London City Ballet gets new lease of life nearly 30 years on

The London City Ballet (LCB) is set to take to the stage again nearly 30 years after it ended operations.

The ballet company, which was patronised by Diana, Princess of Wales, is to be rebooted in 2024 by former dancer Christopher Marney.

It will move into purpose-built studios at Sadler's Wells Theatre in Angel, north London, where the company was previously based.

Mr Marney said he was excited to continue the company's "rich history".

LCB is set to tour for six months a year over an initial period of three years, across the UK and internationally.

The original group shut down in 1996 after 18 years of operations under its director and founder Harold King. It had been the resident ballet company at the Sadler's Wells.

Mr Marney, who was previously a director of the Joffrey Ballet Company in Chicago, said: "The company informed my own career and seeing them as a young child provided me with my first experience of dance, spurring my enthusiasm for the artform.

"The world has changed since its closure in 1996 and I am committed to creating a diverse and progressive company of dancers that speaks to a new generation."

The first tour will include visits to many of the former company's featured venues in the UK and around the world, including in Italy, Portugal and the US.

Full tour dates have not yet been announced, although it will start at Bath Theatre Royal in summer 2024.

"I am deeply drawn to reviving past works of influential choreographers which may have fallen out of the repertoire of mainstream companies and breathing life into those lost ballets," Mr Marney added.

Sir Alistair Spalding, artistic director and chief executive at Sadler's Wells, said he was "thrilled to welcome the London City Ballet back" to their theatre and studios.