the Shrew Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux The Royal Danish Ballet After twice appearing as guest artist with the company, Marks was invited to become the first American principal dancer of the Royal Danish Ballet. He made his debut as such in May, 1971 at the Danish Ballet and Music Festival dancing Paul Taylor's Aureole. It was the first time a modern trained artist had done the work in Copenhagen and he received rave reviews. The next evening he danced the role of James in the 19th century Danish classic, La Sylphide, by August Bournonville and astounded with his versatility. Marks ended his performing career in 1976 in Denmark taking on his first artistic directorship with Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah. Marks danced principal roles at the Royal Danish Ballet in: La Sylphide Napoli Far From Denmark Aureole Prism Trio Rigoletto The Triumph of Death Romeo and Juliet The Nutcracker Miss Julie Moon Reindeer A Touch of the Poet The Moor's Pavane et al. Winter's Court As guest artist Marks has danced as guest artist with: London Festival Ballet Grand Theatre de Geneve Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal The Royal Swedish Ballet The Royal Danish Ballet Teatro Municipal Firenze, Maggio Musicale At Ballet West By 1976, Marks became Co-Artistic Director of Ballet West at the invitation of its founder, Willam Christensen. Following Christensen's retirement in 1978, Marks was named Artistic Director. The company flourished under Marks's direction, and his distinctive stamp was made with the addition of new works to the company's repertory from Bournonville and Balanchine to the 19th century master works as well as modern dance classics. In 1985, Marks and Toni Lander recreated and staged the “lost” 1855 Bournonville ballet, Abdallah for Ballet West, to great acclaim. The production had its East Coast premiere at Washington's Kennedy Center, on May 1, 1985, and the critics raved. "Abdallah is a triumph!” cheered the Boston Globe. The Wall Street Journal declared, “That it communicates such broad meanings and does so, moreover, with such effortless charm, is the great achievement of Bruce Marks.” In 1986, Marks staged Abdallah for the Royal Danish Ballet, the company for whom the work was originally created, and in 1990, he brought the production to Boston Ballet. At Boston Ballet Marks then assumed the position of Artistic Director of Boston Ballet When he was appointed Artistic Director and CEO (combining the jobs was