Chris, a ‘Third Culture Kid’, was raised abroad for a significant part of his childhood before embarking on an Honours degree in Medical Anatomy and Physiology at Edinburgh University. On completion of the course, Chris moved into the world of theatre arts and has since made a portfolio career spanning the roles of a choreographer/director, writer, performer and facilitator. His background and entrepreneurial approach has allowed him to work with people of all ages and abilities in a variety of different ways.
His unique choreographic style has included everything from finger tap-dancing in the award-winning production of White Christmas at Pitlochry Festival Theatre to Skipping Rope-ography in productions of his own international award-nominated alter ego, Jesus L’Oreal.
As a musician, Chris is able to read music and create choreographic work direct from the score leaving no semi-quaver unaccounted for, and ensuring a witty narrative is delivered through the music. As a result, Chris has extensive experience working with actor-musicians, covering a multitude of works from composers such as Sondheim, Porter and Herman.
Aside from directing and choreographing theatre, Chris is also an advocate for integrating artistic practises into care settings working with marginalised and vulnerable groups including teaching musical theatre to young offenders and creating bespoke seated dance exercises for adults living with dementia. The latter received significant media attention in 2017 and 2018 after the BBC presented two features on Chris’ work and the therapeutic effects of music and dance.
Since COVID19 took over the planet, Chris has been able to adapt to the ever changing situation, transforming his living room into a virtual dance studio/film set, increasing his international network of colleagues and clients, and embracing a whole new artistic world on screen.