WAYNE MCGREGOR TO BECOME RESIDENT CHOREOGRAPHER
WITH THE ROYAL BALLET FROM 1 DECEMBER 2006

Monica Mason, Director of The Royal Ballet, is pleased to announce that Wayne McGregor will become The Royal Ballet’s Resident Choreographer from 1 December, 2006.

Monica Mason says, "I am really thrilled that Wayne wants to develop and deepen his relationship with The Royal Ballet. He will create new work, guide our young choreographers and already has plans for a major project with our Education Department. His special talent and his curiosity for new technology will enrich our creativity and assist the Company in embracing fully the exciting opportunities the 21st Century offers.”

Wayne McGregor says, “I am absolutely delighted and honoured to accept this incredible opportunity from The Royal Ballet. I look forward to developing my creative relationships with all of the inspiring dancers currently flooding the Company ranks as well as building nurturing and engaging partnerships with the burgeoning choreographic talent in-house and the education and access programmes at large. Creating new work at the Royal Opera House has always been a pleasure, as true collaboration seems to be at the heart of the whole organisation. As the newest member of this exceptional collaborative team I look forward to sharing a rich and stimulating artistic future.”

Tony Hall, Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House added, “This is a great appointment. I have loved the works that Wayne has created for the Company and the mixed bill with his new piece Chroma, has been one of the most exciting events since my arrival at the Royal Opera House.  The critical and audience acclaim for this programme proves once again that The Royal Ballet is one of the finest and most versatile ballet companies in the world.  The building is going to love having him around.”

Wayne McGregor studied dance at University College Bretton Hall and the José Limón School, New York. He is founder of Random Dance, Resident Company of Sadler’s Wells, for which he has made over thirty works including Amu, Nemesis and AtaXia. He has created works for The Royal Ballet – Chroma, Engram, Qualia, Symbiont(s), NDT1 –Skindex, Stuttgart Ballet, ENB, San Francisco Ballet and Rambert Dance Company. He has worked at such opera houses as La Scala, Milan (Dido and Aeneas), Lyric Opera of Chicago (The Midsummer Marriage), Scottish Opera, ENO, ETO and Grange Park Opera. His theatre credits include The Woman in White (London, Broadway) and productions at The Old Vic, NT, Royal Court and with the Peter Hall Company. He has worked on Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire (Warner Bros) and for Channel 4, BBC TV and Arte. His awards include Time Out awards (2001, 2003), IMZ Dance Screen Award (2002) and a Laurence Olivier Award (2004). His plans include a new work for Paris Opéra Ballet and from December 1, 2006, he will be Resident Choreographer with The Royal Ballet.

It's an official ROH press release - I'm sure the ROH will have it on their site soonest.

Welcome Wayne...and long may you remain!

Edited to add name of ballet

Ballet Rocks!

It will if Mr McGregor has anything to do with it!

PB2003, I think it varies - there's no 'set' number norm, but surely there are contractual stipulations in each specific case.

Anna

If it's a full-time job, I think we should expect between one and two full length productions each season, as in the case of John Neumeier, David Bintley and David Nixon, who also have the job of AD.

It appears the job includes Education work and overseeing the young in-house dancer/choreographers, so we should also expect at least two full evening productions on the main stage each season, including work from McGregor and pieces from these aspiring choreographers, and in addition one or two productions from the latter in the Linbury as a transition to the main stage.

Let us also hope that there will be some attempt at narrative ballet and that the Royal Ballet is not about to become a contemporary dance company.

As far as working with the younger choreographers is concerned. I think this is great. For ages they have needed help and direction and the Opera House has been unable to do this.
Yes Monica has been very supportive to them and tried to offer them opportunities but they have been left unguided, so it's fantastic that someone as talented as McGregor will be able to help some of these people realise their potential and the company will once again be a hot bed of new ideas!

Edited for spelling and a couple of additions!

It needs to be pointed out that there is already a serious programme of choreographic development for students at the Royal Ballet School, headed up at the Senior School by experienced choreographers Kate Flatt and Jennifer Jackson. The quality of work emerging from this programme is frequently of a very high standard; it is indeed up to the Royal Ballet to build on and make use of this existing bedrock of educated potential.

I believe that this appointment will be very good for the company as I believe that the company will not change identity as a result of this post rather than certain things that have been neglected will now be worked upon.

I wonder what will happen to Random Dance.

dewlyla

>Let us also hope that there will be some attempt at
>narrative ballet and that the Royal Ballet is not about to
>become a contemporary dance company.

I'd felt, watching the highly charged pdds in Qualia and Chroma, that it would be very interesting if McGregor were inclined to choreograph more narrative works. Either way I'm so pleased he's going to be producing work regularly for the company.

I'm not sure that we should be drawing conclusions from what other companies do: the situation particularly with NBT is very different, and I see no reason why McGregor should be *expected* to put on full-length works anyway - the fact that some people seem to want them isn't reason enough, I don't think. I'd have thought a couple of shorter works would be nearer the mark.

I couldn't agree more, Tony!

I would love it if Wayne extended Engram by about 20 minutes - but I'm not sure if it would be too much excitement for me...!

Edit: Opps - by mistakee edited in a coment to this rather then posting. Edited out and posted below. Sorry!. BM

Monica Mason does say in the press release that he will help the Company to move forward in the 21st Century. It will be very interesting to see not only how his own works develop, but also exactly what influence he has (whether deliberate or accidental, if any) upon the Company's other up and coming in-house choreographers, the dancers, and upon performances of works from the previous two centuries.

Doesn't the Chroma programme say that for one of his next projects, he will be working with researchers in San Diego?

Not to forget that one of the Company's notators, Mayumi Hotta, very appropriately, has choreographed several pieces for First Drafts and elsewhere.

Not sure of past but he has a piece with SFB in the spring:
http://www.sfballet.org/performancestickets/season/program04.asp?id=787