list.co.uk/theatre Previews | DANCE
NARRATIVE BALLET BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET: COPPÉLIA Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Wed 4–Sat 7 Feb DANCE THEATRE JASMIN VARDIMON COMPANY: PARK Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Wed 28 Jan
Heritage runs through Birmingham Royal Ballet like a stick of rock. Known as Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet for many years, before its relocation to the Midlands in 1990, the company has been home to some of Britain’s finest dancers, choreographers and directors.
For Ayrshire-born dancer Laura-Jane Gibson, joining the company was something of a dream come true. ‘I never thought I would be lucky enough to have a job with Birmingham Royal Ballet,’ she says. ‘It feels very special to perform the same roles as older dancers you have looked up to, to be wearing costumes with the names of ex-dancers in them from Sadler’s Wells and the Royal Ballet, and hopefully carrying on their good work.’
Having run the company for almost 20 years until his retirement in 1995,
Sir Peter Wright is a key part of BRB’s history. Now almost 90, his version of Coppélia is about to tour the UK. Originally created in 1870, the ballet is the lighthearted tale of a young man with a wandering eye, and his long-suffering fiancée who pretends to be a doll to trick him. As Gibson explains, Wright’s input remains as valuable as ever. ‘The whole
company absolutely adores Sir Peter Wright,’ she says. ‘He came into rehearsals recently and the atmosphere in the studio was so exciting, because we all want to do our best for him. We cherish those moments, and feel very lucky to have him still be so involved at the age he is now.’ (Kelly Apter)
For Jasmin Vardimon, staging a production is a lot like buying a house – it’s all about the location. To explore our relationship with health, she choreographed a work set in a hospital; to look at our legal system, she recreated a court room. And when she wanted to put a microcosm of society on stage, she made Park – set, as you might expect, in a public park. ‘I used to pass by my local park and see the same people there every day,’
explains Vardimon. ‘And I thought, what are they doing there? I was interested in the characters who almost live on the outskirts of our society, but we don’t stop and think why they are there.’
An associate artist of Sadler’s Wells for the past eight years, Vardimon founded her company in 1997. Since then, she has been encouraging audiences to open their minds as well as their eyes during a performance.
‘In my work, I’m mainly interested in raising questions rather than answering them,’ she says, ‘and in showing different viewpoints and possible reasons why people behave or look the way they do – just to raise a different awareness.‘ As with all Vardimon’s work, Park is multi-layered, featuring text and visuals
as well as dance, including an element of 3D. ‘I never use just physical movement,’ she says. ‘I like to communicate with the audience on different levels. And the 3D mapping is used to change the whole vision of the s pace.’ (Kelly Apter)
CHRISTMAS BALLET SCOTTISH BALLET: THE NUTCRACKER Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Sat 13 Dec–Sat 3 Jan; Theatre Royal, Glasgow, Wed 7–Sat 10 Jan
He’s the man who started it all. The founder, the visionary, the choreographer and, until his untimely death in 1987, the artistic director of Scottish Ballet. As such, Peter Darrell is in receipt of no small amount of posthumous respect.
So when current artistic director, Christopher Hampson, decided to resurrect Darrell’s iconic and adored Nutcracker, he had to tread carefully.
‘Darrell’s Nutcracker saw Scottish Ballet through thick
and thin for over 20 years,’ says Hampson. ‘So in terms of choreography, we stayed as faithful as we could to what Pe ter set down. But in terms of staging, we needed to be a bit more flexible.’
The original full-length production (pictured), which
premiered in 1974, was designed with real style and flair by Philip Prowse. Inevitably, those designs have dated, and advances in costume and set design have allowed new designer Lez Brotherston to ‘re-imagine’ The Nutcracker with even more vibrancy. ‘The redesign takes on board the original concept,’ explains Hampson, ‘but we have moved it on in some areas. And what I love about what Lez has done, is that he’s brought together the flavour of Philip’s original design, but with today’s materials.’
Hampson himself has created and performed in more
Nutcrackers than most during his career, yet his love for the Christmas ballet stays strong.
‘I think people often come to ballet through Nutcracker,’ he says. ‘And if they’re seeing a production that has lots of fun, magic and a sense of theatricality, then I think they’ll be more inclined to come and see other things.’ (Kelly Apter)
11 Dec 2014–5 Feb 2015 THE LIST 115