Interview and Press Release: Ruth Brill leaving Birmingham Royal Ballet to concentrate on her choreography

[Jan McNulty]

Ruth Brill takes the next step

30 May 2019   Ahead of performances of her bold new take on the classic fable of Peter and the Wolf as part of the [Un]leashed triple bill, we are excited to announce that Birmingham Royal Ballet First Artist Ruth Brill will be taking the next step in her choreographic journey at the end of this season.    Ruth will be leaving the Company to concentrate on her choreography full time and will take her last curtain call as a dancer on Saturday 29 June at Sadler’s Wells.   After the Birmingham and London premieres of Peter and the Wolf, alongside works by Didy Veldman and Jessica Lang, this summer Ruth will be staging Cathy Marston’s Ballet Shoes for London Children’s Ballet, creating a new work for New English Ballet Theatre’s Choreographic Lab and taking on the role as Interim Artistic Director/Choreographer for National Youth Ballet.    Ruth Brill comments: “Moving to BRB was the best decision of my career so far. I have had incredible opportunities here to perform a broad repertoire and have been surrounded by many kind, creative and grounded people. This has been life changing. I never expected to find something that gives me as much joy and satisfaction as performing on stage. However, in the past few years, choreography has grown to be my passion. The opportunity to make new work and create something out of nothing is thrilling. I’m so thankful for the chances I have been given to develop as a choreographer, and for all the support and encouragement I have received. Especially to David Bintley for having faith in me, taking a risk on me and giving me a shot. You can only prove yourself when given the opportunity to do so. Now I need to move forward and embrace the new challenges in front of me. It is the right moment for me to jump.”   Artistic Director of Birmingham Royal Ballet David Bintley comments: "I am very proud of Ruth and the journey she has begun during her time at BRB. I am a great believer in nurturing and encouraging choreographic talent and Ruth has created some impressive pieces for the Company already, the most recent being her entertaining and imaginative adaptation of Peter and the Wolf. I wish Ruth every success in the future and look forward to following her career."   Ruth Brill’s final performance as a dancer will be Hobson’s Choice at Sadler’s Wells on Saturday 29 June, 7.30pm.   Peter and the Wolf will be performed as part of [Un]leashed at Birmingham Hippodrome and Sadler’s Wells London. Birmingham Hippodrome, 12 – 15 June  Sadler’s Wells,  25 - 26 June     NOTES TO EDITORS:   Ruth joined Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2012 and was promoted to First Artist in 2014. Her choreographic commissions for the Company include Rhapsody in Blue (2014) and Matryoshka  (2015). Her first main stage commission for Birmingham Royal Ballet was Arcadia, which premiered in 2017.   Outside of BRB Ruth has also created work for Future Dreams Charity, Elmhurst School for Dance, Flash mobs for Birmingham Weekender Festival, The Rugby World Cup and the National Youth Ballet.

[Jan McNulty]

Ruth's been a favourite of mine since she joined Birmingham Royal Ballet.  She has a really vivid stage personality and I will definitely miss seeing her dancing with the company.

 

I would like to wish Ruth all the very best for the future.

[capybara]

 

I really liked Ruth when she was with ENB but she has flourished in Birmingham. Lovely to see.

[Sim]

I have recently interviewed Ruth and will be posting it up in the next few days.   

[Sophoife]

Such a lovely person, very kind to my nieces when we saw Arcadia two years ago. 

 

I wish Miss Brill all the best, noting the press release quoted her as saying

19 hours ago, Jan McNulty said:

"You can only prove yourself when given the opportunity to do so."

(my emphasis) 

 

I look forward to seeing/hearing about her future work. I hope the encouragement she received as a budding female choreographer at BRB is continued under Carlos Acosta 😀

[Sim]

INTERVIEW WITH RUTH BRILL,  JUNE 2019

 

Ruth Brill has announced her departure from Birmingham Royal Ballet so that she can concentrate on choreography. BalletcoForum talked to her about her future plans, the most immediate of which is re-staging Cathy Marston's Ballet Shoes to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of London Children's Ballet (LCB).

 

Ruth, let's go back before going forward. How did you start dancing?

