Musician and Composer
Christopher Benstead has worked intensively in the world of dance and theatre for over thirty years, composing more than one hundred and fifty scores in a wide range of styles from full orchestral to chamber, choral and electronic.
He has been commissioned to compose for, among others, Rambert Dance Company, English National Ballet, London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Cambridge Theatre Company, Royal Danish Ballet, Gothenburg Ballet, Nevada Dance Theatre, Freiburger Tanzteater, Ballet du Nord, Scottish Ballet, Amici Dance Theatre, Scottish Dance Theatre, Red Ladder Theatre Company, Gyori Ballet, Stopgap Dance Company, West Yorkshire Playhouse and BBC Radio and Television. He has created musical scores for large and small-scale dance and theatre companies, youth and community groups, radio, television, and film throughout the UK, in Europe, the Americas, the Far East and Africa.
His work as composer for community projects has focused mainly on work with disadvantaged children across the globe, particularly in Cambodia with EPIC Arts, South Africa with the Austrian-based s2arch charity and in Mexico for the British Council. Christopher has produced and recorded a series of CDs for dance teachers and is one of the UK’s most distinguished and experienced dance class accompanists.
