Download PDF version - Royal Albert Hall

Release date: 3 June 2010
Swanning Around with English National Ballet, Royal Albert
Hall and WebPlay; an inspirational, cross-cultural dance education
project
This Summer English National Ballet, the Royal Albert Hall and WebPlay, with support from the
British Council, have been working with young people from across the UK and China to create
Swanning Around, a unique dance performance, inspired by Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake.
Find out more: http://webplay.org/stories/1271-swanning_around__press_release
Crossing cultural boundaries, this project will bring together over 200 young people from five groups in
Hong Kong and China and five schools in the UK. They will explore many forms of dance to create a reinterpretation
of the classic ballet which will have its world premiere at the Royal Albert Hall on Monday
14 June, to coincide with Raymond Gubbay and the Royal Albert Hall’s presentation of Derek Deane’s
in-the-round production of Swan Lake, performed by English National Ballet. A version of Swanning
Around will then also be performed at Shanghai Expo on UK National Day (8 September) as part of the
UK Programme of Events at the Shanghai World Expo.
The Royal Albert Hall and English National Ballet have harnessed the technology made available by
WebPlay for this innovative project which links young people in the UK and China. Through a unique
interactive online resource, the young people from across the globe are able to learn about each other
and collaborate virtually with a professional choreographer to create the piece. Cultural understanding
lays at the heart of this International exchange project, with students from China and Hong Kong
participating in the Royal Albert Hall performance and UK students participating in the Shanghai Expo.
Swanning Around is an opportunity for young people to creatively engage with dance at the highest
level and to connect with dancers remotely from schools across the UK, Hong Kong and mainland
China. Using dance styles from their own cultures and communities, and working with a professional
dance artist, each school will create a dance piece inspired by different characters and scenes from
Swan Lake.
Each group will perform their dance piece at the Royal Albert Hall to new music by Sally Greaves which
provides a contemporary take on the music of Tchaikovsky. This will be followed by a grand finale,
choreographed by English National Ballet soloist Jenna Lee, which brings together 130 young
performers to the immense sound of Tchaikovsky arranged by Gavin Sutherland and played by
members of English National Ballet’s orchestra.
Fleur Derbyshire-Fox, English National Ballet Director of Learning said; “The project has really
reinforced the power of dance in being able to bring people together, transcending language and
cultural barriers. The Dance Artists have shared their individual dance styles with the participants but
through the unison sections they have extended their own view of ballet - and as a result classical ballet
has really seduced the young people. Utilising technology as a choreographic tool in the dance studio
has enabled students to interact with their choreographer, Jenna Lee. This connection also allows the
young people to engage with their Ballet Buddy as they prepare for performances of Swan Lake at the
Royal Albert Hall - really lifting the lid on the professional dance world.”

Alastair Tallon, Head of Learning & Participation at the Royal Albert Hall said: “One of the most
formative experiences a young person can have is when they are involved in a performance. To be
able to offer these young people the chance to dance in one of the most famous venues in the world,
will be an experience they will carry with them for the rest of their lives. To see the sense of
achievement in the faces of these young dancers when they come off stage reminds us all why we do
projects like Swanning Around.”
Sydney Thornbury, Executive Director at WebPlay said;
“The real power of technology isn’t about online shopping or video games, it’s about expanding our
horizons and knowledge of the world. Swanning Around has provided young people from across the UK
and China the opportunity to learn about each other, explore their cultures and work together to create
a piece of dance. They have forged friendships across time zones and cultural divides and used
technology to make the world just a little bit more beautiful. “
To book your free tickets for this event, please call the Royal Albert Hall Box Office on
0845 401 5025. An administration fee of £1 per booking is charged for telephone bookings but
not to personal callers to the Box Office. Bookings for this event are not available online.
- Ends -
For further information, images and interviews please contact:
Rachel Branton, Press Manager at English National Ballet on 020 7581 1245 or email
rachel.branton@ballet.org.uk.
Or:
Jessica Silvester, Marketing, Digital & Press Manager at Royal Albert Hall on 020 7959 0510 or
email jessicas@royalalberthall.com
For further information about the UK’s programme of events at the 2010 Shanghai Expo please
contact Alex Bratt, British Council on 020 7389 4872 or email alex.bratt@britishcouncil.org
Notes to the Editors:
English National Ballet - English National Ballet’s learning programme Be Engaged provides a
gateway into the world of ballet connecting young people and communities to artistic practice and
engaging them in a range of inspirational and high quality participatory activities. Be Engaged enriches
the artistic programme, bringing ballet performances, activities and creative experiences to a diversity
of audiences nationally and internationally.
English National Ballet’s Department of Learning develop long term relationships with schools,
colleges, dance agencies, arts organisations and stakeholders and initiate strategic projects that add
value, inspire, promote health and well-being, increase self confidence, enhance physical skills and
essentially leave a lasting legacy.
www.ballet.org.uk
Royal Albert Hall is one of the UK’s most treasured and distinctive buildings, recognisable the world
over. It is a registered charity and, unlike many of its competitors, it operates without any public
subsidy. Since its opening in 1871, it has an unparalleled history of exceptional performances by the
world’s leading artists from every kind of performance genre. This shared experience of the best of live
performance is now enjoyed by well over a million people each year at the Hall and by many millions
more around the world through broadcasts, recordings and new media channels.

Royal Albert Hall Learning & Participation works with over 30,000 participants each year, including
children, students, teachers, home educators, families and other groups, creating a range of
opportunities for them to engage with the Royal Albert Hall. It does this without receiving any central or
local government funding and is reliant on both the Hall’s own funding and that of trusts, foundations,
companies and individuals who have kindly offered their support. The Royal Albert Hall is very grateful
to The Hobson Charity for their generous support of the Swanning Around project.
www.royalalberthall.com
WebPlay is an arts education charity that combines technology and the performing arts to create
projects for schools that raise young people’s aspirations, skills, creativity and cultural awareness.
WebPlay projects also help teachers develop skills in integrating technology and drama into the
classroom, as well as enable performing arts organisations to make better use of technology to engage
audiences. Founded in 2000, WebPlay has worked with over 25,000 from across the UK, the USA,
India and China.
www.webplay.org
Swanning Around has been developed with support from Connecting Classrooms, the British
Council’s international school partnership programme.
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural
relations. We work in over 100 countries worldwide to build engagement and trust for the UK through
the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people. We work in the arts, education, English,
science, sport and governance and last year we engaged face to face with 13.2 million people and
reached 221 million. We are a non-political organisation which operates at arm’s length from
government. Our total turnover in 2008/9 was £645 million, of which our grant-in-aid from the British
government was £209 million. For every £1 of government grant we receive, we earn £2.21 from other
sources.
The British Council is a Founder Sponsor of the UK Pavilion at Shanghai Expo and is leading on the
design and development of the Programme of Events. These will take place on the UK Pavilion site,
around Shanghai, throughout China and online. They will reflect the UK’s regional and national
excellence and diversity in arts, business, culture, sports, science and education.
www.britishcouncil.org