David Bintley to step down from BRB

Posted on March 6, 2018

David Bintley will step down as director of Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) on July 31, 2019. He will have led BRB for 24 years.

Bintley said: “I’ve been a part of this great company since I first joined as a boy, 42 years ago. I’ve had the even greater privilege of leading Birmingham Royal Ballet for the past 23 years, and I’d like to thank everyone who’s been a part of our wonderful ‘family’ during that time. Whatever the future may hold for me I will look back on these years as being the pinnacle of my life in dance and the ones which brought me the greatest artistic and personal joy.”

Bintley, who has just returned from staging ‘Still Life’ at the Penguin Café for the Sarasota Ballet in the US, plans to pursue increasing international requests to choreograph new works and stage revivals of his existing ballets. Plans for the global search to appoint his successor will be announced shortly.

Michael Clarke, BRB’s chair, said: “Since David Bintley took over from Sir Peter Wright in 1995, he has taken Birmingham Royal Ballet from strength to strength, cementing the company’s place as the custodian of the 19th-century classics and 20th-century masterpieces. He has also ensured BRB has continued to create new works and innovate. The sheer breadth of his work speaks volumes. David has choreographed more than ten full-length and 12 one-act ballets for the company. Additionally, he has commissioned a further 21 ballets by guest and company choreographers, with four more world premieres due to be presented in his final season. The board would like to sincerely thank David for all he has done for Birmingham Royal Ballet and his devotion to the company and we wish him every success for the future.”

During the 2018 to 2019 season, Birmingham Royal Ballet will celebrate Bintley’s choreography, with revivals including The King Dances, Beauty and the Beast and Hobson’s Choice.

Picture: David Bintley. Photograph: Richard Battye

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.