Peter Wright (ballet)
Encyclopedia
Sir Peter Wright, CBE
, DMus, FBSM, DLitt, (born 1926) is a British ballet teacher, choreographer, director and former professional dancer. He worked as a choreographer and as the Artistic Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet
, a classical ballet
company based in Birmingham
, England
. On retiring from the company in July 1999, he was bestowed the honorary title of Director Laureate of the company.
and then went onto Bedales
, an Independent
boarding school
based in the village of Steep
in Hampshire
. At the age of 16, his mother took him to a performance of Les Sylphides
by the International Ballet and it was this experience that lead him to pursue dance as a career. His father was an accountant and, being a Quaker
, was also very religious. He did not approve of his only son wanting to pursue a career in dance, which led to Wright leaving both home and school at the age of 17.
After leaving home, Wright auditioned for Ninette de Valois
, to join what is now the Royal Ballet School
, but was rejected. He subsequently decided to accept an offer from the German choreographer Kurt Jooss
to become an apprentice with his company "Ballets Jooss." He trained with the company for two years dancing in many expressionist and modern dance works. Eventually, Wright decided he needed to train in classical ballet, so returned to London to study with Vera Volkova
, a leading teacher of the Vaganova method
. He then re-auditioned for Ninette de Valois, who offered him a contract to dance with the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the predecessor of today's Birmingham Royal Ballet.
In 1955, de Valois gave Wright his first opportunity to direct, making him responsible for the formation of the Sadler's Wells Opera Ballet, a troupe of dancers who would perform the dances in the operas at the Sadler's Wells Opera company. Later in 1957, he received his first commission as a choreographer, creating the ballet A Blue Rose for the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet. In 1959, Wright was appointed as a teacher at the Royal Ballet School
.
In 1961, Wright was to make a critical career decision, when he agreed to work for John Cranko
, a former dancer and choreographer with the Sadler's Wells Ballet. Cranko had moved to Germany, where he established the Stuttgart Ballet
as a world class classical company. Wright joined the company as Ballet Master, teacher and choreographer, and would create several works for the company including The Mirror Walkers, Namouna, Designs for Dancers, "The Great Peacock" and Quintet. It was also during his tenure at Stuttgart that he would direct his first seminal work, a production of Giselle
that would lead to him becoming internationally renowned as a producer of the major classical repertory.
Wright's production of Giselle has subsequently been staged by the Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet
and almost all the international ballet companies. He would become particularly noted for his interpretations of the great length classical ballets, mounting The Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia
and Swan Lake
, which continue to be regularly performed internationally today. His most successful production is The Nutcracker
, which in 2009 celebrates its 25th anniversary, and is set to be shown in hi-def in selected U.S. movie theatres.
In 1969, Wright returned to the Royal Ballet as a member of the artistic staff, later being promoted to the post of Associate Director, working in partnership with Sir Kenneth MacMillan. MacMillan was the Director and resident choreographer of the company and had been appointed by Dame Ninette de Valois. Wright would work closely with Macmillan for a number of years until 1977 when he was made Artistic Director of the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, which was the name for Birmingham Royal Ballet at that time. It was Wright who led the company when it relocated to Birmignham in 1990 when the current name Birmingham Royal Ballet was adopted. He was also to become the first Artistic Director of the company when it became fully independent of the Royal Opera House in 1997.
CBE
CBE and C.B.E. are abbreviations for "Commander of the Order of the British Empire", a grade in the Order of the British Empire.Other uses include:* Chemical and Biochemical Engineering...
, DMus, FBSM, DLitt, (born 1926) is a British ballet teacher, choreographer, director and former professional dancer. He worked as a choreographer and as the Artistic Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet
Birmingham Royal Ballet
Birmingham Royal Ballet is one of the three major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet and the English National Ballet....
, a classical ballet
Classical ballet
Classical Ballet is the most formal of the ballet styles, it adheres to traditional ballet technique. There are variations relating to area of origin, such as Russian ballet, French ballet, British ballet and Italian ballet...
company based in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. On retiring from the company in July 1999, he was bestowed the honorary title of Director Laureate of the company.
