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== Choreographer==
== Choreographer==
[[Adventures in Motion Pictures]], a dance company, was founded in 1987 by Bourne after he graduated from the Laban Centre in south London.<ref>{{citation | title=Adventures in Motion Pictures | url=http://www.ballet.co.uk/links/adventures_in_motion_pictures.htm | publisher=Ballet.co | date=September 1998 | accessdate=2007-10-09}}</ref> Bourne's first professional stage production was ''Overlap Lovers. An Intrigue in Three Parts'' in 1987. Apart from a gap in 1993 he has choreographed musicals and dance theater every year. His work was featured in the film ''[[Billy Elliot]]'' in 2000, showing the older Billy (played by Adam Cooper) starring in Bourne's production of ''[[Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake|Swan Lake]]''. As a result, the ''Swan Lake'' sequence has probably been seen by more people than anything else he has done.


Matthew Bourne is widely hailed as the UK’s most popular and successful Choreographer/Director. He is the creator of the world’s longest running ballet production, a five - time Olivier Award winner, and the only British director to have won the Tony Award for both Best Choreographer and Best Director of a Musical.
His first major brush with controversy was ''[[Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake|Swan Lake]]'' in 1995, where the story was entirely rewritten and the role of the swans taken by men. The music by [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]] remained intact. This has been revived every year since then, but he no longer directs it. It is not a gay production, but there is a [[Homoeroticism|homoerotic]] undercurrent. Teenagers who would otherwise have resented being taken to an annual visit to a ballet became enthusiastic, writing about it in school magazines. Some critics have reviewed the show harshly, saying the traditional plot has become absurd and that many scenes seem to lack motivation. Others have praised it heavily, including comments such as: "See it or live to regret it" (''[[The Independent]]'' (London)) and "Matthew Bourne's 'Swan Lake' is a fabulous entertainment, a riveting work of psychological and sexual intrigue, a choreographic triumph and a brilliant restaging of a ballet classic" (The ''[[Star Tribune]]'' (Minneapolis, Minnesota)). It became a set work for the [[Advanced Level (UK)|A-Level]] Dance syllabus. Similar criticism and praise greeted ''[[Nutcracker!]]'' in 2002.


Matthew started training as a dancer at the comparatively late age of 22. He studied Dance Theatre and Choreography at The Laban Centre graduating in 1985 but spending a further year with the college’s performance company Transitions. Matthew danced professionally for 14 years creating many roles in his own work. In 1999 he gave his final performance playing The Private Secretary in the Broadway production of SWAN LAKE.
Bourne has stated that his inspiration for most of his recent works are films and that ''Swan Lake'' was inspired in part by [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s ''[[The Birds (film)|The Birds]]''.


Matthew Bourne was the Artistic Director of his first company, ADVENTURES IN MOTION PICTURES, from 1987 until 2002. During those 15 years AMP became the UK’s most innovative and popular dance/theatre company creating an enormous new audience for dance with it’s groundbreaking work both at home and Internationally (Works include: - SPITFIRE, THE INFERNAL GALOP, TOWN AND COUNTRY, DEADLY SERIOUS, NUTCRACKER!, HIGHLAND FLING, SWAN LAKE, CINDERELLA and THE CAR MAN).
''[[Matthew Bourne's The Car Man|The Car Man]]'' (a version of ''[[Carmen]]'' with a homoerotic ''[[The Postman Always Rings Twice]]'' twist) was produced in 2000 and toured in 2001 and 2002. ''The Car Man'' played in [[Los Angeles]] during the summer of 2001 and was supposed to transfer to [[New York]]. However after the events of [[September 11, 2001 attacks|9/11]], those plans were scrapped.{{Citation needed|date=October 2007}}


