View source for Birmingham Royal Ballet

{{Short description|UK ballet company}}
{{EngvarB|date=April 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Infobox ballet company
| name           = Birmingham Royal Ballet
| logo           = Birmingham royal ballet logo22.png
| previous_names = {{unbulleted list
  | Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet
  | Royal Ballet Touring Group
  | Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet
}}
| founded              = {{Start date|1946}}
| founder              = [[Ninette de Valois|Dame Ninette de Valois]]
| founding_director    = [[John Field (dancer)|John Field]]
| founding_person_type = Director Laureate
| founding_person_name = [[Sir Peter Wright]]
| venue                = [[Birmingham Hippodrome]]<br />Hurst Street, [[Birmingham]]<br />England, B5 4TB
| website              = {{URL|https://www.brb.org.uk/|brb.org.uk}}
| chief_executive      = Caroline Miller
| director             = [[Carlos Acosta]]<ref name="Guardian"/>
| assistant_director   = [[Dominic Antonucci]]
| company_manager      = Tristan Rusdale
| ballet_staff_type    = Ballet Staff
| ballet_staff_name    = [[Marion Tait]], Patricia Tierney, Laëtitia Lo Sardo
| sister_company       = [[The Royal Ballet]]
| orchestra            = [[Royal Ballet Sinfonia]]
| official_school      = [[The Royal Ballet School]]
| formation            = {{Unbulleted list| Principal Guest Artist | Principal | Principal Character Artist | First Soloist | Soloist | First Artist | Artist | Apprentice | BRB2  }}
}}
'''Birmingham Royal Ballet''' ('''BRB''') is one of the five major [[Ballet company|ballet companies]] of the United Kingdom, alongside [[The Royal Ballet]], the [[English National Ballet]], [[Northern Ballet]] and [[Scottish Ballet]]. Founded as the '''Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet''', the company was established in 1946 as a sister company to the earlier [[Sadler's Wells Theatre|Sadler's Wells]] company, which moved to the [[Royal Opera House]] that same year, subsequently becoming known as [[The Royal Ballet]].

The new company was formed under the direction of [[John Field (dancer)|John Field]] and remained at Sadler's Wells for many years, becoming known as the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet in 1977. It also toured the UK and abroad, before relocating to [[Birmingham]] in 1990, where it uses the [[Birmingham Hippodrome]] stage when performing in the city. Birmingham Royal Ballet has extensive custom-built facilities, including a suite of dance studios, the ''Jerwood Centre for the Prevention and Treatment of Dance Injuries'' and a studio theatre known as the ''[[Patrick Centre]]''. In 1997, the Birmingham Royal Ballet became independent of The Royal Ballet in London.

==History==
In 1926, the Irish-born dancer [[Ninette de Valois]] founded the ''Academy of Choreographic Art'', a dance school for girls. Her intention was to form a repertory ballet company and school, leading her to collaborate with the English theatrical producer and theatre owner [[Lilian Baylis]]. Baylis owned the [[Old Vic]] and [[Sadler's Wells]] theatres, and in 1925, she engaged de Valois to stage dance performances at both venues.

Sadler's Wells reopened in 1931, and the ''Vic-Wells Ballet'' and ''Vic-Wells Ballet School'' were established in premises at the theatre. These would become the predecessors of today's ''Royal Ballet'', ''Birmingham Royal Ballet'' and ''[[Royal Ballet School]]''.

In 1939, the company lost its link with the Old Vic theatre, and in 1940, Sadler's Wells theatre was bombed during World War II. These events forced the company to begin touring the country, becoming known as the Sadler's Wells Ballet. The company did return to Sadler's Wells theatre, where it stayed until 1946, when the company was invited to become the resident ballet company of the newly re-opened Royal Opera House in [[Covent Garden]]. The company relocated to the opera house the same year in 1946, with their first production at the venue being Ninette de Valois' staging of ''[[The Sleeping Beauty (ballet)|The Sleeping Beauty]]''.

