Brandon Lawrence in Conversation with Christopher Marney

Brandon Lawrence ‘in conversation’ with Christopher Marney

9th March 2026

The 2026 AGM of the London Ballet Circle concluded with a conversation between Brandon Lawrence and Christopher Marney, to both of whom a very warm welcome was extended by the Circle’s Chair, Susan Dalgetty Ezra. Brandon was well known as a Principal Dancer with Birmingham Royal Ballet and has now been dancing with Ballett Zürich for some three years. Following a long dancing career, Christopher became Director of the Joffrey Ballet Studio Company Chicago, then of the Central School of Ballet in London, and is now the Artistic Director of London City Ballet.

‘Hi Brandon’ said Christopher. There will be loads of fans here who are pleased to see you and who remember your twelve years with Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) so well. So I really don’t need to introduce you and thought it might be best to talk about your transition and new career in Europe.

Brandon responded that it was hard to believe that he was already on his third season in Zürich; the time had really flown by. It’s not quite like a second career; it feels rather more like a rebirth in a different way, he said. When Cathy (Cathy Marston – Artistic Director at Ballett Zürich since 2023) took over there were close to 30 new dancers many of whom had spent considerable time in other companies, so it was a case of introducing them all to the audience in Switzerland and indeed in the wider Europe.

Christopher said how amazing it was that a principal dancer at the height of his career and established in a great company should take a risk like this. He felt it both admirable and wonderful that Brandon had seen something that was going to challenge him artistically and push him in different directions – and gone for it! Not everybody would have contemplated such a move! Dancers move around – they tour, they move countries on a whim, but Birmingham and Zürich are two very different cities.

BRB is a touring company so that always prepared me a bit for moving, replied Brandon, not that I ever had thoughts that I would leave Birmingham. Rather it was something which just happened. He never had an agenda; just wanted to keep fit, keep working and keep learning. However, being in a touring company allowed him to keep his eyes open to different audiences and different theatres. And also how to set up a home environment quickly in order to be as comfortable as possible. Of course, lifestyle outwith the Opera House is something to be developed as time goes along, but he thought it had helped considerably that there were nearly 30 new dancers joining the ‘family’ and all in much the same boat.

How differently does the company work, asked Christopher, being based in an Opera House must necessitate quite different schedules and numbers of performances? One of the reasons I came, responded Brandon. What would have been the point of leaving BRB to join an exactly similar company? It’s a much bigger machine and when performing you’re not just representing the ballet company but the Opera House itself, technically the largest arts organisation in Switzerland.

Touring had been fun, packing a suitcase to go to this or that town, and he had loved it. He had acquired such a depth of experience working with Sir David Bintley and Carlos Acosta (successive Artistic Directors at BRB) for which he would be eternally grateful. That experience had given him the courage to take the next step, to move to a company with a huge and diverse repertoire such as Ballett Zürich.

There were, of course, some activities which had proved something of a culture shock, such as the early morning stage calls necessary because that was when the stage itself was free. At other times there would be sets constantly being shifted on or off because of the tight schedules, with perhaps two or three shows on the go at any one moment – and actually the backstage area is not all that large.

Both opera and ballet performances were staged in the house, sometimes in the same show. In this regard Brandon cited the notable Messa da Requiem, choreographed by Cathy’s predecessor Christian Spuck to Verdi’s music, involving dancers plus around 100 singers on stage. At one point in the piece a solo dance is performed amid singers running on the stage. Brandon had done the piece, which he described as surreal and manic, in his first season in Zürich and it was being repeated this year.

There was one particular ballet Christopher wanted to ask Brandon about, The Cellist. This was the first revival since Cathy had choreographed it on the Royal Ballet and he wondered whether any parts of it had been reworked for the different company. Apparently Christian had programmed it into the schedule before Cathy arrived, as a way to introduce the newly appointed Artistic Director to the Swiss audience. Brandon had come to Zürich to see the premiere and to support Cathy and as far as he knew she had made no major changes. Brandon expressed his love for the piece, and for Philip Feeney’s beautiful score incorporating the Elgar Cello Concerto for which the eponymous Jacqueline du Pré was so well known.

