Tag: uk

FEATURE: Trailblazing fusion, the olllam, tours UK this Spring

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Known for their pioneering blend of traditional Irish instruments, cyclical melodies, jazz, and psych-post-rock influences, the olllam has been making waves since their acclaimed 2024 debut tour. The lineup features Scotland’s renowned whistle player Ross Ainslie, Irish piper John McSherry, bassist Joe Dart (of Vulfpeck fame), Detroit drummer Michael Shimmin, keyboard player Joe Hettinga, and guitarist Seán O’Meara.

Their 2025 tour follows sold-out shows at Glasgow Barrowlands during Celtic Connections and London’s Jazz Cafe. It also comes on the heels of their collaboration with Grammy-winning electronic artist Zedd on the track Sona from his upcoming album Telos.

Tour Dates:

Through the Noise’s Bold 2025 Season

These sessions are part of Through the Noise’s largest-ever lineup, spanning 32 noisenights across 17 cities in the UK and Europe. The season features pre-album concerts, debut performances, and collaborations with renowned classical soloists and ensembles.

Highlights include:

  • Largest noisenight: A 3000-capacity event at Troxy in London’s East End, launching Abel Selaocoe’s second album.
  • Debut performances: Artists such as Hadewych van Gent, Tiffany Poon, Nicola Benedetti, and Stephanie Jones join the lineup alongside the olllam.
  • Venue firsts: Classical gigs in spaces like Project House (Leeds), 229 and neon194 (London), and Troxy.
  • Eclectic performances: Grammy-winning violinist Nicola Benedetti, Barokksolistene’s The Alehouse Sessions, and medieval polyphonic sounds by Idrîsî Ensemble.

Through the Noise’s Artistic Director Jack Bazalgette expressed excitement about reaching the 200-gig milestone:

“Our mission has always been to reinvigorate classical music by taking it out of traditional venues and into local spaces. We can’t wait to see how audiences respond to the next chapter of noisenights.”

With a powerhouse lineup and the olllam‘s much-anticipated return, 2025 promises to be a transformative year for Through the Noise and its audiences across the UK and beyond.

In Conversation With Peter Tuleshkov

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We sat down with Peter Tuleshkov, Artistic, Musical Director and Chief Conductor of Varna International Ballet which comes to the UK in the new year, visiting 20 venues from 2 January – 5 March 2025, with beloved classics Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Romeo and Juliet. 

How long have you been with Varna International Ballet and Orchestra?

I’ve been with the Company for five years, and every year has been filled with new ideas and achievements. I constantly try to move forward to keep up with the creativity and new ballet productions. 

What was your career path to becoming Music Director and Chief Conductor for Varna International Ballet and Orchestra?

When I was young my parents assigned me to the music school, they assumed that I had a good musical ear. In school I realised how important it was to study classical music and big music scores, which form a very special musical thinking.

When I was sixteen, I knew for sure that I wanted to work at the opera and ballet theatre. But at the beginning I did not realise how difficult it would be to work in such a way as to listen not only to each musician in the orchestra, but also to follow each dancer on stage. I have always loved ballet music, but conducting a ballet performance is a big challenge. Not the slightest mistake is allowed here.

Ballet has produced some of the most beautiful music ever written. Which is your favourite ballet, and why?

I love the music of Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky, but my favourite ballet is the one to which I give my heart and soul at the moment of the performance. I must go out and enter the orchestra pit and face the audience, and that performance is my favourite that evening. Only this way I will be able to transmit my feelings to the audience.

Why do you think Tchaikovsky’s ballets are so admired?

It is easy to answer this question. Tchaikovsky’s music is very light and life-affirming, even if there are tragic moments in the ballet. In addition, Tchaikovsky is a fantastic melodist, he gives us a huge number of melodies that instantly sink into the soul. 

As we approach the 150th anniversary of Swan Lake, what do you think has made it such an enduring success?

Indeed, soon we all will celebrate 150 years since the premiere of Swan Lake! The history demonstrates how unexpected ballet success can be. The first production of this ballet, despite the amazing music, was average. Years later, thanks to other choreographers and to mark the 10th anniversary Swan Lake had a remarkable success. The ballet sparkled with new colours, and now every choreographer in the world dreams of adding this ballet to his repertoire.

What do you enjoy most about touring with Varna International Ballet and Orchestra? What are you looking forward to most about being on tour in the UK?

My stimulus is the Company’s incredible creativity and motivation. Young talented multinational dancers always give their best at every performance. The opportunity to participate in artistically amazing performances is the best gift to any creative person. The UK tour is one of the most important tours. I will do my best to help dancers on stage to radiate their best qualities to the audience.

