2021-2023
2023
Snowblind
Atlanta Ballet Premiere: February 10th 2023
Choreography: Cathy Marston
Scenario: Cathy Marston and Patrick Kinmonth
Music: Philip Feeney’s arrangement of works by Arvo Part, Arthur Foote, Amy Beach and Feeney’s original compositions.
Design: Patrick Kinmonth
Light: Jim Ingalls / re-lit by Nicole Pearce
Length: 31 mins
Staged by: Ulrik Birkkjaer
Cast: 3 principals and a group of at least 10 dancers
"The dancers’ eloquent articulation of Marston’s uncanny choreographic simulation of the weather also helped bring the ballet to its wrenching climax as they grabbed and tossed the two stumbling, snowblind lovers…"
Arts ALT
Summer and Smoke
World Premiere: 9th March 2023 for Houston Ballet (a co-commission with American Ballet Theatre)
Choreography: Cathy Marston
Scenario: Cathy Marston and Edward Kemp
Music: specially commissioned by Michael Daugherty
Design: Patrick Kinmonth
Light: David Finn
Length: 60mins approx.
"Marston’s “Summer & Smoke” is a beautifully rendered ballet about finding yourself. A co-production with American Ballet Theatre, this one-act production is a keeper. At Thursday’s premiere, every element gelled."
Houston Chronicle
Summer and Smoke
See details of the ballet above.
Nashville Ballet Premiere – 21st April 2023
Staging by Ulrik Birkkjaer and Sarah van Patten
The Cellist
Inspired by the extraordinary life-force and musicianship of Jacqueline du Pre.
Swiss premiere for Ballett Zürich: 23rd April 2023
Choreography: Cathy Marston
Scenario: Cathy Marston and Edward Kemp
Music: Philip Feeney incorporating Elgar, Rachmaninov, Mendelssohn, Faure, Schubert and others
Set Design: Hildegard Bechtler
Costume Design: Bregje van Balen
Light Design: Jon Clark (re-lit by Martin Gebhardt)
Length: 62 mins approx
Photos: Gregory Bartardon
"Leaping the hurdles, Marston has created a ballet that has moments of radiance and physical beauty in choreography never explored before."
Bachtrack
My Brilliant Career
Inspired by the novel by Myles Stella Franklin
World Premiere: 16th June 2023 for Queensland Ballet, Australia
Choreography: Cathy Marston
Scenario: Cathy Marston and Edward Kemp
Music: Specially commissioned by Matthew Hindson
Design: David Fleischer
Light: Paul Jackson
Video: Craig Wilkinson
Photos: David Kelly
"Based on Miles Franklin’s 1901 novel My Brilliant Career and developed in collaboration with dramaturg Edward Kemp, the 45-minute neoclassical ballet is succinct, pacy and emotionally absorbing. It tells the story of 16-year-old Sybylla, torn between a life that includes love and marriage, and a life that leads to adventure and discovery."
Bachtrack
Snowblind
See details of the ballet above.
Swiss premiere: 6th October for Ballett Zürich
Staging: Ulrik Birkkjaer
Photos: Carlos Quezada
The Cellist
See production details above
Revival: The Royal Ballet, October 2023
Photos: Bill Cooper, Asya Verzhbinski, Alistair Muir
Jane Eyre
Based on the novel by Charlotte Brönte
German premiere: 3rd December 2023 for Hamburg Ballett
Music Choreography and Direction: Cathy Marston
Music: Philip Feeney, Felix and Fanny Mendelssohn, Schubert
Design: Patrick Kinmonth
Scenario: Cathy Marston and Patrick Kinmonth
Light: David Finn
Staged by: David Nixon, Daniel de Andrade, Christelle Horna, Matthew Topliss
Length: 95 minutes in two acts
Photos and video: Kiran West
"The picture at the end is the most concise of the evening and stands symbolically for the whole piece: Jane Eyre detaches herself from the embrace of the beloved man and slowly steps to the edge of the stage to the last bars of the music. Alone. Self-determined. Self-confident. It stands there. All in their power. In the light cone of a single spotlight, while everything else steps back into the darkness, the man too. It is this iconic last picture that condenses the whole story in an instant, and can bring onto the stage. In this case it is the choreographer Cathy Marston, who has been ballet director at the Ballet Zurich since this season. John Neumeier entrusted her with the first premiere in his last season and above all his ensemble. To make it brief: It was worth it."
