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October 10 2006 - Ballet Changed My Life: Ballet Hoo!
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I'm enjoying one of my favourite kinds of day. This means that I'm tucked up in bed in front of a blazing coal fire with Caspar curled up beside me, while rain drives down outside, wind howls like a demented wolf, and trees shed their leaves in great russet heaps that cluster outside my window. Dusk is darkening the sky, Cyril (squirrel) has steamed up for his supper and is munching his way through a vast amount of peanuts while sitting on the end of my bed. He appears, regular as clockwork morning and evening, and frequently in between. During his visits, he consumes COPIOUS quantities of nuts; then, carrying as many nuts as he can manage, disappears into next doors garden and creates havoc with carefully planted spring bulbs by burying his booty beneath them. I've been thinking about a television programme I watched last night called Ballet Changed My Life: Ballet Hoo! 200 teenagers from backgrounds that were so deprived, emotionally, socially, economically and spiritually that it broke my heart, were brought together with the intention of training them to perform with members of the Birmingham Royal Ballet in a production of Romeo And Juliet. Obviously, the leading parts were played by the professionals, but Romeo And Juliet contains many character and non- dancing roles, and the intention was to train these kids to perform those roles 18 months hence, for one performance, to be staged at the magnificent theatre which is home to the Birmingham Royal Ballet An awesome task for all involved. None of these kids had any concept of discipline, and of all the arts, ballet is the most disciplined. The thinking behind the show was, that if they could learn to see the value of, indeed the necessity for, discipline, that knowledge could change their lives. The programme was screened over a period of 4 weeks, and last night was the final show and the much awaited performance. Of the 200 teenagers who had started out, 60 had made it through to the performance. It was some of the most moving television I have ever watched. To have witnessed the transformation these kids had experienced during the 18 months of gruelling rehearsals, family traumas', truancy, and non-existent time keeping, as they struggled to comprehend committment, determination and discipline, was awesome. And what enabled them to make this extraordinary journey; during which they discovered with-in themselves, emotions, skills and talents, which otherwise might have lain dormant and undiscovered? I believe it was their introduction and response to, beauty. The beauty of the dance, the music, the story. Very few of them had heard of ballet, let alone experienced it. To watch these, angry, hurt, massively deprived kids, whose lives contained little if any beauty, but a surfeit of pain, despair and loneliness, respond to the majesty of the music, the enchantment of the dance, the sadness of the story, was to be moved beyond words. We watched their wonder and excitement as they entered the auditorium of a theatre for the first time and the reality of what they were about to do suddenly, REALLY hit home! A beautiful black boy of 17 - Linten (sp?) I believe his name was, morphed from a wounded, very angry young man into an extraordinary Tybalt. He discovered a talent for fencing - Tybalt has several fight scenes - and became so expert, that he was given a role normally played by a professional dancer. He showed an impressive talent for acting, using his knowledge of the street, and his anger at the injustice of the world, to feed his performance. And he had a stage presence alot of actors would cheerfully commit murder to acquire! And then there was Andy..... who played Friar Lawrence so movingly, and had committed himself so totally to being the very best he could possibly be, that he seemed to have a halo of integrity. His mother died during rehearsals and his courage and dignity were humbling. He turned up for class the morning after the night she died, channelled his grief into the remaining rehearsals and dedicated his performance to her. And what an emotionally mature performance it was; his teachers wept; their tears a combination of love, respect and great tenderness. They were ALL wonderful, and to see them in stunning costumes, in a beautiful theatre, doing their thing in front of a full house, and giving it their all, was guaranteed to touch all who saw them. The chandeliers shone, the gilt glittered, jewels sparkled, and the sense of excitement was almost tangible. As the lights dimmed, and Prokofiev' s music rose from the orchestra pit, the huge, red velvet curtain made it's ascent up to the heady heights of the 'gods', revealing: A bustling market place in Verona', and the first act of Romeo And Juliet began to weave its magic on a spell-bound audience. The audience LOVED it, the kids got a standing ovation and many tears were shed. Now that they have discovered beauty, and the truth and love that it contains, may they continue to pursue it for the remainder of their lives. May their lives be filled with joy, love and magic; they deserve nothing less.
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