London City Ballet 2025: Chris Marney in conversation

London City Ballet’s ‘Momentum’ 2025 UK tour gets underway at Blackpool on July 12. Maggie Foyer caught up with artistic director Chris Marney to talk about this year’s programme.

Chris Marney and London City Ballet were clearly meant for each other. He explains, “The Company is very special to me because I grew up watching them. The name felt right, London has its own flavour, it’s diverse and multicultural and that’s what this company is.”

Was there any problem reviving the company?

The paperwork was very simple, the company had been dormant for over twenty years, just sitting there. The real key was getting in touch with Heather Knight, the former administrative director. She introduced me to the trustees and I realised how much they loved the idea of the company coming back but I wanted to be really sure that it wasn’t just a box ticking exercise for me and that I wasn’t upsetting anyone’s memory.

I also managed to reach lots of dancers because I went through the programmes. I collected a programme from each year and listed all of the former dancers and choreographers. I’ve got a great database now, which Heather said never existed before. I then picked people to contact and talk to them.

It was a hell of a lot of work, but I was adamant that I didn’t want people to think I was just taking the name and exploiting it. I was thinking about the company that I would like to run, a company which was about looking at older works which don’t exist anymore and about taking ballet out of London. The company wasn’t going to be an outlet for my work; it’s about other people’s work. It got me thinking on how many similarities there could be between what was London City Ballet and where I can take it now.

This is an exciting moment for LCB. You have both Alexei Ratmansky and Alina Cojocaru at work in the studio. Did you approach Ratmansky?

Yes, I did. We had a wonderful tour to the Joyce Theater in New York last September, at the end of our first season and I thought why not invite him? I’ve always loved his work and wondered why we don’t get to see any of it over here.

We agreed to meet at City Center the next day where he had a rehearsal for Wartime Elegy with the Ukrainian Ballet. It was a real sort of ‘Red Shoes’ moment when you’re making your way through the wings, there’s a rehearsal going on, and the orchestra were practising. I sat at the back of the stalls and when he had a break he came up the aisle with his laptop. He said: ‘I love the company. I think that you’ve got really strong dancers. I really like the idea that you’re looking at works that haven’t been done in a long time.’ We had a long chat about those ballets that he’d been reconstructing. And interestingly, he had lots of other ideas about other choreographers’ works that we could do.

Pictures at an Exhibition is not new. He choreographed it for New York City ballet in 2014. It’s for ten dancers and he used the Mussorgsky original composition for piano. I thought that piece in particular would be a great fit as we can do it with live music.

When he did in on NYCB, he used both young and experienced dancers. And we’ve got Alejandro Virelles and Alina Cojocaru also Constance Devernay and Joseph Taylor. Then we’ve got the young up and coming dancers as well who could fit so well into the other roles. Alexei thought it was a good match and it hasn’t been seen in the UK. We launched into working on how we’d make it happen and it’s been amazing. I wanted a company that had different levels of age and experience. At auditions, we looked not just for technicians but for people who had something to say. I really enjoy putting people in the right parts, with the right partners.

What I appreciate about Alexei is that he develops the individual dancer and it’s not solely about how his work’s going to look on stage. The way he coaches dancers in the roles gives them an independence. And I could see that they were changing, by having that experience with him. He’s meticulous with the details and he approaches each dancer differently. He’ll rehearse the same duet on two different couples, working on the same step but with a different approach to each. I think that’s amazing, the eye that it takes to get into the detail. And we have many performances so the dancers get the opportunity to do those different roles as well. As a dancer I loved to be able to really embody a role and perfect it, and then do another role, a different one, in that same ballet.

It’s just lovely to have Alina here with everyone. She’s been in every day for the last month. She learns from people and people learn from her. She’s constantly evolving and developing and wants to do new work. It’s so inspiring to see someone who is so open.

In Alexei’s Pictures at an Exhibition, she has a central pas de deux, it’s ethereal and haunting, based on the painting titled, The Old Castle. Apparently, the small spirit in the corner inspired Mussorgsky and when Alina heard that story she said, “This is me.”

She’ll also dance in Consolations & Liebestraum by Liam Scarlett There are three couples and she has the final very dramatic pas de deux. It’s loosely based on a woman looking back on her life and this is the breaking point of her relationship. It’s breathtaking.

The Balanchine has also never been seen in the UK.

Yes, it’s Haieff Divertimento, an early Balanchine work never seen outside the USA. It’s our opening ballet, and a perfect introduction for the company. Everyone dances, they have breakout duets, each has a solo. It’s on pointe in Balanchine tunics and it’s accessible so audiences won’t feel alienated.

And you’ll be introducing a little known Robbins later in the season?

At the Linbury we’re looking to revive Jerome Robbins’ Quiet City. I spoke to the Robbins Trust about finding a work that isn’t done very often anymore. They sent me some options and Misha Barishnikov is helping us put it together. It’s with three men. So, Alejandro (Virelles), Joseph (Taylor) and Arthur (Wille) are going to the Arts Centre for a week in September where they’ll be working with Robert La Fosse who was in the original cast. It’s such a lovely ballet.

It’s quite an ambitious bill for touring.

Attracting audiences is about overcoming preconceived ideas. I love hanging around in the foyers after the show, just eavesdropping. I think people appreciate seeing a different style. I’ve heard people say their friends would never have come if it was called Swan Lake or Cinderella because they’d think that’s not for them. But we’re offering three or four different ballets, which encourages people to give it a go. 

This year we’ve got a bit more breathing space with fifteen dancers and a slightly more spread-out tour with the break in August so people can recalibrate a bit. Everyone covers two or three different roles in the big works, Ratmansky’s ballet has ten and Haieff Divertimento also ten so it doesn’t leave a huge amount of understudy.

I guess you’re able to visit small venues who want ballet?

Absolutely. We did six shows in Bath and it was packed. It’s a lovely theatre with a 10m x 10m stage. Other companies would gasp in horror, but for ten dancers its absolutely fine. And the audiences were so appreciative. We’re going to Blackpool this year and we’re trying hard to get an audience there. It’s our first time but we want to go to new areas. This year we’re doing both a Friday and Saturday matinee and they are our best-selling shows. On matinee days, we open up the company class at 11:30. So for £5 you can buy a ticket and watch the company class on stage. It’s hugely popular, really easy for us and it’s a fantastic way of connecting.

So, the future is looking positive?

The fact that we can tour and we have the dances and the works that are right for us. But also, I found wonderful sponsors who are supporting the company for three years which I’m so grateful for as we have no government funding. We’re able to offer an eight-month contract to the dancers and I’m proud of that.

It’s a sort of American model. I spent a year in Chicago at Joffrey Ballet. I was so awe inspired by the way the company ran. It was all based on people who believed in it and who wanted to be there. They spoke about Joffrey in such high regard and that filtered through to all departments, in the company and also the board who were responsible for fund raising and I thought, we need a model like that. I would also like the artistic freedom to be able to make the decisions not based on criteria that I’m having to fill.

People ask me: ‘Why do you do it?’ Well, come to a Saturday matinee in Cheltenham and you’ll see why, because it’s really inspiring.

London City Ballet’s 2025 UK tour opens on July 12 at the Grand Theatre Blackpool, followed by dates nationwide, and in Greece and France in the early autumn. Click here for a full list and booking links.