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Latest Blogs
My Day with Miss England!
When I was first approached about giving Miss England a masterclass to help her back into dancing shape for the Miss World contest I was a little concerned! What if she couldn't dance at all? Had two left feet? Further alarm bells started to sound as I discovered that not only did she want a ballet class, but also a piece creating for her to perform in the 'Talent' section of the Miss World competition, just 10 weeks away. How on earth was I meant to create a piece on someone I'd never...
Ballet class for Miss England
Charlotte Holmes, the current Miss England, came to visit Northern Ballet yesterday in preparation for the Miss World finals. A keen ballet dancer from a young age, Charlotte dropped in to have a one-to-one masterclass with one of our Academy’s teachers and ex-ballerina, Viki Westall, in order to perfect her routine before she flies out to China to compete in the Miss World final. Charlotte’s visit to Northern Ballet also marked the beginning of a new partnership between Northern...
The 2011-12 Academy season comes to a close
Saturday 7 July saw the final day of term for all Academy students - and what a day it was! 325 students took part in 3 different Academy performances showcasing students from Pre-Ballet all the way up to our oldest professional training programme students. It was fantastic to have all the students performing together and even though it felt pretty hectic at times the students remained calm and put on a really good show for their friends and families. It was quite an emotional day as...
Over 55s End of Term
Although it may not seem like it with this weather, the summer is here and so our regular classes are drawing to a close for the summer holidays. To mark the end of term and to celebrate a couple of significant birthdays (I obviously can’t give their ages away, but you wouldn’t believe me anyway as their youthful looks belie their years), our Dancing for the Over 55s class held a picnic lunch after their class this week. When they said they were going to bring in a cake and a few bits and...
A Bunch of Twits (updated, again)
Tweeting duties have been delegated to various members of the Communications team and more. In time we'll people from all parts of Northern Ballet will take the reigns of our Twitter account, if there's anyone you'd like to see tweeting make your suggestions in the comments below or via Twitter! Day Who's on Thu, 19 Jul Ruth Wed, 18 Jul Emma Tue. 17 Jul Catherine Mon, 16 Jul Harry Fri, 13 Jul Phill Thu, 12 Jul Liam Wed, 11 July Aled Tue, 10 July Harry Mon, 9 July...
Boys Only Day with Northern Ballet Academy & RAD
On 14th and 15th July the boys will be taking over Northern Ballet! Over this weekend the RAD in partnership with Northern Ballet Academy will be running their second BOYS ONLY! weekend. This is a chance for young men aged 8-18 to take part in energetic and fast paced dance workshops away from all the girls. Sessions will be led by an all male faculty who will work on the students’ technique and creativity, culminating in a short performance for friends and family. For more information and how...
Open House 2012 in pictures
On Saturday 12 May 2012, along with Phoenix Dance Theatre we held our second Open House inviting everyone to come in, take a look around our home, gain an insight into the workings of two dance companies, take part in taster classes and watch free performances. Brian Slater was on hand to photograph the day, the activities and the fun being had by visitors and staff alike. All photos taken by Brian Slater.
Kenneth Tindall Nominated for Choreography Prize
Kenneth Tindall has been invited to compete for an award at the 26th International Competition for Choreographers in Hannover for his debut choreography Project #1. Upon hearing of his nomination Kenneth Tindall said "I am completely thrilled to have been invited to Hannover. It is such a prestigious competition and I’m honoured to be considered for it." The competition, which has reputation for promoting interesting and progressive choreography, will run for two days in June. Project #1 will...
Getting ready for the Open House
We are about to fling open our doors to the public for our Open House 2012. Caretakers Peter and Austin have been working up a sweat moving furniture and setting up rooms ready for the talks and taster sessions. The company are currently doing a technical run of their performance to make sure the lighting and sound levels are all correct. The café are busy baking cakes and getting ready to sell lots of cups of coffee. And here in the Learning team, we have been collecting scraps of...
Age restriction for 'in motion' scrapped!
Just thought I’d keep you up to date with ‘in motion’ as it’s been a very exciting week! On Sunday we had our taster session here at Northern Ballet; there was a great mixture of people who all had a really good time dancing both in and out of their chairs. The workshop contained a mixture of practitioner led and group led dance tasks with each of the participants creating their own short solo which they performed to one another – they were all really different and I’m really excited about...
