David Nixon (choreographer)
Encyclopedia
David Nixon OBE
is a dance choreographer
.
Born in Chatham, Ontario
, Nixon trained at the National Ballet School of Canada and danced with the National Ballet of Canada
. He joined the Deutsche Oper Ballet, in Berlin
, in 1985 as a principal dancer where he won the Critics Award for Best Male Performance in 1987. Nixon’s Liaisons was produced at the Hebbel Theatre in Berlin in 1990.
In 1994 David became Artist Director of BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio
, U.S.
, where he created a version of Bram Stoker
's Dracula
and an adaptation of the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast
".http://www.balletmet.org/Notes/BNB98-99.html During his six years with BalletMet, he added sixteen world premieres and fifteen company premieres to their repertoire.
David Nixon became Artistic Director of Northern Ballet Theatre
, Leeds, UK in 2001. He premiered multiple works there including new versions of Madame Butterfly, Swan Lake, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Peter Pan and The Three Musketeers.http://www.northernballettheatre.co.uk/. His newest work, Cleopatra, choreographed to music by the French composer Claude-Michel Schonberg was given it's world premiere in late February 2011 in Leeds. The title role is danced by Martha Leebolt.
A perennial production for many ballet companies is his Dracula (1999). Created for BalletMet of Columbus, Ohio while he was artistic director there, it is a visually impressive and highly athletic dance. Eschewing wire work, Nixon uses the bodies of the dancers to express flying with bats, wolfish appetites, etc. Music from various sources including the Faust Cantata by Alfred Schnittke and sections of Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances, are used to highlight the high emotions driving the story. Drawn directly from the Bram Stoker novel Dracula, Nixon's ballet includes vivid imaginings of the blood transfusions given desperately to Dracula's victim Lucy and scenes in the insane asylum with frenetic dancing by the characters of Dr. Seward and Renfield.http://www.balletmet.org/Notes/Dracula.html The original Dracula, Jimmy Orrante, and Nixon created a Count Dracula full of contradictions with more human longings than the Stoker character. The desperate, vicious, and highly sensual killing of Lucy after Dracula is initially rejected by Mina is an especially painful and well-conceived scene. Often performed separately for dance exhibitionws and competitions, a pas de deux between Dracula and Mina draws the two into an equal partnership including moves with the ballerina supporting the male lead.http://www.criticaldance.com/reviews/2003/GalaofInternationalStars20030809.html The ballet concludes in a vigorous set of sequences done to Red Cape Tango from the Metropolis symphony by Michael Daugherty.http://www.balletmet.org/Notes/Dracula.html
A new version of David Nixon's Dracula was created for premiere at the Northern Ballet Theatre in Leeds for 2005.http://www.ballet-dance.com/200509/articles/DavidNixon200508.html
David Nixon has been a guest artist at the Bayerisches Staatsballett in Munich, Royal Winnipeg Ballet
, Birmingham Royal Ballet
, Komische Oper, Deutsche Staatsoper, Hamburg Ballet, and Sydney City Ballet. He was voted Director of the Year 2003 and 2006 by readers of Dance Europe magazine, and he is the only director to win the award twice. The Northern Ballet Theatre won the Audience Award in the 2004, 2005, and 2006 National Dance Awards, becoming the first company to win the award in consecutive years.http://www.northernballettheatre.co.uk/
Nixon was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours.
In 2011, he works on the ballet Cleopatra with Claude-Michel Schönberg
.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
is a dance choreographer
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
.
Born in Chatham, Ontario
Chatham, Ontario
Chatham is the largest community in the municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario. Formerly serving as the seat of Kent County, the governments of the former city of Chatham, the county of Kent, and its townships were merged into one entity known as the Municipality of Chatham-Kent in 1998.Located on...
, Nixon trained at the National Ballet School of Canada and danced with the National Ballet of Canada
National Ballet of Canada
The National Ballet of Canada is Canada's largest ballet troupe. It was founded by Celia Franca in 1951 and is based in Toronto, Ontario. Based upon the unity of Canadian trained dancers in the tradition and style of England's Royal Ballet, The National is regarded as one of the premier classical...
