BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET: BALLET STAFF

MICHAEL O’HARE SENIOR RÉPÉTITEUR

Born in Hull, Michael O’Hare trained with Louise Browne obe before joining The Royal Ballet School. He joined Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet in 1980, became Principal, 1987, and relocated to Birmingham in 1990. He danced leading classical and character roles in the Company’s repertory for over 20 years and was the first person to perform all three principal male roles in La Fille mal gardée. He has created roles in a number of David Bintley’s ballets, including Hobson’s Choice (Will Mossop), Far from the Madding Crowd (Gabriel Oak), Sylvia (Eros), The Nutcracker Sweeties (Buttons), Flowers of the Forest, Brahms Handel Variations, Choros, The Snow Queen and Carmina burana. He joined the ballet staff in 2002 and was appointed Senior Ballet Master in 2014. He continues to perform character roles, including Widow Simone (La Fille mal gardée), Kostcheï (The Firebird ), Grandfather (The Nutcracker), Dr Coppélius (Coppélia), Lord Capulet (Romeo and Juliet), the Merchant (Beauty and the Beast), Red King (Checkmate), Catalabutte (The Sleeping Beauty), Yslaev (A Month in the Country) and the Beggar in Gillian Lynne’s 2014 revival of Miracle in the Gorbals.

Carmen Piqueras R P Titeur

Born in Murcia, Spain, Carmen Piqueras trained with José Antonio Robles and with the Carmina Ocaña Ballett School in Madrid. She has danced in several European companies, including Ballet Victor Ullate, European Ballet, Zürich Ballet, English National Ballet and joined the Semperoper Ballett in 2006 where she was then promoted to a Soloist. She has danced a wide variety of repertoire from classical to contemporary. Since 2008 Carmen has been a guest ballet teacher in many different dance companies throughout Europe. She was Ballet Master with the Semperoper Ballett (2016-21), responsible for the choreographies of MacMillan, Balanchine, Forsythe, Ashton, Dawson, Watkin, Celis, Peck, Inger and Bausch, among others. She joined Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2021.

MARION TAIT REHEARSAL DIRECTOR / COACH

Born in London, Marion Tait joined The Royal Ballet School at 15, graduating to The Royal Ballet’s touring company. She danced the ballerina roles in all the classics and in Romeo and Juliet, Elite Syncopations, Las Hermanas, The Invitation, Hobson’s Choice, The Dream, The Burrow, Fall River Legend (Lizzie Borden) and Pillar of Fire (Hagar). She created many roles in ballets by MacMillan and Bintley, and appeared as a guest worldwide. She was given an OBE in 1992 and made a CBE in the 2003 Queen’s Birthday Honours. She has been nominated for two Olivier Awards, won the Evening Standard Ballet Award and was named Dancer of the Year 1994. Marion assisted Desmond Kelly in Ballet Changed My Life – Ballet Hoo!, the education project documented on Channel 4 in 2006, for which she was presented with the De Valois Award for Outstanding Achievement at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards in 2008. In more recent years she was the Company’s Ballet Mistress and then succeeded Desmond Kelly as Assistant Director, a role she stood down from in early 2021. In February 2020, Marion was awarded the De Valois Award for outstanding contribution to dance at the Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards.

PATRICIA TIERNEY BENESH CHOREOLOGIST / VIDEO ARCHIVIST

Born in Leicester, Patricia Tierney trained at Bush Davies School and Rambert Academy and studied Benesh Movement Notation (BMN) at the Benesh Institute London. She joined the Hamburg Ballet as Choreologist under the direction of John Neumeier in 1987, returning to England in 1992 to work as Choreologist at English National Ballet before joining Birmingham Royal Ballet in 1993 as Dance Notator. Her current position is Benesh Choreologist / Video Archivist. Using BMN she has recorded, assisted and taught in rehearsals of many new ballets and revivals of works across Birmingham Royal Ballet’s repertoire, as well as recently staging the choreography of Sir Frederick Ashton (Enigma Variations, The Dream and Dante Sonata), David Bintley (Carmina burana, Cinderella, E=mc2 , Faster, ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café and The Shakespeare Suite) and Stanton Welch (Powder) for various companies in Australia, Europe, Japan and the USA. Between 2009 and 2017 Patricia also taught the BMN course ‘Score Reading For Dancers’ to sixth-form students of Elmhurst Ballet School, Birmingham.