Residential Performance Company – Information Page
Welcome
WELCOME
We are excited to welcome you to the Residential Performance Company 2024!
We are so pleased that you can join us this year, and we hope that by participating you will have a chance to fully nurture, explore and develop your talents as a young performer. This season is titled Evolving Visions, and our creative team will be working with the themes of innovation, progress and invention. We are very much looking forward to working with you to take the choreographers’ ideas all the way to the stage in four public performances, at the Crescent Theatre in Birmingham, and at Sadler’s Wells in London!
We are delighted to welcome the following brilliant practitioners back to National Youth Ballet this year, following a period of research and development in 2023:
Choreographers, Senior Company: Neus Gil Cortes, Miguel Altunaga, Richard Bermange, Daniel Davidson
Choreographer, Junior Company: Tierney Lawlor
Beyond Ballet® Choreographers: Rosie Mackley, Amy Groves
Re-stager, ‘Ada’ by Louise Bennett (NYB repertoire 2018): Anya Mercer
Rehearsal Directors: Ciara Clayton, Abbie Steele, Emily Yong, Rosie Mackley, Hannah George, Amy Groves
During the residential week, Junior Company members will work with Tierney Lawlor to create a new narrative ballet, experiencing the joy and creativity of bringing a story to life on stage. Senior Company members will dance in two pieces of new work or NYB repertoire, working creatively with NYB’s choreographers and rehearsal directors to present an exciting, multifaceted and varied evening of works.
Our team will guide you through a rehearsal process, which will challenge you to not only pick up movement material quickly and adapt to different choreographer’s needs but also, in some cases, to devise your own movement in response to creative tasks, emulating the experience of creating work in a modern, professional ballet company.
Each day will start with a warm-up class, followed by rehearsals. There will be evening activities at the end of the day, including a chance to interact with a special guest in a live Q and A, and a costume party. We will also be running several Moving Minds sessions, to help support your well-being and ongoing professional development.
We strongly encourage all dancers to participate in our annual Choreographic Competition, which has been running for decades. Several of our illustrious alumni have taken part in the competition over the years, including Olivier Award winning choreographers Drew McOnie and Arielle Smith, Beyond Ballet® Choreographer Hannah George (who recently had her work for All In! presented at Sadler’s Wells as part of the ‘Empower in Motion’ Gala), our 2022 Beyond Ballet® Choreographer Alice O’Brien, and independent choreographer Richard Chappell. We are passionate about young people creating the ballet of the future and this is the perfect opportunity for you to develop your skills in this area!
Please come prepared ready to challenge yourself, make new friends, learn new skills and take part in unforgettable performing experiences!
You should find all the information you need for the course in this area of the website, please contact admin@nationalyouthballet.org should you have any concerns or questions!
We can’t wait to welcome you to NYB’s Residential Performance Company this summer..
With all best wishes,
Louise Bennett (NYB Residential Performance Company Artistic Director) and the NYB Team
Emergency Contact Details
If you need to contact National Youth Ballet in an emergency during the course the number to call is 07598 827621. A member of our team will have this phone with them at all times. Please do not call prior to the start of the course. Any queries prior to this date should be sent to admin@nationalyouthballet.org.
Useful Information
Information for Participants and Parents (click on the headings below to be taken to the specific information):
Photo (c) Lachlan Monaghan
Schedule
Elmhurst Arrival and Registration
Registration for the Residential Performance Company is in the Main Foyer of Elmhurst Ballet School, 249 Bristol Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B5 7UH on the following times and dates:
Senior Company, Friday 9th August 2024:
- 09.00 – 09.20 Dancers aged 12-14
- 09.20 – 09.40 Dancers aged 15-16
- 09.40 – 10.00 Dancers aged 17-19
Junior Company, Monday 12th August 2024:
- 09.00 – 9.30
Merchandise will be available for sale through our new online shop very soon. It will then be available to collect at a scheduled time during the first day. Please bring a pen to put your name on your new merchandise.
We understand that some young people may require medication during the residential. Please provide written consent for your child to be given the medication via the medical needs section in the RPC Participation Questionnaire. We will also ask for this to be updated closer to the time of the residential. All medication will need to be handed to our Support Team Healthcare Worker Surya Gupta-Wright upon arrival so that it can be safely stored during the residential. Medication must be brought in its original container/packet, as dispensed by a pharmacist, clearly labeled with your child’s name. It must include clear instructions for administration, dosage and storage. No medication can be administered without parent/carer consent.
NYB has an Infectious Disease Outbreak Management Plan. This includes guidelines on how NYB will manage cases of infectious illness. Please note participants who are showing the symptoms of an infectious disease or have been diagnosed by a health professional or a diagnostic test will contact NYB prior to travelling to the residential and should not attend the residential for the minimum period recommended, if required, and until well enough. People with mild respiratory symptoms such as a runny nose, sore throat, or slight cough who are otherwise well and do not have a high temperature can attend the course, but NYB should be informed on arrival. It may be necessary for the participant to return home if they become unwell with an infectious disease or if they are at higher risk of contracting an infectious disease e.g. clinical vulnerability. In such cases, we will refer to the guidance in the Outbreak Management Plan.
Mobile phones are permitted, but all participants aged 13 and under are kindly requested to hand them in on arrival to our Safeguarding and Support Team Manager Jules Renahan as per our Phones and Electronic Devices form.
Please arrive in dancewear with a dance bag for everything you need for the day, as you will do class and take part in rehearsals before moving into the dormitories. We will store your suitcases in the main building and you will move into your accommodation in the evening of your arrival day.
Parking
Elmhurst has a small car park with a limited number of accessible spaces at the top of the drive. If you require an accessible space please email admin@nationalyouthballet.org
There is additional nearby pay and display car parking available at the MAC Birmingham (Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, B12 9QH).
Elmhurst Departure
Sign-out will take place at 16:00 on Saturday 17th August. Please arrive promptly to pick up your young people.
All dancers need to sign out with staff at Reception before they leave.
If your child is aged 16-18 and has permission to leave alone, please ensure that you fill out the permission form in the information pack.
Performance Days
Please find below some additional information regarding the rehearsal and performance schedule in August and September 2024. Please note that all dancers must sign in and out of the theatres every time they arrive and leave.
Important Information
Click the links below to view and/or download as a pdf file:
Photo (c) Lachlan Monaghan
Forms to complete
Click the links below to complete each form:
Participant Questionnaire by Friday 31st May
Measurements form by Friday 31st May
Phones and Electronic Devices form by Sunday 30th June
Frank Freeman Choreographic Competition entry form (optional) by Tuesday 13th August, 12.30pm
Frank Freeman Choreographic Competition Music Upload (optional) by Tuesday 13th August, 12.30pm
Payment Deadlines
Payment Deadlines (unless a payment plan is in place):
If you have chosen to pay in instalments please make a note the following payment deadlines:
Friday 31st May 2024 – Payment 1
Sunday 30th June 2024 – Payment 2
Policies and Guidelines
The Residential Performance Company is a NUT FREE ZONE. Please do not bring food containing nuts to Elmhurst or the performance venues. This includes pine nuts, peanut butter, cashew nut butter, almond butter and hazelnut spread (Nutella). Please also be aware that some food items might also contain nuts like cereal bars.