Leigh Warren
Encyclopedia
Leigh Warren is an Australia
n contemporary dance
choreographer
and Artistic Director
of Leigh Warren & Dancers
(LWD) having previously been at the Australian Dance Theatre
. He choreographed and directed the Portrait Trilogy of operas by Philip Glass
(Akhnaten
(2002), Einstein on the Beach
(2006) and Satyagraha
(2007)) performed by LWD, the Adelaide Vocal Project and the State Opera of South Australia
.
. He was awarded an Australian Churchill Fellowship to study in 1974 at The Juilliard School in New York where he studied with Kazuko Hirabayashiu of the Martha Graham School
.
He lectured at the Victorian College of the Arts before being appointed artistic director of the Australian Dance Theatre (1987–1992). He formed and has directed Leigh Warren & Dancers from 1992 to the present.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n contemporary dance
Contemporary dance
Contemporary dance is a genre of concert dance that employs compositional philosophy, rather than choreography, to guide unchoreographed movement...
choreographer
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
and Artistic Director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
of Leigh Warren & Dancers
Leigh Warren & Dancers
Leigh Warren & Dancers is a contemporary dance company based in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Formed in 1993 by Leigh Warren , the company has toured internationally and won several awards....
(LWD) having previously been at the Australian Dance Theatre
Australian Dance Theatre
The Australian Dance Theatre is a contemporary dance company based in Adelaide, South Australia established in 1965 by Elizabeth Cameron Dalman,...
. He choreographed and directed the Portrait Trilogy of operas by Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
(Akhnaten
Akhnaten (opera)
Akhnaten is an opera in three acts based on the life and religious convictions of the pharaoh Akhenaten , written by the American minimalist composer Philip Glass in 1983. Akhnaten had its world premiere on March 24, 1984 at the Stuttgart State Opera, under the German title Echnaton...
(2002), Einstein on the Beach
Einstein on the Beach
Einstein on the Beach is an opera that premiered on July 25, 1976 at the Avignon Festival in France, scored and written by Philip Glass and designed and directed by theatrical producer Robert Wilson. It also contains writings by Christopher Knowles, Samuel M. Johnson and Lucinda Childs...
(2006) and Satyagraha
Satyagraha (opera)
Satyagraha is a 1979 opera in three acts for orchestra, chorus and soloists, composed by Philip Glass, with a libretto by Glass and Constance DeJong.Loosely based on the life of Mohandas K...
(2007)) performed by LWD, the Adelaide Vocal Project and the State Opera of South Australia
State Opera of South Australia
State Opera of South Australia is a professional opera company in Adelaide, South Australia, established in 1976. Each year, the State Opera presents at least three major operatic productions at the Adelaide Festival Theatre as well as producing or supporting other smaller productions in The Opera...
.
Training
Warren studied at Valrene Tweedie's Australian Academy of Ballet in Sydney, New South Wales and the Australian Ballet SchoolAustralian Ballet School
The Australian Ballet School was founded in 1964 as the primary training facility for The Australian Ballet by Dame Margaret Scott. It is part of the Australian Ballet Centre, which is located in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, Southbank in Melbourne, Victoria...
. He was awarded an Australian Churchill Fellowship to study in 1974 at The Juilliard School in New York where he studied with Kazuko Hirabayashiu of the Martha Graham School
Martha Graham
Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.She danced and choreographed for over seventy years...
.
Career
Warren has danced with:- the Australian BalletAustralian Ballet CompanyThe Australian Ballet is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd. and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English ballerina Dame Peggy van Praagh as founding artistic director...
(1970 to 1972 when he was promoted to soloist) - Ballet Rambert in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
(two periods) - The Dance Company (NSW) now the Sydney Dance CompanySydney Dance CompanyThe Sydney Dance Company is one of Australia's most successful and well-known contemporary dance companies. The company was founded in 1969 as the dance-in-education group Ballet in a Nutshell by Suzanne Musitz , later changing its name to Athletes and Dancers, and Dance Company ...
(1975) - Nederlands Dans Theater as a dancer and contemporary dance teacher (two periods)
- Nureyev and FriendsRudolf NureyevRudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Russian dancer, considered one of the most celebrated ballet dancers of the 20th century. Nureyev's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance, providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women.In 1961 he...
- and as a freelance dancer (1984–1985).
He lectured at the Victorian College of the Arts before being appointed artistic director of the Australian Dance Theatre (1987–1992). He formed and has directed Leigh Warren & Dancers from 1992 to the present.
Awards
- Australian Dance Award
- 1999 for outstanding achievement in choreography for Shimmer.
- Adelaide Critics' Circle:
- 2004 Individual Award for the direction and choreography of Einstein on the Beach
- 2005 Award for Innovation for "Petroglyphs - Signs of Life", choreographed with Gina Rings