October 2019 Royal Ballet News – Company Departures
Alastair Marriott, Principal Character ArtistArtist,,,, leaves The Royal Ballet after 30 years
The Royal Ballet announces that Alastair Marriott , Principal Character Artist with The Royal Ballet, is to leave the Company after over 30 years. Director of The Royal Ballet Kevin O’Hare comments ‘I would like to thank Alastair for his invaluable contribution to the life of The Royal Ballet. As a distinguished Principal Character Artist he has appeared in a wealth of the Company’s repertory and worked with some of the leading figures from The Royal Ballet’s history including Kenneth MacMillan and Christopher Wheeldon . As a choreographer he has contributed to the canon of The Royal Ballet with the many new works created especially for the Company and for The Royal Ballet School. I wish him continued success in the future’. Alastair Marriott comments ‘After completing my education at The Royal Ballet School, I joined the Company in 1988, becoming a Soloist in 1996 and a Principal Character Artist in 2002. I choreographed my first professional ballet for The Royal Ballet in 2003 and my works for the Company include six one act main stage pieces. I'd like to thank The Royal Ballet for my schooling, career and all the opportunities it has provided me with but now is the right time for me to leave the Company to develop my work as a Choreographer.’
Jonathan Howells, Character Artist and Ballet MasterMaster,Master ,,, leaves The Royal Ballet
Jonathan HowellsHowells, Character Artist and Ballet Master is leaving the Company. Director of The Royal Ballet Kevin O’Hare comments ‘Jonathan had a very successful and varied career as a Soloist with the Company in many roles across our repertory and in recent years has been a valued
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member of the artistic team, coaching the current generation of dancers, while also acting as creative collaborator with Alastair Marriott on his ballets. We wish Jonathan well for the next steps of his career.’
Jonathan Howells comments ‘After completing my education at The Royal Ballet School I joined the Company in 1991 and became a Soloist in 1997. I have spent my entire dancing career at The Royal Ballet, undertaking numerous classical and demi classical roles and most recently working as Ballet Master to the Company and as a costume designer. I would like to thank The Royal Ballet as I greatly enjoyed my schooling and career but it is now the right time for me to explore other opportunities and career options.’
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A selection of images from Alastair Marriott’s and Jonathon Howells’ career can be downloaded from the following link https://we.tl/t-uCvC9geeUe
Notes to Editors
Alastair Marriott Biography
Marriott was born in St Margaret's at Cliffe and trained at Deal Dance Centre and The Royal Ballet School. He joined The Royal Ballet in 1988, became a Soloist in 1996 and a Principal Character Artist in 2002. His wide repertory includes Von Rothbart ( Swan Lake ), Drosselmeyer ( The Nutcracker ), Dr Coppélius ( Coppélia ), Widow Simone ( La Fille mal gardée ), Kostcheï ( The Firebird ), High Brahmin ( La Bayadère ), Step-Sister (Cinderella ) and Lorenzo ( Don Quixote ). Roles away from The Royal Ballet have included Prince (Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake ).
His many works for the Company include Night Falls Fast , Grey Garden , Being and Having Been , Tanglewood , Children of Adam , Sensorium , 'Trespass' ( Metamorphosis: Titian 2012 , in collaboration with Christopher Wheeldon), In the Hothouse (Diamond Jubilee Gala), Connectome and The Unknown Soldier , which was nominated for an Olivier Award in 2019. His awards also include three nominations for Best Classical Choreography at the Critics' Circle Dance Awards and a Golden Mask nomination in Moscow for Zeitgeist , a ballet he created for Natalia Osipova.
Marriott created the choreography for The Royal Opera's production of The Tsarina's Slippers . His choreography for The Royal Ballet School includes Prelude and Fugue , Schrumpf and Simple Symphony . His other work as a
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choreographer includes: for Darcey Bussell, ' Kiss ', a pas de deux (Sadler's Wells) and The Red Shoes (Viva la Diva Arena Tour); he has created works for Mara Galeazzi, Edward Watson and Marcelino Sambé and a pas de deux at The Royal Variety Performance 2010; and a collaboration with Christopher Wheeldon for the extinguishing of the flame at the London 2012 Olympics.
Jonathan Howells Biography
Jonathan Howells trained at The Royal Ballet School and graduated into the Company in 1991, he was promoted to First Artist in 1993 and Soloist in 1997 and retired as a dancer in 2016. He was appointed Assistant Ballet Master in 2011 and Ballet Master in 2016. Howells was born in Shropshire and attended local dance lessons before joining The Royal Ballet School. In his final year at The Royal Ballet Upper School he created the lead role in David Bintley’s Les Petits Riens at the annual matinee. Howell’s repertory with The Royal Ballet has included Lescaut ( Manon ), Bratfisch ( Mayerling ), Lewis Carroll/White Rabbit ( Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland ), Antigonus ( The Winter’s Tale ), Widow Simone and Alain ( La Fille mal gardée ), Bottom ( The Dream ), Bluebird and Puss-in-Boots ( The Sleeping Beauty ), Hilarion (Giselle ), Sancho Panza ( Don Quixote ), Jester and Step-Sister ( Cinderella ) and Friar Laurence ( Romeo and Juliet ). He has created a large number of roles for the Company, including in Twyla Tharp’s Mr Worldly Wise , Christopher Wheeldon’s Souvenir , Tryst and Strapless and Will Tuckett’s Love’s Fool . Howells is assistant to choreographer Alastair Marriott and has designed costumes for Marriott’s Night Falls Fast and Grey Garden (Clore Studio Upstairs, 2001 and 2002), Prelude and Fugue (The Royal Ballet School, 2003), In the Hothouse (Diamond Jubilee Gala, 2012), Connectome (Royal Ballet, 2014) performances of Simple Symphony (John Cranko School, Stuttgart, 2014) and Zeitgeist (Ardani 25 Dance Gala, 2015) and The Unknown Soldier (2018).
Royal Ballet Press Office
For further information or interview requests please contact Ashley Woodfield, Head of Ballet Press
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About the Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House’s aim is for many more people to enjoy and engage in exceptional ballet and opera. As The Royal Ballet, The Royal Opera and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, we bring together the world’s most extraordinary ballet and opera artists in more than 500 performances every year: live events that thrill, move and excite, and that transport people to other worlds though music, dance and theatre.
About The Royal Ballet Under the directorship of Kevin O’HareO’Hare, The Royal Ballet unites tradition and innovation in world-class performances, and is a driving force in the development of ballet as an art form. Based at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, it brings together today’s most dynamic and versatile dancers with a world-class orchestra and leading choreographers, composers, conductors, directors and creative teams to share awe-inspiring theatrical experiences with diverse audiences worldwide. The Company’s extensive repertory embraces 19th-century classics, the singular legacy of works by Founder Choreographer Frederick Ashton and Principal Choreographer Kenneth MacMillan and the compelling new canon of work including pieces by Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregorMcGregor, Artistic Associate Christopher WheeldonWheeldon and Artist in Residence Liam Scarlett .
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