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After days of high winds and heavy rain we feared that even with the brand new super stretch tent canopy we might have to postpone or (unthinkably) even cancel Hatch. However the canopy stood its ground and then as if on cue the sun made a grand entrance and broke through to bathe Hatch in glorious summer sunshine and was an omen of things to come.
The clement weather and inspirational back drop of this wonderful family home and gardens, united to seduce all who entered ....and set the scene for the most memorable of evenings.
With three world premiers and eight world class dancers appearing over the two nights expectations ran high. As the sun yielded to the lights of the stage two dancers from one of Europe's finest companies quietly took to the stage in a small corner of England ....and inspired.
The early brilliance was to be followed by rousing moment after rousing moment, The Royal Ballet’s Lauren Cuthbertson’s, this year’s special guest, performed three solos from 'The Sleeping Beauty' and drew gasps of delight from a mesmerised audience and the first of three standing ovations.
The Richard Buckle Fund which was launched at last year’s September show and saw its three inaugural commissions realised by two emerging choreographers, Chrissy Sundt and Vitali Safronkine. These surpassed all expectations with works that left the audience with the hardest of decisions to make...Which one they loved the most.
In September last year at Hatch House we launched The Richard Buckle Fund, set up to commission emerging and established choreographers to produce short works in light of the arts funding cuts. We were extremely proud to see three new works commissioned over the six months following the launch and it goes without saying that we are hugely grateful to all the people who donated and supported the fund, especially to Mark Wade of Farmhouse Cheese Company for his continued support.
It is always a tense time when commissioning and the creation of new works is a process that lays bare the soul of the creative and performers alike. Both choreographers understood that time was limited and that they were going to have to operate within tight parameters. To compound this they were also producing the inaugural commissions, a fact that we repeated to them maybe a little too often! However...without pressure there would be no diamonds.....and three gems they were.
The deeply classical style and impassioned romance of Christine Sundt’s ‘The Threads That Tear’ danced to near perfection by two of the English National Ballet’s young stars was nothing short of perfection and with costumes by award winning designer Josephine Sundt and music by Jacques Brel and Maysa, it was always going to be a show stopper.
Equally, the young Vitali Safronkine and the two criminally wonderful ballet Basel dancers, Camille Auble and Iker Murillo, could have not have been more brilliant. The wonderfully fluid and contemporary timbre of Vitali Safronkine’s two stunning works moved the audience to its feet and left us in no doubt that they will have to return.
The Sunday evening saw a change of cast and the wonderful Begonia Cao and Elena Glurdjidze, two senior principals from the English National Ballet, delighted the Sunday night Hatch audience with their virtuoso performances. Begonia's solo from Giselle act 1 in the beautiful flowing white dress against the setting of sumptuous borders and 300 year old wisteria was a truly wondrous sight to behold.
It is very often the fact that sometimes things happen they happen for a reason and if you are lucky ..you get more than you bargained for....and that is what we got. Elena Glurdjidze's Dying Swan in her specially created tutu by Karl Lagerfeld was a moment that will be etched in the memory of all who were lucky enough to have been there to see it. A work steeped in history, legend and tradition performed that left not a dry eye in the house and was the most perfect way to say farewell to Hatch for another year.
Eternally Grateful to:
The Royal Ballet and Dame Monica Mason for releasing Lauren Cuthbertson to perform this year. Equally we would like to say a very big thank you to The ENB and Wayne Eagling for his support and understanding and Ballet Basel's Richard Wherlock. Without their continued support we would not be able to bring dance to Hatch and by the same hand raise the profile of the fund and commission new works.
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THE COVENT GARDEN DANCE COMPANY
