Jump to content

Matthew Bourne: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Line 21: Line 21:


==Biography==
==Biography==
Bourne was born in [[Walthamstow]], [[London]]. In 1982 he enrolled at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance (now simply [[Laban (college)|Laban]]) in [[Deptford]], southeast London, where he was awarded a [[Bachelor of Arts|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.
Matthew Bourne was born in Hackney, [[London]] in 1960. He went to William Fitt and Sir George Monoux School in Walthamstow, London. From the ages of 14 to 16 he was an avid autograph hunter, attending most West End opening nights and waiting outside Stage Doors and top London Hotels. In 1978 he left full time education and worked in various jobs at the BBC (filing clerk), Keith Prowse Theatre Agents (selling theatre tickets) and The National Theatre (Bookshop and ushering) Despite having never done a dance class, he ran and directed various amateur Dance Companies in his teenage years.In 1982 he enrolled at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance (now simply [[Laban (college)|Laban]]) in [[Deptford]], southeast London, where he was awarded a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] in Dance Theatre. For his final year (1986) he danced with the Laban Centre's Transitions Dance Company. After graduation he formed the Dance Company ADVENTURES IN MOTION PICTURES with fellow Directors, and friends, Emma Gladstone and David Massingham. He has worked as a professional Choreographer and Director since 1987, becoming sole Artistic Director of AMP in 1991 and NEW ADVENTURES in 2002. He now lives in Islington, London and Brighton, East Sussex.


== Choreographer==
== Choreographer==

Revision as of 12:40, 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

Matthew Bourne was born in Hackney, London in 1960. He went to William Fitt and Sir George Monoux School in Walthamstow, London. From the ages of 14 to 16 he was an avid autograph hunter, attending most West End opening nights and waiting outside Stage Doors and top London Hotels. In 1978 he left full time education and worked in various jobs at the BBC (filing clerk), Keith Prowse Theatre Agents (selling theatre tickets) and The National Theatre (Bookshop and ushering) Despite having never done a dance class, he ran and directed various amateur Dance Companies in his teenage years.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 his final year (1986) he danced with the Laban Centre's Transitions Dance Company. After graduation he formed the Dance Company ADVENTURES IN MOTION PICTURES with fellow Directors, and friends, Emma Gladstone and David Massingham. He has worked as a professional Choreographer and Director since 1987, becoming sole Artistic Director of AMP in 1991 and NEW ADVENTURES in 2002. He now lives in Islington, London and Brighton, East Sussex.

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 including The Car Man in 2007 and Nutcracker! in 2008

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)

Template:Persondata

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Matthew_Bourne&oldid=350192174"