Two Northern ballet stars decided the show must go on...in their Leeds flat

Sadler’s Wells was a no-go so Sean Bates and Mlindi Kulashe have staged a performance in their one-bed flat in Leeds

You can’t swing a cat in some of the one-bedroom flats in Leeds but you can choreograph and perform a contemporary ballet … and professional dancers Sean Bates and Mlindi Kulashe have proved it.

Sean, first soloist, and Mlindi, a leading soloist, both with Northern Ballet, have staged and filmed a show in their Leeds city centre apartment and it’s not only moves they’ve been busting - so far they have broken a lamp and demolished a shelf.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We do a ballet class remotely each day in our flat but we can’t train as we used to and our shows have been cancelled because of the lockdown so we were looking for creative ways to keep dancing and to keep fit,” says Sean.

Northern Ballet dancers Sean, left, and MlindiNorthern Ballet dancers Sean, left, and Mlindi
Northern Ballet dancers Sean, left, and Mlindi

“We decided to film our performances and send them to our friends and family. They persuaded us to put them on Twitter and they seem to have made people smile.”

Along with their “The Greatest Show” dance indoors, they got creative with their daily dose of fresh air and performed a routine to the sound of “Disco Inferno” in the car park next to their apartment building.

The pair, who are planning to move to a new, larger home at the pioneering CITU development in Leeds, are now encouraging people to follow their lead and give dancing a go during lockdown.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

For inspiration, they suggest watching Northern Ballet’s films online..

Mlindi Kulashe as Drosselmeyer in Northern Ballet's The Nutcracker. Picture courtesy of Northern BalletMlindi Kulashe as Drosselmeyer in Northern Ballet's The Nutcracker. Picture courtesy of Northern Ballet
Mlindi Kulashe as Drosselmeyer in Northern Ballet's The Nutcracker. Picture courtesy of Northern Ballet

The company has been forced to cancel its Spring shows, including its performance at Sadler’s Wells, but it is running a “pay as you feel digital season”, which will help raise much-needed funds..

It says: “Over the next few weeks we’ll be presenting a season of unmissable dance on screen.

“All we ask is that, if you can, please help us to protect our people and our work during these unprecedented times and make a donation when you watch”.

Visit www.northernballet.com/pay-as-you-feel-season

Sean Bates as Prince Mikhail and Antoinette Brooks-Daw as Cinderella in Northern Ballet's Cinderella. Picture courtesy of Northern BalletSean Bates as Prince Mikhail and Antoinette Brooks-Daw as Cinderella in Northern Ballet's Cinderella. Picture courtesy of Northern Ballet
Sean Bates as Prince Mikhail and Antoinette Brooks-Daw as Cinderella in Northern Ballet's Cinderella. Picture courtesy of Northern Ballet
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Northern Ballet’s “Dracula” will be on BBC Four and iPlayer in the coming weeks as part of the BBC's Culture in Quarantine Season.

*You can follow Sean and Mlindi on Twitter @BalletBates and @MlindiKulashe

**Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.

Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing [email protected]. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available.

If you want to help right now, download our tablet app from the App / Play Stores. Every contribution you make helps to provide this county with the best regional journalism in the country.

Sincerely. Thank you.

James Mitchinson

Editor

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.