THINGS TO COME – CHELMSFORD BALLET COMPANY’S SNOW QUEEN

THINGS TO COME – CHELMSFORD BALLET COMPANY’S SNOW QUEEN

Chelmsford City of Culture ?
One of the strongest recommendations, surely, would be that rare thing, an amateur ballet company performing regularly to the highest of standards.
Chelmsford Ballet Company has been established in the City for almost seventy years, and for 2018, they’ll be following up their successful Alice with a classical piece, Snow Queen, from 21^st to 24^th of March.
We’re promised glitter, sparkle, gorgeous costumes and music by Alexander Glazunov, who arranged Chopin’s piano works for Les Sylphides.
The story is based on Hans Anderson’s fairytale, a battle between good and evil as Gerda seeks to break the cruel spell cast by the evil Snow Queen; her adventures take her on a thrilling journey north through enchanted forests, encountering fantastical beasts and a colourful band of gypsies. She must find the Snow Queen’s Palace of Ice, rescue Kay, and break the curse of Eternal Winter. This production is choreographed by CBC’s Artistic Director Annette Potter.
Tickets for Snow Queen are now on sale – book at the Civic Theatre, by phone [ 01245 606505] or online - www.chelmsford.gov.uk/theatres/  

photograph by Andrew Potter: Samantha Ellis as the Snow Queen

ALICE'S ADVENTURES

Chelmsford Ballet Company at the Civic Theatre

23.03.17

Lewis Carroll's fantasy begs to be given the dance treatment. Recently we've seen Christopher Wheeldon's hit show for the Royal Ballet, and before that there was the English National Ballet's version, with music arranged by Carl Davis.

Annette Potter has taken this hooked-on-Tchaikovsky score, but otherwise this beautiful ballet is all her own work. And full of colourful detail and imaginative, inventive ideas.

Not least the ingenious prologue, set in a park, where, in the waking world, we meet the characters who will be transformed in Alice's fevered dreams. In Hatter's café, [muffins and sorbets], the proprietor wields his huge red tea-pot – he'll be the Mad Hatter. A tail-coated white-faced mime [a businessman, according to the cast list] is running late, but filches carrots from a street trader – he'll be back as the White Rabbit. A sleepy urchin curls up on a bench – the Dormouse. And Alice and her sister give a glimpse of the impressive dancing to come.

A stunning digital animation takes Alice down the rabbit hole, to grow and shrink, back-stroke through the pool of tears and organize the caucus race.

This is a ballet crammed with memorable characters: Andrew Potter's mercurial, mischievous Mad Hatter, Isabelle Fellows' delightful Dormouse, an evil Queen from Samantha Ellis, and great character dancing from Megan Roberts and Alice Brecknell as the Tweedle twins. Darci Willsher makes a very human Alice, often sad, frequently frustrated; her dancing is enchanting – there are no extended romantic pas-de-deux here, but she does have some lovely moments with her White Rabbit [a riveting Andrei Teodor Iliescu], who loyally supports her through her trials.

There is plenty to please the fan of classical dance: the six Tears, the Bluebells and the Roses in the Garden of Living Flowers, and in the courtroom scene, a traditional sequence of divertissements featuring all the characters Alice meets on her progress through Wonderland and the Looking-Glass World. And plenty of scope for the corps de ballet to shine: schoolgirls, playing cards, hedgehogs and flamingos, not to mention the many-legged shimmering caterpillar, fronted by a sinuous Lucy Abbott.

All these fantastical flora and fauna need costumes, of course, and the clever, stylish designs [Ann Starling] make a huge contribution to the success of this ambitious new ballet.

THINGS TO COME – ALICE'S ADVENTURES

 THINGS TO COME 
– ALICE'S ADVENTURES

The Chelmsford Ballet Company's Civic show this year is Alice's Adventures - a fresh look at the story and characters of an age-old favourite, Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland.

The music is by that master of the balletic score, Tchaikovsky, selected and arranged by Carl Davis for a 1995 commission by English National Ballet.

