UK based independent touring classical ballet company All ballet companies require an artistic driving force and the Vienna Festival Ballet is no exception.
Peter Mallek, founder and Artistic Director of the company trained as a dancer in his native city of Vienna by the famous Russian teacher Harry Pluciss. At the age of fourteen he joined the corps de ballet of the Vienna State Opera. Within three years he was dancing all the leading parts and some principal roles. Since this time he has danced with all the major companies of the world, including Am
erican Ballet Theater, Australian Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, London Festival Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Peter has danced alternate roles , on major tours with Rudolf Nureyev, Peter Breuar, Cyril Atanasoff, and Valdemar Volk. The success of the Vienna Festival Ballet is a tribute to Peter’s sheer energy. The company has attracted many famous choreographers and dancers to work with them in bringing the wealth of classical ballet to an even wider audience. With sound direction, talented dancers and a popular repertoire, the success of the company seems assured. The VFB gave its first performance in Brighton, England in May 1980. This was followed by an extended European tour the UK, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium. Since that time the company has not looked back, but gone from strength to strength. The popularity of the VFB has been endorsed by the fact that they are invited back to venues again and again. The company’s repertoire has grown steadily over the years, each of the ballets are full length, and choreographed after the original, exclusively for the VFB. The repertoire includes: Swan Lake, restaged by Terence Etheridge after Petipa, The Nutcracker choreographed by Rubin Escewara, Sleeping Beauty choreographed by Belinda Wright and Jelko Yuresha, and now renewed by Sheila Styles, formerly of Sadlers Wells and the Royal Ballet. Giselle was choreographed for the company by the world famous Nicholas Beriosoff, Cinderella, by Sheila Styles, Coppelia by Serena Cundari from Australian Ballet and renewed again by Sheila Styles. More recently the company has restaged La Sylphide, with enormous success, by Sheila Styles and performed this great Romantic ballet alongside Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue restaged by Ian Mackenzie Stewart after Janet Lewis. The contrast of the two ballets complimented each other and enthralled the audiences. Costumes and stage sets provide an essential ingredient to the enjoyment of ballet. Designs for a company with a busy touring schedule have to be imaginative and very portable, retaining images which project colour and vitality to enhance the craft of the dancer, the choreographer and the composer. The company’s wardrobe and technical staff have worked hard to produce glamorous costumes and beautiful sets, under the careful guidance of designers such as Alan Sievewright, Ella Hune and Elizabeth Gale. PETER MALLEK ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Peter Mallek, founder and artistic director of the Vienna Festival Ballet, began his illustrious career, at the age of fourteen when he joined the corps de ballet at the Vienna State Opera. Since this early beginning Peter has worked tirelessly, firstly as a performer and subsequently as Artistic Director, bringing the ballet to delight audiences all over Europe and the rest of the world. In the early years Peter trained with the renowned Russian teacher Harry Pluciss, a former pupil of the world famous ballet master Pushkin. Within three years he was dancing leading roles in the Vienna State Opera. In 1968, Peter made his first guest appearance with the Dutch National Ballet in Amsterdam as Albrecht in Giselle. His rapturous success in Amsterdam led to more guest appearances notably National Ballet of Rio de Janeiro. He was then asked to dance the role of Albrecht in Giselle, this time choreographed by Sir Anton Dolin in Marseilles under the directorship of Rosella Hightower. Peter’s dramatic early success in Europe quickly catapulted him onto the international scene. One of the many pinnacles of Peter’s career was when he was invited to join the American Classical Ballet alternating with Rudolf Nureyev, partnering Eva Evdokimova, Lilliana Cosi and Merle Park. Joining the New London Ballet in 1972, through recommendation from Julian Brunswig (the founder of London Festival Ballet, alongside Anton Dolin and Alicia Markova, now English National Ballet) he then toured Europe and America with Margot Fonteyn under the directorship of Galina Samsova and Andre Prokovsky. On this tour, Peter was Fonteyn’s occasional partner. Partnering Georgina Parkinson and alternating with Ivan Nagy, Peter toured Australia with the Sydney Festival Ballet. After a successful tour of Australia, Peter returned to New York to join Harkness Ballet and made guest appearances with Eglevsky Ballet. Due to Peter’s extraordinary ballet technique, he featured and demonstrated in a series of educational ballet films which described and showed the special Russian training acquired from Pushkin. During this period he also made many special guest performances at Radio City Music Hall and was invited to join American Ballet Theatre as principal. In 1974 he joined Australian Ballet as principal, the following year returning to London to join London Festival Ballet (now known as English National Ballet) as principal and guest artist. In 1977 he became permanent guest artist of Scottish Ballet, culminating his career as guest artist at the Paris Opera. After a dazzling career in the international spotlight, Peter founded his own company in 1980, the Vienna Festival Ballet, naming it after his beloved home city. Peter is married to Gill and has 2 sons. Spring Tour 2011
Company is rehearsing every day for our brand new ballet Cinderella
Premiere on Sunday 27th March at Winter Gardens Margate at 5pm
For all tour dates please check out:
