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(Redirected from Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet) UK ballet company

Birmingham Royal Ballet
General information
NameBirmingham Royal Ballet
Previous names
  • Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet
  • Royal Ballet Touring Group
  • Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet
Year founded1946 (1946)
FounderDame Ninette de Valois
Founding artistic directorJohn Field
Director LaureateSir Peter Wright
Principal venueBirmingham Hippodrome
Hurst Street, Birmingham
England, B5 4TB
Websitebrb.org.uk
Senior staff
Chief ExecutiveCaroline Miller
DirectorCarlos Acosta
Assistant DirectorDominic Antonucci
Company managerTristan Rusdale
Ballet StaffMarion Tait, Patricia Tierney, Laëtitia Lo Sardo
Other
Sister companyThe Royal Ballet
OrchestraRoyal Ballet Sinfonia
Official schoolThe Royal Ballet School
Formation
  • Principal Guest Artist
  • Principal
  • Principal Character Artist
  • First Soloist
  • Soloist
  • First Artist
  • Artist
  • Apprentice
  • BRB2

Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the company was established in 1946 as a sister company to the earlier Sadler's Wells company, which moved to the Royal Opera House that same year, subsequently becoming known as The Royal Ballet.

The new company was formed under the direction of John Field and remained at Sadler's Wells for many years, becoming known as the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet in 1977. It also toured the UK and abroad, before relocating to Birmingham in 1990, where it uses the Birmingham Hippodrome stage when performing in the city. Birmingham Royal Ballet has extensive custom-built facilities, including a suite of dance studios, the Jerwood Centre for the Prevention and Treatment of Dance Injuries and a studio theatre known as the Patrick Centre. In 1997, the Birmingham Royal Ballet became independent of The Royal Ballet in London.

History

In 1926, the Irish-born dancer Ninette de Valois founded the Academy of Choreographic Art, a dance school for girls. Her intention was to form a repertory ballet company and school, leading her to collaborate with the English theatrical producer and theatre owner Lilian Baylis. Baylis owned the Old Vic and Sadler's Wells theatres, and in 1925, she engaged de Valois to stage dance performances at both venues.

Sadler's Wells reopened in 1931, and the Vic-Wells Ballet and Vic-Wells Ballet School were established in premises at the theatre. These would become the predecessors of today's Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Royal Ballet School.

In 1939, the company lost its link with the Old Vic theatre, and in 1940, Sadler's Wells theatre was bombed during World War II. These events forced the company to begin touring the country, becoming known as the Sadler's Wells Ballet. The company did return to Sadler's Wells theatre, where it stayed until 1946, when the company was invited to become the resident ballet company of the newly re-opened Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. The company relocated to the opera house the same year in 1946, with their first production at the venue being Ninette de Valois' staging of The Sleeping Beauty.

Birmingham Royal Ballet performing E=MC2 in Tokyo in 2011

Following the relocation of the company, the school was relocated to its own premises in 1947, and a sister company was established to continue performances at Sadler's Wells, called Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet. This sister company would become the predecessor of today's Birmingham Royal Ballet. The first Artistic Director of the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet was John Field, who was later made co-director of the Royal Ballet and also worked as artistic director of La Scala Theatre Ballet and English National Ballet.

In 1955, Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet temporarily lost its link with Sadler's Wells theatre and relocated to the Royal Opera House as a touring unit of the main company.

In 1956, a royal charter was granted for both companies and the school, and they were subsequently renamed the Royal Ballet, Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet and the Royal Ballet School.

The Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet returned to Sadler's Wells theatre in 1970, whilst continuing to tour the country. The first indication that the company would leave London came in 1987, when the company was invited to become the resident ballet company at the Birmingham Hippodrome theatre. Consequently, the company relocated to Birmingham in 1990, being given its current name Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Sir Peter Wright was the company's Artistic Director from 1977 until his retirement in 1995, when David Bintley was appointed Artistic Director. In 1997, Birmingham Royal Ballet was made independent of the Royal Ballet and ceased to be managed by the Royal Opera House. In January 2019 it was announced that acclaimed Cuban dancer Carlos Acosta would succeed Bintley as artistic director in January 2020.

