The sad passing of Ben Stevenson


The sad news of a childhood hero the passing of Ben Stevenson, as a child I had a beautiful signed photograph of him from sleeping beauty with the London festival Ballet. … a Portsmouth local hero … I was in awe of him as he was the first time I remember the word Choreographer being used … and I wanted to be one ! he created pieces for a dance school in Gosport for Joan Tostevin

I must of been 7 / 8 but he did this piece called the Funeral … it has always stayed with me .

Here is a photo of a young me , with Ben Stevenson at the finals of the All England sunshine dance festival with Cheryl Percy ( Clarke) photo by the one and only Maureen Flenly

Obituary

Born in Portsmouth Stevenson trained at London’s Arts Educational School and joined Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet (now The Royal Ballet) at age 18, dancing under Sir Frederick Ashton, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, and John Cranko. Later, at Sir Anton Dolin’s invitation, he moved to London Festival Ballet as a principal dancer. He also performed in musicals on London’s West End, and he regularly appeared on British television alongside legends like Judy Garland and Ella Fitzgerald.

Stevenson began choreographing in the 1960s for companies including English National Ballet and Washington, DC’s National Ballet. In 1968, he relocated to the U.S., where he led Harkness Youth Dancers in New York City and, starting in 1970, co-directed National Ballet with Frederic Franklin. He then became artistic director of Houston Ballet in 1976.

During his nearly three decades at the helm in Houston, he helped the company achieve national prominence, developing generations of leading dancers—including Carlos Acosta, Lauren Anderson, Li Cunxin, and Janie Parker—and founding Houston Ballet Academy. He also began a decades-long cultural exchange with China, becoming the first foreigner to be named an honorary faculty member at the Beijing Dance Academy and the Shenyang Conservatory of Music.

In 2003, Stevenson was named artistic director of Texas Ballet Theater. He would be its longest-serving artistic director, recruiting international talent and choreographing productions including “Swan Lake,” “Dracula,” and “The Nutty Nutcracker.” He transitioned to artistic director laureate of TBT in 2022.

Stevenson was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999, and received a Dance Magazine Award in 2000 and the Texas Medal of Arts in 2005. He will be remembered not only for his accomplishments across the globe but for his wit, generosity, and mentorship of generations of dancers.

ALFIE X Bless him xxx

my sisters sweet loving dog Alfie passed away … he passed peacefully , a sweet dog whom loved cuddles and attention …. My dear sister will be at loss …. xxx bless he can join Terry with Maggie and Barety x

Mothers day !

Had a lovely day with our dear mum who will be 96 in May bless her, we went for a lovely drive after lunch to all the places of our childhood … bless very touching ….

MARCH CLASS !

The Generation Dance Class for March !

Celebrating Angela Rippons’s ‘Let’s Dance Day and International Women’s Day !

The Girls kicked …. Today !

Fun as ever in the studio !

Thank you all for coming ! So honoured to take class for you all you are all smashing! Great fun Lots of laughter. And boy u worked it today ! Tap

Class was great ….as well a full 2.30 hours of what you love Dancing such a great feeling x

Spring ?

Spring is in the Air ….

Invitation of the year 2027 !

Dearest Reece and Danny WEDDING INVITATION …… Bless so happy for them

they did a beautiful invitation xxx The Wedding is in Malta next year so Im sure it will be the event of the year !

Dougie would be so proud x

BIRTHDAY 66! SHOCK HORROR !!LOL

Well the BIRTHDAY Celebrations have finally finished …..

It started on the 8th of february birthday not until 26th with Generation family dancers after class in the pub with fabulous no egg cake and a celebrating drink … huge thank you to Martine and Fran for organising they are just amazing … a beautiful card and gift which I didn’t open until 26th on the actual day had a lovely day ( mostly answering FACE BOOK and INSTRGRAM MESSAGES .. there were quite a few so very touched by all the beautiful messages and cards … How lucky am I to know such wonders friends with such lovely kind words … In the evening went to my sisters and mum for a meal which was just perfect and lovely ….

Next day Drove up to Blackpool To see Reece and Danny and Molly … The drive was actually okay .. I arrived at Franks apartments number 1… ( Reece runs a Stays in Blackpool company ) amazing air band b apartments bang in the centre of Blackpool , stylish and just fabulous ….

they had gone to town .. bless them huge balloons flowers … candles … phone charger and a huge card they totally spoilt me …. we then went for a Italian with Sim Whom I used to workj with at Pleasure Beach it was a lovely evening …. saturday breakfast at Reece and Danny's and a big cuddles with Molly before a lovey walk on the prom the sun shinning just perfect … went to see Don and Terry Reece’s Mum and Dad so lovely to see them … then we went out to dinner a tapas bar on white gate drive fab food , then it was to Funny Girls new show ….. It didnt quite work for me but the audience loved it so thats all that matters .. then went to hotel bar for drinks and watch a drag artist belt out the classics before going to Oscars for another drink a new club on the Funny Girl site …. couldn't keep up with the boys so went to bed ….

