Inscription on wall of the Scottish Ballet building in Glasgow

Scottish Ballet is the national ballet company of Scotland and one of the five leading ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

English National Ballet English National Ballet is a classical ballet company founded by Dame Alicia Markova and Sir Anton Dolin as London Festival Ballet and based in London, England. Along with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish ...

Birmingham Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major 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 ...

and

Northern Ballet Northern Ballet, formerly Northern Ballet Theatre, is a dance company based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a strong repertoire in theatrical dance productions where the emphasis is on story telling as well as classical ballet. The company ...

. Founded in 1969, the company is based in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, the resident ballet company at the Glasgow Theatre Royal and from 2009 in their purpose-built ballet centre in Tramway Arts Centre, Glasgow.

History

Scottish Ballet is Scotland's national dance company. Its primary aim is to provide programmes of world-class dance performance and educational activity at all scales. Scottish Ballet presents a wide range of dance to audiences across Scotland, the UK and abroad – and employs 36 professional dancers, 41 staff and a part-time freelance orchestra of up to 70 musicians. Founded by

Peter Darrell Peter Darrell (''né'' Skinner; 16 September 1929 – 2 December 1987) was an English ballet dancer, choreographer, and founder of the Scottish Ballet. For almost four decades Darrell was one of the most productive and imaginative talents in Br ...

and Elizabeth West as the Western Theatre Ballet in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

in 1957, the company moved to Glasgow in 1969 and was renamed Scottish Theatre Ballet, changing to Scottish Ballet in 1974. A year later its home theatre became the Theatre Royal, Glasgow when Scottish Opera bought it and transformed it as the first national opera house in Scotland. The Company performs across Scotland, the UK and abroad, with strong classical technique at the root of all of its work. Its broad repertory includes new versions of the classics, seminal pieces from the 20th century modern ballet canon, signature pieces by living choreographers and new commissions. As a national company, Scottish Ballet performs at theatres in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness and in smaller venues throughout Scotland. The company's long history of touring internationally includes visits to China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Portugal, Ireland and the rest of the UK. Scottish Ballet's many recent awards include the 2004

TMA Award The UK Theatre Awards, established in 1991 and known before 2011 as the TMA Awards, are presented annually by UK Theatre (formerly the Theatrical Management Association) in recognition of creative excellence and outstanding work in regional theat ...

for Outstanding Achievement in Dance in recognition of its modernisation programme and dynamic performances. Scottish Ballet's current artistic director

Christopher Hampson Christopher Hampson (born 31 March 1973) is an English ballet choreographer and director and former ballet dancer. In August 2012, Hampson succeeded Ashley Page as artistic director of Scottish Ballet, and was appointed CEO/Artistic Director in ...

joined the company in 2012. Scottish Ballet's 50th anniversary year The company provides dance classes and a variety of education initiatives, including work with children and adults of all ages and abilities, and the Associate Programme which encourages aspiring young dancers to train for a career in the industry. Scottish Ballet also has close links with Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, partnering the BA Modern Ballet and M.Mus. (Pianist for Dance) degree courses. Scottish Ballet was the first dance company in Europe to offer live audio description for the visually impaired, and maintains a programme of regular audio described performances throughout Scotland.

Repertoire

Scottish Ballet presents a broad repertoire, ranging from new versions of the classics (''The Nutcracker'', ''Cinderella''), 20th century modern ballet repertoire (work by George Balanchine, Frederick Ashton), work by living choreographers (William Forsythe, Hans van Manen, Siobhan Davies) and new commissions (David Dawson, Helen Pickett, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa). Current repertoire: * ''Dangerous Liaisons'' (1985) by Richard Alston * ''

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

'' (1928) by George Balanchine * ''

Episodes Episodes may refer to: * Episode An episode is a narrative unit within a larger dramatic work or documentary production, such as a series intended for radio, television or streaming consumption. The noun ''episode'' is derived from the Gree ...

'' (1959) by George Balanchine * ''

The Four Temperaments ''The Four Temperaments'' or Theme and Four Variations (''The Four Temperaments'') is an orchestral work and ballet by Paul Hindemith. Although it was originally conceived as a ballet for Léonide Massine, the score was ultimately completed a ...

'' (1946, revised 1977) by George Balanchine * ''

Rubies A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called sap ...

'' (1967) by George Balanchine * ''Five Rückert Songs'' (1978) by Peter Darrel * ''White Man Sleeps'' (1988) by Siobhan Davies * ''Suite From Artifact'' (1984, as Suite from Artifact 2004) by William Forsythe * ''Twilight'' (1972) by Hans van Manen * ''Two Pieces for HET'' (1997) by Hans van Manen * ''Acrid Avid Jam'' (2001) by

Ashley Page Ashley Page OBE (born August 1956) is a British former ballet dancer, choreographer and was artistic director of Scottish Ballet for ten years. Ashley Page was born in Rochester, Kent in August 1956. Page trained the Royal Ballet School, and joi ...

