Ballet Ireland
| Ballet Ireland | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Name | Ballet Ireland |
| Year founded | 1998 |
| Founders | Anne Maher, Gunther Falusy |
| Website | balletireland.ie |
| Senior staff | |
| Director | Anne Maher |
| Company manager | Martin Lindinger |
Ballet Ireland is an Irish ballet company, established in 1998 by Günther Falusy and Anne Maher. Presenting a broad repertoire, it has been funded by the Arts Council of Ireland since 1999 and is under the sole patronage of Irish President Michael D. Higgins since 2013.
History
[edit]Following various previous ventures, ballet in Ireland had a "home" in the Irish National Ballet, founded in 1973 and overseen by Joan Denise Moriarty.[1] However, following a series of funding cuts, the company was disbanded in 1989 and doubt was expressed whether classical ballet could survive in Ireland.[2] In 1998, Ballet Ireland was founded in Dublin by choreographer and dancer Günther Falusy (1946–2017), and the professional ballet dancer Anne Maher, to re-establish performance of classical ballet in the capital.[3] The opening production was at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin.[4] The Arts Council of Ireland provided substantial grants from 1999 to 2003, allowing the new company to become established.[5] This funding has continued, allowing annual performances and tours throughout Ireland and to a lesser extent in the UK.[6] 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.[7][8][9] In 2013, the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, a former Arts Minister, became the patron of the company.[10]
Performances
[edit]Ballet Ireland began with a conventional repertoire of well-known ballets such as The Nutcracker,[11][12] Swan Lake[13] and The Sleeping Beauty.[5] Once fully established, it started to take works on tour, for example, a production of Giselle from 2017,[14] performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2018 which The Guardian called "part modern murder mystery, part romantic ballet classic"[15] and Anna Winter in The Stage described as a "full-blooded re-imagining staged with zeal".[16] The company has also extended its range of works to include contemporary dance and reinterpretations of classic ballets.[17][18] The company collaborated with the Irish Chamber Orchestra on a 2014 production of Rodion Shchedrin's Carmen Suite (ballet)[19] and with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra on a number of productions.[20]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Wallace, David (2012). "The Arts Council and Irish National Ballet 1985–89". In Fleischmann, Ruth (ed.). Joan Denise Moriarty: Ireland's First Lady of Dance. pp. 34–56.
- ^ "Leap into the unknown". The Irish Times. Dublin. 28 September 1999. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ Craine, Debra. (2010). The Oxford dictionary of dance. Mackrell, Judith. (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 232. ISBN 978-0-19-956344-9. OCLC 620092525.
- ^ "Austrian dancer and choreographer co-founded Ballet Ireland". The Irish Times. Dublin. 6 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ a b Seaver, Michael (16 April 2002). "Do we need Ballet Ireland?". The Irish Times. Dublin. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ Wulff, Helena. (2009). Dancing at the crossroads : memory and mobility in Ireland (1st pbk. ed.). New York: Berghahn Books. pp. 78–80. ISBN 978-1-84545-590-3. OCLC 437030529.
- ^ "Ballet Ireland presents Bold Moves". Nationaloperahouse.ie. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ Thompson, Sylvia (10 August 2010). "Strictly ballet". The Irish Times. Dublin. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ "Ballet Ireland do summer workshops". RTE. 23 June 2003. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ "Patron". BalletIreland. 2013. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ Battersby, Eileen (11 November 2004). "Behind the scenes at the ballet". The Irish Times. Dublin. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ Seaver, Christie (21 November 2013). "A tough nut to crack". The Irish Times. Dublin. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- ^ Seaver, Christie (21 November 2014). "Review: Swan Lake". The Irish Times. Dublin. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- ^ Seaver, Christie (24 April 2017). "Giselle review: streets fights and cryptic connections in a frantic production". The Irish Times. Dublin. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ Bain, Alice (6 August 2018). "Giselle review – Ballet Ireland bring out the Hammer horror in a romantic classic". The Guardian. UK.
- ^ Winter, Anna (7 August 2018). "Giselle". The Stage. London. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ Seaver, Christie (18 April 2017). "'We cannot have an endless diet of Swan Lakes'". The Irish Times. Dublin. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ Seaver, Christie (26 March 2019). "Bold Moves: Ballet Ireland scores a coup with heart-pounding performance of Minus 16". The Irish Times. Dublin. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- ^ Rushe, Rose (25 April 2014). "The Big Top to host Carmen ballet". Limerick Post Newspaper. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- ^ "Ballet Ireland's Carmen goes on tour". RTE. 29 October 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2021.