. He joined the Deutsche Oper Ballet, in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, in 1985 as a principal dancer where he won the Critics Award for Best Male Performance in 1987. Nixon’s Liaisons was produced at the Hebbel Theatre in Berlin in 1990.
In 1994 David became Artist Director of BalletMet in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where he created a version of Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker
Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula...
's Dracula
Dracula
Dracula is an 1897 novel by Irish author Bram Stoker.Famous for introducing the character of the vampire Count Dracula, the novel tells the story of Dracula's attempt to relocate from Transylvania to England, and the battle between Dracula and a small group of men and women led by Professor...
and an adaptation of the fairy tale "Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast is a traditional fairy tale. The first published version of the fairy tale was a rendition by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve, published in La jeune américaine, et les contes marins in 1740...
".http://www.balletmet.org/Notes/BNB98-99.html During his six years with BalletMet, he added sixteen world premieres and fifteen company premieres to their repertoire.
David Nixon became Artistic Director of Northern Ballet Theatre
Northern Ballet Theatre
Northern Ballet, formerly Northern Ballet Theatre, is a dance company based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, with a strong repertoire in theatrical dance productions where the emphasis is on story telling as well as classical ballet...
, Leeds, UK in 2001. He premiered multiple works there including new versions of Madame Butterfly, Swan Lake, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Peter Pan and The Three Musketeers.http://www.northernballettheatre.co.uk/. His newest work, Cleopatra, choreographed to music by the French composer Claude-Michel Schonberg was given it's world premiere in late February 2011 in Leeds. The title role is danced by Martha Leebolt.
A perennial production for many ballet companies is his Dracula (1999). Created for BalletMet of Columbus, Ohio while he was artistic director there, it is a visually impressive and highly athletic dance. Eschewing wire work, Nixon uses the bodies of the dancers to express flying with bats, wolfish appetites, etc. Music from various sources including the Faust Cantata by Alfred Schnittke and sections of Rachmaninov's Symphonic Dances, are used to highlight the high emotions driving the story. Drawn directly from the Bram Stoker novel Dracula, Nixon's ballet includes vivid imaginings of the blood transfusions given desperately to Dracula's victim Lucy and scenes in the insane asylum with frenetic dancing by the characters of Dr. Seward and Renfield.http://www.balletmet.org/Notes/Dracula.html The original Dracula, Jimmy Orrante, and Nixon created a Count Dracula full of contradictions with more human longings than the Stoker character. The desperate, vicious, and highly sensual killing of Lucy after Dracula is initially rejected by Mina is an especially painful and well-conceived scene. Often performed separately for dance exhibitionws and competitions, a pas de deux between Dracula and Mina draws the two into an equal partnership including moves with the ballerina supporting the male lead.http://www.criticaldance.com/reviews/2003/GalaofInternationalStars20030809.html The ballet concludes in a vigorous set of sequences done to Red Cape Tango from the Metropolis symphony by Michael Daugherty.http://www.balletmet.org/Notes/Dracula.html
A new version of David Nixon's Dracula was created for premiere at the Northern Ballet Theatre in Leeds for 2005.http://www.ballet-dance.com/200509/articles/DavidNixon200508.html
David Nixon has been a guest artist at the Bayerisches Staatsballett in Munich, Royal Winnipeg Ballet
Royal Winnipeg Ballet
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America....
, Birmingham Royal Ballet
Birmingham Royal Ballet
Birmingham Royal Ballet is one of the three major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet and the English National Ballet....
, Komische Oper, Deutsche Staatsoper, Hamburg Ballet, and Sydney City Ballet. He was voted Director of the Year 2003 and 2006 by readers of Dance Europe magazine, and he is the only director to win the award twice. The Northern Ballet Theatre won the Audience Award in the 2004, 2005, and 2006 National Dance Awards, becoming the first company to win the award in consecutive years.http://www.northernballettheatre.co.uk/
Nixon was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours.
In 2011, he works on the ballet Cleopatra with Claude-Michel Schönberg
Claude-Michel Schönberg
Claude-Michel Schönberg is a French record producer, actor, singer, songwriter, and musical theatre composer, best known for his collaborations with the lyricist Alain Boublil.These include the musicals:...
.