We're promised a world of magic and mystery; the Mad Hatter, grins without cats, white rabbits, eat me drink me potions, cakes and a shrinking Alice.
The choreography is by CBC's Artistic Director Annette Potter, and the production runs from March 22 to March 25.


Tickets for Alice’s Adventures are now on sale; contact the Civic Theatre box office on 01245 606505 or visit chelmsford.gov.uk/alices-adventures or thechelmsfordballetcompany.co.uk

SLEEPING BEAUTY

SLEEPING BEAUTY

Chelmsford Ballet Company at the Civic Theatre

17.03.16

Chelmsford Ballet Company have brought an old favourite back to the Civic Stage; Annette Potter's delightful version of the Petipa/Tchaikovsky classic fields a splendid cast, from the tiniest assistant demon to the professional soloist Florimund.
And everyone gets a chance to shine: the Fairy Assistants – acolytes bearing the gifts for Aurora – get their moment in the limelight, as well as their Fairy mistresses. Lovely little solos in the Prologue from these five, including the fluttery Songbird [Darci Willsher] and the dainty Woodland Glade [Alycia Potter].
Scarlett Mann [last year's Pineapple Poll] makes a radiant Princess. In her Rose Adage, she looks delighted to be choosing her suitor; her spirited variation is a typical teenager, showing off despite her mother's misgivings. Her Prince is Andrei Teodor Iliescu, a sympathetic partner, with some impressive fireworks in Act III.
The evil Carabosse – her arrival, like the vines and briars, a video projection – is brilliantly brought to life by an imperious Marion Pettet, sweeping in on her chariot with her black-clad entourage. In the divertissements, splendid work from Puss in Boots and The White Cat [Kieran Papworth and Amelia Wallis] and the agile Bluebird of Morgan Wren.
The costumes are stylish and colourful – maroon and gold for the corps in Act III, confectionery pastels in Act I for the Garland Waltz. This sequence, with floral hoops and posies, just one of the stunning ensembles, showing off this enterprising company at its inclusive best.

THINGS TO COME – SLEEPING BEAUTY BALLET

THINGS TO COME 

– SLEEPING BEAUTY BALLET

Chelmsford's very own ballet company – first formed in 1949 – is bringing this classic ballet back to the Civic in March.
Tchaikovsky's majestic music, Annette Potter's re-working of the original Petipa choreography, outstanding young soloists and the corps de ballet tell the familiar story of the spindle and the kiss, the struggle between good – the Lilac Fairy – and evil – the wicked Carabosse. 

Andrei Iliescu of West End stature will be joining the company as Prince Florimund, Sleeping Beauty's suitor. Andrei performed in McQueen the Play and is a graduate of the prestigious Central School of Ballet in London. Emily Starling of Benfleet is rejoining the company as the Golden Vine Fairy, having trained at Bird College and danced professionally both in the UK and abroad.
Booking now at the Civic Theatre, where the performances run from 16 to 19 March.

PINEAPPLE POLL/CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS

PINEAPPLE POLL/CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS

Chelmsford Ballet Company at the Civic Theatre

18.03.15

A perfect pairing in this BOGOF evening of ballet. United by parasols, public costume changes, wit and good humour, the dance work Sullivan never wrote and a back-stage story Saint-Saens could never have dreamt of.

Christopher Marney's Carnival of the Animals has no cute creatures – indeed one of the best jokes is that the one four-legged friend in the story remains a disembodied bark. It's the story of a stage-struck ASM, dancing with mop and bucket [like Morecambe and Wise for The Fleet's In], whose dream of being a dancer is shared by his girl, daughter of the snobby patron of the ballet. They have a lovely Swan pas-de-deux in the park, take their first tentative steps to The Elephant, and triumph together in the Blue Danube.

Engaging performances from Stephen Quildan [a wonderful solo expressing his ambition and his joy in dancing] and Jasmine Wallis, blossoming as a Prima Ballerina, with Marion Pettet as the imperious mother, who has a nice Donkey moment with her maids.

