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In the Royal Opera House's airy MacMillan Studio, the young French choreographer Ludovic Ondiviela is rehearsing a pas de deux from his new ballet, Cassandra.

The dancers Olivia Cowley and Thomas Whitehead are centre stage - but this is no typical ballet duet. The male character is clearly heartbroken, sometimes wrapping his arms around a figure who is not there. His partner drifts aside; he lifts and spins her, off-centre; her lines are broken, her gaze intermittently blank and disengaged. He tries to reach her emotions, without hope.

Mental illness is not an obvious topic for ballet. But push at the boundaries and there is nothing it cannot express. Take the famous "mad scene" in Giselle, when the heroine loses her mind on learning that her lover has betrayed her; or Prince Rudolf, whose mental disintegration is at the heart of Mayerling; or Anastasia, another Kenneth MacMillan ballet, based on the story of a woman who believed she was the daughter of Tsar Nicholas II. These works suggest a rare yet compelling fascination with what "madness" really constitutes.

In opera, the topic is equally perennial, from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor (where coloratura vocal gymnastics portray the heroine losing touch with reality) to Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress, which concludes with a heart-rending scene in Bedlam. On 22 October a new opera by the composer Benjamin Tassie was premiered, entitled The Anatomy of Melancholy, exploring the links between physical and mental health. It aims to encourage us all to discuss these harrowing topics with more honesty and openness.

Cassandra brings that idea right up to date through dance. Ondiviela has been researching the project for two years. "My grandfather had Alzheimer's," he explains, "and ever since then I've been interested in the relation between the brain and the emotions, and the way that sometimes mental illness affects the people around the patients perhaps even more than the patients themselves.

"I started looking into the story of Cassandra because today someone who is diagnosed with psychosis is still said to have 'the Cassandra syndrome'," he adds. "It's interesting that there is a very blurred line in society between what is considered mad and what is considered normal behaviour. We might all have behaviours that someone else would consider mad because they don't relate to it."

The syndrome refers to the ancient Greek princess Cassandra, whose gift for prophecy was considered madness; the ballet mirrors that story in the present day. Its heroine travels through apparent delusions and paranoia, interacting with her workmates, family and lover, until she is hospitalised and, possibly, medicated. A contrast in physical language between the suffering individual and those around her becomes a vital element in translating complex states of mind into dance.

Ondiviela delved into this by visiting the Homerton Hospital, east London, talking to doctors, nurses and patients and observing their movements. "We walked through the whole hospital, which was very important to get the feeling of what these very clinical and rather grim places are like," he says. "I've tried to incorporate the physicality of some of the patients I saw, putting them into the ballet to make something realistic, sometimes ugly to look at and emotionally quite powerful; for instance, I saw a lot of people who had nervy twitches. I think there can sometimes be great beauty in ugliness."

Nor need the depiction of mental illness be entirely negative, he adds: "Sometimes these people go through experiences that are beautiful, spiritual and blissful. In one scene Cassandra goes into a kind of euphoria, ... as if maybe she's talking to God. If you see someone like that from outside you might be horrified, but to her this is incredible. And who are we to say that what she's experiencing is not true? Maybe she really is speaking to God, but because we don't relate we decide to call it madness."

On a visit to the Vortex jazz club in Dalston, north-east London, Ondiviela met the singer-songwriter Ana Silvera; they began to discuss working together and settled on the idea of psychosis and society's attitude towards it. Silvera's specially composed score was inspired by the poetry of Wislawa Szymborska on the legend of Cassandra; the singer herself appears on stage to represent the ancient prophetess as an imaginary companion to the dancer in the present day.

"I wanted to show a clear difference between the way Cassandra communicates with the real people in her life and how she communicates in her imagination with the people who come into her mind," says Ondiviela. "This was perfect. The real people dance; the people in her mind sing."

