Supporters Magazine: 2022

Thank you, Ma’am Mourning the passing of our Patron, HM Queen Elizabeth II

The Nutcracker returns Gloriously restored

The Royal Ballet Sinfonia This season’s extraordinary music

Freefall Dance Company Anticipating its 21st birthday

Don Quixote Announcing our first-ever cinema season and more...

Autumn 2022

WELCOME Dear Supporters

Words alone cannot express the profound sense of sadness and loss myself and all of us at Birmingham Royal Ballet feel at the passing of our Patron, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. For 70 years as Queen, this truly remarkable lady has inspired generations of people – not only in the UK but globally – with her dignity and firm commitment to her people and the interests of her nation.

I have had the great privilege of meeting Her Majesty the Queen several times during my career with The Royal Ballet, before I became Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Her Majesty always demonstrated a great interest in ballet and an understanding of dancers and I was always struck by the way she greeted everyone she met – from all walks of life – with grace and the same level of respect.

Our thoughts are with His Majesty King Charles III, our Vice President Lady Sarah Chatto and other members of the Royal Family at this extremely sad time.

Carlos Acosta cbe Director © Pixabay.com.

Welcome to the annual Birmingham Royal Ballet Magazine. I really love working with the team on this project every year. It always reminds me just how much we have achieved as a company, what we have to look forward to, and also how much we owe to you, our valued supporters. You help us not only bring brilliant ballet to the stage, but also to make a positive impact in our communities.

The eyes of the world were focused on Birmingham as our home city took centre stage with the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and Birmingham 2022 Festival, the cultural programme that ran until the beginning of October.

The crowd of 30,000 spectators at the Opening Ceremony at the Alexander Stadium on 28 July, together with an estimated one billion watching on devices globally, must have been the largest-ever audience to watch BRB performing. It was an absolute honour to join forces with all the other performers, from Critical Mass, to City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, in representing Birmingham’s worldclass creative industries. It wasn’t only our dancers who were involved – Abigail Reeve (BRB’s Producer), also performed in the ceremony, and Anna Hodgkinson (our former Trusts and Foundations Manager) was a volunteer in the athletes’ village (see p.38).

I’d like to thank Corey Baker for his visionary choreography used in the Opening Ceremony. You might remember that Corey worked with BRB during lockdown, creating the Swan Lake ‘bathtub film’ and a video of our

dancers Gus Payne and Haoliang Feng dancing under Spaghetti Junction.

Corey was supported in staging the Commonwealth Games piece by Jacob Wye. Jacob trained at The Royal Ballet School, so was already well-known to those of our dancers who are fellow alumni of the School. Thank you also, to the 12 dancers who performed in the piece, and we are indebted to the Commonwealth Games Committee for inviting us to take part. Truly a once-ina-lifetime experience!

The impact of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games reaches far beyond the athletics arenas.

Birmingham 2022 Festival is a £12 million, six-month celebration of creativity in the West Midlands.

BRB commissioned Juliano Nunes’s Interlinked which opened the brilliant triple bill On Your Marks!, as BRB’s artistic contribution to Birmingham 2022 Festival. On Your Marks! was also part of the Birmingham International Dance Festival 2022 – the UK’s largest dance festival – which included all styles of dance, and entertained thousands of people in theatres, outdoor spaces and online platforms in June.

My vision is for BRB to deliver the very best of classical ballet, alongside innovative new work. This includes working with choreographers whose works are not seen often enough in the UK. This autumn and winter, you will get the chance to see some great examples of this. We’ll be celebrating Sir Peter Wright with his stunning Coppélia, The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, and are also bringing Jiří Kylián’s intensely soulful Forgotten Land and Uwe Sholtz’s impressively athletic The Seventh Symphony as part of Into the Music.

This year marks the return of our fully renovated production of The Nutcracker, BRB’s gift to the city of Birmingham 30 years ago, now fully restored thanks to your generous support. It will be fabulous to be back in the Hippodrome with The Nutcracker, entertaining thousands of people of all ages – the centre-piece of the city’s festive celebrations.

I wanted to draw your attention to an article written by music journalist Mark Pullinger on page 4 which focuses on our very own orchestra, the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. As well as celebrating our wonderful musicians, the article pays particular attention to the rich musical repertoire the orchestra will be performing this season as it accompanies our dancers. Do have a read of this excellent and interesting article.

My new production of Don Quixote saw all BRB records broken at London’s Sadler’s Wells Theatre, with audiences once more filling the auditorium and applauding enthusiastically. I hope this marks a new beginning after the disruptions of Covid in seeing BRB perform to full houses across the country (see p.8).

In May, we embarked on the next stage of our exciting new partnership with The Rep in Birmingham. Over two weeks, we presented three separate programmes, each designed to engage new audiences, including families and young people.

Appropriately, The Rep season opened with a special performance to celebrate 25 years of our pioneering Dance Track initiative. More than 200 current and graduate Dance Trackers and special guests, including BRB Principals Céline Gittens and Brandon Lawrence, filled the stage to tell the incredible story of Dance Track. Since 1997, Dance Track has nurtured, trained and supported more than 3,200 young dancers aged 6-11, totally free of charge, from more than 40 Birmingham primary schools.

This is all thanks to our generous donors and the tremendous work of our LEAP (Learning, Engagement, Access & Participation) team, and its tireless commitment to inspiring Birmingham’s young people.

Our wider commitment to the development of young dancers continues through our strong, historic relationship with our sister organisation, The Royal Ballet School, with our associate school in Birmingham, Elmhurst Ballet School and, more recently, with English National Ballet School. Each year, we offer valuable performance opportunities to these supremely talented young students, helping them on their way to a professional career in dance. Looking to the spring 2023 tour, exciting new plans are underway to enhance our commitment to young dancers even further, so watch this space for an announcement later this year.

As you can see, there’s a great deal to be proud of and excited about, and it’s great to share this with you. I very much look forward to welcoming you personally to our forthcoming performances and events.

Best wishes,

CONTENTS The Buzz Returns by Caroline Miller

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The Royal Ballet Sinfonia by Mark Pullinger

4

The Commonwealth Games

by Tristan Rusdale

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Don Quixote Reviews

8

Coming Soon to a Cinema Near You

by Paul James

11

Against All Odds

12

A Message from Chairman Sir David Normington

16

Supporters’ Events Calendar

18

Freefall Dance Company Celebrates 21 Years

21

The Nutcracker Returns! Jim Fletcher in conversation with John Macfarlane

24

Dance Track 25 in Pictures

26

Reviews of the Past Season

27

Reaching our Communities by Dr Sandie Bourne

28

Spotlight on Nick Allen

29

Reaching Out by Pearl Chesterman

30

Hotel: a New Score. Jim Fletcher catches up with Mikael Karlsson

32

Spotlight on Amira Campbell

34

By Royal Appointment with Ruth Whelan

35

Beyond My Day Job

36

Leavers, Joiners and Congratulations

39

Thank You to Our Supporters

40

Performance Diary

Back cover

This magazine was compiled and edited

by Jim Fletcher. With grateful thanks to Ella Cockerton, all contributors and the entire team at Birmingham Royal Ballet for ideas, support and patience.

Printed by John Good Print.

Carlos Acosta cbe Director

Cover image: The Nutcracker: Brandon Lawrence as the Prince. © Bill Cooper.

Birmingham Royal Ballet

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“

On Your Marks is the most phenomenal triple bill I have ever seen! Everyone in the audience was absolutely buzzing, the atmosphere was electric, the Company looked sublime… BRB is the Company to watch.

”

Julie Bowers (Joint CEO of bbodance and former dancer of The Royal Ballet)

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Birmingham Royal Ballet

Rachele Pizzillo in Lazuli Sky. © Tristram Kenton.

THE BUZZ RETURNS Back to business with Caroline Miller, CEO Dear Supporters From Omicron, to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Birmingham Royal Ballet has ridden a roller-coaster in the last year. We’ve demonstrated how flexible and ambitious we are.

Last Christmas we presented another successful adaptation of The Nutcracker at Birmingham Hippodrome, keeping backstage crew to a minimum to reduce the risk of Covid. Seeing Dance reviewed the show and summed up how we all felt: ‘The pre-show noisy, expectant chatter from the sea of heads at the near sold-out Hippodrome was a joy. How great it is to hear a theatre buzz like that.’

Our luck ran out when our Royal Albert Hall performances had to be cancelled due to Omicron – a big blow, as we rely on Christmas income to invest in new repertoire.

Still, we persevered, and in Southampton in January 2021 BRB gave the world premiere of our new production of Carlos Acosta’s Don Quixote – the biggest touring show that any Company had taken on the road since the pandemic began.

It was a daily battle for the artistic team to get a cast on stage as Covid spread.

Laura Day even had to step in to dance Sancho Panza, an unrecognisable transformation from beautiful young woman to bearded, pot-bellied sidekick!

Audiences were nervous during our spring tour, but by July we had smashed Sadler’s Wells box office targets and packed out our shows! Special congratulations to our marketing, PR and digital team – we’re back to busy theatres and very happy audiences.

The business of BRB is now moving apace, but Covid nervousness combined with the impact of inflation on people’s disposable income, make our focus on re-growing our box office income a tough priority. We also await the outcome in October 2022 of Arts Council England’s next three-year funding round.

The good news is that Carlos’s bold programme is reaping rewards.

The ambitious mix of classical and contemporary works means our dancers look amazing, their technique pushed by the challenge of repertoire – from Radio and Juliet, to Swan Lake. We made our income targets for On Your Marks!, and achieved great audience and critical feedback. Former Royal Ballet dancer Julie Bowers, now joint CEO of bbodance, said: ‘On Your Marks! is the most phenomenal triple bill I have ever seen! Everyone in the audience was absolutely buzzing, the atmosphere was electric, the company looked sublime… BRB is the company to watch!’

We are incredibly grateful that, after seeing On Your Marks! and spending a day with us, the Michael Bishop Foundation renewed its philanthropic support of BRB. The Foundation’s support has previously provided BRB with the capacity to develop the technology base which supports our new brand, website and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system.

The Company is attracting increased attention from international promoters and I hope very much we’ll be able to secure international tour dates, and, as supporters, you will be the first to hear when we do.

We cannot wait to share more great art with you, our most valued friends and supporters, this coming year.

Best wishes,

Caroline Miller obe Chief Executive

148,000

In December 2021, there were over 148,000 views of the #SugarCube Dance Challenge on Instagram and TikTok, with BRB dancers inspiring Royal Academy of Dance students to create their own Nutcracker dances.

Birmingham Royal Ballet

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THE ROYAL BALLET SINFONIA Mark Pullinger in conversation with Music Director Koen Kessels and Principal Conductor Paul Murphy about this season’s extraordinary music

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Birmingham Royal Ballet

Paul Murphy conducting the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. © Caroline Holden.

When you nestle into your seat to enjoy BRB in action this season, spare a thought for the orchestra.

Down in the pit, the members of the Royal Ballet Sinfonia won’t see a thing that’s happening on stage and must rely on the conductor to keep everything together. ‘Our job is to be the servant of the ballet,’ says Koen Kessels, Music Director. ‘We are the conduit,’ explains Paul Murphy, BRB’s Principal Conductor. ‘We are there to engage the orchestra. If we go into autopilot, the show goes into autopilot.’ Ahead of the new season, the two conductors join me to discuss repertoire, working with dancers and ushering in a new generation of ballet conductors.

BRB’s autumn season includes two fulllength ballets inspired by the sinister stories of E.T.A. Hoffmann: Coppélia, and that perennial Christmas favourite, The Nutcracker. ‘One of the first records I had was The Nutcracker, conducted by Herbert von Karajan, so it was this that made me come to classical music,’ Koen relates. He reckons he’s conducted it around 150 times, but that’s nothing to Paul who must have led over 400 performances. ‘I never tire of the piece.

