CriticalDance Forum

THE ROYAL OPERA HOUSE hopes to attract a younger, hipper and, significantly, less monied crowd. At the same time it wants to be seen developing and promoting original work by individuals and companies from outside the House.
This is the two-pronged remit of ROH2, a department headed by the former Royal Ballet principal dancer Deborah Bull. The current vehicle to achieve it is a trio of mixed bills called Festival of Firsts. Supported by the Helen Hamlyn Trust, this short season spotlights a band of disparate British artists making their initial foray onto the ROH stage.

Over the next few months, the Royal Opera House's alternative performance spaces - the Linbury Studio Theatre, the Clore Studio Upstairs, the Crush Room and the Vilar Floral Hall - will play host to some extraordinary artists and extraordinary events: events you might not expect to find within this elegantly stuccoed, 1858 theatre that dominates the Covent Garden landscape. But the Festival of Firsts and A Nitro at the Opera are exactly the sort of events that the department that I direct - ROH2 - was established to dream up, search out and facilitate in the wonderful new performing arenas that the 1999 refurbishment provided.

The choreographer Cathy Marston is the first associate artist of ROH2. That means she is part of the Royal Opera House's plans for encouraging young artists. ROH2, directed by Deborah Bull, was set up to make best use of the House's "alternative" spaces, its studio theatres. The aim is to encourage new work, and the technical resources are terrific. Marston appeared at the Linbury Studio, with 15 Royal Ballet dancers and live music. This is a long way beyond the budget of most young choreographers.