Press Release: Scottish Ballet appoints Sophie Laplane as Artist in Residence

[Jan McNulty]

SCOTTISH BALLET APPOINTS SOPHIE LAPLANE AS ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

First Artist Sophie Laplane is hanging up her pointe shoes but will remain with Scottish Ballet in the newly-created role of Artist In Residence. Laplane’s final performances with the Company will take place at Sadler's Wells in London this week.

Sophie Laplane joined Scottish Ballet in 2004, and was promoted to First Artist in July 2011. She has choreographed a number of works for the Company, which have been presented at the Edinburgh International Festival and at large scale theatres across Scotland.

Laplane’s departure as a dancer marks her decision to devote her energies to choreography full-time. Laplane’s final performances with Scottish Ballet will be in Emergence by Crystal Pite, which the Company is performing as part of a double bill at Sadler’s Wells from 7 – 10 June.

Scottish Ballet CEO/Artistic Director Christopher Hampson:
"I'm delighted to announce the appointment of Sophie Laplane as Artist in Residence at Scottish Ballet. Sophie’s development over the past few years as a choreographer, both on stage and film, has been of great value to Scottish Ballet. I’m particularly delighted that, as Sophie transitions from her life on stage to develop her own creative language, Scottish Ballet will remain part of that journey. Diversity and balance has always been visible in our programming and creative opportunities - I’m thrilled this can continue with Sophie’s appointment.”

Scottish Ballet Artist In Residence Sophie Laplane:
“There have been so many highlights in my time at Scottish Ballet. Joining the company was a huge one for a start, but as a dancer three of my fondest memories were to play Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire on tour in New Orleans (the home town of the story), perform in Crystal Pite’s ‘Emergence’ with the power of the full company on stage, and being part of Ivgi and Greben’s poignant Each Other at Tramway. As a choreographer I felt blessed to get the chance to showcase my work Oxymore, Maze, and Sibilo, and play a part in the promo for Kathryn Joseph’s The Bird video.”

Find out more at www.scottishballet.co.uk<http://www.scottishballet.co.uk>

FURTHER INFORMATION

Sophie Laplane

Sophie Laplane trained at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, winning the Prize of the CNSMDP Mention Bien. Prior to this, she trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School. She danced with Le Ballet de Lorraine from 2003 to 2004 and was a member of The Junior Ballet Classique du Conservatoire de Paris between 2002 and 2003. She joined Scottish Ballet in winter 2004, and was promoted to Coryphée in July 2011. Significant roles have included playing Stella in Lopez’s Ochoa A Streetcar Named Desire and Juliet’s friend in Pastor’s Romeo and Juliet.
Laplane honed her choreographic skills under the leadership of Scottish Ballet CEO/Artistic Director Christopher Hampson. Her work Oxymore was showcased at the Edinburgh International Festival in 2013 as part of Scottish Ballet’s Dance Odysseys and was included in Scottish Ballet’s Up Close tour in 2014. It was also performed at the TEDx Glasgow event in June 2015. Laplane also created the work Sink In for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2014. Laplane’s critically acclaimed work Maze was performed as a curtain raiser at Scottish Ballet’s Autumn 2015 Season. Maze was first developed as part of the Royal Ballet’s Draft Works programme for emerging choreographers and was later adapted into a short dance film directed by Eve McConnachie, which premiered on Nowness and was shown on BBC iPlayer. Sophie Laplane created the new work Sibilo, which was presented as part of Scottish Ballet’s Autumn 2016 Season. She also worked on some of the projects for Scottish Ballet’s Digital Season, including working with the BBC to choreograph the 360 degree dance film The Perfect Place and collaborated with a student from the Interaction Design course at Glasgow School of Art on a digital dance installation presented at Tramway in Glasgow.
The List included Sophie Laplane on their list of the Top 100 influential people in Scotland in November 2015.

“…Laplane is clearly a major talent in the making.”
Sunday Herald

“There’s so much high-class invention crammed into just thirty minutes: a cartoon-y vaudeville duet, male doublework where the slipping in and out of one jacket speaks volumes, and more sly fun when - at the peep of a whistle - costumes are whisked away on wires. Cleverest of all, though, is how the jauntiness, the rivalries and games-play all tell recognisable stories of what whistles up togetherness."
The Herald

“By rights, a young choreographer at the start of her career should pale into insignificance in the shadow of such greatness (ref. to Crystal Pite). And yet in the case of Sophie Laplane’s Sibilo, nothing could be further from the truth. A dancer with Scottish Ballet since 2004, Laplane has proffered small nuggets of choreography, but this is her first 30-minute piece – and it’s superb. Quirky, angular moves performed by four couples with wit and sensuality meet clever costuming that literally flies off the stage, in a work that would be at home in any major European theatre.”
The Scotsman