History
Founded by Peter Darrell and Elizabeth West as the Western Theatre Ballet in Bristol in 1957, the company moved to Glasgow in 1969 and was renamed Scottish Theatre Ballet, changing to Scottish Ballet in 1974. A year later its home theatre became the Theatre Royal, Glasgow when Scottish Opera bought it and transformed it as the first national opera house in Scotland. The Company performs across Scotland, the UK and abroad, with strong classical technique at the root of all of its work. Its broad repertory includes new version of the classics, seminal pieces from the 20th century modern ballet canon, signature pieces by living choreographers and new commissions. As a truly national company, Scottish Ballet performs at theatres in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness and in smaller venues throughout Scotland. The Company's long history of touring internationally includes visits to China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Portugal, Ireland and the rest of the UK. Scottish Ballet's many recent awards include the 2004 TMA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance in recognition of its modernisation programme and dynamic performances. Scottish Ballet's current Artistic Director Christopher Hampson joined the company in 2012.
Its education initiatives and classes include work with people of all ages and abilities and its Associate Programme encourages young dancers to train for a career in the industry. As part of this commitment to broadening audiences, Scottish Ballet was the first dance company in the UK to offer live audio-description for the visually impaired; it maintains a programme of regular audio-described performances today.
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