English National Ballet in Strictly Gershwin [Photo: Patrick Baldwin ]
English National Ballet’s Strictly Gershwin opened this weekend at London’s Royal Albert Hall as a “dazzling homage to George Gershwin, the big band era and the glamour of musical motion pictures“:
“Gershwin’s timeless classics are combined with Derek Deane’s choreography and Roberta Guidi di Bagno’s designs to conjure up the Hollywood genius and glamour of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The full Company of 67 dancers will tap, twirl, jeté and glide their way through a series of Gershwin classics performed by a live jazz orchestra designed to get the toes tapping…”
“The music is arranged for a 50-piece jazz orchestra by musical director, Gareth Valentine. Gareth’s previous work includes West End shows such as Porgy and Bess, Sinatra and Wicked.”
English National Ballet in Strictly Gershwin [Photo: Michael Garner]
In October, Strictly Gershwin goes on tour in the UK. The touring version will be restaged for a proscenium arch since the original, first premiered in 2008 at Royal Albert Hall, is done in the round, a specialty of English National Ballet. In case you were wondering, the Royal Albert Hall is huge with seating capacity ranging from 3,929 to 5,250!
Highlights from Strictly Gershwin [Source: ENB]
Here’s more about the show:
“Strictly Gershwin is a dance journey through ballet, tap, and ballroom. Act I ends with a re-creation of the Hollywood classic An American in Paris and Act II opens with Rhapsody in Blue, a spectacular ballet with the full Company of dancers dressed in glittering, Swarovski encrusted midnight blue costumes.”
“The show will feature a host of Gershwin favourites including Summertime, Fascinatin’ Rhythm, The Man I Love, Lady be Good,’ S Wonderful, and Strike up the Band, all performed by English National Ballet’s star dancers including the much-celebrated Daria Klimentová and Vadim Muntagirov, Elena Glurdjidze, Arionel Vargas, Dmitri Gruzdyev, Erina Takahashi, Fernanda Oliveira and Begoña Cao.”
Official Site: Strictly Gershwin