Liam Scarlett

Liam Scarlett was a British choreographer and ballet dancer born in Ipswich, Suffolk, in 1986. He trained at the Linda Shipton School of Dancing and The Royal Ballet School, joining The Royal Ballet as a dancer in 2005. He advanced to First Artist in 2008 before retiring from performance in 2012 to become the company's Artist in Residence, a shift that marked the beginning of his career as a major choreographic voice in classical ballet.

Scarlett's choreographic breakthrough came with *Asphodel Meadows* (2010), his first main-stage commission from The Royal Ballet, which won the Critics' Circle Dance Award for best classical choreography. The recognition established him as a significant new talent and led to commissions from leading companies across the globe. Over the following decade, he created works for Miami City Ballet, English National Ballet, New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, Norwegian National Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet and Queensland Ballet.

His artistic range spanned both plotless structures and full-length narrative works. For New York City Ballet, he created *Acheron*, which premiered on 31 January 2014. The ballet combined sensual and somber pas de deux with sweeping ensemble sections, moving fluidly through its Poulenc-driven musical structure. Among his narrative ballets were *Hansel and Gretel*, *Carmen*, *Frankenstein* and *Swan Lake*, demonstrating his ability to work across classical forms and contemporary reimagining. Scarlett died on 16 April 2021.