Deborah Ward - Ballet Folk
Deborah Ward
Director / Choreographer / Writer / Curator / Dance Educator
Deborah trained at Elmhurst Ballet School and the José Limón Institute in New York. She read Communication Studies - Dance at the University of York St John and received a Masters of Arts from De Montfort University. She is a doctoral student at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where her research examines the work of women ballet choreographers through a feminist narratological lens.
As a dance educator Deborah has taught internationally at conservatoires in Taiwan, Slovakia, and Lithuania. With a focus on Contemporary Ballet, Limón-based technique and Choreographic Practices, she has taught across the UK in both in professional and educational settings including Rambert, Rambert 2, All England Dance and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
As a choreographer Deborah has presented works internationally in London, New York, and Barcelona, in both educational and professional settings. Her work has a narrative focus and is embedded in folk traditions and music from the British Isles. Combining contemporary ballet, folk dance and music to create theatrical works for non-traditional stages she works with multi-faceted artists to explore folklore.
Her choreographic practice draws a diverse training in Western dance styles from contemporary ballet to tap dance. A genuine engagement with nature and outdoor spaces inform her choreography and an inherent need to tell stories informs her fascination with folklore and tales, and she sketches from a palette of gestural ‘words’ that can be translated through each movement. As a musician she plays piano and guitar, and musical/rhythmical footwork patterning can often be found in her work.
She has presented at many international conferences including for the Royal Academy of Dance, CORPS de Ballet International, University of Limerick, and the Center for Ballet and the Arts, New York, on various aspects of dance performance and pedagogical/choreographic approaches.
Deborah is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and she currently serves as the Chair of the British and International Federation of Festivals and as a board member for CORPS de Ballet International.
Jez Ward
Illustrator / Set Design / Photography
After completing a Foundation Diploma under the direction of landscape artist, Ian Murphy, Jeremy studied Illustration and Animation at the Manchester School of Art, focussing on the relationship between identity and social art from cave painting to graffiti. A keen cyclist and photographer, Jeremy's artistic projects frequently marry both areas, exploring environment, architecture and landscape with adventure and alternative viewpoints. His portfolio includes dance, theatre and landscape photography plus photography and marketing campaigns for education and theatre organisations (Winstanley College, Hackney Empire). His TV / film credits include projects for Endemol Shine and The Children's Trust. Recent projects include working with Rambert, Ballet Folk, and creating the sets for Olivier nominated productions ‘Abigail’s Party’ and ‘Now I See’, for the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, where he currently works as Head of Stage.
Ballet Folk
Ballet Folk was founded by Deborah Ward in 2019. The aim of the company is to explore the rich tradition of storytelling, combining contemporary ballet and folk music to create theatrical works for both indoor theatre and outdoor festivals/stages, whilst collaborating with artists from across the folk community. Making Ballet accessible for all audiences is central to the company's ethos and the folk ballets are created for all audiences and literally take folk to the ballet!
Ballet Folk provides opportunities to research, develop and create productions and projects that delve into untold stories and encourage both traditional and contemporary folk tales and translate them for any audience whilst working with multifaceted artists.
Contact: Deborah Ward deborahkateward@gmail.com
