'Mr Wonderful' at Sadler's Wells

Jonathan Ollivier died last summer on his way to his last performance in Matthew Bourne's 'The Car Man' at Sadler's Wells. Monday evening saw the gala performance of his friends and colleagues to celebrate his life and raise funds for a trust fund for his children. 'Mr Wonderful - A Celebration of Jonathan Ollivier's Life In Dance' was held at Sadler's Wells and hosted by Sir Matthew Bourne. I hope his wife and children were there since it was a great night and a great tribute to him.

It was hosted by New Adventures and Northern Ballet with Sadler's Wells so we were treated to scenes from various productions, some of which Jonathan had danced in. The title of the show - 'Mr Wonderful ' - came from a short piece that Matthew Bourne choreographed 25 years ago ( and danced in) to the song of the same name sung by Peggy Lee. Out of the six dancers, four were former Princes from 'Swan Lake' and one was the Swan - that's a great ensemble in anyone's book! It was great fun to see it, funny and precise, and it should be seen often.

There were scenes from some of Matthew Bourne's shows including 'Sleeping Beauty', 'Play Without Words' and 'The Car Man' with a film of Jonathan in 'Spitfire', Rambert did two brilliant pieces 'Hidden' and 'Gypsy Souls', Marcelo Gomes danced to the thrilling violin playing of Charles Yang in 'Paganini' and Northern Ballet gave us the terribly romantic 'Wuthering Heights' and a scene from 'Saphire'. A great piece from the Michael Clark Company was the edgy 'come, been and gone' to 'The Jean Genie' by David Bowie with Mick Ronson's guitar shrieking at the walls as the dancers strode around the stage. There was a lot more and we even had the Temptations from the new show 'Motown' singing 'My Girl'.

The evening ended, of course, with 'Swan Lake', with the Swan and the Prince, the daft swans dancing to the Sugar-Plum Fairy sequence and getting great laughs and applause and it was lovely to see those excerpts from a great work. It ended with the swans all sitting on the stage with their backs to the audience and we saw Jonathan dance on the screen at the back of the stage, ending with his triumph. How touching. And when the swans started clapping and giving their tribute, so we all stood for a standing ovation as the other dancers joined them on stage and it went on and on.

Sir Matthew Bourne had mentioned earlier in the evening that tickets sales had already raised £65,000 to set up a trust fund for Jonathan's sons and invited us to text donations and you can donate at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fund/inmemoryofjonathanollivier.

Jonathan Ollivier - The Swan

I was sad to hear the news on Sunday that Jonathan Ollivier had been killed in a car accident as he was biking to his final performance in 'The Car Man' at Sadler's Wells. I saw 'The Car Man' a few weeks back but with a different principal dancer but I've seen Jonathan twice as the Swan/Stranger in Matthew Bourne's 'Swan Lake' in 2009 and 2013 at Sadler's Wells and loved those productions.

In part I think the outpouring of sympathy on Twitter and in the mainstream news has been because it happened on his way to the last performance at Sadler's Wells and the last performance of 'The Car Man' tour. The performance was, understandably, cancelled in the circumstances. It's nice, in a way, to see him honoured with all the press coverage. Some articles are simply factually wrong but the obituary in 'The Guardian' seems to get it right so take a read. Matthew Bourne has posted a touching message on the New Adventures site.

I only saw Jonathan dance twice, both times as the Swan and that's how I'll remember him. I remember well his imperious alpha-male approach to dancing the Swan and his alter-ego the Stranger at the Queen's ball when he seduces anyone he wants. Moving from the unthinking aggresion of the Swan towards the Prince which softens as they dance to the protective love we see in the final scenes, he interpretted the role for us and played it out on the stage with movement and dance. There's a certain magic when it all works and it certainly worked with Jonathan.

He's a sad loss. I hope his family take some comfort from the sympathy expressed everywhere and that his children got to see him dance or will see him dance on DVD. Be proud of your dad, kids.

Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake at Sadler's Wells

My final pre-Christmas treat was, as has become traditional in recent years, a trip to Sadler's Wells to see the annual Christmas production of a Matthew Bourne show. This year it was the turn of 'Swan Lake' again which is one of my favourites. I'd originally booked tickets for Saturday night but had to change them to the Sunday matinee when Kim Wilde announced her Shepherd's Bush Christmas party (well, I had to didn't I?).

I've seen the production four times before and was lucky enough to have seen the lead performers in those productions. Jonathan Ollivier as The Swan/Stranger, Simon Williams as The Prince, Kerry Biggin as The Girlfriend and Michela Meazza as the cold Queen. Despite having seen it before I still forgot some of the scenes and it was nice to be reminded of them, such as the ballet scene with the butterflies and the hunter (and the Girlfriend dropping her handbag!).

The storytelling is excellent and the dancing even better. One of my favourite scenes is when the Prince and the Swan first meet at the Lake and, from discord, gradually start dancing together over a long scene in which we see the swans enjoy themselves with their own group dances. At the end of that scene the Prince and the Swan are in total harmony, a great uplifting and joyful moment to see them together.

If you haven't seen it yet then you really should - it's a great work of art that needs to be seen to be believed.

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