 

When I was a very small girl, I would always be dancing in the living room at home. My parents have a huge record collection and there was always music around. So lots of dancing! Finally my mum sent me to a ballet class in the village hall in Kent where we lived. I was sent to expend energy. After that I went to theatre school so did other things such as singing and acting. I just found myself dancing all the time. I loved it, and went to Tring at 15. I loved it. I was a year ahead of my age group. I got maths, biology and dance A Levels. I didn't want to stop learning academically. After that I went straight to the 2^nd year at ENB school. I was then accepted into the company, and from 2007 to 2012 was living the dream and dancing with ENB. Then I was asked to perform Dorabella from Enigma Variations at a Cecchetti gala. It wasn’t in the ENB repertoire so I went up to BRB to rehearse it. I immediately loved the atmosphere at BRB. To dance repertoire such as Ashton and MacMillan was such a pull. I was very lucky and was offered a place in the company, and joined in 2012. That year I participated in an in-house choreographic workshop. It snowballed from there.

 

So, more recently you have been concentrating on choreography rather than performing?

 

Arcadia was my first piece for the main stage - a full production with designer, composer etc. Once I had seen how it all works on the other side of things, I now can't un-see it. I feel like I have more to give as a choreographer than as a performer now. I've had such a brilliant and busy year, what with Peter and the Wolf and LCB rehearsals and dancing, so something had to give. I love dance but my passion for choreography has now taken over. I’m also getting married this summer, so it is the right time for a change. I don't feel scared to make the jump; I feel this is the right moment! It feels very natural to go now. I am not scared, just excited for new challenges. I will miss equally the other dancers, and performing. I have so many lovely friends in the company, and I will miss the camaraderie. You get really closely knit as a group when you tour so much. Being out there on my own will be very different. But I will still be around as Peter & The Wolf returns to BRB in the Autumn. A lot of people have supported me here on my journey, for which I’m so grateful. But it will also be good for me to do things outside the BRB bubble. In the near future I have the remaining Peter and The Wolf shows for BRB, LCB Ballet Shoes performances and the New English Ballet Theatre Choreographic Lab. I have taken on an interim Artistic Director role (together with Drew McOnie and assisted by Carrie Johnson) of National Youth Ballet and will also be choreographing a new piece for them.

 

How did you get involved with re-staging LCB's Ballet Shoes for their 25^th anniversary performance?

 

Well, I danced in Cathy Marston's Ballet Shoes 18 years ago when I was 12. I danced with them for four years. Since then, I have gone to see their show every year unless I've been away on tour, and have danced at some of their fund raising galas. For this anniversary, they asked Cathy to re-stage it but she is very busy so suggested that perhaps I could do it. It's been great re-connecting with her, she’s been really supportive. Ex Royal Ballet soloist Laura McCulloch has been the ballet mistress and she’s brilliant. There is a good company spirit and ethos at LCB. It's free to the participants and open to dancers of all backgrounds, so everyone can audition. We look for all sorts of different dancers, regardless of whether they are going to go on and dance professionally; they could be a good fit for someone in the story. LCB is funded by lots of loyal supporters and we have a great fundraising team, and high profile patrons such as Darcey Bussell and the Royal Ballet's Lauren Cuthbertson. We were lucky to have the Royal Ballet's Marcelino Sambé come and help the boys too. That was so inspirational for them.

 

How have you gone about the re-staging process for Ballet Shoes?

 

Most of the choreography is just from videos taken at the time of the original piece 18 years ago. I've tweaked some of it. The standard of dancing has gone up a lot, and we have more boys now, so I am able to give more weight to some of the roles. There is still the same score, scenario and scene structure, but I have just elaborated on some of the choreography to reflect the higher standard we have now. I have completely re-done the Midsummer Night’s Dream scene to put my stamp on it. Cathy Marston has given us her blessing.

 

So what can the audience expect to see if they go to the show?

 

The audience can expect to see a very professional production. A lovely story as well, which is inspirational to young people. Kate Ford, who is wonderful, has designed the costumes. She has designed costumes that I have worn at Birmingham Royal Ballet. LCB create new narrative work based on classic stories, to newly commissioned musical scores, and always perform to live orchestra, in the West End, and every year it sells out, all of which is incredible for a youth company. But most of all, you will see lots of passion and energy on stage from our bright young dancers!

 

Ruth Brill                                                                                         Photo:     Tina Frances

 

Ruth Brill rehearsing LCB in Cathy Marston's Ballet Shoes      Photo:  Tina Frances

 

Ruth Brill rehearsing LCB in Cathy Marston's Ballet Shoes      Photo:  Tina Frances

 

[Sharon]

So interesting especially reading of the Cathy Marston connection...