Life
As a child, Wright was educated at Leighton Park SchoolLeighton Park School
Leighton Park School is a co-educational Quaker independent school for both day and boarding pupils. It is situated in the large town of Reading in Berkshire, in South East England...
and then went onto Bedales
Bedales School
Bedales School is a co-educational independent school situated in Hampshire, in the south east of England. Founded in 1893 by John Haden Badley in reaction to the limitations of conventional Victorian schools, today the school is one of the most expensive in the UK, charging £9,985 per term for a...
, an Independent
Independent school (UK)
An independent school is a school that is not financed through the taxation system by local or national government and is instead funded by private sources, predominantly in the form of tuition charges, gifts and long-term charitable endowments, and so is not subject to the conditions imposed by...
boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
based in the village of Steep
Steep
Steep is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Petersfield, just off the A3 road.The nearest railway station is Petersfield, south of the village....
in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
. At the age of 16, his mother took him to a performance of Les Sylphides
Les Sylphides
Les Sylphides is a short, non-narrative ballet blanc. Its original choreography was by Michel Fokine, with music by Frédéric Chopin orchestrated by Alexander Glazunov. Glazunov had already set some of the music in 1892 as a purely orchestral suite, under the title Chopiniana, Op. 46...
by the International Ballet and it was this experience that lead him to pursue dance as a career. His father was an accountant and, being a Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
, was also very religious. He did not approve of his only son wanting to pursue a career in dance, which led to Wright leaving both home and school at the age of 17.
After leaving home, Wright auditioned for Ninette de Valois
Ninette de Valois
Dame Ninette de Valois, OM, CH, DBE, FRAD, FISTD was an Irish-born British dancer, teacher, choreographer and director of classical ballet...
, to join what is now the Royal Ballet School
Royal Ballet School
The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London...
, but was rejected. He subsequently decided to accept an offer from the German choreographer Kurt Jooss
Kurt Jooss
Kurt Jooss was a famous ballet dancer and choreographer mixing classical ballet with theatre; he is also widely regarded as the founder of dance theatre or tanztheater...
to become an apprentice with his company "Ballets Jooss." He trained with the company for two years dancing in many expressionist and modern dance works. Eventually, Wright decided he needed to train in classical ballet, so returned to London to study with Vera Volkova
Vera Volkova
Vera Volkova was an influential Russian ballet dancer and dance teacher. Born in Tomsk, she trained in Petrograd at Akim Volynsky's School of Russian Ballet, also studying with the renowned Russian ballet mistress Agrippina Vaganova. She danced professionally with the Imperial Russian Ballet,...
, a leading teacher of the Vaganova method
Vaganova method
The Vaganova method is a ballet technique and training system devised by the Russian dancer and pedagogue Agrippina Vaganova . Fusing elements of traditional French technique from the romantic era, with the athleticism and virtuosity of the Italian school, the method is designed to work the body...
. He then re-auditioned for Ninette de Valois, who offered him a contract to dance with the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the predecessor of today's Birmingham Royal Ballet.
In 1955, de Valois gave Wright his first opportunity to direct, making him responsible for the formation of the Sadler's Wells Opera Ballet, a troupe of dancers who would perform the dances in the operas at the Sadler's Wells Opera company. Later in 1957, he received his first commission as a choreographer, creating the ballet A Blue Rose for the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet. In 1959, Wright was appointed as a teacher at the Royal Ballet School
Royal Ballet School
The Royal Ballet School is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in London...
.
In 1961, Wright was to make a critical career decision, when he agreed to work for John Cranko
John Cranko
John Cyril Cranko was a choreographer with the Sadler's Wells Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet....
