Podcast » Mark Morris
American dancer, choreographer and director Mark Morris is one of the most successful and influential of contemporary modern choreographers.
decade » 2000s
Podcast » Christopher Wheeldon
Christopher Wheeldon talks in 2003 with his former classmate and Royal Ballet First Soloist Jane Burn. Christopher speaks about his early years in dance with candour and charm, mentioning Anatole...
Timeline Event » 2000 – Akram Khan Dance Company founded
As a young adult, Akram Khan studied contemporary dance at Leicester’s De Montfort University, continuing on to the Northern School of Contemporary Dance before working with Anne Teresa De...
Timeline Event » 2000 – First Young British Dancer of the Year competition held
Young British Dancer of the Year was a competition envisaged by Gailene Stock in 1999, with the first competition taking place in 2000. Her idea was to find and nurture talented dancers throughout...
Timeline Event » 2001 – Cassa Pancho’s Ballet Black founded
Cassa Pancho was born in London to British and Trinidadian parents. Completing her dissertation at Durham University on Black women in ballet proved the catalyst for establishing a company that...
David Nixon became artistic director of Northern Ballet Theatre in 2001, where he remained until 2022. During his leadership, he created a considerable number of works for the company, including The...
Timeline Event » 2001 – Ross Stretton becomes director of The Royal Ballet
Ross Stretton was appointed the new director of The Royal Ballet after Anthony Dowell retired in 2001. His appointment lasted for just one year.
Timeline Event » 2001 – Matz Skoog becomes director of English National Ballet
Swedish-born Matz Skoog, a former principal with English National Ballet, was appointed the company’s artistic director in 2001. Remaining until 2005, Skoog commissioned new works for the company...
Timeline Event » 2001 – Premiere of Christopher Hampson’s Double Concerto by English National Ballet
A hugely enjoyable abstract work set to Francis Poulenc‘s Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, Double Concerto sealed Christopher Hampson’s reputation as a choreographer of real promise and...
Wuthering Heights was David Nixon’s first full-length work for the company. It was performed at the Alhambra Theatre, Bradford, in 2002. In all, he created 18 new full-length ballets for Northern...
Timeline Event » 2002 – Monica Mason becomes director of The Royal Ballet
Following the departure of Ross Stretton, Monica Mason was appointed director of The Royal Ballet in 2002, staying in post until 2012. During her tenure, she staged major revivals of Frederick...
Timeline Event » 2002 – Ashley Page becomes director of Scottish Ballet
In 2002, Scottish Ballet was searching for a new artistic director who would help revitalise the company. They appointed choreographer and former Royal Ballet principal Ashley Page, who remained in...
Timeline Event » 2004 – The National Centres for Advanced Training (CATs) established
The National Centres for Advanced Training, known as CATs, were established in 2004 by Tony Blair’s Labour government. Using funds from the Department of Education’s Music and Dance Scheme, the...
Timeline Event » 2005 – Wayne Eagling becomes director of English National Ballet
Wayne Eagling was appointed director of English National Ballet in 2005, where he stayed until 2012. During Eagling’s tenure, the company extended its repertory to perform such works as Kenneth...
Hofesh Shechter’s first major work, Uprising, performed by Hofesh Shechter Company at The Place in 2006, features seven men who emerge from the shadows to bombard the stage with furious energy,...
Timeline Event » 2006 – Premiere of Wayne McGregor’s Chroma by The Royal Ballet
First performed by The Royal Ballet in 2006, the huge success of Wayne McGregor’s Chroma, a highly charged abstract work in minimalist designs and costumes, led directly to the appointment of...
Grace Note » …and on: Fashion & Ballet in Step
Fashion and ballet have a symbiotic relationship, each drawing on the other. Twice a year, fashion designers must cast around for hot influences. These might come from anywhere but time and again,...
Photography has continually transformed itself, like all the other arts. How has this affected the photography of ballet? When I joined Scottish Ballet in 1977 Peter Darrell organised a Choreographic...
Grace Note » 1940s onwards: The Wartime Quartet
It wasn’t only in ballet that women were leading British ballet forward. But in philosophy too, four redoubtable women change the face of the subject. G. E. M. Anscombe (1919 – 2001),...