Interview with Ksenia Ovsyanick
After a decade of performances with the Covent Garden Dance Company, we interviewed Principal dancer, Ksenia Ovsyanick to find out what she’s most looking forward to at Hatch House 2024.
Between the end of the stunning Staatsballett Berlin season and her busy life as a mum, we were delighted to catch up with Principal dancer, Ksenia Ovsyanick.
A hugely important member of the Covent Garden Dance Company, Ksenia is returning to Hatch House for her tenth year and bringing with her an exciting and unique improvised performance that promises to delight this year’s audience.
British-Belorussian ballet dancer, Ksenia became known for her collaborations beyond the stage with art galleries, artists, fashion designers, musicians and filmmakers. She started her career at English National ballet, joining Staatsballett Berlin in 2016 and over the years performed on stages around the world and winning numerous prestigious dance awards.
Discover more about this year’s performances at Hatch House and how becoming a mother has shaped her dancing in our interview below.
How long you have been working with Covent Garden Dance Company?
I was part of the early performance by CGDC back in 2009/10. And I have been here on numerous occasions since. In fact, I believe I have performed almost at every show in the last 10 years!
Ksenia performing with Dinu Tamazlacaru at Hatch House 2023
Photo credit: Alice Pennefather
What has been your favourite moment whilst performing for CGDC?
I think the locations and performing in the open air are always a very special experience. And the meticulous conditions that Matt creates that enable us to deal with any weather allow to truly enioy performing in such unique settings.
What are you looking forward to most this year?
This year I’m bringing as a partner, Principal Cellist of Deustche Oper, Arne-Christian Pelz. I think having live music for this evening will be a very special addition and I very much looking forward to bringing to Hatch audience our collaboration with AC.
What inspired you to create the new piece with Arne-Christian?
We have had chances to work with AC before and it inspired me to look for more opportunities for collaboration. Rather than just dancing to the music, communicating with the musician as a partner during the performance creates a very different experience. Instead of telling two parallel stories we create one together in the moment, and while we “speak” in different languages you have to breathe and feel together, and I believe it is palpable for the audience to feel and experience too.
Tell us about the piece of music you are using.
It is classically based but rearranged/recomposed by AC. You will be in for a treat!
What role would you most like to play that you are yet to debut?
Its a long list! There is a lot I still want to do and create.
How important are charities like the Dicky Buckle Fund and Covent Garden Dance Company for the future of dance?
Dance is one of the least supported art forms, yet it so expressive and relatable. It transcends language bariers, it can portray things you cannot describe in words. It is wonderful to have funds such as Dicky Buckle supporting developments in dance. Sometimes the smallest crops can grow into the biggest harvest.
Photo credit: Patricio Melo
You will be performing alongside some wonderful artists from all around the world this year, who are you most looking forward to watching perform?
It is always nice to meet new dancers as well as reconnect with those you know. Coming from different places, there is always something you can learn and get inspired from. This year there are quite a few new dancers I haven’t met before and I very much look forward to discovering their art.
How do you juggle your busy life as a ballerina and a mother?
Its busy… Because I don’t want to sacrifice either time with my son nor the quality of my ballet performances. I guess what gets sacrificed is sleep…
How has being a mother changed you as a dancer?
The work became very precise and focused, as you can’t afford to waste time. It is very enriching emotionally, giving me more emotions and feelings I can tap into as an actor. Also I had to completely relearn my body and how to use it in dance. As the result of such a process and all the additional training I did, I believe it made me a stronger dancer.
Can you tell us something people don’t know about you?
I cannot ride a bike. But I can ride a horse.
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to witness another Hatch House first.
To enquire about offers, tables, menu and the programme, get in touch via email events@coventgardendance.com or phone: 01749 81 3313
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It’s our 15th anniversary at Hatch House…
It’s our 15th anniversary of Ballet Under The Stars performances at Hatch House. Find out where it all began and what you can expect from Hatch House 2024.
