Following sell-out performances in Leeds, Northern Ballet’s first short ballet for children aged 4+, Ugly Duckling, begins an extensive tour to theatres across the North of England from 12 March.
Choreographed by Northern Ballet dancers Dreda Blow and Sebastian Loe, Ugly Duckling received rave reviews from audiences and critics at performances in Leeds last autumn.
Based on the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairytale, it tells the story of a lonely duckling who doesn’t quite fit in with her friends. Throughout the ballet, the duckling learns about herself and those around her and when she learns to love who she is she turns into a beautiful swan and begins a happy new life.
Sebastian Loe said, “The great thing about Ugly Duckling and other children's stories is that they teach important and timeless values from a young age. The message we want to put across in Ugly Duckling is that we should be confident in embracing who we are and ultimately we should not be afraid of being ourselves.”
Dreda Blow said, “According to my parents, I saw my first ballet when I was only two years old and was absolutely riveted! I sat perfectly still, my eyes glued to the stage the entire time. If our production of Ugly Duckling inspires children to start ballet lessons then that's great, but most importantly I hope it awakens in them a love and appreciation for the magic of dance and theatre in general.”
Ugly Duckling is an audience outreach project funded by Leeds City Council and is part of Leeds Inspired, a Leeds City Council initiative which supports arts, sport and heritage events around the region and offers grants to individuals and organisations for cultural projects. Leeds Inspired is supported by a group of partners including West Yorkshire Playhouse, SAA-UK, Cultivate, Leeds Young Authors, Leeds Initiative, Leeds Met Gallery, Phoenix Dance and Duke Studios.
The production will tour to:
- Middlesbrough Theatre (Tue 12 March)
- Hexham Queen’s Hall Arts Centre (Wed 13 March)
- Liverpool Playhouse (Fri 15 March)
- Huddersfield Lawrence Batley Theatre (Sat 16 March)
- Newcastle Dance City (Tue 19 March)
- Bradford Kala Sangam (Wed 20 March)
- Whitby Pavilion (Fri 22 March)
- Berwick-upon-Tweed The Maltings (Sat 23 March)
- Blackpool Grand Theatre (Tue 26 March)
- Leicester Curve Theatre (Thu 28 March)
- Barrow-in-Furness The Forum (Thu 4 April)
- Lancaster The Dukes (Fri 5 April)
- Harrogate Theatre (Sat 6 April)
- Barnsley Civic (Tue 9 April)
- Hull Truck Theatre (Wed 10 April)
- Goole Junction (Sat 13 April)