Some superb set pieces – the Parisian park [Fossils], the Birds number in brown, and the ingenious switch to backstage view [no Black Swan bitchery here, thank goodness]. And the carnival finale, full of zest and energy, where even the dog has his day and his due in the curtain call.

Before the interval, Annette Potter's colourful Pineapple Poll, gorgeously costumed, with lovesick maidens en travesti as jolly jack tars. Imaginative ensemble work from a huge corps de ballet, including children, old salts, ship mates and gossips.

Scarlett Mann, in her first principal role with the company, makes a splendidly assured Poll, full of mischief and dancing with style and charm. Her potboy is a genial Stephen Quildan, providing energetic support as well as some poignant moments before he finally gets his girl. Captain Belaye is Andrew Potter, nimble yet dignified, whose complicated love life involves Megan McLatchie's excellent Blanche, not to mention her fussy, overbearing mother, the redoubtable Mrs Dimple [Marion Pettet].

A joyous production, full of dramatic detail and fancy footwork, culminating in a crescendo Di Ballo whirl before the final patriotic tableau.

production photograph: Amelia Potter

and for Sardines

Christopher Marney, of Matthew Bourne's New Adventures, a Patron and good friend of Chelmsford Ballet Company, has created a fresh, accessible Carnival of the Animals, the second half of their hugely enjoyable double bill at the Civic Theatre.

It's been compared to Jerome Robbins' popular “The Concert”, but it's also a strikingly original piece, taking a wryly affectionate look at the world of British ballet before the war. No animal costumes, and no carnival either, though like Saint-Saens' music, ingeniously used, together with chunks of Poulenc and Strauss, it abounds with clever pastiche and parody.

The two young dancers at its heart are a stage-hand and a society girl who end up duetting in triumph to the Blue Danube. Stephen Quildan is the stage-struck lad; we first meet him as he mops the stage, dreaming of stardom as he dances with his right foot stuck firmly in a bucket. His dancing is engagingly expressive – in his more dignified second solo, we see in his every movement the joy he finds in the dance, and his burning ambition to appear on the boards he's been mopping. And in the first pas-de-deux, set to Saint-Saens' Swan, ending with a tender parting glance, witnessed by inquisitive bushes and trees in the park, he is superbly partnered by Jasmine Wallis, now at the Central School of Ballet in London.

Many incidents, often comic, before the lively finale. There's a magical moment when the curtain falls on The Birds and we're suddenly back stage with the tired but happy dancers. Excellent work from a small ensemble here; and a delicious character role from Marion Pettet, now Chairman of the CBC, as the girl's formidable mother – a brilliant moment trying on scarves with her three maids, to the strains of Saint-Saens' braying donkeys. She has a little lap-dog, too, a well-sustained conceit, invisible to the audience, reduced to yaps and yelps on the imaginative sound-effects track, which begins back-stage with water dripping into that bucket …

A colourful curtain-raiser in Pineapple Poll, which gives every member of the company, from the youngest little girl to the most ancient mariner, a chance to shine. Annette Potter's joyful choreography, after John Cranko, leads us through the improbable tale of Poll, who dresses as a simple sailor to pursue the object of her affections on board HMS Hot Cross Bun. She is danced, with an assured, infectious charm, by 14-year-old Scarlett Mann in her first leading role with the company. Stephen Quildan is her faithful Jasper, and Andrew Potter the imposingly dapper Captain Belaye. Constant fun as Belaye's intended, Blanche [Megan McLatchie] and her fusspot mother [Marion Pettet] get caught up in the preposterous plot, and the lovesick maidens learn to walk like matelots. A trio of Mates, a gaggle of gossips, a motley crew of sea dogs all add to the fast and furious fun.

Chelmsford is fortunate to have a non-professional ballet company at all, and doubly so to have one as ambitious and aspirational as this. This entertaining, enterprising double bill made a wonderful showcase for them; we look forward to seeing how they will top it in 2016.