It was vital to avoid "madness" clichés: "You don't want to be stereotypical 'mad' and 'crazy'," Olivia Cowley says. "You want it to be very subtle, especially as the Linbury is a very intimate stage."

She has stepped into the leading role at a late stage to replace the injured Lauren Cuthbertson, and has since been making the role very much her own. "It's wonderful to be choreographed on," she says, "because you take the natural movements that you feel you might do if you are going mad and Ludovic manipulates them. It's going to take a lot of stamina, both physical and emotional."

Ondiviela's biggest work to date, Cassandra marks his leap into the freelance unknown; after 13 years of dancing with the Royal Ballet he has resigned to devote himself to choreography. He and Cowley have known each other since joining the Royal Ballet School at the same time and are good friends: "It's great working with Olivia, because she really 'gets' me emotionally," Ondiviela remarks.

Will Cassandra be cured? Ondiviela won't let on, but remarks: "The question is, does she need to be cured?" As he says, the issue has many more shades than we might expect. If art can illuminate the darkest corners of the human mind and make us better able to face up to them, perhaps that is what it is really for.
'Cassandra', Royal Opera House, Linbury Studio Theatre, London WC2 (020 7304 4000) 30 October to 1 November

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Choreographer Ludovic Ondiviela on making mental illness the subject

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In the Royal Opera House's airy MacMillan Studio, the young French choreographer Ludovic Ondiviela is rehearsing a pas de deux from his new ballet, Cassandra. The dancers Olivia Cowley and Thomas Whitehead are centre stage - but this is no typical ballet duet.

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this was a piece we were going tonnes in our female empowerment/ music industry piece.

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this was part of the female empowerment / music industry piece

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this the poem we choreographed to when we were doing women empowerment and the music industry

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this is the part of our piece

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this is the section of our piece and we wanted this part to about realising that we have let ourselves go with being stuck in bad love.

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second section of the piece

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Beginning of our piece.

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1.

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this was the begging of our last song. We wanted this song to show hope and realisation of our worth.

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JUNHO Class | Kwabs - Cheating On Me | SOULDANCE 쏘울댄스

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3.

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"XO" - Beyonce ---  Choreography by: Marissa Osato & Will Johnston

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4.

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Cheating On Me - Kwabs / Junho Lee Choreography

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this the dairy entry we used as inspiration for our diary entry

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Photo by: Asaf Einy

The beautiful topic of relationships has occupied much of my mental space over the past few weeks. This is apparent through my recent articles on " How to Get Over Breakups" and " How to Find True Love" (New) via Think Simple Now.

To write these articles, I had to dig deep within myself and recall my own romantic journey and all of the empowering things I've learned through the ups and downs of my own relationships.

The most significant day in my personal growth was November 19, 2006. It was through the state of despair and depression I was in that the pain I was experiencing helped to nudge me into sudden clarity about what I've been doing wrong all these years. It was an exceptionally exhilarating and liberating day for me.

The following is a snapshot of my realization from that day, as written in my journal.

From that day on, my life has never been the same. The cycle of destruction had finally come to an end. Sometimes, life can only turn around when you've hit rock bottom.

I hope that by sharing this slice from my diary, it will help to shine some light on your story and whatever it is that you are going through. For anyone who's ever felt insecure and insufficient, you are not alone. There is hope, and the future is VERY bright!

" November 19, 2006

Uncertainty is the topic of my day. No, actually it's insecurities - the insecurity of not being liked, of not fitting in, of not belonging, of being alone, of not being loved. Through much realization about myself in the past few days, I discovered that I used to have a psychological dependency on men, or the idea of having a man there for me.

In the most extreme sense, it was as if my entire self worth relied on this dependency, on this idea of support. Once that dependency is challenged and uncertainty is added into the equation, I become this insecure little girl, unable to continue. I scramble, I panic, I look for plan B, I start to seek out alternatives, replacements ... pads to protect my body from shattering into little pieces should I fall from that balcony of visions that I've created.

