Nigel Charnock

Performer, choreographer and director Nigel Charnock has been variously defined as “body poet and word dancer” (The Independent); “a virtuoso in daring physical performance” (The Independent); and “the twentieth century’s answer to Lord Byron” (The Guardian).

Nigel was born in Manchester. He trained in drama for 3 years and then in dance at the London School of Contemporary Dance.  A founder member of DV8, in 1995 he founded his own company, Nigel Charnock + Company.

Renowned as a maverick and totally captivating performer with a string of internationally renowned solo shows to his name, Nigel ruptures the boundaries of performance, continually exploring and developing dance as a genre through working across different disciplines and media. Nigel has created internationally renowned dance pieces throughout Europe and was Artistic Director of Helsinki Dance Company between 2002 – 2005. He is perhaps most well known for his unique solo performances, including Human Being, Hell Bent, Original Sin and Resurrection.

Since 2003, Nigel has been touring his latest solo work, Frank which was originally commissioned by the Venice Biennale. Frank is a fiercely comic blend of improvised monologue, song and dance, unashamedly honest, daringly physical and very entertaining. In tandem with this, Nigel has also been performing Fever, a collaboration with German composer, clarinet and saxophone-player Michael Riessler and inspired by Shakespeare’s sonnets.