30 years of balletLORENT

Since graduating from the Laban Centre in 1993 Liv Lorent has created close to one hundred works. In the tradition of the great modern choreographers these have not only been for her own company but for musicals and dramatic productions and to international commissions. Many of these have incorporated her ‘trademark’ of using multi-generational casts and performers of varying technical training. In this she is unique and it is one of the aspects of her work that has endeared her to the communities she engages with. She demands the highest standards from all those she works with and never patronises the non-professional dancers. Instead she pushes them beyond what they imagine possible, as one 80 year old told me after a performance of Strange Glitter, ‘If Liv tells you you can do it, you can!’.

Like Paul Taylor, Mark Morris and Richard Alston, Liv is known for an uncommon musicality and catholic taste, she has set movement to the widest possible range of music that includes Tartini, Bach, Janacek, Ravel, Schnitke, Max Richter, Astor Piazolla, Jimi Hendrix and many in between. When money has been available she has commissioned scores, most recently and with great success from Murray Gold. 

Design and lighting are never secondary to the creation of a work and Liv has worked closely and over many years with such outstanding artists as Michele Clapton, Phil Eddolls, Malcolm Rippeth and Paul Shriek. They have all contributed to the unique overall look of the company and its fantastical worlds and whose work can be seen in the photographs of this exhibition.

Narrative clarity is important in the company’s work and Liv has worked successfully with scripts written by Ben Crompton and Dame Carol Ann Duffy. In these works the movement, rather than illustrate the texts, illuminates it, creating something new in the interaction.

As a now respected member of the dance community and the premier choreographer in the North of England – she has been based in Newcastle since 1996 – Liv has given generously of her time to support young and developing artists. The educational work, a central part of what balletLORENT offers, has transformed and enriched the dance landscape of the region. 

In 2014 the Queen awarded Liv with an MBE for Services to Dance, a rare honour for a female choreographer.

Paul RW Jackson, Board of Trustees, balletLORENT

Supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund

We thank Friends of balletLORENT Maureen Newall, Joanne McKenna, Anna Story and Karen Trewinnard; Good Friends Heather Crompton, and Kate Lorent for their continued support of the company. You can support balletLORENT here.