Northern Ballet will open its autumn season with the world première of three new dance pieces in its Mixed Programme, with performances in Leeds and Doncaster. Giving Yorkshire audiences the chance to be the first to see work by upcoming and award-winning choreographers, Northern Ballet’s world-class dancers will perform The Shape of Sound by Kenneth Tindall, The Kingdom of Back by Morgann Runacre-Temple and Mamela… by Mlindi Kulashe (a dancer of the company). The Mixed Programme will première at the Stanley & Audrey Burton Theatre in Leeds until 15 September, before performances at Cast in Doncaster on 21 & 22 September.
After the success of the award-winning Casanova, critically acclaimed choreographer Kenneth Tindall makes his highly anticipated return to Northern Ballet with The Shape of Sound. Performed to Vivaldi’s iconic The Four Seasons reimagined by Max Richter, this abstract piece is inspired by the seasons and our human responses to them. The Shape of Sound is the sixth new work Tindall has created for the company, including celebrated pieces for previous mixed programmes The Architect and Luminous Junc·ture.
Her first creation for Northern Ballet, Morgann Runacre-Temple will present The Kingdom of Back, an intimate and moving portrait of Wolfgang Mozart’s elder sister and musical genius in her own right, Nannerl Mozart. Offering a different lens on the world of the Mozart family, The Kingdom of Back draws inspiration from the family’s letters and explores the complex relationship between Leopold Mozart and his two prodigious children. The piece features music by Frank Moon, JS Bach, and the music of Leopold and Wolfgang Mozart performed by The Swingle Singers. Runacre-Temple was Choreographer in Residence at Ballet Ireland for six years and recently choreographed the award-winning dance film Curing Albrecht with English National Ballet and Manchester International Festival.
An emerging choreographer from within Northern Ballet’s dancers, South-African born Mlindi Kulashe will make his choreographic debut with Mamela… (meaning ‘listen’ in Kulashe’s native language, Xhosa). With themes of frustration, escapism and imprisonment, this thought-provoking piece encompasses the feeling of being trapped in the unknown and explores how society’s expectations affect us as individuals. Mamela… is performed to original music by Jack Edmonds which incorporates multi-lingual voices.