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Desmond Kelly Gala
01 March 2008
Birmingham Royal Ballet today announced it would be staging a Gala Fund-raising event in celebration of Assistant Director Desmond Kelly, who retires at the end of the 2007-08 season.
The evening, which will feature a host of old friends and familiar faces, will be held at Birmingham Hippodrome on Saturday 28 June. Booking details are below.
Speaking of the planning currently underway, Director David Bintley explained:
'Desmond Kelly's great contribution to Birmingham Royal Ballet has been his loyalty and his dedication and that's what I want this gala to reflect.
'We will be presenting an evening of interesting works that are relevant to Desmond,' he revealed, 'what he's meant to the Company and what he has achieved during his career. So it's a question of getting absolutely the right people in the right roles and the right people to introduce different pieces, and to focus on old friends rather than famous people that he's never met.
'Desmond has been a huge part of this Company and I want it very much to feel like a Company celebration as much as everything else.'
Guests already confirmed include Miyako Yoshida, Robert Parker and Joseph Cipolla, all old friends of Desmond and of Birmingham Royal Ballet. Further guests will be announced over the coming weeks.
Premium packages for the event will be available during an initial priority booking period, before standard seats go on sale later in the year.
Packages available are as follows:
Bronze package (£60):
Top-price ticket to the show, souvenir programme and complimentary glass of wine Silver package (£100):
All of the above plus a pre-performance reception with Desmond Kelly Gold package (200):
All of the above plus a post-performance dinner with the entire Company
Packages are currently available by post only, with a downloadable booking form available by clicking here.