New English Contemporary Ballet is an independent National dance company based in Nottingham, renowned for its high artistic and technical standards and for presenting ambitious and exhilarating dance performances to audiences across the UK. We currently receive no regional or national Arts funding for our touring and artistic programme. Despite this we remain determined to provide audiences with work which is technically exciting, artistically stimulating, accessible to all ages, and is in no way compromised by alternative artistic agendas.
We are a company that looks, stylistically and technically, beyond the UK and are committed to bringing high-calibre work by major European choreographers to this country - work which is sure to excite and stimulate both new and existing dance enthusiasts.
Dance Europe June 2008 (Reviewer - David Mead)…. New English Contemporary Ballet is clearly still very much on the up. The dancers are simply getting better and better. They are definitely a company to be watched. (click link to download review). Other reviews click to download ( Dancing Times, Stage Review )
New English Contemporary Ballet enjoys a reputation for providing opportunities for its dancers to excel, working alongside choreographers of exceptional quality. This company of soloist dancers are at the very forefront of the evolving contemporary ballet scene within the UK. We show work that clearly places dance as the principal focus of our performances, work which is equally contemporary and equally ballet.
In our 2008 season’s programme we presented a stunning new commission from the Italian choreographer, Davide Bombana, and we continued to return to the work of the inspirational Richard Wherlock, the acclaimed Director of Ballett Basel. Exploring the best of young British talent, we included works by Vanessa Fenton and Jamie Thomson. To see highlights of the 2008 tour, click the link opposite.
Our 2009 season will include a superb programme of 5 works created for the Company by some of the most celebrated choreographers in Europe. New English Contemporary Ballet's repertoire is rooted within the technical form of ballet, whilst is creatively more modern in style, we continue to break away from traditional narrative ballet associated with small and middle-scale UK touring. NECB continues it's celebrated link with Richard Wherlock (Ballett Basel) performing the much acclaimed S(c)ent, new for this season we also perform his evocative pas de deux Light into Shade, first performed by NECB in January 2009 in Massa, Italy. Patrick Delcroix (Nederlands Dans Theater) - returns to re-create the critically acclaimed Adrift in Softness, created on NECB for UK audiences in 2007, this essentially abstract piece plays with the idea of a central character drifting between different states of consciousness. Davide Bombana's highly emotional In C Sharp Minor, provides audiences with a work of pure beauty, choreographed to Beethoven's String Quartet in C Sharp Minor. Jamie Thomson's .Com Together completes the programme, it sets out to capture the very contemporary contrast, strong and almost robotic at times, this work provides moments of great tenderness. It is an abstract celebration of the power of real human relationships over the isolation of life lives at the "virtual" level.
Our School
"The key to your professional future"
New English Contemporary Ballet School is the only contemporary ballet school in the UK nested alongside its professional parent Company. We are extremely proud of this relationship. It guarantees our students the close association with the industry that only a professional company can, supporting training, enhancing performance and creating career pathways and opportunities.
The high level of training we provide will enable our students to engage with industry at the highest possible level; students will graduate with qualifications that are recognised and respected. Above all, our students will become rounded artists and performers, dancers capable of offering employers the level of versatility required, rather than “boxing” or labelling them and thus limiting their true potential. The depth and quality of our courses provide a complete preparation for entering the world of professional company performance, West End Musical Theatre and commercial dance.