Mark Bruce
Contemporary Category Final Judge
Mark Bruce has choreographed, directed and danced internationally for over 25 years, working with Rosas, Bern Ballet, Ballet Black, Introdans, Igloo, Probe, and DJazzex among others.
He formed the Mark Bruce Company in 1991. Productions include Moonlight Drive (1991), Lovesick (1995), Helen, Angel (1996), the celebrated collaboration with Polly Jean Harvey and John Parish titled Dance Hall At Louse Point (1997), Horse, BlackBird/RedRose (1998), Dive (1999), Sea of Bones (2006) Love and War (2010), Made in Heaven (2012) and Dracula (2013) which won the Sky Arts South Bank award for Dance, the National Dance Award for Best Male Dancer for Jonathan Goddard as Dracula, and the award for Best Independent Company. His most recent production was The Odyssey (2016).
In 2005 Bruce created Fever To Tell for Probe, Green Apples for the Royal Opera House’s Clore Studio Summer Collection and Bad History for The Place Prize 2006. In 2008 he created The Sky or a Bird for Probe’s 2008 UK tour and Stars for Dance South West. Bruce’s first commission by Bern Ballet, Crimes of Passion, premiered in January 2010 and his second, Medea, premiered in February 2011. He created Second Coming for Ballet Black in 2015.
Bruce’s theatre work includes the Royal Exchange Theatre’s productions of The Bacchae, Antigone, The Glass Menagerie, The Revenger’s Tragedy, Antony & Cleopatra, Peer Gynt, As You Like It, Fast Food, Still Time and The Way of the World. He co-devised Skellig, an opera based on the book by David Almond, for the Sage Gateshead in 2008. He directed Rick Bland’s award winning Thick which toured the UK, US and Canada. Most recently Bruce has worked with Singapore Repertory Theatre on their 2015 production of The Tempest.
Bruce has also worked in a variety of new media, screen and interactive stage productions with Ruth Gibson & Bruno Martelli of Igloo. He has written music for his own work and also for art installations and is published by Mute Song. His book of short stories, Blackout Zones was released in May 2010. His book on choreography and dance theatre is due to be published by Oberon this year.
