Matthew Christopher Bourne Essays -- Drame

Matthew Christopher Bourne Born 13th. January, 1960, London. British dancer and choreographer. His parents were June and Jim Bourne and he had a brother Dan. His mother was a secretary and his father worked for Thames Water for 30 years. When 12 or 13 he and his friend Simon Carter waited to get the autographs of actors outside the Apollo, Lyric, Palace, or Queens theatres. He attended a Methodist-run youth club which had a choir and he put on his versions of musicals. He went to school at the Sir George Monoux mixed comprehensive (later a sixth-form college) in Walthamstow in north-east London. He left with two grade C A levels. He didn't admit to himself that he was gay until he was 18. He then rang the telephone number for Gay Switchboard which was printed on the sleeve of Tom Robinson's single Glad To Be Gay and he was directed to a gay youthclub in Holloway. He first took a job in the contracts department at the BBC. He next had a job with the Keith Prowse ticket agency. This was followed by a job in the Royal National Theatre bookshop. He also worked as an usher and became aware that among the other theatre devotees were dance and drama students. In 1982 he was given a place at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance. Being 22 he was older than usual, and he also had no previous dance lessons. However, he had a great breadth and depth of knowledge of theatre, dance, and old musicals. He obtained a BA in dance and theatre in 1986. In 1987, with the help of friends from the Laban, he set up his own dance company Adventures in Motion Pictures (AMP). The company reworked classical pieces including The Nutcracker and La Sylphides. In 1995 the company produced Swan Lake with all the swans being played by men, and in 1997 it became the longest-running ballet in the West End since Diaghilev's Sleeping Princess in 1926. In 1999 it went to Broadway. He received a Tony Award for best choreographer and best director of the musical. He had a seven-year relationship with David Manners who designed for AMP. In 1995 he started a relationship with Arthur Pita, a principle dancer with AMP. In 1997 Matthew Bourne became an honorary fellow of the Laban Centre. Also in 1997 he was asked by Cameron Mackintosh to create the dances for the revival of Lionel Bart's musical Oliver!. The fees from this allowed h... ...egan in his early twenties, and his love for theater and cinema has led him to be dubbed "the Noel Coward of modern dance." Born in London on January 13, 1960, Mr. Bourne graduated from the Laban Centre in 1985 with a degree in Dance/Theater, spending a further year touring with Transitions Dance Company. He was a founding member of AMP at its launch in July 1987, and his stage works for the company include "Overlap Lovers" (1987), "Spitfire" (1988), "Buck and Wing" (1988), "The Infernal Gallop" (1989), "Town & Country" (1991), "The Nutcracker" (1992), "Highland Fling" (1994), "Swan Lake" (1996) and "Cinderella" (1997). His television work for AMP includes "Late Flowering Lust" (BBC TV 1993) and "Drip - A Love Story" (BBC TV/Arts Council Dance for the Camera Award 1993), both broadcast in 1994. As well as creating many roles in his own work, he has also worked with choreographers Ashley Page, Jacob Marley, and Brigitte Farges, and was a founding member, in 1988, of Lea Anderson's company The Featherstonehaughs. Mr. Bourne has won several awards for his choreography, including a Bonnie Bird award, a Place Portfolio commission, and a Barclays New Stages award. Matthew Christopher Bourne Essays -- Drame Matthew Christopher Bourne Born 13th. January, 1960, London. British dancer and choreographer. His parents were June and Jim Bourne and he had a brother Dan. His mother was a secretary and his father worked for Thames Water for 30 years. When 12 or 13 he and his friend Simon Carter waited to get the autographs of actors outside the Apollo, Lyric, Palace, or Queens theatres. He attended a Methodist-run youth club which had a choir and he put on his versions of musicals. He went to school at the Sir George Monoux mixed comprehensive (later a sixth-form college) in Walthamstow in north-east London. He left with two grade C A levels. He didn't admit to himself that he was gay until he was 18. He then rang the telephone number for Gay Switchboard which was printed on the sleeve of Tom Robinson's single Glad To Be Gay and he was directed to a gay youthclub in Holloway. He first took a job in the contracts department at the BBC. He next had a job with the Keith Prowse ticket agency. This was followed by a job in the Royal National Theatre bookshop. He also worked as an usher and became aware that among the other theatre devotees were dance and drama students. In 1982 he was given a place at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance. Being 22 he was older than usual, and he also had no previous dance lessons. However, he had a great breadth and depth of knowledge of theatre, dance, and old musicals. He obtained a BA in dance and theatre in 1986. In 1987, with the help of friends from the Laban, he set up his own dance company Adventures in Motion Pictures (AMP). The company reworked classical pieces including The Nutcracker and La Sylphides. In 1995 the company produced Swan Lake with all the swans being played by men, and in 1997 it became the longest-running ballet in the West End since Diaghilev's Sleeping Princess in 1926. In 1999 it went to Broadway. He received a Tony Award for best choreographer and best director of the musical. He had a seven-year relationship with David Manners who designed for AMP. In 1995 he started a relationship with Arthur Pita, a principle dancer with AMP. In 1997 Matthew Bourne became an honorary fellow of the Laban Centre. Also in 1997 he was asked by Cameron Mackintosh to create the dances for the revival of Lionel Bart's musical Oliver!. The fees from this allowed h... ...egan in his early twenties, and his love for theater and cinema has led him to be dubbed "the Noel Coward of modern dance." Born in London on January 13, 1960, Mr. Bourne graduated from the Laban Centre in 1985 with a degree in Dance/Theater, spending a further year touring with Transitions Dance Company. He was a founding member of AMP at its launch in July 1987, and his stage works for the company include "Overlap Lovers" (1987), "Spitfire" (1988), "Buck and Wing" (1988), "The Infernal Gallop" (1989), "Town & Country" (1991), "The Nutcracker" (1992), "Highland Fling" (1994), "Swan Lake" (1996) and "Cinderella" (1997). His television work for AMP includes "Late Flowering Lust" (BBC TV 1993) and "Drip - A Love Story" (BBC TV/Arts Council Dance for the Camera Award 1993), both broadcast in 1994. As well as creating many roles in his own work, he has also worked with choreographers Ashley Page, Jacob Marley, and Brigitte Farges, and was a founding member, in 1988, of Lea Anderson's company The Featherstonehaughs. Mr. Bourne has won several awards for his choreography, including a Bonnie Bird award, a Place Portfolio commission, and a Barclays New Stages award.