1 ANNUAL REVIEW 2021/22 1223 Contents 4 Welcome 5 Where we’ve been 6 Dangerous Liaisons 7 Swan Lake 8 Contemporary Cuts 10 Merlin 12 Pinocchio 14 Casanova 16 Digital Success 18 A new era 20 In other news 24 Ballet for all 26 Dancers of the future 28 Supporting our future 30 Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre Cover: Kevin Poeung in Merlin. Photo Emma Kauldhar. This page: Northern Ballet dancers in Merlin. Photo Emma Kauldhar. 34 Our year in numbers Welcome to our Annual Review for 2021/2022, celebrating a year of education, training and artistic excellence at Northern Ballet as we returned to live performances after 15 months away from the stage. 101 LIVE PERFORMANCES 40k LIVE AUDIENCES 5 BALLETS 2 WORLD PREMIÈRES 1 MIXED PROGRAMME £1.5M FUNDRAISING 19.8K WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS 3 NOMINATIONS 1.3K ACADEMY STUDENTS NOMINATED National Dance Awards • Outstanding Company • Best Classical Choreography (Kenneth Tindall, Shape of Sound) • Best Classical Choreography (Kenneth Tindall, Geisha) 2.5M SAW OUR DIGITAL WORK 45 Where we’ve been Berwick Blackburn Blackpool Bradford Bridlington Buxton Corby Crewe Derby Edinburgh Goole Leeds London Manchester Mansfield Newcastle Nottingham Norwich Oldham Sheffield Southampton Wolverhampton 56 A BALLET BY DAVID NIXON CBE DANGEROUS LIAISONS This tantalising ballet marked our first live performance of 2021 at The Lowry, before touring to Sadler’s Wells and Leeds Playhouse to open our Autumn 2021 season. Dangerous Liaisons then made its big-screen debut shown in cinemas across the UK and internationally for one night only on 14 September. Filmed and produced entirely in-house this seductive production had 214 screenings, reaching 2,084 people. HHHH ‘SENSUAL, DARK AND BEAUTIFULLY EXECUTED PRODUCTION’ NORTH WEST END HHHHH ‘A PERIOD DRAMA MASTERPIECE’ YORKSHIRE POST 21 Performances 3 Venues 5.1K Live audience 67 A BALLET BY DAVID NIXON CBE SWAN LAKE Ballet made a grand return as Swan Lake glided into Leeds Grand Theatre in June 2021, five years since the Company performed the most famous ballet in the world. This was also our first time performing at Leeds Grand Theatre since the spring 2020 lockdown, marking a poignant moment for us and the theatre. ‘THE ULTIMATE REIMAGINED PRODUCTION OF SWAN LAKE’ YORKSHIRE POST ‘EXCEEDED ALL EXPECTATIONS, ELECTRIFYING AND DYNAMIC THROUGHOUT’ REVIEWS HUB 11 Performances 1 Venue 3.8K Live audience Left page: Riku Ito and Ayami Miyata in Dangerous Liaisons. This page: Javier Torres and Ayami Miyata in Swan Lake. Photos Caroline Holden and Emma Kauldhar. 7Choreographed by Kenneth Tindall CONTEMPORARY CUTS States of Mind Ballet was back for 2021 with an exciting compilation of world-class dance as part of our Contemporary Cuts at Sadler’s Wells. Highlighting the signature talent and vitality of our dancers, Contemporary Cuts showcased Kenneth Tindall’s new work States of Mind and Amaury Lebrun’s For An Instant, alongside excerpts from 1984, Jane Eyre and audience favourite Little Monsters, set to music by Elvis Presley. Choreographed by Amaury Lebrun For an Instant Choreographed byJonathan Watkins 1984 Choreographed by Cathy Marston Jane Eyre Choreographed by Demis Volpi Little Monsters 3 Performances 1 Venues 822 Live audience ‘LOOKING GOOD, WORKING HARD’ THE SUNDAY TIMES ‘A RARE AND FULL MIXED BILL OF A NIGHT FROM NORTHERN BALLET’ DANCE TABS 8Abigail Prudames and Joseph Taylor in States of Mind. Photo Emma Kauldhar 9Next >