The Balletomane
October 2016; Edition 3
LATEST NEWS
Welcome to this edition of The Balletomane. I hope you all had a restful and enjoyable summer break. I loved seeing many of your holiday dance poses that were posted on the school's Facebook page. A new term brings many new opportunities and some changes. It's great to have Charley Mason teaching contemporary class on a Saturday, we are all enjoying the new dance floor and the first floor Cafe provides a great location for a break between classes or a coffee whilst waiting for your children to finish dancing.
Now that the weather has turned decidedly autumnal it must be almost time for our Gala performances and I know that rehearsals are successfully in full swing. Don't forget to check our school website for updated rehearsal lists and information about the upcoming performances.
Before we know it we will be rehearsing for our Stage Performances at Easter. I hope many of you, whether 6 or 60 will take part in the shows. We are always looking for new, keen performers, especially for the adult roles in our productions. So if you fancy appearing alongside your children at Easter please speak to any of the teaching staff at the school.
I'm sure we are all looking forward to an exciting year so keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing you all at future performances.
Helen Sangster, Association Chairman
USEFUL LINKS
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To purchase HBA clothing such as T-shirts and sweatshirts.
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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
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Autumn Gala: October 28th and 29th 2016
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Requiem Performances: 6th, 12th, 13th November 2016
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Christmas class: 24th December 2016
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New Year return: 3rd January 2017
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Easter performances: week beginning 10th April 2017
A NOTE FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
This is a very exciting time for the Harlow Ballet, School and Association alike. We are looking forward to the Autumn Gala in the Studio Theatre at The Playhouse on Friday October 28th at 8 p.m. and Saturday October 29th at 4 p.m. Please don’t leave everything to the last minute … and remember, we have often in the past had to turn away people who have not booked in advance from the Studio Theatre performances!
The Autumn Gala will consist of two brand new dances, choreographed by Claire Hickles for the youngest members of the school, called Colours of The Wind and Capriol; a fascinating Choreographic Competition with more dances than I can remember in recent years; the opening of Act Two of Giselle and Michael Branwell’s Requiem. It will be a very interesting and varied programme with a very large cast.
Following that, we are in the process of arranging a mini-tour to three churches in the area: St. Giles in Nazeing on November 6th at 4 p.m., St Andrew’s in Much Hadham on November 12th at 7 p.m. and St John’s in Epping on November 13th at 6 p.m. Apart from building on the wonderful performances we have done in past years, this will afford a marvellous opportunity for the young dancers to experience what it is like “going on tour”, which is where they may well find themselves if they are lucky enough to get into a dance company.
The very exciting news is that, following the excerpt for the second act of Giselle which we shall be presenting at the Autumn Gala, we shall be moving on to present the whole ballet at Easter 2017. I hope you will agree that this is a worthwhile and challenging project in which all the members of the school, who so wish, can join.
At the Harlow Ballet School, we continue to be able to offer a full range of ballet classes, including the Saturday morning class for boys and men and the Monday Double Work classes. We are very grateful to Steve, Barry, Terry Attewell and, of course, Josh for the fact that we can continue to teach the girls how to be partnered. But my eternal plea is for more brothers, Dads and boyfriends to come in and join the Double Work classes - and also the Saturday morning dance class, especially now that Strictly is back and there will be an increase in the “how do they do that?” factor.
We are also very grateful to the Jack Petchey Foundation and Roisin Cason for the fact that we now have Charley Mason teaching Contemporary Ballet Classes on a Saturday. I am thrilled that we are again able to offer our pupils the chance to try out “another” form of dance and I hope to see this mirrored in the choreographies that our girls are preparing for future shows.
With exciting new classes, a very interesting few months ahead on the performance front, a brand new dance floor and a new, professional CD player, we have every reason to be positive, optimistic and enthusiastic about ballet in The Playhouse. With the help and backing of the Committee, the commitment of the teachers and the enthusiasm of the dancers, we can look to a positive future.
So book your tickets, keep on helping with the shows and enjoy a new term full of dance!
Michael Branwell, Artistic Director.