THE CREATIVE TEAM

Peter Wright made his debut as a dancer with the Ballets Jooss during World War II and in the 1950s worked with several dance companies, including the Sadler’s Wells Theatre Ballet, for which he created his first ballet, A Blue Rose, in 1957.

In 1959 he was appointed Ballet Master to the Sadler’s Wells Opera and teacher at The Royal Ballet School. In 1961 he went to Stuttgart as a teacher and ballet master to the company being formed by John Cranko. There he choreographed several ballets and mounted his first production of Giselle, which he has subsequently produced for The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and many international companies. His other interpretations of the classics include The Sleeping Beauty, Coppélia and Swan Lake feature regularly in opera houses throughout the world.

In 1977 he was appointed Director of Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet, taking the Company to Birmingham in 1990 when it became Birmingham Royal Ballet. On his retirement in 1995 he was made Director Laureate of the Company.

In 1990 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from London University, the University of Birmingham conferred on him the title of Special Professor of Performance Studies, and he was presented with the Elizabeth II Coronation Award from the Royal Academy of Dancing. In 1991 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. He was awarded a knighthood in the 1993 Queen’s birthday honours list, in 1994 an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Birmingham and the Critics’ Circle Award 1995 for Distinguished Services to the Arts. He is president of the Benesh Institute and a vice president of The Royal Academy of Dancing, the Myasthenia Gravis Association and Elmhurst Ballet School.

In 2022 BRB celebrated the announcement of Sir Peter’s new title as Founding Director Laureate of Birmingham Royal Ballet, recognising his bold vision to move Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet to Birmingham in 1990.

Galina Samsova

The late Galina Samsova was born in Stalingrad and began her career with Ukrainian ballet in Kiev. She joined the National Ballet of Canada and then London Festival Ballet as a Principal. Later she and André Prokovsky formed their own small company, the New London Ballet, which toured to five continents with a repertory consisting mostly of specially created works. She first danced as a guest with Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet in 1978 and joined as a Principal and teacher in 1980. Her roles included Lise (La Fille mal gardée), the title roles in Giselle, Raymonda Act III and Papillon, Eldest Sister (Las Hermanas), the Bride (La Fête étrange) and roles in Concerto and Les Sylphides. In 1980 she produced the grand pas from Paquita for the Company, dancing the leading role. In 1981 she collaborated with Peter Wright on Swan Lake, also dancing Odette/Odile at the first performance. She created roles in MacMillan’s Quartet, Prokovsky’s Vocalise Opus 34 and the Woman in Seymour’s Intimate Letters. She appeared as Carabosse in SWRB’s first performance of its current production of The Sleeping Beauty. She was Artistic Director of Scottish Ballet (1990-97).

Peter Teigen

Peter Teigen was born in Oslo. He was lighting designer for London City Ballet during the 1990s, working with choreographers including Baldwin, Gable and Samsova, and as a freelance lighting designer for Bourne, Corder and Page, among others. He has lit many ballets for Birmingham Royal Ballet, including David Bintley’s The Prince of the Pagodas, Daniela Cardim’s Imminent and Will Tuckett’s Lazuli Sky. Engagements elsewhere include Sir Peter Wright’s Swan Lake for Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires, and productions with New National Theatre, Tokyo, Australian Ballet Theatre and Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe.

Technical credits

Scenery, costumes, props, millinery, jewellery, wigs

Royal Opera House Production Department

Additional scenery painting Richard Nutbourne

Additional costumes Jenny Adey, Keith Bish, Debbie Boyd, June Callear, Jay Francois Campbell, Gordon Garforth, Anna Maria Geniuse, Robert Gordon, Trisha Hopkins, Sue Pearl, Paula Roco, Lori Wilson-Blakely, Webb Costumiers

Additional dyeing Sheila White

Revival costume supervision Birmingham Royal Ballet Costume department

Philip Prowse

Philip Prowse has worked in theatre as a designer since 1961 and as a director and designer since 1972. From 1970 to 2003 he was a Director of the Glasgow Citizens Theatre and from 1995 to 2003 he taught Theatre Design at the Slade School of Fine Art. He was appointed Professor in 1995 and Professor Emeritus in 2003. His designs for Swan Lake and The Sleeping Beauty have remained popular features of the Company’s repertory and his collaborations with Birmingham Royal Ballet include David Bintley’s Carmina burana and Beauty and the Beast.

LAËTITIA LO SARDO M.A. PDPTC (RAD)

Trained in Marseille, France, Laëtitia won the Prix de Lausanne in 1996 and received a scholarship for The Royal Ballet School. She joined Birmingham Royal Ballet in 1997 where she spent her dancing career, going through the ranks to First Soloist. She danced many soloist and principal roles, including the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Swanilda in Coppélia, Aurora and the Bluebird pas de deux in The Sleeping Beauty, the Young Girl in Two Pigeons, Waltz in Serenade and Calliope in Apollo. Whilst dancing, she completed an M.A. in Applied Studies in Dance with Birmingham University and taught at Elmhurst Ballet School, for BRB’s LEAP Department and the Centre for Advanced Training. In 2013, she assisted Ballet Mistress Marion Tait in rehearsing BRB’s production of Giselle. In 2014, Laëtitia became a freelance ballet teacher and in 2019, she graduated from the RAD’s Professional Dancers’ Post Graduate Certificate with Distinction. She has taught for Elmhurst Ballet School, Blommaert Ballet School, British Ballet Organisation, Fabric and as guest teacher for Denada Dance Company and Kings International Ballet Academy. Recently, she also directed and choreographed her own Nutcracker for Ballet Academy Cymru.