In 2002 Matthew launched his latest company, NEW ADVENTURES, with two highly successful productions. PLAY WITHOUT WORDS premiered as part of the National Theatre’s Transformations Season and went on to win Best Entertainment and Choreography at that year's Olivier Awards. It then embarked on a World Tour and premiered in New York, Los Angeles and Moscow in 2005. Matthew Bourne’s revised NUTCRACKER! also premiered at Sadler’s Wells in 2002 and became an instant popular hit with audiences and critics, returning the following year for a second sell-out season. It became the first ballet to be screened by BBC1 in over 20 years and then also embarked on a world tour.
Bourne directed and choreographed ''[[Nutcracker!]]'', an adaptation of Tchaikovsky's ''[[The Nutcracker]]'', for the Christmas season at London's [[Sadler's Wells Theatre]] in 2002 and it toured the US and played at [[University of California, Los Angeles|U.C.L.A.]]'s [[Royce Hall]] for Christmas 2004. Bourne's take on ''The Nutcracker'' was unique because, in an homage to the 1939 film ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939)|The Wizard of Oz]]'', Bourne set the opening and ending in black and white and the world of ''The Nutcracker'' in color. Bourne also kept it in [[Victorian era|Victorian]] times but set it in a Victorian orphanage resembling something out of [[Charles Dickens]]. He also made the characters quite a bit more grotesque, and introduced a more openly sexual element that not everyone has welcomed.


New Adventures acclaimed revival of one of Bourne’s most popular works, the “Romantic wee ballet”, HIGHLAND FLING and Matthew’s 10th Anniversary production of SWAN LAKE have also reached new audiences through extensive International touring including seasons in Asia, Australia, Russia, Europe and the USA. New Adventures has continued to revive Bourne's work for regular seasons including THE CAR MAN in 2007 and NUTCRACKER! in 2007
Bourne is an Associate Artist at Sadler's Wells and his company New Adventures is based at the North London venue.


In 2005, New Adventures presented its most ambitious project to date. Matthew Bourne’s production of EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, based on Tim Burton’s classic film, received its world premiere at Sadlers Wells Theatre. After breaking box office records over an 11 week season, the production toured the UK, before international debuts in Asia and a 6 month tour of the USA. The unprecedented success of New Adventures relationship with Sadlers Wells Theatre was recognised in 2006 by the invitation to become Resident Company. Matthew Bourne is also a Resident Artist at Sadlers Wells.
Bourne directed and choreographed ''[[Play Without Words]]'' originally staged in London at the [[Royal National Theatre]] in 2002. It was a work inspired by the film ''[[The Servant (film)|The Servant]]''. In 2004 he was awarded an [[Order of the British Empire|O.B.E.]] and in February 2005 won an [[Olivier Award]] for his choreography in the stage production of ''[[Mary Poppins (musical)|Mary Poppins]]''. He revamped his 1994 production of ''Highland Fling'' for a UK and Asian tour in 2005.


Matthew has also created choreography for several major revivals of classic musicals including Cameron Mackintosh’s productions of OLIVER! (1994) and MY FAIR LADY (Olivier Award 2002) as well as the National Theatre’s revival of SOUTH PACIFIC (2001). In 2004 Matthew Co-Directed (with Richard Eyre) and Choreographed (with Stephen Mear) the West End and Broadway hit musical MARY POPPINS for which he won an Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer.
In 2005 ''[[Play Without Words]]'' was taken to [[Los Angeles]] where [[Kevin Norte]] coordinated a Bourne lecture for a screening of ''[[The Servant (film)|The Servant]]'' held by [[American Cinematheque]] at [[Grauman's Egyptian Theatre]] in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles, California|Hollywood]]. At the lecture Bourne discussed to a sold-out house the elements of the film he used for his stage production of ''Play Without Words''.


