Deborah Bull, Baroness Bull,
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(born 22 March 1963) is an English dancer, writer, and broadcaster and former creative director of the
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...
. She joined
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
as Director, Cultural Partnerships in 2012. In 2015 she was appointed as the university's Assistant Principal (London), in 2018 was named Vice President & Vice-Principal (London) and in 2021 named Vice Principal (Communities & National Engagement) until her departure in July 2022.
Born in
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
, and brought up in
Kent
Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
and
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
, she studied dance from the age of seven, first locally, and then at the
Royal Ballet School
The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...
. Whilst at the school she won the 1980
Prix de Lausanne
The Prix de Lausanne is an international dance competition held annually in Lausanne, Switzerland. The competition is for young dancers seeking to pursue a professional career in classical ballet, and many former prize winners of the competition a ...
, the prestigious international ballet competition.
Ballet career
She was invited to join
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 ...
in 1981, having toured with the company as a student during the summer. The teachers that Bull identified as the "resident teachers" were
Brian Shaw
Brian Keith Shaw (born March 22, 1966) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He could play both guard positions, but wa ...
,
Alexander Agadzhanov,
Betty Anderton and the Norwegian
Gerd Larsen
Gerd Larsen born Gerd Elly (19 February 1921 – 4 October 2001) was a Norwegian ballerina who performed frequently with England's Royal Ballet, in a career lasting over fifty years up until her seventy-fifth birthday. In her later years she wa ...
. Bull particularly admired Larsen's ability to introduce mime.
Bull gained principal status in 1992, after the company's opening performance in Japan at which she danced the role of Gamzatti in La Bayadere.
During her 20 years in the Royal Ballet, she danced a wide range of work throughout the repertoire. Her leading roles in the classics included Odette/Odile in ''Swan Lake'', Aurora in ''The Sleeping Beauty'' and Kitri in ''Don Quixote'', and she created roles for
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 ...
,
David Bintley
Sir David Julian Bintley (born 17 September 1957) is an English former ballet dancer, the artistic director of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, and co-artistic director of the New National Theatre Tokyo ballet company.
Early life
Bintley was born i ...
,
Michael Corder
Michael Corder (born 17 March 1955) is a British choreographer and director.
Corder trained at the Royal Ballet School
The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and ...
, Emma Diamond,
Wayne McGregor
Wayne McGregor, CBE (born 12 March 1970) is a multi award-winning British choreographer and director. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. McGregor was appointed Commander of the ...
,
Glen Tetley
Glen Tetley (February 3, 1926 – January 26, 2007) was an American ballet and modern dancer as well as a choreographer who mixed ballet and modern dance to create a new way of looking at dance, and is best known for his piece ''Pierrot Lunaire ...
and
Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp (; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1966 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance. Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music.
Fr ...
. She received particular praise for her performances in the works of
George Balanchine
George Balanchine (;
Various sources:
*
*
*
* born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...
and
William Forsythe. In 1995 Forsythe staged for her the first performance in this country of his ballet ''Steptext'', and she was subsequently nominated for a 1996 Olivier Award in the 'Outstanding Achievement in Dance' Category for her interpretation. She was named as 1996 Dancer of the Year by both ''The Sunday Express'' and ''The Independent on Sunday'', who praised her work on and off the stage, saying 'here is a dancer whose intelligence and courage - for once - don't reside entirely in the tips of her toes'.
Away from the Royal Ballet, she toured Italy, North America and Canada with
Wayne Eagling
Wayne Eagling (born 27 November 1950) is a Canadian ballet dancer, now retired. After more than twenty years as a popular member of The Royal Ballet in London, he became well known as an international choreographer and company director.
Early li ...
's group, 'Stars of the Royal Ballet', and was invited to join
Irek Mukhamedov
Irek Dzhavdatovich Mukhamedov OBE (russian: Ирек Джавдатович Мухамедов: tt-Cyrl, Ирек Җәүдәт улы Мөхәммәтев; born 8 March 1960), is a Soviet-born British ballet dancer of Tatar origin who has danced ...
for the debut performances of his company 'Irek Mukhamedov and Friends' in 1992. She danced at the 1993 and 1995 Harrogate International Festival, and in April 1996 was invited to perform in the first 'Diamonds of World Ballet' Gala at the Kremlin Palace, Moscow. She has toured Japan with Tetsuya Kumakawa and in the summers of 1994 and 1995 she organised, staged and starred in ''An Evening of British Ballet'' at the Sintra Festival in Portugal. In March 2001, she was invited to star in the triple bill Nijinsky Ritrovato at the Rome Opera House, dancing the Chosen Maiden in ''Rite of Spring'' and alongside Carla Fracci in ''Jeux''.
