THERE are an emotional few weeks in store for all those connected with Northern Ballet Theatre.

For the company, which Yorkshire has taken to its heart, is celebrating its 40th anniversary and doing it in the only way that you would expect – in style.

Northern Ballet Theatre was founded in Manchester in 1969 and was the first English ballet company to be based outside London.

Its first performance was at Manchester’s University Theatre 40 years ago tomorrow. Then, there were just 11 dancers in the company.

Today Northern Ballet Theatre has 40 dancers and an orchestra of 27 musicians who tour for 30 weeks of the year, performing to audiences throughout the UK and overseas.

There will be great celebrations and great reunions next weekend when faces from the company’s past gather to make this a very special Christmas for this much-loved company.

Artistic director David Nixon has judged the moment perfectly by reworking A Christmas Carol with a galaxy of dancers returning to the company.

Graciela Kaplan is a former prima ballerina with the company who now lives in Holmfirth, where she teaches Pilates.

She is one of those delighted to be back with the company – for one night only.

Graciela will play one of the three hags in the show. She can’t wait to get back among fellow dancers and in front of the Grand Theatre audience in Leeds.

The special alumni performance is on December 5 at 7pm.

NBT was overwhelmed by the response from former company members wanting to take part.

More than 35 dancers got in touch wanting to be involved. The ballet was created in 1992 and the dancers returning to perform with NBT are taking up roles they made their own during their career with the company. Some are original cast members.

This will be the first time many have put on pointe shoes or danced on stage professionally for some time.

Those joining Graciela in this very special show are Jeremy Kerridge as Scrooge, William Walker as Bob Cratchit, Polly Benge as Mrs Cratchit, Viki Westall as the Nephew’s wife, Shannon Parker as Belle, Omar Gordon as Young Scrooge, Matthew Hunt as Mr Fezziwig, Fiona Beale as Mrs Fezziwig, Charlotte Talbot and Chiaki Nagao as the Hags, Lynsey and Simon Kidd as the tavern pas de deux, Lorena Vidal as the Ghost of Christmas Past and David Kierce as the Ghost of Christmas Present, plus Steven Wheeler as the Ghost of Christmas Future.

And to follow that, NBT has brought together some of the top companies in the ballet world for a gala night which will help raise funds for the company’s next 40 years.

That future includes a new centre of excellence for dance which the company will share with another Leeds-based company, Phoenix Dance. It is due to open next summer.

Their new headquarters on Quarry Hill in central Leeds will be the largest purpose-built space for dance outside London.

The line-up for the gala, which is at the Grand Theatre in Leeds on December 12, include artists from the UK and Europe, all wanting to pay tribute to NBT’s award winning achievements over four decades.

Performers will arrive from the royal Ballet, from Birmingham Royal Ballet whose artistic director is Huddersfield-born David Bintley, from Rambert, from the Stuttgart Ballet, from the Ballet of Monte Carlo, from Phoenix Dance and from English National Ballet.

Eva Kolarova and Ramy Tadrous-Zaky from Ballet du Rhin will perform In the Mood for Love to music by Beethoven.

Nao Sakuma and Joseph Caley from Birmingham Royal Ballet will perform a pas de deux from The Seasons, with choreography by David Bintley and music by Verdi.

English National Ballet’s Vadim Muntagirov and Shiori Kase will perform an extract from Le Corsaire.

Noelani Pantastico and Asier Uriagereka from Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo will perform the Act 1 Balcony pas de deux from Romeo and Juliet.

Phoenix Dance Theatre presents Fast Lane, Sharon Watson’s first choreographic work since becoming artistic director. Josh Wille, Azzurra Ardovini, Philip Sanger, Amanda Lewis and Judith Clijsters will perform to music by Peter S Jones.

Rambert Dance Company presents an excerpt from A Linha Curva which made its UK première as part of the Sadler’s Wells spring season. Estela Merlos, Robin Gladwin, Miguel Altunaga, Jonathan Goddard, Thomasin Gulgec and Eryck Brahmania will dance Itzik Galili’s choreography.

The Royal Ballet’s principal dancers Leanne Benjamin and Edward Watson will perform a pas de deux from Kenneth McMillan’s Manon to music by Massenet.

Stuttgart Ballet’s first soloists Sue Jin Kang and Filip Barankiewicz will perform the Taming of the Shrew.

Northern Ballet’s own contribution will include two new works, On Such a Night choreographed especially for the Gala by choreographic legend Gillian Lynne to music by Stephen Sondheim; and Powerhouse Rhumba by NBT’s artistic director David Nixon to music by Graham Koehne.

NBT will also perform Ossein by Wayne McGregor, associate artist of the Royal Opera House and artistic director of Random Dance Company to music by Bach.

Tickets on the Grand Theatre’s box office on 0844 848 2701 or on-line at www.leedsgrandtheatre.com