After an 18-year career with Birmingham Royal Ballet, 14 as a principal, Iain Mackay has been appointed Artistic Director of Yorkshire Ballet Summer School giving his final performance with BRB as part of the Evening of Music and Dance at Symphony Hall, Birmingham on Friday 19 January and the Royal & Derngate, Northampton on Saturday 20 January.
Mackaycreated the role of the Prince in David Bintley’s Cinderella which premièred in 2010 and was broadcast on BBC Two on Christmas Day that same year. He was also Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, the Third Seminarian in Carmina Burana and most recently Prospero in David Bintley’s The Tempest.
Mackay said, “when David Bintley offered me a contract back in 1999, I had no idea just how fantastic the journey I was about to begin would turn out to be. To say I have loved being part of this wonderful company for the best part of 19 years would be an understatement. I am immensely proud of my achievements, none of which would have been possible without the support of so very many people.
"I’m honoured to be taking on the role of Artistic Director of the Yorkshire Ballet Summer School, an internationally renowned course that was instrumental in my development as a young dancer and in fact where I met many of my BRB colleagues for the first time. I feel privileged to be able to use the wealth of knowledge, passion and energy that I have for dance to help nurture future generations of dancers.
"I hope to create the same opportunities for them that were available to me, without which I may not have had the wonderful career at Birmingham Royal Ballet I feel so fortunate to be able to say goodbye to.”
Bintley added, "over the years, Iain has proved himself to be one of the company’s very greatest dancers not only for his formidable talents as an artist, but also because of his loyalty, dedication and integrity. His complete application towards whatever task or role he was assigned has always been exemplary and whenever faced with set backs or injury his work rate has been second to none.
"Generous to his fellow artists in time, advice and praise he is, quite simply '..the right stuff’, and all of these qualities I know will stand him in great stead for his new role as Artistic Director of the Yorkshire Ballet Summer School."