[[File:Birmingham Royal Ballet - E=MC2 - February 2011.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Birmingham Royal Ballet performing E=MC2 in Tokyo in 2011]]
Following the relocation of the company, the school was relocated to its own premises in 1947, and a sister company was established to continue performances at Sadler's Wells, called ''Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet''. This sister company would become the predecessor of today's Birmingham Royal Ballet. The first Artistic Director of the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet was [[John Field (dancer)|John Field]], who was later made co-director of the Royal Ballet and also worked as artistic director of [[La Scala Theatre Ballet]] and [[English National Ballet]].

In 1955, ''Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet'' temporarily lost its link with Sadler's Wells theatre and relocated to the Royal Opera House as a touring unit of the main company.

In 1956, a royal charter was granted for both companies and the school, and they were subsequently renamed the ''Royal Ballet'', ''Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet'' and the ''Royal Ballet School''.

The ''Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet'' returned to Sadler's Wells theatre in 1970, whilst continuing to tour the country. The first indication that the company would leave London came in 1987, when the company was invited to become the resident ballet company at the Birmingham Hippodrome theatre. Consequently, the company relocated to [[Birmingham]] in 1990, being given its current name ''Birmingham Royal Ballet''.

[[Sir Peter Wright]] was the company's Artistic Director from 1977 until his retirement in 1995, when [[David Bintley]] was appointed Artistic Director. In 1997, Birmingham Royal Ballet was made independent of the Royal Ballet and ceased to be managed by the Royal Opera House. In January 2019 it was announced that acclaimed Cuban dancer [[Carlos Acosta]] would succeed Bintley as artistic director in January 2020.<ref name="Guardian">{{cite news |last1=Brown |first1=Mark |title=Carlos Acosta to be Birmingham Royal Ballet director |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/jan/15/carlos-acosta-birmingham-royal-ballet-director-dance |access-date=31 January 2019 |work=The Guardian |date=15 January 2019}}</ref>

