Our mission is to create world class, distinctive dance, for diverse family and adult audiences and participants of all ages, life experience, culture and background, with performances that refuse to be elitist or mystifying.

balletLORENT is female-led, and North East England’s leading dance theatre company. Dedicated to creating ambitious, inclusive, high-quality work, touring to the UK’s most prestigious theatres. We communicate work which is unmistakably made from a female vantage point and with feminist sensibility through dance theatre stories with a culture of warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome to find joy and connection with others.

In 2023 we celebrate our 30^th anniversary. The enduring strength and longevity of balletLORENT’s three-decade lifespan is fueled by Artistic Director Liv Lorent’s commitment to innovation, and determination to create dance theatre for people with limited access to arts and culture, and passion to broaden opportunities for the professional artists and diverse communities we engage with.

The company was founded by Liv Lorent (MBE) in 1993 and has toured works nationally and internationally to much acclaim, including: Strange Glitter; The Ball; la nuit intime; Angelmoth; Designer Body; Blood, Sweat & Tears; Underneath the Floorboards; The Night Ball and Love Struck.  

balletLORENT’s recent artistic programme has focused on the making of a trilogy of fairytales directed by Liv Lorent and retold by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. These works captured family audiences and include; Rapunzel (2012), Snow White (2015) and Rumpelstiltskin (2017), and The Lost Happy Endings (2019).

The company enjoys working with individual performers who are diverse in terms of their age (22-58) and experience. Many works created by balletLORENT have featured an intergenerational cast and have included children, older people and pregnant women alongside the professional dancers. These large-scale works of 20 to 80 dancers include PassAge to Passion; Life Stories; La Famille; and MaEternal. balletLORENT’s fairytale stories are enhanced by a community cast of children who join the professional dancers on stage in each place we tour.

Liv Lorent and the company have received many awards, including the Jerwood Choreography Award 2001; the Arts Foundation Choreography Award 2005; A Herald Angel Award LUXURIA 2006 (a commissioned work by Scottish Dance Theatre); four Journal Culture Awards: Artist of the Year 2008; Performance of the Year (Rapunzel) 2012, Finalist in the Arts Council of England category (Snow White) 2016 and Performance of the Year (Rumpelstiltskin) 2017; Finalist for Best Independent Company at the Critic’s Circle National Dance Awards 2019; Fantastic for Families Audience Choice Award (Rumpelstiltskin) 2019; Finalist in One Dance UK Awards Innovation in Dance 2019. Liv Lorent received a MBE for services to dance in 2014.

The company has collaborated with international companies including; Carte Blanche, Bergen in 2009 for a remount of la nuit intime; Eunetstar in 2005 for a European Street Art Festival tour of The Ferryman; and Cultuurcentrum Brugge programmed The Ball in 2005 at Koninklijke Stadsschouwburg.

The Company is a Sadler’s Wells National Partner.

balletLORENT is funded as a National Portfolio Organisation by Arts Council of England. The company became a registered charity in 2015.

Show Information
A fresh and family-friendly retelling of Rapunzel by Carol Ann Duffy brought to you by leading dance theatre company balletLORENT.

In this mighty production a red headed Rapunzel becomes entrapped in the tower because her hair grows so long, meaning her beauty stays hidden from the outside world. A possessive Witch and her pet Creatures are Rapunzel’s only company until a Prince comes along, drawn by the sound of her sweet song…

Full of fight, passion and longing, this beloved must-see fairytale brings together a collection of world-class collaborators

• Directed and choreographed by Liv Lorent MBE, Artistic Director, balletLORENT 
• Written by Carol Ann Duffy 
• Music composed by Murray Gold (former Dr Who Composer)
• The score performed by Royal Northern Sinfonia
• Costumes designed by Michele Clapton (Game of Thrones costume designer) 
• Narrated by nationally loved actor Lesley Sharp (Scott & Bailey; The Full Monty; Three Girls)

Performance Info:

RUNNING TIME: 1 hr 50 mins including 20 minute interval.

