Nigel Charnock, 1960-2012

Posted on August 3, 2012

The dancer and choreographer Nigel Charnock died on Wednesday, August 1 at St Christopher’s Hospice in London. He had been suffering from cancer of undiagnosed primary.

Charnock trained in drama before studying at the London School of Contemporary Dance. With Lloyd Newson, he founded DV8 Physical Theatre, winning a London Performance Award for his role in the company’s Dead Dreams of Monochrome Men. He worked extensively as a solo artist in works including Human Being, Hell Bent, Original Sin, Resurrection, Frank and One Dixon Road. He also wrote, choreographed and directed for dance, theatre and film. In 2002, he was appointed artistic director of Helsinki Dance.

As a teacher and mentor, he worked with dance centres and independent artists throughout Europe, Israel and north America. In 2002, he was visiting professor at the University of California, Davis. Earlier this year, he gave performances of the new solo One Dixon Road in Munich and Jerusalem. He was working on the new theatre piece Ten Men, and had input into Tmesis Theatre’s new Wolf Red, which will tour the UK in September and October.

Picture: Nigel Charnock in One Dixon Road. Photograph: Hugo Glendinning

Zoe Anderson

Zoë was born in Edinburgh, and saw her first dance performances at the Festival there. She is the dance critic of The Independent, and has also written for The Independent on Sunday, The Scotsman and Dancing Times. In 2002, she received her doctorate from the University of York for a thesis on “Nationhood and epic romance: Ariosto, Sidney, Spenser”. She is the author of The Royal Ballet: 75 Years and The Ballet Lover’s Companion.