Mark Baldwin (choreographer)
Mark Baldwin OBE is a contemporary dance choreographer. He was born in Fiji and raised and educated in New Zealand. He is currently Artistic Director for Rambert Dance Company, formerly called Ballet Rambert, now known as Rambert.[1]
Career
Mark Baldwin was born in Fiji and raised and educated in New Zealand where he pursued a degree in Fine Art at the University of Auckland. He danced with Royal New Zealand Ballet before joining Ballet Rambert in 1983. He left ten years later to become resident choreographer at Sadler's Wells, London, where he established the Mark Baldwin Dance Company (1993 – 2001). His status as a leading choreographer was affirmed with the creation of over 40 works for his own as well as for other major dance companies including: The Royal Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Berlin State Opera House, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Scottish Ballet, London City Ballet and Rambert.
In December 2002, Baldwin returned to Rambert as Artistic Director. His vision since then has been to encourage collaborations with other art forms. Critically praised for reinvigorating the Company and its repertoire, Mark has commissioned new works by numerous British and international choreographers.
In May 2005, Baldwin premiered Constant Speed, his first work for Rambert since becoming Artistic Director. Since then he has choreographed Eternal Light, The Comedy of Change, Seven for a Secret, never to be told, What Wild Ecstasy, The Strange Charm of Mother Nature and Dark Arteries. In 2010, the Company won the Olivier Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance.[2] Mark was appointed an OBE in the 2015 Queen’s Birthday Honours.
Awards
Baldwin has received numerous awards, including the Bonnie Bird Choreographic Award (1992), the 1995 Time Out Award for Dance, and the South Bank Show Award for The Bird Sings With Its Fingers (2001). He received the French Grand Prix Award for Film in 1996 for Echo, a collaboration with visual artist Anish Kapoor and composer Brian Elias, and the Dance Artist Fellowship for Outstanding Contribution to Dance in 2002.[1]
He won the TMA Theatre Award for Achievement in Dance for Constant Speed and an Oliver Award for his restaging of Michael Clark's Swamp. In 2012 he was awarded the Honorary Amber Faun for outstanding achievements in choreographic art and the development of dance in the UK by the Sergei Diaghilev International Association for the Promotion of Choreographic Art.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 "Artistic Director". Rambert Dance Company. Rambert Dance Company. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
- ↑ "Olivier Winners 2010". Olivier Awards. The Society of London Theatre. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
External links