==Works performed==
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="width: 98%"
|-
! colspan=5 |Table of works performed by Birmingham Royal Ballet
|-
! width=41% | Title
! width=9% | Running Time (mins)
! width=25% | Choreographer
! width=25% | Composer
|-
| [[Agon (ballet)|Agon]]
| 28
| [[George Balanchine]]
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| All for a Kiss
| 5
| Aonghus Hoole
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| [[Apollo (ballet)|Apollo]]
| 30
| [[George Balanchine]]
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| Arthur pt I
| 60,45
| [[David Bintley]]
| [[John McCabe (composer)|John McCabe]]
|-
| Arthur pt II
| 58,65
| [[David Bintley]]
| [[John McCabe (composer)|John McCabe]]
|-
| Avec Moi Ce Soir
|
| Glyn Scott
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| [[Le baiser de la fée (Stravinsky)|Le Baiser de la fée]]
| 45
| [[Michael Corder]]
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| Beauty and the Beast
| 50,50
| [[David Bintley]]
| Glenn Buhr
|-
| Black Sabbath - The Ballet
| 30, 30, 30
| Pontus Lidberg, Raúl Reinoso & Cassi Abranches
| [[Black Sabbath]], [[Christopher Austin]], Marko Nyberg & Sun Keting
|-
| Bright Young Things
| 30
| Oliver Hindle
| [[George Gershwin]]
|-
| [[Brouillards]]
| 37
| [[John Cranko]]
| [[Claude Debussy]]
|-
| Card Game
| 24
| [[John Cranko]]
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| [[Carmina Burana (Orff)|Carmina Burana]]
| 67
| [[David Bintley]]
| [[Carl Orff]]
|-
| [[Carnival of the Animals]]
| 25
| David Justin, Toby Norman-Wright, Jonathan Payn, Nicole Tongue
| [[Camille Saint-Saëns]]
|-
| [[Checkmate (Bliss)|Checkmate]]
| 46
| [[Ninette de Valois]]
| [[Arthur Bliss]]
|-
| Choros
| 30
| [[David Bintley]]
| [[Aubrey Meyer]]
|-
| [[Concert Fantasy (Tchaikovsky)|Concert Fantasy]]
| 30
| [[David Bintley]]
| [[Pyotr Tchaikovsky|Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]]
|-
| Concerto
| 24
| [[Kenneth MacMillan]]
| [[Dmitri Shostakovich]]
|-
| Concerto Barocco
| 20
| [[George Balanchine]]
| [[Bach|Johann Sebastian Bach]]
|-
| [[Coppélia]]
| 35,28,38
| [[Peter Wright (choreographer)|Peter Wright]] after [[Marius Petipa]] & [[Enrico Cecchetti]]
| [[Léo Delibes]]
|-
| Cyrano
| 53,33,41
| [[David Bintley]]
| [[Carl Davis]]
|-
| The Dance House
| 26
| [[David Bintley]]
| [[Dmitri Shostakovich]]
|-
| Danses Concertantes
|
| Kit Holder, Glyn Scott, Aonghus Hoole, Kosuke Yamamoto
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| [[Dante Sonata]]
| 17
| [[Frederick Ashton]]
| [[Franz Liszt]] arr [[Constant Lambert]]
|-
| [[Daphnis et Chloé]]
| 55
| [[Frederick Ashton]]
| [[Maurice Ravel]]
|-
| [[Ballets choreographed by Frederick Ashton#1960s|The Dream]]
| 54
| [[Frederick Ashton]]
| [[Felix Mendelssohn]]
|-
| [[Dumbarton Oaks]]
| 15
| Michael Kopinski
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| Duo Concertant
| 17
| [[George Balanchine]]
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| [[Ebony Concerto (Stravinsky)|Ebony Concerto]]
|
| Samara Downs
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| Edward II
| 60,55
| [[David Bintley]]
| [[John McCabe (composer)|John McCabe]]
|-
