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 July 2025
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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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.”
