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STOP PRESS - NATIONAL YOUTH BALLET GALA

On stage at the end of the gala evening:  Joanna Lumley, Jessica Hill, Michael Morpurgo,
Jo Meredith, Stephen Barlow, Jill Tookey, Dale White, Alice Laidle

Winners of the Bronze Statuette: Jessica Hill, Dale White, Alice Laidler

Photo: Mikah Smillie

Messages from the 2010 gala

A magical evening - the talent of the young dancers, the choreography, costumes and sets were of such a high standard it was all quite breathtaking. We literally floated home.
Sarah Sturt – Editor Kent Life

Thank you to all at NYB for such a wonderful season.  My daughter has learnt so much, and is already making plans for next year!

The young dancers were great, so polished and professional. I can not think of a nicer first ballet experience for our children
Carol and Vince - Winners of the ‘mad hat’ competition in Battersea Park.

I am writing to say how much I enjoyed the whole NYB performance at The Palladium last night.
It was a complete joy - a feast of colour and dazzling talent!
Charlotte Fawley – Dance Review

We felt that this evening was the best gala yet - the new little choreographed pieces were a lovely touch, adding a welcome feeling of modernity, and The Rainbow Bear is undoubtedly the best thing the NYB has ever done: beautifully choreographed and performed.
The boy who played the bear is a star in the making. What made it special was the acting as well as the dancing. Terrific, I thought, and very inspiring. You've got a great eye for talent, and the design as usual was tremendous.
Chris Tookey – Film Critic

…..words fail me when it comes to expressing the sheer delight Michael and I felt on being with you all last night.   Everyone who came with us was bowled over by the beauty of it all.   I think you may have inspired a couple more 5 year olds to think seriously about dancing. Clare Morpurgo

What a treat it was to see the Company on such brilliant form last evening.  Alice brought back many happy memories as did the others. Thank you for getting behind Rainbow Bear Jill, as ever, you threw your and the Company’s all into it and the audience response spoke for itself. Gill Graham – Europeon Promoter,  Chester Music.

Thanks for a splendid evening at the Palladium. As usual, it was a glorious night, and I sat in awe (again) at the sheer talent and exuberance on stage. Nigel Hess

I just wanted to say a massive thank you for entrusting the choreography of Rainbow Bear to me. It has been such a remarkable experience for me and I have learnt so much from working with the children but especially from working with you. Your vision, enthusiasm and passion for NYB has made so many peoples dreams come true. You have made the seemingly impossible possible! I was reflecting on how NYB has affected the lives of so many young dancers and it is a simply amazing achievement. Jo Meredith – choreographer Rainbow Bear

I travelled from Bristol yesterday specially to see my nephew performing with NYB at the London Palladium. It was my first ever experience of the NYB Company, and I was absolutely thrilled by everything about the evening. Your production standards are exceptionally high, with beautifully designed and made costumes, settings and props complementing the well-disciplined talents of the dancers, and leaving magical images in my memory. To think you created such an impressive and inspiring show in such a short time simply takes my breath away.  Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!  Shirley Brown

Thank you doesn’t seem enough! I have had the most amazing experience and journey being part of the NYB family and learned so much on the way. I have so many wonderful  memories I will never forget.
Andrew McNicol – Rainbow Bear

Wow! What a wonderful 2010 Gala performance – It was better than ever -  and that’s saying something. Lola, our grand daughter was enchanted with it all and absolutely speechless! Sue and Richard Webb

It was WONDERFUL. We loved every second of the performances. I am in total awe of the standard that you and everyone involved achieves. I just love seeing all those talented young people, with all their energy, having the opportunity to take part in dance at such a high level. Isn't 'Rainbow Bear' amazing? How did Andrew McNicol do it? He nearly broke my heart. Of course I loved the music that Stephen Barlow has written for it.  And after we got home I took the dogs out for a tramp across the fields and I was in a happy daze thinking about the lovely performance I had just seen, and I looked up and there in the dark sky was a brilliant rainbow!! It was absolutely the colours of those heavenly costumes. I waited for your dancers to float across the sky. Mary Petman

A thousand thanks - we couldn’t have loved it more and our little grand daughters were as bewitched as we were!  Joanna Lumley

I consider myself lucky indeed to have played a catalytic part in what will remain for me one of the most thrilling nights in the theatre. My admiration knows no bounds – your perception and commitment was mirrored in each and everyone’s performance! NYB is a marvelous thing in itself but to see everyone involved alive with electricity and such skill is a profound badge of honour.We were all stirred with the beauty and craftsmanship, in the astonishing costumes and masks and bowled over by the energy and belief of all involved.    You have my admiration, respect and enormous gratitude.  Stephen Barlow (Composer – Rainbow Bear).

On their toes

Hallelujah. Mary and I were invited last night to a special performance by the National Youth Ballet of Great Britain at the London Palladium. I am not a ballet person, or for that matter, an opera buff, preferring to go to the theatre. But I have to tell you, this made me proud to be British.
The children on stage ranged from the age of 8 to 18, and the performance fell into two acts; first, Wonderland, Scenes from Alice, and in the second half, The Rainbow Bear. The costumes in both were fabulous and the dancing by all the children, out of this world. I could not believe the young girl who played 'Rainbow Leader', Sophie Bassett, was only 10 years old. She had the poise and dignity of someone twice her age. 'Rainbow Bear', danced by Andrew McNicol, rightly received a standing ovation. Joanna Lumley OBE was the narrator in the second act, for which her husband, the maestro Stephen Barlow, had composed the music. The audience left the theatre in a warm, noisy buzz that you get with a hit that, in this case, is only on for one night, because the scenery for Sister Act was being moved back into place even as we left the theatre.

Joanna reminded us that there always has to be someone very special to make these things happen, and that person is the Founder and Artistic Director, Jill Tookey MBE. But she is so much more, because it is her energy, inspiration and determination that saw 100 children on stage last night. Bravo Ms Tookey. In an age when our papers are filled with scandal and failure, you and your company are a triumph. I hope one of those journalists who reads this column will go and see the work you do, and rightly remind people that we can still do things as well as anywhere else on earth. Five stars.  

Lord Jeffrey Archer