Ballet
Choreographed by Wayne Eagling
Set Design by Nina Kobiashvili

The Peacock Theatre. London. UK
Severn Theatre. Shewsbury. UK
The Thameside Theatre Thurrock. UK
The Crescent Theatre. Birmingham. UK

Production: The New English Ballet Theatre. UK
Artistic and Executive Director: Karen Pilkington-Miksa
Choreography: Wayne Eagling
Music: George Frideric Handel, Ode for Cecilia’s Day
Conductor: Harry Bicket
Original Concept: Greg Billingsley
Set Design: Nina Kobiashvili
Costume Design: April Dalton
Lighting Design: Andrew Ellis

To commemorate the Armistice, world-renowned choreographer Wayne Eagling (former principal at The Royal Ballet and Artistic Director of the English National Ballet) presents new ballet based on the life of Dame Marie Rambert during the Great War. A hugely influential figure on the British and international ballet scene, the audience follows her whirlwind romance with Ashley Dukes and her anguish at their separation, as he is called back to the battlefield.
The Times
“This one is a pretty impressive achievement… Wayne Eagling makes a good fist of a familiar enough narrative, which shifts from a Chelsea dance studio to the battlefield and back to London for an Armistice reunion. He is abetted by the contributions of a fine creative team, especially the set designer Nina Kobiashvili, and a spirited rendering of Handel’s Ode for St Cecilia’s Day played live by the English Concert, with stirring solo vocals from Fflur Wyn and Joshua Ellicott. The choreography for the principals and the ensemble is adept. As Rambert, the lithe Alessia Lugoboni is at her most expressive in duets partnered by the strapping Alexander Nuttall’s stalwart Dukes.” Donald Hutera