I have seen quite a lot of dance shows over the part few years, and have always enjoyed the spectacle and been frequently impressed by the sheer physical effort that the dancers can achieve. But until I saw the Rambert I wasn’t entirely convinced I ‘got’ dance. 

Now although my job involves basically finding ways to persuade audiences that all art is accessible, and that you don’t need specialist knowledge to enjoy something, I personally have not found some art forms to be for me. Some visual art leaves me cold, and I’m not a great opera lover. I like music, both classical and modern; most kinds of theatre and live arts; and I love museums and heritage. I think with dance I was a little on the fence. But not anymore! Seeing the Rambert was a fantastic experience- I was completely blown away. 

We stayed after the show for a talk from the Artistic Director of Rambert, Mark Baldwin, and he explained how the philosophy of the Rambert company is that they work from the very beginning creating work with a composer, choreographer and designer. This was particularly evident in the first piece, Eternal Light; which was an interpretation of Howard Goodall’s beautiful Requiem, complete with orchestra, soloists and choir. The overall result is both detailed and spectacular.

I can’t do the show justice in words (read Fiona’s brilliant review for West Midlands Dance for more info) but it was an arts experience that has stayed with me, and has made me determined to seek out more great dance performances to go see. It has also reminded me why I like working in the arts- because you never know when and how art can take you someplace else.

Tickets for these screenings will cost £10, which is considerably less even than the train ticket to London. As such it is pretty good value, and should be an interesting experience. It may even lead to regional theatres reciprocating with screenings of productions in London cinemas (although at a cost of £50,000 per broadcast maybe not!) It is a nice example of how arts organisations shouldn’t be afraid to present their output across different platforms, as this can only widen the reach of their performances.

My only concern is whether the screenings will encourage people who attend cinema but not theatre to try something new (which is clearly Nick Hytner’s plan), or whether all the tickets will be snapped up by discerning theatre audiences who are based outside of London.  Either way it is definitely a step in the right direction.

The idea is not just to fund cultural projects in cities, but that the winning city would host a number of traditionally ‘Londoncentric’ events, such as the Turner Prize and the Baftas. In addition, the first city will be named in time for 2012 and will receive coverage from the BBC. Burnham has talked about tackling the perception that all good arts activity happens in London, and this idea seems to go some way towards this.

Crucially the competition seems to be focused on how cultural activity can impact upon the regeneration of cities.* And this is where I think Birmingham has a case for the title. If Birmingham City Council are really serious that the Big City Plan will drastically change Birmingham as a city, then this kind of thing is exactly what they should be focusing on. Culture can shape cities, both physically and in the eyes of the rest of the world.  As far as I can tell, the culture section of the Big City Plan seems mainly focused on the existing organisations and venues, rather than the wider cultural life of the city (plus it also covers sport and leisure in the same section!) If there were better physical spaces that were accessible to all for creation of cultural works that would be a start, but projects need more than just a plot of land to make them happen. We need strong leadership and investment, in new ideas but also in those arts organisations that already do a fantastic job of advocating the city to the rest of the world. This is where I feel the Big City Plan falls short, because they are neglecting the idea of cultural regeneration in terms of investment in projects other than buildings. Could the Big City Plan support a developed ArtsFest for example? It will take something spectacular, a festival or outlandish project like Liverpool’s spider to demonstrate the potential of Birmingham as a truly cultural city. But if Liverpool can do it, why not Birmingham?

* This kind of investment in public cultural life during poor economic times is nothing new- Andy Burnham has pointed to FDR as an example when during the great depression he instigated large cultural regeneration projects as part of the New Deal. (I like such historical details )

The idea is simple but brilliant- you download your part from a specially composed score by Chinese film score composer Tan Dun, get someone to film you playing your part and then upload to YouTube. You also have to film yourself playing a second piece, and these 2 videos are your audition for the orchestra. The best videos will be combined for the world’s first virtual performance, and then the top rated individual performers will be invited to Carnegie Hall for a performance of the symphony in April 2009.

They have made it open to everyone, amateur or professional (not under contract) and you don’t even have to play a traditional orchestral instrument- as long as you play in pitch of an instrument you can sing, rap or play wine glasses… There are masterclass videos from LSO players, and in order for your rendition to fit with everyone else’s performances there are videos of the conductor to play along with.

It’s beautifully thought through, and such a lovely idea that I can’t just blog about it and not at least have a go. I’ve played the ‘cello for fifteen years now, and regularly play with symphony orchestras. So, I’ve downloaded the part (the first bit pictured here) and am going to attempt to audition for the orchestra. I don’t expect to get anywhere near Carnegie Hall (!) but I will try.

Luckily I have my own in-house DoP so the video should look ok! But I do think it will be hard work because when I play with orchestras normally, it’s easy to keep in time because you’re surrounded by other players. I’ve never had to play an orchestral part all on my own with only a video of the conductor not even a real baton in front of me- I suspect this will take some practice! Also, because it is a contemporary piece, the tempo and key changes regularly- something you normally rely on the rest of the ‘cello section to support you with! 

I’ve got until 28 January to upload my videos- so this fulfills my inevitable New Year’s resolution that I must do more ‘cello practice! I will keep track of my progress here, and upload the final video if it doesn’t sound too horrendous!