For me it’s the jewel in the crown of Tchaikovsky’s ballets, the orchestration is sublime, it’s exquisite in its detail, beautifully paced.’

The music to The Nutcracker is very familiar – it’s a great first ballet for children – yet the score, which has great symphonic moments in Act I, brings its own demands. ‘The party scene is full of little hurdles,’ admits Paul, ‘and the Waltz of the Snowflakes, which is basically in 3/2 even though it’s notated in 3/4, is all off the beat, so it’s a terrific challenge in every way.’

Is it difficult to keep Tchaikovsky’s scores, which the Royal Ballet Sinfonia will have played hundreds of times, fresh?

‘If you don’t enjoy playing The Nutcracker then you really have to change your profession!’ laughs Koen.

‘Orchestras love playing great scores.’

Coppélia is less familiar, but Koen admits it’s the Délibes ballet he loves best and he’s conducted many interpretations. ‘The version I’ve done the most is Patrice Bart’s for Paris Opéra Ballet and he really gets into the dark side of Hoffmann’s The Sandman [its source story].’ He’s also conducted Roland Petit’s version, which removes the final act, whereas Paul is most experienced in Sir Peter Wright’s, based on the original version choreographed

by Arthur Saint-Léon, which BRB dances.

‘It’s so difficult to play!’ Paul exclaims.

‘It’s Mozartian in its clarity. Everything is audible – and cruelly exposed – so there is no hiding place. How do you perform it? French sophistication or full blown Romantic sound? It mustn’t be underplayed, but it needs refinement too.’ ‘I have the same struggle,’ agrees Koen. ‘It’s written for a full orchestra so you need plenty of strings to balance it out.’

During a run of ballets like Coppélia or The Nutcracker, Koen and Paul will work with many different dancers rotating in the leading roles.

How far do they have to be aware of their different requirements or preferences in terms of things like tempo?

‘The time you spend in the studio with the dancers is where you reap the rewards,’ Paul explains. You need to know these dancers individually.

The difference between ballet and opera is that in ballet we observe at the early stages, but as we get closer to the performance, and certainly with the Principals, we will actually conduct in the studio. But tempo nuance in

“

Our job is to be the servant of the ballet.

”

Koen Kessels, Music Director

“

The time you spend in the studio with the dancers is where you reap the rewards.

”

Paul Murphy, Principal Conductor

24 To date, 24 emerging choreographers, designers and composers have been commissioned through our Ballet Now programme.

Birmingham Royal Ballet

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ballet is very small. Rarely is there a big tempo disparity between one dancer and another. The flow of the music is so important to the performance and dancers also have a responsibility to go with the flow of the music.’

‘It differs from house to house,’ says Koen. ‘Dancers like Laurent Hilaire would say that tempo matters less as long as the phrasing is clear.’

The autumn season also features a new triple bill Into the Music which features familiar concert scores – Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem and Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony – in choreographies

by Jiří Kylián and Uwe Scholz respectively, along with the brand-new score by the world-renowned composer Mikael Karlsson (Paris Opéra Ballet, Wiener Staatsballett) for Morgann Runacre-Temple’s Hotel. Paul explains that Karlsson has incorporated lots of different styles, ‘from a brooding Shostakovich element to funky, groovy music and he finishes with a bass clarinet solo. There are many dark and sinister goings-on in some rooms in this hotel... and a lot of fun happening in some of the others!’

Working with a contemporary composer is exciting for both conductors. ‘It’s one of the most exciting things,’ says Paul. ‘Ballet companies – like art galleries – rely on the classics, but it’s also important to add new repertoire.’ Koen also cites BRB commissions by the likes of Gabriel Prokofiev, Paul Englishby, Kate Whitley, Tom Harrold, Sarah Kirkland Snider and Mathias Coppens in recent seasons which have helped refresh the Company’s repertoire.

Paul reflects on how the role of the ballet conductor has changed. ‘When I started conducting ballet in 1992, there were still elements of the repetiteurballet conductor – someone who knew the tempi, who could be in front of the orchestra and serve the dancers, and the show would tick over. But now orchestras are better and more demanding – rightly so – and we 6

Birmingham Royal Ballet

are introducing a new generation of conductors to stimulate and challenge them.’

Helping to usher in that new generation of conductors is the Constant Lambert Fellowship, a two-year training and mentorship scheme run by both BRB and The Royal Ballet. Paul explains how each successful candidate acts as a cover conductor at The Royal Ballet and takes part in coaching sessions, and is given conducting opportunities at BRB. ‘The Fellowship has already unearthed great talent, such as Jonathan Lo, who is now Music Director of Northern Ballet, while the first CLF Fellow, Thomas Jung, was the runner-up in the 2020 Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition. Thomas returned to BRB to conduct Don Quixote last season and will conduct the entire Into the Music triple bill this autumn.’

Current Fellow, Charlotte Politi, is also an Assistant Conductor at the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

She recently conducted John Adams’s Shaker Loops with BRB. Watch out for her conducting both Coppélia and The Nutcracker in the coming season. It’s great to see young conductors following Paul and Koen into the pit!

Koen Kessels Music Director

Paul Murphy Principal Conductor

Mark Pullinger is an editor at online reviews website Bachtrack, and also writes programme notes and contributes reviews and articles to Gramophone and Opera magazines. He is a member of the Music and Dance Sections of The Critics’ Circle.

Charlotte Politi Constant Lambert Conducting Fellow

THE BIRMINGHAM 2022 COMMONWEALTH GAMES BRB’s Company Manager Tristan Rusdale remembers a once-in-a-lifetime event To be asked to be part of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games was an incredible opportunity.

However I don’t think any of us really knew what we were getting into initially, and from the beginning, we were not allowed to know much – everything was ‘cloak and dagger’.

All we knew was where we would be rehearsing and performing.

The thought of rehearsing outside, when we are used to our nice warm studios, was a slight concern, knowing the good old British weather. But it all worked out well and it was great to hear positive feedback from different sources: colleagues, family and friends.

The Commonwealth Games is a chance for nations to celebrate our different

cultures. It brings us together in 11 days of sport. This for me was an eye-opener, as I met people from parts of the world whom I will probably never have the chance of meeting again.

Whilst being part of the Opening Ceremony, you really understood the idea of unity. There were hundreds of little cogs making up what you saw on television: BRB, Elmhurst Ballet School, the actors, the drivers, the puppeteers… the list goes on. It is hard really to understand the scale of this event. We have all seen it on TV, but that really doesn’t do it justice. Just this one event involved thousands and thousands of people just to make one night of cultural celebration happen. I saw so many different cultures showcasing their talent.

I didn’t realise how much talent comes from just Birmingham! To watch everyone perform was beautiful. I even managed to be involved in the Duran Duran segment – this is most probably something I’ll never be able to do again. It made me very proud to work in Birmingham, and for Birmingham Royal Ballet, because without BRB this opportunity wouldn’t have been possible.

To have the Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham was wonderful for the city, but also for me and for the teams. And being part of the opening ceremony was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, something that we will never forget.

Back row, left to right: Lynsey Sutherland, Yuki Sugiura, Gus Payne and Rosanna Ely. Front row, left to right: Callum Findlay-White, Isabella Howard, Emma Price, Javier Rojas, August Generali, Eric Pinto Cata, Sofia Liñares and Lennert Steegen. © Tristan Rusdale.

Birmingham Royal Ballet

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DON QUIXOTE Originally scheduled to have its world premiere in 2020, Carlos Acosta’s sparkling new production of Don Quixote finally toured the country earlier this year. The production was a resounding success with standing ovations and positive feedback from audiences. But don’t just take our word for it, here’s a selection of quotes from the critics:

Birmingham Royal Ballet is grateful to Aud Jebsen, and Alan and Caroline Howard for their very generous support of this production.

“

What could be more entertaining than a classical rom-com with heaps of flamboyant choreography, soaring designs that set us up for a trip to sunny Spain (helped by Peter Mumford’s wonderful lighting), hundreds of colourful costumes to feast the eye and the jolly melodies of the Minkus score (arranged by Hans Vercauteren) to please the ear?

Debra Craine, The Times

”

Top: Tom Rogers as Don Quixote. Left: Momoko Hirata as Kitri and Mathias Dingman as Basilio. Right, from top: Emma Price and Javier Rojas as a Gypsy Couple; Momoko Hirata as Kitri and Artists of BRB as Dryads; Miki Mizutani and Yaoqian Shang as Kitri’s Friends. © Johan Persson.

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Birmingham Royal Ballet

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Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Don Quixote is as close to perfection as a three-act ballet can be .

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Teresa Guerreiro, Culture Whisper

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Throughout, there’s a warmth to this production, an affection for the material. This is a company having a good time .

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Zoe Anderson, The Independent

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If you’re after an evening of pure, unchallenging fun, the great Cuban’s new Don Quixote, for Birmingham Royal Ballet, is just the ticket.

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Mark Monahan, The Telegraph

Birmingham Royal Ballet

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COMING SOON TO A CINEMA NEAR YOU BRB announces its first-ever cinema screening 10

Birmingham Royal Ballet

Momoko Hirata as Kitri in Don Quixote. © Johan Persson

Paul James, Chief Commercial Officer, introduces this exciting new venture.

Don Quixote ‘the movie’ was part of Carlos’s vision for his new production of ‘Don Q’ right from the beginning.

The cinema relay of his earlier Royal Opera House production was one of the most successful livestream cinema, ballet events pre-pandemic, and the spectacular setting of this new production promised to lend itself perfectly to the big screen.

Birmingham Royal Ballet had already had some positive filmmaking experiences of course, with the original digital broadcasts of Lazuli Sky, The Nutcracker at The Rep and most recently Curated by Carlos. In these last two films the award-winning director (and former Royal Ballet dancer) Ross MacGibbon had guided us. We knew we would need his experience again to do justice to this spectacular production, just as he had done with Birmingham Royal Ballet’s first foray into cinema, Sir David Bintley’s Cinderella.

Ross always challenges us to ask ‘why’ we are filming. With The Nutcracker at The Rep, it was simple. Christmas had been cancelled by Covid and we wanted to create a smaller scale (with the limited space available at The Rep) but overtly festive celebration of this great production, designed and filmed especially for the small screen. For Curated by Carlos mixed programme we wanted a more ‘filmic’ experience, with Carlos pushing us to create a filmed experience that felt markedly different from the one audiences were going to see live. For Don Quixote we wanted to capture every sumptuous element of the production, always with a sense of it living on a big cinema screen.

For film fans, the words ‘large-scale production’ and ‘Don Quixote’ are enough to send shivers down the spine! Famously, it took Terry Gilliam

29 years, millions of dollars, and at least two lawsuits to make The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, a film that universally failed to inspire either audiences or critics. With Ross and Carlos at the helm though, we knew we were on firmer ground than the former Python! (Film Maker Terry Gilliam was a founding member of the classic comedy troupe, Monty Python).

We quickly agreed on one key idea – this was to be an ‘as live’ experience, one in which we captured the whole stage as viewed from the auditorium, surrounded by a live audience who were responding to the action they saw on stage.

This meant Ross directing live from an outside broadcast vehicle parked on Hurst Street (packed with key technical personnel). Five operated cameras were set up in the stalls (with sight-line seats behind them removed so as not to obstruct the audience’s view) and one central, remote camera mounted high on the front circle lighting bar. Sound cables were run from the orchestra pit (Birmingham Hippodrome has brilliant purpose-built trunking to hide these connections) with each member of the orchestra mic’d for optimum sound capture.

