Elmhurst Ballet School, the associate school of Birmingham Royal Ballet, will perform Summer Variations as its summer show programme for 2017. The shows will take place at Elmhurst’s studio theatre in the school’s Birmingham home from 7-14 July. As part of the performance, David Bintley CBE, Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, will choreograph his first work for the school, and Sir Frederick Ashton’s Explosions Polka will be performed for the first time in over thirty years.
In addition to these coups for the school, there will be specially commissioned contemporary dance works by guest choreographers, which will complete the three programmes of performances to showcase Elmhurst Young Dancers and Lower, Upper and Graduate School students. Elmhurst vocational staff creating and restaging work for the shows include Gloria Grigolato, Errol Pickford, Andrea Tredinnick, Denise Whiteman (Assistant Artistic Director), David Yow and Lei Zhao.
Summer Variations’ mix of repertoire is choreographed and restaged by Elmhurst’s vocational staff and guest choreographers, and highlights the range of work embraced by the students over the course of a year, such as ballet, character, contemporary, jazz and flamenco dance. The shows emphasise the diversity of styles that equip an Elmhurst student, making them ready for today’s profession and beyond.
As one of the dance makers, Bintley is one of the main figures in British ballet, and is regarded as one of the most distinguished neo-classical choreographers of the age. Bintley is also an Artistic Advisor of Elmhurst Ballet School. His work, entitled Komic Kutz, is a 15 minute piece in five sections, choreographed on Upper School students to showcase the personalities of each dancer. Many of Birmingham Royal Ballet’s current dancers trained at the school, and former dancers have gone on to teach there, so it is an important part of the ballet company.