Background and Influences

• • Born in 1960 in Walthamstow, London
  • As a child was much involved in amateur dramatics
  • Directed many performances as a child through his church and school
  • Enjoyed watching films and was inspired by the cinema
  • Saw The Sound of Music aged five
  • Saw Swan Lake in 1979, which made a lasting impression on dance
  • From then on saw many ballets including work by Ashton and Balanchine
• • At the late age of 22, he enrolled on the BA in Dance Theatre at the Laban Centre.
  • It was here where he learnt contemporary and ballet techniques including Cunningham and Limon
  • and discovered a passion for dance history and dance analysis.
  • He joined Transitions the graduate company at Laban where he performed a number of dance works with
  • He was the founder member of Lea Andersons Featherstonehaugh’s in 1987.
• • Hollywood musicals
  • Fred Astaire was also a big influence; his precision of movement and character he bought to dance
  • Film and Theatre Directors such as Busby Berkley and Martin Duncan
  • Ballet and Contemporary Dance
  • Ballet Choreographers such as Fredrick Ashton and Kenneth MacMillan
  • Contemporary Choreographers such as Lea Anderson
• Adventures in Motion Pictures (AMP)

  
  

  • Set up with other Laban graduates who joined together to create their own independent group in 1987

  Spitfire (1988) based on Balanchine's Serenade (1934) and Jules Perrots Pas de Quatre (1845) provided an amusing view of the male ballet dancer.