| [[Elite Syncopations (ballet)|Elite Syncopations]]
| 38
| [[Kenneth MacMillan]]
| [[Scott Joplin]] et al.
|-
| The End of Winter
|
| Kosuke Yamamoto
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| [[Enigma Variations]]
| 34
| [[Frederick Ashton]]
| [[Edward Elgar]]
|-
| [[Façade (poems)|Façade]]
| 20
| [[Frederick Ashton]]
| [[William Walton]]
|-
| Fancy Free
| 31
| [[Jerome Robbins]]
| [[Leonard Bernstein]]
|-
| [[Far from the Madding Crowd (ballet)|Far from the Madding Crowd]]
| 50,40,40
| [[David Bintley]]
| [[Paul Reade]]
|-
| [[La Fille Mal Gardée]]
| 28,34,38
| [[Frederick Ashton]]
| [[Ferdinand Hérold]]
|-
| [[The Firebird]]
| 47
| [[Michel Fokine|Mikhail Fokine]]
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan
| 8
| [[Frederick Ashton]]
| [[Johannes Brahms]]
|-
| Five Tangos
| 27
| [[Hans van Manen]]
| [[Ástor Piazzolla]]
|-
| [[The Four Seasons (Vivaldi)|Four Seasons]]
| 45
| Oliver Hindle, Shimon Kalichman, Mikaela Polley, Samira Saidi, Asier Uriagereka, Richard Whistler, Yuri Zhukov
| [[Antonio Vivaldi]]
|-
| [[The Four Seasons (Vivaldi)|The Four Seasons]]
| 46
| Oliver Hindle
| [[Antonio Vivaldi]]
|-
| The Four Temperaments
| 32
| [[George Balanchine]]
| [[Paul Hindemith]]
|-
| [[Giselle]]
| 55,46
| [[Marius Petipa]] after [[Jean Coralli]] & [[Jules Perrot]]
| [[Adolphe Adam]]
|-
| [[Grosse Fuge]]
| 27
| [[Hans van Manen]]
| [[Ludwig van Beethoven]]
|-
| [[Hobson's Choice (ballet)|Hobson's Choice]]
| 34,28,42
| [[David Bintley]]
| [[Paul Reade]]
|-
| In the Upper Room
| 40
| [[Twyla Tharp]]
| [[Philip Glass]]
|-
| Into the Ferment
| 25
| Jonathan Payn
| [[James MacMillan (musician)|James MacMillan]]
|-
| Krishna
| 35
| [[Nahid Siddiqui]]
| [[Hariprasad Chaurasia]]
|-
| [[The Lady and the Fool]]
| 48
| [[John Cranko]]
| [[Giuseppe Verdi]] arr [[Charles Mackerras]]
|-
| Much A-Dance About Nothing
|
| Jenny Murphy
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| [[Nine Sinatra Songs]]
| 33
| [[Twyla Tharp]]
|
|-
| [[The Nutcracker]]
| 50,50
| [[Peter Wright (choreographer)|Peter Wright]], [[Lev Ivanov]], Vincent Redmon
| [[Pyotr Tchaikovsky|Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]]
|-
| The Nutcracker Sweeties
| 35
| [[David Bintley]]
| [[Duke Ellington]] & [[Billy Strayhorn]] (after [[Pyotr Tchaikovsky|Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]])
|-
| Orpheus
| 30
| [[George Balanchine]]
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| The Orpheus Suite
| 45
| [[David Bintley]]
| [[Colin Towns]]
|-
| [[Paquita]]
| 28
| [[Marius Petipa]]
| [[Ludwig Minkus]]
|-
| Les Petits Riens
| 25
| [[David Bintley]]
| [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]
|-
| [[Petrushka (ballet)|Petrushka]]
| 38
| [[Michel Fokine]]
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| [[Pictures at an Exhibition]]
| 35
| Shimon Kalichman, Toby Norman-Wright, Annette Pain, Jonathan Payn, Mikaela Polley, Samira Saidi, Nicole Tongue, Richard Whistler, Asier Uriagereka, Yuri Zhukov
| [[Modest Mussorgsky]] arr [[Maurice Ravel]]
|-
| [[Pineapple Poll]]
| 41
| [[John Cranko]]
| [[Arthur Sullivan]] arr [[Charles Mackerras]]
|-
| [[The Planets]]
| 53
| [[Rosie Kay]], [[David Bintley]], Samara Downs, Lei Zhao, Michael Kopinski, Kit Holder, Jenny Murphy