With this being an entirely new production, fully staged for the first time at Birmingham Hippodrome, rehearsal time was tight. Rather than squeeze film rehearsals around an already complex technical and orchestra schedule, we chose to run a complete performance on Tuesday 22 February for cameras. This run-through not only allowed us to secure the entire sequencing of the film but also gave us a safety net of performance footage that could be substituted into the final film if anything went wrong on film night.

dancers and orchestra delivering a truly spectacular Don Quixote for the cameras.

As ever, the dancers, orchestra, ballet staff and creative teams were amazingly generous with their talent, time and support, but a special mention must go to BRB’s technical team who created an entirely new staging for this film that allowed us the best possible lighting for capture, without any negative impact on the live experience for the in-house audience.

People often ask me why we don’t make more films of our productions.

Unfortunately, it is simply a matter of economics. The filming cost itself (which can exceed £100,000 for one production) can easily be doubled with ancillary costs. Digital audiences are not yet at a level to cover these costs, but watch this space… I hope to have some exciting news about future film support very soon.

Don Quixote will be on national cinema release on 26 October 2022, with an additional encore performance in Birmingham on 27 October. For details and to book tickets, please go to donquixoteballetfilm.com or visit BRB’s website.

As the audience came in on the evening of Friday 25 February, I stood in the wings watching the stage crew in their final preparations and I knew that this was going to be something special! Apart from one tiny technical glitch, film night was a triumph, with Birmingham Royal Ballet

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AGAINST ALL ODDS The past two and half years have been the toughest in BRB’s history. Recently, our team took a look back and we couldn’t quite believe how much BRB had achieved in the face of so many challenges with your help, our most loyal supporters. You stuck with us, bought tickets, watched performances online and donated when we needed specific help. We hope you enjoy this whistle-stop tour of BRB’s recent history. Here are some of our headline successes.

APRIL Home from Home, the first Zoom ballet class in the world streamed to the public: BRB company members dial in from Australia, France, Japan, New Zealand, the USA and UK as we became the first company to feature on the BBC’s pandemic Culture in Quarantine series.

Carlos creates online performance of Fokine’s The Swan: danced by BRB Principal Céline Gittens in her living room, with Principal Pianist Jonathan Higgins and the Royal Ballet Sinfonia’s cellist António Novais playing from their homes.

BRB creates #SundaySoundtrack playlists: BRB staff and company including the Royal Ballet Sinfonia’s musicians select their favourite music for people to enjoy at home.

2020 JANUARY Carlos Acosta’s first day as Director attracted headlines globally and the excitement in Birmingham was palpable. ‘I want to define what it is to be a world-leading classical ballet company in the 21st century.’

Carlos Acosta cbe

JUNE BRB Principal Brandon Lawrence hosts British Ballet Organisation’s Dance Choreography Challenge to stimulate students’ creativity during lockdown.

BRB’s LEAP team moves Dance Track students’ ballet lessons online.

JULY Carlos Acosta joins the Board of The Royal Ballet School.

BRB Clinical Director Nick Allen works with the Government to plan a safe return to work for the performing arts.

AUGUST

FEBRUARY BRB Assistant Director Marion Tait cbe receives one of the dance world’s most coveted awards, the De Valois Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance, from the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards.

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Birmingham Royal Ballet

BRB announces the first fully staged new show to be commissioned in the pandemic: Lazuli Sky, choreographed

by Will Tuckett, features in a partnership between BRB and The Rep with designs by Samuel Wyer, projections by Nina Dunn and live music by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia.

Carlos Acosta with Dance Track students. © Man Yee Lee

SEPTEMBER BRB collaborates with Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery to present a socially distanced Ballet, What’s That? promenade event at Aston Hall.

Carlos Acosta receives Dance Magazine Award.

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery commissions a portrait of Carlos Acosta by the winner of Sky Portrait Artist of the Year.

Composer Gabriel Prokofiev is nominated for a Novello award for the BRB Ballet Now commission, Sense of Time.

BRB 30th anniversary performance from Birmingham Town Hall is streamed worldwide, free on Facebook.

Co-commissioned with The Rep to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Company’s move to the City in 1990, BRB announces the City of a Thousand Trades: its world premiere is at The Rep in Birmingham in May 2021.

Over 13.5 million people worldwide watched BRB’s online

NOVEMBER

films and videos between March and November 2020.

BRB announces a specially adapted version of The Nutcracker which ensured the Covid safety of all performers, technical crew and audience members at The Rep in Birmingham.

DECEMBER

BRB streams the Lazuli Sky triple bill, our first pay-to-

BRB live-streams The Nutcracker at The Rep, pay-byview: the only ballet company in the world to present a livestreamed version of The Nutcracker during Christmas 2020.

view event: The Telegraph’s Cultural Heroes 2020, said, ‘If BRB can achieve Lazuli Sky amid the challenges of 2020, just imagine what their future might hold.’

City of a Thousand Trades. © Johan Persson.

22 Dance Track Participants successfully gain places at The Royal Ballet School and Elmhurst Ballet School.

Birmingham Royal Ballet

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2021

JANUARY BRB’s critically acclaimed Lazuli Sky features in Dancing Nation, a digital festival of world-class dance launched by BBC Arts with Sadler’s Wells.

FEBRUARY 20 students from The Royal Ballet School and Elmhurst Ballet School feature in a second film streaming of The Nutcracker at The Rep. Empty Stage, Carlos Acosta’s first major digital commission for the Company: the film features BRB dancers as well as Company members behind-the-scenes in a tribute to the performing arts industry.

BRB wins the Fedora Prize public vote for Ballet Now commission, Hotel.

MARCH LEAP Ambassadors feature in London’s Trinity College’s Talent Class of 2020.

JUNE BRB partners with Kauma Arts to host a free panel discussion for dance professionals on diversity in dance, the art form, the heritage and the workforce in the West Midlands.

BRB is the first UK dance company to take a major live show on tour in the UK during the pandemic: with live music played by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. Two world premieres (Miguel Altunaga’s City of a Thousand Trades and Daniela Cardim’s Imminent) and an adapted version of Sir David Bintley’s Cinderella.

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Birmingham Royal Ballet

BRB features in Birmingham International Dance Festival’s digital season: Broadcast of City of a Thousand Trades, an online Cinderella ballet class for children aged 6-11 years, Company Class from stage, plus two dance film world premieres (The Burning Building, choreographed by Javier De Frutos, and a new Freefall Dance Company film, Stepping Out, Stepping Up).

OCTOBER Homecoming season at Birmingham Hippodrome: Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Romeo and Juliet runs alongside a contemporary programme, R&J Reimagined, which saw the BRB premiere of choreographer Edward Clug’s Radio and Juliet, set to the music of Radiohead.

Carlos Acosta and ballet superstar Alessandra Ferri perform live with BRB at Sadler’s Wells for the longpostponed Curated by Carlos programme.

Principal César Morales wins Best Male Dancer at the 2021 Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards.

Students from Birmingham City and De Montfort universities participate in Wherefore ART Thou? and create four art works inspired by Edward Clug’s Radio and Juliet.

World Ballet Day: BRB runs four different streams throughout the day to audiences in Australia, Japan, the UK and the Americas, presented by our dancers from those countries.

NOVEMBER BRB’s Curated by Carlos triple bill launches Sadler’s Wells Digital Stage.

Students of Elmhurst Ballet School, including Amelia Thompson as the Snow Fairy, in the Land of Snow scene in The Nutcracker. © Johan Persson

2022 FEBRUARY

JULY

BRB gives world premiere of new production of Carlos Acosta’s Don Quixote: the biggest show in terms of sets, dancers, crew and orchestra to go on UK tour since the pandemic began.

BRB performs in the opening ceremony of the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, broadcast live from Birmingham to millions worldwide on 28 July.

BRB hosts a talk celebrating Black British Ballet presented by The Black British Ballet Project with BRB Principal Tyrone Singleton in a panel discussion.

SEPTEMBER

A documentary revealing the behind-the-scenes process of staging Don Quixote is created by nine final-year BA Film-Making students from Birmingham City University.

Royal Ballet Principals Marianela Núñez and Vadim Muntagirov perform with BRB in Don Quixote at Birmingham Hippodrome.

The Royal Ballet Sinfonia performs for the Nureyev Legend and Legacy show: at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

BRB loans our Giselle sets and costumes to The United Ukrainian Ballet: for its London charitable performances.

Sir Peter Wright honoured as Founding Director Laureate of Birmingham Royal Ballet

APRIL BRB celebrates four National Dance Award nominations for Brandon Lawrence, Momoko Hirata, Tyrone Singleton and Miguel Altunaga.

Dance for Ukraine Gala: Principals Mathias Dingman and Miki Mizutani perform the Don Quixote wedding pas de deux alongside world-leading ballet dancers at London Coliseum.

MAY Week-long residency at The Rep: Dance Track 25; An Evening of Music and Dance, featuring the Royal Ballet Sinfonia and BRB dancers; and Family Dance & Music, a show introducing children to ballet and live orchestral music.

Dance Track celebrates 25 years: the programme, which nurtures raw dance talent in primary schools across Birmingham, free of charge, was celebrated with Dance Track 25, a show featuring current Dance Track students and alumni.

During the Dance Track 25 performance Carlos Acosta offers Oscar Kempsey-Fagg a contract to join BRB, making him the first Dance Tracker to join the Company.

JUNE BRB presents Commonwealth-Games-inspired mixed programme On Your Marks! Dancers from Acosta Danza joined BRB in a new version of Jorge Crecis’s 12, renamed 24 for these performances. This was alongside Interlinked, a world premiere from choreographer Juliano Nunes, and Will Tuckett’s Lazuli Sky.

Max Maslen and Anna Ciriano in 24. © Tristram Kenton

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DEAR SUPPORTER A message from Sir David Normington gcb, BRB’s Chairman

This summer you will have received a letter from our Chief Executive, Caroline Miller, letting you know that the benefits enjoyed by our Friends and Dancers’ Circle have been updated.

We have taken away some restrictions on the number of events you can attend and have removed the set prices for ticketed events such as on-stage rehearsals, Class on Stage and our much-loved Christmas Afternoon Tea. Due to the wonderful feedback we have received regarding our online programme of talks, we are also delighted to formalise this as an official benefit. Via our website you will also soon have access to a growing archive of past online supporter talks.

We welcome feedback on everything we do and the development team would be delighted to hear from you should you have any queries, thoughts, ideas or suggestions regarding our supporter benefits and events. If you have any questions at all please contact Ella Cockerton, Individual Giving and Events Officer, at ellacockerton@brb.org.uk or on 07736 926155.

Opposite is a reminder of the updated benefits we are delighted to now offer and on p.18, you will see a full calendar of forthcoming supporter events.

A sincere thank you again for your support of Birmingham Royal Ballet. I look forward to seeing you at a performance or event in the near future.

Warm wishes,

Photos. © Paul Ward.

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Birmingham Royal Ballet

FRIENDS

DANCERS’ CIRCLE

Bronze Friends

Dancers’ Circle: Artist

Benefits

Benefits All the benefits of Gold Friends plus:

l Priority booking at selected venues* l Invitations to online supporter Zoom events, including

talks and ‘in conversations’ with dancers, musicians and creatives l

l

l l

Access to a growing digital archive of previous talks and ‘in conversations’ An exclusive programme of ticketed events including onstage rehearsals and an annual Christmas Afternoon Tea with the opportunity to meet our dancers

l

l

l Regular e-newsletters l Annual supporters’ magazine l

Concierge ticket booking service A programme of exclusive Dancers’ Circle events in Birmingham and London offering opportunities to get behind the scenes and meet dancers, musicians, creative teams and visiting artists An invitation for two to our annual Dancers’ Circle Christmas Party Complimentary access to all on-stage rehearsals (Birmingham and London) and all studio rehearsals (Birmingham).

