ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET - Press Release
One of the greatest classical ballet companies of all time
English National Ballet
Exclusive 2012 Australian Season
Friday 8 June – Sunday 17 June 14 performances only
The Concourse, Chatswood
APOLLO – choreography George Balanchine
CELEBRATIONS – a selection of favourite classical pas de deux
Manon, Don Quixote or Black Swan, and Trois Gnossiennes
SUITE EN BLANC – choreography Serge Lifar
Tickets on Sale – 11 February
"The Company to watch" – The Guardian
"The most outstanding Company" – The Stage
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: www.theconcourse.com.au/enb
The world-renowned English National Ballet will tour to Australia for an exclusive season in Sydney at the Performing Arts Centre on The Concourse, Chatswood, from Friday 8 June to Sunday 17 June, 2012.
Under the leadership of Artistic Director, Wayne Eagling, this highly respected European company will bring its top soloists and principal artists, presenting a programme ideally suited to young and old in the intimate 500 seat theatre at The Concourse. The English National Ballet was established in the 1950s and has since emerged as one of the foremost touring companies in Europe. This internationally acclaimed classical ballet company tours both nationally and worldwide.
The programme, accompanied by a live orchestra, will open with George Balanchine’s heartstoppingly beautiful Apollo and close with Serge Lifar’s spectacular bravura piece, Suite en blanc. These two great classics will frame a selection of favourite pas de deux, Manon, Don Quixote or Black Swan, and Trois Gnossiennes, featuring the company’s stars.
Suite en blanc
was described by its choreographer, Serge Lifar, as "a real parade of stars". A plotless display of classical technique, with strict emphasis on the perfection of line, the ballet was created in 1943 to showcase the virtuosity and elegance of the Paris Opera Ballet. With its white costumes against an inky black setting, the ballet remains a stunning showcase of dance, as glittering and exhilarating as its first performance nearly seven decades ago.
Suite en blanc - "most supremely elegant of crowd-pleasers"
The Guardian, Judith Mackrell
CELEBRATIONS
a selection of favourite classical pas de deux, including: Kenneth MacMillan’s sensual pas de deux from the bedroom scene of his superb Manon; the spectacular showpiece from the traditional Swan Lake Act III, known as the Black Swan pas de deux; the bravura Petipa grand pas de deux from Don Quixote; and, set to an Erik Satie solo piano piece,
contemporary choreographer Hans Van Manen’s Trois Gnossiennes, requiring great finesse and control, and a superb classical technique.
APOLLO
- A ballet by George Balanchine, himself a dancer with The Ballets Russes, became a neo-classical masterpiece which marked the young Balanchine’s first collaboration with Stravinsky. Its innovative and ambitious choreography pushes the boundaries of the traditional classical technique. The story is of Apollo, the god of music visited by three muses; Terpsichore, muse of dance and song; Polyhymnia, muse of mime; and Calliope, the muse of poetry. This is a ballet that shows stunning footwork, clean lines and beautiful tableaux. Pure and simple elegance combined with a refined instrumental force.
Apollo - "dazzling choreography…"
- The Financial Times, Clement Crisp
Founded by two British ballet greats Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin, the English National Ballet grew out of a series of gala performances. Today with 67 dancers from 20 different countries, they provide a group of dancers who enrich each repertoire they perform. The original 1950s aspiration for the Company, to take popular ballet to the widest geographical audience at a price they can afford, remains as valid today as when first expressed by the Company’s founders.
Recently the subject of the popular BBC reality series "The Agony and the Ecstasy" the English National Ballet is enjoying an international recognition unheard of in classical dance circles. And it is not only the public who are supporters of the English National Ballet. The prestigious company has enjoyed the patronage of Diana, Princess of Wales and currently HRH Prince Andrew, The Duke of York.
The Century Group is proud to present the English National Ballet in their exclusive only Australian appearance from Friday 8 June to Sunday 17 June 2012 at The Concourse, 409 Victoria Avenue, cnr Victoria Avenue and Anderson Street, Chatswood.
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to see the English National Ballet
On sale Saturday 11 February
For further media enquiries only - Emma Collison, Emma Collison Publicity (02) 9326 5554 or 0418 584 795 or emma@emmacollison.comBruce Pollack, Pollack Consulting (02) 9331 5276 or 0418 331 527 or bruce@pollackconsulting.com