| [[Gustav Holst]]
|-
| Powder
| 33
| Stanton Welch
| [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]]
|-
| Prodigal Son
| 36
| [[George Balanchine]]
| [[Sergey Prokofiev]]
|-
| The Prospect Before Us
| 38
| [[Ninette de Valois]]
| [[William Boyce (composer)|William Boyce]] arr [[Constant Lambert]]
|-
| The Protecting Veil
| 43
| [[David Bintley]]
| [[John Tavener]]
|-
| [[Pulcinella (ballet)|Pulcinella]]
| 40
| Kim Brandstrup
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| [[Raymonda|Raymonda Act III]]
| 34
| [[Rudolf Nureyev]]
| [[Alexander Glazunov]]
|-
| [[The Rite of Spring]]
| 35
| Millicent Hodson after [[Vaslav Nijinsky]]
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| [[Romeo and Juliet (Prokofiev)|Romeo and Juliet]]
| 60,34,40
| [[Kenneth MacMillan]]
| [[Sergey Prokofiev]]
|-
| Sanctum
| 26
| [[Lila York]]
| [[Maurice Ravel]] & [[Christopher Rouse (composer)|Christopher Rouse]]
|-
| Scènes de Ballet
| 22
| [[Frederick Ashton]]
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| The Seasons
| 32
| [[David Bintley]]
| [[Giuseppe Verdi]]
|-
| Serenade
| 34
| [[George Balanchine]]
| [[Pyotr Tchaikovsky|Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]]
|-
| The Shakespeare Suite
| 38
| [[David Bintley]]
| [[Duke Ellington]] & [[Billy Strayhorn]]
|-
| Slaughter on Tenth Avenue
| 25
| [[George Balanchine]]
| [[Richard Rodgers]]
|-
| [[The Sleeping Beauty (ballet)|The Sleeping Beauty]]
| 34,30,32,39
| [[Marius Petipa]], [[Peter Wright (choreographer)|Peter Wright]]
| [[Pyotr Tchaikovsky|Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]]
|-
| Small Worlds
|
| Kit Holder
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| Solitaire
| 27
| [[Kenneth MacMillan]]
| [[Malcolm Arnold]]
|-
| [[Das Lied von der Erde|Song of the Earth]]
| 63
| [[Kenneth MacMillan]]
| [[Gustav Mahler]]
|-
| The Sons of Horus
| 30
| [[David Bintley]]
| Peter McGowan
|-
| [['Still Life' at the Penguin Cafe]]
| 42
| [[David Bintley]]
| [[Simon Jeffes]]
|-
| Stravinsky Violin Concerto
| 20
| [[George Balanchine]]
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| [[Swan Lake]]
| 32,32,44,20
| [[Marius Petipa]], [[Lev Ivanov]] & [[Peter Wright (choreographer)|Peter Wright]]
| [[Pyotr Tchaikovsky|Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]]
|-
| Symphonic Variations
| 21
| [[Frederick Ashton]]
| [[César Franck]]
|-
| Symphony in Three Movements
| 24
| [[George Balanchine]]
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| [[Take Five]]
| 25
| [[David Bintley]]
| The [[Dave Brubeck Quartet]] transcribed by [[Colin Towns]]
|-
| Tombeaux
| 25
| [[David Bintley]]
| [[William Walton]]
|-
| Tweedledum and Tweedledee
| 5
| [[Frederick Ashton]]
| [[Percy Grainger]]
|-
| [[The Two Pigeons (ballet)|The Two Pigeons]]
| 27,33
| [[Frederick Ashton]]
| [[André Messager]]
|-
| Unravelled
|
| Nathanael Skelton
| [[Igor Stravinsky]]
|-
| Voice of Spring
| 4
| [[Frederick Ashton]]
| [[Johann Strauss II]]
|-
| The Walk to the Paradise Garden
| 9
| [[Frederick Ashton]]
| [[Frederick Delius]]
|-
| [[Western Symphony]]
| 30
| [[George Balanchine]]
| trad American melodies arr by [[Hershy Kay]]
|}

