STRAUSS GOES STRICTLY SCOUSE!
Anton and Erin join Vasily for a Viennese Venture
Tickets all snapped up already. Still a few for the workshops
St George’s Hall will reverberate to hundreds of waltzing feet serenaded by music that will include Blue Danube Waltz, Roses from the South, Thunder and Lightning Polka and Radetzsky March, all played by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with Principal Conductor, Vasily Petrenko.
On both days, the first dance will be led by none other than Strictly Come Dancing stars Anton du Beke and Erin Boag.
Specially commissioned by The Liverpool Culture Company as part of the 08 celebrations, the Viennese Balls are expected to attract dance afficionados from all over the region, who will be able to show off their skills against the resplendent backdrop of one of the city’s most famous buildings, St George’s Hall. Beginners are also welcome, as they can sign up for classes in community centres in all of Liverpool’s neighbourhoods. (details below).
On Saturday 12 April the dancing will begin at 7.30pm and there’s a chance to don your finery for this evening brimming with beauty and grace. To make things strictly special, several outfit hire shops have agreed to offer discounts on tuxedo, tails or a ballgown hire. This event will be for those aged eighteen and over and refreshments will be available. To make it a night to remember, photographers will be on hand to take portraits of you and your partner on the steps of the St George’s Hall North Foyer
On Sunday the 13 April the dance will commence at 2.30pm, this will be slightly less formal, but you can still dress to impress. This event will be most appropriate for ages twelve and over. Viennese coffee and pastries will be available. Once again portrait photographers will be on hand and Anton and Erin will lead the first waltz.
In the nineteenth century Vienna became famous around the world for the creation of the waltz, which at once shocked and excited the world. Waltz mania spread far and wide and in August 1838 Johann Strauss (1804-49) gave six concerts at the Royal Amphitheatre in Liverpool, inspiring some local imitators who, aware of the huge appeal of the new Viennese-style music, lost no time to turn Strauss waltzes into ‘Scouse’ waltzes. The Viennese Balls in Liverpool hark back to this period while connecting with the current resurgence ballroom dancing is enjoying today.
The Viennese Balls mark the beginning of a city-wide Viennese theme inspired by the arrival in May of the largest ever UK exhibition of Gustav Klimt at Tate Liverpool. Klimt lived in Vienna at the beginning of the twentieth century at the same time as the psychiatrist Freud, the philosopher Wittgenstein and the composer Schoenberg. These four great men exerted a profound influence on the century that followed them.
Tickets available from 4 February
STOP PRESS – Monday Feb 4.
All tickets for the Viennese Balls at St George’s Hall on April 12 & 13 have been snapped up – in under two and half hours this morning.
Commissioned for Liverpool’s European Capital of Culture year, the balls will feature Strictly Come Dancing stars Anton Du Beke and Erin Boag with music by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
A limited number of tickets for the community waltz workshops are still available at the Liverpool Philharmonic Box Office on 0151 709 3789.
How to book you place for Viennese Balls and Workshops
Tickets for the Viennese Balls at St Georges Hall and/or the workshops are available by calling the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall box office on 0151 709 3789 or in person at the Box Office, Liverpool Philharmonic Halll, Hope Street, L1 9BP
Box office hours, 9 – 5.30pm Monday – Friday
9 – 5.00pm Saturday & Sunday
Tickets are limited to two per household for the Viennese Balls and two per household per workshop
Viennese Balls
Viennese Balls at St George’s Hall, Great Hall, St George’s Hall, William Brown Street, Liverpool, L1 1JJ
12 April (doors open 7pm, dance begins at 7.30pm)
13 April (doors open 2pm, dance begins at 2.30pm)
Community Dance Workshops
LIVERPOOL EAST
Kensington Fields Community Centre, 24 Hall Lane, Liverpool, L7 8TQ
13 March 1pm – 5pm,
27 March 7.30pm – 10pm
LIVERPOOL EAST
St. Sebastian’s Parish Centre, 18 Lilley Road, L7 0LR
10 March 12.30pm – 3pm
16 March 7.30pm – 10pm
ALT VALLEY
Porchfield Community Centre Liverpool, Merseyside , L11 9DT
11 March 2pm – 5pm,
28 March 2pm – 5pm
SOUTH CENTRAL
Caribbean Centre, 1 Amberley St Liverpool, L8 1YJ
12 March 6.30pm – 9pm.
26 March 6.30pm – 9pm
ALT VALLEY
Netherton Park Community Centre, Chester Avenue, Netherton, L30 12W
14 March 7.30pm – 10pm,
26 March 2pm – 4.30pm
LIVERPOOL SOUTH
Parklands City Learning Centre, 28 Ganworth Road, L24 2RZ
15 March 10am – 1pm
25 March 7.30pm – 10pm
CITY CENTRE
St George’s Concert Room, St George’s Hall, William Brown Street , L1 1JJ
5 April 2pm – 4pm