Invitations to all opening-night receptions in Birmingham and London (show tickets not included)

Silver Friends

Dancers’ Circle: Soloist

Benefits All the benefits of Bronze Friends plus:

Benefits All the benefits of Dancers’ Circle: Artist plus:

l Highest level of priority booking*

l

l An exclusive invitation to an annual, online ‘Roundtable’

with our Chief Executive and Director, giving our supporters the opportunity to have their questions answered

l

l An invitation to our annual Season Launch, where you

A high-level programme of Insight Events in Birmingham and London offering regular opportunities to meet and hear from dancers, musicians, creative teams and visiting artists Invitations to see our Director, Carlos Acosta, lead classes at our Birmingham studios

will be the first to hear about our plans for the year from Company members

Gold Friends

Dancers’ Circle: Principal

Benefits All the benefits of Silver Friends plus:

Benefits All the benefits of Dancers’ Circle: Soloist plus:

l Acknowledgment of your support on the BRB website

l

and in our souvenir programmes l An invitation to a studio rehearsal and drinks reception

in Birmingham l An invitation to hospitality around all on-stage

rehearsals in Birmingham and London (rehearsal ticket not included)

l

Bespoke behind-the-scenes engagement with Birmingham Royal Ballet in line with your interests and commensurate to the level of support; previous events have included invitations to designers’ studios, celebratory events at embassies and joining Carlos Acosta at a technical rehearsal A dedicated member of the Development team who will keep you regularly updated on work most important to you, as well as helping you secure tickets for sold-out performances (where possible) and book hotels and restaurants linked to a show or event attendance

l

*We endeavor to offer our supporters the best priority booking possible at all the venues in which we perform. However, some of our venues have their own approach to priority booking, so a uniform offer is unfortunately not possible.

Invitations to any post-show receptions in Birmingham or London

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SUPPORTERS’ EVENTS CALENDAR October 2022 – February 2023

Welcome to your Events Calendar We are delighted to share our upcoming events calendar, giving you the opportunity to watch our wonderful dancers in rehearsal and to hear from members of staff about the process of staging world-class ballets.

Booking Requirements To book any of the events, simply visit Birmingham Royal Ballet’s website (brb.org.uk/supporter-events) unless otherwise stated, or by contacting the development team using the details below.

Online Events Jonathan Payn, our Principal Character Artist & Assistant Répétiteur, continues to host a series of fascinating events online via Zoom. Join Jonathan in the comfort of your home as he speaks with guests and members of the Company.

Contact Details Events Team Email events@brb.org.uk.

Chris Smith Senior Manager - Individual Giving Email: chrissmith@brb.org.uk Phone: 07774 775 307 Ella Cockerton Individual Giving and Events Officer Email: ellacockerton@brb.org.uk Phone: 07736 926 155

brb.org.uk/supporter-events 18

Birmingham Royal Ballet

Beatrice Parma as Swanilda in Coppélia. © Manvir Rai and Richard Payne.

October

November

Interval

Wednesday 26 October, 6:30 – 7:30pm & Interval

Into the Music Opening Night Reception

Coppélia Opening Night Reception

Join us for your exclusive openingnight reception and experience a programme featuring a UK premiere, alongside a world premiere, set to major orchestral scores expertly played by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia – including Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony.

Sir Peter Wright’s world-class production of beloved classic, Coppélia, returns to the stage for the first time in five years. Join Company staff as well as fellow supporters at our exclusive opening-night reception.

Friday 21 October, 6:30 – 7:30pm &

Open to: Dancers’ Circle (free).

Please contact events@brb.org.uk to book your place and/or your show tickets.

Location: Studio 5, Birmingham Hippodrome.

Tuesday 25 October, 6:30 – 9:30pm

Coppélia Stage Rehearsal Watch the Company rehearse on stage ahead of opening night! Please note: although some of the dancers may be in costume, we cannot guarantee that this will be a full-dress rehearsal.

Open to: Dancers’ Circle (free) and all Friends (£10, or free if you have a show ticket). If you have a show ticket, please contact events@brb.org.uk to book. The event will also include prerehearsal and interval drinks reception for Gold Friends and all Dancers’ Circle.

Location: Auditorium, Birmingham Hippodrome.

Open to: Dancers’ Circle (free).

Please contact events@brb.org.uk to book your place and/or your show tickets.

Location: Studio 5, Birmingham Hippodrome.

Wednesday 2 November, 2 – 5pm

Into the Music Stage Rehearsal Watch the Company rehearse on stage ahead of London’s opening night!

Please note: although some of the dancers may be in costume, we cannot guarantee that this will be a full-dress rehearsal.

Open to: Dancers’ Circle (free) and all Friends (£10, or free if you have a show ticket). If you have a show ticket, please contact events@brb.org.uk to book. The event will also include a prerehearsal and interval drinks reception for Gold Friends and all Dancers Circle.

Location: Auditorium, Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London.

Wednesday 2 November, 6:30 – 7:30pm & Interval

Into the Music Opening Night Reception Join us for your exclusive opening night reception and experience a programme featuring two London premieres, set to major orchestral scores, expertly played by the Royal Ballet Sinfonia – including Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony.

Open to: Dancers’ Circle (free).

Please contact events@brb.org.uk to book your place and/or your show tickets.

Location: Rosebery Room, Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London.

Tuesday 8 November, 10:30am – 12:15pm

Class in Studio See Company dancers in class at our studios.

Open to: Dancers’ Circle (free).

Location: BRB Studios, Thorp Street.

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Thursday 10 November, time tbc

Online Supporters’ Talk Sir Peter Wright’s celebrated and much-loved production of the classic Christmas tale returns in 2022 following a one-million pound refresh. Join us alongside the creatives behind The Nutcracker as we discuss the work that went into bringing this production back to the stage.

Open to: Free for all Supporters.

Location: Online via Zoom.

Wednesday 16 November, 5 – 6:30pm

The Nutcracker Studio Rehearsal

Open to: Dancers’ Circle (free).

Please contact events@brb.org.uk to book your place and/or your show tickets.

Location: Studio 5, Birmingham Hippodrome.

Tuesday 22 November, 6:30 – 7:30pm & Interval

The Nutcracker Reception Join us for your exclusive reception as Sir Peter Wright’s glorious production of the classic Christmas tale returns in 2022 following a one-million pound refresh.

Open to: Dancers’ Circle (free).

Location: BRB Studios, Thorp Street.

Open to: Dancers’ Circle (free).

Please contact events@brb.org.uk to book your place and/or your show tickets.

Location: Studio 5, Birmingham Hippodrome.

Friday 18 November, 2 – 5pm

Tuesday 29 November, 7 – 11pm

The Nutcracker Stage Rehearsal

Dancers’ Circle Christmas Party

See Company dancers prepare for this production at our studios in this exclusive studio rehearsal.

Watch the Company rehearse on stage ahead of The Nutcracker’s opening night in Birmingham! Please note: although some of the dancers may be in costume, we cannot guarantee that this will be a full-dress rehearsal.

Open to: Dancers’ Circle (free) and all Friends (£10, or free if you have a show ticket). If you have a show ticket, please contact events@brb.org.uk to book. The event will also include prerehearsal and interval drinks reception for Gold Friends and all Dancers’ Circle.

Location: Auditorium, Birmingham Hippodrome.

Saturday 19 November, 6:30 – 7:30pm & Interval

The Nutcracker Opening Night Reception Join us for opening night as Sir Peter Wright’s world-famous production of the classic Christmas tale returns following a one-million pound refresh.

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Birmingham Royal Ballet

Celebrate the festive season and another year of outstanding ballet with our dancers, staff and fellow supporters.

Open to: Dancers’ Circle (free).

Location: Loki Wine & Deli, Edgbaston.

December Sunday 4 December, 3:30 – 5:30pm

Supporter Christmas Tea Celebrate the festive season with us where you and a guest have the opportunity to meet members of the Company and enjoy a wonderful afternoon tea in the beautiful setting of The Grand Hotel.

Open to: Dancers’ Circle and Friends.

Please note that this is a ticketed event, with each ticket priced £35.

Location: The Grand Hotel, Birmingham.

Wednesday 7 December, 5 – 6pm

Round Table with Carlos Acosta and Caroline Miller Join BRB Director, Carlos Acosta cbe, and Chief Executive Officer, Caroline Miller obe, as we review the successes of the season so far and look forward to forthcoming performances.

Open to: Dancers’ Circle, Gold Friends and Silver Friends (free).

Location: Online via Zoom.

January 2023 Wednesday 18 January, 5 – 6pm

Online Supporters’ Talk Join us in discussion with the creatives behind Swan Lake, BRB’s treasured production of the world’s best-loved ballet.

Open to: Free for all Supporters.

Location: Online via Zoom.

Thursday 26 January 5 – 6:30pm

Swan Lake Studio Rehearsal See Company dancers prepare for this production at our studios.

Open to: Dancers’ Circle (free).

Location: BRB Studios, Thorp Street.

Saturday 28 January, 10:30am – 12:15pm

Class in Studio See Company dancers in class.

Open to: Dancers’ Circle (free).

Location: BRB Studios, Thorp Street.

February Friday 10 February, 5 – 6:30pm

Swan Lake Studio Rehearsal See Company dancers prepare for this production.

Open to: Dancers’ Circle (free).

Location: BRB Studios, Thorp Street.

FREEFALL DANCE COMPANY As we approach Freefall Dance Company’s 21st birthday in 2023, Ella Cockerton caught up with the company’s founder, Lee Fisher

How did Freefall come about?

Well, Freefall officially began as a company in 2002, but the seeds were sown in 1998-9. Through LEAP (BRB’s Learning, Engagement, Access and Participation team) I was working in a special school, Fox Hollies in Kings Heath. It was a wonderful and hugely inspiring creative environment for young people with disabilities. They had such a passion for dance and moved beautifully but also unconventionally, offering an extraordinary aesthetic.

I really felt these students deserved a platform through which to celebrate and showcase their talent, and I wondered what would happen with a more sustained approach to teaching and sharing ballet with them. There were two main focuses in the beginning: to increase the opportunities, and the provision, in

the arts world for school leavers with disabilities. There wasn’t anything out there like Freefall – it was groundbreaking. Freefallers love dancing and they are really worth watching – this is a different, thrilling kind of theatre. As a dancer, educator, and choreographer, I work to create that theatre. I champion the values and philosophy of Freefall fiercely, and celebrate these, while aiming also to create broader impact. We started with six young people, and 20 years on, four out of the six are still in the Company. I’m super proud of that – it means it works for them.

From left: Yvette Knight (BRB First Soloist); Faye O’Connor (Freefall dance artist); Lee Fisher (BRB’s Head of Creative Learning and Founder of Freefall Dance Company); Richard Syner (Freefall musician and composer) and members of Freefall Dance Company. © Drew Tommons.

What’s the significance of BRB being the only Company worldwide with a second Company devoted to those with learning difficulties?

It’s made a huge impact! Freefallers have ballet as their first language.

Freefall challenges stereotypical

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views of what people with a learning disability can do – that’s the mission.

And the vision is to be a learning and creative resource, for and with people with a learning disability. When I first worked with Freefall I was still dancing with BRB, and over the years others have joined me, transferring messages both ways. Underpinning that are high standards and excellence, and that’s another intrinsic link to BRB. It’s an understatement to say the young people are proud of being part of Freefall – they gain a sense of belonging also to BRB. They would describe themselves as dancers, something fundamental to their identity. The best example of this was when Sir David Bintley, BRB’s former Director, choreographed for Freefall and BRB dancers together, working with film maker Ross McGibbon, to make After Bach.

community engagement works, and that it has value. People don’t keep rocking up on a wet, cold, Monday night if it’s not nourishing the dancers. None of our dancers travel independently, so Freefall’s success also signifies that families recognise it’s giving them something powerful, something important.

