BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET’S AUTUMN SEASON 2009 AT BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME

One of the reasons I admire and promote Birmingham Royal Ballet is because the Company does what I try to do here, and is “a world leader in ensuring that classical ballet has relevance for the future”. The Company is based at Birmingham Hippodrome & tours extensively throughout the UK and overseas.


The Centre and its Opposite - Dusty Button and Aaron Robison
Photo by Bill Cooper

Quantum Leaps performs from 23 – 26 September and consists of three contrasting ballets offering a lively evening of entertainment. Stanton Welch’s Powder, is danced to Mozart’s clarinet concerto and celebrates beauty, nostalgia and joy. David Bintley’s new ballet E=mc² is set to music by Australian composer Matthew Hindson and The Centre and its Opposite is a work by contemporary choreographer Garry Stewart, Artistic Director of Australian Dance Theatre. Set to a rhythmically powerful electronic soundscape by Huey Benjamin The Centre and its Opposite premiered during the company’s mid-scale tour earlier this year.


The Centre and its Opposite - Dusty Button and Aaron Robison
Photo by Bill Cooper

David Bintley’s production of Cyrano performs at the Birmingham Hippodrome from 30 September – 3 October. Choreographed by Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Director, David Bintley, Cyrano has a specially commissioned score by Carl Davis with sets by Hayden Griffin and lighting by Mark Jonathan. David made his original version for The Royal Ballet in 1991 and reworked the piece for Birmingham Royal Ballet’s premiere in 2007 with the new score and choreography. Set in 17th-century France this heartbreaking ballet tells the story of one man’s truly self-sacrificing devotion. A pyrotechnic design company assisted with a dramatic scene in the production that takes place on the front line of a large battle.


Elisha Willis as Roxane and Robert Parker as Cyrano
Photos by Bill Cooper

Principal dancer, Iain Mackay returns to the Company as a Guest Artist and performs the role of Christian de Neuvillette, the role he created for the 2007 premiere. Iain performs the role in Birmingham, Belfast and Plymouth.


Elisha Willis as Roxane and Robert Parker as Cyrano
Photos by Bill Cooper

AUTUMN 2009 TOUR DATES:

Birmingham Hippodrome:
Quantum Leaps
Powder | E=mc² | The Centre and its Opposite
Wednesday 23–Saturday 26 September
Cyrano
Wednesday 30 September – Saturday 3 October

Box Office: 0844 338 5000

Belfast Grand Opera House:
Cyrano
Tuesday 13–Saturday 17 October

Box Office: 0289 024 1919

Theatre Royal, Plymouth:
Quantum Leaps
Powder | E=mc² | The Centre and its Opposite
Tuesday 20–Wednesday 21 October
Cyrano
Thursday 22–Saturday 24 October

Box Office: 01752 267 222

Sunderland Empire:
Quantum Leaps
Powder | E=mc² | The Centre and its Opposite
Wednesday 4 & Thursday 5 November
Cyrano
Friday 6 & Saturday 7 November

Box Office: 0844 847 2499

Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London:
Quantum Leaps
Powder | E=mc² | The Centre and its Opposite
Tuesday 10 & Wednesday 11 November
Cyrano
Thursday 12–Saturday 14 November

Box Office: 0844 412 4300