Latest news with #BirminghamRoyalBallet
Times
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
BRB2 review — a homage to the Ballet Russes from Birmingham's finest
Young talent claims the spotlight in BRB2, Birmingham Royal Ballet's ensemble of recent dance graduates. Don't go expecting to see Carlos Acosta in action. Now in his sixth year as BRB's high-profile director, the Cuban-born ballet superstar is an overseer of the company's junior group. The youth company's touring showcase this year, optimistically titled Carlos Acosta's Ballet Celebration, pays tribute to modern ballet history. The touring programme launched at the Birmingham Hippodrome consists of excerpts from five classic dance works, all first seen more than a hundred years ago thanks to the artistic nous of the impresario Sergei Diaghilev and the famed Ballets Russes. All but one of the dances on view were choreographed by Mikhail Fokine. Les Sylphides, dating from 1909, is
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
King postpones visit after temporary side effects of cancer treatment
King Charles III has cancelled his public engagements for Friday after experiencing temporary side effects during ongoing cancer treatment, Buckingham Palace says. The side effects required a short period of observation in hospital, it added. The King has now returned to Clarence House, where he is continuing to work on state papers and make calls from his study. Charles, 76, had planned to travel to Birmingham for a busy schedule of engagements on Friday, which included a tour of the city's Royal Ballet. The palace first announced the King's cancer diagnosis in February 2024. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said meetings with three ambassadors on Thursday were also affected. "Tomorrow, he was due to undertake four public engagements in Birmingham and is greatly disappointed to be missing them on this occasion," the palace's statement added. "He very much hopes that they can be rescheduled in due course and offers his deepest apologies to all those who had worked so hard to make the planned visit possible." A palace source described it as a "most minor bump in a road that is very much heading in the right direction". The palace did not provide further information over what his side effects were. As well as a visit to the Birmingham Royal Ballet, the King was due to tour the Oratory of St Philip Neri, open the new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital and tour the Sikh place of worship, the Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha Gurdwara. The palace has never disclosed what type of cancer the King has. He returned to public duties last April after a period of treatment and recuperation.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
First look as top ballerina tries out Alton Towers' record-breaking new ride
A top ballerina has become the first person to experience Alton Towers' new ride. Karla Doorbar, a soloist with the Birmingham Royal Ballet, was chosen to test the record-breaking ride, Toxicator, before its official opening on March 15. The ride is the only topspin attraction of its kind in the UK, putting thrill-seekers through 'extreme spin patterns and intense centrifugal forces'. Ms Doorbar, who estimates she has completed 'nearly half a million' pirouettes in her career, was selected to test the ride due to her expertise in mastering spins. Karla as Cinderella and Lachlan Monaghan as the Prince (Image: Johan Persson) The mother-of-one said: "Throughout my training and career, I've devoted countless hours to perfecting the pirouette - whether performing on world-renowned stages or in the studio. "It has taken immense levels of focus over many years to develop the strength and power that this entails. "So when Alton Towers invited me to be the first to take on the unrivalled spinning power of Toxicator, I jumped at the chance. "Riding it is an incredible experience and will give riders an unrivalled sense of the intense power of spin." The 32-year-old, who grew up in Stoke-on-Trent, has a lifelong love for Alton Towers Resort and is looking forward to future visits with her 10-month-old daughter. Karla enrolled at The Royal Ballet School in London at the age of 11 (Image: Alton Towers) Bianca Sammut, vice president of Alton Towers Resort, said: "Toxicator is the latest example of how Alton Towers continues to set new standards for heart-pounding attractions. "As one of Britain's most accomplished ballerinas, there are few people who know more about spins and pirouettes than Karla - which is why we are so delighted that she is amongst the first to experience the head-spinning thrills of Toxicator." The ride will officially open on March 15, with guests able to experience it for the first time in the dark as part of the Alton After Dark event.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Birmingham Royal Ballet's Cinderella wows audience in Southampton
The opening night of the Birmingham Royal Ballet's performance of Cinderella in Southampton wowed audience goers. With an immersive stage and dizzying dancing, the near two-and-a-half-hour spectacle was a unique interpretation of the traditional Cinderella story at the Mayflower Theatre. Set over three acts the ballet sees Cinderella escape the bleak confines of cooking and cleaning for her evil stepsisters to winning the heart of a Prince at a lavish ball with her sparkling silver shoes. For casual theatre fans not all ballets have the power to keep spectators engaged from beginning to end but Cinderella suffers no such problems. With the orchestra conducted by Paul Murphy, music and dance are enhanced by an ever-changing set design as the cast sway across the stage in an impressive range of costumes – including mice, lizards, and even a dancing frog. READ MORE: Birmingham Royal Ballet's Cinderella has opened at Mayflower Theatre (Image: Mayflower Theatre) Having first premiered in 2010 the Birmingham Royal Ballet production ensures people of all ages are entertained throughout. Though the role of Cinderella (played elegantly by Yu Kurihara) takes centre stage the principal cast makes for a great ensemble, not least the evil twin sisters who steal every moment they're on stage with laugh out loud moments of physical comedy. The production's director, Carlos Acosta, said: "Cinderella is a timeless story told beautifully by Sir David Bentley to Prokofiev's score performed by our wonderful Royal Ballet Sinfonia. "The ballet, featuring sumptuous designs by John Macfarlane, looks as gorgeous as when it was first created." Winner of 'Best Classical Choreography' at the 2011 Critics' Circle National Dance Awards, this interpretation of Cinderella continues to enchant audiences and promote the magic of the theatre. Cinderella is available to see at Mayflower Theatre until Saturday, February 8, before departing for Birmingham as it journeys around the country before ending its run in Plymouth on Saturday, April 12.
BBC News
08-02-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Birmingham Royal Ballet dancers share company life as tour begins
Audiences will soon be stepping into the magical world of Cinderella when a production by Birmingham Royal Ballet goes on ballet dancers who are in the company have been describing how they have been getting ready for the show, which started in Southampton on Thursday and will go on to Birmingham, Salford, Sunderland, Bristol and Plymouth before finally finishing in Tokyo in Thompson, 22, who began her ballet career at aged three in Worcester, and fellow dancer Ariana Allen, 21, from Buckinghamshire, have filled their days with training and Thompson said: "I think people that have had no experience [of ballet] are shocked when they see what we can do." She spent three years training at Elmhurst Ballet School before she graduated and joined the Birmingham Royal Ballet - it is now her fourth season with the highlight of her career so far, she said, was performing the role of Rose Fairy in The Nutcracker."I've watched Birmingham Royal Ballet do Nutcracker since I was very young, before I even thought I wanted to be a ballet dancer," she said. "I remember watching some of my colleagues now doing that role, so it was a big dream to get to do that." The prestigious ballet company has performed at the Glastonbury music festival, and also put on a production of Black Sabbath: The Ballet. The soundtrack was provided by Birmingham's heavy metal superstars."I think it's amazing that we're taking ballet to different places," Ms Thompson added, who was in both shows. "I actually danced at Glastonbury, and that was an incredible experience to sort of integrate the fun of a festival with what we do."It is really important to take it wider so that ballet doesn't get forgotten."Ms Allen, who is with BRB2, Birmingham Royal Ballet's junior company, will also be performing in Cinderella. She said: "Most people don't actually know that being a ballet dancer is a professional job that requires many years of strenuous training."It is very much like a sport combined with art." Birmingham Royal Ballet's production of Cinderella will be at Birmingham Hippodrome from 19 February. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