How has Freefall affected the community, and the families of Freefallers?

I don’t think any other dance company has invested for over 20 years in any type of community outreach dance project. That is hugely significant, for both the Birmingham community, and the families of the Freefallers. 21 years on, Freefall remains innovative, a demonstration that sustained

Without support, Freefall also wouldn’t be able to work with the universities to impact the practice of young graduate teachers in terms of inclusion and development. Dance sits in PE within the national curriculum, but a lot of the time trainee teachers feel ill-equipped or unprepared to teach dance after they qualify, and they are quite likely to have children with disabilities in their classrooms. We work with the

How do BRB donors enable and enhance Freefall?

Without this support, we wouldn’t be able to deliver our annual Freefall production in November. Support helps with the cost of booking the Patrick Centre, staffing this event, using stage managers, technicians, musicians, costumiers, and design staff. The Freefall shows give a real sense of the joy the dancers get from being involved.

Freefall is an intrinsic part of them, their lives, and their families’ lives.

“

It’s an understatement to say the young people are proud of being part of Freefall – they gain a sense of belonging also to BRB.

”

“

Freefallers love dancing, and they are really worth watching - this is a different, thrilling kind of theatre.

”

22

Birmingham Royal Ballet

Freefall Dance Company. © Drew Tommons.

How can our supporters help to support Freefall into its 21st year?

We want Freefall to grow and expand on its first 21 years and we need the help of audiences and supporters to do that.

With that in mind, we are delighted that Freefall is the focus of BRB’s participation in The Big Give’s annual fundraising campaign, the Christmas Challenge, this year. By aiming to raise even more funds for the company at the end of 2022, we can mark the 21st birthday by hosting a fantastic celebratory festival to showcase the achievements of participants past and present.

University of Birmingham’s School of Education, and specifically with their trainee PE teachers, to develop their dance practice, challenge their views, and get them to ‘think inclusively’ as teachers.

Without support, we also wouldn’t have been able to make films that give us a broader reach and impact. They enable conversations and challenge perceptions.

Most importantly though, without support we wouldn’t have the continuity of weekly sessions for the Freefallers. Each of these sessions costs several hundred pounds, due to the pastoral dance staff and musicians needed. The cost really mounts up.

What Freefall activity can we look forward to in 2023? We understand it’s a big year!

2023 marks the 21st anniversary year of Freefall, so it would be great to do an all-singing, all-dancing festival week in November 2023. I’d love to take a retrospective look at where we’ve come from, a look at our current work and to explore our ambitions for Freefall’s future. We’d invite any similar Companies along and showcase our work through exhibitions, films, and photographs. We also want to dial up

Barry Kirby and Lee Fisher. © Paul Telfer.

our University work – to do that I’d love to employ an academic to look at the impact this type of arts initiative has had.

In 2023, I’d also like to increase our recent partnership with Open Theatre, the physical theatre company and, if funded, do school tours and workshops.

Freefallers are role models to their peers and going into schools allows us to meet these peers before they leave school. Ultimately we could have provision at primary, secondary and further education level, all feeding into Freefall. You’d need a second Freefall Company pretty quickly, and this is all do-able, but it needs the resources!

Lastly I’d love to make a creative documentary, recording some great stories with Freefall families who have been there since the beginning. That’s really exciting and a good progression in our digital work.

It is vital for Freefall to continue to develop and to do that we have to aim even higher with what we hope to achieve. We simply want to grow the project and reach even more people, and to do that we aim to work with five new Special Educational Needs schools – delivering in-school workshops, creating more opportunities for teacher training – and providing chances to take part and to watch performances. We are also planning to create and publish an academic paper that documents the impact of the programme, as well as doing even more evaluation of the company’s impact by commissioning an independent review of the teacher training elements of our work. We hope to do this by partnering with universities in Birmingham and the West Midlands. Ultimately, we want to achieve our aims of reaching even more people with the Company’s work. We’d be delighted if you could help us get there by supporting us this November and December.

Ultimately, though, the vision is that the Freefall project remains sustainable and that we keep stretching the boundaries of the work on stage and on film.

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“

I hope that you will enjoy the new restored Nutcracker and that it will continue to delight audiences for many, many more years.

”

John Macfarlane, Designer

THE NUTCRACKER RETURNS Jim Fletcher in conversation with renowned designer John MacFarlane about his designs for our newly restored production of The Nutcracker Here is a sneak peek at the designs for Sir Peter Wright’s beautiful production, gifted to the city of Birmingham in 1990, and returning to delight Birmingham Hippodrome audiences.

After over 1000 performances, the sets and costumes badly required repair and modernisation, so in 2018 we began fundraising for restoration of the costumes for the Snowflakes, Columbine and Harlequin, the Sugar Plum Fairy, and others items such as King Rat’s coat and breeches, Jack-inthe Box, and the children’s costumes from the party scene. Through the generosity of our supporters we raised an incredible £99,950, surpassing our £60,000 target.

In 2019 we aimed to refurbish the production’s sets. For some tender

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Birmingham Royal Ballet

loving specialist care we raised an incredible £101,110, just above our target. In 2020 we aimed to restore the Act I fireplace, the staircase and the magical Christmas tree. Again, your support took us beyond our target of £75,000 – we raised £84,738. 2021 was the last phase of fundraising, our Big Give Campaign raising £103,190 (above our target of £100,000) to complete the restoration of Act II. In total, our Big Give supporters have helped us raise just under £400,000 for this masterpiece, which is so popular with families and for many, their first experience of ballet.

Designer John Macfarlane comments: ‘I was very happy to have the opportunity to completely rebuild my sets and costumes for Sir Peter Wright’s 1990 production of The

Top: The Nutcracker front cloth being surveyed by desigher John Macfarlane, showing its scale Above: Act I, the clock which strikes midnight ushering in all sorts of magic

Designs. © John Macfarlane

Nutcracker. It is actually much more a case of revitalising and restoring the production to its original strength and colour palette rather than any major redesign. I am very aware that it must always be the one that Birmingham audiences have loved for 32 years, but these donations have allowed rejuvination. I’ve been able to use forms of construction and materials which were not available when it was first created, and, of course, after a long wait it gives me the chance to redesign a few elements in the show that I was not so happy with in the original production.

‘It is a testament to the loving care bestowed on the sets and costumes by the amazing BRB production wardrobe and stage staff that this Nutcracker has had 32 years of life but, inevitably, many of the original colours and textures have now faded.

‘The lighting team has introduced a new moving LED rig which also requires quite a lot of adjustment to the lighting and hanging plot (the all-essential list of all technical requirements for the show) – hopefully this will mean a more streamlined and easier-to-rig production, thereby reducing the size of crew required to run the many transformations and set changes.

‘For several years now we have been replacing and rebuilding many of the costumes in the show, but finally it is time to completely rebuild the costumes for Act I – the Snowflakes scene, all 44 of them, to their original sparkling glory, together with the Harlequin and Columbine costumes.

‘I hope that you will enjoy the new restored Nutcracker and that it will continue to delight audiences for many, many more years and provide a magical first ballet experience for many young people.’

From top: Act I – the boxes from which Harlequin and Columbine appear, to entertain at the Christmas party; Act II – the Flying Goose ‘carriage’, which magically transports Clara to the Land of Sweets; Act II – the vibrant new backdrop for the Waltz of the Flowers. © John Macfarlane.

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DANCE TRACK 25 Images from the two performances on 8 May 2022 to celebrate Dance Track’s 25th anniversary Around 200 current and former Dance Track participants filled the stage of The Rep. They were joined by BRB Principals Céline Gittens and Brandon Lawrence, and some special guest speakers, including Dame Arlene Phillips and Councillor Jayne Francis.

During its 25-year history, BRB’s ground-breaking Dance Track programme has made a positive impact on the lives of around 36,000 primary school children in Birmingham, across more than 40 schools, through workshops designed to identify raw dance talent. Each year, around 100 children aged 6-11 follow the Dance Track programme, free of charge – a total of more than 3,200 nurtured, trained and supported since 1997.

Dance Track 25 was generously supported by

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Birmingham Royal Ballet

Top and below left: Dance Track Students; middle: Oscar Kempsey-Fagg; right: courtesy of The Royal Ballet School. © Paul Telfer.

REVIEW OF THE 2021/22 SEASON A roundup of some of the season’s best press quotes

Curated by Carlos

The Nutcracker

On Your Marks!

Acosta promised “ to stretch his

★★★★★

★★★★

performers and bring new names and ideas to the ballet stage, and he’s been true to his word The Guardian

”

Romeo and Juliet

This is a wonderful “ production, beautifully danced, simple to follow and brimming with enthusiasm from a cast delighted to be back performing Behind the Arras

”

The dancers “ were sublime, mixing strength with incredible lightness, and the music impressed equally as much, with Prokofiev’s soaring score played faultlessly by the live orchestra Muddy Stilettos

”

We are grateful to dance critics and journalists for writing about us and bringing our work to the attention of the wider general public.

The Guardian

Through the “ artistic direction of Carlos Acosta, Birmingham Royal Ballet is rapidly developing a trademark as a company which is innovative, not afraid to take risks and where the quality of dance, music and design are exceptional

”

The Birmingham Press

In particular, we would like to mention Dancing Times which, sadly, will have published its last-ever issue in September 2022.

Dancing Times has been a key UK dance publication since 1910. Thank you to Editor Jonathan Gray and the entire team at Dancing Times for everything they have done for the dance industry over the years.

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REACHING OUR COMMUNITIES Dr Sandie Bourne, Project Lead of Black British Ballet, reflects on diversity in dance, spurred by the performances at Dance Track 25

I was excited to join BRB as it celebrated 25 years of its outreach programme Dance Track, which has reached over 3,200 children and young people. It was wonderful to see Carlos Acosta cbe and the Company showcase the talented youth from Birmingham’s diverse communities on The Rep stage.

The wide-ranging programme featured children from six years old all the way up to Company Principals, Céline Gittens and Brandon Lawrence, who performed a pas de deux from Coppélia. The audience, mainly family and friends, embraced the joyous occasion and it was wonderful to see some of the children in darker skintoned ballet shoes; an important, and long-overdue development in mainstream ballet.

Dance Track was founded in 1997 by Birmingham Royal Ballet’s former

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Birmingham Royal Ballet

Head of Education, Jane Hackett, as part of the Company’s initiative to introduce ballet as an accessible art form. It aimed to open its doors to children from the city’s diverse communities, with a particular focus on students from the black community.

When Dance Track was being established, Julie Felix, a black British ballerina and a former soloist with Dance Theatre of Harlem, was asked to join the programme as lead ballet teacher. She subsequently had a huge influence on the young children she taught over the years and is still supporting young dancers in Birmingham through her relationship with ACE dance and music (acedanceandmusic.com).

Black British Ballet project, that having black dancers and teachers is vital to making young dancers from the global majority feel that they belong in ballet.

We all know that ballet has a long way to go before it truly represents the range of communities that now make their home in the UK. However, the presence of role models like Julie Felix, Céline Gittens and Brandon Lawrence are key to inspiring the next generation of black and brown children to perform ballet at the highest level. This is why it’s so vital that the careers and achievements of these dancers, and their peers, are widely recognised and celebrated by the industry and beyond.

Dr Sandie Bourne, PhD www.blackbritishballet.com

I know from our interviews with Julie Felix, and other black British ballet dancers from the past century for the

Sandie Bourne. © Clovis Lowe; Dance Track students outside The Rep. © Phil Hitchman

SPOTLIGHT ON...

Dr Nick Allen, Clinical Director BRB’s Jerwood Centre for the Prevention & Treatment of Dance Injuries How would you like to see this vital clinical service develop?

