Scottish Ballet
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Scottish Ballet is Scotland's national ballet company, based in Glasgow.
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[edit] History
Founded by Peter Darrell and Elizabeth West as Western Theatre Ballet in Bristol in 1957, the Company moved to Glasgow in 1969 and was renamed Scottish Theatre Ballet, changing to Scottish Ballet in 1974.
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 version of the classics, seminal pieces from the 20th century modern ballet canon, signature pieces by living choreographers and new commissions. As a truly 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 Artistic Director, Ashley Page was also awarded OBE for services to dance in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2006.
Its education initiatives and classes include work with people of all ages and abilities and its Associate Programme encourages young dancers to train for a career in the industry. As part of this commitment to broadening audiences, Scottish Ballet was the first dance company in the UK to offer live audio-description for the visually impaired; it maintains a programme of regular audio-described performances today.
[edit] Repertoire
The Company has a broad repertoire, encompassing classical ballet, contemporary dance and new versions of classic full-length ballets. From the esteemed work of George Balanchine to world premières by Stephen Petronio, Scottish Ballet's repertoire covers an impressive range.
2003 saw the Company reborn under the artistic direction of Ashley Page. That year, the Company's Autumn Season was a mixed bill comprising Richard Alston's Dangerous Liaisons, Stephen Petronio's arresting Middlesexgorge and Siobhan Davies' White Man Sleeps. In addition to this, three short works by Ashley Page appeared on the bill: Cheating, Lying, Stealing, Walking In The Heat and Acrid Avid Jam, all of which were created during his time at the Royal Ballet. In Christmas 2003, Page unveiled his first new work created on Scottish Ballet: The Nutcracker. A vibrant re-working of the classic festive ballet, it wowed both audiences and critics, provoking such reviews as "To say Scottish Ballet is a phoenix risen from the ashes would be something of an understatement… Scottish Ballet was reborn" (The Scotsman) and "This is still such stuff as dreams are made on" (Daily Mail).
Further recognition of Scottish Ballet's talent came when they were granted permission to perform work by esteemed choreographer and founder of the New York City Ballet, George Balanchine. In Spring 2004, the Company performed The Four Temperaments to critical acclaim. In Autumn 2004, Ashley Page premièred his first short work created on the Company: Nightswimming into day, and the year came to an end with a reprise of The Nutcracker.
In 2005, Ashley Page created another short piece on Scottish Ballet, a strikingly modern piece called The Pump Room, set to pulsating music by Aphex Twin. This piece was premiered during Spring Season. In August 2005, Scottish Ballet was invited to perform at the prestigious Edinburgh International Festival. The Company presented an all Balanchine programme, featuring Apollo, Episodes and Rubies which exposed the Company to an international audience. The programme was a hit and the Company was invited to perform again in 2006 and 2007.
Christmas 2005 saw the world première of Ashley Page's Cinderella. Peppered with the same dark humour, choreographic invention and post-modern twists as The Nutcracker, it was hugely successful and toured throughout Scotland. It also saw the Company perform at Sadler's Wells in London for the first time in many years in March 2006.
2006 was another great year for the Company. The Spring triple bill, comprising Balanchine's Episodes, William Forsythe's Artifact Suite and a reprise of Middlesexgorge, was well received, and performances at EIF 2006 received rave reviews, with particular acclaim for Jerome Robbins' Afternoon Of A Faun. Scottish Ballet also embarked on a small scale Autumn Tour which saw the Company perform in small venues across Scotland, from Ullapool and Elgin to Stranraer, Oban and Galashiels. This mixed bill was mostly made up of short works by Ashley Page, and it also featured the choreographic debut of Diana Loosmore, a dancer with the Company. Her playful contemporary duet Sirocco established her as an exciting new choreographic force, and this talent was recognised when she was named joint winner of the 2007 Peter Darrell Choreographic Award.
[edit] 2007
Spring Season 2007 saw Scottish Ballet perform Balanchine's Agon, Peter Darrell's Othello, Page's Room Of Cooks and Krzysztof Pastr's In Light and Shadow. The performance at Glasgow's Theatre Royal on Friday 13th April was a special gala night to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the death of Scottish Ballet's founder, Peter Darrell, and this bill on this night featured the work of the 2007 Peter Darrell Choreographic Award winners, Diana Loosmore and Vanessa Haska, a choreographer who has worked with Scottish Dance Theatre. Loosmore unveiled new work Chasing Ghosts, while Scottish Dance Theatre performed Haska's dramatic Sorry For The Missiles!, a commentary on the effects of war.
In August, Scottish ballet returned to the Edinburgh International Festival with a striking new triple bill, featuring the Scottish premiere of Page's Oliver Award-winning Fearful Symmetries, esteemed choreographer Trisha Brown's For M.G.: The Movie, and the world première of Stephen Petronio's Ride The Beast. Ride The Beast marked the first piece made on the Company by an outside choreographer since Page was appointed Artistic Director, and the production featured music by Radiohead and costumes by New York designer Benjamin Cho.
The Company is currently rehearsing for the world première of Page's The Sleeping Beauty, opening in Glasgow in December, then touring.
[edit] Future
At the end of 2008, the Company will take up residence at its new purpose-built home as part of the Tramway complex in Glasgow, creating a ballet production and presentation facility of a scale and artistic mix unrivalled in the UK. The move to Tramway yes will enable Scottish Ballet to forge stronger connections to the international arts scene and help to put Scottish dance on the world map in Scotland.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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