Paul Lightfoot is a renowned choreographer and artistic director. He was born on February 3, 1966, in Kingsbury, London. Lightfoot is best known for his work with the Nederlands Dans Theater (NDT), where he spent most of his career.
Lightfoot joined NDT in 1985 as a dancer and quickly impressed with his choreographic skills. He began creating his own works in the late 1990s and soon became one of the company’s principal choreographers. Lightfoot’s choreography is known for its unique blend of athleticism, emotion, and conceptual depth.
During his tenure at NDT, Lightfoot collaborated closely with Sol León, a fellow choreographer and his life partner. Together, they created numerous critically acclaimed works that have been performed by NDT and other prestigious dance companies worldwide.
Some of Paul Lightfoot’s notable choreographic works include “Sehnsucht,” “Shoot the Moon,” “Sad Case,” “Stop-Motion,” and “Safe as Houses,” among many others. His creations often explore themes of love, relationships, and the human condition, leaving a lasting impact on both performers and audiences.
In addition to his choreographic endeavors, Lightfoot served as the artistic director of NDT from 2011 until 2020. Under his leadership, NDT continued to push artistic boundaries and maintain its reputation as one of the world’s leading contemporary dance companies.
Paul Lightfoot’s contributions to the field of dance have been recognized with numerous awards and honors. His innovative choreography has gained international acclaim, and his works continue to inspire and captivate audiences around the world.
titles
-
In Shoot the Moon you catch glimpses of the love life of three different couples. Revolving walls covered in black-and-white wallpaper create three separate rooms, each containing its own love story. The door and windows to the other room seem to be simultaneously open and closed; accessible yet unattainable. New worlds beckon behind them, yet…
-
Silent Screen by NDT house choreographers Sol León and Paul Lightfoot can be seen as the epitome of a transdisciplinary performance where dance, theatre, film and music effortlessly come together to melt into a painterly Gesamtkunstwerk. Large screens offer a lively background of images that flow into each other as if in a dream. For…
-
Sol and Paul about the films “In three small weeks within the studios at Lucent Danstheater, we have choreographed not one, but two world premieres and filmed them with top quality to be shown to the world for this coming month via our NDT website. The first was guided by myself [Paul]. I have created…
-
In their 26 years as a choreographic duo, Sol León and Paul Lightfoot have built a rich repertoire of over fifty ballets which show a wide range of compelling pieces that, however diverse, share a strong, innovative artistic voice. Stop-Motion was created by the NDT house choreographers for the NDT 1 repertoire. The ballet premiered…
-
“Very attractive and performed at a high level by the young dancers of NDT 2” Het Parool This piece created by house choreographers Sol León & Paul Lightfoot is part of the NDT 2 programme ‘Sum Thoughts’, which also presents work by Marina Mascarell, Edward Clug and Hans van Manen.
