One Minute World Arts- Ten Years of Triumph- Tamara Rojo and the English National Ballet
Tamara Rojo, artistic director of the English National Ballet (ENB), will step down from her position after she completes her new production of Raymonda with the company, and then move on to take up the artistic directorship at San Francisco Ballet later this year. For the ballet industry in the UK, her departure is clearly quite a blow, as she is one of the few leading figures in the business advocating the importance of innovations, and her decade-long leadership has helped to boost up the ENB’s visibility and reputation.
In 2012, Rojo became the ENB’s artistic director after leaving the Royal Ballet as its principal dancer, and has since brought sparks to her job and led the company to reach higher levels. Over the past 10 years, her daring creativity has inspired many a piece of the ENB’s repertoire, among them a whole new version of Giselle in collaboration with the acclaimed choreographer Akram Khan, in which the turbulent story of love and betrayal is set in a migrant factory and re-invented with sharp vision. Since its premiere in 2016, Khan’s Giselle has resonated with audiences around the world, from Manchester to Moscow. Although success is not always at hand each time when trying out new ideas, Rojo’s visionary innovation and uncompromising style have undoubtedly opened up a new path and secured a place for ballet in the highly competitive world of performing arts.
十年磨一劍- 塔瑪拉‧羅尤與英格蘭國家芭蕾舞團
英格蘭國家芭蕾舞團(English National Ballet)藝術總監塔瑪拉．羅尤(Tamara Rojo)，即將在完成她替舞團所打造的新版舞劇《雷夢達》(Raymonda)後，卸下職務，轉往舊金山芭蕾舞團(San Francisco Ballet)擔任藝術總監。對於英國的芭蕾舞界來說，這無疑是一大震撼；因為羅尤是其中少數提倡創新的領導者之一，有了她的帶領，英格蘭國家芭蕾舞團的聲望可說蒸蒸日上。
10年前，羅尤頂著皇家芭蕾舞團(Royal Ballet)首席舞者的光環，出任英格蘭國家芭蕾舞團的藝術總監一職，帶來了不同的創意火花，並且一路將舞團導引至更高的層次。她的創新思維貫穿於舞團的多部作品間；其中最令人眼睛一亮的，莫過於和當代編舞名家阿喀郎．可汗(Akram Khan)聯手推出的新版經典舞劇《吉賽兒》(Giselle) ：他們突破傳統窠臼，將故事背景改設為移工工廠，以嶄新視角重新詮釋這個充滿愛與背叛的故事，推出之後獲得廣大迴響，並載譽展開國際巡演。雖然並非每次打破框架之舉都能贏得正面評價，但不可否認的是，羅尤開創性的視野和不妥協的作風，已讓芭蕾舞在各形各色的表演藝術中，持續保有重要的一席之地。
Sources: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/jan/12/a-10-year-triumph-how-tamara-rojo-transformed-english-national-ballet
Photo Credit: Photograph- Tristram Kenton The Guardia