English Youth Ballet Swan Lake at the New Victoria Theatre Woking Review
Swan Lake
English Youth Ballet
New Victoria Theatre, Woking
14 November 2014
www.atgtickets.com/new-victoria-theatre
Reviewed by Jenny Bennett
On the 14 November I was lucky enough to go and review Swan Lake by the English Youth Ballet at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking.
The English Youth Ballet was established in 1998 as part of a pilot project to give young dancers the opportunities to perform in full length classical ballets in a professional experience. The pilot was successful and they are now in their 16th year presenting different productions in 8 different locations every year.
I was lucky enough to speak to the Company Manager, Ben Garner, in the interval who told me all about the company and how they work. They have 8 principle performers and in each location they visit they take on local dancers aged between 8 and 18 to perform. The production in Woking included 113 dancers from an 80 to 100 mile radius who were all very talented. Ben is very passionate about the company and works very hard to ensure the dancers locally find out about the English Youth Ballet so they can audition for parts and take part in the experience.
The performance was very well put together and even a ballet novice like me was able to understand and enjoy the story I was being told. It’s been put into 4 acts broken into two halves with a 20 minute interval and the cast really are exceptional – my favourites in particular were the flamenco ballet dancers in Act 3 and the young and very talented chaps in a scene setting up for the dress rehearsal in Act 4.
You can really see how much the children and young adults enjoy dancing and the Principle Artists are exceptional. I wasn’t expecting to be taken into the story so much or feel anywhere near as emotional as I did and that was all down to the talent of the dancers and the exceptional chorography provided by the English Youth Ballet team.
The New Victoria Theatre in Woking is a very nice with friendly staff, clean facilities and comfortable seats. The drinks are a little expensive (£2.00 for a bottle of water) but the service is very quick.
I was delighted to see how many children were at the production as well and can only hope it inspires other boys and girls to either take up or keep dancing. It’s a great introduction to ballet and a good length for those enjoying a first time visit.
Rating: 5/5 
The next production will next be appearing in Southsea, Hampshire on the 6th and 7th March 2015 and they will be presenting Sleeping Beauty at the Kings Theatre.
For more information on getting tickets or how to audition you should visit their website at www.englishyouthballet.co.uk.
New Victoria Theatre, The Ambassadors, Peacocks Centre, Woking, Surrey, GU21 6GQ
