Stephen Warbeck

This interview was originally featured in Issue 20 of Northern Ballet Theatre's exclusive Friends Magazine, Northern Exposure. For more information on our Friends Organisation, including how to join, click here.

When and how did you discover music?
Music has always been part of my life. My mother played piano, my father played the drums, and my brother and I had music lessons from a very early age and were constantly creating things and playing together.

The score for Peter Pan will be your first ballet composition though you have a long association with theatre and film. How does the creative process differ for dance and does this present any new challenges for you?
As I’m still in the middle of composing the score for Peter Pan, I can’t give a definitive answer but I think it’s true to say that in all these media (theatre, dance, film) the visual, textual and music elements have a different relationship. As I’m writing I’m attempting to visualise the danced scenes using the scenario as a starting point, but of course the real choreography is created after the music, a process which is clearly distinct from the other fields I work in.

Where do you find your inspiration when tackling a new project? Do you have any set routine to your day?
I often start a piece of work in the middle, usually with a scene that has some emotional resonance for me. I work at home and as we have a big family and quite a few animals, I work at odd times (very odd) – whenever I can.

Which part of the process do you find most satisfying?
It’s all satisfying if it’s flowing well and frustrating when it’s not.

Which pieces of your work have given you the greatest pleasure?
Shakespeare in Love, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, Machinal and my band the hKippers (sic)

What do you listen to in your spare time?
All sorts.

Is there a project that you’ve always hoped to be involved in?
Touring with my own ensemble and taking the hKippers to the sea.