The Ballet Nights ‘concept show’ was staged in October 2021 by producer Jamiel Devernay-Laurence, and after an injection of private cash the project has been going forward in leaps and bounds, with Devernay-Laurence becoming Executive Artistic Director of the company in April 2023. At the end of this month, Ballet Nights will present ‘Programme 005′ (called New Futures) with its usual mix of classical ballet, neo classical and contemporary dance, but with a sharp focus on the contemporary.
Royal Ballet principal dancers Mayara Magri and Matthew Ball will present a piece choreographed by Ball entitled (Re)Current to music by Sibelius, and Jordan James Bridge – dancer and choreographer nominated at this year’s National Dance Awards for the Emerging Artist Award – has created a new work for English National Ballet dancers Sangeun Lee and Gareth Haw with music by Hans Zimmer, arranged and played by pianist Viktor Erik Emanuel. The work is called Terra|Astra.
“Terra|Astra translates into English as ‘from the land to the stars’,” says Bridge. “Without it being an obvious narrative, the idea is that Gareth is the land/Terra and Sangeun is the stars/Astra so there’s something quite ethereal, visceral, vivid and that’s very interesting to me as a creator.
“Seeing my choreography on Gareth and Sangeun is really beautiful. I’ve worked with many dancers over the years in the contemporary world as well as the classical realm. Because Sangeun and Gareth have known each other for a long time, the element of trust between them to be on and off in a pendulum manner is fascinating.”
Bridge has danced with the Alexander Whitley Dance Company, Tavaziva Dance, Michael Clark Company and is currently with Company Wayne McGregor, and often he choreographs on himself.
Hans Zimmer’s compositions Day One and Cornfield Chase are part of his soundtrack to the film Interstellar.
“Day One and Cornfield Chase seamlessly blend into one another. I’ve always been inspired by Hans Zimmer’s work and was first introduced to his music watching Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. There’s something incredibly cinematic and emotional that comes from his music and I’m hoping that will tie in with the piece.”
A preview of the costumes can be seen in the accompanying photos.
“We’ve got incredible costumes designed by Sara McKenzie. The stimulus is the constellations in the sky – Sara has used this incredible, liquid-look material, peppered with what she calls ‘stoning’ (studs) on the costume and a multi-layering of shiny, power mesh.
With the support of a Ballet Nights audience member, we were able to commission Sara to create the costumes for Sangeun and Gareth; having the support to fund costuming that’s integral to the work is fantastic and I’m very grateful!”
PROGRAMME 005 – NEW FUTURES is at the Lanterns Studio Theatre in London on 28 and 29 June
PROGRAMME 005 – NEW FUTURES
Part I
Verdi Rigoletto: Paraphrase de Concert
Performed by Viktor Erik Emanuel
Composer Franz Liszt
Act 1 Solo from Mary Skeaping’s Giselle
Performed by Minju Kang
Choreography by Mary Skeaping after Jean Coralli, Jules Perrot and Marius Petipa
Music Ludwig Minkus
Design David Walker
With Thanks To Irmgard Berry & English National Ballet
“Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen”
Solo from Five Rückert Songs
Performed by Eve Mutso
Former Principal, Scottish Ballet
Mezzo Soprano Dana Mays
Piano Viktor Erik Emanuel
Choreographer Peter Darrell CBE, celebrating the legacy of Scottish Ballet’s founding director
Music Gustav Mahler
Restaged by Kristin Johnson
With thanks to the Peter Darrell Trust
INSOMNIA
Performed by Sophie Quay, Felicity Chadwick & Iván Merino Gaspar
Choreographed by Nicholas Shoesmith
Composer Ben Chatwin
(Re)Current
Performed by Mayara Magri & Matthew Ball
Choreographer Matthew Ball
Composer Sibelius
With Thanks to The Royal Ballet
INTERVAL
Part II
Gaspard De La Nuit, M. 55: I. Ondine
Performed by Viktor Erik Emanuel
Composer Maurice Ravel
After A Dream
Performed by Minju Kang
Choreographed by Rentaro Nakaaki
Music Gabriel Fauré
With thanks to English National Ballet
ONE
Choreographed and performed by Kennedy Junior Muntanga
Percussionist Guy Salim
Jealousy
James Cousins Company
Danced by Brenda Lee Grech and Tom David Dunn
Music by Ben Frost
TERRA | ASTRA
Performed by Sangeun Lee & Gareth Haw
Piano Viktor Erik Emanuel
Choreographer Jordan James Bridge
Design by Sara Mackenzie
Composer Hans Zimmer Arr. Viktor Erik Emanuel
Kindly Supported by The Howat Family
Graham Spicer, aka ‘Gramilano’, is a writer, director and photographer based in Milan. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy. His articles have appeared in various publications from Woman’s Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the Danza in Italia column for Dancing Times magazine. Graham was the historical advisor on Codice Carla, the 2023 documentary on Carla Fracci.
Graham also works as a dance photographer, and his photos have appeared in many books, theatre programmes, and magazines, including Dancing Times, Dance Spirit and Ballet2000, as well as all the major Italian newspapers.
He is a member of the Dance Section of The Critics’ Circle.