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Akram Khan's Giselle is
heading to Liverpool Empire Theatre
WINNER of the South Bank Sky Arts Award
for Dance, Akram Khan's Giselle comes to Liverpool for the 1st time, with
performances at the Liverpool Empire Theatre, over 25 October to 28 October
2017, following a critically acclaimed run in London.
Hailed as:- "a masterpiece of 21st
century dance," Khan's reimagining of the iconic Romantic ballet sees
Giselle as 1 of a community of migrant workers cast out of their jobs in a
condemned garment factory. Last season over 40,000 people saw Akram Khan's
re-imagined Giselle performed on tour.
His 1st full length ballet, Khan's Giselle
sees set and costume designs from Academy Award winning designer Tim Yip, known
for his work on the hit film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and an adaptation
of the original Adolphe Adam score by composer Vincenzo Lamagna, orchestrated by
Music Director, Gavin Sutherland and performed live by English National Ballet
Philharmonic. Giselle also features dramaturgy from Ruth Little and lighting
design from Mark Henderson.
To coincide with these performances English
National Ballet presents Giselle Explored, a series of collaborative dance
workshops that offer secondary school, college, and vocational students the
opportunity to creatively engage with Khan's reimagined Giselle, delving deeper
into the work and both the creative and production process. Teachers also
receive a comprehensive resource pack to encourage further dance and creative
work with their students beyond the workshop. To find out about Giselle Explored
and other workshops and events hosted by English National Ballet in Liverpool,
please see:-
Ballet.Org.UK/Whats-On.
Did you know? The English National Ballet has a long and distinguished history.
Founded in 1950 as London Festival Ballet by the great English Dancers Alicia
Markova and Anton Dolin, it has played a major role in the growth and history of
ballet in the UK. Today, English National Ballet is renowned for taking world
class ballet to the widest possible audience through its national and
international tour programme, offsite performances at festivals including
Glastonbury and Latitude, its distinguished orchestra English National Ballet
Philharmonic, and being a UK leader in creative learning and engagement practice
and delivery, building innovative partnerships to deliver flagship programmes
such as English National Ballet's Dance for Parkinson's. Under the artistic
directorship of Tamara Rojo, English National Ballet has gained new acclaim as
it introduces innovative new works to the Company's repertoire while continuing
to honour and reinvigorate traditional ballet.
Library recommendations
considered
AN independent report which makes
recommendations to help secure the future of Liverpool Libraries is being
considered by Councillors.
The Library Advisory Task Group; chaired by the former President of the
Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, Jan Parry; was
set up to look at ways to make Libraries, in Liverpool, sustainable in the face of
huge cuts in funding from Central Government.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson announced in March 2017 that he had reversed a
planned ₤1.6 million reduction in the Libraries budget, over 3
years, but the Council remains determined to find new ways of diversifying the
service and making it less dependent on public subsidy.
The recommendations include:-
► Introducing paid events and seeking sponsorship to generate income.
► Working with other Library services across the City Region, eg:- introducing a
single membership which can be used across all areas.
► Co-locating with other organisations such as health centres to promote health
and wellbeing.
► Continuing to put on arts and cultural events.
► Extending opening hours through self service and generating income from online
sales.
► Setting up a volunteer-co-ordinator role to support activities in
Libraries.
► Extending the Home Library Service for people who can't get to a
Library
building, perhaps across the City Region.
Jan Parry, Chair of the Library Advisory Task Group, said:- "We were asked
to apply new thinking, ideas and recommendations to help make sure the City has
a vibrant, sustainable and high quality Library service in the future. I would
like to thank my fellow task group members and Library staff for their
suggestions and support which have helped shape this report, as it has been
absolutely invaluable. We have also drawn on the experiences of other Libraries,
museums and other service providers around the world for inspiration. Standing
still with no further change is not an option and more needs to be done to
ensure that the City has a sustainable Library service for the future. So I
strongly recommend that any additional income generated by the Library Service
is ring fenced to ensure its sustainability into the future. It is also vital
that is retains professionally qualified and experienced staff in order to
ensure the service is delivered to a professional standard. I hope the ideas and
recommendations are helpful to the Mayor and the Council and enable it to
continue to provide a high quality service for all communities into the future."
Liverpool has 14 Libraries and another five which are now managed by community
organisations, meaning residents still have access to Library membership and can
order the full catalogue of books and other items.
Assistant Mayor and Cabinet member for Libraries, Councillor Wendy Simon, said:-
"Liverpool is hugely proud of its Library service, as we were one of the
1st Cities in the country to have one, and they have always been hugely popular.
In the face of huge cuts in our funding from Government, we have worked hard to
shield Libraries as much as possible, while at the same time driving forward
improvements such as the stunning new Central Library and the introduction of
eBooks and free Wi-Fi. I very much welcome this report, which makes a number of
creative and practical suggestions about ways we can diversify Libraries. It is
a blueprint which we can build on to ensure they have a secure future."
The report has now been considered by the Culture, Tourism and Events Select
Committee and can be found at:-
online.
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Women of the Emergency Services
deserving winners of achievement award
IN a break from tradition and after a most
tumultuous year, a group of women from the UK's Police, Fire and Ambulance
Services have been jointly rewarded today at a gala award ceremony in
Birmingham, in gratitude and recognition of their leadership and dedication in
the face of the terrorist atrocities, in Manchester and London and the terrible
tragedy, at Grenfell Tower.
