This March, Northern Ballet will present three works by legendary choreographer, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, and they’re all wonderfully different.
Ever wondered if you’d like the ballet? Here’s your chance to find out, because Northern Ballet are bringing three surprisingly rare pieces to the stage this March and you can get half price tickets. It’s the perfect opportunity to find out whether you like ballet drama or abstract, classical composition or contemporary style – so what are you waiting for? Snap up those tickets while you can.
Las Hermanas
Credit: Emma Kauldhar
Las Hermanas was one of MacMillan’s earlier works. It was created in 1963 for the Stuttgart Ballet and it’s very much in-line with Northern Ballet’s signature style – narrative ballets that tell a story through dance. In fact, it’s inspired by Lorca’s The House of Bernarda Alba.
In this dark, hypnotising story, you’re taken back to the days when a woman had to wait for her older siblings to marry before she could tie the knot herself. In the space of just 25 minutes, you’ll be transported into a house of six women, with five sisters waiting for their day in the sun – when a suitor comes calling, the eldest finds herself engaged, but it’s the youngest who wins his attentions. Expect passion, jealousy and ultimately tragedy as the story unfolds.
Played out on Nicholas Georgiadis’ two-storey sets borrowed from The Royal Ballet, Las Hermanas has a dark, claustrophobic feel that mirrors the oppressive rule of their widowed mother. In this world, you’ll see the sister’s tense relationships, the elder’s uncomfortable attempts at intimacy and the younger sibling’s unrestrained passion for life told through MacMillan’s masterful choreography.
Concerto
Credit: Lauren Godfrey
The next piece is a complete departure, both from the first performance and from Northern Ballet’s usual style. Concerto was a turning pointe in MacMillan’s career – he’d just become director of Berlin’s Deutsche Oper Ballet and he wanted to show the full range of the company, so he created a ballet that pushed the dancers to their limit. It won a standing ovation when it premiered in 1966.
Concerto is a celebration of classic technique, an abstract piece that will take you from beautiful point work, performed in perfect unison, to a mesmerising pas de deux that brings together a wonderful sequence of lifts, twists and turns in what feels like slow motion. This is a masterpiece in classical form and it will give you a chance to see Northern Ballet in a new light, as they step away from their usual repertoire.
It’s set to Dmitry Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto no.2 in F, an incredibly versatile piece of music that allows you to see the full breadth of the classical canon. Coupled with simple, understated costumes designed by Lady Deborah MacMillan, it’s a wonderful showcase of Northern Ballet’s talent.
Gloria
Credit: Emma Kauldhar
Fast forward 14 years and MacMillan was a changed man. His choreography was moving from classical to contemporary, forging the way for a new era of ballet – and Gloria is the perfect example.
It was created in 1980, and takes its inspiration from Vera Brittain’s autobiography Testament of Youth. It’s not quite a story, but it’s not quite abstract either, instead it’s a homage to the people that died in the war, including MacMillan’s own father who was gassed at the Battle of the Somme.
Northern Ballet took Gloria to The Royal Opera House in October as part of a National Celebration of MacMillan, 25 years after his death, and it received rave reviews. Set in no mans land, it brings together soldiers and angels with some of MacMillan’s most beautiful and difficult work, so it’s a real must-see.
Book now & get over 50% off
Credit: Emma Kauldhar
You can get the best seats in the house for half the usual price because we’re giving you the chance to book any stalls seat between Friday 16th and Saturday 17th March 2018 for just £20. But if you want to see Northern Ballet’s beautiful interpretation of MacMillan’s work, you’ll have to be quick, because tickets are selling out fast. To get the deal, use our exclusive promo code – LEEDSLIST.
