Wayne McGregor

Biography

McGregor was born in Stockport, England, in 1970. He studied dance at Bretton Hall College of the University of Leeds and at the José Limon School in New York. In 1992 he was appointed Choreographer-in-Residence at The Place, London, and in the same year he founded his own company, Wayne McGregor | Random Dance (now Company Wayne McGregor). McGregor evolved what was to become his distinctive choreographic style on Random.

His choreography is an extrapolation of his own movement vocabulary: "[It] had its origins in McGregor’s own long, lean and supple physique and in his body’s ability to register movement with peculiar sharpness and speed; at one extreme McGregor’s dancing was a jangle of tiny fractured angles, at the other it was a whirl of seemingly boneless fluidity."

It was during his major trilogy The Millennarium (1997), Sulphur 16 (1998) and Aeon (2000) that the company became known for its radical approach to new technology – incorporating animation, digital film, 3D architecture, electronic sound and virtual dancers into the live choreography. Collaborations with leading multi-disciplinary artists helped to form the company’s futurist aesthetic. In 2001 it was invited to be the first resident company at the new Sadler’s Wells. McGregor was named one of "25 to Watch" in 2001 by Dance Magazine.

His career to date has also included choreographing for films such as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, creating site-specific installations for Southbank Centre’s The Hayward, The Saatchi Gallery, the Houses of Parliament and for the Pompidou Centre in Paris. Collaborations with artists outside of the dance field have included composers Sir John Tavener, Scanner, Plaid and Joby Talbot/The White Stripes, animatronics experts, Jim Henson’s Creature Workshop and neuroscientists and heart-imaging specialists. McGregor was the first to curate, in September 2008, the three-day-long new festival for the Royal Opera House, Deloitte Ignite. This came 18 months after his Royal Opera House production Chroma (2006).

McGregor was appointed Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet in December 2006. His productions for The Royal Ballet include the award-winning Infra (2008), Limen (2009), Live Fire Exercise (2011), Carbon Life (2012), Machina for Metamorphosis: Titian 2012 (2012), Raven Girl with author Audrey Niffenegger (2013), Tetractys (2014), Woolf Works (2015), Obsidian Tear (2016) featuring an all-male cast, and most recently Multiverse (2016) featuring a new score by Steve Reich. In 2009 he presented a new staging of his La Scala production of the opera Dido and Aeneas, alongside Acis and Galatea (this marked McGregor’s Royal Opera debut). He also directed Sum for The Royal Opera (2012).

Recently McGregor has created Tree of Codes (2015) (with Paris Opera Ballet), Atomos (2013), UNDANCE (2011) and FAR (2010) for Company Wayne McGregor, as well new work for San Francisco Ballet, Australian Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, New York City Ballet and Paris Opera Ballet.

McGregor was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours for services to dance.

In 2013 McGregor was given an Honorary Doctorate of Science from Plymouth University.

In March 2014 McGregor was appointed Professor of Choreography at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance

In July 2016 McGregor was given an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Leeds.

Multiverse

McGregor's latest work for The Royal Ballet features a commissioned score from celebrated composer Steve Reich and designs by acclaimed Pakistani artist Rashid Rana. It had its world premiere as part of a McGregor triple bill at the Royal Opera House, London, on 10 November 2016. The triple bill, which included Chroma and Carbon Life in the programme, celebrated McGregor's tenth anniversary as Resident Choreographer at The Royal Ballet.