Visions and fixation, of hope, of ideals, of situations, of longing... all of which I have projected onto this man who is the current holder of my self-worth and whom I've depended on such that I cannot function normally without. He helps me to feel together, to feel complete. But he also hinders me from achieving my ultimate goals.

In a deeply unconscious state, without knowing it, I've asked him to put an invisible leash on my self-worth and my security. As a result, he's got all of my time, my attention, my heart, and my love and a momentary pause has been placed on my true passions.

I have goals, but in the pursuit of keeping him happy, I set aside my goals and grace him with my attention and time. Deep down, secretly, I feel that without his image around, I will not be able to excel, and that I will not be okay. This of course is a false illusion, but because it's been deeply buried in my subconscious, I have not been aware of it until now.

With each partner, when their true, ugly qualities re-surface above the perfect image I've projected upon them, I abruptly leave and start seeking the next holder of my invisible leash.

Today, I declare to the Universe that with this self revelation, I shall let this go, completely. I do not need it in my life, for it is no longer serving me.

My true self worth comes from myself, my heart, and my perception of my world. I adore myself, I love myself, and I am a wonderful being with lots of love to share.

I am in complete control of my life and my experiences. I gain more security in myself each time I do something that pleases me. I gain when I read wonderful books and learn new things. I gain when I am writing and exploring my feelings. I gain when I re-organize my life (living space, routine, health, goals). I gain when I think about all the wonderful blessings in my life. I gain when I take pictures that capture truth. I gain when I have meaningful conversations. I gain each time I accomplish a goal. I gain each time I think - with absolute faith that - I will always end up in the best possible place no matter what happens. There is something wonderful and valuable from every situation I encounter.

I learned something today:
Love yourself, and love others as if they were me.
Smile lots, and spread joy.
Be truthful, be compassionate, be patient, and be forgiving.
Live with the big heart you were born with. "

This entry was posted on Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 3:30 pm and is filed under Relationships, Tina. Email this page.

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1. How to Find True Love | ThinkSimpleNow.com - Feb 11 09

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5. Finding Love " lazychowchow - Feb 13 12

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Photo by: Asaf Einy The beautiful topic of relationships has occupied much of my mental space over the past few weeks. This is apparent through my recent articles on " How to Get Over Breakups" and " How to Find True Love" (New) via Think Simple Now.

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Videos

1. XO" - Beyonce --- Choreography by: Marissa Osato & Will Johnston. (2018). [image] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UeIzvbLHjI [Accessed 26 Nov. 2018].
2. Beyoncé - XO | @besperon Choreography. (2018). [image] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KixUVYZHFwo [Accessed 26 Nov. 2018].
3. Cheating On Me - Kwabs / Junho Lee Choreography. (2018). [image] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1xlluiLu7s [Accessed 26 Nov. 2018].
4. JUNHO Class | Kwabs - Cheating On Me | SOULDANCE 쏘울댄스. (2018). [image] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lupYzzZww7I [Accessed 26 Nov. 2018].

Websites

5. Thinksimplenow.com. (2018). Insecurities: A Slice From My Diary | Simply Tina » Insecurities: A Slice From My Diary. [online] Available at: http://thinksimplenow.com/simplytina/2009/02/my-insecurities-a-slice-from-my-diary/ [Accessed 26 Nov. 2018].
6. https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwi5nKHdkoLfAhUPLBoKHf_tB30QjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2FWomens-Traditional-Flannel-Pyjama-Pyjamas%2Fdp%2FB00O5122AG&psig=AOvVaw2n_3IZz6Jd20Q4Np0SFS-3&ust=1543874455044481
7. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/royal-ballet-dancer-turned-choreographer-ludovic-ondiviela-on-making-mental-illness-the-subject-of-9823920.html

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A motif we created to use a few times in our pieces. This motif shows our frustration with bad love

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The second section of our choreography

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one of our motifs