* ''Cheating, Lying, Stealing'' (1998) by Ashley Page * ''Cinderella'' (2005) by Ashley Page * ''Nightswimming into day'' (2004) by Ashley Page * ''The Nutcracker'' (2003) by Ashley Page * ''The Pump Room'' (2005) by Ashley Page * ''Refurbished Behaviour'' (1985, revised 2005) by Ashley Page * ''Soft Underbelly'' (1999) by Ashley Page * ''Walking in the Heat'' (1990) by Ashley Page * ''The Snow Queen'' (2018) by Ashley Page * ''32 Cryptograms'' (1996) by Ashley Page * ''MiddleSexGorge'' (1990) by Stephen Petronio * '' Agon'' (1957) by George Balanchine * '' Afternoon of a Faun'' (1953) by Jerome Robbins * ''In Light and Shadow'' (2000) by Krzysztof Pastor * ''Room of Cooks'' (1997) by Ashley Page * ''The Nutcracker – Diverts'' (2003) by Ashley Page * ''

Façade A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a Loanword, loan word from the French language, French (), which means 'frontage' or 'face'. In architecture, the façade of a building is often t ...

'' (1931/1935) by Frederick Ashton * ''Sirocco'' (2006) by Diana Loosmore * ''Othello'' (1971) by Peter Darrell * ''The Sleeping Beauty'' (2007) by Ashley Page * ''Ride The Beast'' (2007) by Stephen Petronio * ''Fearful Symmetries'' (1994) by Ashley Page * ''For M.G. – The Movie'' (1991) by Trisha Brown * ''Chasing Ghosts'' (2007) by Diana Loosmore * ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'' (2008) by Krzysztof Pastor * ''Traume'' (2008) by

Gregory Dean Gregory Dean (born 1984) is an English ballet dancer. After terms with the Ballet Vorpommern and the Scottish Ballet, he joined the Royal Danish Ballet in 2008 where he has been promoted to principal dancer. Biography Born in London, Dean trained ...

* ''Lull'' (2008) by Diana Loosmore * ''Pennies from Heaven'' (2008) by Ashley Page * ''Carmen'' (2009) by Richard Alston * ''Workwithinwork'' (1998) by William Forsythe * ''Petrushka'' (2009) by Ian Spink * '' Scènes de Ballet'' (1947) by Frederick Ashton * ''Still Life'' (2010) by Val Caniparoli * ''From Where'' (2008) by Paul Liburd * ''Alice'' (2011) by Ashley Page * '' Song of the Earth'' (1965) by Kenneth MacMillan * ''New Work'' (2011) by Jorma Elo

Headquarters

In June 2009 Scottish Ballet moved to new, purpose-built premises in Glasgow's Southside, next to the Tramway Theatre, which had been designed by Malcolm Fraser Architects.

Dancers

Principals

* Constance Devernay *Marge Hendrick * Bethany Kingsley-Garner *

Sophie Martin Sophie Christine Martin (born 1984) is a French ballet dancer. She was a principal dancer with the Scottish Ballet between 2008 and 2022, before joining the Badisches Staatsballett Karlsruhe in the 2022/23 season. Early life Sophie Martin was ...

*Barnaby Rook Bishop * Christopher Harrison *Evan Loudon * Andrew Peasgood

Soloists

* Aisling Brangan * Grace Horler *Roseanna Leney *Claire Souet *Jerome Anthony Barnes *Thomas Edwards *Jamiel Laurence *Bruno Micchiardi *Nicholas Shoesmith

First Artists

* Melissa Parsons * Grace Paulley *Madeline Squire *Kayla-Maree Tarantolo *Javier Andreu * Rimbaud Patron * Constant Vigier

Artists

* Noa Barry *Rishan Benjamin *Hannah Cubitt *Alice Kawalek *Amy McEntee *Xolisweh Ana Richards *Anna Williams *Matthew Broadbent *James Hobley * Jamie Reid * Simon Shilgen * Eado Turgeman *Aarón Venegas

Notable former dancers

Leigh Alderson Leigh Alderson (born 1986) is a male ballet dancer, model and actor from Portadown, Northern Ireland. Alderson trained at The Royal Ballet School performing in Rudi van Dantzig's ''Four Last Songs'' in Toronto and Stuttgart before graduating in ...

Daria Klimentová Daria Klimentová (born 23 June 1971) is a Czech retired ballet dancer, ballet teacher and photographer . She spent most of her career as a lead principal dancer at English National Ballet. She is currently a teacher at the Royal Ballet Upper S ...

Noriko Ohara , better known by her stage name , is a Japanese actress and voice actress. She was previously represented by Aoni Production, then Production Baobab, but is now freelance. Her son is Sunrise animator . She is best known for the roles of Nobita ...

References

Sources

* *

External links

*
Tramway Theatre website
{{Ballet companies Culture in Glasgow Ballet companies in the United Kingdom

Ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

Charities based in Glasgow 1957 establishments in Scotland Performing groups established in 1957 Arts charities