Famously a favourite of Princess Diana who served as a patron of the company, the original incarnation of London City Ballet ran from 1978 to 1996, becoming a fixture of the British dance landscape. It was revived in style last year by new Artistic Director Christopher Marney, a former dancer who brought the company on a highly acclaimed UK and international tour – ‘Resurgence’. In all, the company toured to 17 venues across three different continents in 2024.
The company, which features international star Auna Cojocaru former principle dancer with The Royal Ballet and a lead principle with English National Ballet, is now set to return with a new repertoire on their biggest tour yet.
‘Momentum’ will be at Bath Theatre Royal, 24 – 26 July. Dance, music and art all intertwine in this new programme of rarely seen and new works. Christopher Marney discusses the company’s origins, its triumphant return and what to expect from its new programme.
“London City Ballet was formerly the resident company of Sadler’s Wells. They grew a fond and loyal audience around the country by touring to venues in towns and cities where other dance companies dared not! Their reach was important because they engaged new audiences with excellent quality dance and built a foundation with a wide public.”
You revitalised a dance company that last performed 30 years ago. What was your motivation? Why not start a completely new company in your name?
“London City Ballet informed my own career. Seeing the company perform as a child stimulated my enthusiasm for the artform. I remember seeing the company perform in 1991 at the Queen’s Theatre Hornchurch Essex. When I saw London City Ballet perform on stage I realised that was what I wanted to do too. I had always harboured the desire to rebuild the company and get it back on the road. I noticed that many of our wonderful venues around the UK were under-served by dance. Theatres had bustling programmes of plays and musicals but little on offer to dance audiences. The aim is to offer new audiences the chance to see a variety of dance styles performed and to be captivated as I was.”
The experience of reviving London City Ballet in 2024 was therefore a highly meaningful one?
“It was a heartwarming return and we felt so welcome by the audiences around the country. Some were formerly avid London City Ballet followers thirty years ago remembering what the company stood for and many were new audience members seeing us for the first time. We opened the performance with projected images telling the story of the company’s beginnings which set the scene well and this was always met with great audience response.”
As London City Ballet returns for 2025, Marney teases what audiences can expect from this new programme:
“A mix of classical based work with a new contemporary creation made specially for the company. We will bring a ballet by George Balanchine which has never been seen in the UK and is highly anticipated. It has something for all the family and is a perfect introduction to dance with bite-sized pieces that are relatable through the portrayal of the company’s wonderful dancers.”
Marney is particularly excited to see Alexei Ratmansky’s ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’, which brought to life in the UK for the first time here as part of the mixed bill: “It is set against a backdrop of projected masterpieces by Kandinsky and the dancers onstage truly bring the art to life. It’s a spectacular work.”
Unseen in the UK since its 2009 premiere, Consolations & Liebestraum by Liam Scarlett is a response to Franz Liszt’s piano score of the same name. Played live, Scarlett’s affecting ballet depicts the lifecycle of a relationship, its blossoming and later fracturing love.
Emerging choreographer, Florent Melac, best known as a Premier Danseur at the Paris Opera Ballet, creates a new work for the company in unique, fluid, musical style which combines inventive transitions with intimate partnering.
The company members themselves remain of paramount importance too, with Marney enthusing over the troupe of dancers he has assembled for this year’s tour.
“The performance is an opportunity to witness thrilling talented dancers hailing from all over the globe, many who are new to the dance scene in the UK. From experienced Principal dancers to emerging young UK talent, it’s a real showcase for their technical prowess and unique artistic qualities.” Marney sums it up neatly – “It makes for an exciting mix”.
During their visit to Bath, the company will also be welcoming audiences to an Open Class on Saturday 26 July at 11.30am. Separate to the performances, tickets are available for spectators to see the dancers prepare in their daily class. Introduced and led by members of the creative team, audiences get the chance to gain rare and fascinating insight into how dancers’ warm-up, rehearse and prepare before the curtain rises.
Photography credit: ASH/Stephen Pisano
