About
Ballet Cymru is committed to innovation in dance and classical ballet, and to the highest standard of collaboration with choreographers, designers, composers and musicians.
Since gaining Revenue Status from the Arts Council of Wales, Ballet Cymru has begun to realise its potential as a national company for Wales and continues to receive excellent reviews for its work in national newspapers and magazines, including Dance Europe, The Independent and The Guardian.
Ballet Cymru is proud to be a collaborative company and the quality of its collaborations continues to exceed expectations with partnerships with Sinfonia Cymru, Citrus Arts, The Riverfront Theatre, Cerys Matthews and Catrin Finch scheduled over the next couple of years.
The company’s commitment to education has also developed immensely with the Paul Hamlyn Foundation DUETS programme in collaboration with Rubicon Dance, an established Ballet Associate Programme, international summer school Riverfront Summer Dance, inspirational work in schools, and development opportunities for graduate and professional dancers.
Ballet Cymru recently moved into its new base in Newport. The studio boasts one of the largest dance areas in Wales and is used regularly by The Royal Academy of Dance and the Cecchetti Ballet Society.
Ballet Cymru is Revenue Funded by The Arts Council of Wales and receives financial support from Newport City Council, The Paul Hamlyn Foundation, The Garfield Weston Foundation, The Wolfson Foundation, The Foyle Foundation, Sport Wales, The Millennium Stadium Charitable Trust and The London Ballet Circle. It is a company limited by guarantee (number 2535169) and a registered charity (number 1000855).
Winners: Critics’ Circle National Dance Award in 2006.
Nomination: Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Best Independent Company 2012.
2 Nominations: Best Dance Production at the Theatre Critics of Wales Awards in 2013.
Winners: Best Large Scale Dance Production at the Theatre Critics of Wales Awards in 2014.
Ballet Cymru was established in 1986 by Artistic Director, Darius James and Administrative Director, Yvonne Williams, to be a beacon for quality classical ballet in Wales.
Ballet Cymru initially experimented with a range of choreographers, created programmes of short works and responded to invitations to perform. The company, at this stage, commissioned works from Royal Ballet principal Jennifer Jackson and Ysabelle Taylor from The Royal Swedish Ballet. This early experience helped form and direct the artistic policy of the company.
From 1990 until its first project grant from The Arts Council of England in 2003, Ballet Cymru survived without any funding at all. In 1997 the company produced breakthrough production A Midsummer Night’s Dream and received an outstanding review in The Sunday Telegraph from esteemed Ballet Critic Nicholas Dromgoole.
In 2004 Artistic Director Darius James, ceased performing to concentrate on the artistic direction of the company and in 2006 Ballet Cymru was awarded a Critics Circle National Dance Award, presented at Sadlers Wells in London. In 2008 Darius himself received a Creative Wales Major Awards from The Arts Council of Wales.
Ballet Cymru have always strived to produce new and exciting productions, whenever possible using original and live music. In 2008 the company collaborated with composer Thomas Hewitt Jones to produce Under Milk Wood, excerpts of which were performed at The National Assembly of Wales.
In 2009, Assistant Artistic Director Amy Doughty became the 5th Paul Hamlyn Foundation Jane Attenborough Dance in Education Fellow.
In 2011 Ballet Cymru were awarded Revenue Status by The Arts Council of Wales and for the first time could strategically plan more than a year ahead. This has led to outstanding collaborations with singer Cerys Matthews on TIR, harpist Catrin Finch on Celtic Concerto, singer Georgia Ruth on Week of Pines, composer Thomas Hewitt Jones on The Same Flame and with companies Coreo Cymru, Sinfonia Cymru, Rubicon Dance and Citrus Arts.
The company now co-produce one production a year with The Riverfront Theatre in Newport.
An award from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation in 2012 led to the formation of groundbreaking education programme DUETS, which is a large dance training programme particularly targeting children from disadvantaged backgrounds, diverse and excluded groups.
In 2013 Ballet Cymru were nominated as Best Independent Company at The Critics Circle National Dance Awards in London as well as receiving two nominations from the Theatre Critics of Wales for Best Production.
Ballet Cymru is committed to equality in dance and in 2013 started working with Gloucestershire Dance (GDance) on inspirational inclusive project Stuck In The Mud which was performed in Gloucestershire, Swansea, Newport Llandudno and Cardiff.
In 2014 the company won the Best Large Scale Dance Production for Romeo a Juliet at the Theatre Critics of Wales Awards. Also that year the company moved into its first premises in Newport which has allowed the company at last to store costumes, have offices to work, and a beautiful dance space to rehearse.