Ballet-hoo

There’s something I forgot in my cynical old grumblings about Ballet proper like. How Nutcrackers and Romeos are dull and dated, conservative and elitist (well, it may still well be the latTer two). It’s the magic, see. I spent the afternoon watching the More4 back to back repeats of “Ballet changed my life: Ballet-Hoo“. The youth project “Youth at Risk” teamed up with the Birmingham Royal Ballet to provide a once in a lifetime opportunity to difficult and disadvataged kids in the West Midlands; to train to appear in a special performance of Romeo and Juliet alongside the Company’s professional dancers on stage at the Birmingham Hippodrome. The underlying aim of the project: to see if Ballet could change these kids lives.

One of the older white male teenagers, baseball cap, pasty looking, pierced and previously surly, came out of his first professional ballet performance to say, incredulously, “I was rooted to my seat”. Even came out with a stiff neck from not wanting to move in case he blocked anyone else’s view and missed something himself. The magic. Proper good ballet, that. Creating a world through incredible movement, mime, music and storytelling. It really can be something else.

This is an great series and an inspirational project which you can find out more about here.