Adam Cooper (born 22 July 1971) is an English actor, choreographer, dancer and theatre director. He works as both a performer and choreographer in musical theatre, and has choreographed and/or starred in award-winning shows such as ''

On Your Toes ''On Your Toes'' (1936) is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939. While teaching music at Knickerbocker University, Phil "Junior" Dolan ...

'', ''

Singin' in the Rain ''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell and Cyd C ...

'' and '' Grand Hotel''. He began his professional career as a dancer of

classical ballet Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as pointe work, turnout of the legs, and high extensions), its f ...

and

contemporary ballet Contemporary ballet is a genre of dance that incorporates elements of classical ballet and modern dance. It employs classical ballet technique and in many cases classical pointe technique as well, but allows greater range of movement of the uppe ...

and is a former Principal of the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

, a major international ballet company based in London. He became internationally recognized for creating the lead role of Swan/Stranger in

Matthew Bourne Sir Matthew Christopher Bourne (born 13 January 1960) is an English choreographer whose work includes contemporary dance and dance theatre. Choreographer In 2007, Bourne contemplated a gay version of ''Romeo and Juliet''. Despite the succ ...

contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly strong popularity in ...

production of the ballet ''

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

'', a role that was briefly featured in the 2000 film ''

Billy Elliot ''Billy Elliot'' is a 2000 British coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Lee Hall. Set in County Durham in North East England during the 1984–1985 miners' strike, the film is about a working-class boy w ...

'' where Cooper played the adult version of the titular character.

Biography

Adam Cooper was born 22 July 1971 in Tooting, London to a musician father and a social worker mother. He has an older brother, Simon Cooper, who is also a dancer and they trained at the same schools. From a young age, he and his brother studied tap and

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form ...

at the Jean Winkler School of Dance in Tooting. They also played various musical instruments and sang in a choir. At age 11, Cooper won a place at ArtsEd, a specialist performing arts school in London where he studied

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

, modern, tap,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

and

, as well as

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung accompaniment, wi ...

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a bro ...

and

stage combat Stage combat, fight craft or fight choreography is a specialised technique in theatre designed to create the illusion of physical combat without causing harm to the performers. It is employed in live stage plays as well as operatic and ballet p ...

. After completing his

secondary education Secondary education or post-primary education covers two phases on the International Standard Classification of Education scale. Level 2 or lower secondary education (less commonly junior secondary education) is considered the second and final ph ...

at the school, aged 16, he was accepted into the

Royal Ballet Upper School The Royal Ballet School is a British school of classical ballet training founded in 1926 by the Anglo-Irish ballerina and choreographer Ninette de Valois. The school's aim is to train and educate outstanding classical ballet dancers, especially ...

. At his graduation performance he played the lead role of Young Man in Ashton's '' the Two Pigeons''. Cooper married

Sarah Wildor Sarah Wildor (born 1972) is an actress and a dancer. She is most noted as a former principal dancer with The Royal Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London. Background Wildor was b ...

in 2000. She was a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet. and has become an Olivier-nominated actress. Their first daughter, Naomi, was born in 2008 and they now have a younger son named Alexander. /

Dance

Royal Ballet

In 1989 Cooper joined the

and was quickly promoted to First Artist and Soloist in 1991, First Soloist 1993 and Principal Dancer in 1994. He was recognized for his performances in the classic as well as dramatic and contemporary ballet works, and he excelled in playing cruel but sexy villains. While with the Royal Ballet he worked extensively with choreographers

Kenneth MacMillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. Ea ...

and William Tuckett partnering all the leading ballerinas of the company including Sylvie Guillem and Darcey Bussell. He also performed works choreographed by

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

Ashley Page Ashley Page OBE (born August 1956) is a British former ballet dancer, choreographer and was artistic director of Scottish Ballet for ten years. Ashley Page was born in Rochester, Kent in August 1956. Page trained the Royal Ballet School, and jo ...

Fokine Fokin (russian: Фокин), sometimes spelled Fokine, or Fokina (; feminine) is a common Russian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (born 1999), Spanish professional tennis player *Anton Fokin (born 19 ...

Bronislava Nijinska Bronislava Nijinska (; pl, Bronisława Niżyńska ; russian: Бронисла́ва Фоми́нична Нижи́нская, Bronisláva Fomínična Nižínskaja; be, Браніслава Ніжынская, Branislava Nižynskaja; – Febr ...

Mikhail Baryshnikov Mikhail Nikolayevich Baryshnikov ( rus, Михаил Николаевич Барышников, p=mʲɪxɐˈil bɐ'rɨʂnʲɪkəf; lv, Mihails Barišņikovs; born January 28, 1948) is a Soviet Latvian-born Russian-American dancer, choreograp ...

Christopher Wheeldon Christopher Peter Wheeldon OBE (born 22 March 1973) is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Life and career Born in Yeovil, Somerset, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dan ...

