Christopher Powney appointed new artistic director of the National Ballet Academy

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The directorate of de Theaterschool of the Amsterdam School of the Arts has appointed Christopher Powney, currently attached to the Dance Department of the Royal Conservatoire, Den Haag, to become the new artistic director of the Nationale Balletacademie (National Ballet Academy) from 1 September 2010.

 

Christopher Powney danced with leading companies including The English National Ballet and Rambert Dance Company. He has worked with prominent choreographers and artists including Twyla Tharp, Lynne Seymour, Raisa Struchkova, Christopher Gable, Frederick Franklin, Ohad Naharin, Rudolf Nureyev, Christopher Bruce and Jiri Kylian.

Already during his dance career, Christopher Powney focused on teaching, having qualified from the Royal Ballet’s Professional Dancers Teachers Course. He was the assistant artistic director of Central School of Ballet’s graduate touring company and has taught internationally for years. In 2000 he went on to join the teaching staff at the Royal Ballet Upper School’s. In 2006, he was approached and asked to take up the position of graduate teacher at the Dance Department of the Royal Conservatoire in Den Haag.

Christopher Powney has accepted the artistic director’s position at the National Ballet Academy with great enthusiasm realising its prominent status within the dance education of the Netherlands.

Nationale Balletacademie
The Nationale Balletacademie is affiliated with Het Nationale Ballet. Together, they train talented children to become top dancers. After their study these young dancers are capable of dancing both romantic classical and modern ballet repertoire.

Studying to become a ballet dancer is extremely demanding and begins at the tender age of 10.  Every day aspiring dancers undergo a strenuous dance training and perform at a superior physical and artistic level.

Dancers who graduate from the Nationale Balletacademie dance with Het Nationale Ballet (Igone de Jongh, Rachel Oomens, Rink Sliphorst and Hannah de Klein) but also with the Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, Introdans, Internationaal Dans Theater, The Royal Ballet, Cullberg Ballet and many other top international companies.

The Nationale Balletacademie is part of de Theaterschool, one of the faculties of the Amsterdam School of the Arts (AHK), which also comprises Academie voor Beeldende Vorming (Academy of Fine Art in Education), Conservatorium van Amsterdam, Nederlandse Film en Televisie Academie (Netherlands Film and Television Academy), Reinwardt Academie and Academie van Bouwkunst (Academy of Architecture).


More information

For more information, please contact Wouter van Loon (de Theaterschool, communications), tel. 020 527 7647 or 06 513 73 211, or by email: wouter.vanloon@ahk.nl.

www.nationaleballetacademie.nl

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