After almost 30 years, London City Ballet will return to the stage under the direction of Christopher Marney, former dancer, and director of the Joffrey Ballet Studio Company of Chicago. The company will begin touring in the UK and internationally in summer 2024, including a week of performances on Sadler’s Wells stage in the autumn.
The full company repertoire will be announced early in 2024 and will include a new creation by Olivier-award winner Arielle Smith and the revival of Kenneth MacMillan’s 1972 one-act ballet Ballade unseen in Europe for over fifty years.
Formerly the resident company of Sadler’s Wells, the original London City Ballet closed its doors in 1996 after 18 years of operations under its Director and Founder Harold King.
Its inaugural tour will include venues in the UK as well as Italy, Portugal and the USA, beginning at Bath Theatre Royal in summer 2024. The company will move into purpose-built dance studio and office space in Angel, Islington from spring 2024 and work to a touring model of six-months per year for an initial three-year period. Kate Lyons (New Adventures) will be rehearsal director and Sean Flanagan (Balletboyz) will be General Manager.
Marney said, "with immense respect for Harold King and the lives he changed, I felt that London City Ballet’s rich history was too important to be forgotten. The company informed my own career and seeing them as a young child provided me with my first experience of dance, spurring my enthusiasm for the artform.
"The world has changed since its closure in 1996, and I am committed to creating a diverse and progressive company of dancers that speaks to a new generation and one that honours the leaders who paved its way."