Ballet West heads to Far East with new touring company

Dancers from Ballet West will be going on tour in the Far East later this year.

The vocational ballet school in Taynuilt has set up its own professional international touring company and its first-stop will be Genting in Malaysia in August.

The new company will be performing Swan Lake between August 24 and September 2, with plans to perform at other venues in the Far East in the early autumn.

A cast of 32 professional dancers will be headed by principal dancers Jonathan Barton and Natasha Watson in the leading roles.

And they will be joined by award-winning Japanese-born Uyu Hiromoto and a select group of other dancers from across Europe, including graduates of the Ballet West school.

The touring production of Swan Lake has been specially choreographed by Daniel F Job who is Ballet West’s internationally renowned artistic adviser and choreographer.

Ballet West principal Gillian Barton said: ‘This is an ambition the company has had for many years and is a major step forward for Ballet West. We can now provide professional opportunities for some of the outstanding young dancers who graduate from Ballet West each year.’ The international touring company will complement the youth company, which has been touring throughout Scotland since 1992, performing in China in 2010 and 2011, also in Malaysia last year. Unique to Ballet West, all its vocational students have the opportunity to take part in a tour of a full-scale classical ballet in Scotland each year. The repertoire for the international touring company will include Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, Coppelia.