I want BRB and the wider dance sector to continue to support high performance ambitions in a healthy way, despite the impact of pressure and stress in these environments.

Do you and the team work only with the dancers?

I attribute the success we have to a cross-fertilisation of ideas from sport and dance. I have been very fortunate What brought you to the Jerwood Centre, and what is your role within the team?

My role before BRB was Head of Medical Services for one of the Premiership rugby clubs. My previous boss and mentor (Dr Wayne Diesel) advised immersing yourself in varied environments to push your professional development – a move to the ballet would certainly fit that idea. Also I wanted to understand a different way of preparing physically for activity and I hadn’t had experience of dance. I then had an opportunity to see something of how dancers prepare when I took an England rugby player to see a Pilates instructor. We had exceptional results with the player and it sparked an interest in how combining two thoughts on physical preparation could enhance performance.

performance enhancement. We have a Head Physiotherapist, Khushnum Pastakia, who takes the clinical lead on our cases, while Esther Collacott is our lead on rehabilitation and conditioning.

Esther works on the periodisation of the conditioning of dancers’ bodies.

This work needs to take account of the varied season a dancer will encounter, as well as their role-specific challenges.

What’s a typical day for yourself and the team at the Jerwood Centre?

The joy of our roles is that they can be quite varied. We have a departmental vision of enabling dancers to achieve their artistic ambitions through both their physical and mental preparation.

It runs from injury management to injury prevention, and this is important when considering our vision and

When it comes to touring, we aim to deliver the same services, just in a smaller space than we have at BRB’s Jerwood Centre! We do however take other factors into consideration, from how to optimise nutrition on the road, to sleep strategies when not in your usual bed.

As we strive to provide the best level of care, we constantly review best practice. As there is often a lack of evidence-based approaches in dance medicine, we do our own research.

Currently we are writing up three papers for medical journals and will be embarking on a significant piece of research next season as part of our strategy to support dancers’ health and well-being.

From left: Nick Allen, Esther Collacott, Khushnum Pastakia and Jason Boyle. © Lachlan Monaghan.

to work with British, European, World, Commonwealth and Olympic champions, and I have brought a lot of what I have learned from them into my work with dance. For that reason, I actively encourage my team to continue the consulting work they do in elite sport, as it feeds into and challenges our thoughts in caring for dancers.

What are you most proud of at the Jerwood Centre?

We support dancers in achieving their goals, and I am proud of this. I am especially proud of the work BRB and Caroline Miller did in one of her previous roles, before she became CEO of BRB. Together, we set up the National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science. This was an ambitious project to provide support for the dance sector, where the majority of dancers were not afforded the level of medical support we have in BRB. NIDMS has been running for a decade now and continues to support the wider sector.

Additionally, I would say I am proud of the way in which we support the staff in the Jerwood. Many staff have gone on to opportunities elsewhere and the experiences they had during their time with us helped them develop professionally.

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REACHING OUT Pearl Chesterman, Director of LEAP (Learning, Engagement, Access & Participation) reports on the team’s varied activities Dance Track 25

Teacher Engagement

Dance Track is very special – it changes people’s lives. In 25 years we have worked with over 36,000 primary school children. This year there was a celebration of this anniversary, with 200 young people performing on stage at The Rep. Our current Dance Track cohort was joined by four alumni from The Royal Ballet School and eight from Elmhurst Ballet School. Kit Holder choreographed Run the Track for RBS Upper School student Oscar KempseyFagg, and Carlos joined Oscar on stage and offered him a contract with BRB as an Artist. The Company is very proud to have produced such an amazing show – it took a huge amount of skill and effort.

We’re excited to have started a series of teacher events. At the first event, 23 teachers were introduced to our primary school offerings – Ballet Unwrapped, and Dance Track. They participated in a workshop, and watched a demonstration by current Dance Track students, then joined the audience for the glorious triple bill On Your Marks!. We look forward to working with some of these schools in the future.

Junior Associates, Elmhurst Young Dancer and BBO A record ten students have been accepted into the Junior Associate scheme of The Royal Ballet School and 16 have gained places on the Elmhurst Young Dancer scheme, beginning their training this September. One student joins the Mid Associates of The Royal Ballet School. The British Ballet Organisation has offered two free places for our Dance Track Plus students on the BBO Summer School held at Elmhurst Ballet School in July, and one free Insight place for a younger member of Dance Track.

Ballet Unwrapped Ballet Unwrapped is a new educational project by the LEAP team for schools in Birmingham, in cities we tour to, and beyond. It will bring ballet into schools in a cross-curricular way, aimed at Key Stages 1 and 2. It will encourage children back into learning following the period of lockdown and home schooling.

There will be a Continuing Professional Development offer for the teachers and a touring box delivered to schools filled with costumes, resource packs, posters, activities, pointe shoes, mini trucks, lighting gels and more!

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Illustration © Sarah Ray.

Lazuli Sky Project This wonderful project inspired by Will Tuckett’s Lazuli Sky was programmed as part of Birmingham International Dance Festival. It aimed to give talented young dancers in the city an opportunity to work with BRB to develop their technique, choreography and creative skills. It also expanded our connections with colleges and universities. 28 dance and musical theatre students created a 17-minute piece entitled Seraphina. Seraphina is the name of the Goddess of Wild Nature and, like Will Tuckett’s Lazuli Sky, the piece takes inspiration from the beauty of the natural world which flourished during the global pandemic. Thank you to Will for his support.

Rain drew a halt to the outdoor performance at BIDF, so we arranged a private performance for friends and family in the BRB studios.

Through this project we’ve established partnerships with Sutton Coldfield College and with Performers College Birmingham whose Principal Adam Davenport says: ‘Our students have gained so much from the experience and have all been extremely positive with their feedback. Thank you for this opportunity for collaboration and we dearly hope for more in the future.’

Ellie Gale, Performers College student, comments: ‘I have gained confidence in putting forward my own ideas and it

has made me believe in my ability more so than ever before.’

The LEAP Ambassadors programme launched in 2019 and encompasses professional development, insight, knowledge and skills in arts careers, the running of an arts organisation, personal development and confidence building.

day. Ambassadors also had the chance to take part in hands-on individual training whilst shadowing BRB staff (including stage management, costume, digital production) and Ambassadors have also assisted with Dance Track class delivery. In June the young people worked with Artistic Curator Dinos Aristidou to create the LEAP Ambassadors celebration event to highlight their learning throughout the year.

Students from Performers College will perform an eight-minute reprise of Seraphina ahead of both the matinee and evening performances of Into the Music on Saturday 22 October.

The LEAP Ambassadors

After a move to online delivery in 2020 and a year’s break due to Covid-19, group training sessions in 2021/22 included Company Management, Project Management, an introduction to the Jerwood Centre, and the opportunity to shadow dancers for the

“

My confidence on the course has embedded a sense of belonging, which really helped me to embrace the learning and enjoy the experience Imogen Levermore, LEAP Ambassador

Photos © Paul Telfer.

”

LEAP Ambassadors 2022/23 A new cohort of Ambassadors will be recruited for October 2022 – July 2023.

If you have any youth or community contacts who work with 16-25 year olds, please contact: hannahmacgregor@brb.org.uk

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HOTEL: A NEW SCORE A key component of our Ballet Now series is the commissioning of new music. Jim Fletcher caught up with composer Mikael Karlsson about his new creation for Hotel which premieres at Birmingham Hippodrome on 21 October

Into the Music, curated by Carlos Acosta, celebrates the marriage of music and movement. It includes the world premiere of Hotel by Morgann Runacre-Temple, to a new score by Mikael Karlsson.

What was your concept?

The score for Hotel is mostly about building pacing and mood. We build from the woodwind section outward, putting a spotlight on the buzzing reeds, the creaking wood, and the music that literally lives on the breath of the performer. Morgann and film maker Jess Wright want a score that speaks of mystery, and maybe a bit noir. My sound leans on jazz, gospel, classical traditions new and old –

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and rhythm, rhythm, rhythm. And playfulness. I see a lot of that in the work of Morgann and Jess, and I think that’s a focus we have in common in our work.

Hotel is a Ballet Now commission.

Ballet Now is generously supported

by Oak Foundation’s Special Interest Programme. This production won The Linbury Prize for Stage Design. The biennial Prize, the most important

How did the creative process start?

I began with a synopsis from Morgann and Jess, then I asked them to reference a few of my older pieces, to pinpoint what part of my sound they respond to.

From there it’s trial and error really.

They have an idea of how to build the score, but as I write I will stumble upon things that can be interesting triggers, challenges, catalysts or moodswitchers. I make suggestions and they give feedback. I work with sample libraries so as to be able to give them a very close idea of what the orchestra

of its kind in the UK, brings together the best of emerging designers with professional theatre, dance and opera companies. The Linbury Prize for Stage Design is funded by the Linbury Trust. We are also grateful to The John S Cohen Foundation, The Marchus Trust, The Oakley Charitable Trust, The Owen Family Trust and The H Steven and P E Wood Charitable Trust for their support of Hotel.

Design for Hotel. © Sami Fendall.

would sound like. We incorporate some backtracks with electronics, and use sound design to make the music as unpredictable and varied as possible.

Once the music starts to work, it almost always tells me where it wants to go, and then it’s just about listening to what there is, so as to understand what there isn’t yet.

Does this process also develop you personally?

The process of writing for dance is very familiar to me, having composed dozens of scores, but each choreographer has a different approach, which then means that I have to shapeshift a bit to fit into their puzzle. I learn from my collaborators. It’s a fun but challenging task, and that’s how I grow.

It’s always a thrill to get to live inside other artists’ minds, and try to figure out how best to support their visions.

Morgann and Jess are phenomenal world builders, storytellers and mind bogglers. I feel a kindred spirit-ness with them. Of course, it’s also a thrill to work with the wonderful dancers and staff of Birmingham Royal Ballet and its orchestra!

How does the collaboration work?

For all orchestral scores I co-orchestrate with a brilliant collaborator of mine – Michael P. Atkinson. His work is crucial to mine. I hand my Logic Projects over to him, and he takes my midi orchestration and brings it into the real world, and of course to real players. He knows my sound (or rather the sound we’ve built together) in and out, from our eight years of working together.

We’ve even started co-composing some pieces. Being a composer is rather a lonely occupation most of the time, intercepted by extremely intense production periods where you have to come quickly to an understanding with strangers. It’s really great to have a constant in that. Michael is the best, and a first line of quality control too.

Do you have anything else you would like to add?

The score for Hotel shifts musical meters almost constantly. This puts a certain pressure on a choreographer.

If they choose really to engage, there’s no counting to eight when the music is already on the next downbeat by seven. I once asked William Forsythe what he thinks is the most important thing to think about when writing music for dance. He quickly replied: ‘keep them counting, so they stay alert and on their toes’. I think the same thing in my relation to the audience – the task, if you ask me, is to avoid becoming predictable, while staying understandable. As there are no words, the sounds travel in another language, the language of manipulation. I will try to manipulate, to affect you. Instead of telling the audience: ‘This is how you should feel’, I want to tell them: ‘Hey, here is a space in which you can feel something’. I suspect Morgann and Jess operate along similar premises. It’s about activating the audience, so they contribute to the experience.

ON TOUR 2022 Birmingham Hippodrome 21 & 22 October

Sadler’s Wells, London 2 – 5 November

INTO THE MUSIC Forgotten Land Music Benjamin Britten Choreography Jiří Kylián Assistants to the choreographer Cora Bos Kroese, Shirley Esseboom Designs John Macfarlane Lighting Kees Tjebbes

Hotel A work by Morgann Runacre-Temple in collaboration with Jess and Morgs Films Choreography Morgann Runacre-Temple Film Concept and Direction Jessica Wright and Morgann Runacre-Temple Music Mikael Karlsson Designs Sami Fendall Lighting Kieron Johnson

The Seventh Symphony Music Ludwig van Beethoven Choreography Uwe Scholz Designs Uwe Scholz, inspired by Morris Louis Staging Roser Muñoz Massanas

147,895 147,895 followers and 89,608 likes on Facebook – @bhamroyalballet

Mikael Karlsson. © Hans Nilsson.