Artists' Development Initiative
In addition to her work with the Royal Ballet, she founded in 1998 the Artists' Development Initiative at the Royal Opera House, a programme designed to open up the resources and expertise within the theatre to small-scale companies and independent artists. Over its first two years, ADI worked with over 250 artists from outside the Royal Opera House and facilitated collaborations across art forms and between independent choreographers and classical dancers. ADI shared the 2001 ''Time Out'' Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance with
Wayne McGregor
Wayne McGregor, CBE (born 12 March 1970) is a multi award-winning British choreographer and director. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. McGregor was appointed Commander of the ...
for Symbiont(s), premiered in the Clore Studio Upstairs in June 2000.
ROH2
She retired from The Royal Ballet in August 2001 to take up a new position at the Royal Opera House in January 2002, as Creative Director,
ROH2
ROH2 was the contemporary arm of the Royal Opera House until 2012, commissioning and producing dance and contemporary opera works in the Linbury Studio Theatre, Clore Studio Upstairs, Paul Hamlyn Hall, and various other locations situated both w ...
, developing a range of small-scale and experimental artistic initiatives and overseeing the programme in the theatre's alternative performance spaces. In 2004, her remit expanded to include the delivery of a strategy for the ROH's work away from the main stage, including an alternative performance programme, opera and dance development initiatives, Big Screen live relays from the main stage, an 'On the Road' programme and daytime activities in the building. In addition, she managed ROH Collections, the Royal Opera House's extensive archives, and was focused on the organisation's Olympic planning and audience engagement strategies. In 2008, she was made Creative Director of the Royal Opera House, a post she held until 2012.
Publishing
In addition to her work as a dancer, she has regularly written and lectured on the arts. In January 1996 she debated at the Oxford Union, opposing the motion 'This House Believes the National Lottery Gives Too Much Money to the Elitist Arts'. Her address was described by
Lord Gowrie, her debating partner, as 'the best speech I have heard on the Arts in 30 years'. The motion was heavily defeated, a triumph which the ''Evening Standard'' attributed largely to 'the eloquence of a ballerina, unaccustomed to public speaking', describing her speech as 'cogently argued and delivered with generosity of spirit'.
In October 1996 she was invited by Lord Gowrie to deliver the Arts Council Annual Lecture at the Royal Society for the Arts, 'From Private Patronage to Public Purse'.
She has written articles for ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', ''
The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'', ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'', ''
The Sunday Telegraph
''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961 and published by the Telegraph Media Group, a division of Press Holdings.
It is the sister paper of ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', kn ...
'', ''
Classic FM Magazine
The ''Classic FM Magazine'' was a magazine published by Haymarket in the United Kingdom each month. It was the printed organ of Classic FM, a British classical commercial radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), ...
'', ''
New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
'' and ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'', and reviewed for ''The Telegraph'', ''
The Literary Review
''The Literary Review'' is an American literary magazine founded in 1957. The biannual magazine is published internationally by Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, New Jersey. In addition to the publication of short stories, poems, and ...
'' and several dance magazines. From 1999 to 2001 she wrote a regular column, Private View, for ''The Telegraph''.
Aside from the Arts, she has a passionate interest in health and fitness, and has taught nutrition to the students of the Royal Ballet School as well as chairing the
Prix de Lausanne
The Prix de Lausanne is an international dance competition held annually in Lausanne, Switzerland. The competition is for young dancers seeking to pursue a professional career in classical ballet, and many former prize winners of the competition a ...
's annual seminars on dance related health matters.
She has published three books. ''The Vitality Plan'', (
Dorling Kindersley
Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages.
It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media co ...
, January 1998) was published simultaneously in the United States as ''Totally Fit'', and has since been translated into seven different languages. ''Dancing Away'' (
Methuen, October 1998) is a diary of The Royal Ballet's first year 'on the road', as the Royal Opera House underwent its extensive and controversial redevelopment. To mark publication, Deborah was commissioned to read five extracts from the book on
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
. ''Dancing Away'' was described by ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'' as 'arguably the most amusing and fascinating dance book ever published'. ''The Faber Pocket Guide to Ballet'', jointly with Luke Jennings, was published in 2004, describing important historical and repertoire ballets with a 'View from the Wings' by Bull of her personal thoughts on dancing in a piece. A second book for
Faber'', The Everyday Dancer'', appeared in 2011.
Broadcasting career
Television
Her first programme for television, ''Dance Ballerina, Dance'', was screened at Christmas 1998 as part of BBC 2's ''Dance Night'', an evening devoted entirely to dance which she co-presented along with the comedian
Alexei Sayle
Alexei David Sayle (born 7 August 1952) is an English actor, author, stand-up comedian, television presenter and former recording artist. He was a leading figure in the British alternative comedy movement in the 1980s. He was voted the 18th gr ...
. ''Travels with My Tutu'', written and presented by Bull, was screened over Christmas 2000. This four part BBC2 series explored breakdance, jive, belly dance and tango and attracted record audiences.
