Deborah Bull
| Deborah Bull | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Ballet dancer |
Deborah Bull, CBE (born 22 March 1963) is an English dancer, writer, and broadcaster and former creative director of the Royal Opera House. Since 2012 she was Director, Cultural Partnerships at King's College London. In 2015 she was appointed Assistant Principal (Culture & Engagement) at King's.
Born in Derby, and brought up in Kent and Lincolnshire, she studied dance from the age of seven, first locally, and then, on the recommendation of her teacher, at the Royal Ballet School. Whilst at the school she won the 1980 Prix de Lausanne, the prestigious international ballet competition.
She was invited to join The Royal Ballet in 1981, having toured with the company as a student during the summer. The teachers that Bull identified as the "resident teachers" were Brian Shaw, Alexander Agadzhanov, Betty Anderton and the Norwegian Gerd Larsen. Bull particularly admired Larsen's ability to introduce mime. Bull was promoted through the ranks and gained principal status in 1992, immediately following the company's opening performance in Japan, at which she danced the role of Gamzatti in La Bayadere.
During her twenty years in The Royal Ballet, she danced a wide range of work throughout the repertoire. Her leading roles in the classics included Odette/Odile in Swan Lake, Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty and Kitri in Don Quixote, and she created roles for Ashley Page, David Bintley, Michael Corder, Emma Diamond, Wayne McGregor, Glen Tetley and Twyla Tharp. She received particular praise for her performances in the works of George Balanchine and William Forsythe. In 1995 Forsythe staged for her the first performance in this country of his ballet Steptext, and she was subsequently nominated for a 1996 Olivier Award in the 'Outstanding Achievement In Dance' Category for her interpretation. She was named as 1996 Dancer of the Year by both The Sunday Express and The Independent on Sunday, who praised her work both on and off the stage, saying 'here is a dancer whose intelligence and courage - for once - don't reside entirely in the tips of her toes'.
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