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SPOTLIGHT ON...

Amira Campbell, Music Assistant frantically nodding at Robert Gibbs (Leader of the Royal Ballet Sinfonia) to start tuning the orchestra minutes before Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov appeared as guest artists at Birmingham Hippodrome with their performance of Carlos Acosta’s Don Quixote.

Growing up I trained in tap dance, iceskating, athletics, swimming, ballet, and violin classes, alongside being a keen student and studying Italian and French. My mum likes to describe my sisters and I as her superwomen, all of us have a plethora of skills at our disposal, courtesy of her ‘tiger mummy’ tendencies.

I warmed most to music. I kept on with music and now study it at university, my inclination towards research and ethnomusicology likely a product of my activist streak.

My name is Amira Campbell and I am the recently appointed Music Assistant for the Royal Ballet Sinfonia.

In April 2021 Principal Conductor of the Royal Ballet Sinfonia Paul Murphy did a virtual talk for the University of Birmingham Music Society and I (hidden behind my laptop with my camera off) anonymously barraged him with questions ranging from his favourite Delibes’ ballet score to the challenges of conducting Sleeping Beauty’s ‘Rose Adage’, to whether BRB would be launching Don Quixote due to Carlos’s new position in the Company.

A few emails, a couple of coffee dates at the Quarter Horse café later, and in less than a year I am backstage

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My first violin teacher was Michael Whittaker – yes, I know, shock and horror – a violist. Mr Whittaker taught me discipline and a real love for classical music, playing violin and performing. When Mr Whittaker was my violin teacher, I never noticed that I was a black classical musician.

When I joined the University of Birmingham, the student union president at the time was a black woman, and I thought that was amazing. I soon became part of a campaign that lay within her manifesto, and as she and the team graduated, I found myself the new leader of the Black Voices Campaign. Our focus on decolonisation, improving black student experience, building a black community, addressing inequality wage gaps and EDI (equality, diversity,

inclusion) work resonates with me, and it permeates all the fields that I work in.

At BRB, the main weight of my role entails the overseeing of the Student in Residence Scheme – I book train tickets and communicate any scheduling updates to Lucy Samuels, a very talented cellist at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, who performs with the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, and I watch various concerts. This is a unique and exciting scheme, and an indelible experience for any aspiring freelance or full-time musician.

Alongside this I get to shadow various behind-the-scenes staff, including the orchestral managers, and build an understanding as to how a ballet company functions, but also the specifics regarding this uniquely orchestrated company.

However, most important to me, this role brings about an opportunity for me to bring a love of dance, a love of music and a passion to make change all together. At BRB we hope to break down the barriers around ballet – economic and social – to permit this art to be accessible and inclusive, and to make a trip to see the ballet congruent with the Brummie lifestyle.

BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT BRB’s Finance Officer, Ruth Whelan, reports on Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Concert and Sam Ryder, not to mention the performance by our sister companies, The Royal Ballet and The Royal Ballet School. There really was something for everyone and there wasn’t a moment where the crowd wasn’t loudly cheering the artists on!

One sight that will remain with me for a long time was looking down the Mall and seeing all those thousands of people looking towards Buckingham Palace. I was positioned just in front of the stage from where HRH The Prince of Wales (now King Charles III) spoke so movingly, so I could see almost the whole crowd looking in that direction.

I was delighted when our CEO, Caroline Miller, contacted Anna Willetts, from our Costume department, and me to represent BRB at the concert to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee at Buckingham Palace on 4 June. Sadly, Anna’s flight back into the UK was delayed, so she wasn’t able to join in the celebrations.

What an experience! Seeing and hearing the excited masses, the sight of the sea of union flags, with Buckingham Palace and the Victoria Memorial proudly decorated and illuminated to mark Her Majesty’s incredible, 70-year reign, was unforgettable.

The line-up of artists was amazing and I especially enjoyed Queen, Andrea Bocelli, Duran Duran, Alicia Keys,

Samara Downs. © Steve Tanner @stevetanner

I was really looking forward to the drone show at the end and I knew it was going to be something really special.

But being there and seeing it live was much more amazing that I could ever have imagined. When that Corgi tilted forward, it was breathtaking – it really looked as if it was peering over us!

Thanks again for giving me the unforgettable honour of representing the Company at this once-in-a-lifetime event celebrating Her Majesty the Queen’s remarkable life and service to the UK.

Happy 40th, Theatre Royal Plymouth!

We were delighted to be invited to take part in special performances to mark the 40th birthday of Theatre Royal Plymouth last month. BRB Principal Samara Downs (dancing an excerpt from Coppélia) joined a host of other artists and celebrities who took part in the celebrations.

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There have been five premieres over six months, including world premieres of Interlinked (Juliano Nunes), 24 (Jorge Crecis), and Carlos’s new production of Don Quixote.

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BEYOND MY DAY JOB We asked members of the Company what they did outside of their main BRB roles. Here’s what a few of them told us:

Lachlan Monaghan First Soloist Ballet Photographer On the 2016 BRB tour to Japan I was inspired by the colours, textures, interesting places and people. My step into ballet photography started from my wanting to gift images of their curtain calls to a friend.

This is ironic, because I rarely like an image of myself – I just don’t enjoy seeing myself caught in frozen positions. This is exactly the reason I take the style of photos I do – from the wings. A backstage moment rarely happens twice, and I find this interesting. It is the people in each shot that make it unique. The dancers trust me and I love snapping them doing weird and wonderful stretches, or pulling faces – all the things the audience wouldn’t see. I won the People’s Choice Award at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists for an image of Max Maslen in The Nutcracker, and had a solo exhibition at a gallery in the Jewellery Quarter.

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Emma Price Artist Owner of Kerrfully Caked

Gabriel Anderson Artist

I used to bake lots as a child. I refound my love for it towards the end of lockdown and set up Kerrfully Caked – the name is a play on my married name Emma Kerr.

My fantastic art teachers at The Royal Ballet School pushed me to keep up my creative interests. Bringing huge canvases or painting supplies on tour is a no-go so I’ve picked up other creative hobbies such as photography, knitting, embroidery and digital illustration. I find it an incredibly rewarding process.

Each piece of art is a little treasure chest of memories for me. I’ll always make time for it for a bit of escapism and colour in the busy day-to-day.

I bake all sorts, but my speciality is occasion cakes and cupcakes. I’ve done a couple of wedding cakes and 1st birthday cakes. It is always an honour to have people trust me with such special occasions. I tend to bake on my evenings and weekends, but it depends heavily on our schedule. You usually won’t catch me taking any commissions during a show week, but often in our lighter rehearsal weeks I have more opportunity for it.

I really enjoy it – it’s a good excuse for some ‘me time’. It’s also really rewarding to see friends’ and families’ reactions to them.

Creative hobbies

processes which underpin performance in sport and in dance alike, such as motivation, anxiety, skill acquisition, injury prevention and management, transitions, attention, and athletic development. I’ve already had the opportunity to combine my dance and psychology knowledge, working with Team GB athletes at British Gymnastics and British Swimming.

Jonathan Payn Principal Character Artist & Assistant Répétiteur I was a Foundation Governor at Bournville Village Primary School. I am also on the Parochial Church Council at St Francis of Assisi, Bournville, helping realise the vision and mission of the church leading intercessions and readings, and taking communion into people’s homes as a Eucharistic Minister. During the pandemic I also volunteered on a telephone befriending scheme for those who were isolated or alone.

In 2015 I gained a Masters in Choreography from the University of Kent. I had choreographed my first commissioned ballet for BRB in 2007, having previously created several cohort pieces for various events.

That first ballet, Small Worlds, was performed for three successive years by BRB. Printer Jam, a duet with drum’n’bass music created for BRB’s 20th anniversary gala, has been a hit at festivals and theatres all over the place.

Following its premiere HRH the Prince of Wales (now King Charles III) said: ‘Ah, you’re who was responsible for all that noise!’ Quatrain, a ballet to Astor Piazzolla’s interpretation of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, began as a series of staged interruptions during a Royal Ballet Sinfonia concert at Birmingham Cathedral and was later toured in its entirety by BRB.

Tyrone Singleton Principal Photographer The audience enjoys the on-stage spectacle of dance, but for me, the real wonder lies in the physical and psychological preparations that happen before the music starts, within the shadows at the side of the stage, out of the spotlights. As a photographer, I find beauty within this darkness. I aim to shine a light on it. I always strive to have someone view my images and say: ‘Oh, I didn’t expect that.’

And in addition I have created work for music festivals, music videos and short dance films. During the 2020 lockdown I collaborated with Tom Rogers (producer) and Dan Lowenstein (filmmaker) to create short films for BRB’s digital media. My short film Save Me with award-winning composer Oliver Davis has been a hit, and helped to launch his album Solace.

Kit Holder First Soloist Psychology Student, Musician, Choreographer and Film maker I am about to begin the final (sixth) year of my part-time Psychology BSc with the Open University. I’m interested in the psychological

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Over 200 children performed in Dance Track 25 at The Rep.

Top: Jonathan Payn with Rev. Peter Babington at his Confirmation; Top right: The Nutcracker from the wings. © @dancers_eye.

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BEYOND MY DAY JOB CONTINUED to be part of the Games. The Ghanaian hockey teams were an absolute joy to be around, I got to know a teenage Canadian diver whose career I will be following closely, and I spoke to a young athlete from Eswatini about the best places to visit in Birmingham.

Everyone I spoke to was so positive about Birmingham and I was so proud to represent my city. I even managed to see several sessions and soak up the incredible atmosphere as a spectator.

Anna Hodgkinson Former Senior Manager – Trusts & Foundations Volunteer – Commonwealth Games I was lucky enough to be chosen to be a volunteer at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, working in the Venue Transport team at the main athletes village at the Vale (the University of Birmingham’s student accommodation campus in Edgbaston).

Our role was to make sure that the athletes and teams could get to their training or competition venues, as well as occasional other locations, safely and on time. Most people travelled on one of the many timetabled buses that went back and forth between the village and the sports venues.

There were many highlights. Working on shift for the opening ceremony was definitely interesting, with over 1,000 athletes to move from the village to the stadium. I also helped several famous athletes with their transport, including the swimmers Duncan Scott and Tom Dean, and the England cricket captain, Heather Knight. But my main highlight was chatting to athletes, the vast majority of whom weren’t expecting to win a medal but were just delighted

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This was my first experience of volunteering at a large event and I would absolutely recommend it. I met many different people from so many different countries and backgrounds, and I’m so proud to have contributed to the success of the Games. Maybe you’ll see me at Paris 2024… ,

Jim Fletcher Special Projects Producer Charity work

During my career in dance, I have developed a great interest in creating opportunities where dance can make a difference in a variety of community settings. Over the years, I’ve set up a few charitable projects and, most recently, I set up Step for Change Jamaica, a project aimed at supporting at-risk groups in Jamaican ‘correctional’ facilities and giving them a better chance of avoiding a return to crime after release.

Lee Armstrong Senior Design Executive Conductor In 2005 I found myself playing cello in a concert with some rather challenging music. It was decided that a conductor was needed at short notice and, as I knew the music, I volunteered. I had absolutely no experience beyond a reasonable idea of what a conductor did, so I asked Principal Conductor Paul Murphy for help. He was a brilliant teacher and ten or 12 lessons later, I survived the concert! Paul also kindly put my name forward for a coaching job with Dudley Performing Arts Advanced Strings – I’ve been conducting regularly with amateur orchestras all over the Midlands since.

