CHOREOGRAPHER and Coventry University dance researcher Rosemary Lee has received an OBE for her contribution to the art form.
Rosemary is an Associate Professor in the centre for Dance Research at the University and since starting her career in 1985 has focused on communities and the significance of place and space.
She has created large-scale site-specific works with a cast of all ages, as well as solo performances.
She has also created videos and short films for the BBC.
She has aimed to challenge and change the idea of what dance can be, who watches and performs it and where it is showcased.
Rosemary also tries to mix people of all generations in her dance performances, with her last work Threaded Fine including 24 professional and non-professional solo dancers aged between nine and over 70.
She joined Coventry University seven years ago and is working on Orchard Portraits, a collaborative project featuring six senior soloists over 70 and 60 schoolchildren.
It will be filmed and premiered at Surrey’s West Horsley Place next year and will see the performers moving in a wild orchard alongside ancient fruit trees as the seasons change.
Rosemary said: “I am humbled that my work has been recognised in this way.
“I plan to continue to create work for different contexts, audiences and performers and to advocate for dance to be recognised as vital to enhancing our understanding of what it is to be human.”