One of the great things about working in the Opera House was that performances could be quite spread out, so that a show opening in January may not close until March. That provided the opportunity to get back into the studio and perhaps explore the themes a bit more with their ballet masters and choreographers and, as he said, choreographers often ‘tweak’ their work. Nevertheless, he thought The Cellist had stayed pretty much true to its original form.

Christopher went on to ask whether Brandon missed the full-length ballets which had been very much the fare of BRB, with Zürich mounting more multiple bills. However, he continued, you’re such a virtuoso dancer – and an excellent partner – that you would really want to spread your wings and move on to new and different works. Brandon replied that he knew that under Cathy’s direction it would not be three or even four full length ballets every season – that, he said, was music to his ears. He feels that he’s being very adequately fed in other ways and was well aware of what was in front of him when he joined.

Cathy’s work is very strong on partnering which he finds enormously fulfilling. He felt that his foundation in Birmingham had set him up well for whatever Cathy might offer. There were roles which you might think could only be danced by a Principal, but the wonderful nurturing offered by both David (Sir David Bintley) and Carlos (Acosta) had shown him that was not always the case. If the opportunity is there, and you’re strong enough and they want you to do it, then you do it.

As Artistic Director, Cathy was certainly being eclectic in her choice of programme, including works by Wayne McGregor and Crystal Pite. And Mats Ek, a choreographer whose work has often divided audiences. In that regard Christopher noted that early in his career he had danced Ek’s Giselle – set in an asylum – and had also seen his Sleeping Beauty in which Aurora is introduced to drugs in the spindle with which she pricks her finger. Mats takes well-known stories and re-invents them in very different situations.

Cathy had wanted to programme an Ek ballet and last October Mats came to Zürich to stage Carmen. Every movement in an Ek’s ballet has such intention behind it. In that show Brandon danced Escamillo and said that the rehearsal process had been enormously intense, with the elderly Mats moving around the studio with such force as if he might himself be appearing on stage the very next day. Christopher agreed that the excitement at seeing a new group of dancers never leaves you, instancing John Neumeier who at 87 had been working recently with London City Ballet.

Last season Cathy had created Clara, her first three act ballet, a beautiful work based on the life of Clara Schuman, with music by Philip Feeney including themes from both Brahms and Schuman. A further full-length work, Romeo and Juliet is being created, to the Prokofiev score. The designs look stunning, said Brandon, and it’s all a bit more elaborate than her previous works. He has danced both the Kenneth MacMillan and Veronica Paeper (at Cape Town City Ballet) versions of this ballet and looks forward to Cathy’s very different interpretation of the story.

There’s a revival of Nachtträume, by choreographer Marcos Morau, described as a ‘disturbing nightmare journey into realms of power and powerlessness, blind allegiance and submission’. Brandon said that he didn’t even know how to explain this piece; he’d never seen anything like it before. All he could do was to suggest looking at the trailer on the Opera House Zürich website ….

And there was also Orbit, an incredible ballet choreographed by Andonis Fondiakis, probably the most challenging ballet he had ever danced. So virtuoso, requiring ‘micro-timing’, and including partnering which, if not done correctly, could be dangerous. Such roles are a gift to the dancer. It’s interesting, mused Brandon, sometimes the most fulfilling parts of a dancer’s life can be in the studio, an area which the audience never sees. The show itself, on stage, is over so quickly.

At the end of the 2024-25 season you were presented with the Dance Prize from the Friends of Ballett Zürich, said Christopher. Nothing to do with management, replied Brandon. It’s an award voted on by audiences and maybe four are given each year, two to the main and two to the junior company. The awards are made on stage immediately after a performance and while the cast is still in costume. He had been very fortunate and it was a real privilege to be chosen so early in his journey with the company.

I know you retain close contacts with this country, said Christopher. I’m especially proud of GradPro, said Brandon, the organisation which supports and nurtures young dancers. Co-created with Julie Bowers, an incredible woman with enormous drive and energy, GradPro was not affiliated to any school or company and could therefore remain completely unbiased, existing simply to push young dancers to discover themselves and their own creativity.

Susan, Chair of LBC, said that while listening she had been mentally cheering them on. She thanked both participants most sincerely for a terrifically lively conversation, a chat between two friends and a particularly appropriate and enjoyable way to conclude the 2026 AGM.

Trevor Rothwell 21-03-26