Knowing of my interest in Soviet culture and music, which, of course, includes 70-odd years of Ukraine’s history too, the leader of the Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Robbie Gibbs, approached me. He wanted to work with me in putting together a concert of Ukrainian music to raise money for the Disasters Emergency Committee fund.

We set about programming 45 minutes of largely unheard-of Ukrainian composers, with Robbie’s daughter Isa, RBS bassist Alan Taylor and I arranging music specially for the concert. Around a week before the performance, Robbie approached me about conducting the concert – what an opportunity! I was incredibly nervous, but also very honoured to be asked to conduct such wonderful musicians. The concert was hugely enjoyable and the event, alongside a later performance of some duos for violin and cello by Robbie and António Novais at Sadler’s Wells, raised over £600. Thank you very much to everyone who donated.

WELCOME,CONGRATULATIONS AND FAREWELL We wish a warm welcome to:

Hannah Martin from Apprentice to Artist Errika Collins from Sub Principal to Principal Viola António Novais from Sub Principal to Principal Cello

Riku Ito joins as a Soloist Olivia Chang Clarke joins as an Apprentice Jack Easton joins as an Artist Frieda Kaden joins as an Artist Mailene Katoch joins as an Artist Oscar Kempsey-Fagg joins as an Artist Mason King joins as an Artist Madison Penney joins as an Artist

We bid a fond farewell to: Gracie Adlington (Assistant Stage Manager) Kesha Beaupierre (Marketing Executive) Jason Boyle (Masseur) Alexandra Burman (Artist) Tia Cham (Social Media Executive) Anna Ciriano (Artist) Paul Fisher-Bazan (Stage Technician) Josue Gomez Sarria (Artist) Anna Hodgkinson (Senior Manager – Trusts & Foundations) Tania Joseph (HR Administrator) Kamla Korotane (Finance Manager) Janina Mundy (Director of Sales and Marketing) Christopher Pitsilldes (Viola) Marcus Trombley (Lighting Technician – Apprentice) Leanne Ward (Assistant Company Manager) Alexander Yap (Artist)

Sarah Castleton Smith (Deputy Stage Manager) Olga David (Board & Governance Assistant) Laura Gent (Company Physiotherapist) Katie Green (Costume Technician) Luke Kell (Assistant Company Manager) Samantha Liquorish (Assistant Stage Manager) Henry McNab (Digital Marketing Apprentice) Luke Tucker (Principal Bassoon) Andrew White (Sub Principal Trombone)

Congratulations to the following dancers and musicians who have been promoted:

© Joel Skingle.

Miki Mizutani from First Soloist to Principal Yaoqian Shang from First Soloist to Principal Yu Kurihara from Soloist to First Soloist Max Maslen from Soloist to First Soloist Lachlan Monaghan from Soloist to First Soloist Beatrice Parma from Soloist to First Soloist

Congratulations to Principal dancer Samara Downs and husband Feargus Campbell (former BRB Soloist) on the birth of their daughter Chloé on 13 October 2021.

Congratulations to Principal dancer Tzu-Chao Chou and his partner, Peter Caldicott.

The happy couple got married at Swinton Estate Hotel in Yorkshire on 2 August.

Congratulations to Engagement Manager Kasia Carmo, formerly Kraus, and Igor Carmo. The happy couple married on 30 January at Shustoke Barn in Coleshill, Warwickshire.

Congratulations to Laura Day, Principal Character Artist & Assistant Répétiteur, and Jonathan Lo, Music Director of Northern Ballet. The happy couple became engaged while visiting Cape Town in August.

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THANK YOU Principal Supporters

Dancers’ Circle – Artist

Aud Jebsen Lord Glendonbrook and Mr Martin Ritchie Alan and Caroline Howard David and Mary Laing

Jenny Batelen and Rob Brett Roger and Felicity Burman Amanda Carter Dr Jim Clews Guy and Judy Crofts Irving and Olga David Robyn Durie Susan and Frederick Furniss Tessa Gillespie Prof Caroline Gordon P.S. and C.A. Gravestock Wendy and Gordon Hardy Jill and Malcolm Harris Tom Hotchkiss Dr Sandra Kendall Tessa and Charles King-Farlow Shirley Leaver Hilary Macaulay Shaaron and Andrew Morgan Katie Newbon Linda Nicholls Sir David and Lady Win Normington Rosie Parker RAD RTS Keith Perry Amanda and Emily Pillinger Chris Relph Ross Roberts Carole Sallnow Barbara Scott Miles Scott and Lucille Roughley Margaret Shand Carla and Dilys Skinner Mark and Amanda Smith Nick Makin and Brenda Sumner Beverley Thurbin Ron and Jackie Treverton-Jones

Major Supporters

Jayne Cadbury and Nigel Goodman Jillian Cadbury Charles Glanville and James Hogan The Kirby Laing Foundation The Michael Bishop Foundation Oak Foundation Special Interest Programme Sir Michael and Joan Perry The Royal Opera House Benevolent Fund

Dancers’ Circle – Principal Julia and Anthony Glossop Richard and Sue Johnston Tony Newcombe

Dancers’ Circle – Soloist Jill and Andrew Chapman CMP Wealth Management Richard and Jennie Cunis Peggy Czyzak-Dannenbaum Roy and Maureen Kirby Chantelle Mackay Marian Mulady Gillian Shaw Su and Richard Simkin Michael and Sandra Squires John Weston

Gold Friends Jane Arthur Rachel Cavet Dr Anthony Cook and Miss Susan Elias Ian Fisher Mrs Eileen Goodwin Carolyn Harford Jane Harris Penny Kirkwood Ian Kirkwood Richard Lewis Anne Maguire Lyn Proctor Glen Sanderson David Spencer and our many individual supporters who prefer to remain anonymous.

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Trusts and Foundations

The Alan Woodfield Charitable Trust The Albert And Elizabeth Clark Charitable Trust The Alison Hillman Charitable Trust Amar-Franses and Foster-Jenkins Trust The Arts Society Birmingham The Aspinwall Educational Trust Austin and Hope Pilkington Trust Baron Davenport’s Charity Bayfield Charitable Trust The Bernard Piggott Charitable Trust BHSF Medical Charity and Welfare Trust Birmingham Common Good Trust The Boshier-Hinton Foundation The Brian Shaw Memorial Trust The Calleva Foundation Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation The Cecil King Memorial Foundation The Charles Brotherton Trust The Charlotte Bonham-Carter Charitable Trust The Chatwin Trust City of Birmingham Orchestral Endowment Fund Clare King Charitable Trust The Clore Duffield Foundation The John S Cohen Foundation The David and Helen Lowe Charitable Trust David Solomons Charitable Trust The D’Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Dumbreck Charity The DWF Charitable Foundation The Edgar E. Lawley Foundation The Edward and Dorothy Cadbury Trust The Edward Cadbury Charitable Trust Ensix Charitable Trust Eric W Vincent Trust Fund Eveson Charitable Trust The Garrick Charitable Trust The Geoff Hill Charitable Trust George Fentham Birmingham Charity The George Henry Collins Charity GJW Turner Trust The Grantham Yorke Trust The Grey Court Trust The Grimmitt Trust

The H Steven & P E Wood Charitable Trust The Hawthorne Charitable Trust The Helen Rachael Mackaness Charitable Trust Henry James Sayer Charity Howard Victor Skan Charitable Trust IMI Critical Engineering Charitable Appeals Committee The James Frederick & Ethel Anne Measures Charity The John Avins Trust John Feeney Charitable Trust The John Sumner Trust The John Thaw Foundation The Keith Coombs Trust Langdale Trust London Ballet Circle The Loppylugs and Barbara Morrison Charitable Trust The Lord Austin Trust M K Rose Charitable Trust The Marchus Trust The Marsh Charitable Trust The Michael Marsh Charitable Trust The Misses C M Pearson & M V Williams Charitable Trust The Noel Coward Foundation The Norton Foundation The Oakley Charitable Trust The Owen Family Trust The Patricia Routledge Charitable Trust The Peter and Teresa Harris Charitable Trust Provincial Grand Lodge of Warwickshire

Quayle Charitable Trust Richard Cadbury Charitable Trust Richard Kilcuppe’s Charity The Roger and Douglas Turner Charitable Trust The Roughley Charitable Trust RPS Drummond Fund The RTR Foundation/Baily Thomas Charitable Fund The S and D Lloyd Charity Sabina Sutherland Charitable Trust The Saintbury Trust Scops Arts Trust Souter Charitable Trust St Jude’s Trust St Thomas’ Dole Charity Stanley Picker Trust The Sterry Family Foundation The Sylvia Adams Charitable Trust The Thistle Trust Thriplow Charitable Trust The Uncle Bill Trust The Vandervell Foundation W E Dunn Charitable Trust The Wilmcote Charitrust

Corporate Supporters

Corporate Members

and those trusts and foundations that prefer to remain anonymous.

DEVELOPMENT TEAM From left: Hope McGoldrick, Chris Smith, Matt Freeman, Rhianna Swancott, Emma Thompson and Ella Cockerton. © Lachlan Monaghan.

Matt Freeman Director of Development Chris Smith Senior Manager – Individual Giving Email: chrissmith@brb.org.uk Phone: 07774 775 307

Phone: 07736 926 155

Hope McGoldrick Development Events Manager Email: hopemcgoldrick@brb.org.uk Phone: 07719 021 797

Rhianna Swancott Trusts & Foundations Officer Email: rhiannaswancott@brb.org.uk Phone: 07719 023 072

Emma Thompson Corporate Partnerships Officer Email: emmathompson@brb.org.uk Phone: 07719 021 193

Ella Cockerton Individual Giving & Events Officer Email: ellacockerton@brb.org.uk

Birmingham Royal Ballet

41

PERFORMANCE DIARY Coppélia

An Evening of Music and Dance

It’s all about love in Sir Peter Wright’s much-loved and critically acclaimed production of Coppélia.

An Evening of Music and Dance has long been a smash hit with audiences – and it’s back in its original home Symphony Hall, with a glorious gala selection of works hand-picked especially by our Director Carlos Acosta, and the Royal Ballet Sinfonia and Principal Conductor Paul Murphy.

Theatre Royal Plymouth 5 – 8 October 2022 Birmingham Hippodrome 26 – 29 October 2022

Symphony Hall, Birmingham Sat 11 Feb 2023, 7.30pm

Into the Music Forgotten Land | Hotel | The Seventh Symphony Three ballets to incredible music, including the Royal Ballet Sinfonia playing Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony live with 34 dancers.

Birmingham Hippodrome 21 – 22 October 2022 Sadler’s Wells, London 2 – 5 November 2022

The Nutcracker Sir Peter Wright’s sumptuous production of the classic Christmas tale returns following a million-pound refresh.

Birmingham Hippodrome 19 November – 10 December 2022

Swan Lake BRB’s treasured production of the world’s best-loved ballet. The greatest of all romantic ballets returns in ‘one of the world’s finest productions’ (The Observer).

Mayflower Theatre, Southampton 2 – 4 February 2023 Birmingham Hippodrome 15 – 25 February 2023 The Lowry, Salford 1 – 4 March 2023 Sunderland Empire 9 – 11 March 2023 Theatre Royal Plymouth 15 – 18 March 2023 Festival Theatre Edinburgh 29 March – 1 April 2023

The Nutcracker at the Royal Albert Hall We return to the magnificent surroundings of the Royal Albert Hall with our enchanting production of this Christmas favourite. to Tchaikovsky’s ravishing score.

Royal Albert Hall, London 28 November – 31 December 2022

Please check our website for full details and onsale dates: brb.org.uk/whats-on