See Mobile, Butterfly and Elves

Northern Ballet performs a newly reworked version of Madame Butterfly in a double bill with Perpetuum Mobile on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Leeds-based company is celebrated for creating classical, story ballets, and brings the shows as part of an effort to reach new audiences.

A heartbreaking tragedy, Puccini’s Madame Butterfly tells of the doomed love affair between US Naval officer Pinkerton and his Japanese bride Butterfly, choreographed by Northern’s artistic director David Nixon.

Perpetuum Mobile is choreographed by Scottish Ballet’s Christopher Hampson, and is a work designed to showcase the “technical and athletic talents of Northern Ballet’s dancers”.

A spokesman for Northern Ballet said: “Perpetuum Mobile is a beautiful neo-classical work and Madame Butterfly a wonderful dramatic narrative piece, so this programme is a perfect introduction of the two faces of Northern Ballet.

“Our company has incredibly talented dancers, and these two works give audiences a chance to see the dancers at their most physical, as well as demonstrating their abilities as dance-actors of the highest standard.

“This new tour is designed to enrich the dance offering within the region, challenging the perceptions of which stories can be told through ballet.”

The company will also stage its latest children’s ballet, The Elves And The Shoemaker, in two performances on Wednesday afternoon – aimed as an introduction for the youngest audiences.

Visit blackpoolgrand.co.uk or call (01253) 290190 for tickets.