, a former dancer and choreographer with the Sadler's Wells Ballet. Cranko had moved to Germany, where he established the Stuttgart Ballet
Stuttgart Ballet
Stuttgart Ballet was the first major German ballet company. It rose to fame in the 1960s under Artistic Director John Cranko. The company, which is renowned for presentations of full-length narrative ballets including Romeo and Juliet, Eugene Onegin, The Taming of the Shrew, John Neumeier's Die...
as a world class classical company. Wright joined the company as Ballet Master, teacher and choreographer, and would create several works for the company including The Mirror Walkers, Namouna, Designs for Dancers, "The Great Peacock" and Quintet. It was also during his tenure at Stuttgart that he would direct his first seminal work, a production of Giselle
Giselle
Giselle is a ballet in two acts with a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier, music by Adolphe Adam, and choreography by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. The librettist took his inspiration from a poem by Heinrich Heine...
that would lead to him becoming internationally renowned as a producer of the major classical repertory.
Wright's production of Giselle has subsequently been staged by the Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet
Birmingham Royal Ballet
Birmingham Royal Ballet is one of the three major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet and the English National Ballet....
and almost all the international ballet companies. He would become particularly noted for his interpretations of the great length classical ballets, mounting The Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia
Coppélia
Coppélia is a sentimental comic ballet with original choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon to a ballet libretto by Saint-Léon and Charles Nuitter and music by Léo Delibes. It was based upon two macabre stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, Der Sandmann , and Die Puppe...
and Swan Lake
Swan Lake
Swan Lake ballet, op. 20, by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, composed 1875–1876. The scenario, initially in four acts, was fashioned from Russian folk tales and tells the story of Odette, a princess turned into a swan by an evil sorcerer's curse. The choreographer of the original production was Julius Reisinger...
, which continue to be regularly performed internationally today. His most successful production is The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker
The Nutcracker is a two-act ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto is adapted from E.T.A. Hoffmann's story "The Nutcracker and the Mouse King". It was given its première at the Mariinsky Theatre in St...
, which in 2009 celebrates its 25th anniversary, and is set to be shown in hi-def in selected U.S. movie theatres.
In 1969, Wright returned to the Royal Ballet as a member of the artistic staff, later being promoted to the post of Associate Director, working in partnership with Sir Kenneth MacMillan. MacMillan was the Director and resident choreographer of the company and had been appointed by Dame Ninette de Valois. Wright would work closely with Macmillan for a number of years until 1977 when he was made Artistic Director of the Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, which was the name for Birmingham Royal Ballet at that time. It was Wright who led the company when it relocated to Birmignham in 1990 when the current name Birmingham Royal Ballet was adopted. He was also to become the first Artistic Director of the company when it became fully independent of the Royal Opera House in 1997.
Awards
- 1981 - Evening Standard Award for Ballet
- 1985 - Commander of the British EmpireOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(CBE) - 1990 - Honorary Doctorate of MusicDoctor of MusicThe Doctor of Music degree , like other doctorates, is an academic degree of the highest level. The D.Mus. is intended for musicians and composers who wish to combine the highest attainments in their area of specialization with doctoral-level academic study in music...
(DMus) from the University of LondonUniversity of London-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the... - 1990 - Appointed Special Professor of Performance Studies, University of BirminghamUniversity of BirminghamThe University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
- 1990 - Elizabeth II Coronation Award, Royal Academy of DanceRoyal Academy of DanceThe Royal Academy of Dance is an international dance education and training organization, and examination board that specialises in the teaching and technique of Ballet. The RAD was established in London, England in 1920 as the Association of Operatic Dancing of Great Britain, and received its...
- 1991 - Honorary Fellowship, Birmingham School of Music (FBSM)
- 1991 - Digital Premier Award
- 1993 - Knight Commander of the British EmpireOrder of the British EmpireThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(KBE) - 1994 - Honorary Doctorate of LettersDoctor of LettersDoctor of Letters is a university academic degree, often a higher doctorate which is frequently awarded as an honorary degree in recognition of outstanding scholarship or other merits.-Commonwealth:...
(DLitt) from University of BirminghamUniversity of BirminghamThe University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus... - 1999 - Appointed Honorary Director Laureate of Birmingham Royal Ballet upon his retirement as Artistic Director