THE NUTCRACKER

THE NUTCRACKER
Chelmsford Ballet Company at the Civic Theatre, Chelmsford
20.03 2014

This most popular of classical ballets was a spectacular triumph for Chelmsford Ballet.

The traditional choreography, ingeniously adapted to the strengths of the company by Artistic Director Annette Potter, was danced with style and enthusiasm. The crowded stage, for the ball or the battle, a reminder of just how much talent is involved.

And not just teenage balletomanes – the character roles were done with relish by, amongst others, Chairman Marion Pettet as the stately Stahlbaum hostess, partnered by David Yetton, and Stan Rose and Elizabeth Baker as the grandparents, Stan drunkenly dancing till he dropped, to be helped off with a bath chair and a magic cane supplied by Drosselmeyer – a rock solid central performance from Andrew Potter.

There were three guest artistes – the excellent Emma Lister to give the Sugar Plum solo and a breathtaking pas de deux with Richard Bermange's Cavalier. And Michael Budd as a strong, scary Mouse King – his mice minions pitted against the half-masked Nutcracker and his corps of clones.

The title role was danced with considerable presence by Morgan Wren, who also gave us a charming Fritz and one of the principal clockwork Chinese in the Kingdom of the Sweets, partnered by Beth Oliver. The Divertissement gave opportunities to a myriad of accomplished young dancers, including whirling Russians and three pink-clad Mirlitons with their pill-box hats. In Act One, the gift-wrapped Pierrot dolls were elegantly danced by Jessica Wilson and Jasmine Bailey.

The hugely demanding role of Clara was beautifully danced, and acted, by Amelia Wallis, the expressive pas-de-deux with Drosselmeyer one of many magical moments.

The lighting [Andy Chafer], the scene cloths and the costumes [Ann Starling] added to the very professional feel of the production. This enterprising, ambitious company will have gained many more admirers this week, I'm sure.

Mary Redman joined an earlier capacity audience in the Civic Theatre ...

In its 65th year Chelmsford Ballet Company which is an amateur, not for profit organisation that "sets professional standards for all its work" chose the ever popular Nutcracker set to Tchaikovsky's wonderfully evocative music for its 2014 public production.
That this choice, choreographed and reworked to include the strengths of all dancing members by Annette Potter, was a good one was confirmed by a highly enthusiastic, packed Civic  crowd. Audience members included professional dancer Christopher Marney, creator of the role of the Lilac Fairy in the ground breaking New Adventures Sleeping Beauty, who is patron of this company and associate choreographer to the world famous, much admired Matthew Bourne.
The magical aspects of the Nutcracker began with the opening moments when Andrew Potter's imperious Herr Drosselmeyer set the story running at a Christmas party for Amelia Wallis's heroine Clare's parents and friends including Elizabeth Baker's nimble Grandmother and Stan Rose's giddy, knockabout performance as Grandfather.
It was interesting to see as the ballet progressed that this strong, calm and demure Clara showed signs of the woman she would grow into when dancing with Drosselmeyer. There were seemingly battalions of Morgan Wren's Nutcracker masked soldiers and Michael Budd's Mouse King's warrior mice. All of them very smartly uniformed. 
The real magic began with the visit to the Magical Forest when the costume making team's diaphanous Sylphide-style crystal white dresses for the Snowflakes with their glittering embellishments and tiaras.
And then on to Act 2 which showcases choreography and dancing for the sheer joy of it. When the performers can enjoy themselves showing off to their audience and each other. The showy highlight here of course is the technical work of the dazzling Sugar Plum Fairy (a strong, regal Emma Lister) well partnered by her very reliable Cavalier Richard Bermange. 
Then along came three scrumptious Mirlitons in bonbon pink; two Spanish dancers flaunting their frilled dresses; five sinuous Arabian dancers; a troupe of lively Russian Dancers; ten Chinese Dancers bouncing to the rhythm of the music; and the swaying, irresistible Waltz of the Flowers.
This was an enormously entertaining production and the lengthy applause at the curtain proved that it wasn't just me enthusing about it. The audience adored it!
Look forward to next year's Pineapple Poll and a new work created by Christopher Marney. Make sure it's in your diary now.  