Tanznetz.de
2022
Moving, Still
US premiere: 8th September 2022 for Cincinnati Ballet
Choreography: Cathy Marston
Music: Danish String Quartet (Traditional folk song arrangements and Hans Abrahamsen)
Costumes: Marion Schmid
Light: Arnaud Viala
Cast: 12 dancers (6m/6f)
Length: 25mins approx.
"What is most striking about Marston’s movement is its subtlety. She’s not trying to smack us in the face with her inventiveness. But phrases that would be pedestrian in another choreographer’s hands are given the gentlest of tweaks and, in doing so, turn into something much richer and impactful."
Cincinnati Enquirer
Moving, Still
Canadian Premiere: October 27th for Alberta Ballet
See production details above
"The evening reached its zenith with the splendid Moving, Still by British choreographer Cathy Marston. Marston’s choreography was a gem: clear, flowing, in a series of five punctuated duets with an occasional smaller ensemble piece plus background ensemble movement."
The Canadian NewsEnquirer
Heimat
World Premiere: 10th November 2022 for Joffrey Ballet with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Choreography: Cathy Marston
Music: Wagner’s Siegfried’s Idyll
Costumes: Ellie Cotey
Cast: 3 women and 2 men
Length: 19 mins approx
'Heimat' is German for 'home', and Marston’s creation for five dancers—father, mother, and three children—is an affecting evocation of domestic life that sensitively conveys the cloistered intimacy of Wagner’s music… The overall result is a moving, almost archetypal depiction of the joys and sorrows of family life.
Chicago Classical Review
Mrs Robinson
Inspired by the character from Charles Webb’s novel, The Graduate.
World Premiere: 1st February 2022 for San Francisco Ballet at the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco.
Choreography: Cathy Marston
Scenario: Cathy Marston and Edward Kemp
Music: Terry Davies (new commission)
Design: Patrick Kinmonth
Light Design: Jim French
Length: 41 mins
Cast: 26 ensemble, 6 soloist/principals
"This dramatization of what’s parading through Mrs. Robinson’s head achieves a remarkable character complexity. There are simple pleasures too: The seduction scene is as uncomfortably funny as in the movie, and the climax — Joseph Walsh as Benjamin shooting up one leg as Van Patten, straddling him, arches dramatically and then puffs her cigarette — got a big laugh from the opera house."
San Francisco Chronicle
‘8’
Inspired by Schnitzler’s play, La Ronde (Reigen)
World Premiere: 7th March 2022 for Companie La Ronde* at Theater Winterthur, Switzerland.
Choreography: Cathy Marston/Ihsan Rustem/Caroline Finn/Luca Signoretti
Music: Nicolas Rabeus (new commission)
Set: Jann Messerli
Costumes: Catherine Voeffrey
Light: Laurent Junod
Length: 65 mins
Cast: 8 dancers
Of Mice and Men
Inspired by the novel by John Steinbeck
World Premiere: 27th April 2022 for Joffrey Ballet at the Lyric Opera House, Chicago, US.
Choreography: Cathy Marston
Music: Thomas Newman (new commission)
Set/Light: Lorenzo Savoini
Costumes: Bregje van Balen
Scenario: Edward Kemp and Cathy Marston
Length: 54 mins
Cast: 20 (6 female roles / 14 male roles)
‘From the score to the costuming the work was simple, yet intensely profound. Marston’s ballet takes quick-witted George and loyal Lennie from Steinbeck’s 1937 novel and expands it beyond the words originally written… Choreographically speaking, “Of Mice and Men'' allowed the company to utilize the traditional ballet technique they so expertly showed off in “Serenade” while also toying with a more playful, contemporary side. Intricate floorwork, suspended inversions, and complex partnerwork were sprinkled throughout the piece and performed expertly by the male-dominated cast… As the curtain closed, I sat in my seat with an undeniable sense of satisfaction.’
Seeing Dance Chicago
The Suit
Inspired by the short story by Can Themba. Originally created for Ballet Black in 2018.
German Premiere: 28th May 2022
Choreography: Cathy Marston
Music: Kronos Quartet arranged by Philip Feeney
Set/Costumes: Jane Heather
Light: David Plater
Length: 36 mins
Cast: 7 dancers
2021
Due to postponements because of the Covid19 Pandemic only virtual work could be shared in 2021. This included projects with San Francisco Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, The Royal Ballet and Ballet Unleashed. Please see the ‘film/digital’ tab of this website for more information.
