Leigh Warren

Leigh Warren (born 1952) is an Australian contemporary dance choreographer and artistic airector of Leigh Warren & Dancers (LWD) having previously been at the Australian Dance Theatre. He has recently choreographed and directed the "Portrait Trilogy" of operas by Philip Glass ("Akhnaten", Einstein on the Beach and Satyagraha) performed by LWD, the Adelaide Vocal Project and the State Opera of South Australia. [ [http://www.adelaidereview.com.au/archives.php?subaction=showfull&id=1172791994&archive=1174012872 Sound & Stage: Satyagraha - Leigh Warren and Dancers, State Opera of South Australia and Adelaide Vocal Project, review in The Adelaide Review, February 2007] ] [ [http://www.abc.net.au/rn/artworks/stories/2007/1857098.htm Glass trilogy, "Artworks" on ABC Radio National, broadcast 18 February 2007] ]

Training

Warren studied at Valrene Tweedie's Australian Academy of Ballet in Sydney, New South Wales and the Australian Ballet School. 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.

Career

Warren has danced with:
*the Australian Ballet (1970 to 1972 when he was promoted to soloist)
*Ballet Rambert in London (two periods)
*The Dance Company (NSW) now the Sydney Dance Company [ [http://www.australiadancing.org/subjects/23.html Dance Company (NSW) at AustraliaDancing] ] (1975)
*Nederlands Dans Theater as a dancer and contemporary dance teacher (two periods)
*Nureyev and Friends
*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" [ [http://www.ausdance.org.au/outside/whatson/danceawards.html Ausdance: Australian Dance Awards] ] .
*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

Notes

External links

* [http://www.australiadancing.org/subjects/68.html Leigh Warren at AustraliaDancing]
* [http://www.lwd.com.au/biography.htm Leigh Warren biography at Leigh Warren and Dancers]