English national ballet teams up with hit

ENGLISH NATIONAL BALLET TEAMS UP WITH HIT ENTERTAINMENT'S ANGELINA BALLERINA TO ATTRACT YOUNG PEOPLE TO CLASSICAL BALLET. Ø HIT Entertainment becomes major new Production Sponsor for English National Ballet's brand new production of The Nutcracker. The sponsorhship of £250,000 is the largest ever single sponsorship of English National Ballet. Ø The UK's most popular ballet company unveils Christopher Hampson's The Nutcracker in Bristol on 10 October 2002. Gerald Scarfe to design sets and costumes. Ø Annual London Season starts 3 December, 2002 with Irek Mukhamedov as Drosselmeyer. Tickets for London Season go on public sale today Monday 22 July, 2002. English National Ballet announced today (Monday 22 July 2002) that HIT Entertainment's dancing mouse, Angelina Ballerina, is to become Production Sponsor of English National Ballet's brand new production of The Nutcracker. The £250,000 cash injection is the largest single sponsorship in English National Ballet's 52-year history. The partnership between Angelina and English National Ballet aims to spark children's interest in classical ballet, thus encouraging future audiences for the artform. By exposing them to the magic of live theatre at such a young age, we are effectively investing in the cultural landscape for the next generation. Special Angelina matinee performances will be presented in Bristol, Manchester, Southampton and London. Angelina Ballerina will personally welcome children into the theatre and introduce them to the story of the ballet from the stage before the performance begins. The ballet-mad mouse can currently be seen dancing across television screens on CiTV with her latest animated TV series every Monday and Friday at 3.40pm. With voices by mother and daughter team Dame Judi Dench and Finty Williams, the Angelina Ballerina series is the tale of a determined and feisty young mouse, who is determined to become the greatest ballerina in Mouseland. Based on the enormously successful series of children's books by author Katharine Holabird and illustrator Helen Craig, Angelina Ballerina (Finty Williams) follows the adventures of remarkable little mouse who dreams of becoming a prima ballerina. Rob Lawes, Chief Executive of HIT Entertainment comments: 'A creative partnership with English National Ballet is the perfect celebration of our first ever Arts Sponsorship. As two creative companies, we both share a commitment to developing exciting new entertainment that will have a far-reaching appeal. Like English National Ballet, Angelina Ballerina encourages imagination and participation and we believe our partnership is a perfect fit.' The new production of The Nutcracker is to be choreographed by the English choreographer, Christopher Hampson, and the set and costume designs are by Gerald Scarfe, one of the world's leading caricaturists. Hampson's The Nutcracker receives its world premiere at the Bristol Hippodrome on 10 October 2002. Following performances at the Manchester Opera House and The Mayflower Southampton, the Company is to present its annual Winter Season at the London Coliseum from 3 December 2002 - 4 January 2003. HIT Entertainment's generous support enables English National Ballet to continue the tradition it started in 1950 when the Company, then known as Festival Ballet, performed a full-length production of The Nutcracker for the first time. Since that time, literally millions of people have been introduced to ballet through the Company's popular productions. Commenting on the news, Artistic Director of English National Ballet, Matz Skoog, said today: 'HIT Entertainment's far-sighted support of The Nutcracker enables English National Ballet to continue its commitment to develop new audiences for and increase access to ballet. The Company's annual presentations of The Nutcracker have become as familiar a sight in London in the festive season as the Christmas Tree in Trafalgar Square with an estimated 6.5 million people enjoying 12 different versions over the years. For many people who take advantage of our competitive pricing policy, The Nutcracker will be their very first experience of classical ballet. It is our responsibility to offer those people the highest standards of entertainment. 'With HIT Entertainment's Angelina Ballerina as Production Sponsor we are able to pursue creative and meaningful ways of attracting new generations to dance in order to encourage our wonderful art form to flourish in the future' Christopher Nourse, Managing Director of English National Ballet agreed, stating: 'At English National Ballet we recognise the importance of a true synergy with our business partners in all that we do. Angelina Ballerina, as a popular family brand, makes the ideal sponsor of The Nutcracker - the ultimate family ballet. We are extremely grateful for their support.' At the first performance, the Central role of the magician Drosselmeyer will be danced by Russian ballet legend, Guest Artist for the Season, Irek Mukhamedov, the role of the Sugar Plum Fairy by Agnes Oaks whose Nutcracker Prince will be her husband, Thomas Edur. General Booking for the London Christmas Season of The Nutcracker opens on Monday 22 July 2002. Tickets available from the Coliseum Box Office, tel 020 7632 8300. For further information, please contact: Jim Fletcher, Head of Public Affairs, English National Ballet. Tel: 020-7581 1245/Mob: 07768 455667/E: jim.fletcher@ballet.org.uk Lucinda Evans, PR Director, Hit Entertainment. Tel: 020-7554 2572/E: Levans@hitentertainment.com Note for Picture Editors: High resolution images are available free of charge upon request. Notes for Editors Available for interview: English National Ballet Managing Director, Christopher Nourse Development Director, Fiona Mallin-Robinson Marketing Director, Ian Butlin HIT Entertainment Established in 1989, HIT Entertainment PLC is one of the fastest growing rights owning companies in the world. The company floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1996 with a capitalization of $29 million and is now worth over $600 million. In 2001, HIT acquired US based Lyrick Studios, establishing the company as one of the leaders in world pre-school programming. The acquisition of Lyrick, the owners of pre-school favourite Barney, was a perfect union between two leaders in the field of children's programming. Barney is now part of HIT's hugely successful catalogue of pre-school characters, including Bob the Builder, Kipper, Percy the Park Keeper and Angelina Ballerina. HIT Entertainment PLC is a fully integrated studio, which incorporates worldwide distribution, UK home entertainment, publishing, licensing and merchandising. www.hitentertainment.com The Nutcracker - a snapshot history The first performance of The Nutcracker took place at the Maryinsky Theatre, St Petersburg on 18 December 1892, with choreography by Lev Ivanov, libretto by Marius Petipa, and music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The first British performance of the complete ballet was Nicholas Sergeyev's production for the Vic-Wells Ballet on 30 January 1934 with Alicia Markova (co-founder of ENB) as The Sugar Plum Fairy. English National Ballet's first performance of the complete ballet was on 24 October 1950 at the Stoll Theatre, London, choreographed after Lev Ivanov by Alicia Markova, Anton Dolin and Grace Cone. English National Ballet's versions since that first production have been choreographed by David Lichine (1957), Jack Carter (1965), Ronald Hynd (1976), Peter Schaufuss (1986), Ben Stevenson (1991), and Derek Deane (1997). Note on Sponsorship of The Nutcracker Over the years, English National Ballet has developed a reputation as being a creative and forward-thinking partner for sponsors. In recent times, the Company has worked closely and effectively with like-minded partners such as Mattel (Barbie in The Nutcracker) in 2001. The Company's previous production by Derek Deane, was seen by 400,000 people from 1997-2001, was sponsored by Harrods (Knightsbridge). Other recent Production Sponsorships have included the city law firm Herbert Smith, as sponsors of Christopher Hampson's Double Concerto in 2001/2. This year, Herbert Smith is sponsoring Christopher Hampson himself, choreographer of The Nutcracker. English National Ballet worked with Simon Burgess at Visual Investments Ltd to seek a Production Sponsor for The Nutcracker in 2002. It is the first time that the Company has used an external agency in this way. ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/07/20/20020719BIT00730/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/07/20/20020719BIT00730/wkr0002.pdf