23rd August 2005
On 14 November 2005, Wayne Eagling will become the Artistic Director of English National Ballet.
John Talbot, Chairman of English National Ballet says :
“I am delighted to announce the appointment of Wayne Eagling as the new Artistic Director of English National Ballet. The opportunity to be Artistic Director of our Company resulted in numerous applications from all over the world. Wayne brings with him a wealth of experience and a fine reputation and I am confident that he will make a powerful contribution to English National Ballet and to the British dance world.”
Wayne Eagling was born in Montreal, Canada, and grew up in California. In 1969 he joined The Royal Ballet, becoming a Principal Dancer in 1975. He left The Royal Ballet in 1991 to take up the Artistic Directorship of the Dutch National Ballet.
He says of this period :
“I am very proud of my achievements at the Dutch National Ballet. I believe I took a very good company with a great reputation and made it better. This is exactly what I want to do with English National Ballet. I feel I know what it takes to make a good company work.”
Craig Hassall, Managing Director of English National Ballet, is enthusiastic about the future of the Company under the artistic leadership of Wayne Eagling. He says:
“Our panel was very impressed with the creativity and imagination Wayne brought to bear on the Dutch National Ballet. He introduced a lot of new repertoire and new choreographers to the company, and, at the same time, increased the quality of their productions and the standard of the dancers. After thirteen years with Eagling as its Artistic Director, the company gained a remarkable international reputation and is regarded as one of the top ten ballet companies in the world.”
Eagling will commence on 14 November, during the Company’s national tour of The Sleeping Beauty. He will also be in the studio for rehearsals of The Nutcracker which opens at the London Coliseum on Tuesday 20 December 2005. Whilst his priority will be his full-time role at English National Ballet, he will continue to fulfil a number of international commitments and projects.
Of his appointment, Eagling says :
“I am thrilled by this opportunity to work with one of the great touring classical ballet companies in the world. The superb reputation of English National Ballet, and the wonderful dancers in it are the reason I want to work with this Company.
“The dancers should be the reason why people come to the ballet and I have admired the performances I have seen at English National Ballet. I want to work with these dancers”.
Eagling comes to English National Ballet direct from Spain where his production of The Last Emperor for the Hong Kong Ballet opened in Santander on 21 August 2005.
A full biography for Wayne Eagling is attached.
For further press enquiries please contact Peter Leone at Anna Arthur PR on 020 7637 2994 or 07790 004875.
David Jensen Photography:
https://www.davidjensen.co.uk/
