Liam Francis is an international dance artist; spanning dance, theatre, musical theatre, film and television. Whether leading creations, or serving as a collaborator in another artists’ work, he strives to let his passion for ‘play’ inform his contributions and decisions. His practice focuses on authentically expressing the hybridity of his embodied knowledge, derived from his high level of training in both hip-hop and contemporary dance.
Liam identifies watching ZooNation’s Into The Hoods as the catalyst for what has lead to a long and ongoing career. Since beginning in ZooNation Youth Company in 2008, Liam has worked as a performer, dance captain, choreographer and resident director for the company. In 2014, Liam began his bachelors degree at London Studio Centre. Here he developed a passion for contemporary dance and joined INTOTO Dance in his third year. Upon graduating London Studio Centre, Liam was invited to join Rambert Dance Company as an apprentice. Between 2014 and 2021, he was a leading dancer with Rambert where he performed and created roles in works by internationally renowned choreographers. Such artists include Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Merce Cunningham, Ben Duke, Sharon Eyal, Andonis Foniadakis, Wayne McGregor, Marion Motin, Hofesh Shechter, Patricia Okenwa, Imre and MarneVan Opstal, Wim Vandekeybus, Didy Veldman and Alexander Whitley. In 2021, Liam was nominated in Dance Europe’s ‘Dancer of the Year’ and Tanz Magazine’s ‘Best Male Dancer.
Liam is an award winning choreographer, presenting his own choreographic work in Hannover, London, New York, Rome, Rotterdam and Paris. As a choreographer Liam is keen to explore how his hybrid embodied knowledge (hip hop, contemporary and ballet) can find new configurations.
He has been commissioned by Rambert, Skånesdansteater, Ballett Theater Trier, SALLY Dansgezelschap Maastricht, Salt Dance and Shechter2, as well as working on creative teams at The National Theatre and The Donmar Warehouse.
In 2019, Liam created the Artistic Gremlin Workshop, a resource to support creatives explore, share and discuss the challenges that accompany the creative process. This adaptive workshop has been delivered at grassroots level, as well as within industry leading organisations.
In 2021, Liam completed a masters degree; researching artistic agency and the relationship between Flow state and choreography. These research interests also appear in his published work found in the Performance Research Journal.
Liam is also the founder and director of dance company FranDanCo.
Short Bio.
Liam Francis is an award nominated dancer, award winning choreographer, movement director and facilitator. With experiences as both a creator and performer across dance, theatre, film and television, Liam has enjoyed working with world renown choreographers and organisations. Liam is also the founder and director of FranDanCo and The Artistic Gremlins.
Medium Bio.
Liam is an international dance artist; spanning dance, theatre, musical theatre, film and television. His career began at Zoonation Dance Company (2009-2014) and saw him become a leading dancer with Rambert Dance Company (2014-2021). Liam has performed works by renowned choreographers, including Bruce, Cherkoui, Cunningham, Duke, Eyal, McGregor and Shechter.In 2021, he was nominated in Dance Europe’s ‘Dancer of the Year’ and Tanz magazine’s ‘Best Male Dancer’.
Liam is an award winning choreographer, presenting his own choreographic work in Hannover, London, New York, Rome, Rotterdam and Paris. Liam is keen collaborator and seeks to explore how his eclectic embodied knowledge (hip hop, contemporary and ballet) can find new configurations. He has been commissioned by Rambert, Skånesdansteater, Ballett Theater Trier, SALLY Dansgezelschap Maastricht, Salt Dance and Shechter2, as well as working on the creative team at The National Theatre and The Donmar Warehouse.
In 2019, Liam created the Artistic Gremlin Workshop; a resource that supports creatives to explore, share and discuss the challenges that accompany creative processes. This workshop is delivered at grassroots level through to industry leading organisations.
Liam is also the founder and director of dance company FranDanCo.
Theatre Bio.
Liam Francis is an award nominated dance artist and award winning choreographer. His dance and theatre journey began with ZooNation Dance Company in 2009. Between 2014-21 Liam was a leading dancer with Rambert Dance Company; performing works by Bruce, Cherkaoui, Cunningham, Duke, Eyal, Foniadakis, McGregor, Motin, Shechter, Vandekeybus and Veldman. As a choreographer he has been commissioned by Rambert, Skånesdansteater, Ballett Theater Trier and Shechter2. Liam has worked as Associate Director on ZooNation Youth Company’s Groove on Down The Road at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Assistant Movement Director on Max Webster’s Henry V at The Donmar Warehouse, Movement Director on Dadiow Lin’s Henry V Donmar Schools Tour and Movement Associate on The Odyssey at The National Theatre. Liam was Co-Choreographer for Check For Signs Of Life and Picking Up Pieces by Philip Selway (RadioHead).
Awards and Nominations
2024 Grand Finalist Danse Élargie, Théâtre de la Ville, Paris
2022 Recipient of 4 RIDCC partnership awards: Korzo, Dansateliers, Skånesdansteater and SALLY Dansgezelschap Maastricht
2022 Hannover Choreography Competition: TheaterTrier Award
2021 Dance Europe’s Dancer of the Year (nomination)
2021 Tanz Magazine Best Male Dancer (nomination)