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Once a hoofer always . . . Precious Little Sleep Lichfield Garrick **** WAYNE Sleep was an early prototype for
Billy Elliot. Born into a one parent family with a mum who was a
waitress in Plymouth in 1948 he then moved to that hotbed of
ballet . . . Hartlepool. Starting his dancing lessons there with Muriel
Carr in 1955. Now, aged 62, Wayne Sleep, his real name by the
way, has a career, which stretches from ballet to song and dance,
musical theatre, straight acting and even opera. He opens his show with a display of his
considerable prowess as a tap dancer before introducing Australian
ballet dancer David Kierce and Japanese ballerina Keiko Amemori who are
his dancers through the show. The evening is a mix of video and live action as
Sleep recounts his own life as well as recreating roles, such as a
delightful dance as Chaplin with Kierce as the baddie and Amemori
as the damsel in distress. There was also a very clever piece using exactly
the same music, drums and bass, with first Kierce producing a
contemporary jazz dance then Amemori danced it as ballet and then
Sleep danced the same music as a hoofer, song and dance tap. Just to show it worked all three then danced
their own part as jazz, ballet and tap at the same time. AIR OF MISCHIEF Sleep has always had an air of mischief and
produced an amusing piece with himself and Amemori in a pas de deux with
their thoughts out loud ranging from everything from garlic breath to
weight. The ballet duo of Amemori and Kierce had several
solo spots including a classy piece to As Times Goes by which had
been choreographed by David Nixon. At 62 though Wayne, or at least his legs with
their replacement hip, are getting a bit long in the tooth and although
he can still move infinitely better then most bus pass holders it
needed to huge video screen at the rear of the stage to remind ourselves
what he was like in his pomp when Wayne Sleep in a ballet was one
of the hottest tickets in town. That being said Sleep was back at the Royal
Ballet last year 12 weeks after his hip replacement dancing one of the
Ugly Sisters in Ashton's Cinderella in the role Ashton had himself
danced. Sleep, still a student in 1967, was selected by
Ashton to play Napoleon to his Ugly Sister because of his size in what
was his debut with the company. His size got him his first role but t was always
his drawback; 5ft 2in does not a romantic prince, or a fabled hero make
except in Lilliput. Even so his stunning technique and athleticism
still meant he was a principal at the Royal Ballet, the smallest male
dancer they have ever had in their ballet school. He was so good that despite his stature making
him unsuitable for so many roles the likes of Sir Frederick Ashton,
Dame Ninette de Valoi - who founded the
Birmingham Royal Ballet incidentally – Kenneth MacMillan, Nureyev and
John Neumeier invented or expanded roles for him.
As a mark of Sleep's superb technical abilities
the great Vaslav Nijinsky was famed for his entrechat
dix which involves crossing and uncrossing
legs five times mid air in a single vertical
jump. In 1973 Sleep managed an
entrechat douze – six crossings and uncrossings,
12 movements in all. It is in the Guinness Book of Records and still
stands. He also appeared as a guest
principal in other ballet companies. His size was always a burden though
and although he makes fun about at it he does accept that his
limitations of roles in ballet opened up roles on TV, in the West End,
he created Mr Mistoffelees in Cats for example and in film. The amiable Mr Sleep guided us
through his career and although these sort of an evening with
shows tend to be Me! Me! Me! Wayne is self deprecating enough make it
interesting rather than jarring. Sleep is still working, still
dancing, running workshops for youngsters and still raising funds
for his foundation which is there to help struggling, aspiring talented
youngsters. He comes over as a lovely man
and even if much was on video, a phenomenal dancer. Roger
Clarke
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