COPPÉLIA

COPPÉLIA

Chelmsford Ballet Company at the Civic Theatre

16.03.13

Coppélia was the first ballet presented by our city's own ballet company just after the war, and it has been successfully revived many times since.

This latest version, adapted by Artistic Director Annette Potter, soft-pedals the sinister and concentrates on the fun, the humour and the magic. A packed matinée loved it, and enjoyed some lovely warm performances. Setting the tone, Andy Potter as a nutty professor Coppelius, grumpily guarding his magic doll.

Popping in like Alice through the tiny door, Demi Aldred made a feisty Swanilda, the girl who turns automaton to get her man. She danced with easy fluency – an impressive Act III solo – and an infectious sense of mischief: she had lots of fun with her gang of four, who made a neat ensemble without looking too regimented. Her Franz was guest artist Richard Bermange, who was dazzling in his solos, partnered Demi in an elegant pas de deux, and was brilliant at drawing the audience into the plot.

A happy corps de ballet, beautifully costumed, provided a colourful context – reapers, national dolls, crusader knights, hours and bridesmaids; there was outstanding work from Samantha Ellis in the two surviving solo divertissements, and from Michael Smith and Megan McLatchie leading the increasingly frenetic Czardas.

NAPOLI

NAPOLI

Chelmsford Ballet Company at the Civic Theatre

16.03.12

This romantic Danish ballet, with its colourful story and uncomplicated tunes, was created in 1842, and first danced by our Chelmsford company in 1988. This new version by Annette Potter, the group's artistic director, makes much of the mime of Act I, and gives all the ensembles a chance to shine.

The drama and comedy of the first act – the arrival of the fishermen, the excellently done slander sequence, the atmospheric storm, and Gennaro's anguish assuaged by prayer – made a dramatic contrast with the mysterious Blue Grotto [the Naiads in beautiful costumes], and the wedding celebrations of the Final Act, with an impressive archway upper level.

This is a company piece first of all, but we did have some excellent solo work, from Samuel Butler as an energetic fisherman, Rachel Watson as a charming Teresina and Luke Bradshaw as a proud, impassioned Gennaro. Not forgetting Giacomo and Peppo, [Bart Lambert and Sam Toland] a pair of anarchic moustachioed Broker's Men.

It's a shame more people couldn't share this Mediterranean escapism [the frocks were colourful and authentic – the splendid Act One harbour set looked more like Newquay than Naples]; it deserves to be better known. Next year sees the return of the ever-popular Coppélia, by which time the company may well be trading under the Chelmsford City Ballet logo …

Tales of Beatrix Potter

TALES OF BEATRIX POTTER

Chelmsford Ballet Company at the Civic Theatre

18.03.11

The mice, pigs, squirrels and the rest are very much a festive fixture at Covent Garden nowadays, but it was the Chelmsford Ballet Company who first made the transition from celluloid to stage back in 1984.

Their latest production is lively and fresh, with expressive new animal masks specially made by Craig Denston.

All the wonderful characters are there – Peter Rabbit [Jemma Wilson] waving his looted lettuces, the strutting Fox [Leah McElrea], the school of tiny hedgehogs, the stylish Squirrel quintet, an agile Jeremy Fisher [Michaela Caldecott], the gawky pigs, with the touching courtship of Pigling Bland and the Black Berkshire [Andrew Potter and Emily Starling] interrupted by sizzling pork sausages. And Nicole Gadbury's silly Jemima Puddleduck, soaring above it all to escape a foxy fate.

There was a lovely original prelude piece, too, danced to Nigel Westlake's music for the film Miss Potter, with Demi Aldred's Beatrix finding her inspiration, and, child-like, leaving her desk to work lying on the floor. These linked pieces both choreographed by Annette Potter.

Guest choreographer Carl Parris gave us a constantly enjoyable Nightclub Express, with nippy waitresses and leggy showgirls – first in a Chorus Line-style warm-up in muted browns, then in scarlet and black for the Slaughter ballet, with Luke Bradshaw's cop torn between two high-kicking molls.

