Former dancer Kevin O'Hare plans to bring together the 'most talented artists of the 21st century'
After a worldwide search to fill one of the most coveted jobs in dance ? replacing the Royal Ballet's soon-to-retire director, Dame Monica Mason ? the company has announced it has gone no further than its front door by appointing the administrative director, Kevin O'Hare, as its new head.
The Royal Opera House said O'Hare, a former dancer, would take over from Mason when she retires, aged 70, in July next year after a decade in charge.
O'Hare will take the reins of a company in extremely good shape, artistically and otherwise. Under Mason the Royal Ballet has flourished after a particularly low ebb in its history ? the year the late Ross Stretton was disastrously in charge until he resigned in 2002, faced with a strike threat by dancers.
Most observers welcomed the appointment of a man who, while a safe choice, is popular with the Royal Ballet's dancers and managers. The Guardian's dance critic, Judith Mackrell, called it "a sensible decision, if not a groundbreaking one".
There is certainly a pleasing circuity to the appointment. O'Hare trained at the Royal Ballet School and joined Sadlers Wells Royal Ballet in 1984 before becoming a principal dancer with the Birmingham Royal Ballet, as it then became, in 1990. He retired from dancing in 2000 and, after a brief spell with the Royal Shakespeare Company, he returned to Birmingham as company manager, joining the Royal Ballet in the same role in 2004. He became administrative director in 2009 and has played a leading role in trying to widen the Royal Ballet's audience through experiments such as this weekend's performances of Romeo and Juliet at the O2.
O'Hare said his promotion was a "great honour". "Under Monica Mason's inspired leadership the Royal Ballet has had a great 10 years. I am equally ambitious for the company and dance in general. I plan to bring together the most talented artists of the 21st century to collaborate on the same stage ? world-class dancers, choreographers, designers, and musicians.
"I will aim to use all the traditional and new platforms now available to engage our audiences in our classic repertoire, and the Royal Ballet's unique heritage."
There had been speculation that Wayne McGregor and Christopher Wheeldon, two of the world's greatest choreographers, had been in the running for the job. O'Hare moved quickly to get both men on board and said they had agreed to become part of the Royal Ballet's senior artistic team. "Both Wayne and Christopher share my exciting ambitions for the company," he said.
It is not certain that either Wheeldon or McGregor wanted the top job ? at least, not yet. Wheeldon emailed Mackrell saying: "After gathering as much info as I could about what the job might entail, and having experienced some aspects of the job on a smaller scale, I realised that there's a good reason why choreographer/directors have had a sketchy run in the past. Now is certainly the time for me to be creating and not administrating."
Another candidate was the Royal Ballet's principal ballerina Tamara Roja, but she is only 37 and planning a career as a director. Two external names speculated on were English National Ballet's artistic director, Wayne Eagling, and San Francisco Ballet's assistant director Bruce Sansom.
Tony Hall, chief executive of the Royal Opera House, said: "All of us were impressed by Kevin's outstanding vision for building on the achievements of the last 10 years. Kevin has a fantastic track record as a dancer, and understands the importance of nurturing dancers at all levels of the company. He has championed a range of new choreographic initiatives, and possesses all the skills needed to be a visionary artistic leader and producer. I look forward enormously to working with him in this new role."
The chairman, Simon Robey, part of the seven-man search committee that included the National Theatre director, Nicholas Hytner, said: "We have seen some outstanding candidates over the past few weeks and it is a pleasure to be able to announce that the right person for this important position has a lifelong knowledge and first-hand experience of the company and its repertoire, as well as having some great plans for the future."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2011/jun/14/royal-ballet-new-director
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