He has collaborated on projects with leading directors, Trevor Nunn, Richard Eyre, Sam Mendes, Yukio Ninagawa and John Caird and has created dances and roles for such wide-ranging performers as Jonathan Pryce, Lynn Seymour, Dawn French, Adam Cooper, Julie Walters, Rowan Atkinson and Michael Sheen.
His dance adaptation of ''[[Edward Scissorhands]]'' opened at [[Sadler's Wells]], in November 2005 and has since toured the UK, the US and Canada. It returns to Sadler's Wells for performances from November 2008 to January 2009. On 11 December 2006, Bourne again returned to Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood for a screening of the film ''Edward Scissorhands'' and discussed the transition from screen to stage again coordinated by Kevin Norte. ''Edward Scissorhands'' began performances in [[San Francisco]] on 14 November 2006 at the [[Orpheum Theatre (San Francisco)|Orpheum Theatre]], followed by [[Los Angeles]] on 12 December 2006 at the [[Center Theatre Group]]'s [[Ahmanson Theatre]].


His film work includes television productions of his stage work including SWAN LAKE (Emmy nomination), THE CAR MAN and NUTCRACKER! and original work such as the John Betjamin inspired LATE FLOWERING LUST with Sir Nigel Hawthorne and his own AMP Company in 1993.
His newest work, a dance adaptation of Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray, opened in Edinburgh in August 2008 and moved to Sadler's Wells in London in September 2008.


Matthew was the subject of a South Bank Show in 1997 and in 1999 he presented Channel 4’s Dance 4 Series. The channel 4 documentary BOURNE TO DANCE, which he also presented, was broadcast on Christmas Day 2001. His production of SWAN LAKE is featured in Stephen Daldry’s hit film BILLY ELLIOT.
A book edited by the theatre critic Alastair Macaulay, ''Matthew Bourne and His Adventures in Motion Pictures'', was published in 1999.


Matthew Bourne has twice been nominated as Best Director at the Olivier Awards and his achievements in choreography have been recognised with over 30 International awards including The Evening Standard Award, The South Bank Show Award, Time Out Award and the Astaire Award for Dance on Broadway. In the 2001 New Years Honours, Matthew was awarded an OBE for Services to Dance and in 2003 he was the recipient of the prestigious Hamburg Shakespeare Prize for the Arts. In 2007 he was awarded Honorary Doctorates from Leicester, Bedford and the Open Universities. In 2008 he was the recipient of a Special Award from the TMA (Theatrical Managers Association) for services to UK touring.
Members of Bourne's company have gone on to various successes outside of the dance world. These include Adam Cooper, now a star of the [[West End theatre|West End]] and an award-winning choreographer in his own right; [[Will Kemp (actor)|Will Kemp]], who is now a Hollywood star having appeared in ''[[Van Helsing (film)|Van Helsing]]'' (2004), ''[[Mindhunters]]'' (2004) and most recently as [[William Shakespeare]] in ''Miguel and William'' (2007); and (Colin) Waterson, now a singer and producer making innovative electronic music with his debut single "Fa Fa Feel" topping the charts in Europe.


His latest hit show for New Adventures, DORIAN GRAY, based on Oscar Wilde’s gothic masterpiece, premiered at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival, and became the most successful dance production in the Festival’s 62 year history. Later in 2008 he Co-Directed and choreographed Cameron Mackintosh’s latest revival of OLIVER! with Rowan Atkinson which is currently playing at London’s Drury Lane Theatre.
In September 2007 Bourne was awarded an Honorary Degree from the Open University as Doctor of the University.


==Work==
==Work==

Revision as of 12:07, 16 March 2010

This article is about the chorerographer. For the British jazz musician, see Matthew Bourne (musician).
See also: Category:Ballets by Matthew Bourne
Matthew Bourne
Melbourne, Australia, 2006
Occupation(s)Theatre director, choreographer, dancer
Websitehttp://www.new-adventures.net

Matthew Bourne OBE (born 13 January 1960) is a British ballet and dance choreographer.

