CriticalDance Forum

Albery leaves Sadler's Wells
By TONY THORNCROFT and LISA WOOD in The Financial Times

Ian Albery is leaving Sadler's Wells, the Islington theatre, which under his management has become London's much-needed home of dance. He joined the Wells as chief executive in 1994, when it had a Pounds 400,000 deficit and lacked a role and a future. It survived on a subsidy of Pounds 100,000 a year.

His leaving gift is the successful negotiation with the London Arts Board of a rising grant, which will total Pounds 1.5m in 2003-4, safeguarding the future of Sadler's Wells. But 90 per cent of its Pounds 10m annual income still comes through the box office and commercial activities.

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Stuart adds: Sadler's Wells has been successful dance receiving house for a long time. But, since the re-opening of the new theatre three years ago it has gone from strength to strength, culminating in the appearance of Mark Morris Dance Group and Ballett Frankfurt in the past month. Comgratulations to Ian Albery who has steered Sadler's through some stormy waters.

<small>[ 27 March 2004, 02:34 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

Press Release <P><B>SADLER'S WELLS ANNOUNCES NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE</B> <BR>Jean-Luc Choplin to succeed Ian Albery <P>Jean-Luc Choplin has been appointed by the Sadler's Wells Trust and Foundation to succeed Ian Albery as the new Chief Executive of Sadler's Wells in October 2002. <P>Choplin, who currently lives in Paris, has a distinguished career in arts management with a strong association with the dance world. He was General Director of Roland Petit Ballet from 1980-1984 and in 1984 Rudolf Nureyev invited him to become Managing Director of the Paris Opéra Ballet and School, (Administrateur Général de la Danse at the Paris Opéra). <P>He held the position until 1989 and worked with Nureyev to broaden the repertoire of the company by inviting modern choreographers including Jerome Robbins, William Forsythe, Merce Cunningham, Twyla Tharp, Robert Wilson and many others, to work with them. He took the Paris Opéra Ballet to the Metropolitan in New York and pioneered videos of the company for the international market.<P>Choplin went on from the Paris Opéra to become the Vice President of Entertainment for Disneyland Paris, (1989-1995), where he was responsible for the translation of the American Disney experience to the European resort. In this role he managed substantial investment and operating budgets and over 1800 staff. He succeeded in attracting renowned international artists to collaborate with Disneyland Paris, including the opera designers and directors Petrika Ionesco and Daniel Ogier, the composer George Fenton and the choreographer Raul Trujillo. <P>In 1995 Choplin moved to The Walt Disney Company in Los Angeles where he took on the position of Vice President Creative Development, (1995 - 2001). On the request of Michael Eisner, Chairman of the Walt Disney Company, he led a creative team developing major projects for the celebration of the Millennium.<P>Since 2001 Choplin has worked as an Artistic Consultant for international corporations and as Programme and Development Advisor for Robert Wilson's Watermill Center in New York. He is 52 years old and lives in Paris with his wife and the youngest of his three daughters.<P>Jean-Luc Choplin says: <BR>My goal in life has always been to bring sophisticated art to everybody and to break walls down between art and entertainment. I look forward to working at Sadler's Wells and building on the theatre's world famous reputation.<P>Ian Hay Davison, Chair of Sadler's Wells Foundation says: <BR>We are delighted to have found in Jean-Luc Choplin someone worthy to succeed Ian Albery as Chief Executive of Sadler's Wells and to take it into its next decade of mounting success.<P>Hugh Morris, Chairman of Sadler's Wells Trust Ltd says: <BR>We now have a state-of-the-art theatre, which is attracting top international companies to London, soaring audiences and a talented and stable staff. With our increased revenue funding from London Arts we confidently look forward to Jean-Luc taking Sadler's Wells to new heights.<P>Note to editors: <BR>Ian Albery, Chief Executive and Producer of Sadler's Wells is moving on at the end of September 2002. He leaves after eight amazing years having given Sadler's Wells a dance theatre mission, having rebuilt Sadler's Wells and secured its financial position and future. His legacy is a £40 million theatre of international stature for which he was also the Theatre Consultant for the planning and building.<P>In November 2001 London Arts announced a major increase in revenue funding for Sadler's Wells. This increases London Arts funding to £1.35 million from April 2002 and to £1.53 million in 2003/04. This is a fifteen-fold increase in revenue funding in the eight years since Ian Albery became Sadler's Wells Chief Executive in 1994 and is a tribute to his tenacity and vision.<P>The recruitment process for Sadler's Wells new Chief Executive has been assisted by Heather Newill of Friedlander Sachs Executive Search. <P><BR>

