Lucy Mary Guerin (born 1961) is an Australian dancer and choreographer. Her work is described as post-modern.

Life and career

Lucy Guerin was born in

Adelaide, Australia Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, and began her dance education at local dance schools. She graduated from Adelaide's Center for Performing Arts in 1982 and found employment in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

with

Russell Dumas Sir Russell John Dumas KBE, CMG (17 January 1887 – 10 August 1975) was a public servant and engineer who led several large works projects in Western Australia. Early life Dumas was born in Mount Barker, South Australia second of five child ...

' Dance Exchange in 1983. In 1988 she took a position in Melbourne with Nanette Hassall's Dance Works company. In 1989 Guerin relocated to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

where she danced until 1996 with companies and choreographers including

Tere O'Connor Tere O'Connor (born 1958) is an American dancer, choreographer and educator. Life and career Tere O'Connor was born in Rochester, New York, and graduated in 1979 with a B.A. from State University of New York at Purchase. He performed in the compa ...

, Sara Rudner and Bebe Miller, and also began working as a choreographer. She presented ''Solemn Pink'' and ''Incarnadine'' (1996) at the Rencontres choreographiques internationales de Bagnolet in France, winning the Prix d'auteur. She toured Europe from 1997–98, and received a

Bessie Award The New York Dance and Performance Awards, also known as the Bessie Awards, are awarded annually for exceptional achievement by independent dance artists presenting their work in New York City. The broad categories of the awards are: choreography, ...

in 1996 for her ''Two Lies''. In 1996 Guerin returned to Australia, and in 2002 she established the Australian dance company Lucy Guerin Inc. In New York her work has been presented at the

Baryshnikov Arts Center The Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) is a foundation and arts complex opened by Mikhail Baryshnikov in 2005 at 450 West 37th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The top three fl ...

Honors and awards

*Prix d'auteur, 1996 *Bessie Award, 1996 *Green Room Awards *Sidney Myer Performing Arts Award, 2000 *Helpmann Award for Best Dance Work, 2006 Guerin was made an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the

2020 Australia Day Honours The 2020 Australia Day Honours are appointments to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by Australian citizens. The list was announced on 26 January 2020 by the Governor General of Australia, David Hurley. The Australi ...

for "distinguished service to contemporary dance as a choreographer, and as a mentor and advocate for emerging artists and new works."

Works

Selected works include: *''Sweet Dreams'' (1989) *''In Endless Description'' (1991) with Sarah Perron *''Ghost in Bloom'' (1994) *''Venus Bay'' (1996) *''Remote'' (1997) *''Robbery Waitress on Bail'' (1997) *''Heavy'' (1998) *''Zero'' (1999) *''Soft Centre'' (1999) *''The Ends of Things'' (2000) *''Living with Surfaces'' (2001) *''Melt'' (2002) *''Tell Me'' (2003) with Michael Lenz *''Tense Dave'' (2003) with Gideon Obarzanek and Michael Kantor *''Plasticine Park'' (2003) with

Patricia Piccinini Patricia Piccinini (born 1965 in Freetown, Sierra Leone) is an Australian artist who works in a variety of media, including painting, video, sound, installation, digital prints, and sculpture. Her works focus on "unexpected consequences", conv ...

*''The Firebird'' 2003 *''Baroque Masterworks for the Australian Opera'' (2004) *'' Structure and Sadness'' (2006) *''Corridor'' (2008) *''Untrained'' (2009) *''Human Interest Story'' (2010) *''Conversation Piece'' (2012) *''Weather'' (2012) *''Microclimate'' (2015) *''Motion Picture'' (2015) *''The Dark Chorus'' (2016) *''Attractor'' (2017) *''Split'' (2017) *''Make Your Own World (2019)'' *''Metal'' (2020) *''Pendulum'' (2021) with Matthias Schack-Arnott (part of the 2021 RISING: festival in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

) *''New Retro'' (2023) *''One Single Action: In An Ocean Of Everything'' (2024)(part of the 2024 RISING: festival in

)

References

External links

Official site

Archival footage of Lucy Guerin Inc. performing ''Structure and Sadness'' in 2010 at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.

Lucy Guerin Inc performs ''Aether #2''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Guerin, Lucy 1961 births Living people Australian female dancers Bessie Award winners Contemporary dance choreographers Dance in New York City Helpmann Award winners Modern dancers Officers of the Order of Australia