Gary Clarke
Born in Barnsley in 1980, Gary trained at The Electric Theatre Studios and the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. For the past 7 years Gary has been a member of Lea Anderson's much acclaimed The Cholmondeleys and The Featherstonehaughs and has performed in some of the companies' most seminal film and theatre works. In 2002, he joined Adventures in Motion Pictures (AMP) and embarked on a world tour performing Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake. Gary has also worked with some of the most innovative dance companies in the UK and abroad including balletLORENT, Retina Dance Company, Bock & Vincenzi, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Maresa von Stockert & Tilted Co, ACE Dance & Music, Verve and The Felix Ruckert Company. He has also performed in a number of feature films and site-specific works commissioned by the BBC, Northern Stage, Polar Produce Productions, Club Duckie and Future Cinema.
Gary has received both critical and audience acclaim for his own choreographic
work which has toured extensively both nationally and internationally. He has a wealth of choreographic experience in creating site-specific works
as well as full theatrical productions.
In 2004 Gary was established as a Yorkshire Dance Partner and founded Pit Fleur Company where he became Artistic Director. He subsequently received the Artist Development Award from Danceworks UK to create his first full evening of work - Skinny Dark Eyes and Parade, which went on represent Yorkshire in North of the Wash and the UK in the Junge Hunde International Dance and Theatre Festival.
In 2006 Gary was appointed as Artist in Residence at Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD) and embarked on a solo project titled Horsemeat in collaboration with choreographers Javier De Frutos and Nigel Charnock. Horsemeat has toured the UK and has been featured in a number of national and international festivals including The British Dance Edition 2006, Pulse Fringe Festival and Homotopia.
Alongside Horsemeat, Gary created a full length work titled COAL for Pit Fleur Company. COAL has been performed in some of the most significant dance events held in the UK including the Autumn Season at LABAN, Touchwood 2007 and the renowned Spring Loaded 2008 held at The Place.
Gary has also created work for many other professional companies and institutions. Past commissions include: StopGAP Dance Company (The Portfolio Collection),
Ascendance REP (Social Disease and A Less Realistic Still Life), Ludus Dance Company
(This is our Future) Northern School of Contemporary Dance (The Ashtray Suite),
Splinters Youth Dance Company (Caulrophobia), Bedford University (Bits & Pieces),
County Youth Dance Company / The Taliesin Arts Centre (Don't Rain on my Parade
and Wrecked), Corridor Arts (The Larval Stage), The CA Arts Festival (Dustballs)
and The Electric Theatre Studios (DOG)
Gary has delivered a number of large-scale education and out reach projects in
collaboration with organisations such as The Royal Festival Hall, The South Bank
Centre, Tate Modern, Woking Dance Festival, DanceEast and South East Dance. He has also been a guest lecturer for many colleges and universities including
York St Johns - School of Arts, Bretton Hall University, London Contemporary Dance
School, Barking College of Performing Arts and NSCD.
In the meantime if you require any further information on Gary Clarke and his current projects COAL or HORSEMEAT click on the relevant links to the right or contact Sarah Shead at Yorkshire Dance on sarahshead@yorkshiredance.com.