Welcoming choreographer Ben Wright back to the UK
After three years as the Associate Artistic Director of Skanes Dansteater in Malmo Sweden, former South East Dance Associate Ben Wright is returning to the UK to reignite his company bgroup and focus on his own creative practice. Having been awarded the first ever commission from the Rural Touring Dance Initiative, to create and tour his first piece in the UK since 2013, Ben will collaborate with musician and writer Stuart Warwick to make Keepers – a seafaring story exploring an eerie relationship between two keepers at an isolated lighthouse. “I'm thoroughly excited to be coming back to the UK,” he says. “It’s been a fantastic few years in which I've had remarkable opportunities to generate mid and large-scale works that merge theatre, opera and dance disciplines. In some ways Keepers is like a tiny continuation of this investigation and I'm looking forward to creating something so intimate.”
Ben intends to combine the creation of this new piece with teaching and mentoring. "Having completed my Clore Fellowship in 2016, I’ve been thinking a lot about this challenge of leading as an artist.” he continues. “So this return to the UK signals a period of rumination, to take some time to explore this balance.”
In the meantime Ben is busy staging works on a small and large scale. “In late February I'm premiering Spectrum in Sweden – a new piece that explores the 11 basic colour terms in the English language, and in November I re-stage The Feeling of Going,” he says. “I’ll be in production for Keepers during the summer before we start touring in the Autumn.” Ben will continue to act as the Associate Choreographer for Skanes Dansteater for the next couple of years.
Keep an eye on the bgroup Facebook page for Keepers tour dates and other updates about Ben’s work.