SEASON SPONSOR
BalletBoyz® January 20 + 21, 2017 • 7:30 pm • Royal Theatre Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes (including intermission)
About the Works Rabbit
(26 minutes) Choreography: Pontus Lidberg Lighting Design: James Farncombe Music: Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, Kleines Requiem für eine Polka Used with permission of Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers Limited
Dancers: The Company
– Intermission (20 minutes) –
Fiction (32 minutes) Choreography: Javier de Frutos Lighting Design: James Farncombe Music: Ben Foskett
Artists of BalletBoyz® in Rabbit. Photo © Hugo Glendinning
P. Jabara Last Dance. Published by BMG Rights Management Ltd. © 1978. Used with permission. All rights reserved.
Words Ismene Brown with the voices of Jim Carter, Sir Derek Jacobi CBE and Imelda Staunton CBE Dancers: The Company
PRESENTING SPONSORS
The Company Michael Nunn & William Trevitt, founders of BalletBoyz® have been hailed as pioneers for making dance accessible and reaching a wider audience through their celebrated stage and television work. They came to prominence through their popular Channel 4 documentaries BalletBoyz I & II, Strictly Bolshoi, The Royal Ballet in Cuba, BalletBoyz: The Next Generation and the groundbreaking BalletBoyz: The Rite of Spring for BBC Three. BalletBoyz® has established itself as one of the most cheekily original and innovative forces in modern dance: revolutionizing traditional programming formats, commissioning new work, collaborating with a wide range of cutting edge talents and building a big following through its TV work. Its chief aim is to challenge, excite and enlighten audiences through the wide body of work that we carry out. BalletBoyz’ aim to bring together elements from diverse realms of the arts such as composers, artists, designers, filmmakers and photographers. The company continues to develop groundbreaking education initiatives, particularly working with boys in dance and prides itself on dancer led workshops that provide an invaluable insight into the company’s repertoire.
Since its formation in 2000, the company has won numerous awards and nominations including an Olivier Award, two South Bank Show Award nominations as well as a Rose d’Or, International Emmy and Golden Prague Grand Prix for its TV work. The company has performed all over the UK and internationally and has approximately 35 works in its repertoire, over 30 of which are original commissions. Now housed at its very own state-of-the-art rehearsal/creation space in the heart of Kingston, BalletBoyz® are thrilled to finally have a permanent home. The new space was completed in November 2012 and provides the company with two beautiful custom-designed rehearsal studios, office for company management and a fully equipped AV editing suite. BalletBoyz® has been an Associate Company at Sadler’s Wells since 2005. BalletBoyz® 52a Canbury Park Road Kingston Upon Thames Surrey KT2 6JE T: 020 7278 5508 E: info@balletboyz.com
Dancers’ Biographies Simone Donati
Marc Galvez
Born in Italy, Simone initially trained at the Ateneo Danza in Forlì. He furthered his training by spending time at the American Ballet Theatre School in New York and the John Cranko School in Stuttgart. He moved to the UK in 2010 to join the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, where he has just graduated. During his time at Rambert, Simone has worked with choreographers Mark Baldwin, Kerry Nicholls and Leila McMillan.
Born in 1991 in Valence, France, Marc began his training at the age of 9. In 2006, he entered the Paris Conservatoire’s 5year contemporary course where he had the opportunity to work with Yuval Pick, Mourad Merzouki, Yuha Pekka Marsalo, Thomas Lebrun, Emmanuel Gat and perform Noces by Angelin Preljocaj. In July 2011 he joined the CCN – Ballet de Lorraine and participated in creations with different choreographers such as Faustin Linyekula, Mathilde Monnier, Maria LaRibot and Gisèle Vienne, and perform repertory pieces from Paolo Ribeiro and Tero Saarinen amongst others.
Flavien Esmieu Born in Gap in the south of France, Flavien trained in gymnastics from the age of five, before coming to dance. At 14, he moved to Lyon to further his studies in ballet and contemporary dance before being accepted into the renowned Conservatoire National de Lyon, where he trained for four years. From 2011-12 he was a member of the Jeune Ballet de Lyon where he worked with Francesco Nappa and Jean Grand-Maître.
Edward Pearce Hailing from Somerset, Ed was a Royal Ballet Senior Associate before continuing his studies at Elmhurst Ballet School. He graduated from Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in 2010. During his final year he featured in Rambert Dance Company’s production of A Linha Curva by acclaimed Israeli choreographer Itzik Galili, which toured throughout the UK.