Obsidian Tear

McGregor's first work for The Royal Ballet created on an all-male cast, bringing together two works for violin by renowned Finnish composer Esa-Pekka Salonen. The ballet’s title takes inspiration from the epic geological journey of the volcanic rock, obsidian, as metaphor for the potent emotional and social forces exerted on human life. Katie Shillingford (Fashion Editor for Dazed and Confused magazine and Fashion Director with AnOther Magazine) collaborated on the work as Fashion director, with Lucy Carter providing lighting design. It premiered at The Royal Opera House, London, on 28 May 2016.

everyBODY

everyBODY was a multi-faceted Selfridges campaign celebrating the beauty and strength of the body. Shot by photographer Norbert Schoerner and choreographed by McGregor, the print and digital campaign features non-professional models representing the 'every-woman' via a broad selection of shapes, sizes and ethnicities. Around the campaign, McGregor curated a programme of dance and physical theatre, commissioning five female choreographers to create new dance pieces which were performed in store over three Saturdays in April and May 2016. Each choreographer took inspiration from everyBODY, finding parallels in their own discipline. The five choreographers were Maxine Doyle, Eleesha Drennan, Charlotte Edmonds, Rhimes Lecointe and Alessandra Seutin. It premiered on 11 April 2016.

The Brit Awards 2016

McGregor co-creative directed the opening sequence of The Brit Awards 2016, featuring Company Wayne McGregor dancers and 60 students and graduates from The Brit School. Music came from triple grammy-winning producer Stuart Price, with costumes designed by British fashion designer Gareth Pugh. Ravi Deepres, along with collaborators Stephen Spencer and Luke Unsworth, created the large scale video graphics which were inspired by the stop motion photography of Etienne-Jules Marey and Britannia herself. The awards ceremony took place at O2 Arena, London, on 24 February 2016.

The Chemical Brothers

McGregor choreographed The Chemical Brothers' music video, Wide Open featuring Beck, starring actress and dancer Sonoya Mizuno. It was shot in a former cab workshop in Bethnal Green, London and features visual effects by The Mill. Directed by D O M & N I C and produced by Outsider, Wide Open was awarded Best Dance Video and Best VFX In A Video at the 2016 UK Music Video Awards. It premiered on 26 January 2016.

Alea Sands

McGregor's third creation with Paris Opera Ballet is set to the score of Anthèmes II, composed by Pierre Boulez in 1997, where the solo violin is augmented in space by real-time computerised electronic music designed by Ircam (Andrew Gerzso and Gilbert Nouno), acting both as frequency shifter and harmoniser. McGregor conceived Alea Sands in conjunction with visual artist and winner of the 2011 Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale, Haroon Mirza, with costume design by Gareth Pugh. It premiered at the Palais Garnier, Paris, on 3 December 2015.

Tree of Codes

Inspired by Jonathan Safran Foer's Tree of Codes, McGregor collaborated with visual artist Olafur Eliasson and Mercury Prize-winning producer/composer Jamie xx to create an evening length contemporary ballet, performed by Company Wayne McGregor dancers with soloists from the Paris Opera Ballet. It was commissioned by Manchester International Festival, Park Avenue Armory, FAENA ART, Paris Opera Ballet, Sadler's Wells and European Capital of Culture Aarhus 2017. It was produced by Manchester International Festival, Paris Opera Ballet and Studio Wayne McGregor. Tree of Codes premiered at Manchester International Festival on 2 July 2015. It was performed at the Park Avenue Armory in September 2015, and will be performed at the Palais Garnier, Paris, in February 2017, Sadler's Wells, London, in March 2017, and European Capital of Culture Aarhus 2017 in April 2017.

Woolf Works

McGregor's first full-length production for The Royal Ballet, starring Alessandra Ferri and Mara Galeazzi. The work was inspired by three of Virginia Woolf's landmark novels, Mrs Dalloway, Orlando and The Waves. Max Richter created a specially commissioned score incorporating electronic and live music. The ballet triptych won Best New Dance Production at the 2016 Olivier Awards, with Ferri the recipient of the award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance. Woolf Works was also the winner of two National Dance Awards - Wayne McGregor was awarded Best Classical Choreography, and Alessandra Ferri won Best Female Dancer for her performance. It premiered at the Royal Opera House, London, on 11 May 2015. A revival at the Royal Opera House will run from 21 January to 14 February 2017.

