Val Bourne to retire

In January 2007 Betsy Gregory will formally become Artistic Director of Dance Umbrella and Val Bourne will step down after directing the 2006 season. Bourne founded Umbrella 28 years ago and introduced the best modern dance from the USA as well as presenting and nurturing the cream of British talent. Arnie Zane, Bill T. Jones and Mark Morris were among her first clients. Other great names followed including Trisha Brown, Merce Cunningham, Lar Lubovich, David Gordon and Valda Setterfield.

“Some of the Americans looked like they had come from another planet, which they had: Judson Church. Introducing people from overseas had a huge influence on the domestic scene.“ Val Bourne (© Dance Umbrella) did not simply present the British dance artists; she also mentored and managed them.“
In the 1980s we were very involved with Rosemary Butcher, Janet Smith, Siobhan Davies, Richard Alston and Ian Spink. It was very stressful managing people and I lost so much sleep worrying about them. I felt a huge responsibility. The more successful they became the harder I worked.“ Michael Clarke and Akram Khan duly followed. She is proud of the fact that the British dance scene is so culturally diverse ...