Beauty and the Beast: Filming on location with Northern Ballet's Martha Leebolt at Harewood

Northern Ballet Principal Dancer Martha Leebolt was at Harewood today accompanied by a film crew from Sky Arts.

Sky Arts have been following the company over the past few weeks as they prepare for their forthcoming show ‘Beauty & the Beast’ in which Martha will play the role of Beauty alongside dancer Ashley Dixon as the Beast.

Harewood was the first Stately Home Martha visited when she moved here to Leeds nearly 11 years ago from sunny California. It’s a favourite place for her to visit and a break from her busy schedule with the company…

‘When you’re so focussed on something, it can be very intense and coming to such a relaxing and tranquil place like Harewood is a wonderful escape and a great place to bring family when they are visiting’.

Taking shots of Martha in the beautiful grounds and gardens as well as inside the elegant rooms of the House, Sky Arts were speaking to Martha about a whole range of subjects relating to her career and life as a dancer, the creative process of choreography, as well as the outlook for the arts in the UK with ever-tightening budgets and funding cuts in the sector…it should make for some interesting and engaging viewing.

The documentary will be aired on Sky Arts in January 2012.

‘Beauty and the Beast’ opens in Leeds at the Grand Theatre on Saturday 17th December and will run until Saturday 31st December before it tours to Edinburgh, Sheffield, Hull, Milton Keynes and Cardiff. Don’t miss the Company sparkle in a kaleidoscope of colour and Haute couture-style costumes, as breathtaking dancing is accompanied by an infectious score including music by Bizet, Debussy, Poulenc and Saint-Saëns, played live by the Northern Ballet Sinfonia. Go online to book tickets, see behind-the-scenes snippets on ‘Making up the Beast’ and ‘Costume Fashion Show’ and find out more about the dancers and the Northern Ballet company.

Tickets are on sale now for Beauty & the Beast, the best Christmas show in Yorkshire.