Ben Wright

Ben Wright has been practising as an internationally recognised dance artist for the last eighteen years. As well as his extensive performance experience and his own choreographic work, the full spectrum of his practice spans movement direction in Opera and Theatre, work as a stage director and also as a short film maker.

As a performer Ben toured the US in Sinner for Stan Wont Dance and has worked for Adventures in Motion Pictures, Ricochet, London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Richard Alston and Amanda Miller’s Company: Pretty Ugly.  In addition to his teaching practice within the professional dance scene, Ben frequently works as an educator within the university and vocational sectors, with Youth and Community Dance, and leads movement workshops for professional actors and singers.

In 1995 he created the role of the Prince in Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake performing throughout the UK, London’s West End, Los Angeles, Broadway, Japan and Korea. Ben also created the part of the Golden Monkey in the original production of ‘His Dark Material’s’ at The National Theatre. Future work includes commissions for Skanes Dance Theatre Sweden, Ludus Dance company and Verve. Also The Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Don Giovanni and Toulouse Opera’s production of Betrothal in a Monastery.

In 2002 Ben won a Jerwood Choreographic award, as well as The Bonnie Bird Choreographic Prize, and in 2004 won a prestigious NESTA Fellowship to explore relationships between choreography, directing and film. In 2008 he launched his own company bgroup (www.bgroup.org.uk) creating, amongst other things, Knight Crew for Glyndbourne Opera which is the subject of a new BBC2 documentary to air in June 2010.

Ben also recently directed An audience with Adrienne; A night at the Opera for the 2009 Bayerische Staatsoper Festival and was co-director and film maker for An evening with Adrienne at Drill Hall and 2007 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.