, Matthew Hart, and William Forsythe. He left the Royal Ballet in 1997 to freelance and expand his career opportunities.

Adventures in Motion Pictures

In 1995

recruited Cooper to join Adventures in Motion Pictures (now renamed New Adventures) for his radically re-interpreted production of ''

''. Together they created the basic Swan movement motifs and Cooper also contributed to the choreography. Cooper performed the dual ''Swan/Stranger'' role (the analog of the white and black swan in the classic version) all over the world and his performances won him international acclaim, multiple awards and a strong fan following. Cooper's performance was described as one of "tremendous excitement, subtlety,emotional depth and sheer sexiness". The popular press embraced him and his photo appeared in many magazines. For his performances as the ''Swan/Stranger'' he received the Time Out Award in 1995, the Evening Standard Dance Award in 1997 and the 1999 Astaire Award for Best Dancer. He was also nominated for the 1999 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He appeared briefly at the end of the 2000 film ''

'' as the adult version of the title character, who is seen performing the role of the Swan. A DVD recording of the ''

'' with Cooper and the original cast was issued in 1996 and can be seen on Youtube.com. Excerpts from ''

Swan Lake (Bourne) Matthew Bourne's ''Swan Lake'' is a contemporary ballet based on the Russian romantic work '' Swan Lake'', from which it takes the music by Tchaikovsky and the broad outline of the plot. Bourne's rendering is best known for having the traditi ...

'' appeared on the 1998 Royal Variety TV program and he repeated his ''Swan/Stranger'' role for the TV audience. His performance in the ''

'' film and in the ''

'' DVD inspired at least one of the boys playing Billy Elliot in the stage production to join New Adventures in the hopes of performing ''The Swan'' role. In 2003 Cooper once again played the ''Swan/Stranger'' when AMP toured in Japan, and there was enormous enthusiasm for his performance and he acquired a large number of new fans. In 1997 Cooper was invited by Bourne to take part in the initial planning of AMP's next show, ''Cinderella''. This version of the dance took place in London during the Blitz, but used the same Prokofiev music as the classic version ''

Cinderella (Prokofiev) ''Cinderella'' (russian: Золушка, tr. ''Zolushka''; french: Cendrillon) Op. 87, is a ballet composed by Sergei Prokofiev to a scenario by Nikolai Volkov. It is one of his most popular and melodious compositions, and has inspired a g ...

''. Cooper helped to create and performed the role of Pilot (the Prince analog) in the initial 1997 London run and also played the Angel (the Godmother analog), and Sarah Wildor was his partner when she played the title role. The production was also performed in Los Angeles in 1999.

Freelance dancer and choreographer

In 1998 Cooper worked with the

Scottish Ballet Scottish Ballet is the national ballet company of Scotland and one of the five leading ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet. Founded in 196 ...

to choreograph ''Just Scratching the Surface''. He also performed the Hoffmann role in their production of ''Tales of Hoffmann''. Since then he has gone on to choreograph for other ballet companies and for musical theatre. Cooper appeared as a dancer and choreographer at the Exeter Festival for 3 years, heading evenings of dance co-produced with Iain Webb. In 2002 Cooper and Sarah Wildor presented a tribute to Sir Kenneth MacMillan at Exeter and in Japan. The Adam Cooper Company represented the UK at the Washington International Ballet Festival in 2003 performing a revival of Sir Kenneth MacMillan's ''Sea of Troubles''. Cooper has frequently danced as a guest artist with the Royal Ballet since leaving the company, performing lead roles in ''Romeo and Juliet'', ''Ondine'' and ''Onegin''. and others. In 2002 he created the role of Badger in William Tuckett's ''Wind in the Willows''. In 2004 created the title role in Tuckett's ''The Soldier's Tale'', which he reprised in 2005 and later performed in Japan in 2009 and 2015. In 2005 he realized a long-held vision with his own production of ''

Les Liaisons dangereuses ''Les Liaisons dangereuses'' (; English: ''Dangerous Liaisons'') is a French epistolary novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, first published in four volumes by Durand Neveu from March 23, 1782. It is the story of the Marquise de Merteuil and ...

'', a mixture of theater and dance. Co-directed and designed by Lez Brotherston, the production was choreographed by Cooper and he also played the lead role of Viscomte de Valmont. The piece premiered in Japan early in the year before a summer season at Sadler's Wells, with a cast which included Simon Cooper and Sarah Wildor. In 2009 Cooper joined Russell Maliphant to dance in Maliphant's ''2:4:10'' contemporary dance program- an evening of works celebrating Maliphant's 10 years as a choreographer.

