Tag Archive for: Julie Gunn

The Nutcracker by Alba Ballet

The Nutcracker by Alba Ballet 2013

Today marks the third anniversary of The Nutcracker by Alba Ballet. The companies first ever production. A journey that started for Alba back in 2011. Alba believed they could give talented dancers the opportunity to perform in a full blown classical ballet production. Despite industry experts saying it could not be done. Alba Ballet under the leadership of Julie Gunn defied these predictions and after hundreds of hours work in studio The Nutcracker was ready. Julie was assisted initially by Tristan Borrer then by Shaun McLaughlin. The company was made up of 35 dancers from all over the West of Scotland, who supported the leading Male and Female Dancers, Tim Hill from and Birmingham and Erin OToole from London. Hannah McLaughlin from Inverkip played Clara. and  she was supported by other local dancers in the other lead roles

The Nutcracker by Alba Ballet November 2013

Tim and Erin training for The Nutcracker by Alba Ballet in Greenock

 

See more about The Nutcracker at Alba Ballet

The Nutcracker by Alba Ballet 13th and 14th November 2013.

Finally the curtain was raised for The Nutcracker by Alba Ballet on the 13th November 2013. On seeing the full set and costumes the audience at The Beacon Arts Centre, in Greenock knew they were in for a fantastic show. The cast did not disappoint and delivered memorable performances on both nights . Tim and Erin put the icing on the cake and gave our dancers an insight how professionals train and perform.  Over 800 people attended The Nutcracker, which was  fantastic for Inverclyde’s first performing Classical Ballet Company.

Watch some of the Nutcracker note video goes blank about 3min in for 5 seconds, due to stage black out.

Since The Nutcracker  by Alba Ballet.

Since The Nutcracker by Alba Ballet, the journey for Alba continued. They built on the  success of The Nutcracker and went onto to their second production of Cinderella in 2016. Cinderella raised the bar even further with a performance at new venue in Largs. Alba Ballet are currently working towards their next production of Coppelia which will take place in November 2018. Finally its great to see 14 of the original cast of The Nutcracker are still with Alba Ballet and will be taking part in Coppelia. These 14 cast members along with the 18 new company members will aim to raise the bar even further in this next production.

Find about more about Alba Ballet

 

Alba Ballets Cinderella

Alba Ballets Cinderella.

Its now exactly a year since Alba Ballets Cinderella took to the stage. It was two years in the making, with over 350 hours of studio time going into the production. The cast was made up of 31 dancers. Mairi MacLeod from Greenock was the leading lady playing Cinderella. Mairi was joined by Josef Jagger from Birmingham who played The Prince. The two leading roles were supported by Rachel Ashmead our Fairy Godmother. The Step Mother and Step Sisters were played by Rebecca Holmes, Sarah Arkley and Amy Hughes. Emma Dunn and India Wimot completed the main roles playing The Father and Ballet Teacher. The Corps De Ballet was made up with our other 23 members.

Cinderella was produced and choreographed by Alba Principal Julie Gunn ably assisted by Shaun McLaughlin

See the cast and clips from Cinderella

Alba Ballets Cinderella

Alba Ballets Cinderella and Prince

Two nights of Alba Ballets Cinderella in Greenock.

The 11th of November was opening night for Alba Ballets production of Cinderella at The Beacon Arts Centre in Greenock. Finally the curtain went up on Cinderella. The whole cast put on a wonderful performance and the audience reaction was fantastic. All the hard work had paid off and by the second night the nerves had gone and the cast were able to really enjoy the second performance. Our two performances in Greenock were not the end of Cinderella 2016, as we were going down the Clyde to a new venue for Alba in Largs.

Watch video taken after Cinderella in Greenock

Barrfields in Largs also see Alba Ballets Cinderella

Alba Ballets Cinderella moved from Greenock to Largs and was performed on Saturday the 19th of November. The cast and production crew arrived at 1pm on the day of the performance. Despite the short timescales and different stage settings, the cast once again put on another great performance to a brand new audience in Largs. When the final curtain came down, it brought an end to a fantastic journey for all those involved.

Find out more about Alba Ballet