A SALISBURY dancer is one of 38 young rising stars who are set to go on tour with Ballet Central this year.
Ballet Central is back on tour this summer with an exciting programme showcasing the talent of Central School of Ballet’s graduating class of 2025.
Bringing fresh dance to national audiences for over 40 years, the show will play at Salisbury Playhouse on Wednesday 4 June as part of a UK tour.
This year’s tour will feature 19-year-old Sophie Curtis was born in Salisbury and then based in Stockbridge.
She attended ballet school at Louise Vincent in Andover and first danced on stage with English Youth Ballet in The Nutcracker in Salisbury and later danced on the professional stage at the Birmingham Hippodrome in Swan Lake.
This year’s repertoire sees heritage meet cutting edge, combining classical ballet from Frederick Ashton with a restaged Foyer de danse, as well as an ultra-contemporary innovative creation from Dickson Mbi, a post-apocalyptic world populated by the Kardashians from Thick & Tight and a new ballet from Kristen McNally.
The mixed programme has been expertly commissioned by Kate Coyne, Artistic Director of the world-renowned ballet school.
The Ballet Central Tour 2025 will feature Frederick Ashton’s majestic Foyer de danse, reconstructed and staged by Ursula Hageli, on behalf of The Frederick Ashton Foundation.
Staged for the first time in over 90 years, Ashton’s ballet brings Edgar Degas paintings and pastels of Paris Opera Ballet dancers to life.
In contrast, Ballet Central presents two newly commissioned contemporary works from Dickson Mbi and creative duo Thick & Tight.
Vastly energetic, Dickson Mbi’s piece explores the practices of ritual and shared human experience, striving to shine a light on what is next to come. Presenting a new generation of dancers in this fast-evolving artistic world, Dickson Mbi’s piece depicts the energetic ambition and perseverance required to pave new pathways in dance theatre and performance.
Thick & Tight’s theatrical work Keeping Up with the Apocalypse – set to John Adam’s Nixon In China – combines dance, theatre and mime, whilst adopting a humorous commentary on social and political affairs.
Set years ahead in the future of planet Earth, only one species remains, thriving in a desolate post-apocalyptic landscape – the Kardashians. Famous for being famous and living on money alone, they dominate a decimated planet.
The fourth piece in this vibrant programme is Kristen McNally’s modern ballet FEAST with a glorious new musical composition by Central’s Tabor Music Director, Philip Feeney.
Principal Character Artist of the Royal Ballet, McNally’s vibrant piece allows the audience to catch a glimpse of a colourful community where conversation is punctuated and interactions explode with character.
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