AGE GUIDANCE: All ages 5+

SPECIAL EFFECTS: Haze, smoke and lighting effects - no strobe

Key Selling Points for Rapunzel 

• High production values, particularly rare for a production suitable for children and young people.
• Appeals to intergenerational audience, from children, to parents, to grandparents, making it an outing families can enjoy together.
• Directed and choreographed by Liv Lorent MBE, balletLORENT’s award-winning Artistic Director.
• Based on an original story and adapted to stage by former poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy.
• Music composed by BAFTA nominated composer Murray Gold (Doctor Who; Gentleman Jack; Years and Years), and performed by Royal Northern Sinfonia.
• Narrated by Royal Television Society Award-winning actor Lesley Sharp (Scott & Bailey; Three Girls). 
• Costumes designed by multiple Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning designer Michele Clapton (Game of Thrones; The Crown).
• Performed by a cast of seven professional dancers, plus two apprentices and a cast of four mothers and babies.
• Features local community cast, from a local school who are 8-13yrs old.

Target Audiences - Rapunzel

• Your regular dance and theatre audiences.
• School groups: Primary, Secondary and FE Colleges.
• Previous balletLORENT audiences, primarily those who saw the original Rapunzel in 2012; Snow White in 2015; Rumpelstiltskin in 2017 and The Lost Happy Endings in 2019.
• Family audiences.
• Local dance classes, studios and schools.
• Fans of our collaborators, particularly Carol Ann Duffy and Murray Gold.
• Literature fans found at bookshops, launches, poetry nights and book groups.
• Library classes and workshops for both adults and children.
• Orchestral or Classical Music groups and attendees of orchestral or classical music events.
• University courses and departments: Dance/Drama/Performance/Design/Literature/Music/Art/ Fashion

Marketing resources

balletLORENT will provide the following free of charge:

• Marketing support to achieve maximum ticket sales, including but not restricted to help with distribution, contacting press and writing press releases.
• Images and copy for your brochure.
• Your box office details on the balletLORENT website.
• A high-quality promotional film, suitable for all online platforms, and accessible on desktops and mobiles/tablets. 
• Suite of high-res videos featuring key collaborators’ interviews, short trailer, promotional films, so you can plan a full and varied social media campaign.
• Selection of professional images for publicity use.
• Additional content for your website and social media including rehearsal images and film.
• Social media support, including joint campaigns and competitions.
• Printed flyers (1k A5) and posters for your venue.
• Digital artwork for internal and external display screens.
• Members of the artistic team available for interview (to be arranged in advance).
• Opportunities for photo calls whilst the company and young cast are in residence (to be arranged in advance).
• Press support from our PR, for local media, press, Radio and TV.
• Sample press release.
• Research into distribution of flyers and posters outside of the normal theatre circuit.

balletLORENT Website 

All performances are publicised on the balletLORENT website, including tour dates with ticket links. www.balletlorent.com

Direct Mail and Distribution 

balletLORENT will work with you to identify areas you may not be able to cover with your distribution networks to support ticket sales.

Social Media 

balletLORENT actively engages with audiences via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, reaching high levels of engagement and followers for a company of our size. 

We interact with every venue we visit via social media and are keen to establish joint social media campaigns with venues in order to widen the reach and effectiveness of our social media activities and to drive ticket sales.

For each venue we visit on tour, we will post images, videos, feedback and reviews from Rapunzel on our social media accounts.

Please follow/like us via the following links:

facebook.com/balletlorent
twitter.com/balletlorent
Instagram.com/balletlorent
vimeo.com/balletlorent
youtube.com/user/balletlorent

Suggested posts for your Social Media sites. 

Please feel free to change, modify or create your own new content but we hope these, help. (Adapt to the relevant social media platform)

1. Looking for a magical day out with your family? Don’t miss @balletlorent’s beautiful family production of the classic story Rapunzel. Full of colour and emotion, this spellbinding retelling features music by former Doctor Who composer Murray Gold and is narrated by Lesley Sharp. Link to your venue web page. 
   
2. Looking for a family outing in xxxx? What about booking to see the fresh family-friendly retelling of Rapunzel by Carol Anne Duffy brought to you by leading dance theatre company balletLORENT. Link to your venue web page.
    
3. With emotional storytelling at his heart, this fresh family friendly retelling of Rapunzel by Carol Ann Duffy delivers a fast paced and dynamic performance.
   
   Red headed Rapunzel becomes entrapped in the tower because her hair grows so long, her beauty staying hidden from the outside world. A possessive witch and her pet creatures are Rapunzel’s only company until a Prince comes along, drawn by the sound of her sweet song….  Link to your venue web page.