Ballet Nights

Lanterns Studio Theatre, London September 2023

There are two audiences for dance, the one that exists and the one that doesn’t. In an effort to appeal to both of them, Jamiel Devernay-Laurence, a former dancer with Scottish Ballet, has organized several “uniquely compèred evenings of Classical Ballet, Neo-Classical and Contemporary Dance” called Ballet Nights. Each evening will showcase familiar dancers from a clutch of ballet and contemporary companies, plus up and coming artists, in a mix of known and new work. Enhanced by some live music, the combination “will take audiences on a journey beyond one single idea.”

The chosen venue is a flexible working space in east London’s Docklands that can be adjusted to accommodate performances, rehearsals, classes, community projects and filming; the building also houses a nursery school. Available to rent for all these purposes, the black-box space can seat 250 spectators for performances, allowing every one of them an unobstructed view, and comes fully equipped with dressing rooms, green room, wardrobe, kitchen and bar. It’s also fitted with a sprung floor 17 meters square (that’s more than 55 square feet) that makes the facility particularly attractive for dance projects.

The first of three different programs, each with its own repertory, featured Michel Fokine’s The Dying Swan; a solo for Gamzatti from Marius Petipa’s La Bayadère; and pas de deux from Kenneth MacMillan’s Isadora and Concerto. On the contemporary side, we saw an untitled commissioned solo, choreographed and performed by Jordan James Bridge who dances with Studio Wayne McGregor; a duet by Gavin McCaig, who has recently retired from Northern Ballet; and a group work, All in Passing by Peter Leung, danced by young performers from New English Ballet Theatre.

Undoubtedly the evening’s headliner, the Royal Ballet’s Steven McRae delivered a smashing tap solo, Czárdás, that he choreographed for himself and has performed often, at home and abroad. Even the closest seats at Covent Garden wouldn’t bring you so near to him or to his Royal Ballet colleagues Melissa Hamilton and Reece Clarke, whose fans were there too, and those seats cost £150 apiece for Don Quixote, the season’s opening attraction.

But wait. Stage-side seats for Ballet Nights went for £131.97, with the cheapest alternative costing £65.00. For £104 you could sit in the balcony or amphitheatre for Don Quixote at Covent Garden, where McRae will lead three of the eighteen performances and Reece Clarke will lead two. Here, McRae, Hamilton and Clarke danced, between them, for about 20 minutes in total, and the people in front of me inadvertently blocked my view in tiered seats barely six inches lower than mine.

Despite the cavernous space and the excited little girls in bouffant tutus, the event felt more like a private soirée than a public performance. Viktor Erik Emanuel opened both halves of the program at the piano, first with Chopin, then with Liszt. The proud compère Devernay-Laurence spoke about the performers and each short selection before it occurred, pointing out that ”Ballet Nights is all about telling stories.” Yet the four danced excerpts in each half gave the dancers very little time to tell the choreographer’s story or their own.

Nobody seemed to mind. Offered choreographic canapés, those already interested in dance would have gone home hungry. For the dance audience that doesn’t yet exist, a few tasty tidbits, served with generous helpings of drink and charming chat, might represent an ideal cultural evening, entertaining but not too demanding.

Devernay-Laurence has said, “My job is to build connections between the artist and the audience and really get everyone on the same page as to what they’re seeing, why they’re seeing it and, importantly, where they could see it next.” Apparently he’s succeeding—the audience cheered and stomped for every number. Maybe the relaxed, sociable format will tempt them back for more.

Ballet Nights returns in October and November. www.balletnights.com