From Havana to Hertfordshire
Corinna Chute, manager of Berkhamsted’s Vyne Theatre, who has lived a life that revolved around dance, is bringing world-class performances to the community, inspiring new generations to devote their lives to the arts.
The Vyne Theatre’s dynamic manager Corinna Chute admits her eagerness to ‘go it alone’ has got her into trouble since childhood, but she has no regrets about her tenacity to transform a disused Berkhamsted warehouse into a home for world-class performances.
‘Suffice to say, I wouldn’t have the energy or courage to take such risks again but with respect to the hours of exhaustive work that have been necessary to get where we are now, it’s all worth it to see the results,’ she tells Living.
Born in London, Corinna was the third of six children. ‘As Shell Babies [children of a parent who works for Shell overseas. They grow up constantly moving around the world on 2-4 year placements and attend boarding schools in the UK once they are old enough] we travelled around the world for most of our youth to places like Trinidad, Brazil, Thailand and Turkey. I started ballet at the age of three and went to Elmhurst Ballet School at age 11 and then on to the Royal Ballet School when I was 16.
‘Always a rebel, I have great sympathy with my teachers, but at a young age I loved challenges. My artistic life began at the age of 18 when I took my first dancing job in Italy where I worked in operetta, and then in musical theatre and TV.
‘Fast-forward a few years and I joined a jazz company in Holland for a year before starting my own contemporary dance company, Serein, aged 25. At that point I also began teaching at colleges in order to fund the costs of the company tours.
‘Since moving to this area from Cuba, the past 25 years of my life have been involved with developing a space that is inclusive to all ages. My particular interest is to provide the local community with exceptional quality in creative and cultural experience, while delivering training and education in all forms of performing arts. And finally, to encourage young students to embrace as many forms of the arts as possible, leaving the door open to find new forms of expression through creativity.’
In 2012, The Vyne Theatre officially opened to the public in Northbridge Road with inhouse and visiting productions from both community and touring theatre companies. The warehouse on an industrial estate had become a fully equipped working theatre with top-of-the-range lighting and sound equipment ensuring the highest-quality technical environment for visiting artists.
The theatre is home to the artsLIVE Cinema Screening Programme, with world-class performances being transmitted by satellite from all over the globe.
‘The quality and diversity of the transmissions is truly exceptional, bringing us great pride in being part of the international arts cinema network, ‘Corinna says, adding, ‘we are also proud to provide world-class on-stage performances for the local community with visiting artists from the world of international dance, music and theatre.’
The metamorphosis of an abandoned building into The Vyne Theatre would not have happened if Corinna had stayed in Cuba. She became the European promoter for the Cuballet International Dance Course from 1983-88 while living in The Hague, marking the beginning of a long-standing relationship with the Cuban dance world, which has remained with her throughout her career. She moved to the Cuban capital of Havana in 1989.
She explains: ‘During my 10 years in Cuba, I began working for Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club as tour manager for Chucho Valdes, the worldrenowned pianist, and most of the large salsa bands that were breaking into the European music scene and performing at Ronnies.
‘My work included opportunities such as narrating for documentary films, film fixing for visiting Olympic sports stars, planning schedules for musicians such as Jools Holland, and organising the initial recordings of the Buena Vista Social Club before their fame as Grammy Award winners.’
Corinna returned to the UK with her son James Espinosa in 2000 when he received a scholarship to Tring Park School for the Performing Arts. Corinna combined teaching adult dance in Victoria Hall and Silk Mill, Tring, with working as a bookkeeper.