Varna International Ballet at New Wimbledon Theatre, London, Great Britain 6th February 2024 Photo call UK tour runs until 29th February 2024 British dancer Luc Burns performs alongside Italy’s Mara Salvaggio, Martina Prefetto, Giovanni Pompei, Agnese Di Dio Masa, Andrea Conforti, Mirko Andreutti, Giacomo Ammazzini and Vittorio Scolé, France’s Pauline Clémence Faget, Spain’s Mónica Alegre and Yael Delgado, and Brazil’s Wellson Felipio. Photograph by Elliott Franks

In Conversation with Daniela Dimova

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We sat down with Daniela Dimova, Artistic Director of Varna International Ballet which comes to the UK in the new year, visiting 20 venues from 2 January – 5 March 2025, with beloved classics Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Romeo and Juliet. 

How did you first get into ballet? 

Ballet is a universe where roles constantly change. I would prefer not to highlight
certain periods, but to pay attention to something else – how we can preserve the art
of ballet. The responsibility lies not only with choreographers and dancers, but in
audiences as well. Without an audience, a ballet performance cannot take place. It is
the audience who appreciates a fantastic live performance, and it is the audience
with their applause that feeds the artists with positive energy, which gives strength
for new achievements. 

How many shows does the company perform each year?

Varna International Ballet is a troupe that is young, energetic and have lots of
performing experience, with a long history. Sixty years ago, the world’s first
international ballet competition was held in Varna, which immediately made this city
one of the ballet capitals of the world. 

The National Opera and Ballet Theatre in Varna has been trying to keep the ballet
bar high all these decades.  Thanks to Bulgaria now being a country within the
European Union, it is now possible to invite talented dancers from all over the world
more actively, and now nowadays the Company includes dancers from ten countries.
Today Varna International Ballet is one of the most active and creative European
companies, which has already had seven ballet premieres in the last year.

Which of the three shows you are presenting is your favourite, and why? 

All three productions the Company is bringing to the UK are audience favourites and
all three of them have a special place in my heart. The first original 1877 production
of Swan Lake perhaps would be the most interesting for the audience with the
sequence of music as Pyotr Tchaikovsky composed it and as Julius Reisinger
choreographed the ballet. The core for all other Swan Lake interpretations is the
1895 Petipa-Ivanov production and Ricardo Drigo’s music arrangement.
Prokofiev’s Romeo & Juliet has got a powerful music score and original
choreography.

We use images projected on the backdrop to accompany each scene. The audience
is not distracted with hard sets onstage and changeovers, but follows the ballet line
and smoothly projected images appropriate for each scene.

Which dance performances have you seen that have inspired you the most,
apart from Varna International Ballet?

We follow activity and new productions of ballet companies worldwide with great
interest, including the UK. Keeping up with ballet tendencies we must know
achievements and progress of other companies. The audience know and love British
ballet companies with their tradition and high standards, and as a professional
company, we understand how difficult is to compete in quite a competitive market.

FEATURE: English National Ballet’s breathtaking Swan Lake in the-round will delight cinema audiences this Autumn in selected cinemas from October 30

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A mesmerising production of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, innovatively and beautifully staged in the round at the stunning Royal Albert Hall

★★★★★ A Youngish Perspective June 14th 2024

Trafalgar Releasing has been appointed by English National Ballet to distribute Derek Deane’s Swan Lake in-the-round to cinemas across the UK and internationally for the first time from Wednesday  30 October 2024. Tickets will go on sale from 11th September at ENBSwanLakeCinema.com.  

Marking English National Ballet’s 75th Season, the cinema release of Swan Lake in-the-round gives dance fans the chance to experience the splendour of ballet on a grand scale. Derek Deane’s  stunning in-the-round production has been enjoyed by over 500,000 people worldwide and offers  an unmissable 360° view of one of the most popular ballets of all time. With 60 dancing swans,  exquisite choreography and Tchaikovsky’s unforgettable score played live by English National Ballet  Philharmonic, the film will take you to the very heart of this celebrated classic. 

Featuring Lead Principal Sangeun Lee as Odette/Odile and Principal Gareth Haw as Prince Siegfried,  this production captures all the magic of the beloved ballet. From the breathtaking spectacle of  shimmering swans moving in unison, to the captivating romance between Prince Siegfried and the  Swan Queen Odette, this is cinema bursting with beauty, passion and betrayal. 

Released by Trafalgar Releasing, the global leader in event cinema distribution, the ballet was filmed  live at the Royal Albert Hall in June 2024 and includes never-seen-before overhead angles which will  give the cinema audience an aerial view of the genius choreography. Combining exceptional artistry,  gorgeous spectacle and compelling drama, Swan Lake in-the-round is a cinematic masterpiece that will enthral and delight.

Dates 30th October – 3rd November 2024 

Cinema Tickets on sale from Wednesday 11th September 2024