English National Ballet
English National Ballet | |
---|---|
General information | |
Name | English National Ballet |
Previous names |
|
Year founded | 1950 |
Founders | |
Principal venue | 41 Hopewell Square London England E14 0SY UK |
Website | www.ballet.org.uk |
Senior staff | |
Chief Executive | Patrick Harrison |
Director | Aaron S. Watkin |
Ballet Staff | Associate Artist Director: Loipa Araújo Executive Ballet Master: Yohei Sasaki Ballet Master and Repetiteur: Antonio Castilla Ballet Mistress: Mayumi Ganley Ballet Master: Laurent Guilbaud Ballet Master: Renato Paroni de Castro Artistic Co-ordinator: Jane Haworth Associate Choreographer: Stina Quagebeur |
Artistic staff | |
Artistic Director | Tamara Rojo |
Music Director | Gavin Sutherland |
Other | |
Official school | English National Ballet School |
Formation | Lead Principal Principal Character Artist First Soloist Soloist Junior Soloist First Artist Artist |
English National Ballet is a
History
This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2020) |
English National Ballet was founded in 1950 as Gala Performances of Ballet by the British dance couple, Alicia Markova and Anton Dolin.[1] The Company later adopted the name Festival Ballet, then London Festival Ballet, and in June 1989, English National Ballet.[2]
Markova and Dolin were leading stars of the
London Festival Ballet was founded in 1950 with the financial backing of the Polish impresario Julian Braunsweg. The name was inspired by the then imminent Festival of Britain, however the company would later be renamed to today's English National Ballet. Dolin was the company's first artistic director and established the company as a touring group both nationally in the UK and Internationally, touring abroad for the first time in 1951. Dolin also introduced a number of educational programs in the early years, designed to make ballet accessible to new audiences. Dolin remained as artistic director until 1962, succeeded by
In 1984 Peter Schaufuss who had won both the Olivier and Evening Standard Awards as a dancer and for his production of La Sylphide with the company, became its director and revitalised the company. During his directorship he succeeded in changing the name to English National Ballet, founding the school, inviting princess Diana as patron and presenting many important choreographers ballets with the company for the first time such as Sir Frederick Ashton, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Christopher Bruce, Michael Clarke, John Neumeier, George Balanchine, Alvin Ailey, Roland Petit, Maurice Bejart, and John Cranko. This period is considered by many the golden age where the company reached a new and higher level.
In 1990 Ivan Nagy became director (until 1993), Derek Deane (until 2001) and Matz Skoog (until 2006) and directed the company before Wayne Eagling, former head of Dutch National Ballet who took over in 2006. In April 2012, following the February sudden announcement of resignation by Eagling, principal dancer for The Royal Ballet Tamara Rojo was announced to become his successor at the end of the 2012 season, in August of that year.[3]
In November 2019, Prince Andrew, who had served as Patron of the English National Ballet since 2001, resigned amid the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.[4]
In January 2022, Rojo announced that she will leave the company at the end of the year to lead the San Francisco Ballet.[5] Aaron S. Watkin, who performed with the company three decades prior, took over as artistic director in August 2023, after his appointment was announced in August 2022.[6]
People
Artistic directors:
- Sir Anton Dolin, 1950–1962
- John Gilpin, 1962–1968
- Dame Beryl Grey, 1968–1979
- John Field, 1979–1984
- Peter Schaufuss, 1984–1990
- Ivan Nagy, 1990–1993
- Derek Deane, 1993–2001
- Matz Skoog, 2001–2006
- Wayne Eagling, 2006–2012
- Tamara Rojo,[7] 2012–2022
- Aaron S. Watkin, 2023–[6]
Dancers
The company's dancers are listed on the official website with photographs and linked biographies.[8]
Lead principals
Name | Nationality | Training | Joined ENB |
---|---|---|---|
Francesco Gabriele Frola | Italy | School of the Hamburg Ballet | 2018 |
Sangeun Lee | South Korea | 2023 | |
Fernanda Oliveira | Brazil | Centro de Dança, Rio de Janeiro Royal Ballet School |
2000 |
Erina Takahashi | Japan | Kushiro Ballet Academy English National Ballet School |
1996 |
Emma Hawes | USA | 2018 | |
Aitor Arrieta | Spain | 2016 | |
Shiori Kase | Japan | Hirose Kato Ballet School Royal Ballet School |
2009 |
Notable productions
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Rudolf Nureyev's production of Romeo & Juliet was especially created for the English National Ballet (then the London Festival Ballet) in 1977 to celebrate the Queen's Silver Jubilee. ENB gave the world premieres of Christopher Bruce's Land, The World Again, Swansong and Symphony in Three Movements.
English National Ballet commissioned Akram Khan, who had never worked with any ballet companies before, to create a one-act ballet about World War I. His ballet, titled Dust, premiered in 2014 and receive.[9] It was brought to Glastonbury Festival later that year, making it English National Ballet's debut at Glastonbury.[10]
In 2016, English National Ballet presented She Said, an all-female choreographer mixed bill, which includes Annabelle Lopez Ochoa's Broken Wings, which was based on Frida Kahlo's life.[11]
References
- ^ "The Company". English National Ballet. 5 January 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ "1950". History. English National Ballet. 6 January 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ Brown, Mark (13 April 2012). "Tamara Rojo to be artistic director of English National Ballet". The Guardian. London.
- ^ Snow, Georgia (22 November 2019). "English National Ballet severs ties with Prince Andrew". The Stage. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
- ^ Sulcas, Roslyn (11 January 2022). "San Francisco Ballet Appoints Tamara Rojo to Artistic Director". The New York Times.
- ^ a b Winship, Lyndsey (24 August 2022). "English National Ballet announces Aaron Watkin as new artistic director". The Guardian.
- ^ "English National Ballet announces Tamara Rojo as its new Artistic Director". Ballet News. 13 April 2012. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
- ^ "English National Ballet | Dancers". English National Ballet. English National Ballet. 25 November 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
- ^ Mackrell, Judith (3 April 2020). "English National Ballet: Lest We Forget review – Compelling quartet on war". The Guardian.
- ^ Savage, Mark (29 June 2014). "Ballet makes Glastonbury debut". BBC News.
- ^ Mackrell, Judith (14 April 2016). "English National Ballet: She Said review – Frida Kahlo and fantastic beasts in mixed evening". The Guardian.