Swan Lake and All That Jazz at the Birmingham Hippodrome

15 January 2008

Birmingham Royal Ballet returns to the Hippodrome stage during February with two great dance programmes: Swan Lake, arguably the most famous ballet of all time, and All That Jazz – a triple bill of jazz ballets that includes David Bintley's latest jazz creation Take Five to the music of Dave Brubeck.

All That Jazz sees the welcome return of the Colin Towns Mask Orchestra. The band includes some of the greatest names in jazz today including recent award-winning trumpeter Guy Barker and drummer Ralph Salmins.

Swan Lake

19 – 23 February 2008
Sponsored (1991) by the Royal Opera House Trust
Probably the most famous and popular ballet in the world, Swan Lake is a classic tale of evil magicians, handsome princes, beautiful maidens and a doomed fairy-tale love affair.

Sir Peter Wright and Galina Samsova's majestic production of Swan Lake tells the story of the young Prince Siegfried and his doomed love for the enchanted swan princess, Odette. Whilst out hunting, Prince Siegfried witnesses a swan change into a beautiful Princess. She is Odette, who, under the evil Von Rothbart's spell, spends her days as a swan, returning to human form as night falls. Only the love of someone who has never loved before has the power to break the evil spell.

Accompanied by one of the loveliest Tchaikovsky scores, the ballet has the power to transport one through an enchanted landscape, across dark fields and forbidding forests to a moonlit lake where, every night, a magical transformation takes place.

This production of the much-loved classic, with sumptuous designs by Philip Prowse, was first performed by Birmingham Royal Ballet in 1981 and has since successfully toured extensively throughout the UK and overseas.

All That Jazz

27 February – 1 March 2008
Birmingham Royal Ballet dispense with the tutus, tights and even the orchestra for this jazz programme. Accompanied by the Colin Towns Mask Orchestra, dancers swing in jeans, suits, T-shirts and '50's style dresses.

Take Five
The first jazz record to sell over 1 million copies, Dave Brubeck's 1959 classic is brought to life on stage by ten dancers in six short, virtuoso packages. This fleet-footed and classical piece was created in 2007 by David Bintley and is performed here for the first time in Birmingham.

The Orpheus Suite
Supported (2004) by the de Valois Circle
David Bintley saw parallels between the musical brilliance and personal journeys of Duke Ellington and Orpheus and commissioned Colin Towns to create a score that paid tribute to the Duke and his band. The production is a modern and sexy interpretation of Orpheus’ trip to the underworld in search of his lover, Eurydice. Here, we see Orpheus as a band leader, the Argonauts as the players and the Furies as their groupies.

The Shakespeare Suite
Supported (1999) by The Patrick Trust, to mark the 40th anniversary of the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign
Duke Ellington's stylish music accompanies David Bintley's funny and touching take on the lives of some of Shakespeare’s most famous couples. Juliet is romanced by Romeo, Desdemona pleads her innocence to Othello, Titania cavorts with Bottom and Kate loses her cool with Petruchio. Fashion designer Jasper Conran designed the costumes that vividly bring the characters to life in this ballet.

ENDS

For further press information please contact:
Simon Harper, Media and PR Manager, on 0121 245 3562; Email: SimonHarper@brb.org.uk
or Claire Lishman, Media and PR Officer, on 0121 245 3549 Email: ClaireLishman@brb.org.uk

PRINT THIS PAGE