Tamara Rojo appointed as Artistic Director of English National Ballet

[John Mallinson]

After days of increasingly intense speculation and rumour the dam has finally burst with The Arts Desk's announcement of Tamara Rojo's appointment. The official press release from ENB is still awaited. http://tinyurl.com/7fal4kd

[bangorballetboy]

The link to the Arts Desk story is here: http://www.theartsdesk.com/dance/tamara-rojo-prima-ballerina-becomes-english-national-ballets-director

[zxDaveM]

sounds like they were trying to wait until AFTER they had gathered all the dancers together, and told them officially first. Although i bet most of them knew anyway from reading stuff on the Interweb!

[Ian Macmillan]

Cometh the hour, cometh the woman? We must surely hope so - for the sake of a company that is presumably in some turmoil and for her own, having elected to leave the stage at the top of her game.

[John Mallinson]

Many congratulations to her. She's been working towards this for quite a time. I can't believe that she'll be ready to hang up her ballet pumps just yet.

[justin]

What?!?!?

 

I'm shocked! Does anyone know when her last performance is then? She is my favourite ballerina at the RB at present and I am really sad that she only has a few more months of dancing left - she's an amazing dancer.

[bangorballetboy]

What?!?!?

 

I'm shocked! Does anyone know when her last performance is then? She is my favourite ballerina at the RB at present and I am really sad that she only has a few more months of dancing left - she's an amazing dancer.

 

She will continue to dance at ENB.

[cabriole]

Will she continue to dance at ENB always a difficult balance, it is hard enough running a company without having to perform, I wish her all the best ,but I still think Wayne Eagling was hard done by.

Is she going to bring her own ballet staff?Shame to lose a good team if she does.

[alison]

I think it was a difficult enough balance back in the Schaufuss days, certainly. And unless some money magically appears from somewhere, she won't have the breadth of roles that she did at the RB.

 

I'm hugely disappointed that she'll be leaving the Royal, especially given next year's programming, but wish her the very best of luck in her new role.

[Ian Macmillan]

Well, if she is going to keep dancing, I imagine that will portend some movement in the ranks of ENB's female Principals, many of whom might feel they don't have sufficient performances as things stand. Potentially a 'brave decision,' as they used to say in 'Yes, Minister.'

[Don Q Fan]

An interesting development. I too like Tamara as a dancer and am looking forward to her in La Sylphide - really looking forward to seeing her dance with ENB = way cheaper than Royal Ballet!!!!!!!!

[alison]

That depends on what seats you get

[Aruna S]

Wow. I'm just shocked. Didn't see that coming, although I *had* wondered whether she would take over from Monica Mason. The very best of luck of course in her new role, but I do hope she will still perform. She will, won't she? Please?! And I'm so glad we managed to see her last RB Juliet.

[patsomerset]

I am shocked too. I admire her very much and love watching her dance. I am so looking forward to seeing her in "La Sylphide" at the end of the month, but I did think that she would be dancing with the Royal Ballet for a few years yet especially as she had been scheduled to dance next season, at least in Period 1. She comes across as a very intelligent thoughtful person so I imagine she has given this move a great deal of thought and maybe "seized the day" as they say. I too wish her the very best of luck and hope to see her dance again with the ENB

[Paul N]

I'm amazed. I think she's too young in her career - whatever one thinks of her lack of experience in managing a company, especially one the size of ENB (and with all its challenges), she's still in her prime as a dancer; there's plenty of time ahead, so why the hurry? Does the Royal have nothing new to offer her?

 

If she continues to dance, how will that work and go down with the other dancers? She would be the obvious box office draw, the obvious first night choice. If she dances regularly, will that block opportunities/promotions for others? Better to be more like a guest artist perhaps, making occasional appearances?

 

Anyway, congratulations to her. I hope it works out for her and the company.

[Ian Macmillan]

Embargo or not till midnight or whenever, unsurprisingly the news is out in Spain:

 

http://www.abc.es/20...1204122145.html

 

 

Edited to add: Between 2250-2300, I have just checked our normal UK Links sources and, apart from Arts Desk, none has posted anything about the appointment yet at all ...... I'll be greatly surprised if that is still the case when I go round again in the morning.

[Jan McNulty]

Good luck to Tamara Rojo for her forthcoming new job.

 

Although I've only seen her once or twice at RB, I was fortunate to see her many times at Scottish Ballet and also with ENB. I hope I will get the chance to see her dance again.

