Two Directors, one stage

NATHAN COPPEN

Nathan received his early training in Melbourne at the National Theatre Ballet School under the direction of Gailene Stock CBE AM, before going on to study at The Australian Ballet School where he received the Primrose Potter Scholarship. Nathan then went on to be accepted into the Australian Ballet Company as its youngest member at the time, under the direction of the Artistic Director Maina Gielgud AO. After an exceptional grounding with the company, he decided to expand his horizons, where he travelled to London to join the English National Ballet under the direction of Derek Deane OBE. While in the company, Nathan flourished and shortly became the image of the English National Ballet, appearing in posters and magazines all over England, being photographed by some of the world’s best photographers.

After an illustrious career with the company, in which he had many performance highlights as Principal Dancer, including Romeo in the company’s Australian Tour of Romeo and Juliet and the Prince in both Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, he then went on to join the world-renowned Royal Ballet. Nathan made his mark on the company in the title role of Onegin and continued on to have great success with the company. He had the great honour of meeting and performing for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip at the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002, following on from his previous performances for Princess Diana at numerous gala events throughout his time with the English National Ballet. Nathan returned to Australia in 2004 to join the West Australian Ballet as Principal Artist, where he was nominated that same year for a Helpmann Award for Best Male Dancer for his role in La Bohème – The Ballet.

Some career highlights for Nathan include dancing with Marianela Nunez in William Forsythe’s In the Middle Somewhat Elevated, Tamara Rojo CBE in Three Preludes, Belinda Hernandez in The Nutcracker and performing in the International Ballet Festival of Miami, in the Pas de Deux Perpetuum Mobile with Tamara Rojo, which was choreographed on them by Christopher Hampson, current Artistic Director of the Scottish Ballet.

DAMIAN SMITH

Damian Smith is an Australian dancer and artistic leader with an international career spanning performance, choreography, and dance education. Born in Australia, he trained at The McDonald College before continuing his studies in New York. At just 18, he began his professional career in Paris, touring throughout Europe and performing major classical roles including Apollo in Balanchine’s Apollo and Prince Siegfried in Swan Lake.

He later joined San Francisco Ballet, where he rose to the rank of Principal Dancer within five years and performed with the company for eighteen seasons. Throughout his career, Smith was invited to appear as a guest artist with companies including New York City Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Hamburg Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, and The Australian Ballet, performing a wide range of classical and contemporary repertoire. Over the course of his career, more than 25 ballets were created for him, reflecting his versatility and artistic range.

In recognition of his contribution to dance, Smith received the Isadora Duncan Lifetime Achievement Award. Beyond performing, he has worked as a choreographer, producer, filmmaker, and visual artist, including presenting a dance-based installation at the Museum of Modern Art in California. His dance film ARRELLAH has also screened at several international film festivals.

Today, Damian Smith serves as Artistic Director of the National Ballet School at the National Theatre in Melbourne, where he leads the training and development of the next generation of professional dancers while continuing to develop new artistic and creative projects in the dance world.