Mara Galeazzi & Gabriele Corrado - Macmillan’s Balcony pas de deux, Romeo & Juliet at Hatch House in 2019.
15 years ago, a quick conversation took place in the 17th Century walled Dutch garden at Hatch House. It was between The Covent Garden Dance Company director Matt Brady and the owner of the gardens, Lady Holly Rumbold. The latter was being asked if she would mind if the former put a ballet on in her garden. The response was an emphatic:
‘Oh my gawd yes!’.
Three months later, the first show was presented to a bijou audience of 120 guests who had been rapidly contacted to try to ensure that the eccentric idea of presenting a ballet in a garden could be realised before the summer passed.
15 years on, Ballet Under The Stars has gone from strength to strength. The walled garden Harlequin Stage has played host to the biggest names in ballet and dance such as Carlos Acosta, Lauren Cuthbertson, Vadim Muntagirov, Valentine Colasante, Myriam Oud Brahm, Mara Galeazzi and too many more to mention in this single blog.
Lauren Cuthbertson & Matthew Golding - Christopher Wheeldon’s, After the Rain:
Hatch House 2018.
Photo credit - Alice Pennefather
For those of you who have not been, the 430 seat dinner theatre is created within the two tiered walled garden to form the dinner theatre. The walled garden is completely covered with a giant bespoke roof for the run of the 4 shows. Guests arrive generally around 5:30pm to enjoy a drink from the newly created Café Folle Speak Easy cocktail bar and a walk in the sunshine around the gardens. At 7pm everyone is seated at tables with their party to enjoy their first course of gourmet dining ahead of the first half hour section of performance. Each half hour of performance takes place after each course of dining. Each performance section has four short works within it with each work lasting around 5-8 mins.
This year, to celebrate the 15-year milestone, the company has in a way in part returned to their beginnings by inviting the stars of the future to perform alongside some of the more established names. This year we will be treated to performances by Royal Ballet rising super stars Viola Pantuso and Marco Masciari and they will be joined by newly appointed Birmingham Royal Ballet Principal Beatrice Palma and Max Maslan.
Viola Pantuso & Marco Masciari
Photo credit: @dancersdiary
The cast list does not end there; with performances by internationally renowned names such as Xander Parish and Ksenia Ovsyanick - who will be accompanied by Virtuoso Cellist Arne Christian Pelz - Hatch House 2024 makes this 15 year celebration a must see. The programme includes works from the greatest choreographers from around the world: Balanchine, Ashton, Petipa and many more.
Ksenia Ovsyanick & Timothy Dutson, Hatch House, 2022. Photo credit: Alice Pennefather
Hatch House 2024 is a feast for the senses for anyone and everyone, especially if you have never been to see ballet or dance. The combination of the performance and three course dining, in the deeply romantic walled garden is truly something unique and brilliant. If you can get a ticket….GET A TICKET!
Performance dates are: 25th/26th/27th/28th of July 2024
To enquire about offers, tables, menu and the programme, get in touch via email events@coventgardendance.com or phone: 01749 81 3313
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Interview with James Bamford
In the middle of rehearsals for his new choreographic work, funded by the Dicky Buckle Fund, we caught up with artist, director and choreographer, James Bamford about his new piece and what he is most looking forward to about Hatch House 2024.
Thanks to the Dicky Buckle Fund, James is currently creating a new work for Hatch House 2024. A truly collaborative and transdisciplinary piece, combining music, dance, art and projection, we are incredibly excited to premiere this unique work.
James is a producer, creative, teacher and performer with a passion for freedom of expression and storytelling through dance. In 2018, at the age of 14, James founded arts organisation Project Dance, a vessel he would use to facilitate opportunities for anyone to be able to engage with dance. Six years on, the company now produces original, full length narrative works which tour nationally, alongside the provision of an array of social engagement activities, reflecting the organisation’s commitment to its founding values.
