At our November meeting, it was a pleasure to welcome SoloistOlivia Cowleyas our guest. In the absence of our Chairman, she was interviewed by Deputy Chair Rachel Holland. Olivia started by talking about the role of Nacha inLike Water for Chocolate.She had been eight months pregnant with her secondchild when the ballet was created. She was dancing as one of Lise’s friends inFille mal gardée, a ballet she has danced many times. A very jumpy ballet, 279 jumps, which makes it more tiring thanSwan Lake.Olivia had auditioned for White Lodge, but had been unsuccessful; something she now realises was fortunate, as the secondary school she attended had a speech therapy section which helped her a lot. She then joinedthe Upper School at 16 and progressed into the Company at 18. Her first big break was in Michael Corder’sL'Invitation du Voyage, where she danced a pas de deux with Rupert Pennefather and was seen by Wayne McGregor who cast her inInfra.A major opportunity was being cast as Larisch inMayerling.Olivia thenwent on to speak of many of her other roles. When asked about a favourite ballet, she said Mats Ek’sCarmenwhich she loves. Other highlights have included Jerome Robbin’sAfternoon of a Faunwith Matthew Ball and as Paulina inThe Winter’s Tale.She then spoke about being a mum and her marriage to Henry St. Clair. They have been together for 19 years. Olivia gave us a very entertaining evening, though sadly attendance was low.
At our December meeting, after our AGM, it was a delight to welcome Character Artist and Artistic Scheduling ManagerPhilip Mosley, who is in his 40thyear with the Company. He started by speaking about Widow Simone inFille mal gardée, which he had recently performed with Akane Takada and CalvinRichardson. It had been an emotional experience, as it had been some time since he’d performed thismajor role. The clog dance had always been easy, as he had always been a tap dancer. He explainedabout the better sound produced by his clogs, which had been Ronald Emblen’s, who had taught him at the Royal Ballet School. He didn’t share these clogs. He was pleased to perform with principals making their debuts. InNutcracker, he was less energetic as in a wheelchair! Philip spoke entertainingly about many of his other roles, including Sancha Panza in three versions ofDon Quixote,Step-sister, Dr Coppelius and the Duchess inAlice.Asked whether he did class, he said he hadn’t for manyyears but cycled to work and did 45 minutes in the Gym daily to keep fit. He then spoke of his training in Barnsley, then at The Royal Ballet School and how he became the inspiration for Lee Hall’sBilly Elliott.On a tour to Mexico, at the time the film had come out, his entrance as Coppelius was greeted by an ovation far greater than that received bythe principals. Kevin O’Hare had hinted that it was going to be a special performance for him. Philip thentalked about how he had joined the management team at Ross Stretton’s time and gave us substantialdetail of the many aspects of his role as Scheduling Manager. He left everyone in awe, as to how much detail he carried in his head. It was a fascinating and very entertaining evening.
Annual Visit to Elmhurst Ballet School and Birmingham Royal Ballet – 18-20 June 2026
Unfortunately, we have had to make some changes to this visit because Birmingham Royal Ballet has changed its performance schedule. They moved the Peter Wright Gala from February to June 18th, the day we had planned to watch class, have a talk with dancers and attend a performance of20thCentury Masterpieces.We have therefore had to move our performance to Friday 19thJune and class and talk to the morning of Saturday 20thJune. This means that our hotel booking is now for the 18thand 19th, rather than 17thand 18th. Friday night is considerably cheaper than the Wednesday night, so cuts the cost of the trip and you could choose to travel up on Friday early if you wish, thus staying only one night.
The Elmhurst visit remains on the 19th, but the group dinner will now be on the 19th, not 18th. Elmhurst have now introduced a charge of around £20 per person for the visit to cover the cost of lunch, etc. Therefore,we won’t have to hold a collection as in previous years. The visit will approximately be from 11.00-2.30, but will be confirmed later.
If you wish to join this visit, please complete the attached application form. Because of the change of date, we have obtained a few extra tickets for the performance on the 19th.
If you wish to attend the Peter Wright Gala on the 18th, please book your own tickets for that performance.
Please send your completed form plus payment for your ticket(s) (£53 each) plus a minimum donation of £15 each towards our donation to BRB and enclose a stamped (bar-coded) addressed envelope for tickets. Cheques should be made payable to the Ballet Association. If you wish to pay by electronic transfer, pleaseindicate clearly payment for “BRB followed by your name”. (BA Lloyds Account is Sort code 30 93 92, A/c00186483). Please send form to: Ann Maclennan, 18 Wensleydale Road, Hampton, TW12 2LW orannmaclennan@btopenworld.com. (If sending form by e-mail, please let Ann have a s.a.e when you next see her.)
News
It is with great sadness that we heard that our former ChairmanMichael Foremanpassed away on the 29thDecember, following a heart attack. Michael chaired the Association from 1990 until October 2002. He will be greatly missed by his many friends within the Association. Also, we were saddened to hear of the death of our memberShirley Pickon the 20thNovember. On informing us, her niece said that her aunt loved ballet. During her last days, her niece had played her some of the ballets she had been taken to. Members will have been sad to hear of the death of choreographerHans van Manenon the 17thDecember, aged 93.
On a happier note, we congratulate PrincipalYasmine Naghdiand her husband on the birth of their son Massimo.
We also congratulate our PresidentChristopher Powneyon his appointment as Artistic Director of DutchNational Ballet’s Junior Company from 1stJanuary 2026.
Members will have been saddened to hear of the retirement of Principal Character Artist and Senior RépétiteurGary Avisfrom The Royal Ballet. Gary joined The Royal Ballet in 1989, left in 1999 to join K Ballet in Japan, then English National Ballet, before rejoining The Royal in 2004. We will be giving Gary a present from the Associationand hope that he will come to talk to us in the future. He writes that his “focus is now healing, getting better and feeling well again, to start a new and exciting chapter.”
Also retiring after his final Nutcracker/Hans Peter was SoloistBenjamin Ella.Rather than receiving apresent from the Association, Ben said, “I would be happier for you to keep the money and invest it in all the great work you do! And perhaps I can come to the next dinner if I’m around? I also want to say thank you for all the years of support. Truly I don’t know where 17 years went but I’m grateful for the support andappreciation over all those years! Plans for the future are a combination of things at the moment: i) becoming a father; ii) some teaching; iii) some choreographing; iv) working for Ballet Conservatoire; v)helping out our church. I would say it’s probably going to be a few years of building and finding my feet, butI wanted to have this time.”
Members will be delighted to hear that our Patron, Royal Ballet DirectorKevin O’Hareis to Chair the jury for the 2026 Prix de Lausanne. PrincipalSteven McRaeand former SoloistEric Underwoodare also on the jury. At the closing gala,Sylvie Guillemwill be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Members will be excited to hear of two programmes in the Royal Opera House to look forward to this Summer. PrincipalMarianela NuñezpresentsTimeless,a celebration of her career, with dancers from the Company from 29thJuly to 2ndAugust. Marianela is performing Kitri inDon Quijotein Havana withPatricio Revéon 28thand 30thDecember. Our PresidentCarlos AcostapresentsMyths and Modern Mastersfrom 5thto 9thAugust.
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