how they do it amazes me ! breakfast at THEIRS AND A TOTAL CHILL DAY which was needed just always a pleasure to be taken the p..s out of all day and spend time with them and of course more cuddles with Molly the best … Monday had coffee with Reece before heading to Manchester to meet up with Simon George for dinner before heading back great chinese at HOME restaurant … the rain stopped so it was a easy journey home no traffic listens to the radio and smile on my face eat the lovely time i had had thanks to one and all x

TWENTY MINUTES SOUTH

Well low and behold …In 1958 Dougie did a musical Twenty minutes South… never had much information on this until now ….Oh wow ! Never seen that before !! It opened the same week as mousetrap Dougie always said … he became Great friends with Hattie he loved her she was so much fun x

I have bought the last copy cd with Dougie playing a cockney singing on it ! he would of loved this …. just amazing after all this time x

PADDINGTON


I have been so very touched today with the out pouring of Love in celebration of Dougie’s Birthday…. It has filled me with love, happiness and joy … I know how he would have appreciated your kindest likes and words and been humbled and proud … He meant so much to me so many people ….

Thank you all for always giving me support, care and love …. It means so very much ….

Well tonight in my heart I celebrated… my dear friends Geoff Pine and Richard white had got me a gift of a golden ticket for Paddington !

Dinner at Jamie Oliver Theatre Royal Dury Lane and a bonus meeting up with Peter Todd….

Paddington utterly charming … beautifully produced … clever witty … very touching …

You so believe that Paddington is real …

Cleverly created …

It is always wonderful to see a production where everything all the creative , technical, production ,direction,music ,lyrics , design, cast , crew, theatre staff and management merge together as a total theatrical experience…

Wonderful to see Bonnie Langford …. Every young and not so young performer. Should watch her skill as a performer on stage … not a second goes by that it’s not 100 percent … she fills the entire audience with her presence

A lesson I learnt from her mother that you take it all in eye contact to the entire audience… she does so brilliantly…. I’m admiration of her wonderful talent …

Dougie would have loved this Paddington.

Been so proud Of Bonnie … his spirit was with me xx

February ...

just had a enjoyable week , seeing spring appear although its still cold , and very wet … the Test is very high indeed … I went to Winchester ,to the cathedral for the globe that is hanging in the alter , I had a lovely walk around , visited my sister janet and my dear mum had a lovely lunch and seeing the sun at Warsash WAS Lovely and seeing my mum beam with her smile made my day … Had Lunch with Emma which as always was great fun xx its birthday week …. haha

CHAMPNEYS DANCE WEEKEND

The Dance weekend at Champneys health spa in Tring, with Jackie Travers and Mark Short

we took classes all over the weekend in various styles of dance . we had a fun time lots of laughter and hopefully everybody enjoyed the crazy dance classes !

PANTOMIME ...

Paul TateLet's Celebrate Pantomime

19h ·

Panto Spotlight No21. ANTONY JOHNS.

Here's what Antony had to say about his Panto journey, along with a few chosen photos.