Photo credit: Grace Noelle.
Can you tell me three things people don’t know about you.
I was a footballer for a very long time before I went into ballet. I like Krispy Kremes and I have hayfever!
Can you please tell me how long you have been working with Covent Garden Dance Company?
I first worked with the Covent Garden Dance Company just over a year ago when there was a Dicky Buckle (DBHF) fundraising performance and I presented a new piece especially for that. It was at that point that I found out that fundraising had been secured for me to create a new work for their main event in the summer this year.
Photo credit: Studio H Photography
What has the DBHF grant meant to you?
The Dicky Buckle Fund is really exciting. It’s really empowering and it’s really inspiring. I’ve been able to meet the trustees behind the charity and witness their passion for the arts, for continuing Dicky Buckle’s legacy and supporting the creation of new works. I think in the current climate, where the arts’ sector currently stands, that cannot be underestimated. Its value is incomparable and that is something that I am really excited to foster and champion through this new work.
“I have really enjoyed being able to speak on behalf of this charity and to fly the flag and beat the drum for what they are trying to do. I think it is really exciting.”
What are you looking forward to most about your piece premiering at Hatch House?
I am really excited to premiere something different at Hatch House; a work that I think will stand out for its uniqueness amongst such an exciting bill of works.
I am really excited to present two dancers who are right at the beginning of their professional journey, but are so exquisite at what they do and I feel very, very fortunate to be able to work with them.
“Any opportunity that I have to work with brilliant dancers, I take as an absolute privilege.”
Photo credit: Len Copeland
What inspired you to create this piece?
As the Director of an arts organisation called Project Dance and with the company, I have taken works across England. My favourite thing is narrative dance theatre and we toured with Growing Pains last year and this year we are making a new show called All That Matters.
“This is what makes me most passionate, it’s telling stories which people can connect to.”
How did this new piece come to life?
I first met Matt Brady (Director of Covent Garden Dance Company) when he came to watch my production of Growing Pains where there was an element of transdisciplinary arts engagement between the dancers and projection and art; the three unique disciplines working together to create a spectacle and that was when this concept was first conceived. We’ve taken inspiration from that and expanded it in a really holistic and thorough way, and that was how this new piece came to life.
The possibility of various creative mediums: dance, music, animation, costume, art, uniting together to enrich a single creative output entrances me, and the work presented today is a manifestation of such. Exploring this multitude of outlets has catalysed new opportunities for collaboration, for which have all been joyous and I am immensely grateful for.
“The dancers; young, ambitious, kind, have been magnificent to work with - that’s all I can ever ask for.”
Andrew Parfitt, James Bamford & Grace Noelle in rehearsal.
When you’re watching this piece, how does it make you feel, and what do you hope the audience feels?
I feel very inspired by the work of the dancers and how they are connecting with one another and the intimacy that they are portraying. I am also inspired by the true charisma that they share for one another, the space that they are working in, and the art that they are making.
It is truly exciting to be able to work with the dancers, because there is something very real and very honest and very authentic about them both. It is coming from a very true and organic place and I think that it is very fulfilling to work with as a choreographer, but you can also feel it permeate as an audience member.
Tell us about who will be dancing your new work and why you chose them.
Grace Noelle is a classically trained ballet dancer, originally from California. She trained with Bolshoi Prima Ballerina Alla Khanashvilli and Vera Ninkovic. She has danced principal roles such as Sugarplum Fairy (The Nutcracker), Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), and Mercedes (Don Quixote) with Palos Verdes Performing Arts. She has been a company dancer with Project Dance for over a year and will be the associate producer and rehearsal director in the company’s upcoming show, All That Matters.
Andrew Parfitt is an 18 year old dancer from Hertfordshire and is currently training at London Studio Centre. He previously trained at Italia Conti Junior School, Kreative Dance Academy and MEPA Academy and was an associate at The Royal Ballet School. Andrew is currently a member of 2 companies: Project Dance and the Dane Bates Collective and previously, Sol Dans Youth.
