SARASOTA, Fla., Jan. 10, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The Sarasota Ballet of Florida is pleased to announce Iain Webb will become the new Artistic Director. Webb comes to Sarasota from K-Ballet Company in Tokyo, Japan where he served as Assistant Director.
"We are so pleased to have Mr. Webb join The Sarasota Ballet," said Ron Ciaravella, President of the Board. "With his years of experience and commitment to dance, we are poised to move the Ballet into the future."
Iain Webb received his training at Rambert School of Ballet and The Royal Ballet Upper School. Webb has been involved in the dance world for over 35 years, working mostly in London and Japan. After spending 18 years as a dancer, with both The Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet and The Royal Ballet, Webb made the transition into management as rehearsal director for Matthew Bourne's Adventures in Motion Pictures.
More recently, Webb has held the position of Assistant Director at K-Ballet Company in Japan. Founded in 1999, K-Ballet is directed by former principal of The Royal Ballet, Tetsuya Kumakawa. For K-Ballet's second tour presenting Sir Frederick Ashton's Ballet "Symphonic Variations," Kumakawa appointed Webb to look after this work. After the tour, Webb was selected to be Ballet Master and two years later, was appointed to Assistant Director. Webb worked along with Kumakawa arranging the repertoire, securing the choreographers and coordinating the work of the costume and set designers. Webb was responsible for rehearsing the company, teaching and staging the productions, as well as overseeing and managing the administrative duties.
In November of 2004, Webb resigned from K-Ballet Company to work on other projects but still played an active role with the Company, assisting in restaging the ballets Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Coppelia and The Sleeping Beauty. In 2005 in addition to continuing his work with Kumakawa, Webb was involved in a number of other projects with Adam Cooper and Johan Kobborg.
Webb is married to Margaret Barbieri, former Prima Ballerina of The Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet. Barbieri now heads the classical program at the London Studio Centre in England and is the director of the graduate performance company, "Images of Dance."
"I am truly honored to have been selected to be the new artistic director of the Sarasota Ballet," said Webb. "I am looking forward to working with the Company and leading them into this new era."
For more information on the Sarasota Ballet of Florida, visit their website at www.sarasotaballet.org.
SBF Season Overview
-- Balanchine's Concerto Barocco and de Warren's Firebird, January
26-28, 2007
-- We Present ... Ballet Gamonet, February 23-25, 2007
-- Coppelia opens March 23-24, 2007
-- Last Call and Dvorak American on April 27-29, 2007
To purchase tickets, please call the box office at (941) 351-8000 or toll free at 1-800-361-8388.
To arrange for an interview, please contact Beth Thurow at (941) 377-6709 or bthurow@dmgsarasota.com