Ballet Ireland is an Irish

ballet company A ballet company is a type of dance troupe which performs classical ballet, neoclassical ballet, and/or contemporary ballet in the European tradition, plus managerial and support staff. Most major ballet companies employ dancers on a year-round ba ...

, established in 1998 by Günther Falusy and Anne Maher. Presenting a broad repertoire, it has been funded by the

Arts Council of Ireland The Arts Council (sometimes called the Arts Council of Ireland; legally ga, An Chomhairle Ealaíon) is the independent "Irish government agency for developing the arts." About It was established in 1951 by the Government of Ireland, to encour ...

since 1999 and is under the sole patronage of Irish President

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins ( ga, Mícheál Dónal Ó hUigínn; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics throug ...

since 2013.

History

Following various previous ventures, ballet in Ireland had a "home" in the Irish National Ballet, founded in 1973 and overseen by

Joan Denise Moriarty Joan Denise Moriarty (died 24 January 1992) was an Irish ballet dancer, choreographer, teacher of ballet and traditional Irish dancer and musician. She was a key figure in the development of both amateur and professional ballet in Ireland. Ea ...

. However, following a series of funding cuts, the company was disbanded in 1989 and doubt was expressed whether classical ballet could survive in Ireland. In 1998, Ballet Ireland was founded in Dublin by

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

and dancer Günther Falusy (1946–2017), and the professional

ballet dancer A ballet dancer ( it, ballerina fem.; ''ballerino'' masc.) is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet; however, dancers have a strict hierarchy and strict gender roles. They rely on yea ...

Anne Maher, to re-establish classical ballet in the capital. The opening production was at the

Gaiety Theatre, Dublin The Gaiety Theatre is a theatre on South King Street in Dublin, Ireland, off Grafton Street and close to St. Stephen's Green. It specialises in operatic and musical productions, with occasional dramatic shows. History In April 1871, the broth ...

. The

provided substantial grants from 1999 to 2003, allowing the new company to become established. This funding has continued, allowing annual performances and tours throughout Ireland and to a lesser extent in the UK. Since then, the company has presented over 30 seasons of work and is also involved in educational programmes such as professional workshops and summer schools. In 2013, the President of Ireland,

, a former Arts Minister, became the patron of the company.

Performances

Ballet Ireland began with a conventional repertoire of well-known ballets such as ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' ( rus, Щелкунчик, Shchelkunchik, links=no ) is an 1892 two-act ballet (""; russian: балет-феерия, link=no, ), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaiko ...

'', ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

'' and '' The Sleeping Beauty''. Once fully established, it started to take works on tour, for example, a production of ''

Giselle ''Giselle'' (; ), originally titled ''Giselle, ou les Wilis'' (, ''Giselle, or The Wilis''), is a romantic ballet (" ballet-pantomime") in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, ...

'' from 2017, performed at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

in 2018 which ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' called "part modern murder mystery, part romantic ballet classic" and Anna Winter in ''

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...

'' described as a "full-blooded re-imagining staged with zeal". The company has also extended its range of works to include contemporary dance and reinterpretations of classic ballets. The company collaborated with the

Irish Chamber Orchestra The Irish Chamber Orchestra (ICO) is an Irish classical music ensemble, administratively based at the University of Limerick. János Fürst founded the ICO in 1963. The ICO consisted only of strings as its regular ensemble for many years, adding wi ...

on a 2014 production of

Rodion Shchedrin Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin ( rus, Родион Константинович Щедрин, , rədʲɪˈon kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ɕːɪˈdrʲin; born 16 December 1932) is a Soviet and Russian composer and pianist, winner of USSR State ...

's ''Carmen Suite'' (ballet) and with the

RTÉ Concert Orchestra The RTÉ Concert Orchestra is one of the two full-time professional radio orchestras in Ireland that are part of RTÉ, the national broadcasting station. Since its formation as the Radio Éireann Light Orchestra in 1948, the RTÉ Concert Orchestr ...

on a number of productions.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Ballet companies in Ireland 1998 establishments in Ireland Performing groups established in 1998