Biography of Christopher Bruce
Biography of Christopher Bruce
Christopher Bruce was born on the 3rd of October 1945 in England, he started studying dancing at 11 years old, and he began with tap and ballet.
After studying at the Rambert School Christopher Bruce joined Rambert Ballet in 1963, where he quickly became the leading male dancer. Bruce appeared in works such as Don Quixote in 1964 and Coppelia in 1966. Then the company began to experiment with ballet and modern, combining them to form, specifically the Martha Graham technique. (Martha Graham created 181 ballets and a dance technique that has been compared to ballet in its scope and magnitude. Many of the great modern and ballet choreographers have studied the Martha Graham Technique or have been members of her company.) When Bruce danced the role of Pierrot Lunaire, his own interpretive skills were noticed. Bruce was "dominating everything- practically living the part". Bruce then worked with Glen Tetley, he discovered that "the motive for the movement comes from the centre of the body... from this base we use classical ballet as an extension to give wider range and variety of movement" In 1977 he was appointed associate director of the company and was its associate choreographer from 1979-87, he created over twenty works for the company. Between 1986-91 he acted as associate choreographer also for London Festival Ballet, later ENB, and resident choreographer for Houston Ballet in 1989. In 1994 he became artistic director for RDC. Often political in his work, he integrates classical ballet and modern dance, often set against popular music by artists like Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones. His productions include 'Cruel Garden', 1977, 'Ghost Dances', 1981, 'Swansong', 1987, and 'Rooster', 1991.
Influences
Social and political themes emerge as naturally as a reflection of his own concerns, although his aim is always firstly to create a piece of dance, rather than to make a statement. Nevertheless, he does not see a conflict between creating
Christopher Bruce was born on the 3rd of October 1945 in England, he started studying dancing at 11 years old, and he began with tap and ballet.
After studying at the Rambert School Christopher Bruce joined Rambert Ballet in 1963, where he quickly became the leading male dancer. Bruce appeared in works such as Don Quixote in 1964 and Coppelia in 1966. Then the company began to experiment with ballet and modern, combining them to form, specifically the Martha Graham technique. (Martha Graham created 181 ballets and a dance technique that has been compared to ballet in its scope and magnitude. Many of the great modern and ballet choreographers have studied the Martha Graham Technique or have been members of her company.) When Bruce danced the role of Pierrot Lunaire, his own interpretive skills were noticed. Bruce was "dominating everything- practically living the part". Bruce then worked with Glen Tetley, he discovered that "the motive for the movement comes from the centre of the body... from this base we use classical ballet as an extension to give wider range and variety of movement" In 1977 he was appointed associate director of the company and was its associate choreographer from 1979-87, he created over twenty works for the company. Between 1986-91 he acted as associate choreographer also for London Festival Ballet, later ENB, and resident choreographer for Houston Ballet in 1989. In 1994 he became artistic director for RDC. Often political in his work, he integrates classical ballet and modern dance, often set against popular music by artists like Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones. His productions include 'Cruel Garden', 1977, 'Ghost Dances', 1981, 'Swansong', 1987, and 'Rooster', 1991.
Influences
Social and political themes emerge as naturally as a reflection of his own concerns, although his aim is always firstly to create a piece of dance, rather than to make a statement. Nevertheless, he does not see a conflict between creating