Scottish Ballet

Last updated

Scottish Ballet
Scottish Ballet logo, green.jpg
General information
NameScottish Ballet
Previous names
  • Scottish Theatre Ballet
  • Western Theatre Ballet
Year founded1969
Founders
Principal venue Tramway Arts Centre, Glasgow
Website www.scottishballet.co.uk
Senior staff
DirectorChristopher Hampson
Inscription on wall of the Scottish Ballet building in Glasgow Inscription on wall of the Scottish Ballet building in Glasgow.jpg
Inscription on wall of the Scottish Ballet building in Glasgow

Scottish Ballet is the national ballet company of Scotland and one of the five leading ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet. Founded in 1969, [1] the company is based in Glasgow, the resident ballet company at the Glasgow Theatre Royal and from 2009 in their purpose-built ballet centre in Tramway Arts Centre, Glasgow. [2]

Contents

History

Scottish Ballet is Scotland's national dance company. Its primary aim is to provide programmes of world-class dance performance and educational activity at all scales. Scottish Ballet presents a wide range of dance to audiences across Scotland, the UK and abroad – and employs 36 professional dancers, 41 staff and a part-time freelance orchestra of up to 70 musicians.

Founded by Peter Darrell and Elizabeth West as the Western Theatre Ballet in Bristol in 1957, [1] the company moved to Glasgow in 1969 and was renamed Scottish Theatre Ballet, changing to Scottish Ballet in 1974. A year later its home theatre became the Theatre Royal, Glasgow when Scottish Opera bought it and transformed it as the first national opera house in Scotland. The Company performs across Scotland, the UK and abroad, with strong classical technique at the root of all of its work. Its broad repertory includes new versions of the classics, seminal pieces from the 20th century modern ballet canon, signature pieces by living choreographers and new commissions. As a national company, Scottish Ballet performs at theatres in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness and in smaller venues throughout Scotland. The company's long history of touring internationally includes visits to China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Portugal, Ireland and the rest of the UK. Scottish Ballet's many recent awards include the 2004 TMA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance in recognition of its modernisation programme and dynamic performances. Scottish Ballet's current artistic director Christopher Hampson joined the company in 2012.

Scottish Ballet's 50th anniversary year Scottish Ballet's 50th anniversary year (47972126966) (cropped).jpg
Scottish Ballet's 50th anniversary year

The company provides dance classes and a variety of education initiatives, including work with children and adults of all ages and abilities, and the Associate Programme which encourages aspiring young dancers to train for a career in the industry. Scottish Ballet also has close links with Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, partnering the BA Modern Ballet and M.Mus. (Pianist for Dance) degree courses.

Scottish Ballet was the first dance company in Europe to offer live audio description for the visually impaired, and maintains a programme of regular audio described performances throughout Scotland. [3] Scottish Ballet won the Stef Stefanou Award for Outstanding Company in the 2023 National Dance Awards. [4]

Repertoire

Scottish Ballet presents a broad repertoire, ranging from new versions of the classics (The Nutcracker, Cinderella), 20th century modern ballet repertoire (work by George Balanchine, Frederick Ashton), work by living choreographers (William Forsythe, Hans van Manen, Siobhan Davies) and new commissions (David Dawson, Helen Pickett, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa).

Current repertoire:

[3]

Headquarters

In June 2009 Scottish Ballet moved to new, purpose-built premises in Glasgow's Southside, next to the Tramway Theatre, [2] which had been designed by Malcolm Fraser Architects. [6] [7]

Dancers

Principals

Soloists

First Artists

Artists

Notable former dancers

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edinburgh International Festival</span> Scottish annual performing arts festival

The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music and the performing arts are invited to join the festival. Visual art exhibitions, talks and workshops are also hosted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darcey Bussell</span> British ballerina and television personality (born 1969)

Dame Darcey Andrea Bussell, is a retired English ballerina and a former judge on the BBC television dance contest Strictly Come Dancing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theatre Royal, Newcastle</span>

The Theatre Royal is a historic theatre, a Grade I listed building situated on Grey Street in Newcastle upon Tyne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Royal Ballet</span> Ballet company in the United Kingdom

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Royal Ballet School</span> Classical ballet training facility in London

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Darrell</span> British ballet dancer and choreographer

Peter Darrell was an English ballet dancer, choreographer, and founder of the Scottish Ballet. For almost four decades Darrell was one of the most productive and imaginative talents in British ballet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Citizens Theatre</span> Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland

The Citizens Theatre, in what was the Royal Princess's Theatre, is the creation of James Bridie and playwright in residence Paul Vincent Carroll is based in Glasgow, Scotland, as a principal producing theatre. The theatre includes a 500-seat Main Auditorium, and has also included various studio theatres over time.

The city of Glasgow, Scotland, has many amenities for a wide range of cultural activities, from curling to opera and from football to art appreciation; it also has a large selection of museums that include those devoted to transport, religion, and modern art. In 2009 Glasgow was awarded the title UNESCO Creative City of Music in recognition of its vibrant live music scene and its distinguished heritage. Glasgow has three major universities, each involved in creative and literary arts, and the city has the largest public reference library in Europe in the form of the Mitchell Library. Scotland's largest newspapers and national television and radio companies are based in the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theatre Royal, Glasgow</span>

The Theatre Royal is the oldest theatre in Glasgow and the longest running in Scotland. Located at 282 Hope Street, its front door was originally round the corner in Cowcaddens Street. It currently accommodates 1,541 people and is owned by Scottish Opera. The theatre opened in 1867, adopting the name Theatre Royal two years later. It is also the birthplace of Howard & Wyndham Ltd, owners and managers of theatres in Scotland and England until the 1970s, created by its chairman Baillie Michael Simons in 1895. It was Simons who as a cultural entrepreneur of his day also promoted the building of Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and Glasgow's International Exhibitions of 1888 and 1901.