Dancers’ Biographies Harry Price
Matthew Sandiford
Harry began his training at Italia Conti Theatre Arts in many different styles from classical ballet to jazz. He went on to join Elmhurst School for Dance and finally joined the English National Ballet School graduating in 2013. In his final year with the school Harry toured extensively with English National Ballet and ENBII. Upon graduating he joined Baltic Dance Theatre. While with the company he performed in a variety of works by Jiri Kylian, Patrick Delcroix and Izadora Weiss. Harry then went on to perform in the international tour of Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, Touring in Asia, Australia and Europe.
Born and raised in Luton, Matthew discovered dance at the age of 18 whilst studying performing arts at Luton Sixth Form College. He went on to train at Laban where he gained a first class honours degree, whilst working with Lizzie Kew-Ross, Sonia Rafferty, Amanda Gough and Lyndsey McConville. Matthew performed with Charlie Dixon Dance Company at the Roundhouse Theatre, Camden and The Arts Theatre London, West End and with Ffin2 for Resolution! 2012 at The Place, London. In August 2012 he was a featured dancer in the London 2012 Olympic Closing Ceremony.
Bradley Waller Matthew Rees Matthew is from Hythe in Kent and is unique amongst the company in that he has no formal training. He was introduced to dance at Brockhill Park School and has worked with numerous youth dance groups in Kent as well as touring throughout the UK in summer 2009 as part of BalletBoyz in the Without Walls commission. Had he not been selected to join the company, Matt would have completed his first stage application to join The Royal Marines.
Originally from Rotherham where he started dancing at the age of sixteen, Bradley first trained at the NECB School in Nottingham then onto the Rambert School for Ballet and Contemporary Dance, working with choreographers such as Mark Baldwin and Kerry Nicholls. In his third year he was invited by Michael Nunn and Billy Trevitt to became an apprentice with BalletBoyz® where he quickly became a full time member of the company three months later.
Josh Wild Jordan Robson
Artists of BalletBoyz® in Fiction. Photo © Tristam Kenton
Jordan was born in Newcastle and began dancing at the age of 16. Joining the CAT (Centre for Advanced Training) program at Dance City, he trained in ballet and contemporary while simultaneously training semi-professionally in Rugby Union. Upon deciding to further his dance career, Jordan enrolled at Rambert School of Ballet & Contemporary Dance. During his third year, Jordan became an apprentice at BalletBoyz. Jordan has gained experience under tuition by the likes of Kerry Nicholls, Mark Baldwin and Amanda Britton.
Born in Manchester, Josh began dancing Ballroom and Latin at the age of 15. He then went on to complete his training at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and graduated with a First Class Honours Degree. Josh has worked with a variety of companies and choreographers touring work nationally and internationally, including Scottish Dance Theatre, Anton Lachky, Sharon Eyal, Avatara Ayuso, Odette Hughes and James Wilton.
Creative Team Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, OBE Co-Artistic Directors – BalletBoyz® Michael was born in London and trained at the Bush Davies School and the Royal Ballet Upper School. He joined The Royal Ballet in 1987 and was promoted to First Soloist in 1997 before returning as Guest Principal for the 2004 Season. William was born in Cambridge and trained at The Royal Ballet School and joined The Royal Ballet in 1987. He was promoted to Principal in 1994 and also returned as Guest Principal for the 2004 Season. During their 12 years at The Royal Ballet between them they danced all the Principal roles. Together they created the documentaries Ballet Boyz and Ballet Boyz II – The Next Step and presented and CURATED the 4Dance season on Channel 4 in 2002 and 2003. In 2000 they co-founded BalletBoyz and the Company was nominated for the 2001 and 2003 South Bank Show dance awards. In 2002, Michael and William devised Critics Choice ***** which was awarded the Theatrical Management Association award for outstanding achievement in dance. The Company’s commission Broken Fall — a trio for Nunn, Trevitt and French Prima Ballerina Sylvie Guillem — was awarded the 2004 Laurence Olivier award for best new dance production. Nunn and Trevitt’s television project The Rough Guide to Choreography was aired on Channel 4 in summer 2004 followed in 2005 by their films of Russell Maliphant’s Torsion, Two and Broken Fall. That same year BalletBoyz became Associate Artists at Sadler’s Wells, London’s leading dance house. Regular seasons at Sadler’s Wells followed with shows Naked (2005), Encore (2006) and Greatest Hits! (2008). In 2007, the Boyz produced and danced in Darcey Bussell – Farewell, a tribute to The Royal Ballet’s Principal ballerina on her retirement from The Royal Ballet, as well as