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Michael Pink
Michael Pink is an internationally acclaimed Choreographer and Artistic Director.

Michael was born in the city of York. He began dance lessons aged 8. Michael performed on the professional stage from a very young age in Musicals, Pantomimes and the plays of Shakespeare. His earliest passion was for acting and singing. He was head chorister in his church choir. At the request of Ursula Moreton he auditioned for the Royal Ballet School and was accepted on a scholarship, the first boy to be accepted from the city of York.

Michael spent the next six years training in London, he would go on to live and work in the capital for the next 25 years. As a student he performed in several productions at the Royal Opera House. Whist at White Lodge the junior school of the Royal Ballet he established a drama group that created and performed their own work to the other students and staff. He also performed one of the lead parts in the school musical ‘Ticket of Leave’. His talent for choreography was first noted and encouraged by Dame Ninette de Valois and Sir Frederick Ashton. His early choreographic work won him first place in the inaugural Ursula Moreton Choreographic Competition He was invited by Sir Frederick Ashton to assist in choreographing the Anacat Fashion Show for HRH Princess Margaret. He left the Royal Ballet School in 1975 after being invited to attend the first Gulbenkian Choreographic Summer Program as one of eight choreographers and composers, lead by Glen Tetley, Mary Hicks and Dame Peggy van Praggh.

In the same year he joined London Festival Ballet [now English National Ballet] During his ten years with the Company he worked with many notable choreographers such as Massine, Nureyev, Tetley, Bruce, Hynd, Tudor, Ashton and Beriosova and had the distinct pleasure of partnering such fine ballerinas as Patricia Ruanne, Eva Evdokimova, ElizabettaTerabust, Lynn Seymour and most noticeably Natalia Makarova.

He worked closely with Rudolf Nureyev as a dancer, performing at the New York Met in Romeo and Juliet and as repetature for the same production at the Paris Opera and La Scala Milan. At the request of Nureyev Michael was to have played opposite him in the movie ‘The Final Dance’ with the choreography of Hans van Manan, sadly the movie was not to be. He was the recipient of a Royal Society of Arts Choreographic award, which he used for travel to the U.S. and study with The Joffrey Ballet and American Ballet Theatre.

Whilst with London Festival Ballet, he choreographed 1914, which was nominated for a West End Theatre Award, also IBERTISSMENT for the first national tour of L.F.B.2 for which he was also nominated as candidate for Director and the PAS DE SIX, in Swan Lake. He was commissioned by the Arts Council of Great Britain and Northern Ballet in 1982 to create ATTRACTIONS in collaborated with composer Michael Berkley. Michael was also invited to create SUMMER DAYS for Nederlands Dance Theatre 2.

During his time with London Festival Ballet he had met and worked with Christopher Gable, former Principle of the Royal Ballet and later member of the Royal Shakespeare Company together they formed Ballet Central, the performing group of Central School of Ballet, in London. Michael established the group as a National Touring Company, securing sponsorship from British Gas. His collaboration with composer Philip Feeney produced many original works for Ballet Central as well as MEMOIRE IMAGINARE, for Northern Ballet, which was later adapted for use by H.T.V International as the centrepiece of a film drama.

