Mark Smith

29 Mar 2017

Mark Smith studied at the Royal Ballet School and Bridget Espinosa’s London Studio Centre (voted Best Soloist in 1989). He was presented East Anglia’s Young Deaf Achiever in 1989, which was awarded by Princess
Diana at the Café Royal, London. As a performer, he has appeared with dance companies throughout the UK and Europe including Firefly, La Ribot and the Aaron Williamson Dance Company.
Choreography includes: Paralympic opening ceremony – London, 2012 (co-directed by Bradley Hemmings MBE and Jenny Sealey MBE); My Silent World (commissioned by Michael Nunn and Billy Trevitt – artistic
directors of Ballet Boyz, which was a short film for Channel 4’s Random Acts, directed by Luke Aherne); Iolanthe (Union Theatre and Wilton’s Music Hall, directed by Sasha Regan – Critics’ Choice and Time Out’s Top 10 Musicals of 2010; for this production, Mark was also nominated for Best Choreographer in the Off West End Theatre Awards and the BroadwayWorld UK Awards); Shoes (Mark was one of five choreographers along with Kate Prince, Aletta Collins and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui for Sadler’s Wells, directed by Stephen Mear and written by Richard Thomas); The Who’s Tommy – 30th anniversary (Greenwich Theatre, directed by Michael Strassen; for this production, Live Theatre and British Theatre picked Mark as Best Choreographer of 2015); Die Fledermaus (Den Norske Opera and Ballett – Oslo Opera House, directed by Laurence Dale); A Marvellous Year for Plums (Chichester Festival Theatre, directed by Philip Franks); Blood Wedding (Graeae, Derby Theatre and Dundee Rep Ensemble, directed by Jenny Sealey MBE); As You Like It (Oxford Shakespeare Company, directed by Michael Oakley); The Hundred and One Dalmatians (Chichester Festival Theatre, directed by Dale Rooks); Ace of Clubs (Union Theatre, directed Jack Thorpe-Baker; nominated for Best Choreographer for the Off West End Theatre and BroadwayWorld UK Awards); The Threepenny Opera (Graeae Theatre Company/New Wolsey Theatre/Nottingham Playhouse Theatre/Birmingham Repertory Theatre/West Yorkshire Playhouse, directed by Jenny Sealey MBE and Peter Rowe); Noah (Chichester Festival Youth Theatre 50th anniversary, directed by Dale Rooks); Reasons to Be Cheerful (Graeae’s UK tour, directed by Jenny Sealey MBE); The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chichester Festival Youth Theatre, directed by Dale Rooks); Aladdin (Hammersmith Lyric, directed by Steve Marmion); Alive! (outdoor UK Festivals – Deaf Men Dancing in collaboration with visual artist Rachel Gadsden, directed by Mark Smith); TEN and Embrace (Lord Mayor of London’s Liberty Festival – Deaf Men Dancing commissioned by Greenwich + Dockland International Festival, directed by Mark Smith); Hear! Hear! and Rosa (Deaf Men Dancing and DMD+ for Sadler’s Wells, directed by Mark Smith); The SoundMan (DMD for Incloodu Festival and Sadler’s Wells, directed by Mark Smith); Let Us Tell You a Story (Deaf Men Dancing, commissioned by Exceptional & Extraordinary, directed by Mark Smith); Cabaret (Mountview, directed by Bronagh Lagan); Just So (Chichester University, directed by Sarah Redmond); The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Arts Educational Schools, directed by Thom Southerland); Peter Pan (Chichester University, directed by Charlotte Conquest); The Boys From Syracuse (Union Theatre, directed by Ben DeWynter); Sequins and Snowballs and Wheels on Broadway (Graeae Theatre’s Rhinestone Rollers at Queen Elizabeth Hall, South Bank); Carousel (Royal Academy of Music, directed by Ken Caswell); Marry Me a Little and Starting Here, Starting Now (Chichester University, directed by Ed Burnside); Money Makes the World Go Round (Carnival UK/Three Pins Productions, directed by Tim Welton) and West Side Story (Music Theatre Project, directed by Kirk Jameson).
Mark was one of the three artists selected to create new work at Integrated ChoreoLAB, co-produced by Pavilion Dance South West/GDance/South East Dance, and the work was presented at the Integrated Dance Summit. He is the founder and artistic director for his own dance companies Deaf Men Dancing and DMD+.
Mark Smith is a member of International Dance Council CID. Mark was delighted to be invited by Sadler’s Wells to be a judge for BBC Young Dancer 2016.
For more information about Mark Smith and DMD, please visit: www.marksmithproduction.com.