Liam Francis

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.