Lorraine Smith Arts 
Performance Maker

Testimonials

​

I have worked with Lorraine on a number of occasions and have seen her practice develop from strength to strength. Lorraine is an artist that possesses a strong drive and motivation in her work that comes across in her performances. Her practice is layered and eclectic and offers audiences something challenging and engaging.  (Kerry Irvine - Producer)

​

We have now worked with Lorraine on both their excellent double-bill productions to date and would be keen to continue our relationship. We particularly like their cross-art-form, all-encompassing approach, with two entirely different halves in their double-bills, appealing to audiences of dance, theatre and music and giving the evening a cohesive feel, with accompanying visual art, decoration and musical interludes.  (Jasmine Cullingford - Theatre & Programme Manager, Blue Elephant Theatre)

​

The pieces created for our two performances were wonderful and the students really benefited from working with Lorraine. She worked in an open, professional and friendly manner and set exciting and diverse tasks for the students to respond to. The result was two visually stunning pieces of work, which through Lorraine's guidance, the students had ownership of. Thank you and please work with us again!  (Natasha Mansfield-Osborne - Dance Tutor, Varndean College)

Lorraine's approach is both refreshing and substantial, and I look forward to seeing more creations in the future. Definitely a choreographer to watch!  (Lisa Turner - Producer)

​

​

Reviews & Feedback

​

Elizabeth & The Three Sisters

​

When commissioning the performances for Nightfall we knew it would be a tall order to create an outdoor show which would engage a family audience as well as an arts audience. We were delighted with Elizabeth and The Three Sisters; it was a very popular element of the programme and for many especially the younger family audiences it would be their first experience of a contemporary dance performance. The show appealed to a wide audience and successfully engaged with high quality content and production values which responded beautifully to the site and worked with the unique location to create an important focal point for the event as a whole. The artists made great use of sound and the visual impact was a key part of the performance and brought together to create an innovative performance which transformed the space.  (Stellar Projects)

​

​

Disco Babies

​

The aggressive music accompanies equally aggressive dance moves. Flashing disco lights and dazzling costumes add to an initial shock to the senses. Everything becomes faster and more frantic, the competitors more desperate; the intensity swells. This is the in-your-face opening to Disco Babies...Behind the teeth and the glamour lies a more complex emotional side...Silversmith Dance Theatre’s Disco Babies is a strong production with a lot to say.  (Norina Mackey - independent reviewer and writer)

 

Loved it. At first playful, then disturbing. Made me think about the power of parenthood and the consequence on emotions, and the frustrations of childhood.  (Audience member - BAC Scratch)

​

Love it! Beautifully blurring between the comic and the deeply tragic. Great work!  (Audience member- BAC Scratch)

​

​

Thou Shalt

​

Severe self-denial versus secret sensuality...in all departments it was impressively artful.  (Donald Hutera - Resolution! 2011 Professional reviewer and The Times Dance Critic)

​

The sudden changes of tempo and contractions remind us of Anne Theresa de Keersmaeker. Silversmith Dance Theatre creates a potent image.  (Marina Ribera - Resolution! 2011 Emerging reviewer)

 

Thou Shalt was one of the highlights of the evening and fitted exceptionally well into the church setting. I loved the powerful imagery captured in the choreography and the construction of the work was innovative and unusual.  (Lisa Turner - Producer)

​

As a musician who is passionate about working with dance, I was really moved by your choreography, the composition and the narrative of your piece.  (Stephen Upshaw - musician)

​

I found it extremely beautiful and atmospheric at all times.  (Audience member - Rich Mix)

​

​

Six O'Clock Swill

​

Suitably alienating from the start... Smith's body-contorting choreography tells of the physical symptoms of alcoholism and the related mental health deterioration.  (Sam Gauntlett - Resolution! 2010 Professional Reviewer) 

​

Congratulations for such a poignant piece, it certainly hit a nerve with a lot of the audience, myself included. I for one like what I can only describe as the pull-the-carpet-from-underneath-you effect, i.e. how you seduced the audience with 'funny' drunken antics, only to then expose a heartbreakingly dark interior.  (Rebecca Bogue - Producer)

​

I wanted to write to say how much I enjoyed your performance of Six O'clock Swill last night at The Place. I loved the brave simplicity of the piece as well as the detail and intensity of your movements. It made for a really absorbing piece and a reminder of what is often missing in terms of emotional content.  (Sophie Rivlin - Resolution! 2010)

​

You reminded me of one of our friends. He is 100 years old.  (Audience member - Accidental Festival 2010)

​

​

Beloved of Henry

​

I found it both beautiful and haunting where you bring the theme very much to life, confronting people with a reality that is somewhat uncomfortable without making it unbearable. The baby fashioned from the dress was extraordinary and engaged the audience beautifully, especially the women! And being a big fan of participatory work, the touching of your neck was a great conclusive invitation and really cemented the realisation that I have never fully considered the impact of what it was to be a woman in that context.  (Rebecca Bogue - Producer) 

​

The performance really made everyone focus and then drew them into the humanity of the character. Very beautiful image and very beautifully done.  (Audience member - Park Road Pilot)

​

​

Rumpelstiltskin

​

The choreography was intriguing and well executed, the music captivating and shocking, and both were technically inspiring. (Tanith Lindon, EXTRA! EXTRA! Reviewer)

​

​

After They Left

​

If Taxi Driver and, especially its legendary scene of the mirror, exposed you abruptly to the destructive power of a man’s solitude, so does After they Left…A piece of dance and theatre that is beautifully disturbing, dark, poetic, raw and emotional…All at once…  (Tonny Ajoup - Theatre Director & Reviewer)

​

​