During her two years with the Zurich Ballet, Marston danced a mixed repertoire of work by choreographers such as Balanchine, Hans Van Manen, Ed Wubbe and others, but also continued to choreograph in Switzerland and in the UK, maintaining a connection with the Royal Ballet by creating works for their Education Department.
In 1996 Marston joined the Luzern Ballet under the direction of Richard Wherlock. Although dancing under a full-time contract, she was granted leave of absence to make three ballets over the next three years for the Royal Ballet Company's Dance Bites Tour, one of which was later performed in the company's Sadlers Wells season and on tour in China. During this period, she also choreographed for the Luzern Ballet's Choreographic Evening, made a dance film/documentary with director, Philip Cox and RB first soloist, Mara Galeazzi, and choreographed for dancers of the Royal Ballet in collaboration with the Soloists of the Opera House Orchestra for a project entitled 'Tango Nuevo' which was performed in schools, at the World Travel Market and broadcast on BBC1.
Marston spent one more year dancing in Switzerland with the Bern Ballet, again performing a very varied repertoire, before returning to London in the summer of 2000 to begin a new chapter of her career as an independent choreographer/dancer. She is currently dancing with the Henri Oguike Dance Company as well as working on several choreographic commissions, including the National Youth Dance Company (to be performed in the Linbury Studio Theatre on the 16th/17th Feb,) Images of Dance, and a full-length production of Noel Streatfield's The Ballet Shoes for the London Children's Ballet. She was also shortlisted for the prestigious Jerwood Choreographic Award this year.
Commissions have also included film, theatre and musicals, site specific work and classical ballets.
Tom trained at The Royal Ballet School, where his early attempts at choreography won prizes from Kenneth Macmillan. He went on to join The Royal Ballet in 1993, two years later Tom was awarded one of the first ever Jerwood Foundation Young Choreographers1 Awards. This allowed Tom to make his first professional piece Where Her Voice, which was given a private showing and later was performed at that years1 Dance Umbrella.
Subsequently Tom has choreographed three works for The Royal Ballet1s mid-scale tour Dance Bites, pieces for London Studio Centre, The Royal Ballet School and Middlesex University. In 2000 Tom created his first full length narrative work The Last Battle for the London Children's Ballet and choreographed The Fleeting Opera, a waterbourne theatre piece perfomed by members of the Royal Opera, dancer Deborah Bull and actress Dame Judi Dench.
Since moving back into the redeveloped Royal Opera House, Tom has begun working with fellow colleagues, forming his own group, which creates and performs work on the independent dance scene.Tom opened a new performing space at the Royal Opera House - The Clore Studio Upstairs- with his signature piece Live at Carnegie Hall, and looks forward to returning there in February.
Ben
Maher Costume Designer for the New Marston Ballet.
Ben began his professional life as a dancer, after graduating from the
Laban Centre he performed for Edwards & Watton and Theatre Encorps. After
a short tour to Portugal with his own company Storm, he began with Random
Dance Company in 1995 for whom until recently, he continued to appear
as a guest artist. His film work includes, Darwish, Loot, Bent Directed
by Sean Mathias and video work with Tori Amos (A Pretty Good Year).
Following a brief half term at London College of Fashion, and as an assistant
to Matthew Williamson, Donna De Francq and recently to coturier Roland
Moret, Ben continued to juggle a dual career as a performer and as a self-taught
designer.
Ben has designed for an extensive range of work by futuristic choreographer
- Wayne McGregor (of Random Dance Company), beginning with a solo costume
for A Little Late Night Music at the Royal National Theatre, and more
recently The Millenarium, Sulphur 16 & Aeon at The QEH, and The Trilogy
at GDA.
Beyond Random Ben has also designed for the Royal Ballet star Vivianna
Durante (A Fleur de peaux), and more recently at The Royal Opera House
for Deborah Bull and Edward Watson ( Symbiont(s)
Other
commissions include Shobana Jeyasingh Dance company,a duet for Birmingham
Royal Ballet, The Olympic Ballet of Milan, 4-D, Northern School of Contemporary
Dance, Queens International Festival in Belfast, The Dome, Snape Maltings
and various dance productions at The Place Theatre.
His site specific design work have been in venues such as the Pompidou
in Paris, the Foster designed tube station at Canary Wharf, the Hayward
Gallery in London and more unusually within a window at Selfridges on
Oxford Street. Catwalk installations include the V&A museum and The Alternative
Hair show at the Dury Lane Theatre.
Ben is currently developing capsule collections under his own label.
Kate completed a degree in Theatre design at UCE Birmingham in 1999. She designed Birmingham Royal Ballet's production of Balanchine's Slaughter on Tenth Avenue and was a Linbury Prize finalist. She worked with Tom Sapsford, on the London Children1s Ballet production of The Last Battle, last May.
Studied composition with Francis Shaw at the Guildhall. Jason has a wealth of experience composing scores for plays and musicals. Work includes Les Parents Terribles at the RNT, Design for Living and The Glass Menagerie for the Donmar Warehouse. He is also a Music Director of The Lost Musicals where he worked with Tom on a revival of Finian's Rainbow.
* identify creative artists who could benefit from a relationship with The Royal Opera House above and beyond a place to perform;
* Offer individuals (including many ROH staff) the opportunity to broaden their range of activity and develop their skills.
* strengthen bridges between the Royal Opera House and the wider artistic community;
* provide a Laboratory environment in which experimental, collaborative and challenging work can flourish;
* offer individual artists and small companies with a track record in the arts the opportunity to take advantage of a wide range of in-house resources and specialist expertise;