Christopher Marney on reviving London City Ballet

Christopher Marney, Artistic Director of London City Ballet

London City Ballet outside Sadler's Wells in 1988

Jane Sanig as Swanhilda with London City Ballet in Coppélia

Jasiah Marshall

Kate Lyons, London City Ballet's rehearsal director, with Juan Gil

Ayça Anil, a dancer with the new London City Ballet

By Deborah Weiss, 31 October 2023

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“I want to take this in a new direction, but I absolutely respect what has come before”

Deborah Weiss, 1st October

The Artistic Director of Sadler’s Wells talks candidly about his unwavering love for encouraging new dance, his visions for the future – and how much of himself he sees in Mick Jagger.

Ambassadors for chamber music: Quatuor Ébène

Charlotte Gardner, 2nd June

Ahead of the 2026 ARD International Music Competition, Quatuor Ébène’s Pierre Colombet and Gabriel Le Magadure talk about the competition’s transformative effect on their career, performing Beethoven around the world, and advocating for chamber music.

Mongrel sensibilities: Early music in Italy

Lawrence Dunn, 28th May

Giulio Prandi, conductor of Coro e Orchestra Ghislieri, and violinist and concertmaster Gabriele Pro talk about crossing borders, adopting shared sensibilities, and the challenges facing historically informed musicians in Italy today.

Labyrinths of life: Erkki-Sven Tüür

Simon Cummings, 27th May

Erkki-Sven Tüür talks about making sanctuary on Hiiumaa, a wild island to Estonia’s west, and his interest in writing concertos, seen “through the eyes of someone who observes the world very closely”.

New romance: the music of Nathan Henninger

Bachtrack, 26th May

The Toronto-born composer talks about new work Romanza for piano and orchestra, theatricality in music, taking influences from psychology, and the effect on his music of working for the United Nations.

Before the war came: why The Green Table is urgent today

Bachtrack, 20th May

Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Jonathan Payn talks about The Green Table by Kurt Jooss, first performed in Paris in 1932 – and how choreography can respond to political collapse and the threat of war.

Deborah Weiss

Deb joined Bachtrack in 2022 and commissions reviews and writing on ballet and dance. She was Royal Ballet School-trained and is a former principal dancer for companies including London Festival Ballet (now English National Ballet) and Bayerisches Staatsballett. She has been writing for more than 30 years – publications have included Dancing Times, DanceTabs, Dance for You and Dance Europe. She also interviews for Voices of British Ballet, an oral archive of people who have worked in the industry in the UK. In addition to her writing, since 2016 she has been facilitating programmes that support victims of domestic abuse. Deb is passionate about her rescue dog, Bruce, and daughters (not in that order), swims a mile at least five days a week and is an avid reader.