curating and producing a gala event for the re-opening of the Royal Festival Hall entitled Ballet For The People. In 2008, they made the film component of Christopher Wheeldon’s new creation for The Royal Ballet, Electric Counterpoint, creating a virtual corps de ballet as part of the video scenography. That same year, their documentary Strictly Bolshoi (broadcast on Channel 4 on Christmas Day 2007), which followed Wheeldon as he created a new work for the famous Bolshoi Ballet, won the prestigious Rose d’Or and the International Emmy for best arts documentary. In 2009, BalletBoyz created two more critically acclaimed TV works. The Royal Ballet in Cuba was an observational documentary commissioned by More4 charting The Royal Ballet’s historic visit to Cuba, featuring Carlos Acosta and
stars of the company with breathtaking performance footage. BalletBoyz: The Rite of Spring for BBC3 saw Nunn and Trevitt undertake a radical reworking of Stravinsky’s seminal work, assembling a world-class team of professional and amateur dancers to stage a jaw dropping re-telling of this modern masterpiece. Both programs were nominated for the 2010 Rose D’Or and BalletBoyz: The Rite of Spring went on to win the Grand Prix at the prestigious Golden Prague International TV Festival. 2010 saw the first edition of BalletBoyz’ groundbreaking new project the TALENT. Nunn and Trevitt selected eight male dancers from a variety of backgrounds and worked with them closely, mentoring and coaching to create a company of firstrate performers. Now in its fourth year, the company has expanded to 10 dancers and tours the UK and internationally. In 2012, they crossed the Atlantic to make A Chance to Dance, a seven-part TV series for US network Ovation co-produced by Nigel Lythgoe. Michael and Billy both live in West London with their families. They make frequent television appearances and are regularly asked to comment on arts matters. They are Ambassadors for His Royal Highness Prince Charles’s charity Children and The Arts. They were made OBEs in 2012. In 2012 and 2013, BalletBoyz produced over 40 short films for Channel 4 and its Random Acts strand. BalletBoyz has recently been awarded Best Independent Dance Company at the National Dance Awards in the UK. In 2015, BalletBoyz shot its first feature film, Young Men, on location in France and in 2016 launched Frame, the first ever London Dance Film Festival.
Charlotte Pook, Rehearsal Director Charlotte became a graduate of Trinity Laban in 2012 achieving a BA Honours Degree, following which she successfully joined Transitions Dance Company, culminating in attaining a Masters qualification. She has worked as a contemporary dance teacher at the same conservatoire, whilst also teaching regular company class to State of Emergency, NDCWales, C-12 Dance Theatre and the BalletBoyz. She became the rehearsal director of the National Dance Company Wales Associates last year. Additionally, Charlotte has performed for various dance companies and choreographers including Luke Brown Dance, Summit Dance Theatre, C-12 Dance Theatre, Kerry Nicholls, Martin Nachbar, Shang-chi Sun and MOHO Dance. Recently returning from the Seychelles, Charlotte was the International Guest Choreographer for the Biennale des Danses 2015 event.
In just a few short years Swedish choreographer, filmmaker and dancer, Pontus Lidberg firmly established himself as a creative and visionary artist bringing dance and film together. He is recognized for his dance film The Rain, for which he received numerous awards. The New York Times wrote that The Rain, “illustrates what filmed dance can say that staged dance cannot.” As a choreographer for the stage, Lidberg has created more than 40 works for dance companies such as Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, Semperoper Ballett Dresden, Martha Graham Dance Company, Le Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, The Royal Danish Ballet, Beijing Dance Theatre, The Royal Swedish Ballet, Morphoses, as well as for his own concert group, Pontus Lidberg Dance. He was nominated for a New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie) in Outstanding Visual Design, for his dance and film evening WITHIN (Labyrinth Within) — created during his 2012 tenure as Resident Artistic Director of Morphoses. The New York Times applauded the premiere of this contemporary story ballet, “told without mime and driven by emotional and psychological textures… [Lidberg] sublimates the academic language of ballet, dissolving it into knotty partnering that manages, by and large, to avoid the churning clichés of much contemporary movement in the form. It is refreshing to see a ballet embracing the virtues of restraint.” His film, Labyrinth Within won Best Picture at Lincoln Center’s Dance on Camera Festival in 2012. Raised in Stockholm, Sweden, Lidberg trained at the Royal Swedish Ballet School. He holds an MFA in Contemporary Performing Arts from the University of Gothenburg, Faculty of Fine, Applied and Performing Arts.