==The company==

The Birmingham Royal Ballet employs 61 dancers and a complete list as of 2024 is shown below.

The company also has an Executive, Artistic and Music staff, including the following:

* Director – [[Carlos Acosta]], a former dancer with [[The Royal Ballet]] and Director of both Birmingham Royal Ballet and Acosta Danza <ref name="Acosta Danza">{{cite web|url=https://www.acostadanza.com/en|title= Acosta Danza Homepage|website=Acosta Danza|access-date= 9 July 2023}}</ref>
* Music Director – Paul Murphy <ref name="Paul Murphy announced as new Music Director"> {{cite web|url=https://www.brb.org.uk/stories/paul-murphy-announced-as-new-music-director|website=Birmingham Royal Ballet|access-date= 12 March 2024|title=Paul Murphy announced as new Music Director}}</ref>
* CEO – Caroline Millar


==Dancers ==
Source <ref name="BRB Dancers">{{cite web|url=https://www.brb.org.uk/the-company/dancers-and-ballet-staff|title= Dancers and Ballet Staff |website=Birmingham Royal Ballet|access-date= 12 March 2024}}</ref>

===Principals===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Name
! Nationality
! Training
! Joined BRB
! Promoted to <br> Principal
|-
| Tzu-Chao Chou 
|{{TWN}}
|[[Australian Ballet School]]
|2011
|2017
|-
| Mathias Dingman
| {{GBR}}
| [[Kirov Academy of Ballet]]
| 2006
| 2015
|-
|[[Samara Downs]]
|{{GBR}}
|[[Royal Ballet School]]
|2003
|2016
|-

|[[Céline Gittens]]
|{{CAN}}
| [[Goh Ballet Academy]]
|2006
|2016
|-
| [[Momoko Hirata]]
| {{JPN}}
| Reiko Yamamoto Ballet School<br>[[Royal Ballet School]]
| 2003
| 2013
|-
| Max Maslen
| {{GBR}}
| [[Central School of Ballet]]
| 2012
| 2023
|-
| Miki Mitzutani 
| {{JPN}}
| [[English National Ballet School]]
| 2012
| 2022
|-
| Lachlan Monaghan 
| {{AUS}}
| [[Royal Ballet School]]
| 2012
| 2023
|-
| Yaoqian Shang 
| {{CHN}}
| [[Royal Ballet School]]
| 2013
| 2022
|-
| Tyrone Singleton
| {{GBR}}
| [[Tring Park School for the Performing Arts]] <br> [[Royal Ballet School]]
| 2003
| 2013
|}

===Principal Character Artists===
*Rory Mackay (Assistant Répétiteur) 
*Jonathan Payn (Assistant Répétiteur)

===First Soloists===
*Kit Holder (BRB2 Artistic Coordinator)
*Yvette Knight
*Yu Kurihara
*Beatrice Parma

===Soloists===
*Yasiel Hodelín Bello
*Karla Doorbar
*Riku Ito

===First Artists===
{{Div col|colwidth=20em|rules=no}}
*Gabriel Anderson
*Rosanna Ely
*Haoliang Feng
*Reina Fuchigami
*Sofía Liñares
*Gus Payne
*Rachele Pizillo
*Daria Stanciulescu
*Lucy Waine
{{Div col end}}

===Artists===
{{Div col|colwidth=20em|rules=no}}
*Louis Andreasen
*Enrique Bejarano Vidal
*Olivia Chang Clarke
*Ryan Felix
*Callum Findlay-White
*Tori Forsyth-Hecken
*August Generalli
*Miles Gilliver
*Tessa Hogge
*Isabella Howard
*Regan Hutsell
*Ava May Llewellyn
*Hannah Martin
*Eric Pinto Cata
*Matilde Rodrigues
*Javier Rojas
*Hamish Scott
*Eilis Small
*Yuki Sugiura
*Lynsey Sutherland
*Amelia Thompson
*Shuailun Wu
{{Div col end}}

===Apprentices===
{{Div col|colwidth=20em|rules=no}}
*Sofie Walters
{{Div col end}}

===BRB2===
{{Div col|colwidth=20em|rules=no}}
*Ariana Allen
*Jack Easton
*Alisa Garkavenko
*Thomas Hazelby
*Frieda Kaden
*Mailène Katoch
*Oscar Kempsey-Fagg
*Mason King
*Alexandra Manuel
*Alfie Shacklock
{{Div col end}}

==See also==
*[[The Royal Ballet]], sister company of the Birmingham Royal Ballet
*[[Royal Ballet School]], official ballet school of the company
*[[English National Ballet]]
*[[Elmhurst Ballet School]]

== Footnotes ==
{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links==
{{commons cat}}
*{{Official website}}

{{Ballet schools}}
{{Ballet companies}}
{{Dance Companies in the United Kingdom}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Birmingham Royal Ballet| ]]
[[Category:The Royal Ballet]]
[[Category:Schools of the performing arts in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Ballet schools in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Culture in Birmingham, West Midlands]]
[[Category:National Dance Award winners]]
[[Category:1947 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Performing groups established in 1946]]