Works performed

Table of works performed by Birmingham Royal Ballet
Title Running Time (mins) Choreographer Composer
Agon 28 George Balanchine Igor Stravinsky
All for a Kiss 5 Aonghus Hoole Igor Stravinsky
Apollo 30 George Balanchine Igor Stravinsky
Arthur pt I 60,45 David Bintley John McCabe
Arthur pt II 58,65 David Bintley John McCabe
Avec Moi Ce Soir Glyn Scott Igor Stravinsky
Le Baiser de la fée 45 Michael Corder Igor Stravinsky
Beauty and the Beast 50,50 David Bintley Glenn Buhr
Black Sabbath - The Ballet 30, 30, 30 Pontus Lidberg, Raúl Reinoso & Cassi Abranches Black Sabbath, Christopher Austin, Marko Nyberg & Sun Keting
Bright Young Things 30 Oliver Hindle George Gershwin
Brouillards 37 John Cranko Claude Debussy
Card Game 24 John Cranko Igor Stravinsky
Carmina Burana 67 David Bintley Carl Orff
Carnival of the Animals 25 David Justin, Toby Norman-Wright, Jonathan Payn, Nicole Tongue Camille Saint-Saëns
Checkmate 46 Ninette de Valois Arthur Bliss
Choros 30 David Bintley Aubrey Meyer
Concert Fantasy 30 David Bintley Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Concerto 24 Kenneth MacMillan Dmitri Shostakovich
Concerto Barocco 20 George Balanchine Johann Sebastian Bach
Coppélia 35,28,38 Peter Wright after Marius Petipa & Enrico Cecchetti Léo Delibes
Cyrano 53,33,41 David Bintley Carl Davis
The Dance House 26 David Bintley Dmitri Shostakovich
Danses Concertantes Kit Holder, Glyn Scott, Aonghus Hoole, Kosuke Yamamoto Igor Stravinsky
Dante Sonata 17 Frederick Ashton Franz Liszt arr Constant Lambert
Daphnis et Chloé 55 Frederick Ashton Maurice Ravel
The Dream 54 Frederick Ashton Felix Mendelssohn
Dumbarton Oaks 15 Michael Kopinski Igor Stravinsky
Duo Concertant 17 George Balanchine Igor Stravinsky
Ebony Concerto Samara Downs Igor Stravinsky
Edward II 60,55 David Bintley John McCabe
Elite Syncopations 38 Kenneth MacMillan Scott Joplin et al.
The End of Winter Kosuke Yamamoto Igor Stravinsky
Enigma Variations 34 Frederick Ashton Edward Elgar
Façade 20 Frederick Ashton William Walton
Fancy Free 31 Jerome Robbins Leonard Bernstein
Far from the Madding Crowd 50,40,40 David Bintley Paul Reade
La Fille Mal Gardée 28,34,38 Frederick Ashton Ferdinand Hérold
The Firebird 47 Mikhail Fokine Igor Stravinsky
Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan 8 Frederick Ashton Johannes Brahms
Five Tangos 27 Hans van Manen Ástor Piazzolla
Four Seasons 45 Oliver Hindle, Shimon Kalichman, Mikaela Polley, Samira Saidi, Asier Uriagereka, Richard Whistler, Yuri Zhukov Antonio Vivaldi
The Four Seasons 46 Oliver Hindle Antonio Vivaldi
The Four Temperaments 32 George Balanchine Paul Hindemith
Giselle 55,46 Marius Petipa after Jean Coralli & Jules Perrot Adolphe Adam
Grosse Fuge 27 Hans van Manen Ludwig van Beethoven
Hobson's Choice 34,28,42 David Bintley Paul Reade
In the Upper Room 40 Twyla Tharp Philip Glass
Into the Ferment 25 Jonathan Payn James MacMillan
Krishna 35 Nahid Siddiqui Hariprasad Chaurasia
The Lady and the Fool 48 John Cranko Giuseppe Verdi arr Charles Mackerras
Much A-Dance About Nothing Jenny Murphy Igor Stravinsky
Nine Sinatra Songs 33 Twyla Tharp
The Nutcracker 50,50 Peter Wright, Lev Ivanov, Vincent Redmon Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
The Nutcracker Sweeties 35 David Bintley Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn (after Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky)
Orpheus 30 George Balanchine Igor Stravinsky
The Orpheus Suite 45 David Bintley Colin Towns
Paquita 28 Marius Petipa Ludwig Minkus
Les Petits Riens 25 David Bintley Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Petrushka 38 Michel Fokine Igor Stravinsky
Pictures at an Exhibition 35 Shimon Kalichman, Toby Norman-Wright, Annette Pain, Jonathan Payn, Mikaela Polley, Samira Saidi, Nicole Tongue, Richard Whistler, Asier Uriagereka, Yuri Zhukov Modest Mussorgsky arr Maurice Ravel
Pineapple Poll 41 John Cranko Arthur Sullivan arr Charles Mackerras
The Planets 53 Rosie Kay, David Bintley, Samara Downs, Lei Zhao, Michael Kopinski, Kit Holder, Jenny Murphy Gustav Holst
Powder 33 Stanton Welch Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Prodigal Son 36 George Balanchine Sergey Prokofiev
The Prospect Before Us 38 Ninette de Valois William Boyce arr Constant Lambert
The Protecting Veil 43 David Bintley John Tavener
Pulcinella 40 Kim Brandstrup Igor Stravinsky
Raymonda Act III 34 Rudolf Nureyev Alexander Glazunov
The Rite of Spring 35 Millicent Hodson after Vaslav Nijinsky Igor Stravinsky
Romeo and Juliet 60,34,40 Kenneth MacMillan Sergey Prokofiev
Sanctum 26 Lila York Maurice Ravel & Christopher Rouse
Scènes de Ballet 22 Frederick Ashton Igor Stravinsky
The Seasons 32 David Bintley Giuseppe Verdi
Serenade 34 George Balanchine Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
The Shakespeare Suite 38 David Bintley Duke Ellington & Billy Strayhorn
Slaughter on Tenth Avenue 25 George Balanchine Richard Rodgers
The Sleeping Beauty 34,30,32,39 Marius Petipa, Peter Wright Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Small Worlds Kit Holder Igor Stravinsky
Solitaire 27 Kenneth MacMillan Malcolm Arnold
Song of the Earth 63 Kenneth MacMillan Gustav Mahler
The Sons of Horus 30 David Bintley Peter McGowan
'Still Life' at the Penguin Cafe 42 David Bintley Simon Jeffes
Stravinsky Violin Concerto 20 George Balanchine Igor Stravinsky
Swan Lake 32,32,44,20 Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov & Peter Wright Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Symphonic Variations 21 Frederick Ashton César Franck
Symphony in Three Movements 24 George Balanchine Igor Stravinsky
Take Five 25 David Bintley The Dave Brubeck Quartet transcribed by Colin Towns
Tombeaux 25 David Bintley William Walton
Tweedledum and Tweedledee 5 Frederick Ashton Percy Grainger
The Two Pigeons 27,33 Frederick Ashton André Messager
Unravelled Nathanael Skelton Igor Stravinsky
Voice of Spring 4 Frederick Ashton Johann Strauss II
The Walk to the Paradise Garden 9 Frederick Ashton Frederick Delius
Western Symphony 30 George Balanchine trad American melodies arr by Hershy Kay

