Thursday 18 April
7.45pm
Ballet Central
Civic and Cramphorn
Theatres
The renowned graduate
performing company from the Central School of Ballet, Ballet Central,
will reach Chelmsford’s Civic Theatre on Thursday 18 April on their
forthcoming tour.
Performing in their
home county at Chelmsford’s Civic Theatre is particularly exciting
for four dance students from Essex: Thomas Broderick from
Leigh-on-Sea aged 19, Joshua Earl from Epping also aged 19, Abigail
Stopher who is 18 years old from Stamford-le-Hope and Bethany Pike
from Colchester aged 20 who used to belong to local Ballet school The
Chelmsford Ballet Company. All four students are in their final
year of training to be professional dancers at Central School of
Ballet (CSB) in London which is this year celebrating its 30 year
anniversary. Ballet Central is the touring company of
CSB, the prestigious centre for professional dance training and
education. Students on the final year of their three year BA
(Hons) degree course join Ballet Central to gain invaluable touring
experience before graduation. Ballet Central’s dancers not
only perform but also help with all aspects of staging, from
technical lighting to wardrobe.
The annual Ballet
Central tour offers a chance to see some of the most highly skilled
new dance talent perform newly commissioned works and much-loved
revivals by the dance industry’s top choreographers.
The highlights of this
year’s Ballet Central repertoire include a dynamic range of new
pieces; an elegant neo-classical piece by Kenneth Tindall entitled
Signature 31/30 to a new score by Ballet Central’s Musical Director
Philip Feeney, a thrilling new contemporary work Mapping #3 by
Darshan Singh Bhuller, a vibrant jazz piece Love on Top by Stacey
Haynes and an enthralling narrative dance called anon. by Christopher
Marney.
William Glassman,
Artistic Director of Ballet Central, explains why the Ballet Central
tour is so well received across the UK: “Each year we bring dance
pieces by some of the UK’s most highly acclaimed choreographers to
local theatres. It’s a chance to see the most electrifying dance of
today performed regionally. Classical ballet fans will relish
the Florestan Pas De Trois from The Sleeping Beauty and a revival of
Christopher Gable’s Fireside pas de Deux from his 1993 production
of Cinderella and if it’s contemporary dance that excites, a new
work Insinuare by Sara Matthews and Leanne King will certainly
deliver.”
Audiences for the
much-anticipated Ballet Central tour are increasing each year
attracting dance lovers and those new to live dance performance.
The varied repertoire features a programme of ballet, contemporary,
jazz and narrative dance suitable for families and all age groups.
Ticket prices are deliberately low to make the tour widely
accessible. Another highlight of Ballet Central is the music,
much of which has been created by CSB’s Composer-in-Residence
Philip Feeney who also performs live on the tour.
Sara Matthews, CSB’s
Director, comments: “We are the only vocational ballet school to
offer an Honours Degree and pre-professional touring experience on
such a scale. Ballet Central continues to be a springboard for
hundreds of dancers into the top international dance companies.
Dancers live to perform so touring is a much anticipated part of our
three year curriculum. And we hope that the Ballet Central tour
will provide inspiration to young dancers who may be thinking about
professional dance as a career.”
Graduates from CSB go
on to join the world’s premier dance companies. Recent CSB students
are currently employed with Birmingham Royal Ballet, Matthew
Bourne’s New Adventures Company, English National Ballet, Scottish
Ballet, National Ballet of Estonia, Ballet Black, Northern Ballet, K
Ballet, Rambert Dance Company, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Slovakia
Ballet, Singapore Dance Theatre, and many more.
Tickets
are £14.50, concessions £11.50 and a family ticket £47.00. To book
tickets visit www.chelmsford.gov.uk/theatres
or call the Box Office on 01245 606505.
