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Scottish Ballet, English National Ballet and National Dance Company Wales to Perform as Part of the Cultural Olympiad Next summer, Scottish Ballet, English National Ballet and National Dance Company Wales will create work and perform together for the first time, as part of the Cultural Olympiad. The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movements. Spread over four years, it is designed to give everyone in the UK a chance to be part of London 2012 and inspire creativity across all forms of culture, especially among young people.
Each company will commission a new work from a leading contemporary choreographer: Martin Lawrance will create a new work for Scottish Ballet, Christopher Bruce for National Dance Company Wales and Itzik Galili for English National Ballet.
Martin Lawrance’s work for Scottish Ballet will have designs by the Glasgow-born, Turner Prize-nominated artist Martin Boyce. Boyce first worked with the company last year, in choreographic workshops exploring the relationship between dance and visual art.
Itzik Galili’s new work for English National Ballet is named And the Earth shall bear again. It will be danced to music for prepared piano by John Cage. The cast comes from around the world, with ten nations represented. It will include senior principals Elena Glurdjidze, Erina Takahashi and Fernanda Oliviera, alongside Vadim Muntagirov, Ksenia Ovsyanick, Esteban Berlanga and Laurretta Summerscales.
Ann Sholem, artistic director of National Dance Company Wales, said: “We are very proud to be part of Dance GB, which is a great opportunity for us to be part of the London 2012 Olympics and to showcase the tremendous dance talent in Britain today. We are delighted to work with Christopher [Bruce], who has enjoyed such a successful career. I know his work will be exceptional and mesmerising – just what you would expect from an internationally-renowned choreographer.” Christopher Hampson Appointed Artistic Director of Scottish Ballet The choreographer Christopher Hampson has been appointed artistic director of Scottish Ballet, taking over from Ashley Page. He will take up the position in August 2012. A graduate of The Royal Ballet School, Hampson danced with English National Ballet before retiring to pursue a career as a choreographer and director, working with companies around the world (Czech audiences would probably remember his Giselle, staged at the National Theatre in Prague in 2004). His choreographies have won the Critics' Circle Award for best choreography and the Barclays Theatre Award for dance. He replaces Ashley Page, who has revitalised the company; the announcement of Page’s departure was received with some shock in the dance world.
Cindy Sughrue, chief executive of Scottish Ballet, added: “We are thrilled to welcome Christopher to the company. Christopher’s commitment to the artform echoes the company’s focus on excellence and diversity, and we are very excited to be working with him to continue to develop Scottish Ballet’s unique breadth of repertoire and programmes, seeking new audiences and continuing to enthral our fantastic and loyal fans. When Scottish Ballet’s founding director Peter Darrell established the company in Scotland in 1969, it was to be a company with an exciting vision of strong classical technique with a contemporary attitude. With Ashley Page’s tenure, this vision has become enriched and he will leave an incredible legacy on which we will continue to build. We thank Ashley for his work over the past nine years and look forward to continuing to present his choreography as part of our rich and varied repertoire.” Source: www.dancing-times.co.uk, www.london2012.com

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