
Christopher Hampson was born in Middleton, Manchester, and trained
at the Royal Ballet School. After graduating in 1992 he joined English
National Ballet (ENB), and was made a soloist in 1996. His roles with
ENB included Drosselmeyer in Deane's Nutcracker, Paris in Nureyev's
Romeo and Juliet, the Headmistress in Graduation Ball and
the lead role in Balanchine's Square Dance. He has danced in
works by Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan, Robert North, Mauro
Bigonzetti, Ben Stevenson, Ronald Hynd, Glen Tetley, Michael Corder,
Hans Van Manen and Wayne Sleep.
Christopher's choreographic work started at the Royal Ballet School
after winning the 1992 Ursula Moreton Choreographic Competition.
On joining English National Ballet he continued to produce many
works for the company's workshops, soirées and galas and
received the first of many commissions from Derek Deane, artistic
director of ENB, in 1997.
He has produced three works for ENB, Perpetuum Mobile (J.S.
Bach) Country Garden (Percy Grainger) set to various piano
works by Percy Grainger, later performed in an orchestral version,
and Concerto Grosso (Alfred Schnittke). In August 1999 he
left ENB to pursue his choreographic career.
Works
for other companies include, Coda for Three Men for Wayne
Sleep's Coliseum Season, Notturno, a pas de deux created
for Thomas Edur and Agnes Oaks, Dinaresade and Canciones
for City Ballet of London, and Homage to a Princess,
specially created for Tamara Rojo and Johan Kobburg to mark the
70th Birthday of Princess Margaret. His ballets have been taken
to Miami, Stuttgart, Helsinki, Prague and throughout the UK.
Christmas 2000 saw the première of his first full-length
work, A Christmas Carol, at London's Royal Festival Hall,
followed by Saltarello, a new ballet for the Royal New Zealand
Ballet in Spring 2001. In July of the same year he created Esquisses
for English National Ballet School and Songs Without Words
for Images of Dance. Double Concerto, to Poulenc's Concerto
for Two Pianos (1932) had its première at the Opera House,
Manchester, in November 2001 and was the first new ballet to open
in London in 2002 at the Coliseum. His Nutracker for English
National Ballet, with designs by Gerald Scarfe opened in October
2002, and was presented at the London Coliseum in December 2002/January
2003.
Christopher has also co-directed galas at Her Majesty's Theatre
and the Sadler's Wells Theatre. He was Ballet Master for City Ballet
of London's VIVA! Tour and Wayne Sleep's Dash and Aspects
of Dance tours.
Christopher enjoys working with children and continues to do so
whenever time allows. He has created works for English National
Ballet School, Royal Ballet School, Central School of Ballet, National
Youth Ballet and the Royal Academy of Dance.
All of Christopher Hampson's work is documented in his popular
monthly Internet
Diaries that he has been writing for three years, commissioned
by ballet.co.uk.
In 2003, his Double Concerto won the Laurence Olivier award for Best New Choreography (Classical), and his Romeo & Juliet for Royal New Zealand Ballet has been nominated for the 2005 Laurence Olivier
Awards (best new dance). Read more
List of works to date
Perpetuum Mobile (June 1997) ENB
Country Garden (April 1998) ENB
TBA (One) (1998) Jewkes/Foley/Klimentová/Panchenko
Coda for Three Men (August 1998) Wayne Sleep's Dash, CBL
TBA for Thomas Edur (October 1998) CBL
Capriol Suite (October 1998) ENB
Notturno (November 1998) Oaks/Edur
Concerto Grosso (March 1999) ENB
Dinaresade (June 1999) CBL
Canciones (October 1999) CBL
Carnival (November 1999) NYB
Malcolm Arnold Dances (July 2000) Elmhurst
Anniversaire (July 2000) ENBS
Entrées (October 2000) RBS and ENBS
Homage to a Princess (October 2000) Rojo/Kobburg
A Christmas Carol (December 2000) RFH/Raymond Gubbay/Tiny Tim Productions
Ltd
Saltarello (March 2001) Royal New Zealand Ballet
Songs Without Words (June 2001) London Studio Centre/ Images of Dance
Esquisses (July 2001) English National Ballet School
Double Concerto (November 2001) English National Ballet
A Christmas Carol (December 2001) St. David's Hall, Cardiff
Nutcracker (December 2002) English National Ballet
Trapeze (April 2003) English National Ballet
Romeo and Juliet (June
2003) Royal New Zealand Ballet
Giselle (April 2004) National
Theatre, Prague.
Christopher Hampson website
Press Quotes
"A work of pure dance...carried by the captivating momentum,
from its opening statement...to the playfully upbeat climax for
the full cast. And to vary the tone in the middle, Hampson has made
a beautifully sculpted slow duet".
David Dougill, The Sunday Times
"Perptuum Mobile" is sunshine and gentle dusk...skilfully
paced...imaginative and musically apt...bouncy beaten steps freezing
into poses"
Nadine Meisner, The Times
"A revelation...a very English ballet - polite, tasteful and
restrained...light, bright, clean and pure"
Anne Sacks, The Evening Standard
Hampson has an undoubted talent for choreography. In writing about
his choreographic style, many critics have compared him with precisely
the choreographers he most admires; Balanchine for his grounding
in the classical vocabulary with which he finds new ways and means
and MacMillan for his inventiveness. He is also noted for his skill
in handling different ensembles, teasing the audience with unexpected
entrances and exits. He is able to please an audience with this
gentle blend of classicism and invention and he is applauded as
an innately musical choreographer.
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