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An Evening of Music and Dance
Birmingham Royal Ballet
Symphony Hall
***** IT has been about thirty years since
David Bintley’s name has appeared in the cast list rather than listed above it as
the choreographer. So it was a blast from
the past when Birmingham Royal Ballet’s director donned greasepaint and
costume as Doctor Coppélius in an excerpt from Act II if Delibes
Coppélia –
which will be
BRB’s next full ballet, incidentally. Bintley established quite a reputation as a
character dancer with the Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet, forerunner of the
BRB, in the 1970s and despite the long time resting between engagements,
Bintley was both funny and precise in a fine performance as the good
doctor with Momoko Hirata matching the boss step for step in a
delightful performance as Swanhilde. She cleverly involved a violinist from the
excellent Royal Ballet Sinfornia, as well as leader Robert Gibbs and
conductor and music director Koen Kessels. Bintley told the audience later, in his day
job, that his two sons were in the audience and it was the first time
they had seen him dance – like the rest of the audience, they couldn’t
fail to be impressed.
The pupils danced to Tchaikovsky
Concerto
Classique, choreographed by
Elmshurst teacher Lee Robinson and they
did him proud. Ballet school to professional ballet company is a huge
leap but on this performance the first steps have already been taken. One of the soloists, Hamish Scott, is the son of
the orchestra’s principal clarinettist Ian Scott while his mother plays
in the violin section, making it a real family affair. The evening is labelled music and dance and
opened with one of the most popular pieces in the world, Chabrier’s
España
which only served to show that Birmingham can boast two fine
symphony orchestras. The Sinfonia also performed Mascagni’s intermezzo
from Cavalleria Rusticana,
Delius’s The Walk to The Paradise
Garden and Ravel’s La Valse. Shostakovich’s Jazz Suite No 2, Matryoshka, saw a
Symphony Hall choreography return for BRB dancer Ruth Brill who last
year choreographed a ballet to Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. This was a
more refined piece with elements of fun and some well-timed interplay by
the eight dancers
Principal Iain Mackay, fully recovered
from his
horrendous ankle injury, was reunited with Elisha Willis, the same
pairing as in the premiere of David Bintley’s Cinderella in 2010,
dancing the Act II pas de deux to Prokofiev’s lyrical music. There was a second piece from Cinderella, which
is being performed in Japan in a couple of months incidentally, with
Bintley explaining that he has never been happy with the four season’s
dance and presented the premiere of the latest version. The final piece was the Black Swan pas de deux
from Swan Lake with Tyrone Singleton as the Prince and Céline Gittens as
Odile who gave us an impressive number of fouettés in Dance which
completed a splendid evening of Music and dance. BRB return to Birmingham Hippodrome with three
American ballets in Moving Stateside from 18-22 February and
Coppélia
from 14-28 February. Roger Clarke
31-01-15
From the other end of the row ***** THERE was an unexpected treat for the
audience in the second half of this concert-style performance by the
superb BRB. An excerpt from Delibes’ ballet, Coppelia,
featured Momoko Hirata, playing Swanilda, with a ‘guest’ in the role of
Dr Coppelius, but who was the mystery man performing with such talent
and humour as the batty old inventor? It was only later that all was revealed. The
un-named star was none other than the show’s compere, David Bintley, the
company’s legendary director and choreographer. “I haven’t done that for 30 years, and my two
sons, who have never seen me dance before, are in the audience,” he
admitted. The piece was a delight, with Hirata cleverly
delivering the actions of one of Dr Coppelius’s dolls, combining
perfectly with Bintley and even involving one or two members of the
orchestra and conductor Koen Kessels! In was a nice touch on a night when the Royal
Ballet Sinfonia, normally hidden away in the orchestra pit, were on
stage in full view of the customers who particularly enjoyed their
performance of Mascagni’s Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana. Ballet stars from the present and the future
excelled, with outstanding students from the Elmhurst School for Dance,
years 10 and 12, impressing in Tchaikovsky’s Concerto Classique, danced
to Suite No 3 Theme and Variations Polacca, then the finale featuring
Celine Gittens and Tyrone Singleton in a brilliant Black Swan pas de
deux from Swan Lake. Paul Marston |
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