<B>Disneyland veteran to head ballet company</B> <BR>BY LOUISE JURY for The Independent <P><BR>THE LAST Frenchman to bring his Disneyland experience to Britain helped to save the Millennium Dome from total failure. Now Sadler's Wells, Britain's premier dance venue, has appointed a new chief executive who was also trained at the theme park.<P>However, Jean-Luc Choplin, who succeeds Ian Albery as head of Sadler's Wells in October, does have a solid curriculum vitae in dance as well. As managing director of the Paris Opera Ballet and School, he worked with Rudolf Nureyev and choreographers including Jerome Robbins, Merce Cunningham and Twyla Tharp.<P>But his experience with Disney will have helped woo the board of the prestigious venue in Islington, north London. Mr Choplin, 52, was vice-president of entertainment for Disneyland Paris, where he adapted the American Disney experience for Europeans before moving to Walt Disney in Los Angeles in charge of creative development.<P><A HREF="http://globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchive/article.html?id=020307001184&query=ballet" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A>

<B>PEOPLE: Choplin to Sadler's Wells from Disney</B> <BR>By NAOMI MAPSTONE, TONY THORNCROFT and LISA WOOD for The Financial Times <P><BR>Jean-Luc Choplin, until recently a vice-president in the creative department of Walt Disney, has been appointed chief executive of Sadler's Wells, the London-based dance house. He succeeds Ian Albery, who was largely responsible for building the new Pounds 40m theatre in Islington and who is retiring in September.<P>Choplin, 52, is the latest in a long line of overseas appointments to big UK arts companies, including Michael Kaiser, the American called in to sort out the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and the German Karsten Witt, who ran the South Bank Centre until last autumn.<P>Choplin is no stranger to dance. He started his career with the Roland Petit Ballet company and in 1984 joined Rudolf Nureyev at Paris Opera Ballet, where he was managing director until 1989.<P><A HREF="http://globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchive/article.html?id=020308001244&query=ballet" TARGET=_blank><B>click for more</B></A>

I have to say that I see this as a wholly positive step. By booking his exit when only a year into the job, Choplin gave the impression of turning himself into a lame-duck leader.

From the interviews he gave to the national press, there were whacky ideas, but he had very little to say about dance. Further, I disliked intensely the way he ran down the previous management of this theatre which has transformed the London dance scene since its re-opening.

While one must be careful when discussing internal matters, there can be little doubt that this has been the most turbulent period in the history of labour relations at Sadler's and they had to settle out of court wrongful dismissal claims by four senior women staff members.

I certainly do not share the view of Charlotte Higgins that Sadler's needs to do more lyric theatre, as there are plenty of venues in London for musical theatre; dance needs Sadler's Wells.

However, I do agree that Alistair Spalding is a very popular choice. You know where you stand with him and he has an eclectic view of dance, both large-scale and small. If I have one concern, it is how much of the 2004-5 programme is already in place with Choplin's lyric theatre stamp on it.

<small>[ 27 March 2004, 02:38 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

The journalists are clearly trying to get a "shock, horror" story out of this, but it remains to be seen how serious the financial situation is. Given the crucial role of Sadler's for dance in London, I have my fingers and everything else crossed that it all works out fine.

<small>[ 09 April 2004, 08:25 AM: Message edited by: Stuart Sweeney ]</small>

Kinsmill quits Sadler's Wells after board dispute
by Jeremy Austin for The Stage

Chair of Sadler's Wells Denise Kingsmill has stood down after only four months in the post, claiming the board is not supporting her in her bid to stabilise the venue.

Her resignation comes less than a month after controversial chief executive Jean-Luc Choplin also left the north London theatre. Two months earlier he vowed not to leave until 2006 - still one year before the end of his contract. Kingsmill had been particularly keen to work with the Frenchman, who had described her as the "best possible ambassador".

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