The Night Ball
2013
Choreographed by Liv Lorent and Dancers
Dancers: Gwen Berwick, Gavin Coward, Robby Graham, John Kendal, Meritxell Pan Cabo/ Natalie Trewinnard, Debbi Purtill, Mariusz Raczynski, Davie Rae, Caroline Reece, Juliet Thompson
DJ: Ben Ponton
Music Selection: Liv Lorent, Ben Ponton, Ben Crompton
Costume Design: Michele Clapton
Lighting Design: Malcolm Rippeth
Premiered: MEM, Wallsend
Toured: The UK and outside staging at Latitude Festival, Henham Park, Suffolk (Site-specific)
A revisiting of the concept of The Ball, this time made in Wallsend, but married with the underground and deconstructed feel of la nuit intime. Liv updated this work with costume designs from Michele Clapton and new wild and vulnerable dancing accompanying original scenes of ensemble ballroom. The Night Ball championed the liberty and freedom of dancing in public with the inhibition of dancing alone, as well as in couples, mixing up height and gender pairings to achieve the most unpredictable partners, making dance beautiful and deliberately very uncompetitive. Every performance ended with shared dancing between the audience and the dancers, the most epic scale example of this occurred when the company performed The Night Ball on the Lakeside Stage at Latitude Festival.
The Night Ball trailer
Financial Times
Ben O’Connell, Northumberland Gazette
balletLORENT at Latitude Festival
Great North Star
2018
Directed by Bradley Hemmings
Movement Design and Choreography by Liv Lorent and Dancers
Dancers: Gwen Berwick, Jennifer Chrisp, Gavin Coward, Toby Fitzgibbons, John Kendal, Jordaine Lincoln, Debbi Purtill, Caroline Reece, Virginia Scudeletti, Juliet Thompson, Natalie Trewinnard, Benedicta Valentina
Featuring a community cast of 91 women and 15 men from the North East, Lesley Garrett, Ibinabo Jack, Rise Unbroken, Grace Davies, Charlie Hardwick, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Jam’Sy Makuna Masengo, Ingrid Kristiansen, Katherine Switzer, Paula Radcliffe, Rosa Mota, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Newton’s Ladder Aerial Dance Company: Mona McCarthy, Catherine Muckle
Written by: Louise Wallwein
Designed by: Rebecca Brower
Composer: Roma Yagnik
Video Design: Zsolt Balogh/New Visual Paradigm
Lighting Design: Phil Supple
Premiered: Baltic Quays, Newcastle
Streamed on BBC Online and featured on BBC1 during the coverage of the City Games.
Our biggest ensemble yet, performing on a 75 metre track, Liv and the dancers collaborated on this piece as part of the closing ceremony for The Great Exhibition of The North. A work about equality and the suffragette movement. The dance captains performed alongside the incredible volunteer cast.
Bunny Whitehead, Community Volunteer Performer
After Dark
2018
Dancers: Gwen Berwick, Gavin Coward, Toby Fitzgibbons, John Kendall, Jordaine Lincoln,
Debbi Purtill, Caroline Reece, Ray Roa, Virginia Scudeletti, Juliet Thompson, Natalie MacGillvray, Benedicta Valentina
Premiere: Northern Stage, Newcastle
An intimate evening of dance and drinks, cabaret-style, to celebrate 25 years of balletLORENT and the artists that built this treasured company. Inspired by la nuit intime and The Night Ball, with some original dances.
The Lost Happy Endings
2019
The Lost Happy Endings
- Original story by Carol Ann Duffy
Dancers: Gwen Berwick, Gavin Coward, Toby Fitzgibbons, Jordaine Lincoln,
John Kendall, Yen-Ching Lin, Virginia Scudeletti, Natalie MacGillvray, Benedicta Valentina,
Ray Roa & Ellen Volmer
Premiere: Northern Stage, Newcastle. Toured the UK
An adaptation of Carol Ann Duffy’s original children’s story.
Film showing on Marquee TV.
Supported by The National Lottery Heritage Fund
