ENB at Home: Wednesday Watch Parties – June

English National Ballet’s ‘ENB at HOME’ programme continues to provide free access to full-length ballets and online content, providing ways for people to keep fit and active during this time and keeping ballet accessible to everyone, everywhere. Through their Wednesday Watch Parties, which are a part of ENB at HOME, English National Ballet invites audiences around the world to enjoy never before seen full-length recordings of Company performances. Following a short break, Wednesday Watch Parties will return with a celebration of Sir Kenneth MacMillan, by streaming two of his productions on Wednesday 17th June for Song of the Earth and Wednesday 24th June for Manon.

 

The Wednesday evening (7pm) premieres on Facebook and YouTube give people the chance to see some of English National Ballet’s most loved productions for free, from their own homes, with recordings available for 48 hours.

 

First performed in 1965, MacMillan’s choreography for Song of the Earth was different from anything he had previously devised. Featuring three central figures, a Woman, a Man, and a Messenger, this powerful, moving exploration of life, death, and renewal is set to Mahler’s song cycle, Das Lied von der Erde, performed live by English National Ballet Philharmonic. The streamed performance was filmed at the Palace Theatre Manchester in October 2017 when English National Ballet performed this masterwork as a part of the national celebration of MacMillan in the 25th anniversary of his death.

 

Famous for its expressive choreography MacMillan’s Manon features some of the most demanding and fulfilling roles in ballet. The young and naïve Manon is torn between two lives: privilege and opulence with the wealthy Monsieur GM, or innocent love with the penniless student Des Grieux. Aristocrats and beggars, courtesans and harlots fill the stage as audiences are taken from a gambling den in 18th-century Paris to a desolate Louisiana swamp in one of British ballet’s most dramatic stories. Recorded at the Manchester Opera House in October 2018, Manon is accompanied by Jules Massenet’s haunting music performed by English National Ballet Philharmonic.

 

ENB have announced the conclusion of Artistic Director Tamara Rojo’s daily ballet classes, following an incredible 40 classes that she has recorded since 20 March.  Tamara’s classes proved popular with professional dancers and ballet fans alike as a way to keep fit as well as an opportunity to train with one of the best ballet dancers in the world, and have been watched over 1.7 million times on YouTube and Facebook.

 

The 40 classes Tamara recorded are still available on ENB’s website and YouTube channel alongside the full range of classes that form the ENB at Home programme. These include beginners classes, family workshops, Dance for Parkinson’s, Youth Ballet, Boys’ classes, Ballet Fit and classes for those with limited mobility. ENB at Home will continue with new Wednesday Watch Parties, a weekly ‘Ballet for Summer Fitness’ class and more. Keep an eye on ENB’s social channels for updated information on these classes and ENB at HOME content.

 

For further information visit: https://www.ballet.org.uk/onscreen/watch-party-manon/

 

Image cortesy of ENB