The company

The Birmingham Royal Ballet employs 61 dancers and a complete list as of 2024 is shown below.

The company also has an Executive, Artistic and Music staff, including the following:

  • Director – Carlos Acosta, a former dancer with The Royal Ballet and Director of both Birmingham Royal Ballet and Acosta Danza
  • Music Director – Paul Murphy
  • CEO – Caroline Millar


Dancers

Source

Principals

Name Nationality Training Joined BRB Promoted to
Principal
Tzu-Chao Chou  Taiwan Australian Ballet School 2011 2017
Mathias Dingman  United Kingdom Kirov Academy of Ballet 2006 2015
Samara Downs  United Kingdom Royal Ballet School 2003 2016
Céline Gittens  Canada Goh Ballet Academy 2006 2016
Momoko Hirata  Japan Reiko Yamamoto Ballet School
Royal Ballet School
2003 2013
Max Maslen  United Kingdom Central School of Ballet 2012 2023
Miki Mitzutani  Japan English National Ballet School 2012 2022
Lachlan Monaghan  Australia Royal Ballet School 2012 2023
Yaoqian Shang  China Royal Ballet School 2013 2022
Tyrone Singleton  United Kingdom Tring Park School for the Performing Arts
Royal Ballet School
2003 2013

Principal Character Artists

  • Rory Mackay (Assistant Répétiteur)
  • Jonathan Payn (Assistant Répétiteur)

First Soloists

  • Kit Holder (BRB2 Artistic Coordinator)
  • Yvette Knight
  • Yu Kurihara
  • Beatrice Parma

Soloists

  • Yasiel Hodelín Bello
  • Karla Doorbar
  • Riku Ito

First Artists

  • Gabriel Anderson
  • Rosanna Ely
  • Haoliang Feng
  • Reina Fuchigami
  • Sofía Liñares
  • Gus Payne
  • Rachele Pizillo
  • Daria Stanciulescu
  • Lucy Waine

Artists

  • Louis Andreasen
  • Enrique Bejarano Vidal
  • Olivia Chang Clarke
  • Ryan Felix
  • Callum Findlay-White
  • Tori Forsyth-Hecken
  • August Generalli
  • Miles Gilliver
  • Tessa Hogge
  • Isabella Howard
  • Regan Hutsell
  • Ava May Llewellyn
  • Hannah Martin
  • Eric Pinto Cata
  • Matilde Rodrigues
  • Javier Rojas
  • Hamish Scott
  • Eilis Small
  • Yuki Sugiura
  • Lynsey Sutherland
  • Amelia Thompson
  • Shuailun Wu

Apprentices

  • Sofie Walters

BRB2

  • Ariana Allen
  • Jack Easton
  • Alisa Garkavenko
  • Thomas Hazelby
  • Frieda Kaden
  • Mailène Katoch
  • Oscar Kempsey-Fagg
  • Mason King
  • Alexandra Manuel
  • Alfie Shacklock

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ Brown, Mark (15 January 2019). "Carlos Acosta to be Birmingham Royal Ballet director". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
  2. "Acosta Danza Homepage". Acosta Danza. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  3. "Paul Murphy announced as new Music Director". Birmingham Royal Ballet. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  4. "Dancers and Ballet Staff". Birmingham Royal Ballet. Retrieved 12 March 2024.

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