Lindsay Kemp facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lindsay Kemp
Kemp in 2016
Born	Lindsay Keith Kemp (1938-05-03)3 May 1938 Birkenhead, England
Died	24 August 2018(2018-08-24) (aged 80) Livorno, Italy
Known for	Dance, actor, mime artist

Lindsay Keith Kemp (born May 3, 1938 – died August 24, 2018) was a British dancer, actor, teacher, mime artist, and choreographer. He was famous for his unique way of blending dance, acting, and mime.

Kemp was especially known for his 1974 show called Flowers. This was a mime and music performance based on a book. In the show, he played the main character, Divine. Flowers was seen as a wonderful and exciting show. It toured all over the world for many years. Lindsay Kemp also taught and inspired famous artists like David Bowie and Kate Bush.

Early Life and Training

Lindsay Kemp was born in Birkenhead, England. He grew up in South Shields, which is near Newcastle upon Tyne. His father was a sailor who was lost at sea in 1940.

Kemp loved to dance from a very young age. He once said he would dance on the kitchen table to entertain his neighbors. When he was eight, his mother sent him to Bearwood College. This was a school for the sons of merchant sailors. Later, he and his mother moved to Bradford, Yorkshire. There, Kemp studied at Bradford Art College. He also learned dance from Hilde Holger and mime from Marcel Marceau. In the 1950s, he served in the RAF. He remembered being told off for not being able to march properly because he wanted to dance instead!

A Career in Dance and Theatre

Lindsay Kemp began his professional dance career in the early 1960s. In 1963, he played the Player Queen in a BBC Shakespeare production called Hamlet at Elsinore. This show starred Christopher Plummer.

Kemp soon started his own dance company. He first became widely known at the Edinburgh Festival in 1968. This was when he performed Flowers, his famous show.

Notable Stage Performances

Kemp created and performed in many different stage shows. Some of his well-known performances include:

• Pierrot In Turquoise
• Salome
• Mr Punch's Pantomime
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• Nijinsky
• Alice
• Cenerentola (which means Cinderella)
• Façade
• The Big Parade
• Onnagata
• Variété
• Dream Dances

He also worked with the Ballet Rambert company. For them, he performed in Parades Gone By (1975) and Cruel Garden (1977). Many of these works were made with composer Carlos Miranda.

Inspiring Other Artists

In the early 1970s, Lindsay Kemp was a very popular teacher. He taught dance and mime to many students. Some of his most famous students were David Bowie, Kate Bush, and Vivian Stanshall.

Kemp helped stage and perform in David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust concerts in London in 1972. He also appeared in the music video for Bowie's song "John, I'm Only Dancing". Kate Bush later wrote the song "Moving" as a tribute to Kemp. This song was on her first album, The Kick Inside.

Film and Opera Work

Lindsay Kemp also acted in several films. His film roles include:

• A dancer in Derek Jarman's Sebastiane (1976)
• A cabaret performer in Jubilee (1977)
• A pantomime dame in Todd Haynes' Velvet Goldmine (1998)
• The pub landlord Alder MacGregor in The Wicker Man (1973)
• A supporting role in Kate Bush's short film The Line, the Cross & the Curve (1994)

He also directed operas in Italy. These included Il Barbiere di Siviglia in 1995 and Die Zauberflöte in 1999. In 2016, he returned to Livorno with a new production of Die Zauberflöte. For this, he also designed the sets and costumes. From 2005 to 2012, he played the fairy Carabosse in The Sleeping Beauty for an Italian ballet company.

Later Life and Passing

Lindsay Kemp moved from England in 1979. He lived in Spain and then Italy. By 2002, he had homes in Rome and Todi.

Kemp passed away in Livorno, Italy, on August 24, 2018. He was 80 years old. His close friend and longtime helper, David Haughton, said that Kemp was active right up until the end. He suddenly felt ill and passed away very quickly.

Film Appearances

• The Vampire Lovers (1970), as Jester
• Savage Messiah (1972), as Angus Corky
• The Wicker Man (1973), as Alder MacGregor
• The Stud (1974), as Topstar
• Sebastiane (1976), as Dancer
• Valentino (1977), as Mortician
• Jubilee (1978), as Cabaret performer
• A Midsummer Night's Dream for TV (1985), as Puck
• Cartoline italiane (Italian Postcards) (1987)
• The Line, the Cross & the Curve (1993), as Guide
• Velvet Goldmine (1998), as Pantomime Dame
• Guest appearances in Spanish TV show La Mandrágora in 2005 and 2006
• Battle of Soho (2017), his last film performance
• David Bowie: Finding Fame (2019) as himself
• Lindsay Kemp Claudio Barontini. Drawings and photographs directed by [1] Cristiana Cerrini - Art documentary (2020)

Choreography Work

Lindsay Kemp also created the dance movements for several productions:

• Le Train Blue - with Ben Holder, for Introdance, Netherlands
• "The Parades Gone By" - for Ballet Rambert, London, 1975, with music by Carlos Miranda
• "Cruel Garden" - for Ballet Rambert, London, 1977, with Christopher Bruce and music by Carlos Miranda

See also

In Spanish: Lindsay Kemp para niños