Giselle, will have its world premiere at the Palace Theatre, Manchester (27 September – 1 October 2016)
English National Ballet is proud to announce its new production of Giselle by Akram Khan, one of the most sought after choreographers working today, will be a co-production with Manchester International Festival and Sadler’s Wells.
One of the greatest romantic ballets of all time, Giselle will see Academy-Award winning designer Tim Yip, known for his work on the hit film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, create the set and costumes, while composer Ben Frost will create an adaptation of the original score, performed by English National Ballet Philharmonic. Giselle will also see dramaturgy from Ruth Little and lighting design from Mark Henderson. English National Ballet and Akram Khan previously collaborated together on the award-winning piece Dust, part of its Lest We Forget programme.
Artistic Director of English National Ballet, Tamara Rojo, said: “From the beginning of my tenure as Artistic Director I have expressed my commitment to keeping the classics relevant. When I decided I wanted to bring Giselle, one of the most traditional pieces of the classical repertoire, into the 21st Century there was only one choreographer I believe had both the knowledge of tradition and creativity necessary for this task. I am incredibly excited that Akram accepted this challenge. I believe this will be a very important step for the whole art form.”
Award-winning choreographer and dancer, Akram Khan said: “I am eager to start the creation of Giselle for English National Ballet. It is a beautiful and iconic piece, and I am looking forward to bringing my own take, together with my collaborators and the wonderful English National Ballet dancers. I am still nostalgic from the experience of creating Dust, in the Lest We Forget programme, and am now even more energised to discover the world of Giselle.”
Giselle, will have its world premiere at the Palace Theatre, Manchester (27 September – 1 October 2016) followed by a national tour to The Bristol Hippodrome (18 – 22 October 2016), The Mayflower Theatre, Southampton (26 – 29 October 2016), and Sadler’s Wells (15 – 19 November 2016).
English National Ballet is also thrilled to announce that the project has been supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England. The investment of £360,000 will enable the creation and delivery of this ambitious collaborative project, as well as helping engage with audiences beyond the stage.
Cate Canniffe, Director, Dance, Arts Council England, said: “It is really exciting to see English National Ballet commissioning contemporary artists to rework such an iconic piece from the ballet repertoire as Giselle. This approach to keeping ballet relevant for modern audiences is characteristic of Tamara Rojo’s vision for the company. English National Ballet has a tradition of being a truly national company and the partnership with Manchester International Festival and Sadler’s Wells is an exciting example of that in practice, which we are delighted to be able to support.”
John E McGrath CEO and Artistic Director, Manchester International Festival “This collaboration continues to highlight the core vision of Manchester International Festival – that of an artist led Festival, working with world-renowned organisations to create original, new work. We are delighted to be presenting the world premiere of Giselle in Manchester as an example of the sort of collaboration we can expect to find at The Factory, a new arts venue due to open in Manchester in 2019: introducing audiences to the scale and ambition of work destined for this new space, and further enhancing the reputation of Manchester as a creative, risk-taking city.”
