GPD are one of a very rare breed indeed - a new ballet based dance company.

George and Piper are the middle names of Michael Nunn and William Trevitt; dancers who left the Royal Ballet in 1998, first to dance in Japan with Teddy Kumakawa (also ex Royal) in K Ballet. Now, in 2001, they have returned to the UK to start their own company.

Trevitt and Nunn were both highly respected dancers at the Royal Ballet but it's perhaps their antics behind the camera that has won them a wider following with their Ballet Boyz documentaries for Channel 4 television. The first charted their leaving of the Royal, with 3 other dancers amidst some acrimony and needle, and the second the stress and strain of commercial dance in Japan.

all photographs courtesy of GPD

GPD are a small company (less than 10) and while ballet based their initial repertoire tends to the modern and eclectic. They are no fools on the publicity front however and clearly appreciate that to succeed they need good and full houses. Critics reviews of their initial show have been positive though most fans have yet to see GPD - something that their first tour, in the autumn of 2001, should put right.