David Justin’s American Repertory Ensemble


As a principal dancer with Birmingham Royal Ballet, David Justin’s great strength was in character roles, receiving praise for his portrayals of Will Mossop in Hobson’s Choice, Gabriel Oak in Far from the Madding Crowd, and the Dago in Façade. Unfortunately, an operation, followed by complications when healing led to him transferring his talents from performance to education. With a Master of Arts degree from the University of Birmingham in his ex-dancer’s shoulder bag, Justin returned to his native United States to take up the post of Professor of Dance at the University of Texas. It was there he met the composer Rob Deemer, a veteran of over thirty documentary and film scores. 

Justin describes Deemer as his artistic other half, that together they make a creative whole. Their strong bond resulted in the founding of American Repertory Ensemble with the aim to produce work that is fully integrated.  The concept is hinted at in …I To My Friends where a dancer with candles stands before a violinist playing Deemer’s absorbing composition. But the collaboration lets rip with Epitaph using text by New Yorker Luc Sante spoken on stage by Deemer and accompanied by Deemer’s music played on stage by the Tosca String Quartet. 

Kathi Martuza dances with sumptuous technique as Ikolo Griffin and John Welker spin and lift with ease. Justin feels indebted to his experience of working with David Bintley at BRB. With him, he discovered new ways to develop character through dance and is keen to encourage this in his dancers. He’s enthusiastic about the results so far, describing things as: “crystallizing into something even better than we imagined.”

American Repertory Ensemble is Austin, Texas’ newest performing arts group; it’s young and still developing. So far, it’s only a summer company. The dancers are members of major American ballet companies, handpicked by Justin while guest-teaching, spending their summer recess with Ensemble. The only performances in Britain have been at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival. After his days at BRB, Justin sees this UK visit as a bit of a homecoming and is eager to return.

What David Justin and Rob Deemer are trying to achieve is what new ballet desperately needs more of: composer and choreographer working together to create an integrated whole.


Michael Scott, Dance Expression Magazine December 2006


Above: EPITAPHS (R.Deemer, composer, D. Justin, choreographer)
Ikolo Griffin (Joffrey Ballet), Kathi Martuza (Oregon Ballet Theatre), John Welker (Atlanta Ballet) Rob Deemer (speaker), Tracy Seeger (violin), Ames Asbell (viola), Sara Neslon (cello) Photograph by Lori Deemer

Below: ...I TO MY FRIENDS (R.Deemer, composer) Leigh Mahoney (violin), Brennan Boyer (Oregon Ballet Theatre) Photograph by Lori Deemer

Visit American Repertory Ensemble's website.