< PreviousSpotlight on the tutus of Paquita For our Season Launch event we wanted to mark the special occasion of Federico Bonelli’s first full season at the company with a one-off performance. Paquita is a ballet that was first staged in Paris in 1846, with music composed by Edouard Deldevez and Ludwig Minkus. One of the most iconic elements of Paquita are the tutus, adorned with intricate gold or silver embroidery, conveying elegance, grace, and beauty. Over the years, Northern Ballet has become known for hardly ever performing in tutus and tights, so creating these traditional, classical tutus was an exciting prospect for our wardrobe department. Julie Anderson, Costume Cutter & Maker and Becky Smith, Assistant Costume Maker share with us the process of bringing the Paquita tutus to life. “The tutus that we worked with for Paquita were originally made for the 30th gala in 2009. To produce a tutu and bodice from scratch you can be looking at 7 to 10 days, and we just didn’t have the time. Through recycling in this way, we managed to complete a tutu and bodice in under 3 days.” Top: Northern Ballet dancers in Paquita. Photo Lydia Hutton. Bottom: Katharine Lee in Paquita. Photo Ellis Dytrych. 20Step One “Firstly, each layer of net was starched and steamed flat. We then added two extra layers of stiff net, a wide layer which had an extra channel included to add a steel hoop and a shorter layer. The waist band was replaced as the elastic had gone. The layers of net were then tacked together to hold them in place.” Step Two “We then made an additional layer or plate which was made up of a layer of stiff net, a sparkle tulle net and silver lace.” Step Three “The lace is then placed on the tulle and stitched. The plate is then attached to the tutu, and we made these easily removable just in case they want to be used again. The final stage in the process is reattaching the bodice to the tutu.” “As we don’t work with tutus very often at Northern Ballet, it was nice to work on the project and we all enjoyed it. Tutus have specific math and methods, and the only creative bit of the process is the top plate and bodice. The beauty of working on many of Northern Ballet’s costumes is that we get to push boundaries in the cutting and making stage.” 21Academy update This spring we have delivered 33 Spotted! Outreach workshops in Doncaster and Bradford. We also held a Masterclass at CAST in Doncaster with a dedicated session for Spotted! students alongside students with previous ballet experience During the company’s performances of The Nutcracker in December 2022 many of our students had the opportunity to perform on stage. 24 students from our Centre for Advanced Training programme were the party children, and the mice were danced by 15 children from our open classes, alongside 7 pupils from our Kittens and CAT foundation programmes. Trainees from the Graduate Programme have also had many performance opportunities, performing in both The Great Gatsby and Ugly Duckling with the Company throughout these tours. Our CAT students were also extremely excited to be the opening act at the season launch event in the spring. And congratulations to this year’s CAT graduates who have places at Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, English National Ballet, Hamburg, and Trinity Laban to name a few! Senior Associate students. Photo Emily Nuttall. 2223Learning update In a company first, spring 2023 saw Northern Ballet Company dancers and participants from our Ability course for dancers with additional learning support needs join forces to work with choreographer Ben Wright on the creation of a pioneering dance film. Developed over a series of workshops, Every Little Thing is a Change is a joyful celebration of connection, dance and movement which explores how a touch, a look or a feeling can transport us into another world. “I am extremely proud to have been invited to make this short work with Northern Ballet, a company who are clearly centralising a rationale to make art to further equality, representation, and diversity as a primary objective. That is no mean feat, particularly for a ballet company.” -Ben Wright, Choreographer and Director. Ben’s intention was “to create a safe, playfully creative, and inclusive space, to support the individual identities of the artists or collaborators.” He views inclusivity as “a way of seeing and re-seeing – it’s a choice, a verb, I don’t believe it is a fixed position – it is a process.” Artistic Director Federico Bonelli agrees. “It is sometimes said that it is all about the result. This project is a great example that this is not true, and that we don’t have to sacrifice the process to get a great result. Every time I walked into the studio and later, on stage, it was clear to me that both the process and the result were going to be great!” Collaborating across Northern Ballet departments was new for the Ability dancers. One aspect they enjoyed most was having their hair, make-up and costumes created by our Wardrobe team. Led by Carley Marsh and Harriet Rogers, the team used designs by the Ability and company dancers. “(They) really helped us to understand and relate to them as individuals. The process became very organic, which was very fitting for the piece itself. This also allowed for some flexibility on the filming days depending on the dancers’ comfort levels. We really enjoyed the organic nature of this project as it really allowed us to be innovative in what we were creating.” The workshop and filming days were not without their challenges. Liam Verity, Head of Communications, was “slightly apprehensive about the process, as film shoots can be a little frantic, so it was important that we had the right personalities involved to be flexible and calm through whatever opportunities and challenges might arise.” New people, situations and change can be difficult for some of the 24Ability dancers. Megan expressed how “getting used to change in the lighting” was difficult and, combined with obstacles in the wings such as snow machines, made her feel like she was going to trip up, causing anxiety. Being heavily visual and kinesthetic learners, the Ability dancers can struggle with the predominance of verbal communication to explain tasks and expectations which prompted creative thinking from Liam and the filmmaking team, “Of course, we had to prepare for the additional needs of the dancers and the schedule had to be flexible to get the most out of each day. But the enthusiasm and joy in the room made it unlike any other project – such positive energy throughout.” The Ability dancers valued working in a professional environment, “as one” with the wider company. As Ben explains, “treat people like professionals and it’s my experience that they behave as such. Ability and their team of astonishing support workers contributed constantly to the makeup of the project. We built a cohesive team which saw the Northern Ballet artists flying in the same universe as the Ability dancers and vice versa.” Ability and Northern Ballet dancers in Expressions. Photo Lydia Hutton. 25Registered charity no. 259140. Company registration no. 947096. Northern Ballet Limited registered in England and Wales. Company limited by guarantee and share capital. Amber Lewis and Joseph Taylor in Romeo & Juliet. Photo Guy Farrow. What’s on Generations: Three Short Ballets 8 Sep 2023 – 16 Sep 2023 Leeds Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre 31 Oct 2023 – 2 Nov 2023 London Linbury Theatre at Royal Opera House Beauty & the Beast 4 Oct 2023 – 7 Oct 2023 Nottingham Theatre Royal 7 Nov 2023 – 11 Nov 2023 Newcastle Theatre Royal 21 Nov 2023 – 25 Nov 2023 Norwich Theatre Royal 4 Jun 2024 – 9 Jun 2024 Leeds Grand Theatre The Nutcracker 29 Nov 2023 – 10 Dec 2023 Leeds Grand Theatre Romeo & Juliet 8 Mar 2024 – 16 Mar 2024 Leeds Grand Theatre 2 Apr 2024 – 6 Apr 2024 Sheffield Lyceum Theatre 30 Apr 2024 – 4 May 2024 Nottingham Theatre Royal 14 May 2024 – 18 May 2024 Norwich Theatre Royal 28 May 2024 – 1 Jun 2024 London Sadler’s Wells Productions supported by 26Next >