Andrew’s professional credits include the Wicked movie, London Fashion Week, Britain’s Got Talent, ‘Kam’ in Project Dance’s‘ Growing Pains and other corporate jobs.
Tell us about the piece of music you are using
We are using a brand new piece of music that I have been able to commission thanks to the Dicky Buckle Fund. It is by a fantastic composer called Benjamin Kahn and he has created a really sensitive, thoughtful piece using piano and cello; it will compliment the dancing in a really sensitive way.
I’ve known Ben for a really long time and I’m really excited that finally, I am able to work with him in this way.
How important are charities like the Dicky Buckle Fund for the future of dance?
The future of dance is dependant on charities like the Dicky Buckle Fund. The amount of surplus money that exists currently solely for the creation of art is so minimal. Public funding is in a precarious position at the moment, so having funds like the Dicky Buckle Fund which are able to create and be the catalyst for new work without the process of going through public funding routes, not only does it preserve the creation of new work, but it also makes artists feel like their work is valued and that it is wanted, necessary and valued.
Many children will be coming to watch the premiere of your piece at the rehearsal on the 24th July - you do so much to support the future generations of dance already, what will it mean to you to watch them watching your new work?
One of the massive things that I enjoy working with Project Dance is how we are able to engage with the communities that we work in, so I am really excited that the dress rehearsal is opened up to so many children in the local area so that they can get their first taste of what ballet actually looks and feels like.
Photo credit: Meg Sayer
“It is such a special thing. I feel very proud that I can contribute a work that will be part of that and it resonates really deeply with the values of Project Dance.”
Don’t miss out on James’ exciting new collaborative work.
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Video message from Valentine Colasante
Discover what Étoile, Valentine Colasante - from the Paris Opéra Ballet will be dancing at Hatch House 2023 in her latest video message.
We cannot wait to watch Étoile of the Paris Opéra Ballet, Valentine Colasante perform at Hatch House, between the 27th and the 30th July 2023.
Watch her video below to discover what she will be dancing and with whom.
Video message from Luna & Guillaume
Discover what Coryphée, Luna Peigne and Étoile, Guillaume Diop - from the Paris Opéra Ballet will be dancing at Hatch House 2023 in their latest video message.
Hatch House 2023
With less than one month to go before Hatch House 2023, we are delighted to share a video message recorded between rehearsals, from Coryphée, Luna Peigne and Étoile, Guillaume Diop - from the Paris Opéra Ballet.
A UK debut
We are so excited to welcome all of the stars of the Paris Opéra Ballet, but especially delighted that performing at Hatch House, will be Guillaume Diop's first appearance in the UK since he was promoted to Étoile in March of this year. At just 23 and the first black Étoile in the history of the Paris Opéra Ballet, Guillaume’s appearance is much anticipated. It is an honour to be the first to welcome him onto our stage.
A world class programme of dance
Between Thursday 27th and Sunday 30th July 2023, Luna and Guillaume will be performing the iconic balcony scene from Rudolf Nureyev’s ‘Romeo & Juliet,’ to the soaring score of Sergei Prokofiev.
They will be joined on stage by their fellow Paris Opéra Ballet dancers and Etoiles Valentine Colasante, Myriam Ould-Braham, Mickael Lafon and Pablo Legasa. They will perform alongside Royal Ballet superstars Francesca Hayward and Marco Masciari and internationally renowned Staatsballett Principals Ksenia Ovsyanick and Dinu Tamazlacaru from the Staatsballett, Berlin.
Tickets are selling fast, don’t delay, book your seats using the button below.
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The story behind Covent Garden Dance Company
We speak to founder, Matt Brady about the origins of Covent Garden Dance Company.
Founded in 2006 and back at Hatch House for it’s twelfth series of performances, we caught up with Matt Brady, Director of Covent Garden Dance, to discover more about the ethos and ambition of this unique dance company.