Christopher invited Michael to join him as Associate Artistic Director of Northern Ballet Theatre in 1988 after choreographing his first full-length production for the company, THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF DON QUIXOTE. In the same year Michael re-staged DANSE CLASSIQUE for the company, an abstract classical work for piano and orchestra, by Philip Feeney. In 1989 he created an all male contemporary work based on Wilfred Owens poem, STRANGE MEETING. In collaboration with Christopher they choreographed SWAN LAKE and a revised version of DON QUIXOTE. In 1996 they created DRACULA, a three-act dance drama that went on to be a highly successful production highlighting there believe that narrative dance can be as complex as spoken theatre. The North American premiere in Atlanta tragically coincided with Christopher’s untimely death in 1998. Dracula has won critical acclaim in England, North America, New Zealand, Australia and Norway. The 1999 season of Dracula at the New Sadlers Wells Theatre in London broke all previous theatre box office records. Atlanta Ballet and Colorado Ballet have presented the work numerous times, it is referred to as ‘The Rocky Horror of the ballet’. The production has been twice to New Zealand. Milwaukee Ballet’s staging in their 2012 season has once again broken box office records. Michael and Christopher conceived a new version of GISELLE set in 1940, a mixture of classical and contemporary dance set against a hard-hitting background of war torn Europe. The Norwegian National Ballet performed this production as part of a retrospective on Giselle in 1999; Michael staged a traditional production, which was performed on alternate evenings to the 1940 production. In 1998 he Directed and Choreographed, The HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME for Northern Ballet Theatre. This production was re-staged in Atlanta in 1999, Boston Ballet in 2001, Colorado Ballet 2005 and for The Royal New Zealand Ballet, as part of the International New Zealand Arts Festival in 2002 and Milwaukee Ballet in 2004. Michael revised the production for the 2010 season in Milwaukee renaming the work ESMERALDA. Michael was commissioned by the Atlanta ballet to create a new production of ROMEO AND JULIET in October 2000. Milwaukee ballet presented the same work in 2003 and 2007; it was filmed in high definition for Milwaukee Public Television and is available on DVD.

During his tenure as Artistic Director for the Milwaukee Ballet Michael has created new productions of THE NUTCRACKER, SWAN LAKE, DON QUIXOTE, SLEEPING BEAUTY, COPPÉLIA and CINDERELLA as well as several one act works. His work and leadership of the Milwaukee Ballet School and second company has built a recognized training program accredited by the National Association of Schools of Dance.

Michael has established himself as an International Teacher with, amongst other companies the Norwegian National Ballet, Aterballetto, Balleto di Toscanna Italy, The Hartford Ballet U.S.A. Rozas Dance Company, London Contemporary Dance Company, Ballet Rambert, The White Oaks Dance Project, English National Ballet, Phoenix Dance Company and London City Ballet.

His other credits include: Choreography for ‘The Englishman Amused’, York Theatre Royal. ‘Chekov in Yalta’, Thames Television. ‘The Music Arcade’, BBC Television. ‘The Little Match Girl’ commissioned by Alan Bates. Dancer in the Herbert Ross movie of ‘Nijinsky’. Performed the role of Bernardo in ‘West Side Story’ at the Mercury Theatre Colchester. Conceived and choreographed the collaboration of First Stage Children’s Theatre, Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Milwaukee Ballet Academy in a production of ‘Peter and the Wolf’

Michael is currently working on the World Premiere of a ballet adaptation of Puccini’s LA BOHEME as well as a new commission with composer Philip Feeney based on Snow White. This season he is also working with Milwaukee repertory Theatre on a production of NEXT TO NORMAL

Ballets
Year 2011

COPPÉLIA

Music: Leon Delibes

Company: Milwaukee Ballet

Year 2010

PETER PAN

Music: Philip Feeney

Company: Milwaukee Ballet

Colorado Ballet 2012

ESMERALDA

re-worked production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Music: Philip Feeney

Company: Milwaukee Ballet

CABARET

Music: Kander and Ebb

Company: Milwaukee Repertory Theatre

Year 2009

CINDERELLA

Music: Sergei Prokofiev

Company: Milwaukee Ballet

Year 2008

AUBADE

Music: Francia Poulonc

Company: Milwaukee Ballet

SLEEPING BEAUTY

Music: Petr Tachaikovsky

Company: Milwaukee Ballet

Year 2007

DON QUIXOTE

Music: Ludwig Minkus, Philip Feeney

Company: Milwaukee Ballet

Year 2006

SWAN LAKE

Music: Petr Tchaikovsky

Company: Milwaukee Ballet

LITTLE DANCER

Music:

Company: Milwaukee Ballet

PETER AND THE WOLF

Music: Sergei Prokofiev

Collaboration with Milwaukee Youth Symphony.