MOVEment

McGregor collaborated with British fashion designer Gareth Pugh and director Ruth Hogben to create one of seven short films for AnOther Magazine's MOVEment, a series uniting fashion, dance and cinema. It premiered at Sadler's Wells, London, on 17 April 2015.

Kairos

McGregor's first work for Zürich Ballet, set to Max Richter's "Vivaldi Recomposed", with design by Idris Khan. The ballet premiered as part of STEPS, Switzerland's largest national contemporary dance festival, hosted by the Ballett Zürich for the first time in 2014. It premiered at Zürich Opera House, Switzerland on 24 April 2014.

Tetractys - The Art of the Fugue

McGregor's contemporary ballet set to the music of J.S. Bach, with design by artist Tauba Auerbach. Auerbach is best known for her paintings but also works in a variety of media, including sculpture and weaving; her work is particularly striking for the way it addresses principles of mathematics, physics, language and logic. Together, she and McGregor selected J.S. Bach's The Art of Fugue, which was arranged for the ballet by Michael Berkeley. Tetractys premiered at The Royal Opera House, London, on 7 February 2014.

Atomos

McGregor created this piece with Company Wayne McGregor, with original music by A Winged Victory for the Sullen, costumes by Studio XO, and lighting and film by long-term collaborators Lucy Carter and Ravi Deepres. By using their XOX emotional wearable technology Studio XO mapped the dancers biometrics and designed digital skins inspired by each dancers emotional algorithms. Atomos premiered at Sadler's Wells, London, on 9 October 2013 and is currently touring internationally.

Raven Girl

An innovative modern fairytale by McGregor, in collaboration with writer Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveller's Wife, and film composer Gabriel Yared, for The Royal Ballet. Raven Girl was McGregor's seventh work for the main stage at The Royal Opera House. It premiered at The Royal Opera House, London, on 24 May 2013.

Borderlands

McGregor's first commission for San Francisco Ballet, taking influence from the paintings of Bauhaus artist Josef Albers, with music by Joel Cadbury and Paul Stoney. To prepare the piece, McGregor and his collaborators immersed themselves in the archives of The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation in Connecticut, NY. Inspired by the German-American artist's austere geometrical paintings, the ballet doesn't just describe his work but invites the audience to experience it. Borderlands premiered at the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, USA on 29 January 2013.

Machina

McGregor's piece created with choreographer Kim Brandstrup, composer Nico Muhly and artist Conrad Shawcross, for The Royal Ballet's Metamorphosis: Titian 2012. It premiered at The Royal Opera House, London, on 14 July 2012.

Big Dance Trafalgar Square 2012

A large-scale 40 minute performance by 1000 participants from 30 groups around London, performed in Trafalgar Square on 14 July 2012, as part of "Big Dance 2012".

Carbon Life

With pop and fashion as the theme, McGregor joined forces with Gareth Pugh, Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt and guest artists, in a work for The Royal Ballet. Guest artists included Boy George, Hero Fisher, Alison Mosshart, Jonathan Pierce (The Drums), with orchestrations by Rufus Wainwright. It premiered at The Royal Opera House, London, on 5 April 2012. Carbon Life was performed as part of a McGregor triple bill celebrating McGregor's tenth anniversary as Resident Choreographer at The Royal Ballet in November 2016. The 2016 performances included guest artists Brody Dalle, Rose Elinor Dougall, Sam Sparro, Dave (rapper) and Zanna Van Vorstenbosch.

UNDANCE

A collaboration with composer Mark-Anthony Turnage and visual artist Mark Wallinger, UNDANCE for Wayne McGregor | Random Dance was inspired by American sculptor Richard Serra’s List of Verbs and the work of photographer Eadweard J. Muybridge. It premiered at Sadler's Wells, London, on 1 December 2011.

L'Anatomie de la Sensation, pour Francis Bacon

McGregor's first full-length piece for the Paris Opera Ballet. Inspired by the paintings of Francis Bacon, to music by British composer Mark Antony-Turnage, with a set by Chroma designer John Pawson, lighting design by Lucy Carter and costume design by Moritz Junge. The premiere was at Opéra de la Bastille, Paris on 2 July 2011 (postponed from the original date of 29 June due to strikes).

