Opera Ballet Vlaanderen ( Dutch ; "Opera Ballet Flanders") is an opera and ballet company in Belgium directed by Jan Vandenhouwe. It operates in two different opera houses in the Flemish cities of Ghent and Antwerp . However, the company shares one orchestra, choir, ballet company, technical team, etc. The organization is mainly financed by the Flemish government and the city councils of Antwerp and Ghent.
14-676: Opera Ballet Vlaanderen emerged from a fusion between The Flemish Opera ( Vlaamse Opera ) and the Royal Ballet of Flanders ( Ballet Vlaanderen ) in 2014. The Royal Ballet of Flanders was founded in 1969. The Flemish Opera was created in 1996 as a successor to the Flemish Opera Foundation ( Vlaamse Opera Stichting, which had existed since 1988), and the Opera for Flanders ( Opera voor Vlaanderen, which had existed since 1981). Both former institutions were similar fusions between
28-421: A rake of 4° due to 19th century practice), a big new side stage, updated lighting and mechanical structures. Because of budget limitations (the first budget estimate for the entire renovation was 33 million euro but, after certain non critical phases were removed from the master plan, the total budget was 24 million euros), only the most urgent tasks were executed. Therefore, not all the ornaments where cleaned and
42-690: The Royal Ballet School , and joined the Royal Ballet in 1976. There, he worked closely with Frederick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan , creating numerous roles in their new ballets. He also worked with visiting choreographers including Glen Tetley and, especially, Richard Alston , who was to become his choreographic mentor. He was promoted to principal dancer in 1984. Page was artistic director of Scottish Ballet for ten years, from 2002 to 2012. In August 2012, Christopher Hampson succeeded him as artistic director of Scottish Ballet. He
56-695: The Guild of Crossbowmen) at the Grote Markt . The theatre gradually lost its popular Flemish character as French artists were engaged and the performances were no longer performed in the local ( Dutch ) language, but in French, the adopted language of the Flemish elite. In 1709 a new theatre was installed in the "Tapissierspand", a former covered market for tapestry where alternately Italian and French operas were performed. The new auditorium burnt down in 1746 and
70-532: The best companies in Europe". In the 2014 New Year Honours list, Assis Carreiro was appointed a MBE by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. In September 2015 Antwerp based choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui took the new artistic directorship, along with co-director Tamas Moricz (William Forsythe dancer). Together they became the new artistic co-directors to a reforming Ballet of Flanders under
84-709: The company's international profile by adding contemporary works including those of William Forsythe to its repertoire and touring more extensively. Winning the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance in the category Dance Companies under her direction in 2009 as well as the London Circle Critics National Dance Award in 2012 for Outstanding company during her last season made the company an award-winning company, it has since been described as "today one of
98-566: The former opera houses of Antwerp and Ghent. Since the fusion in 1981, the company has been giving performances in two different historic theatres. It received the "Opera Company of the Year" award at the 2019 International Opera Awards . The first public opera performances in Antwerp date back to 1661. Performances took place on the stage of the Schouwburgh van de Oude Voetboog (Theatre of
112-407: The grand opening in 1907, the opera opened again for a new season. New office buildings were constructed, the main auditorium was updated with new seating, a new heating system, and the walls were painted in a new fresh green colour. Behind the scenes all the offices are combined in the new 'Office territory' behind and next to the stage. Major improvements are the leveling of the stage floor (which had
126-555: The new aegis of the opera ballet Kunsthuis. The company repertoire has been since shifting to a predominantly contemporary mix of dance works, focusing on new works by Cherkaoui and touring. Ashley Page Ashley Page OBE (born August 1956) is a British former ballet dancer, choreographer and was artistic director of Scottish Ballet for ten years. Ashley Page was born in Rochester, Kent in August 1956. Page trained
140-512: The public hallways are painted white. It is expected that when new funds are available, the golden ornaments and hallways will be updated. Royal Ballet of Flanders The Royal Ballet of Flanders is a dance company based in Antwerp , Belgium , specializing in classical , neoclassical and contemporary ballet . In its current incarnation, the company was established in 1969. It tours internationally. The current Royal Ballet of Flanders
154-548: The troupe entirely onto modern dance . Jeanne Brabants was the founder and original artistic director of the Royal Ballet of Flanders. She was succeeded as artistic director by Rus Valery Panov, then Robert Denvers. In September 2012, Assis Carreiro was appointed Artistic Director of the Royal Ballet of Flanders and since her arrival has commissioned and produced works by Wayne McGregor, Jacopo Godani, Edward Clug, Glen Tetley, Ashley Page , among others. Previous Artistic Director Kathryn Bennetts took her post in 2005 and raised
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#1732797636836168-402: Was established by Belgium's federal Ministry of Dutch Culture in 1969. Previously, Belgium had two professional classical ballet companies, the Royal Ballet of Flanders and Ballet royal de Wallonie [ fr ] . The Ballet royale de Wallonie, founded in 1966, was brought under the direction of Frédéric Flamand in 1991, who renamed the company Charleroi/Danse and shifted the focus of
182-623: Was given in the "Tappisierspand". The new theatre opened after the Belgian revolution in 1834. (This building is now known as the Bourlaschouwburg and is used today for regular theatre performances.) The French repertoire (and, to a lesser extent, the Italian repertoire in French translation) continued to dominate. The opera house closed in 2005 for a two-year renovation of the entire building. In November 2007, exactly 100 years after
196-525: Was replaced by a new "Grand Théâtre" which opened in 1753. During the period of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands , the theatre was promoted to "Théâtre Royal". At that time the old theatre was already in decay and it became too small to house the growing public. Plans were made to tear down the old building and to replace it by a new and more prestigious building. In 1829 the last performance
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