The Young British Dancer of the Year Competition began in 2000. It is held annually at the Royal Ballet School, London and the Linbury Studio Theatre, Covent Garden. The competition is open to young British and British-trained classical dancers. The first prize is £3000, second prize £2000 and third prize £1000.

Peter Royston is an English dancer, choreographer, teacher and director. He was a successful dancer, but his success increased after he began choreographing new works.

The Atlantic Ballet Theatre of Canada is a professional award-winning touring ballet company based in Moncton, New Brunswick. Founded in 2002 by Susan Chalmers-Gauvin, CEO, and Artistic Director Igor Dobrovolskiy, Ballet-théâtre atlantique du Canada/ The Atlantic Ballet Theatre Of Canada presents a diverse collection of original full-length narrative ballets and short works which explore contemporary themes within the classical genre. Each work is conceived and choreographed by Dobrovolskiy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">English National Ballet School</span> Independent further education school in London, England

English National Ballet School is a specialist classical ballet school based in London in the United Kingdom. The School was founded in 1988 by Peter Schaufuss as the official school of English National Ballet. The School's current artistic director is Lynne Charles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Morris (dancer)</span> British dancer, choreographer, artist and teacher (1891–1980)

Margaret Morris was a British dancer, choreographer, artist and teacher. She founded the Margaret Morris Movement, Celtic Ballet and two Scottish National Ballets in Glasgow (1947) and in Pitlochry (1960). Morris devised a system of movement notation, which was first published in 1928.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tramway (arts centre)</span>

Tramway is a contemporary visual and performing arts venue located in the Scottish city of Glasgow. Based in a former tram depot in the Pollokshields area of the South Side, it consists of two performance spaces and two galleries, as well as offering facilities for community and artistic projects. The Hidden Gardens is situated behind Tramway. The new extension to Tramway is the home of the Scottish Ballet, and is claimed to be one of the leading venues of its type in Europe.

Leigh Alderson is a male ballet dancer, model and actor from Portadown, Northern Ireland.

Didy Veldman is a Dutch choreographer. She trained at the Scapino Academy in Amsterdam. She has danced with Scapino Ballet, Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève and Rambert Dance Company, working with international choreographers such as Jiri Kylian, Mats Ek, Ohad Naharin and Christopher Bruce, among others.

The National Dance Awards 2003, were organised and presented by The Critics' Circle, and were awarded to recognise excellence in professional dance in the United Kingdom. The ceremony was held at Sadler's Wells Theatre, London, on 13 January 2004, with awards given for productions staged in the previous year.

International Ballet was a British ballet company that operated, with great success, between 1941 and 1953. Its director throughout its existence was Mona Inglesby, who was also its principal ballerina. Although it was Britain's largest ballet company during the war years, and performed to an audience of between one and two million in wartime Britain and between ten and twenty million in its twelve-year life, its contribution to the growth of British ballet has been largely overshadowed by that of the other four ballet companies that were operating in 1953. All are state subsidised, and are still operating: Sadler's Wells Ballet, Ballet Rambert, Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet now, and the newly formed Festival Ballet.

Joburg Ballet is a ballet dance company based within the Joburg Theatre, Johannesburg, South Africa. Joburg Ballet was formerly known as the South African Ballet Theatre (SABT). The company was formed in 2001 by six dancers who were retrenched by PACT Ballet. The company has been invited to perform in Russia in 2006 and has had exchange programmes with the Royal Swedish Ballet, the Royal Danish Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada, the Paris Opera and the San Francisco Ballet.

References

  1. 1 2 scottishballet.co.uk. Scottish Ballet. 29 April 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Scottish Ballet shifts base to Tramway hub". Daily Record . 17 July 2009. Archived from the original on 15 May 2014.
  3. 1 2 "Our Legacy - Scottish Ballet". Scottish Ballet. 29 April 2020.
  4. "National Dance Awards 2023 - the Royal Ballet School". 7 June 2023.
  5. "The Snow Queen". 22 July 2021.
  6. Bradbury, Dominic (1 January 2007). "A dance to the music of light". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 15 May 2014.
  7. "Our Building - Scottish Ballet". Scottish Ballet. 30 April 2020.
  8. "Jessica Fyfe - Scottish Ballet". scottishballet.co.uk. Retrieved 19 January 2025.
  9. "Marge Hendrick - Scottish Ballet".
  10. "Roseanna Leney - Scottish Ballet".
  11. "Evan Loudon - Scottish Ballet".
  12. "Bruno Micchiardi - Scottish Ballet".
  13. "Javier Andreu - Scottish Ballet".
  14. "Thomas Edwards - Scottish Ballet".
  15. "Grace Horler - Scottish Ballet".
  16. "Yuri Marques - Scottish Ballet".
  17. "Rimbaud Patron - Scottish Ballet".
  18. "Melissa Polson - Scottish Ballet".
  19. "Gina Scott - Scottish Ballet".
  20. "Claire Souet - Scottish Ballet".
  21. Lee, Jenny (2 November 2017). "Co Armagh ballet dancer Leigh Alderson makes Irish stage return in Romeo & Juliet". The Irish News. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  22. "ENB's principal dancer to retire". BBC News. 3 February 2014. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  23. "OBE for ballet dancer". The Herald. 14 December 1997. Archived from the original on 13 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.

Sources