Ballet West’s Romeo in Scotland and China

Posted on January 19, 2011

Youthful company Ballet West tours Scotland this month with Romeo and Juliet, before taking the production to China in the spring.

Danced to Prokofiev’s score, the 2006 production has been staged by a team including Kenn Burke, former acting artistic director at Scottish Ballet. The principal roles will be danced by brother and sister Jonathan Barton and Sara-Maria Smith, both Genée International Ballet Competition medallists, who have performed with Birmingham Royal Ballet, English National Ballet and Scottish Ballet.

Ballet West mixes professional dancers and students in the final stages of their training. Productions of Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Coppélia have had sell-out performances. In 2010, the company made a seven-week tour of China with The Nutcracker. They return to China with Romeo in April and May.

UK dates

January 20   Corran Halls, Oban          01631 567333

January 22   macrobert, Stirling           01786 466666    www.macrobert.org

February 4    Eastwood Park Theatre   0141 577 4970   www.eastwoodparktheatre.co.uk

February 10  Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh  0131 6652240   www.bruntontheatre.co.uk

February 11-12   Cumbernauld Theatre 01236 732887    www.cumbernauldtheatre.co.uk

February 18  Perth Concert Hall           01738 621031    www.horsecross.co.uk

Photograph: Harvey Wolfinger

Zoe Anderson

Zoë was born in Edinburgh, and saw her first dance performances at the Festival there. She is the dance critic of The Independent, and has also written for The Independent on Sunday, The Scotsman and Dancing Times. In 2002, she received her doctorate from the University of York for a thesis on “Nationhood and epic romance: Ariosto, Sidney, Spenser”. She is the author of The Royal Ballet: 75 Years and The Ballet Lover’s Companion.