Live Fire Exercise

McGregor's collaboration with the visual artist John Gerrard, a creator of ‘real-time virtual worlds’, and composer Michael Tippett, for The Royal Ballet. It premiered at The Royal Opera House. London, on 13 May 2011.

Radiohead and Atoms For Peace

A video for the song Lotus Flower (song) by Radiohead, featured the band's lead singer Thom Yorke; whose dancing was choreographed by Wayne McGregor. The video was made available on the band's YouTube channel on 18 February 2011 and has since received about 26 million views; it has also inspired almost 100 'copycat' videos. In addition, Yorke's solo band, "Atoms For Peace" released a video for their song Ingenue from their album AMOK; which featured Thom Yorke and Company Wayne McGregor dancer Fukiko Takase dancing to the choreography of McGregor. Ingenue was made available on XL Recordings' YouTube channel on 28 February 2013, and hit 1 million views within the first five days.

FAR

Currently touring the UK and internationally, FAR is a full-length piece by McGregor for his own company, Company Wayne McGregor. Scored by Brian Eno collaborator Ben Frost, with lighting by Lucy Carter, costumes by Moritz Junge and set design by the art and design collective rAndom International, the visuals include a computerised pin board of 3,200 LED lights. With FAR, McGregor drew on a radical cognitive research process. It premiered at Sadler's Wells, London, on 17 November 2010.

Yantra

McGregor's third work for Stuttgart Ballet - following Nautilus (2003) and EDEN|EDEN (2005), set to Esa-Pekka Salonen's Foreign Bodies, with set and costume design by Vicki Mortimer. It premiered at the Playhouse Theatre, Stuttgart, Germany, on 7 July 2010.

Outlier

Set to composer Thomas Adès' 2005 violin concerto Concentric Paths, Outlier was created for New York City Ballet's Architecture of Dance Festival, and was McGregor's first original work for an American dance company. Outlier premiered at the David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts, New York, on 14 May 2010.

Entity

Entity is an hour-long dance piece for Wayne McGregor | Random Dance featuring 10 dancers and soundscape created by Jon Hopkins (Coldplay and Massive Attack collaborator) and award-winning composer Joby Talbot. In December 2010, Entity became the first full length dance performance available on Apple's iTunes video download service. Entity premiered at the Sadler's Wells Theatre, London, on 10 April 2008.

Dyad 1929

In 2009, McGregor created a diptych of works to celebrate the centenary of the magnificent Ballets Russes - Dyad 1909 in London and Dyad 1929 in Melbourne. Dyad 1929 was performed to Steve Reich's Double Sextet, with stage concept by McGregor and Lucy Carter, and costumes by Moritz Junge. This was McGregor's first work with The Australian Ballet. It premiered at the State Theatre, Melbourne, Australia on 21 August 2009.

Dyad 1909

One of two ballets that McGregor created to celebrate the centenary of the Ballets Russes; the other is Dyad 1929, for The Australian Ballet. Dyad 1909, for Wayne McGregor Random Dance, is inspired by Ernest Shackleton’s Nimrod expedition to the South Pole in 1909, the year that the Ballets Russes was founded. The creative team includes the acclaimed artists and filmmakers Jane and Louise Wilson, longstanding lighting designer Lucy Carter and costume designer Moritz Junge. Icelandic composer Olafur Arnalds provides a newly commissioned score combining piano, strings and electronics. It premiered at The Royal Opera House, London, on 13 October 2009.

