Ruth Brill, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s dancer/choreographer, moves on

Ahead of performances of her bold new take on the fable of Peter and the Wolf as part of the [Un]leashed triple bill, Birmingham Royal Ballet has announced that First Artist Ruth Brill will be taking the next step in her choreographic journey at the end of this season.

Brill will leave the Company to concentrate on her choreography full time and will take her last curtain call as a dancer on 29 June at Sadler's Wells.

Three years ago, she said,

I certainly believe that women have as much capacity to be visionary and lead the industry as men. We have some great female role models in the past and I am sure the future will again prove this to be true.

Now she feels ready to enter the fray.

After the Birmingham and London premieres of Peter and the Wolf, which appears in a bill with works by Didy Veldman and Jessica Lang, Brill will stage Cathy Marston's Ballet Shoes for London Children's Ballet, create a new work for New English Ballet Theatre's Choreographic Lab, as well as taking on the role as Interim Artistic Director/Choreographer for National Youth Ballet.

Moving to BRB was the best decision of my career so far – says Brill – I have had incredible opportunities here to perform a broad repertoire and have been surrounded by many kind, creative and grounded people. This has been life-changing. I never expected to find something that gives me as much joy and satisfaction as performing on stage. However, in the past few years, choreography has grown to be my passion.

The opportunity to make new work and create something out of nothing is thrilling. I'm so thankful for the chances I have been given to develop as a choreographer, and for all the support and encouragement I have received. Especially to David Bintley for having faith in me, taking a risk on me and giving me a shot. You can only prove yourself when given the opportunity to do so. Now I need to move forward and embrace the new challenges in front of me. It is the right moment for me to jump.

In fact, David Bintley,  Artistic Director of BRB, said,

I am very proud of Ruth and the journey she has begun during her time at BRB. I am a great believer in nurturing and encouraging choreographic talent and Ruth has created some impressive pieces for the Company already, the most recent being her entertaining and imaginative adaptation of Peter and the Wolf. I wish Ruth every success in the future and look forward to following her career.

Ruth Brill's final performance as a dancer will be Hobson's Choice at Sadler's Wells on Saturday 29 June, 7.30pm.

Peter and the Wolf will be performed as part of [Un]leashed: Birmingham Hippodrome, 12 – 15 June; Sadler's Wells,  25 – 26 June.

Ruth Brill, was born in Kent and trained locally in the Cecchetti method and gained performance experience working with London Children's Ballet and National Youth Ballet. She then went on to train at Tring Park School for the Performing Arts and English National Ballet School.

She danced with English National Ballet from 2007 to 2012. She then moved to Birmingham Royal Ballet, attracted by their broader repertoire, with its mix of ‘masterworks' and the opportunity to work with David Bintley. She took advantage of the chance to develop as a choreographer through in-house workshops and was given her first chance to create for the company in 2013. Ruth was promoted to First Artist in 2014.

Her works for Birmingham Royal Ballet include Rhapsody in Blue (2014), Matryoshka (2015) and Arcadia (2017). She has also created Sound of Strength for the Rugby World Cup Welcoming Ceremony for England (2015) and various works for Elmhurst School for Dance (2013, 2015). Current projects include Steamboat Summer for National Youth Ballet (2017) and a flash mob for Birmingham Weekender (2017).

Gramilano( Editor )

Graham Spicer is a writer, director and photographer in Milan, blogging (under the name ‘Gramilano') about dance, opera, music and photography for people “who are a bit like me and like some of the things I like”. He was a regular columnist for Opera Now magazine and wrote for the BBC until transferring to Italy.

His scribblings have appeared in various publications from Woman's Weekly to Gay Times, and he wrote the ‘Danza in Italia' column for Dancing Times magazine.