Birmingham Studio Workshops – Enhance your technique and delve into your artistry …….this is an opportunity to explore the beautiful and exquisite dance quality demonstrated by Royal Ballet dancers who created Ashton’s timeless ballets. This quality is as absolutely vital and relevant to todays’ dancers and students as it was to the pupils of Cecchetti and De Valois. We will study some of the elements (syllabi and enchaînement) of these eminent teachers and ‘influencers’ of the day! Épaulement is the theme of the first workshop when we learn a section from Symphonic Variations. Experience ‘fast and furious’ lower leg work (also empowering for grand allegro) in the second workshop and then learn Fonteyn’s solo from Birthday Offering.
Both workshops stand alone so come to one – or both! To register click on the link below.
Feedback from workshops in May 2021:
Just a note to thank you for the two lovely workshops. I learnt so much from both of them – my first direct experience with the Cecchetti and De Valois syllabi. It’s certainly increased my appreciation of the challenges dancers face dancing Ashton. This workshop format works beautifully. It was wonderful how you packed so much into 90 minutes each session. You gave us plenty of food for thought without it being overwhelming – just the right balance. It was important to have that connection between the classroom training and rep/performance. As a participant, I would have been happy to have had an even longer session and learn even more rep! It’s inspired me to investigate more already and I’m sure it would inspire students at vocational schools, and other teachers too. It is different from so much being taught out there nowadays and it’s such a good challenge both physically and mentally.
Alex Simpkins (Ballet Teacher, London Studio Centre)
Loved seeing all the links to Ashton and Cecchetti. Well done on keeping this important work alive.
Charlotte Skipp (Ballet Teacher, Diss)
It was a joy to revisit some of the Cecchetti Advanced / Diploma work. Also it was fascinating to learn some of ‘madams’ exercises – seeing the similarity to many of the Cecchetti exercises but also to see how she developed her own style/ interpretation. I look forward to more ‘heritage’ workshops, your passion and knowledge is inspiring! I agree that the Cecchetti Method deserves to be more widely known and understood. The Fonteyn solo was a joy to learn. Incredibly Cecchetti and requiring such attention to detail – I loved watching your detailed and elegant demonstration!
Teresa Ferguson (Ballet Teacher, Scotland)
Thank you so much for the workshop just now: I found it very interesting, and I loved the opportunity to try to learn a small part of Symphonic Variations. I find that actually dancing (or trying to dance!) a work sheds far more light on it that just watching ever can, so thank you.
Margaret Watson (Academic Services Librarian, Bodleian Library, Oxford)