One of the region’s most gifted creatives is set to debut a brand-new production on home turf later this summer. Tala Lee-Turton, originally from Barnsley, will premiere her new work, No Time Like the Present, at Wentworth Woodhouse and Sheffield Botanical Gardens this August.
Creative producer and dancer Tala will present her first live performance 10 years after making history when she began her training at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. She was the third British female to graduate from the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in its then 245-year history, and the first from Yorkshire!
No Time Like the Present is a dance and music experience for everyone; an outdoor, one-act ballet, set to a synth-pop score and performed live.
The idea of an outdoor performance started to take shape during the pandemic as Tala began to think of where and how she could dance for audiences again, and this led to the creation of her own production company. Tala has pulled together a diverse, international team for No Time Like the Present, collaborating with choreographer and soloist of American Ballet Theatre, Zhongjing Fang.
Tala said: “It’s a real privilege to be able to bring this production to Wentworth Woodhouse and Sheffield Botanical Gardens for the first time and I’m so pleased to be performing in South Yorkshire. I want to encourage people who might not normally go to see a ballet production to connect with this dance and music experience – five dancers, how they are moving and what they are thinking; expressing their inner realities as women.”
Sarah McLeod, CEO of Wentworth Woodhouse, said of Tala’s work: “After completing her research and development at Wentworth Woodhouse last summer, it is wonderful to see everything come together in this exciting performance. We’re always keen to support local talent and offer new experiences to the people of Rotherham and No Time Like the Present is the perfect example of this.”
The event is supported by both Arts Council England and Sheffield City Council.
Wentworth Woodhouse
- Friday 19th to Sunday 21st August
- Friday 26th to Sunday 28th Augus
www.wentworthwoodhouse.org.uk/whats-on/no-time-like-the-present
Sheffield Botanical Gardens
- Wednesday 24th to Thursday 25th August
www.talaleeturton.com/dance-in-the-gardens
Gates open at 6.00pm with the ambient soundscape starting at 6.30pm. The performance starts at 7.00pm. Adult tickets cost £16.00, children under 16 cost £10.00 and under fours go free.