Biography

Bourne was born in Walthamstow, London. In 1982 he enrolled at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance (now simply Laban) in Deptford, southeast London, where he was awarded a B.A. in Dance Theatre. For the next year (1985–1986) he danced with the Laban Centre's Transitions Dance Company. He was also a founder member of Lea Anderson's Featherstonehaughs. In addition to founding and choreographing for his own companies he has collaborated in theatre productions, working with actors including Nigel Hawthorne, Dawn French and Jonathan Pryce (Oliver!, 1994). His final performance as a dancer was in January 1999 on Broadway. Since then he has been a director/choreographer.

Choreographer

Matthew Bourne is widely hailed as the UK’s most popular and successful Choreographer/Director. He is the creator of the world’s longest running ballet production, a five - time Olivier Award winner, and the only British director to have won the Tony Award for both Best Choreographer and Best Director of a Musical.

Matthew started training as a dancer at the comparatively late age of 22. He studied Dance Theatre and Choreography at The Laban Centre graduating in 1985 but spending a further year with the college’s performance company Transitions. Matthew danced professionally for 14 years creating many roles in his own work. In 1999 he gave his final performance playing The Private Secretary in the Broadway production of SWAN LAKE.

Matthew Bourne was the Artistic Director of his first company, ADVENTURES IN MOTION PICTURES, from 1987 until 2002. During those 15 years AMP became the UK’s most innovative and popular dance/theatre company creating an enormous new audience for dance with it’s groundbreaking work both at home and Internationally (Works include: - SPITFIRE, THE INFERNAL GALOP, TOWN AND COUNTRY, DEADLY SERIOUS, NUTCRACKER!, HIGHLAND FLING, SWAN LAKE, CINDERELLA and THE CAR MAN).

In 2002 Matthew launched his latest company, NEW ADVENTURES, with two highly successful productions. PLAY WITHOUT WORDS premiered as part of the National Theatre’s Transformations Season and went on to win Best Entertainment and Choreography at that year's Olivier Awards. It then embarked on a World Tour and premiered in New York, Los Angeles and Moscow in 2005. Matthew Bourne’s revised NUTCRACKER! also premiered at Sadler’s Wells in 2002 and became an instant popular hit with audiences and critics, returning the following year for a second sell-out season. It became the first ballet to be screened by BBC1 in over 20 years and then also embarked on a world tour. 

            New Adventures acclaimed revival of one of Bourne’s most popular works, the “Romantic wee ballet”, HIGHLAND FLING and Matthew’s 10th Anniversary production of SWAN LAKE have also reached new audiences through extensive International touring including seasons in Asia, Australia, Russia, Europe and the USA. New Adventures has continued to revive Bourne's work for regular seasons including THE CAR MAN in 2007 and NUTCRACKER! in 2007

In 2005, New Adventures presented its most ambitious project to date. Matthew Bourne’s production of EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, based on Tim Burton’s classic film, received its world premiere at Sadlers Wells Theatre. After breaking box office records over an 11 week season, the production toured the UK, before international debuts in Asia and a 6 month tour of the USA. The unprecedented success of New Adventures relationship with Sadlers Wells Theatre was recognised in 2006 by the invitation to become Resident Company. Matthew Bourne is also a Resident Artist at Sadlers Wells.

Matthew has also created choreography for several major revivals of classic musicals including Cameron Mackintosh’s productions of OLIVER! (1994) and MY FAIR LADY (Olivier Award 2002) as well as the National Theatre’s revival of SOUTH PACIFIC (2001). In 2004 Matthew Co-Directed (with Richard Eyre) and Choreographed (with Stephen Mear) the West End and Broadway hit musical MARY POPPINS for which he won an Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer.

He has collaborated on projects with leading directors, Trevor Nunn, Richard Eyre, Sam Mendes, Yukio Ninagawa and John Caird and has created dances and roles for such wide-ranging performers as Jonathan Pryce, Lynn Seymour, Dawn French, Adam Cooper, Julie Walters, Rowan Atkinson and Michael Sheen.

