani’s haunting novel The Garden of the Finzi-Continis. And finally, to close this year’s performance, Christopher Marney will revive scenes from Christopher Gable’s Cinderella on the 25th anniversary of its creation. Set to an acclaimed score by Ballet Central’s resident composer Philip Feeney, this is a timeless version of a much-loved fairy tale.
Christopher Marney, Artistic Director of Ballet Central comments:
“Following last year’s enthusiastic response to our varied programme of dance theatre, I have, alongside our valued partner choreographers, developed a programme for the 2018 tour that offers storytelling, technique and drama.
“We are visiting many cities and towns in the UK for the first time, a chance for new audiences to see this exciting repertoire performed by exceptional dance talent on the cusp of their professional careers.”
Ballet Central is the touring company of Central School of Ballet in London, the leading centre for professional dance training and education. Students in the final year of their three-year BA (Hons) degree course in Professional Dance and Performance join Ballet Central to gain invaluable touring experience before graduation. Ballet Central’s dancers not only perform but also help with technical aspects including lighting, sound, staging and wardrobe.
The annual Ballet Central tour offers audiences across the country the chance to see the company’s young and dynamic dancers showcase the best dance theatre from current industry professionals alongside newly-commissioned work and refreshed classics from the world’s top choreographers.
Central’s graduates go on to join the world’s premier dance companies. Performing a range of repertoire choreographed by some of the most renowned figures in the dance industry to ticket-buying audiences is an enriching experience for the students, enhancing their skills and development, making them particularly employable. Recent Central students are currently employed with Birmingham Royal Ballet, Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures Company, English National Ballet, Scottish Ballet, Ballet Ireland, National Ballet of Estonia, Ballet Black, Northern Ballet, K Ballet, Rambert Dance Company, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, Singapore Dance Theatre, Michael Clark Company, The Lion King, Phantom of the Opera and An American in Paris.
For ticket information visit: www.crescent-theatre.co.uk/theatre-event/?EventID=107531
