Biography
Piers Gielgud was born in London. He first trained as an actor at Bretton Hall College before studying dance at the Ballet Rambert School, where he graduated with distinction. Afterward, he joined the London Festival Ballet (now English National Ballet) under Peter Schaufuss, performing in Maurice Bejart's Bolero and Rudolf Nureyev's Romeo and Juliet. He then became a principal dancer with the Lindsay Kemp Company, whose alumni include David Bowie. Following this, he pursued a diverse freelance career, working with choreographers such as Lea Anderson and Karole Armitage, and film directors including Derek Jarman, Jon Amiel, Marcus Adams, and James Ivory. A world tour dancing with the techno band Meatbeat Manifesto inspired him to establish his own ballet company, ReAnimator, in 1992. The company toured annually until 2000, presenting a unique repertoire of theatrical full-length works. Its final performance was a tribute to his great-uncle John Gielgud at the Wimbledon Theatre. During this period, he collaborated successfully with designers Craig Morrison, Zara Conway, and Jane Wildgoose, costume designer for Clive Barker's Hellraiser, as well as composers Jack Dangers (Meatbeat Manifesto) and Donna McKevitt (Miranda Sex Garden/the Pook Ensemble).
His first choreography commission was for the Bristol Animation Festival idents in 1988, followed by idents for the televised Variety Club Awards and French TV commercials for Chambourcy in 1989. In 1991, he choreographed 'Maryland' for Rambert School graduates. He was later commissioned for the UEFA sponsors party at Euro 96 and the Hotel and Catering Industry Awards Ceremony (The Cateys) in 1998. He choreographed a fashion editorial shoot for photographer Richard Bush and Another Magazine, working with English National Ballet dancers, which led to a successful collaboration with Francisco Bosch. His commercial work includes campaigns for BMW and Remy Martin, as well as choreography for the Fall/Winter 2005 Stella McCartney/Adidas collection and the Spring/Summer 2006 Jones Bootmaker collection. He has also choreographed live performances and TV appearances for the Pet Shop Boys and George Michael’s music video "John and Elvis Are Dead."
In addition, Piers taught A-level Dance and Drama at Christ's Hospital, his alma mater, from 1988 to 1989, and was part of the Dance faculty at Southwark College from 1993 to 1994, teaching BTEC courses. From 1992 to 2002, he developed and ran employment service training programs for unemployed professional dancers, which included curating the annual Play at Home season at the Wimbledon Studio Theatre, providing a platform for emerging choreographers.
Piers began his feature film choreography career with Oliver Stone's Alexander in 2003. He is associate producer and choreographer, as well as a featured subject, in the documentary film Dancing for Oliver, directed by his wife Suzanne Gielgud. The film premiered in London at the Constellation Change Dance Film Festival in March 2006.
Piers and Suzanne live in Sussex with their two daughters, Violet and Scarlett.