First Stage Children’s Theatre. Milwaukee Ballet Academy

Year 2005

DON’T TOUCH

Music: Maurice Ravel

Company: Milwaukee Ballet

Dedicated to Artist Schomer Lichtner on his 101st Birthday

Year 2004

SOLSTICE

Music: William Walton

Company: Milwaukee Ballet

Year 2003

NUTCRACKER

Music: Petr Tchaikovsky

Company: Milwaukee Ballet

Year 2000

ROMEO AND JULIET

Music Sergei: Prokofiev

Company: Atlanta Ballet. Milwaukee Ballet 2004 and 2007

Year 1998

HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME

Music: Philip Feeney

Company: Northern Ballet Theatre. Atlanta Ballet 1999.

Boston Ballet 2001. Royal New Zealand Ballet 2002.

Milwaukee Ballet 2004. Colorado Ballet 2005.

THE SEVEN AGES OF MAN

Music; Philip Feeney

Company: Ballet Central

Year 1997

GISELLE

Co-production with Christopher Gable

Music: Adolf Adam arr: Gavin Sutherland

Company: Northern Ballet Theatre. Norwegian National Ballet 1999. Milwaukee Ballet 2004

Year 1996

DRACULA

Co-production with Christopher Gable

Music: Philip Feeney

Company: Northern Ballet Theatre. Atlanta Ballet 1998.

Royal New Zealand Ballet 2001. Colorado Ballet 2001.

Norwegian National Ballet 2002. Milwaukee Ballet 2005.

Ballet Internationale 2006.

Year 1995

SWAN LAKE

Co-production with Christopher Gable

Music; Petr Tchaikovsky

Company: Northern Ballet Theatre

Year 1994

THE SPECTACLE

Music: Philip Feeney

Company: Ballet Central

Year 1992

GRAND CENTRAL

Music: Philip Feeney

Company: Ballet Central

Year 1990

I DON’T WANT TO SET THE WORLD ON FIRE

Music: Philip Feeney

Company: Ballet Central

THE WALLED GARDEN

Music: Philip Feeney

Company: Ballet Central. Ballet Ontario 1992

TCHAIKOVSKY VARIATIONS

Music: Petr Tchaikovsky

Company: Ballet Central. Arts Educational School 1991

SEASONS OF THE WAYFARER

Music: Philip Feeney

Company: Norfolk Dance Association

Year 1989

STRANGE MEETING

Music: Philip Feeney

Company: Northern Ballet Theatre

VARIATIONS

Music: Philip Feeney

Company: Ballet Central. English National Ballet School 1992

NO LANGUAGE BUT A CRY

Music: Philip Feeny

Company: Ballet Central

SPIRITS OF SARRAS

Music: Philip Feeney

Company: Norfolk Dance Association

Year 1988

THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF DON QUIXOTE

Music: Ludwig Minkus. Philip Feeney

Company: Northern Ballet Theatre. Revised 1995

DANSE CLASIQUE

Music: Philip Feeney

Company: Ballet Central.

Extended and orchestrated for Northern Ballet Theatre

GAME OF CHANCE

Music: Philip Feeney

Company: Ballet Central

WAND OF YOUTH

Music: Edward Elgar

Company: Norfolk dance Association

Year 1987

MEMOIRE IMAGINARE

Music: Philip Feeney

Company: Northern Ballet Theatre

HTV International filmed for ‘Time to Dance’ 1989

FAMILY PICTURE

Music: Philip Feeney

Company: Ballet Central

Year 1986

POULENC VARIATIONS

Music: Francis Poulenc

Company: Ballet Central

Year 1984

CHEKOV IN YALTA a Thames Television Drama

Year 1982

ATTRACTIONS

Music: Michael Berkley

Company: Northern Ballet

English Arts Council Commission

SUMMER DAYS

Music: Bela Bartok

Company: Nederlands Danse Theatre Asspirant Company

Year 1981

IBERTISSMENT

Music: Jacques Ibert

Company: London Festival Ballet II

SWAN LAKE pas de six

Music: Petr Tchaikovsky

Company: London Festival Ballet

THE MUSIC ARCADE

Choreography for Coplands Hoedown

Company: BBC TV UK

Year 1980

‘1914’

Music: Dimitri Kabalevsky

Company: London Festival Ballet

Nominated for West End Theatre Award Most Outstanding

Achievement by a Newcomer

Year 1975

THE ENGLISHMAN AMUSED

Choreography for the Theatre Royal York review