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ENB returns to Festival Hall
By Louise Jury, Evening Standard 03.06.08
Stepping back: the English National Ballet perform today
Back in the day: at the Royal Festival Hall in the Fifties, when the company was called the Festival Ballet
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The English National Ballet is going back to its roots with performances at the Royal Festival Hall.
The company was founded — like the venue — in 1950 for the Festival of Britain and was called the Festival Ballet.
Now the title is being resurrected for a series of shows on the refurbished South-bank Centre stage next month.
It will be the ballet's first appearance at the venue for a decade as it now performs more regularly at the Coliseum, home to the English National Opera.
Wayne Eagling, ENB's artistic director, said: “Thinking about the history of the company, I felt it was rather nice to go back to its birthplace. People always forget about the people who go before them. It's important not to forget why we were called the Festival Ballet. I remember going to see the Festival Ballet and all its wonderful dancers when I was a dancer.”
For years the company performed the Nutcracker eight or nine times a week during December and January and stars such as Rudolf Nureyev appeared with them.
He said it was also important to maintain a high profile for the company, adding: “As a touring company, we don't have a home so I like to have regular dates in London where people can put it in their calendar.” The ENB will be performing as part of the In Motion dance festival across the Southbank Centre between 2 July and and 13 July.
One of the works the company will present is Etudes, which the Festival Ballet first performed at the Festival Hall in 1955 — and later in Monte Carlo for Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly's wedding.
Also in the programme is the world premiere of a new piece, Resolution, choreographed by Eagling. Other events include open classes where members of the public can learn more about ballet.