What inspired you to set up Covent Garden Dance Company?
“Covent Garden Dance happened very gradually over a period of about two years. After being inspired during an utterly incredible performance by Rambert company in Brighton, I found myself on a mission to see absolutely everything and anything to do with ballet and dance.
This developed further as I deep dived into the history of companies and many of its most influential and well known artists and creatives. Being from a very theatrical and literary family there was without doubt a creative urge that had to be satisfied.”
“One afternoon I was having lunch with my mum, (a world renowned author in her own right) and we were discussing our favourite short stories. When I told her my choice she paused and said "That would make a beautiful ballet." She was right.”
“I spent the best part of the next six months putting a production team together, designer, choreographer, producer (one with experience!) Suddenly we had a team and no company. My offices were in a shared office in Covent Garden over what is now the Apple store on the Piazza, thus the name.
Actually the first idea was The Covent Garden Ballet Company and choreographer, Christine Sundt suggested not to use ballet in the name as it was limiting and to use 'dance'.”
How did ballet feature in your childhood?
“My first memory of dance was Gene Kelly. He is still my complete and utter hero of dance.
“My Godmother was Violetta Elvin who was a Prima Ballerina with The Royal Ballet (when Principals were called Primas). Madame invited her to join to bring some 'Russian technical excellence' into the company which was in its formative years at that time.”
What is ethos of Covent Garden Dance Company?
“The company ethos is to bring world class ballet and dance out of the theatre into stunning locations around the world. We want to present ballet and dance to new and existing audiences in a way that broadens the appeal. We want to share all the things that make it so special with as many people as possible.”
How has CGDC grown over the years?
“It started with grand plans of full balletic productions but life is always there to slap the reality into you. The first production we did was actually to 78 guests in the round at The Chapel in Bruton in Somerset with two incredible dancers Laura Morera and Ricardo Cervera. We did it in late May and the sun streamed through the beautiful windows and the audience threw flowers from the upstairs.
Magical. To this day it is still one of my favourite shows.”
Lauren Cuthbertson & Xander Parish, Dubai.
“In 2019, pre-Covid we had performed in Dubai in March at His Highness Sheikh Mohammed's property in Jumeirah. We were sold out three nights at Hatch House for the 10th Anniversary, we were developing a venue in the Bahamas with a world renowned blue chip client...and then Covid hit. Everything evaporated for three years. Now we are in year two of the rebuild to get back to that place.”
Why Hatch House?
“I found Hatch with a friend of mine who came to the garden opening with me to find a costume/fancy dress for a party at Stourhead. He turned to me and exclaimed "This would be perfect for one of your shows." How right he was. The good thing is I can still blame him if it goes wrong in the future!”
What excites you most about this year’s programme?
“I am so excited by all of it. I can't talk about to many specifics as we don’t want to give too much away, but to have all these insanely talented artists come to Hatch House to perform is utterly wonderful. I have been trying to put this programme together for a very long time and I hope that finally we will be able to do it this July. Fingers crossed.”
What can audiences expect from this year’s performances?
“Magic.”
What relationship does the Dicky Buckle Charitable Fund have to Covent Garden Dance Company?
“The productions at Hatch House are a Covent Garden Dance Company production. We try very hard to help support The Dicky Buckle Fund anyway we can as it is important to support anything and anyone who supports new work and the creative process. The Dicky Buckle Fund is completely separate to Covent Garden Dance, but they play symbiotic roles.”
“The charity supports young and emerging choreographers and creatives to make new and original work, Covent Garden Dance helps promote these ends and offers a stage (whenever possible) to present these works to an audience.”
What is next for Covent Garden Dance Company?
“Hatch House 2023! Don’t ask me to look further until we have safely produced this week of ballet and dance. The dreams and aspirations remain, but you are only as good as your last show and the show is not done until it is done.”