Musical theatre

2002 to 2010

In Cooper's first venture into the musical theatre he was both the choreographer and actor (playing the lead role of Junior Dolan) in ''

''. In 2002 it played at Leicester Haymarket, and was in transferred in 2003 to the Royal Festival in the West End of London. Sarah Wildor joined the production in 2003 to play the role of Vera Baronova. He was lauded by both the critics and the audience for his contributions and was rewarded with the Critics' Circle National Dance Award for Best Choreography and Most Popular Dancer. In 2004 the production also had a successful tour in Japan. In 2002 Cooper provided the choreography for the Swedish production of ''Garbo-the Musical''. Cooper also played the lead role of Don Lockwood and choreographed Paul Kerryson's ''

'' in 2004 at Sadler's Wells Theatre, Leicester Haymarket, and was nominated for Critic's Circle Award for Choreography of a Musical. He was nominated for a

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

for his choreography of the 2004 ''Grand Hotel'' for The Donmar Warehouse. The production won the 2005 Olivier Award in the category of Outstanding Musical Production. In 2005, Cooper and Wildor performed a two-person play, ''Wallflowering'', at the Seven Oaks Playhouse. Their roles were primarily dialogue with intermittent bits of ballroom dancing. Following this, he designed the choreography for the revival of ''Promises, Promises'' at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre. In 2006 Cooper appeared alongside

Neil Morrissey Neil Anthony Morrissey (born 4 July 1962) is an English actor. He is known for his role as Tony in '' Men Behaving Badly''. Other notable acting roles include Deputy Head Eddie Lawson in the BBC One school-based drama series '' Waterloo Road'' ...

and

Patrick Swayze Patrick Wayne Swayze (; August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for playing distinctive lead roles, particularly romantic, tough, and comedic characters. He was also known for his media image and ...

playing Sky Masterson in ''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on " The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and als ...

'' at The Piccadilly Theatre, London and in 2007 he provided the musical staging for ''Side by Side'' by Sondheim for The Venue Theatre, London. 2008 saw Cooper's return to the stage, creating the role of Ramon in ''Zorro the Musical'' for the UK tour. He also played the Tin Man in the Royal Festival Hall's summer staging of the musical ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' or ''The Wizard of Oz'' most commonly refers to: *'' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', a 1900 American novel by L. Frank Baum often reprinted as ''The Wizard of Oz'' ** Wizard of Oz (character), from the Baum novel serie ...

'', after which he turned his attention back to choreography. First, he choreographed ''Carousel'' for director Lindsay Posner which had a very successful UK tour and West End run at the Savoy Theatre. Then Cooper was asked by Paul Kerryson to direct and choreograph the first new show, ''Simply Cinderella'', at the brand new Curve Theatre, Leicester. In 2009 Cooper unveiled ''Shall We Dance'' at Sadler's Wells, an ambitious all-dance show based on Richard Rodgers' songs. For this production he was the box-office star, director, creator, librettist and choreographer. Later that year, he provided choreography for Lindsay Posner's production of the Donizetti opera ''Roberto Devereux'' at the Holland Park Theatre, Kensington, London. Cooper co-starred in the touring stage version of Irving Berlin's ''White Christmas'' during the Christmas season in 2009 2010 and 2011. He played the role of Phil Davis.

2011 to the present

Cooper was the above-the-title star playing the role of Don Lockwood in Jonathan Church's highly successful 2011–2013 production of ''

'', with choreography by Andrew Wright. Its first sold-out run was at the Chichester Festival Theatre and then a longer run at West End's Palace Theatre. He also performed the iconic ''Singin' in the Rain'' scene on the 2011 Royal Variety Performance TV show. The stage show was nominated for the Best Musical Revival and several other Laurence Olivier and other awards. A cast recording of ''Singin' in the Rain'' was issued in 2012. ''Good Mornin was performed at the 2012 Olivier Awards Ceremony. The show, starring Cooper, played in Japan for three weeks of November 2014. In 2013 Cooper choreographed Matthew White's well-received production of ''

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, Th ...

'' at the Menier Chocolate Factory. Reviewer Sam Smith wrote "Adam Cooper's choreography is racy, and the production finds a particular affinity with the 'Surrealism' of the piece." In late 2013 Cooper was invited to Denmark to choreograph Daniel Bohr's Danish language version of '' Evita'' at the

Det Ny Teater Det Ny Teater (English: The New Theatre) is an established theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, first opened in 1908. It is based in a building which spans a passage between Vesterbrogade and Gammel Kongevej in Copenhagen's theatre district on the ...