His film work includes television productions of his stage work including SWAN LAKE (Emmy nomination), THE CAR MAN and NUTCRACKER! and original work such as the John Betjamin inspired LATE FLOWERING LUST with Sir Nigel Hawthorne and his own AMP Company in 1993.

Matthew was the subject of a South Bank Show in 1997 and in 1999 he presented Channel 4’s Dance 4 Series. The channel 4 documentary BOURNE TO DANCE, which he also presented, was broadcast on Christmas Day 2001. His production of SWAN LAKE is featured in Stephen Daldry’s hit film BILLY ELLIOT.

Matthew Bourne has twice been nominated as Best Director at the Olivier Awards and his achievements in choreography have been recognised with over 30 International awards including The Evening Standard Award, The South Bank Show Award, Time Out Award and the Astaire Award for Dance on Broadway. In the 2001 New Years Honours, Matthew was awarded an OBE for Services to Dance and in 2003 he was the recipient of the prestigious Hamburg Shakespeare Prize for the Arts. In 2007 he was awarded Honorary Doctorates from Leicester, Bedford and the Open Universities. In 2008 he was the recipient of a Special Award from the TMA (Theatrical Managers Association) for services to UK touring.

His latest hit show for New Adventures, DORIAN GRAY, based on Oscar Wilde’s gothic masterpiece, premiered at the 2008 Edinburgh Festival, and became the most successful dance production in the Festival’s 62 year history. Later in 2008 he Co-Directed and choreographed Cameron Mackintosh’s latest revival of OLIVER! with Rowan Atkinson which is currently playing at London’s Drury Lane Theatre.

Work

  • 1987: Overlap Lovers. An Intrigue in Three Parts
  • 1988: Spitfire
  • 1989: The Infernal Galop
  • 1989: "As You Like It" (RSC)
  • 1989: "Show Boat" (musical - Malmo - Sweden)
  • 1990: "Children Of Eden" (musical)
  • 1991: Town and Country
  • 1992: Deadly Serious
  • 1992: Percy of Fitzrovia
  • 1992: "Nutcracker!"
  • 1992: Infernal Galop (reworked)
  • 1993: Drip: a Narcissistic Love Story(BBC TV)
  • 1993: "Late Flowering Lust" (BBC TV)
  • 1994: Highland Fling
  • 1994: "Oliver!"
  • 1995: Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake
  • 1997: Cinderella
  • 1998: "Swan Lake" Broadway
  • 2000: Matthew Bourne's The Car Man
  • 2001: "My Fair Lady" (musical)
  • 2001: "South Pacific" (musical)
  • 2002: Nutcracker! - New Production
  • 2002: Play Without Words
  • 2004: Mary Poppins
  • 2005: Edward Scissorhands
  • 2008: Dorian Gray
  • 2009: "Oliver!" (Major Revival)

Awards and nominations

Awards
  • 1999 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Musical – Swan Lake
  • 1999 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Choreography – Swan Lake
  • 1999 Tony Award Best Choreography – Swan Lake
  • 1999 Tony Award Best Direction of a Musical – Swan Lake
  • 2000 Evening Standard Award for Musical Event – The Car Man
  • 2005 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Original Choreography – Mary Poppins
  • 2007 Drama Desk Award Unique Theatrical Experience – Edward Scissorhands
Nominations
  • 2010 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreography - Oliver! (Result TBA March 21 2010)
  • 2000 Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance – The Car Man
  • 2005 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Musical – Play Without Words
  • 2005 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Choreography – Play Without Words
  • 2007 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Choreography – Edward Scissorhands
  • 2007 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Choreography – Mary Poppins
  • 2007 Tony Award Best Choreography – Mary Poppins

References

Further reading

  • Macaulay, Alastair (ed.) (1999). Matthew Bourne and His Adventures in Motion Pictures: In Conversation with Alastair Macaulay. London: Faber and Faber. ISBN 057119706X. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help)

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