She has presented live on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
from the Royal Opera House (''
Coppélia
''Coppélia'' (sometimes subtitled: ''La Fille aux Yeux d'Émail'' (The Girl with the Enamel Eyes)) is a comic ballet from 1870 originally choreographed by Arthur Saint-Léon to the music of Léo Delibes, with libretto by Charles-Louis-Éti ...
'' and ''The Nutcracker'', both in 2000) and from
Sadler's Wells
Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-sea ...
(Rambert Dance Company), as well as a live
Proms
The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...
performance on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
in 2004. In June 2001, she presented the
Eurovision Young Dancers 2001
The Eurovision Young Dancers 2001 was the eighth edition of the Eurovision Young Dancers, held at the Linbury Studio Theatre of the Royal Opera House in London, United Kingdom between 18 and 23 June 2001. Organised by the European Broadcasting Un ...
competition from the
Linbury Studio Theatre
The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...
, broadcast to 18 European nations as well as BBC2 and
BBC Knowledge
BBC Knowledge was a British television channel which was owned by the BBC and was launched on 1 June 1999, broadcasting documentary, cultural and educational programmes. It was shut down on 2 March 2002, and was replaced by BBC Four.
History
L ...
. She was also the UK's commentator for the contest in , and . Her three part, award-winning series for BBC2, ''
The Dancer's Body'', was screened in September and October 2002.
In March 2017, Bull was one of the judges who decided which of the finalists in the ballet category of the ''
BBC Young Dancer 2017'' competition would make it through to the overall final.
Radio
She has made programmes for, and contributes regularly to, BBC Radio 4 including ''Dancing Away'' (1998), ''Leaving Barons Court'' (1999), ''Breaking the Law'' (2001) and ''Law in Order'' (2002), ''A Dance Through Time'' (2004), ''Happy Feet'' (2008) and ''Hothouse Kids'' (2009). She presented ''Sounds of Dance'', a four-part series for
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...
from December 2003 to January 2004.
In 2012, Bull presented the five-part
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
series, ''Dance Nation'', on English dance.
She was the castaway on BBC Radio 4's ''
Desert Island Discs
''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942.
Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...
'' in May the following year.
Public service
She was a member of the
Arts Council England
Arts Council England is an arm's length non-departmental public body of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is also a registered charity. It was formed in 1994 when the Arts Council of Great Britain was divided into three s ...
from 1998 to 2005 and a Governor of the BBC from 2003 to 2006. Additionally, she is a patron of the
National Osteoporosis Society
The Royal Osteoporosis Society (ROS), formerly the National Osteoporosis Society, established in 1986, is the only UK-wide charity dedicated to improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis. It is based in Camerton, Somerse ...
, Foundation for Community Dance and Escape Artists (a theatre company of paroled and ex-prisoners), sits on the Board of the
Prix de Lausanne
The Prix de Lausanne is an international dance competition held annually in Lausanne, Switzerland. The competition is for young dancers seeking to pursue a professional career in classical ballet, and many former prize winners of the competition a ...
and is an Honorary Vice President of Voices of British Ballet.
She was a judge for the 2010
Man Booker Prize
The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...
. She has been awarded Honorary Doctorates by
University of Derby
, mottoeng = Experience is the best teacher
, established = 1851 – Teacher Training College1992 – gained university status
, type = Public
, chancellor = William Cavendish, Ear ...
(1998),
Sheffield Hallam University
Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) is a public research university in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The university is based on two sites; the City Campus is located in the city centre near Sheffield railway station, while the Collegiate Cr ...
(2001),
Kent University (2010) and the
Open University
The Open University (OU) is a British public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off- ...
(2005) and was appointed a
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
(CBE) in the Queen's
1999 Birthday Honours
The 1999 Queen's Birthday Honours to celebrate the Queen's Official Birthday were announced on 7 June 1999 in New Zealand and Niue, and on 12 June 1999 in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms.Tuvalu list:
The recipients of honours a ...
.
In December 2011, it was announced that Bull had been appointed the first Executive Director of
King's College London
King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...
's King's Cultural Institute, and would be taking up the role in March 2012.
Bull was nominated for a
life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...
age by the
House of Lords Appointments Commission
The House of Lords Appointments Commission is an independent advisory non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It has two roles:
*to recommend at least two people a year for appointment as non-party-political life peers who sit on the ...
in June 2018.
She was created Baroness Bull, of Aldwych in the City of Westminster, on 11 July.
References
External links
*
Deborah Bullon ''
Desert Island Discs
''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942.
Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usu ...
'' in 2013
Honorary Degree (University of Kent)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bull, Deborah
1963 births
Living people
People educated at the Royal Ballet School
Principal dancers of The Royal Ballet
People from Derby
English ballerinas
BBC Governors
People's peers
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
Prix de Lausanne winners
Royal Opera House
Life peers created by Elizabeth II
Crossbench life peers