(The New Theater) in Copenhagen. The show premiered in January 2014. For ''Evita'', Adam Cooper created a choreography with continuous tango elements merged into the rest of the dance. Cooper provided the "energetic" 60's choreography for '' Sunny Afternoon'' Musical at the Hampstead Theatre in London. The show ran from April to end of May in 2014 and then in October 2014 it transferred to The Harold Pinter Theatre (formerly The Comedy Theatre) at the West End. Its run was extended several times due to its popularity with the audience and positive critical reviews. It was nominated for numerous awards and won 4 Olivier Awards in 2015. Details are at '' Sunny Afternoon''. Cooper had another opportunity to present a stage version of ''

'' (''Gefährliche Liebschaften'') in 2015. He choreographed and co-directed with Josef E. Köpplinger a German musical version of the novel with a newly commissioned book, lyrics and score for the itinerant

Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz The Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz (''State Theatre at Gärtnerplatz''), commonly called the Gärtnerplatztheater, is an opera house and opera company in Munich. (The "Gärtnerplatz" is an urban square in the borough Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt.) ...

company in Munich, Germany. In 2019, Cooper appeared in the UK Tour of New Adventures' ''The Red Shoes'', playing the role of Boris Lermontov.

Films and TV

*'' The Soldier's Tale'' (2010) TV Movie (The Soldier) * ''Bourne to Dance'' (2001) TV Movie (himself) * ''

'' (2000) Arts Council of England, BBC Films, Working Title Films (Billy, Aged 25) * ''

Madame Bovary ''Madame Bovary'' (; ), originally published as ''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' ( ), is a novel by French writer Gustave Flaubert, published in 1856. The eponymous character lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and em ...

'' (2000) TV Movie (Vicomte) * ''The Sandman'' (2000) Channel 4 TV Movie * '' Jason and the Argonauts'' (2000) Hallmark Entertainment & Panfilm TV Movie (Eros) * ''Dance Ballerina Dance'' (1998) BBC2 TV (himself) * ''

'' (1998) PBS Great Performances TV Series with Adventures in Motion Pictures (Swan/Stranger) * ''Royal Variety Performance'' TV Show (1998) Excerpts from ''

'' (Swan/Stranger) * ''The South Bank show: Matthew Bourne's Adventures in Motion Pictures'' (1997) TV Documentary (himself) * ''

'' (1996) BBC/NVC with Adventures in Motion Pictures (Swan/Stranger) * ''

Mayerling (ballet) ''Mayerling'' is a ballet choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan to the music of Franz Liszt, arranged by John Lanchbery, scenario by Gillian Freeman and designed by Nicholas Georgiadis. The ballet is based on the Mayerling incident, a serie ...

'' (1994) BBC with the Royal Ballet (Hungarian officer) * ''Gala Tribute to Tchaikovsky'' (1993) TV Special (Principal Dancer) * ''Winter Dreams'' (1992) BBC TV with the Royal Ballet (Staff Captain Vassily Vasilyevich Solyony) * ''La Bayadère'', ''The Sleeping Beauty (ballet)'', ''Winter Gala'' with Royal Ballet for BBC TV * ''Prince of the Pagodas'' (1990) with the Royal Ballet * ''Merry Wives of Windsor'' (1982) BBC TV (fairy)

Other

*(2000) National Portrait Gallery (London), portrait of Adam Cooper by Stuart Pearson Wright oil on gesso on oak panel, NPG 6542 *(2014) Imperial Classical Ballet Faculty Patrons, Adam Cooper and Sarah Wildor

Awards

*(1988) Ursula Moreton Choreographic Competition *(1989) Professional Level Prize @ Prix de Lausanne *(1996) Time Out Award for Best Performance in AMP's ''Swan Lake'' *(1997) Evening Standard Award for his performance as The Swan in AMP's ''Swan Lake'' *(1997) Drama League Award for Best Performance as The Swan in AMP's ''Swan Lake'' (Los Angeles Season) *(1999) Astaire Award for outstanding Male Dancer for his performance as The Swan in AMP's ''Swan Lake'' *(1999) Nominated for Best Actor in a Musical Tony Award for the Broadway Season of ''Swan Lake'' *(2002) Nominated for Best Male Dancer by the Critics' Circle National Dance Awards for his performances with the Royal Ballet and ''On Your Toes''. *(2003) Critics' Circle National Dance Awards for Best Choreography for ''On Your Toes'' *(2003) Critics' Circle National Dance Awards for Most Popular Dancer. *(2003) Nominated for Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Awards – for Best Choreographer and Best Actor in a Musical for ''On Your Toes'' *(2004) Nominated by Critics' Circle National Dance Awards for Best Choreography (Musical Theater) for ''Singin' in the Rain'' *(2005) Nominated for What's Onstage Award for choreography of the 2004 ''Grand Hotel'' for The Donmar Warehouse. *(2005) Nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for choreography of the 2004 ''Grand Hotel'' for The Donmar Warehouse. *(2013) Nominated for What's Onstage Award as Best Actor in a Musical for ''Singin in the Rain''

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Adam Living people People from Tooting People educated at the Arts Educational Schools People educated at the Royal Ballet School English male ballet dancers Dancers of The Royal Ballet 1971 births National Dance Award winners