Michael Clark (dancer)

Michael Duncan Clark CBE (born June 1962) is a Scottish dancer and choreographer.

Early life

Clark was born in Aberdeen and began traditional Scottish dancing at the age of four. In 1975 he left home to study at the Royal Ballet School in London, and on his final day at the school he was presented with the Ursula Moreton Choreographic Award. In 1979 Clark joined Ballet Rambert, working primarily with Richard Alston, who created roles for him in Bell High (1979), Landscape (1980), Rainbow Ripples (1981) and, subsequently, two solos: Soda Lake (1981) and Dutiful Ducks (1982). Later, attending a summer school with Merce Cunningham and John Cage led him to work with Karole Armitage, through whom he met Charles Atlas.[1]

Michael Clark has collaborated with fashion designers BodyMap, artists Sarah Lucas and Peter Doig, performance artist Leigh Bowery, and musicians Wire, Laibach, The Fall, Jarvis Cocker and Scritti Politti.

Career

Clark's commissions for major dance companies include the G.R.C.O.P. (Groupe de Recherche Chorégraphique de l'Opéra de Paris), The Paris Opera, Scottish Ballet, London Festival Ballet, Ballet Rambert, Phoenix Dance Company and the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Clark has also produced considerable work for film and video, including Hail the New Puritan (1984) and Because We Must (1989) with Charles Atlas. He also choreographed and danced the role of Caliban in Peter Greenaway’s Prospero’s Books (1991).

In 1998 he presented a new full-length work, current/SEE, in collaboration with Susan Stenger, Simon Pearson, Big Bottom, and Hussein Chalayan which became the subject of a BBC documentary directed by Sophie Fiennes, The Late Michael Clark. Before and After: The Fall (2001) was Clark’s first major collaboration with the visual artist Sarah Lucas, followed by an evening entitled Would, Should, Can, Did (2003), for the Barbican, London. In the same year Clark created the first Satie Stud for William Trevitt of George Piper Dances, choreographed a solo for Mikhail Baryshnikov, and OH MY GODDESS opened London Dance Umbrella’s 25th anniversary season.[2] In 2004 Rambert Dance Company revived SWAMP (1986), which received the Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production in 2005.[3]

In 2005 Clark embarked on the Stravinsky Project, a three-year project to produce a trilogy of works to seminal dance scores by Igor Stravinsky. He radically reworked Mmm... (1992) and 0 (1994), for this project, and in 2007 he premiered the final part of the trilogy, I Do. In 2009 he debuted come, been and gone at the Venice Biennale. Subsequent productions include New Work (2012) (later "animal / vegetable / mineral") and his most recent work "to a simple, rock 'n' roll . . . song." which premiered at the Barbican in London in October 2016. He has created major site-specific commissions for the Tate Modern,[4] Whitney Biennial, the 2012 Cultural Olympiad at Glasgow's Barrowland Ballroom, and The Institute of Contemporary Art (Miami).

Clark was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to dance.[5]

Productions

YearTitle
1979Overground

Trio C Belongings

1980Surface Values
1981Untitled Duet
1982Of a feather, FLOCK

A Wish Sandwich

Rush

1983Parts I – IV

1st Orange Segment

The Artless Dodge (I’m in an evil mood tonight, don’t you want want me baby? and Sexist Crabs)

12 X U

Mission Accomplished: Tutu Invisible

1984Flippin’ eck oh thweet myth-tery of life

Morag’s Wedding

12 extemporay, thank yoU

New Puritans (duet)

Parts I – IV (duet)

Do you me? I Did

New Puritans

Le French Revolting

1985HAIL the classical

Angel Food

not H.AIR

our caca phoney H.our caca phony H.

1986Art for Money

Drop Your Pearls and Hog It, Girl

Swamp

No Fire Escape in Hell

1987Pure Pre-Scenes

Because We Must

1988I Am Curious, Orange
1989Wrong

Rights

Heterospective

1990Solo

Because We Must world tour

1991Modern Masterpieces
1992Rite Now

Mmm…

Bog 3.0

1994O
1998Yet

~ current/SEE

2001fig – 1

Before and After: The Fall

2003Satie Stud

Would, Should, Can, Did

Rattle Your Jewellery

OH MY GODDESS

Look at that picture…

2004nevertheless, caviar

Swamp

2005A Physical Dialogue

Stravinsky Project Part 1: O

2006Stravinsky Project Part 2: Mmm…

Merce’s Nurse

2007Stravinsky Project Part 3: I Do
2009come, been and gone
2010Tate Project: Part I
2011th
2012WHO'S ZOO?

The Barrowlands Project

New Work 2012

2013animal / vegetable / mineral
2016to a simple, rock 'n' roll . . . song.

Filmography

YearTitleDirectorRole/Credit
1986Hail the New PuritanCharles AtlasHimself/Choreographer
1989Because We MustCharles AtlasHimself/Choreographer
1991Prospero's BooksPeter GreenawayCaliban/Choreographer
2001The Late Michael ClarkSophie FiennesHimself/Choreographer

Awards

YearAssociationCategoryWorkResult
2005Olivier AwardsBest New Dance ProductionSWAMPWon
2011Robert Gordon UniversityHonorary Degree of Doctor of Arts (Hon DArt)n/an/a
2013Manchester Theatre AwardsRobert Robson Award for DanceNew Work (2012)Won[6]
2013Ludwig Forum for International ArtPeter and Irene Ludwig Foundation Award for Innovation in the Artsn/aWon

References

  1. Martha Bremser (1999). Fifty contemporary choreographers. p 63: Routledge. pp. 240. ISBN 0-415-10364-9.CS1 maint: location (link)
  2. "Michael Clark Company". LondonDance. 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  3. "Previous Winners: Olivier Winners 2005". Olivier Awards. 2014. Archived from the original on 21 January 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  4. "Michael Clark Company at Tate Modern". Tate. 2014. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  5. "No. 60895". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 June 2014. p. b9.
  6. Upton, David (7 March 2014). "News: Manchester Theatre Award winners". manchestertheatreawards.com. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
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