[aileen]

Like Paul, I'm doubtful whether combining the role of AD with dancing (with the same company) will work well. There are so many potential pitfalls with this. I suspect that Tamara Rojo would have preferred to have stayed with the RB for a few more years but the position at ENB came up earlier than expected and it was (in theory at least!) too good an opportunity to turn down. I hope that, at the earliest possible opportunity, she will carry out a review of how other parts of the company support the dancers, in particular the finance, PR and marketing departments who, IMO, have not proved to be very effective, as evidenced by the appalling ticket sales for the recent Coliseum programmes and the debacle over the announcement of the new AD. Sadly, ENB have squandered some really good PR by acting so indecisively and allowing the news to leak out rather than announcing with a great fanfare the appointment of a world-class ballerina as its dynamic and glamourous new AD.

[Bruce]

Press Release: 13 April 2012

 

English National Ballet announces Tamara Rojo as its new Artistic Director

 

English National Ballet is delighted to announce that Tamara Rojo will take over as Artistic Director in September 2012 for the start of the Company’s new season. Tamara brings with her a wealth of experience both as a dancer and board member of many of the UK’s most prestigious arts organisations.

 

Tamara will be an innovative and creative artistic leader for English National Ballet which continues to take ballet of the highest quality to audiences in all regions of the UK and around the world at affordable prices. Tamara’s appointment starts an exciting new chapter in the company’s long and distinguished history.

 

“I am honoured to have been asked by the board of English National Ballet to be their next Artistic Director. I have very fond memories of my time as a dancer with English National Ballet and nothing could make me prouder than to return to this internationally respected company, with its wonderful dancers and invaluable legacy in bringing dance to the nation. I am particularly excited about working with young British choreographers, building strong relationships with our audiences in the regions, and exploring opportunities across other art forms” Tamara Rojo

 

Tamara Rojo’s first Principal appointment in the UK was at English National Ballet, and it was at English National Ballet that her reputation in the dance world began to grow. The Times named her “Dance revelation of the year” after her performances as Clara in Derek Deane’s The Nutcracker. She has since gone on to perform around the world, and is currently Principal Dancer at the Royal Ballet, and one of the world’s most in demand ballerinas. Tamara is a strong voice in the dance world; she sits on the board of Arts Council East, Dance UK, the ICA, the Anglo-Spanish Society and is keen to nurture young talent as a guest teacher at the Royal Ballet School.

 

“English National Ballet is very happy to welcome Tamara as the new Artistic Director. We look forward to the continuing success of the Company which has thrived under Wayne Eagling’s Artistic Direction over the last seven years. Tamara will use her world wide reputation and creative vision to form inspiring collaborations throughout the UK and the world. She is looking forward to developing, mentoring and showcasing young talent within the Company, and building the profiles of those who are already performing at the highest level.“ John Talbot, Chairman of English National Ballet

 

As well as her role as Artistic Director, Tamara will also dance with the Company using her internationally renowned reputation and loyal fan base to reach new audiences for English National Ballet across the UK and the world.

 

English National Ballet will be announcing plans for the 2013 season under the new leadership of Tamara Rojo later this year.

 

For information about English National Ballet’s current repertoire please visit www.ballet.org.uk

 

- Ends –

[bluebell]

Such a bittersweet announcement for me...thrilled for her as it is a position she had aspired to...but had already "planned" what to watch next season at RB!

Was really hoping to see her in La Bayadere next year as well

But really wish her all the very best-I will continue to support both companies as always.

[Bruce]

A couple of useful links..

 

Here is the press release with 3 new Johan Persson pictures of Tamara - and very nice they are too:

http://www.dancetabs.com/2012/04/tamara-rojo-is-the-new-english-national-ballet-artistic-director/

 

I interviewed Tamara a couple of days ago - it provides more background about why she wants to direct ENB and about not stopping being a dancer etc:

Tamara Rojo Interview

[Aruna S]

The interview is particularly interesting. She is very, very brave, and very focussed. ENB is lucky to have her.

[aileen]

I should have said before, that of course I wish Tamara well in her new position. As a supporter of ENB I really hope that it works out for her and the company. ENB has some very good dancers and I hope that Tamara will take the company to new heights during her tenure. There will inevitably be some changes among the dancers and staff resulting from Tamara's appointment and this is something that we will have to accept if in the long run they lead to sustained improvements to the company.

[Jan McNulty]

Great interview Bruce, thanks.

