Scottish Ballet director to 'reflect own experience' on stage with gay Cinderella story

Christopher Hampson, chief executive and artistic director of the company, said he had previously focused on heterosexual relationships in making ballets for the company which he has headed for more than a decade.

In 2023, Scottish Ballet performed a version of Cinders!, a reimagining of the classic fairytale, which saw both male and female performers in the title role, while two years earlier, a female dancer played the traditionally male part of Drosselmeyer in The Nutcracker.

Now, a new version of Cinders! which will feature both homosexual and heterosexual relationships in different performances, is to be launched by the dance company.

Mr Hampson said: “This year I am evolving Cinders further to include a few performances where a female Cinders will meet her princess, or a male Cinders will meet his prince. Developing the ability to interpret these roles even more is incredibly exciting and I can’t wait to give genuine opportunities for dancers and audiences alike to see themselves represented on stage.”

He said the vast majority of the ballets - including Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, The Snow Queen and The Nutcracker - that he had created were centred around heterosexual relationships.

“Why, when my own life experience is so different?” he said. “Well, I am a product of the 1970’s when homosexuality remained firmly ‘in the closet’ and tolerance and acceptance was low. The 80’s and 90’s weren’t much better as the media, government and public reaction to the AIDS pandemic ensured that many of us grew up feeling ostracised and marginal.

“In the last few years, I have become more reflective about my own choreographic and directing career and it has taken me until now to feel safe enough to create a major story which puts at its centre a relationship which reflects anything of my own experience.”

Mr Hampson pointed to performances such as Wayne MacGregor’s Woolf Works and ballets by Matthew Bourne - but said he could “still not think” of any ballet featuring homosexual families.

He said: “Happily, much has evolved since my formative years. Same-sex stories through books, film, TV and theatre have flourished and increasingly have moved on from focusing on the negativity and trauma of sexuality. They now include greater exploration of feelings, loving relationships, honest emotions and ….happily ever after.

“Sadly, ballet remains largely under-representative of the full spectrum of relationships. The choreographer and ‘father’ of ballet in America once said, “There are no mothers-in-law in ballet”, the inference that ballet isn’t equipped to convey the complexity of a standard family tree. And during the time he was creating it was probably true. But ballet has evolved and choreographers and directors can represent complexity in all its forms.

“Yet still, same-sex relationships remain in the realm of adult-themed stories within dance. I can’t think of one ballet which is for all ages depicting two mums, two dads or a mix of family support. Which means that we don’t represent a lot of the people coming to see our productions.”

Tickets for Cinders! which will be performed in Edinburgh, Inverness, Glasgow and Aberdeen, will go on sale today.