Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser

GRACE & Flavour

Potato firm to showcase their sleeping beauties with this stunning ballet video

- IAN BUNTING

The graceful skills of a brilliant ballet star from Airdrie are showcased in a stunning new video by Albert Bartlett.

The UK’S leading potato firm was “delighted” to showcase the talents of its long- term ambassador Reece Clarke and his partner, on stage and in life, Fumi Kaneko.

The hypnotical­ly proficient pair, both of whom are first soloists with The Royal Ballet, performed sections of Tchaikovsk­y’s legendary

The Sleeping Beauty in Albert Bartlett’s Jersey factory.

In the Youtube video, the Jersey Royal seed potatoes are preparing to be tucked in themselves before be ing woken up in November and planted early in the new year. Reece has worked with Albert Bartlett since 2012. With the help of the brand’s potato power, he has been able to relocate from Scotland to London, attend the worldrenow­ned Royal Ballet School and ultimately rise through the ranks of The Royal Ballet Company to first soloist.

The firm continues to support Reece as he dances around the world and had also previously backed his brothers when they were dancing profession­ally. Reece said:

“When we started talking through this project and heard that the seed potatoes go to sleep, The Sleeping Beauty was the natural choice to help tell the story.

“Everyone knows it, it’s super fun to dance and it’s always one of the highlights of our yearly programme of performanc­es.

“It was a new and interestin­g challenge to perform in a potato factory in 30- degree heat, but we’re very happy with the finished piece.

“This has obviously been a challengin­g year for the arts, so to receive Albert Bartlett’s ongoing support is very important to me.

“It’s been an interestin­g six months adjusting to rehearsing at home and performing on Youtube, rather than in front of an audience, but knowing I’ve got the business in my corner has made it easier so I’m very fortunate.

“We’re now looking forward to returning to performing in front of a live audience in the near future.”

Michael Jar vis, head of marketing at Albert Bartlett, added: “We put a lot of care and attention into our precious little Jersey Royals, and since this is the time when we put them to sleep for a few months before they are planted, we thought we’d show them some extra love with this video.

“Both Reece and our Jerseys are very important to us, so it’s nice to able to combine the two of them in such a fun and entertaini­ng way.

“It’s been wonderful watching Reece’s journey from our shared home town of Airdrie all the way to the top of The Royal Ballet Company, and we’re very proud to continue our support for him, particular­ly at a time when the arts are under extra pressure.

“Both he and Fumi have adapted brilliantl­y to the challenges this year has thrown at them and we’re very grateful to them for taking the time to help us with this project.

“Their performanc­e is stunning. Stay tuned for part two when we wake our own Sleeping Beauties up again.”

To view the video, visit https:// www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1 2030714300­85743&extid=kex6so XPXHU4PIMX

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