© Geoff Slack Cipolla in reviews Batcheller in reviews Configuration reviews? Configuration's UK tour details are still being finalised, but will be included in Ballet.co listings when available. A shorter version of this article appears in the Winter/Spring 2002 edition of Entrechat, the BRB Friends magazine. BRB Friends BRB reviews Our BRB page BRB website

Last year, after a combined 22 years service, Catherine Batcheller and Joseph Cipolla, two of Birmingham Royal Ballet's principal dancers, decided to leave the Company. It is, however, not goodbye to UK ballet audiences, as they are now busy organising the first British tour by 'Configuration - a Ballet Ensemble for the 21st Century'.

I caught up with Cathy and Joe back in October at the Solihull Arts Complex, just before the dress rehearsal of Configuration's first UK performance, when we looked back at their time with BRB and ahead to their exciting new venture.

Joe joined the then Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet in 1986 after seven years with Dance Theatre of Harlem. Here, he danced principal roles created by many leading choreographers including George Balanchine, Frederick Franklin, Glen Tetley, Arthur Mitchell, Agnes de Mille, Domy Reiter-Soffer, Bettis, John Tara, David Lichine, Billy Wilson and Robert North; a veritable Who's Who of dance makers.

Since joining SWRB he has danced leading roles in most of the Company's productions. He created the roles of Fred Beenstock in Hobson's Choice, Orion in Sylvia, the Lust Filled Seminarian in Carmina Burana, Farmer Boldwood in Far from the Madding Crowd, Floreador in The Nutcracker Sweeties, Mortimer for the British premiere of Edward II, and Merlin in Arthur parts 1 & 2. For many he was also the ideal Drosselmeyer in Sir Peter Wright's Birmingham production of The Nutcracker, played with just a hint of menace. He regards the highlights in Birmingham as being Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet and Carmina Burana, the latter back in BRB's repertory this Spring, and which he feels is David Bintley's best work.

Catherine Batcheller and Joseph Cipolla in 'In the Middle Somewhat Elevated'
Photograph courtesy of Geoff Slack ©

Cathy joined BRB in 1994, making her debut as Lady Mary in the Company premiere of Sir Frederick Ashton's Enigma Variations, after four years with San Francisco Ballet and nine with Stuttgart Ballet. While in Germany she extended her classical repertoire with Aurora and the Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Myrtha in Giselle and Juliet in John Cranko's Romeo and Juliet. Indeed, it is Juliet that she regards as her favourite ever role, calling it "the most complete female role in ballet".

While with BRB she danced in a wide range of roles, but she is probably best known for creating Fortuna in David Bintley's Carmina Burana, also her favourite while with BRB, and the mother in Jerome Robbins' The Cage.

Before talking about Configuration they wanted to stress that the parting was amicable, saying how supportive David Bintley and BRB have been, allowing them to pursue their new venture while still dancing with the Company, and also allowing them rehearsal space in Birmingham. Indeed, they are returning to guest in two performances of Carmina Burana this May.

It was in early 1999, finding themselves with some spare time on their hands and with a view to the future, that they decided to found their own company. For two years the group was known as the Washashore Dance Ensemble. Why 'WashAshore'? Cathy explained that it was a Cape Cod term for relative newcomers, who are said to have 'washed ashore', a rather more pleasant sounding term than the West Country equivalent - the 'grockle'. However, after long deliberation, they recently decided to change it to 'Configuration', with the strap line 'A Ballet Ensemble for the 21st Century'. Born further up the New England coast at Kittery, Maine, she went on to explain that they chose Cape Cod because it was a place of many happy childhood vacations and they both love the natural environment. Perhaps most importantly, they felt it had the correct atmosphere for what they hoped to create.

They freely admit that they were taking quite a chance, as Cape Cod had never previously been exposed to professional dance. They need not have worried. A home was soon found at Studio 878 and the first performances in July 1999 were a great success. Now, as Configuration expands and becomes more widely known, so do the possibilities.

One thing that Cathy and Joe were sure about was that Configuration should be something unique, although in some ways it is similar to Mikhail Baryshnikov's White Oak Dance Project. What they have today is a transatlantic enterprise that brings together dancers, choreographers and designers from the world's major dance companies.

Configuration's roster varies, but never has more than about 10 dancers. This allows all aspects of the group's work, choreography, costumes, production and staging, to be collaborative, a very important aspect of the group, with the dancers having a bigger voice than would usually be the case. Joe feels this gives an intimacy, difficult to achieve in larger companies, where there is often so much talent that much of the creativity goes untapped.

Dancers are 'borrowed' from American and European companies. Going to the Cape gives them the chance to take a break, create, rehearse and perform, without the pressure. It must be working as some dancers have returned for a second or third year, often teaching masterclasses for local students besides creating and directing. Cathy and Joe are also teaching locally, at the Cape Cod Academy for the Performing Arts in Orleans.

Cathy and Joe explained that Configuration looked to create an ongoing relationship with diverse artists, showing the similarities between different styles as they reach out and embrace all dance forms. Indeed, the three works seen at Solihull included both classical and contemporary, with footwear ranging from high-heeled shoes, through jazz and ballet shoes, to bare feet. Something for everyone!

Performances in the US have mixed excerpts from the 'classics' with works by Balanchine and Forsythe. The 2001 Cape Cod shows introduced new works, with the Chicago-based Hubbard Street Dance, who may be seen in the UK in May, allowing them to perform Group Therapy, a work in the American musical theatre tradition by up-and-coming Chicago choreographer Harrison McEldowney. Each section of the work explores a different aspect of trying to make a relationship work. Quite apt for a new company!

Catherine Batcheller and Joseph Cipolla in 'In the Middle Somewhat Elevated'
Photograph courtesy of Geoff Slack ©

Cathy and Joe specifically look for classically trained dancers who also have contemporary skills. As an example, the smaller than usual Solihull group included Gary Avis (ex-Royal Ballet), Antonia Franceschi (ex-New York City Ballet), Maude Liardon (Ballet de Lyon) and Norbert Nirewicz (Columbia City Ballet). It's an eclectic mix, but as Jo says, "they work together well, cross-stimulate and inspire each other." Other BRB dancers with links with Configuration are Asier Uriagereka and Yuri Zhukov, who's No Time Jazz, first shown in Birmingham in 1998, is a regular company work.

As with all new companies, Configuration is having to grapple with the financial problems of mounting productions and touring. In the US they have received funding from the Kelly Foundation in Hyannis, from the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod and private donors, but to really move ahead, Cathy and Joe would like to find some corporate sponsorship.

Here in the UK they have received an award from West Midlands Arts to produce Sampling Tchaikovsky. This new, full length ballet, to be toured in the UK later this year, will explore aspects of the composer's life, translating his letters and journals into a number of ballet 'episodes', illuminating aspects and key events, the samples. Musically, the ballet will mix familiar recordings of his music with new interpretations. Judging from the excerpt performed at Solihull, it will be worth seeing.

Talking to Cathy and Joe and watching Configuration rehearse, it is clear they are very passionate about their new venture. Diana Kennedy in the Cape Cod Times said that the ensemble "is like a rare bird that serendipitously fell on Cape Cod" but was one that was still "trying to find a way to settle on local shores." Let us hope they succeed, but that they also find the time to make regular migrations across the Atlantic.