To celebrate Deaf Awareness Week 2024, Luis De Abreu is proud to officially announce Mark Smith and his company, Deaf Mean Dancing, as our artist and company in residence. Mark Smith is a Movement Director, Choreographer, Director and Founder & Artistic Director of Deaf Men Dancing and DMD+.

Mark was Olivier Award nominated for Best Theatre Choreographer for his work on The Little Big Things and further nominations include Best Choreographer in the Off-West End Awards and the Broadway World UK Awards for Hedwig & The Angry Inch; Ace of Clubs; Call Me Madam and Iolanthe. He was also nominated for Live Theatre & British Theatre Awards for The Who’s Tommy and as Co-Director of the Year for his work on The Last Five Years. Mark is currently a recipient of the MGCfutures Bursary which will help him take a new direction as a theatre director under the mentorship of Michael Grandage.

Since training at the Royal Ballet School and London Studio Centre, Mark has amassed a multitude of choreography credits in a variety of genres including the Paralympic Opening Ceremony (London 2012); The Color Purple (Curve Leicester/Birmingham Hippodrome/UK Tour); Falling in Love (Friedrichstadt-Palast Berlin) and My Silent World (commissioned by Ballet Boyz, a short film for CH4 Random Acts).

Deaf Men Dancing is a collaboration of professional male dancers who, like Mark, are deaf. They have created and developed a fusion of different styles of dance with sign-language incorporated into choreography creating a unique, interesting and original aesthetic. DMD have performed in the UK and internationally including at Laban Theatre, Dance East, The Place, Sadler’s Wells, The Clin De’Oeil Deaf Arts Festival in France, Tbilisi International Festival of Theatre in Georgia and in Dubai UEA. DMD have worked with companies such as DaDa Disability & Deaf Arts’ ‘Hands-On’ and Candoco and have been commissioned and toured with the Without Walls outdoor arts circuit. DMD’s work include Alive!; TEN; Hear! Hear!; The Soundman; Embrace; Let us tell you a story; Corazón a Corazón; Progress Score and Sense of Freedom.

Both Mark and the company have rehearsed and showcased their work at Bird College for a number of years and we are honoured at this new affiliation with this inspiring artist and company.