< PreviousThe ultimate festive ballet made a come back three years since its last outing, as The Nutcracker embarked on a national tour complete with a fresh look. With colourful new costumes recreated for the first act, this was our most successful run of this popular family show to date achieving our best ever visits to Hull, Norwich and Woking. HHHH ‘A fabulous festive ballet’ Daily Telegraph ‘A joy to watch’ Yorkshire Post The Nutcracker A ballet by David Nixon OBE Performances 36 Venues 4 Live audience 40,274 10 | Northern Ballet Annual Review 2018/19 Coinciding with the 200th anniversary of the birth of one of Britain’s most iconic monarchs, Cathy Marston’s regal ballet biopic of the life of Queen Victoria, premièred in March 2019. Victoria received instant critical acclaim, presenting a thought- provoking and emotional ballet exploring the complex relationship between Victoria and her youngest daughter Beatrice. With a national tour taking Victoria to audiences across the length and breadth of the UK until June 2019, Victoria also reached even more audiences through distribution on the big screen (see page 16). Opposite page: Northern Ballet dancers in The Nutcracker. This page: Abigail Prudames and Mlindi Kulashe in Victoria. Photo Emma Kauldhar. HHHH ‘A feast of brilliance’ The Guardian HHHH ‘Northern Ballet feels like a company on a roll’ Daily Telegraph Performances 22 Venues 3 Live audience 19,128 World Première Victoria A ballet by Cathy Marston Northern Ballet Annual Review 2018/19 | 11Puss in Boots Our established programme of children’s ballets continues to grow in popularity and 2018 saw another production added to our repertoire. Choreographed by Jenna Lee, working with us for the first time, Puss in Boots premièred in Leeds in October 2018 with a sell-out run of 18 performances. We also took our first ever children’s ballet back on tour in spring 2018 as Ugly Duckling flew into theatres nationwide introducing a new generation of children and young families to the world of dance, live music and theatre. Ugly Duckling For the Kids Performances 82 Venues 25 Live audience 24,104 On Screen CBeebies added our purr-fect new ballet to their repertoire when Puss in Boots was filmed in early 2019 and broadcast at Easter. More than 1.8M people have enjoyed our children’s ballets on CBeebies during 2018/19; and three productions also made their silver screen debut early in 2019 (see page 16). NEWSFLASH! In May 2019 we announced our seventh new children’s ballet. Little Red Riding Hood, choreographed by Northern Ballet dancer Mariana Rodrigues, will première in October 2019 followed by a national tour in 2020. 12 | Northern Ballet Annual Review 2018/19 Harris Beattie in Puss in Boots. Photo Brian Slater Northern Ballet Annual Review 2018/19 | 13Northern Ballet dancers in The Shape of Sound. Photo Emma Kauldhar.Digital Ambitions In 2018/19 we embarked on a significant new phase of our digital work, embracing new technology and platforms to increase the volume, ambition and variety of our digital projects. Musketeers on location D’artagnan and his comrades fought the Cardinal’s henchmen on location at Kirkstall Abbey in our first promotional video to use drone technology.Sarah Chun in Silenced In Cinemas We made our silver screen debut when our children’s ballets Tortoise & the Hare, Elves & the Shoemaker and Three Little Pigs were shown in cinemas in early 2019. We also captured Victoria for cinema broadcast in June 2019, our first full- length ballet to be shown in cinemas. On DVD After a highly successful broadcast on BBC Four back in 2016, Jonathan Watkins’ 1984 was released on DVD in April 2018 giving even more people the chance to experience this critically acclaimed adaptation of George Orwell’s dystopian novel. Digital Dance In March 2019 we launched our new Digital Dance website providing a platform for our direct to digital dance films. Currently including original dance films Spree and Silenced, the website also collates information about all our cinema, online and DVD releases in one place. Visit digitaldance.orgIn Other News Jane Eyre crosses the Atlantic In October 2018 it was announced that two of the USA’s most prestigious ballet companies, American Ballet Theatre in New York and Joffrey Ballet in Chicago, would be staging Cathy Marston’s Jane Eyre in summer 2019. Choreographic Legacy We held a Choreographic Workshop in February 2018 but the impact went beyond the final sharing. The resulting pieces by dancers Dreda Blow and Gavin McCaig were adapted for our digital dance platform (see page 16-17) and the films were released in March 2019. Our First Soloist Mlindi Kulashe also received his first choreographic commission, creating Mamela… which premièred in our Mixed Programme in October 2018. 18 | Northern Ballet Annual Review 2018/19 World Ballet Day We once again participated in the 22- hour worldwide celebration of ballet in October 2018. As part of the main World Ballet Day live stream, Artistic Director David Nixon OBE was interviewed about the Mixed Programme and leadership in dance. Meanwhile on our own channels we launched an exciting video featuring The Three Musketeers at Kirkstall Abbey and livestreamed a rehearsal for The Shape of Sound. Kenneth Tindall appointed to staff Former Premier Dancer and choreographer of Casanova, Kenneth Tindall, was officially appointed to Northern Ballet’s Artistic Staff as Artistic Director of Digital and Choreographer in Residence. Photos: Justin Slee, Emma Kauldhar and Caroline Holden. Northern Ballet Annual Review 2018/19 | 19Next >