Musical, 2012, and an Olivier Award nomination for Best Theatre Choreographer), and From Here to Eternity at the Shaftsbury Theatre (nomination for the WhatsOnStage Award for Best Choreography). In 2007, he received the Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer for his work on Cabaret. This followed Olivier Award nominations in 2004 (Elsa Canasta), and, in 2005 (Milagros). Other awards include the 1995 Paul Hamlyn Award, 1996 Bagnolet Prix d’Auteur, 1997 South Bank Show Award, 2004 Time Out Live Award and the 2005 Critics Circle National Dance Awards for Best Choreography (Modern), plus a nomination for the same award in 2008 and 2011. He has also received nominations for the Theatregoers’ Choice Award (Cabaret), Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards and the International Theatre Institute Award. In 1999, his achievements were recognized in The South Bank Show. The program was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award. In 2000, the digital channel Artsworld made a documentary about the making of The Celebrated Soubrette for Rambert Dance Company, as well as a companion broadcast of its performance at Sadler’s Wells. His ballet Milagros features in the documentary celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Royal New Zealand Ballet. In 2000, Javier de Frutos was among the first fellowships of The Arts Council of England. Under that program he conducted exhaustive research for two years on the work of Tennessee Williams. His most recent projects include Thresh/Hold in collaboration with Pilobolus in the US; Kamasutra for Sky Arts with BalletBoyz; Everyman at the National Theatre; and the acclaimed revival of Elsa Canasta for Scottish Ballet.
Javier de Frutos, Choreographer
Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, Composer
Javier de Frutos was born in Venezuela where he began his dance training, continuing at the London School of Contemporary Dance and at the Merce Cunningham School, New York. From 1988-92 he was a member of Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians in New York. In 1992, he was appointed Choreographer in Residence at Movement Research in NYC. On his return to the UK in 1994, he established the Javier de Frutos Dance Company, which toured around the world. Javier de Frutos’ work is in the repertoire of many dance companies, including Rotterdam Dance Group, Ballet Schindowski, Rambert Dance, The Royal New Zealand Ballet, Candoco, The Royal Ballet and Gothenburg Ballet. He choreographed Death and the King’s Horseman at the National Theatre (2009); The Most Incredible Thing at Sadler’s Wells (winner of an Evening Standard Theatre Award 2011, with a Critics’ Circle nomination for Best Choreographer); London Road at the National Theatre (winner of the Critics’ Circle Award for Best
After musical studies in Rybnik and Katowice, Górecki’s compositions first made their mark in the mid-1950s when he found himself at the forefront of the Polish avant-garde at the time of the post-Stalin cultural thaw. His early works show a clear development from the folk-influenced worlds of Szymanowski and Bartók in the Four Preludes for piano (1955) and Songs of Joy and Rhythm (1956) to the modernist techniques of Webern and Boulez in Epitafium (1958) and Symphony No.1 (1959), both premiered at the Warsaw Autumn Festival. During the 1960s Górecki continued in a radical direction in the Genesis (1962- 63) and Muzyczka (1967-70) cycles of works, whilst paring down his compositional material and exploring the folk music traditions of his beloved Tatra region in such works as Three Pieces in Old Style (1963) and Muzyka staropolska (Old Polish Music) (1967-69). The simple yet monumental style for which Górecki is today renowned became fully established in the 1970s with such works as Symphony No.2 ‘Copernican’ (1972), the much lauded
Pontus Lidberg, Choreographer
Creative Team (cont’d) Symphony No.3 ‘Symphony of Sorrowful Songs’ (1976) and the large-scale Psalm setting for chorus and orchestra Beatus Vir (1979). With his withdrawal from public life due to political and health pressures, the early ‘80s saw Górecki concentrating on choral settings and chamber music, including his trio Recitatives and Ariosos ‘Lerchenmusik’ (1984-85). As a result of Poland’s increasing political emancipation in the late 1980s, Górecki’s music travelled more widely and attracted new performers and audiences in the West. This renewed interest led to the composition of three major string quartets, Already it is Dusk (1988), Quasi una fantasia (1991) and ...songs are sung (1995), commissioned for the Kronos Quartet. Today his music is performed throughout the world including at numerous international festivals where many choreographies are set to his music. There is also a series of highly successful recordings on the Nonesuch label. Górecki’s most noted compositions of the 1990s included Concerto-Cantata (1992) for flute and orchestra and Kleines Requiem für eine Polka (1993) recorded by both the Schoenberg Ensemble on Philips and the London Sinfonietta on Nonesuch. Most recently Górecki has completed two new choral works, Salve, Sidus Polonorum (1997-2000) for chorus, percussion and keyboards, and Lobgesang (2000) for chorus and glockenspiel. Henryk Mikołaj Górecki is published by Boosey & Hawkes.