Receiving the Woman of Achievement Award 2017 on behalf of the women of the
Emergency Services were Commissioner Dany Cotton of the London Fire Service,
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Lucy D'Orsi of the Metropolitan Police Service, PC
Alice Jacobs, who was 1 of the 1st on the scene during the recent London
terror attacks, Heather Lawrence OBE of the London Ambulance Service and Tracy
Porter, Head of Resilience and Special Operations of the London Ambulance
Service.
The Award was presented to the women by former winner Baroness Helen Newlove of
Warrington, Victims Commissioner for England and Wales. The women take over from
the current holder, Liverpool's Margaret Aspinall, who received the award in
recognition of her tireless campaigning for justice for the families and friends
of the 96 people who lost their lives at Hillsborough.
Former winners of the Woman of Courage or Achievement Award include Martine
Wright, who overcame the horrific loss of both of her legs in the 7/7 terrorist
bombings of 2005 to rebuild her life and compete at the London 2012 Paralympics,
and Katie Piper, whose personal story My Beautiful Face inspired millions.
Also celebrated at the awards was Fleur Sexton, co-founder of PET-Xi Training,
which has helped more than 100,000 youngsters from across the UK, who received
the Businesswoman of the Year award from Nicola Elliott, founder of home
fragrance brand, Neom Organics.
The 35th annual Women of the Year luncheon and awards ceremony, hosted by BBC
Midlands Today's Arti Halai and Nick Owen, took place at the Hilton Birmingham
Metropole Hotel, NEC, on 6 October 2017. Around 500 guests were treated to a 3 course luncheon before the presentation of the awards. Proceeds from the
event will be divided between Revitalise and Tomorrow's People.
Revitalise CEO Chris Simmonds, who attended the event, commented:- "I
can't think of a more deserving group of people for the Woman of Achievement
Award the women of our Emergency Services, as exemplified by those here today.
In recent months the women of our Police, Fire and Ambulance Services have
displayed incredible courage and fortitude in the face of quite terrifying
circumstances. By their actions, these women have proved themselves to be worthy
custodians of the grand traditions of the Emergency Services. As a charity
supporting disabled people and carers, Revitalise operates in a very different
sphere of activity, but we understand that it takes time to build a legacy,
something these women have achieved through many years of tenacity and
dedication. We applaud them for displaying these qualities in such abundance.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone here today for showing your support of
our charity. Your continued generosity will enable us to continue our vital work
supporting disabled people and carers, from here in the Midlands and all across
the UK."
Pauline Edden, Board Director of the Woman of the Year Awards, said:- "We
departed from tradition with pleasure this year in order to present this award
to a group of women, not just an individual. The women of our Emergency Services
are worthy of our recognition, this year more than ever. It is testament to
their dedication that many women have risen to the very top of their respective
Services, in domains which until recently were traditionally regarded as
exclusively male oriented. They have also proved themselves in action, by
protecting and serving us with great skill and determination, often under the
most frightening of circumstances. I would also like to give thanks to all
the wonderful supporters who continue to make our event possible."
The Women of the Year Awards honour women's outstanding individual achievement
in all professions. In addition to the Woman of Achievement Award, the
Businesswoman of the Year Award recognises outstanding achievement in the sphere
of business and provides positive role models to encourage other women to enter
the business arena.
Revitalise has been a beneficiary of the awards since the event's foundation.
Revitalise is a national charity providing respite holidays for disabled people
and carers, with 24- hour nurse led care on call and personal support, at 3
accessible centres, in Essex, Southampton and Southport. All of Revitalise's
centres offer a wide range of activities and excursions. For more information
visit:-
Revitalise.Org.UK.
Kinship care celebrated in Liverpool
ACTIVITIES are taking place in
Liverpool next week to promote awareness of 'kinship carers;' who take on
children that would otherwise end up in foster care. Kinship care is where a
child is placed with a family member or a close friend of the family, rather
than being fostered by the local authority. It has huge advantages as it ensures
continuity of care for the young person because they remain with someone they
know.
As part of National Kinship Awareness Week, that runs from 9 October to 13 October
2017, a series of events
have been organised by Kinship Carers Liverpool, a charity based at Ellergreen
Children's and Community Centre in Norris Green.
Pauline Thornley, Project Co-ordinator for
Kinship Carers Liverpool, said:-
"What we are trying to do is let people know about the amazing work that our
kinship carers do and tell other kinship carers that we are here to support
them. The choice of whether to become a kinship carer can happen to anyone who
has relatives or close friends with children. Anyone of us could become a
Kinship Carer, the reasons are wide and varied, ranging from the tragic death of
a parent, imprisonment or issues to do with mental health and drug or alcohol
addiction. We run courses and hold events and activities for both carers and
young people, providing the support they need to help them through life's
challenges. We offer unique and tailor-made services that specifically address
the needs of these families."
Councillor Barry Kushner, Cabinet member for children's services, said:-
"There are so many cases where grandparents, aunts and uncles step in to provide
a stable home for children in their family, many of whom may have ended up in
care. These family members need support and Kinship Carers Liverpool do an
incredible job providing advice and support to young people and carers and we
are extremely grateful to them for their work."
Anyone who is a kinship carer is welcome to attend the following activities at
Ellergreen Children's and Community Centre on Ellergreen Road in Norris Green:-
► Monday, 9 October
2017, from 10am to 2pm; coffee morning, bingo and
lunch.
►
Wednesday, 11 October 2017, from 6pm to 8pm; kin kids party.
►
Friday, 13 October 2017, from 12pm to 3pm; afternoon tea for kin carers with food, music and
entertainment.
A video
about Kinship Carers' work can be found on
Vimeo.
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