"Pantomime, like everything else, holds special memories for me. From seeing Dickie Valentine as a child in Cinderella at The King's Theatre Southsea, the real-life ponies to the flying ballet, all the costumes, the sets and seeing my dear sister Lynda as one of the dancers, it made it so memorable and the magic has stayed with me through all these years. In my professional career, my first Panto experience was for Jamie Phillips of Trends, with Dougie Squires OBE MVO as Director/Choreographer at His Majesty's Theatre Aberdeen in 1978. The production starred Denny Willis and Marie Gordon-Price, with me playing the mate in Dick Whittington. It was a fun, happy season full of snow! It was very interesting learning the comic routines of Denny Willis and 'The Hunt' skit which Denny was so well known for. His comic falls and timing were incredible. I learnt a lot watching him. He was such a gentle Dame with his own unique style and catchphrases such as "I fell. I'm sorry." with a cough and his little finger popping up, then saying "I'm sorry I splashed you." Marie's voice was just amazing - powerful - and she was a fabulous Dick Whittington! It was a great first experience into the Panto world with Jamie Phillips, who I owe so much to, working with the Trends family, which became my life. That year Trends produced Pantomimes in Darlington and Cambridge. It kept all the Second Generation dancers in work and Dougie gave so many of us chances in small and leading parts. It was almost a Rep Company! Carole Todd assisted Dougie on all productions, as that year Dougie also directed and choreographed Aladdin at The London Palladium starring Danny La Rue, Alfred Marks, Dilys Watling, Brian Marshall and Wei Wei Wong. It was a spectacular productions with costumes by Mark Canter and was a big success which ran and ran. 1979 I was given the chance to choreograph Aladdin for Paul Elliott at Poole Arts Centre. A huge learning curve watching the amazing Derek Griffiths, the best Abanazar to this day in my eyes. He played the role so differently in his own style. Anne Sydney was Aladdin and the Princess was Danielle Carson. In 1980 I started to assist Dougie on Pantos in Glasgow, Darlington, Cambridge, Birmingham and choreographed the Aladdin production at Guildford, again for Paul Elliott, starring Derek Griffiths once more. Writing about Paul at this time is so reflective with the sad news of his passing. What an incredible legend he was to Pantomime. I worked with him again much later on, in many productions creating costumes for Allan Stewart. I always learnt so much from Paul. He was such a talented man with kindness and passion for the art of Panto. He started so many artists off on the road to their careers. So from the 80s onwards I choreographed and directed many Pantomimes in Ayr, Glasgow Pavilion, Motherwell, Hanley, Buxton, Blackpool and appeared in Mother Goose, Aladdin and Peter Pan at the Connaught, Worthing. Playing Peter Pan again at the Brighton Dome. In the 90s for six years I directed, choreographed and appeared (and sang the Theme Tune!) at the Theatre Royal Brighton and then working at Stageworks in Blackpool and produced nine years of Panto at Blackburn St George's Hall. I also produced costumes for countless productions over the years and was always honoured to create a lot of Dame costumes for Christopher Biggins. How lucky I was to work with some incredible Producers, Directors, Star Actors, Singers, Performers, Dancers, Musicians, Stage Managers, Company Managers, ASMs, Theatre Crew, Lighting and Set Designers, Script Writers, Set Builders, Costume Designers, Costume Makers, Theatre Wardrobe, Theatre Managers and Assistants, Box Office, Front of House, PR and Marketing, Photographers in these wonderful productions. I always think nobody really understands the amount of work that goes into each and every production, so hats off to everybody!!! Highlights and memories that come to mind: At the Pavilion in Glasgow in the Scottish Panto 'A Wish For Jamie', Marie Gordon-Price sang 'Flower of Scotland'. The entire audience rose to their feet and sang their hearts out. It was goosebumps time. Rehearsing late at night with Norman Wisdom in a dressing room at the Grand, Blackpool. He taught me his riffle routine for me to teach the male dancers. He was a perfectionist, it was complex, but his timing was truly brilliant and watching him do pathos was an incredible lesson. Scottish Andy Cameron as Dame. He had never played a Dame before and he was just amazing. He was a man in a frock and hysterical. Peter Pan, performing it in Worthing, a German TV Producer came and wanted it televised for Germany. Myself as Peter and the lovely actress Daryl Back playing Wendy. The catch was that we had to record it twice. In German.....and Czech!!! It was no mean feat...but we did it! Peter Pan again a year later. I had just finished choreographing three productions and got an early phonecall from Jamie to say I would have to get to Heathrow now as I would have to go on as Peter Pan. The actress and understudy were not well enough to perform. So, off I fly....arrived....and was on for the matinee! Flying onstage in a harness that didn't fit! I even had a quick rehearsal with Hook for the fight scene. Unbelievable to think now. I think it went ok. I think. I did it for about five performances. My problem was I couldn't always understand their accents! The joys of working with Irene Handl. She played Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. She played it as the Queen Mother. Her first Panto I think, in her 70s. Derek Griffiths, his performance in Panto...just fantastic. From Abanazar to Vanity in Mother Goose at Brighton. When at Brighton, all of these Pantos hold a special place in my heart. We became a family at each and every production and a joy to work over the years with the likes of Christopher Biggins, Nichola McAuliffe, Colin Baker, Nicola Stapleton, Lisa Hull, Danielle Carson, Michael Kirk, Jonathan Wilkes, Jenny Funnell, Brenda Cochrane, David Yip, Wei Wei Wong, Dockyard Doris etc. We also performed late night Adult performances to raise money for Brighton Cares. One year Jonathan Wilkes was Aladdin and at the end of Act 1 he sang 'She's the One'. It was number one at the time. As he went to sing, a certain Robbie Williams appeared from the wings, looked at Jonathan and said "I think this is MY song!" and joined in singing. The audience went wild, as you can imagine! Only Jonathan and I knew. We kept it a secret just in case it didn't happen. A real highlight! I've mentioned Christopher Biggins before. What a joy it is to work with him. Not only on stage but off. He has an incredible heart, kindness and is just wonderful with the public. His personality is a tonic that lifts everyone. There are hundreds more stories one could tell....as my mind keeps remembering. My journey through Pantoland has been nothing but love for the art form. As many have said before, it's the first venture for a child coming into the world of Theatre. It's our job to make it as magical as possible. To open their eyes so they want to come back and see more. Panto has moved on a lot since I was first involved, I, myself, prefer the traditional family Pantomime to the way it has evolved now. For me, it was always the story at the heart of the Pantomime. To be truthful. I do miss some of the classic Pantomime gags that could still work today given a bit of updating. The classics will always remain classics. It's lovely to see Panto being more recognised and the passion and love that everyone puts into each production. I tried to be as creative as possible with each Pantomime with the support of Jamie Phillips, all the Trends family production team and to my life partner who taught me so much, Dougie Squires. Panto has played a big part in my career. Thanks to everyone who was part of this journey. P.S...The only thing I never got to play is Dame. I would have loved to have given it a go!"

Thank you so much, Antony for taking part in the Panto Spotlight for Let's Celebrate Pantomime. It was a joy to play Little Boy Blue all those years ago for Jamie, Dougie and yourself. Happy, happy days, indeed!!! x

Pre Birthday the celebrations !

The fabulous Generation family lovely surprise birthday cake and friendship !