Ben Foskett, Composer Ben Foskett is a composer and orchestrator working across many different genres from classical concert music to ballet, dance, and incidental music for the theatre, pop, film and TV. He has received commissions and worked for ensembles and companies such as the London Sinfonietta, BBC Proms, Psappha, London Children’s Ballet, Thresh, Les Désespérant Idiots, Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, The Divine Comedy, Keaton Henson and on films and TV series such as The Maze Runner and Poirot. Future composing projects
include an opera with writer Laure Salama based on the life of Olympe de Gouges as well as a new viola piece for the London Sinfonietta. Current orchestration projects include a new TV series, Tutankhamun, with composer Christian Henson. His music has been recorded and released by NMC recordings.
James Farncombe, Lighting Designer James Farncombe’s West End credits include: People, Places, Things (Wyndhams); The Ladykillers (Gielgud & Vaudeville); Jeeves and Wooster in Perfect Nonsense (Duke of York’s); Ghost Stories (Duke of Yorks); Swallows and Amazons (Vaudeville). Farncombe’s Theatre include: Edward II, The Magistrate, Man and Superman, People Places and Things, Three Winters, People, Juno and the Paycock, Men Should Weep, London Road and Double Feature (National Theatre); The White Devil and A Mad World My Masters and As You Like It (Royal Shakespeare Company); Measure for Measure, The Cherry Orchard, Three Sisters, The Changeling and The Glass Menagerie (Young Vic); And the Rest will be Familiar from Cinema (Hamburg Schauspielhaus); Bugsy Malone, Desire Under the Elms and Gecko’s The Overcoat (Lyric, Hammersmith); Fathers and Son, The Recruiting Officer and Inadmissible Evidence (Donmar Warehouse); Henry IV (Donmar at St Anne’s Warehouse, Brooklyn, NYC); The Duchess of Malfi (Old Vic); Not I, Footfalls and Rockaby (Royal Court); Swallows and Amazons (Bristol Old Vic). Opera credits include: Pelléas et Mélisande, Alcina, Trauernacht and The House Taken Over (Aix-en-Provence International Opera Festival); Le Vin Herbe (Berliner Staastsoper); The Barber of Seville (Glyndebourne); Benjamin, Derniere Nuit (Opera de Lyon); Ariodante and Der Fliegende Hollander (Scottish Opera); The Marriage of Figaro (Opera North); The Way Back Home (ENO at the Young Vic); How the Whale Became (ROH); Kommilitonen (Royal Academy of Music and Julliard School, New York); Mignon (Guildhall). Dance includes Carmen, Firebird and The Nutcracker (Norwegian National Ballet) and Life (BalletBoyz).
The Production Production Managers: Aaron Copp, Mike Lindsay, Davison Scandrett Technical Manager: Adam Hodgson Technician: Milo Digby Driver/Technical Assistant: Paul Arnold
The Company Artistic Directors: Michael Nunn OBE and William Trevitt OBE Executive Director: Kerry Whelan General Manager: Sarah Setter Creative Learning Producer: Kate Hartley Communications Director: Mark Slaughter Development Manager: Beth Crosland Administration Assistant: Jordan James Taylor Education Assistant: Siân Cobern Social Media Manager: Georgette Purdey
Board of Trustees
BalletBoyz® in Rabbit. Photo © Hugo Glendinning
Michael Waldman (Chair) Mary Anne Cordeiro Dame Vivien Duffield DBE Kate Gavron Anne Heal Aud Jebsen Tom Hope Phoebe Reith Dennis van Schie
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