Christopher Bruce

Christopher Bruce was born in 1945 in Leicester, England.

He began studying ballet and step dance at age 11.In 1958, at age 13, he began studying at the Rambert Ballet School, and in 1963 he joined the ballet as a dancer. At this time, the company danced mainly classical ballet. In 1966, when Rambert developed to more modern directions, Bruce became a soloist and later on even a leading choreographer in the company – the last to have been privileged with the accompaniment of founder Marie Rambert. His choreography George Frideric (1969) was the first of some 20 dances created for Rambert. In 1974-79, he served as the ballet’s co-artistic director, together with John Chesworth. In 1979 he left Rambert Ballet and began working as a freelance choreographer, but retained his formal position as a co-choreographer in the company.

Bruce choreographed for many companies worldwide, including Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT), Royal Danish Ballet, Cullberg Ballet, Gulbenkian Ballet, Portugal, Houston Ballet, and Batsheva. Batsheva performed two of his dances: Echoes of a Night Sky (1976), and Voices (1977). In 1986-91, he was resident choreographer of the London Festival Ballet, later renamed English National Ballet.  In 1989-92, he was also resident choreographer of Geneva Ballet. Since 1989, he has been a co-choreographer in the Boston Ballet. At the same time, he also choreographed for the theater, including an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical in London’s West End (1977).
In 1994-2002, Bruce rejoined Rambert Ballet as its artistic director. His choreographies for the company included Cruel Garden (1977), Ghost Dances (1981), Rooster (1991). Under his artistic direction, the ballet staged more than fifty works and performances worldwide.

Bruce received many awards during his career, including the International Theatre Institute (ITI) Award (1993), Evening Standard Award (1974-, 1997), Prix Italia (1982), and the De Valois Award for Outstanding Contribution to Dance at Critics’ Circle National Dance Awards (2003). In 1998, he was awarded a CBE for a lifetime’s service to dance. In 2002, he was named honorary member of Amnesty International. He also received an honorary doctorate from De Monfort University in Leicester (2000), and was nominated visiting professor from the University of Exeter (2001).