Ben
Stevenson

Jury member of Benois de la Danse

Ben Stevenson — an English dancer, teacher and ballet master, Ben Stevenson has danced at the Royal Theatre ballet company together with M. Fontaine, A. Makarova. A. Dolinyi and R. Chelpmen. Lie has also been main soloist with the London Festival Ballet. He has danced in and slaved London performances of the musicals The Music Makers, Ha'penny, The Siracusa Kids, and appeared in various television shows.

At the aye of 29, following injuries when he was thrown hy a horse, he was forced to give up his dancing career and devoted himself to leaching. He directed The Young Harkness Dancers and was invited to work as choreographer in other companies around the world. In 1980 he was the only foreigner; in the faculty of pedagogy at Bejing-USA Dance Academy.

He earned fame as artistic director of the Houston ballet where he was invited in 1976. Under his direction this company improved so much that today it boasts a varied repertoire including works hy F. Ashton, G. Balanchine, K. MacMillan, K. Bruce and P. Taylor, and also larger classic works with his own original staging — Romeo and Juliet, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Coppelia, Cinderella and still others.

These works are full of the purest classical technique and are considered hy Stevenson as the best schools for performers. Stevenson, however, expresses his artistic creed “You can have extraordinary technique hut only personality and individuality make a good dancer” in other works as well, created specifically hy him for the artists in the company, first and foremost the ballerina Jenny Parker (The Marvellous Mandarin and The Figure).

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