Sunday, November 5

[dirac]

An obituary for set designer Lewis Folden.

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In a 40+ year career as an award-winning scenic designer, his scenery appeared in many theatres: Washington DC's Kennedy Center, The Woolly Mammoth Theatre Co., and Theatre J; Philadelphia's Peoples' Light & Theatre Co., Freedom Theatre and The Arden Theatre; Minneapolis' Children's Theatre Co.; Buffalo's Studio Arena; Norfolk's Virginia Stage Co.; and others. Lewis also created the sets for ballets including The Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, The Boston Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and Pittsburgh Ballet.

 

[dirac]

A celebration is held in memory of Sir Jon Trimmer.

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There were stints with the Royal Ballet, Sadler’s Wells Ballet, Australian Ballet and Royal Danish Ballet but by the 1970s onwards, Sir Jon and his ballerina wife Jacqui, whom he was married to for 60 years, devoted themselves to the Royal New Zealand Ballet.

In 1999, Sir Jon was knighted for his services to ballet, and was Wellingtonian of the Year in 2009.

 

[dirac]

 The National Ballet of Canada prepares a new ballet based on "Madame Bovary."

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Emma Bovary is not the most likeable of anti-heroines but, in telling the story through her eyes, Bonas and Pickett hope audiences will develop a degree of empathy. Flaubert wrote before the advent of modern psychiatry, but it is clear to Pickett and Bonas that his portrayal of Emma is that of a mentally disturbed woman whose erratic behaviour could even be seen as a symptom of bipolar disorder.

 

[dirac]

A review of Northern Ballet by Sarah Crompton in The Observer.

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This – another instance of the meaninglessness of the government and Arts Council England’s levelling up policies – is a scandal. Not all performances need live music, but every serious dance company should be able to use live music if it wishes. The importance to Northern of that possibility is revealed in Generations, its new triple bill of dance to chamber music – two to radiant live performances from Northern Ballet Sinfonia musicians and one to a pre-recorded chamber quartet.