Michael Hulls

Lighting Designer & Associate Artist

Michael trained in dance and theatre at Dartington College of Arts and in 1992 was awarded a bursary by the Arts Council to attend dance lighting workshops with Jennifer Tipton in New York and Paris. Since then he has worked exclusively within dance and developed a close collaboration with the choreographer Russell Maliphant. Their collaborations, including Shift, Two, Sheer, and Push, have won international critical acclaim and many major awards. In 2002 their piece, Sheer, won a Time Out Award for Outstanding Collaboration, Choice won a South Bank Show Dance Award in 2003 and in 2006 Push, danced by Russell and Sylvie Guillem, won four major awards including the Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production and a South Bank Show Dance Award.

Michael and Russell also collaborated in 2003 on Broken Fall, commissioned by George Piper Dances as a trio for Michael Nunn, William Trevitt and Sylvie Guillem. Broken Fall won the 2004 Olivier Award for Best New Dance Production. Michael first worked with GPD when Russell re-staged Critical Mass for Nunn and Trevitt, and again with Russell on the commissioned duet Torsion. Michael has also worked with GPD on Christopher Wheeldon’s Mesmerics, which was nominated for an Olivier Award.

Michael has also worked with Javier de Frutos on the works Cattle Call, Paseillo, Los Picadores and Blue Roses. Michael has worked closely with Jonathan Burrows, lighting many pieces including The Stop Quartet for his own company and Walking/Music for Ballett Frankfurt. Michael has also worked with Akram Khan, most recently on in-I, his duet with Juliette Binoche, which toured extensively during 2008 and 2009, and with Meg Stuart on her works for Deutsche Oper Ballett and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

In 2009, Michael’s most recent new work, Eonnagata, a collaboration with Sylvie Guillem, Robert Lepage and Russell Maliphant opened at Sadler’s Wells and Two : Four : Ten, a retrospective celebrating the creative relationship between Michel and Russell Maliphant was presented at the London Coliseum.

In 2009, Michael was presented with the “Knight of Illumination” Award for Best Lighting Design in a dance production for Eonnagata.