Kevin Patrick O'Hare, CBE, (born 14 September 1965) is a British retired ballet dancer and current Director of The Royal Ballet. He succeeded Monica Mason in the role in 2012.
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Kevin Patrick O'Hare, CBE, (born 14 September 1965) is a British retired ballet dancer and current Director of The Royal Ballet. He succeeded Monica Mason in the role in 2012.
O’Hare was born in Kingston upon Hull [1] to Northern Irish parents, Michael and Vera. He trained locally alongside elder siblings Anne and Michael while attending St Charles's RC Primary School and St Thomas More RC School in Hull.
Early engagements include appearing with his brother Michael in Bugsy Malone . Aged 11 he followed Michael to train at the Royal Ballet School. [2] He trained through the School and on an exchange programme with Royal Danish Ballet. [3] He graduated in 1984 and that year danced Prince Florimund from The Sleeping Beauty with fellow graduate Viviana Durante at the School's annual matinee. [4]
In 1984 O’Hare graduated into Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, joining his brother Michael (who is now Ballet Master of the company). [5] He made his first major role debut as Albrecht in his third year with the company and was promoted to principal in 1988, [4] staying with the company as it relocated to Birmingham in 1987 and became Birmingham Royal Ballet in 1990. [6] His repertoire included classical roles, such as Prince Siegfried ( Swan Lake ), Prince Florimund ( The Sleeping Beauty ), Albrecht ( Giselle ) and Romeo (in BRB's first performance of Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet ). [3] After David Bintley became Artistic Director of the company in 1995, O'Hare created roles in Bintley's ballets Edward II, Far from the Madding Crowd, Carmina Burana and Sylvia. [4]
O’Hare retired as a dancer in 2000. [8] He trained in company management with the Royal Shakespeare Company for nine months [4] and in 2001 returned to Birmingham Royal Ballet as Company Manager. In 2004 he was appointed Company Manager of The Royal Ballet, and in 2009 became Administrative Director of the company. [3] While Administrative Director, O’Hare oversaw the Royal Ballet's first tour to Cuba in 2009 [9] and supported the company's first performances in the O2. [8] It was announced he would succeed Monica Mason as Director of the company in 2011, a post he took over in July 2012. He served on the Board of Governors of the Royal Ballet School 2000–2009. [10]
On his appointment as director O’Hare announced his intention 'to bring together the most talented artists of the 21st century to collaborate on the same stage – world-class dancers, choreographers, designers and musicians', [10] and his commitment to strengthening ties with Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor and incumbent Artistic Associate Christopher Wheeldon. [8] In his first season as director O'Hare appointed Liam Scarlett as the company's first artist in residence. [11] In 2013 O'Hare announced his goal of commissioning a new three-act ballet each year. [12] In 2015 he announced new choreography would be the focus on the 2015/16 season, featuring new works from McGregor, Wheeldon, Scarlett, Will Tuckett and Carlos Acosta, and the launching of the Young Choreographers Programme with inaugural member Charlotte Edmonds. [13]
O'Hare was appointed to the board of Dance UK in 2013, [3] and in 2015 was appointed to the board of Northern Ballet. [1]
In 2017 he was a head of the jury at the Prix de Lausanne ballet competition.
O'Hare was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2018 for services to Dance. [14]
The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca, the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 by artistic director Hope Muir. Renowned for its diverse repertoire, the company performs traditional full-length classics, embraces contemporary work and encourages the creation of new ballets, as well as the development of Canadian dancers and choreographers.
The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in 1931 by Dame Ninette de Valois. It became the resident ballet company of the Royal Opera House in 1946, and has purpose-built facilities within these premises. It was granted a royal charter in 1956, becoming recognised as Britain's flagship ballet company.
The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially for the Royal Ballet and the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet, it is one of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain. English National Ballet is one of the foremost touring companies in Europe, performing in theatres throughout the UK as well as conducting international tours and performing at special events. The Company employs approximately 67 dancers and a symphony orchestra,. In 1984 Peter Schaufuss became director and changed the name to English National Ballet and founded the school English National Ballet School, which is independent from the ballet company but joining the company premises in the new building. The Company regularly performs seasons at the London Coliseum and has been noted for specially staged performances at the Royal Albert Hall. In 2014 English National Ballet became an Associate Company of Sadler's Wells.
Carlos Yunior Acosta Quesada is a Cuban-British ballet director and retired dancer who is director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet. He danced with many companies, including the English National Ballet, National Ballet of Cuba, Houston Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. He was a permanent member of The Royal Ballet from 1998 to 2015. In 2003, he was promoted to principal guest artist, a rank that reduced his commitment, enabling him to concentrate on a growing schedule of international guest appearances and tours. He celebrated his farewell after 17 years at The Royal Ballet, dancing his last performance in November 2015 in Carmen, which he both choreographed and starred in.
Christopher Peter Wheeldon is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet.
Sir Peter Wright CBE is a British ballet teacher, choreographer, director and former professional dancer. He worked as a choreographer and as the artistic director of Birmingham Royal Ballet, a classical ballet company based in Birmingham, England. On retiring from the company in 1995, he was bestowed the honorary title of director laureate of the company.
Leanne Faye Benjamin is a retired Australian ballet dancer who was a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London. She was appointed artistic director at the Queensland Ballet in 2024. She stepped down from the position on 2 August 2024.
Wayne Eagling is a Canadian ballet dancer, now retired. After more than twenty years as a popular member of The Royal Ballet in London, he became well known as an international choreographer and company director.
Sir David Julian Bintley is an English former ballet dancer, the artistic director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, and co-artistic director of the New National Theatre Tokyo ballet company.
Natasha Oughtred is an English ballerina and retired principal dancer with the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
Thiago Soares is a Brazilian ballet dancer and choreographer. He is a former principal dancer with The Royal Ballet in London, and guest principal in other theatres around the world.
Mark Phillip Baldwin OBE is a contemporary dance choreographer. He was born in Fiji and raised and educated in New Zealand. He was the Artistic Director of Rambert dance company from 2002–2018.
Steven McRae is an Australian ballet dancer and tap dancer. He is a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet, London.
Aaron Robison is a British ballet dancer and currently a Principal Dancer with San Francisco Ballet. He was previously a Lead principal dancer with English National Ballet.
Jonathan Cope is a British ballet dancer. He was a principal dancer at The Royal Ballet until his retirement in 2006, then served as a répétiteur with the company until 2019.
Liam Scarlett was a British choreographer who was an artist in residence with The Royal Ballet and artistic associate with Queensland Ballet. He also choreographed new works for Ballet Black, Miami City Ballet, Norwegian National Ballet, the BalletBoyz, English National Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Polish National Ballet, and the Royal Ballet School.
Céline Gittens is a Trinidadian ballerina. She is a principal dancer at the Birmingham Royal Ballet, in Birmingham, England.
William Bracewell is a Welsh ballet dancer. He joined the Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2010, and was named soloist in 2014. In 2017, he joined the Royal Ballet in London, and was promoted to principal dancer in 2022. He is the first Welsh person to hold the position.
Jean-Marc Puissant is a stage and costume designer. curator and consultant for live arts and exhibitions. Based in London, Puissant collaborates with international brands, directors, choreographers and curators in the UK, USA, Europe, Australia and Japan.