Ever fancied taking to the stage alongside some professional, acclaimed, dancers? Now's your chance, thanks to balletLORENT's new Hull-bound show. Ian Midgley reports.
It takes years of training and dedication to become a professional dancer, honing your mind and body to a peak of physical and expressive perfection.
Alternatively you could just turn up on the night and wing it.
Hopefully, there will be a bit of both on show when acclaimed dance company balletLORENT arrives in Hull, next month, as part of the Freedom Festival celebrations.
The company's new show, The Night Ball, is being heralded as an "interactive" dance experience in which the members of the audience are invited to show their moves on the dance floor once the cast have shown them how the professionals do it.
For company founder and choreographer Liv Lorent, the real joy of the performance is seeing normal people interacting with her highly trained troupe of honed dancers.
Or, as she puts it: "The Night Ball creates an environment where the beauty of losing yourself to movement and music becomes the privilege of everyone in the room."
In laymen's terms, leave any inhibitions at the door and get stuck in.
"My main message to anyone in Hull would be don't be frightened to come along and have a go. It's not scary, my dancers are lovely and they'd love for anyone to come along and dance with them," says Liv.
Inviting the audience to have a go may be unconventional – but it's an approach that has been well-received in early performances, says Liv.
"We did a show in Cornwall recently and it was just amazing; within minutes about 80 per cent of the audience were up and dancing.
"There's something about this show that's quite compelling. It makes people who have never danced before want to get up and have a go."
The Night Ball is inspired by segments from two of balletLORENT's previous productions, The Ball and la nuit intime, carving off chunks from each and packaging them up into a new show.
The performance begins like any other, with the professional dancers taking to the floor to showcase an eclectic mix of classical ballet, modern dance, hip hop and breakdance moves.
Unusually for balletLORENT, the ten professional dancers also fuse elements of Strictly-style Viennese waltz, tango and fox trot to create a performance encompassing the whole wide world of dance.
Then, after the pros have strutted their stuff, it is time for the members of the audience to see if they match them step-for-step by leaping on stage.
Anyone who has seen the troupe's previous shows, such as Under The Floorboards and last year's balletic retelling of Rapunzel, at Hull Truck, will know they are in for a visual feast – not least when it comes to the dancers' costumes.
Returning to dress the dancers for The Night Ball is Michelle Clapton, whose other sideline is creating the costumes for a certain little fantasy TV show called Game Of Thrones.
"I'm delighted that Michelle's come back to make the costumes for this production," says Liv.
"We're very lucky to get her because she's so busy on Game Of Thrones, but she worked with us on Rapunzel and created some wonderful outfits that brought the production to life and she really likes what we do.
"In this show, she's created what I describe as 'fantasy dressy'. It's glamorous and exciting – all feather boas and glitter-heels to begin with and then, as the show goes on, the costumes become more human as we peel away the layers."
• balletLORENT are at the Freedom Festival on Friday, September 6, and Saturday, September 7, at 8pm, at Hull City Hall, Queen Victoria Square, Hull. Tickets cost £12 (£10 concs). Call (01482) 300300.