 

In respect of the press release: I thought Tamara Rojo was a principal at Scottish Ballet when she left to join ENB. I had certainly seen her do principal roles - Juliet and Odette/Odile - and wonderful she was too, even as a whippersnapper!

 

Graham Watts has some interesting thoughts: http://londondance.com/articles/features/tamara-rojo-director-enb/#.T4fTbm7Ddjk.twitter

[Lindsay]

Thanks Bruce for the excellent interview. It's fantastic to see a dancer who is still dancing (particularly a woman) answer questions which go beyond the usual inanities. I truly could not care less and am sick of hearing how they prepare their pointe shoes, what gets them out of bed on a Monday morning or what they do to wind down after a show - so often we see the same questions for dancers in their late 20s or 30s that you might expect an unimaginative, junior reporter to put to ballet students.

 

If this is an opportunity for Tamara to promote the idea of dancers as thinking beings and not just passive, pretty machines then the appointment is already a positive for that reason alone.

 

And of course I hope she succeeds in building a good relationship with the ENB dancers and that someone finds a way to work around the inevitable budget constraints. I'm also very interested to see how much thought she has clearly already given to the balance which must be struck between entertaining and "educating" a paying audience - something which often goes unspoken even by experienced directors. It's going to be very interesting to watch.

[patsomerset]

Thanks Bruce for the excellent interview. It's fantastic to see a dancer who is still dancing (particularly a woman) answer questions which go beyond the usual inanities. I truly could not care less and am sick of hearing how they prepare their pointe shoes, what gets them out of bed on a Monday morning or what they do to wind down after a show - so often we see the same questions for dancers in their late 20s or 30s that you might expect an unimaginative, junior reporter to put to ballet students.

 

If this is an opportunity for Tamara to promote the idea of dancers as thinking beings and not just passive, pretty machines then the appointment is already a positive for that reason alone.

 

And of course I hope she succeeds in building a good relationship with the ENB dancers and that someone finds a way to work around the inevitable budget constraints. I'm also very interested to see how much thought she has clearly already given to the balance which must be struck between entertaining and "educating" a paying audience - something which often goes unspoken even by experienced directors. It's going to be very interesting to watch.

I totally agree with Lindsay. A wonderful interview with Tamara which reinforced my opinion of her as being an intelligent, educated, thoughtful, capable person, as well as the most wonderful dancer. I do hope she succeeds at ENB although I think she is a great loss to the RB

[patsomerset]

Tamara is on Front Row on BBC4 as we speak

[blackdove]

I am thrilled for Tamara to see her given this opportunity and I am sure she will be a great success.Some of you have far greater knowledge of ballet than I ever will but for me Tamara was is and always will be THE ballerina so I am equally delighted that she intends to continue performing though travelling around to watch her won't do my bank balance a lot of good!

[capybara]

We are uncertain of the rules of engagement here where quoting other websites is concerned but readers of the BalletCoForum might be interested to know that some further contributions on the subject of changes at ENB have now appeared on:

 

http://www.ballet-dance.com/forum/viewtopicphp?f=338t=35828

[Bruce]

Thank you for kind words and glad you enjoyed the interview with Tamara - good to hear first hand what she is about and I have a lot of time for her.

 

The interview is particularly interesting. She is very, very brave, and very focused. ENB is lucky to have her.

 

One of the questions I asked but didn't make it into the final interview was what her motto is. She has one but it's in Spanish and it didn't seem to translate so well. But it starts something like "Be fearless...". Its a fragment that says a lot about her.

 

 

Edit: last word changed from 'here' to 'her' - duh!

[zxDaveM]

Thank you for kind words and glad you enjoyed the interview with Tamara - good to hear first hand what she is about and I have a lot of time for her.

 

 

 

One of the questions I asked but didn't make it into the final interview was what her motto is. She has one but it's in Spanish and it didn't seem to translate so well. But it starts something like "Be fearless...". Its a fragment that says a lot about here.

 

"here" or "her" - that 'e' makes a huge difference in meaning! ;-)

[Ann Williams]

A really solid and worthwhile interview, Bruce - I echo Lindsay's points.

 

I too wish Tamara the best of luck with this new venture, but I'm as relieved as everyone else that she won't be depriving us completely of the pleasure of seeing her peerless dancing, so I will add another wish to my luck wish - that of the the gift of contriuing boundless energy!

[Beryl H]

There is an article in today's Sunday Times where Tamara Rojo gives her views on the pressure on female dancers to be ultra thin, perhaps as the wish of others including choreographers, she is so down to earth, good for her, she really may help to popularise ballet.