Limen

Limen, for The Royal Ballet, uses the classical vocabulary of 15 dancers, including Edward Watson, Leanne Benjamin, Steven McRae, Sarah Lamb and Eric Underwood. The women dance en pointe lending the work a more classical air than McGregor's previous Royal Ballet commissions. Its centrepiece is an ethereal pas de deux, danced in bright spotlight against a black backdrop set to a futuristically raw sounds of Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho. McGregor says that Limen - a word that relates to ideas of limits and thresholds - is a meditation on ‘thresholds of life and death, darkness and light, reality and fantasy’. Such borderline territory is akin to that of the work of Japanese contemporary conceptual artist Tatsuo Miyajima, with whom McGregor has collaborated on the sets. It premiered at The Royal Opera House, London, on 4 November 2009.

Dido and Aeneas / Acis and Galatea

A double bill of Purcell and Handel, conceived, directed and choreographed by McGregor. The production uniquely combined the forces of both The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet companies. McGregor’s Dido and Aeneas is based on his production at La Scala, Milan, in 2006. Here it is paired with Handel’s pastoral masque Acis and Galatea. Lead singers include Sarah Connolly (Dido) and Danielle de Niese (Galatea), making her Covent Garden debut. For Acis, the dancers include Edward Watson, Lauren Cuthbertson and Eric Underwood. Set designs are by Hildegard Bechtler; costume designs are by Fotini Dimou and lighting design is by Lucy Carter; The Orchestra of The Age Of Enlightenment is conducted by Christopher Hogwood. Visual animation of a horse, representing the journey of Dido and Aeneas into the underworld, was produced by Mark Hatchard of Hotbox Studios. Dido and Aeneas premiered at the Royal Opera House, London, on 31 March 2009.

Infra

Infra created for The Royal Ballet and premiered in November 2008 at the Royal Opera House. The set for the show included an 18-metre LCD display with animations by British artist Julian Opie who also designed the set. The music for the show was by composer Max Richter. The show had a cast of 12 dancers from the Royal Ballet and also a number of extras with short non-dancing roles.The BBC aired a special one-hour feature which documented the making of Infra, and also showed the work in full. Infra premiered at The Royal Opera House, London, on 13 November 2008.

Chroma

Chroma is McGregor’s 2006 award-winning dance piece for The Royal Ballet. The score, drawn from compositions and arrangements by Joby Talbot and his arrangements of music by The White Stripes, is paired with stark minimalist designs by architect John Pawson.

Choreographic style

McGregor’s choreography is characterised by dynamic, sharp, often fragmented and often sinuously fluid movement. This movement vocabulary has its origins in McGregor’s own long, lean and supple physique and in his body’s ability to register movement with peculiar sharpness and speed.

Fascination with technology and science

McGregor started playing with computers when he was seven and it was natural for him to incorporate the cyber world into his own choreography. Collaborating with state-of-the-art designers, he experimented with projecting computer generated images onto the stage. In Sulphur 16 (1998) his dancers were dwarfed by the presence of a shimmering virtual giant and danced with a company of digital figures who wove and shimmered among them. In Aeon (2000) digitally created landscapes transported the dancers to what seemed like other dimensions and other worlds.

On specific occasions McGregor has used technology to alter the conditions under which his work is viewed. 53 Bytes (1997) was created for simultaneous performance by two sets of dancers in Berlin and Canada and it was watched by audiences in both countries by live satellite link. In 2000 McGregor aimed for a wider global public by transmitting a live performance of his Trilogy Installation over the internet.

Wayne McGregor Random Dance has been the vehicle for McGregor’s ongoing fascination with the mechanisms of the human body. In Amu (2005) he explored the functions and the symbolism of the heart, in Ataxia (2004) the connection between brain and body movement and in Entity (2008) the links between artificial intelligence and choreography.

During Entity rehearsals, he and the dancers worked alongside six international cognitive scientists and technologists from esteemed institutes including University College London, University of Cambridge, University of California, San Diego and Imperial College London. In January 2009 they traveled to University of California, San Diego and created a new piece of work under ‘lab’ conditions, Dyad 1909; fueling the search for new creative decisions on the part of McGregor and new findings in the brain/body relationship for the scientists.