8:15am Thursday 16th August 2007
By Emma Clayton
The party of excited dance students sitting in the row in front of me said it all. "So that's decided, we're going for a curry afterwards. When you're visiting Bradford you can't not have a curry."
The twenty-somethings, taking up the best part of a row in the Alhambra stalls, weren't from Bradford but had made a point of coming here specially to see world-acclaimed dance company Nederlands Dans Theater fill the stage with feats of virtuoso dancing, jumps and spins.
The Dutch company was at the Alhambra earlier this summer as part of the theatre's first-ever dance season, attracting shows from all over the world. It is the first time a dance season has been packaged and presented as a season at the Alhambra.
The season kicked off in March with the acclaimed Australian Dance Theatre's spectacular production of Held, a series of quick-fire routines from amazingly athletic dancers captured by a photographer on stage. The striking black and white images, enlarged onto giant screens, allowed the audience to see movement in startlingly unexpected ways.
This autumn the dance continues with Matthew Bourne's The Car Man, a reworking of Bizet's opera Carmen. The internationally-acclaimed dance thriller replaces Bizet's 19th century Spanish cigarette factory with a greasy garage-diner in 1960s America, where the dreams and passions of a small town are shattered by the arrival of a handsome stranger. Fuelled by heat and desire, the inhabitants are driven into an unstoppable spiral of greed, lust, betrayal and revenge.
Dance maverick Bourne has thrilled Alhambra audiences in recent years with his ballet of Edward Scissorhands and striking version of Swan Lake, replacing the traditional female corps de ballet with a bare-chested all-male ensemble.
Also making a welcome return to the Alhambra, all the way from New York, is the sublime Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. With soul-stirring, passionate performances and technically flawless delivery, the world-renowned multi-racial company fuses gospel, blues, hip-hop, soul and jazz music with modern, ballet, and jazz dance, creating unforgettable performances.
Led by artistic director Judith Jamison, the company has a reputation as one of the world's most acclaimed international ambassadors of African-American culture.
The new show features Firebird, set to a Stravinsky score, The Golden Section, with music by David Byrne from Talking Heads, and Alvin Ailey's masterpiece, Revelations.
Northern Ballet Theatre's Romeo and Juliet returns to the Alhambra, offering audiences classical ballet at its most passionate and dramatic. With sets and costumes designed by Lez Brotherston, also the designer for Matthew Bourne's shows, the show is a classic and faithful adaptation of Shakespeare's star-crossed tragedy.
The Leeds-based company's production, featuring electrifying fight scenes choreographed by international fight director Jonathan Howell, is set among opulent sets portraying the streets of Verona. Brotherston's cat and bird' inspired costumes convey warring tensions between the Montagues and Capulets and the production is set to Prokofiev's renowned score, played live by the NBT Orchestra.
Romeo and Juliet was premièred in 1991, directed by NBT founder Christopher Gable, making it one of the company's most enduring productions. It epitomises a time when the NBT invested heavily in raising production values to inject more theatricality into its work. Ballet master Daniel de Andrade, who is leading the revival with choreography Massimo Moricone, says: "Romeo and Juliet is an important production for NBT and its exceptional quality guarantees popularity with audiences. Everyone is enjoying working on the production again and we're really looking forward to touring it."
The show's Alhambra run includes an informal talk on the production and workshops providing a chance to learn steps from the show, accompanied by a live musician.
There's also chance to watch the dancers' daily class on stage and ask the questions you've always wanted to ask a ballerina.
There's also a touch tour of the stage, offering visually impaired theatre-goers chance to walk around and feel the set and costumes.
Bradford Theatres general manager Adam Renton said the Alhambra's dance season is aimed at bringing a variety of dance styles to Bradford and to make dance accessible to wider audiences.
"We're playing host to world-class contemporary dance companies," he said. "It's an exciting time for us, presenting a new dance season in such a way, and we're delighted to bring such a wide range of dance shows to Bradford.
"We are pleased to welcome back Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater after their sell-out dates with us in 2005, plus visits from Northern Ballet Theatre and Matthew Bourne.
"As well as watching these superb shows audiences can participate in dance workshops and pre and post-show discussions with most of the companies."
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