Northern Ballet boss resigns

The Northern Ballet built a reputation for ground-breaking productions

Stefano Giannetti has resigned as the head of the Northern Ballet Theatre less than a year after taking over the job.

Giannetti, 35, stepped down suddenly as artistic director of the renowned Leeds-based company on Friday. He took over the position in May 1999.

He improved the standard of dancing in the company, produced an excellent new ballet and supervised a most successful London season.

Ballet Chairman Bernard Atha on Stefano Giannetti

Company chairman Bernard Atha expressed his regret at his colleague's departure but praised all he had achieved in a short space of time.

"In the time he has been here, he has improved the standard of dancing in the company, produced an excellent new ballet, Great Expectations, and supervised a most successful London season."

Acclaimed dancer Giannetti is currently in Rome on a choreographic commission for the company.

Despite his decision to leave, he is expected to return to complete the tour of Great Expectations which ends in Cardiff in July.

Strong legacy

The Northern Ballet Theatre established itself as one of Europe's most ground-breaking companies in the 1990s.

Its pioneering shows included a controversial reinterpretation of Swan Lake and its recent Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Many of the company's most lauded productions came about as a direct result of former artistic director Christopher Gable, who held the position from 1987 until his death in 1998.

When Giannetti took over he stated his intention to both build on Gable's strong legacy and to make his own mark.

His particular passion was for story ballets and he began his reign by conceiving a production of the Dickens classic Great Expectations - a story he had been interested in for some years.

Giannetti comes from a cultured Roman family and was brought up to appreciate music, opera and ballet from an early age.

His greatest ambition on assuming his role at the Northern Theatre Ballet was to take it to Rome.