And, icing on the cake, a cracking tap routine.

Mary Redman saw the show on  the Saturday ...

After 23 years of watching them Chelmsford Ballet Company never fails to amuse or delight or entertain and impress me with the standard of dancing and the gorgeous costuming confections. Thus it was a disappointment to hear that this year's ticket sales had not been as numerous as the committee needed and the company deserved.

Carl Parris's exuberant, sexy and beguiling Nightclub Express opened the evening. For anyone who loves musical theatre there was just about every sassy step and jaw-droppingly precise sequence we could have wished for, with feathers, snazzy black and red outfits and loads of what Follies calls “those beautiful girls”. In particular, the smart black leotards and jazzy little skirts of the cocktail waitresses suited them beautifully, adding to their joyful dancing. The audience enjoyed every moment and so did the dancers. Plus it was good to see confident adult guest dancer Luke Bradshaw around whom the dancers swirled and vamped, plus a special nod to equally confident Michael Preston as the only boy in the team.

This was followed by Beatrix a short interlude or taster of the animal delights to follow. I didn't envy Demi Aldred having to dance in such a long, clingy and swirling skirt but she took this coolly in her stride.

Then came the sheer fun of Tales of Beatrix Potter under the expert and sympathetic direction of Annette Potter. All the main characters of the children's tales were there and characterised with such wit. Mrs Tittlemouse entertaining Johnny Town-Mouse accompanied by a plethora of charming little mice; a naughty Peter Rabbit; Mrs Tiggy-Winkle and her irresistibly cute Baby Hedgehogs; Jemima Puddle-Duck soaring over the head of the nasty Fox; Pigs galore especially Alexander, Aunt Pettitoes, Pigling Bland and the adorable Black Berkshire Pig; the funny Jeremy Fisher; Hunca Munca and Tom Thumb; the bossy Squirrel Nutkin and his mutinous gang; and last but not least the elegantly dainty Tabitha Twitchet.

Craig Denston was responsible for the lively and witty masks that contributed so much to the success of this part of the evening.

For me one especial delight was to see coloured pointe shoes. They do make such a difference to the look of the whole thing but it seems to have been a fashion (probably an economic one) in the whole ballet world for many years to wear pink, white or flesh. These have their place but just think of the sheer drama of Moira Shearer in her red shoes as merely one example.

So now we have Napoli to look forward to in 2012 but don't forget that Ballet Central is at the Civic on May 5 with a new ballet created by Brentwood's own Christopher Marney who dances leading characters with Matthew Bourne's company.

CINDERELLA


Chelmsford Ballet Company at the Civic Theatre


10.03.10


Mozart, Weber, Strauss – Cinderella has danced to them all. Nowadays Prokofiev is the default composer, so it was good to hear a Glazunov score for this colourful and original version.


The music was arranged for BalletMet in 2002; this was not their ballet, but a new interpretation by Annette Potter, who also choreographed and directed.


The whole thing seemed fresh and lively. I loved the Step Sisters [Harriet Austin and Nicole Gadbury], the despair of Father [John Richardson], as they flounced and pouted like the spoilt offspring of a rock star, often on pointe, always amusing, especially in the dancing lesson with Andrew Potter.


The mice were smartly attired, and always a-quiver. They were key, with the corps de ballet, to the transformation; the way the dancers in front reflected the movement of the coach was magical.


Rachel Watson was impressive as the Fairy Godmother, and it was good to see Mandev Sokhi back as the Prince, and Lucy Durno in the title role. She was a feisty Cinders. Her Act One solo was touching and beautifully danced, as was the Act Two solo when she remembers dancing with the Prince. Other highlights were the Pas de Cinq when she clearly relished being the belle of the ball, and the human clock for the midnight hour.


Cinderella, Father and the Step Sisters at Ingatestone Hall - photgraphy by Tony Cockrell and Rod Tinseley