Louie Spence
Encyclopedia
Louie Spence is a dance expert, choreographer and television personality who is currently the artistic director
at the London
Pineapple Dance Studios
. He was a professional dancer in his youth, performing in West End
musicals
such as Cats
and Closer to Heaven
, and has more recently become known from his appearances in the Sky1 docusoap Pineapple Dance Studios
.
, in the Borough of Enfield
in north London and grew up in Braintree
, Essex. He attended Notley High School
before moving on to the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. He has subsequently danced with many recording artists.
Spence performed in the West End as part of the award-winning original cast of Miss Saigon
. He went on to star in Cats
and perform with a number of pop bands. He toured with the Spice Girls
, Take That
and Bjork
.
on Sky1, and the 2008 series Celebrity Circus
for American channel NBC. In 2010 he appeared on Sky1's Pineapple Dance Studios
and Louie Spence's Showbusiness
. Spence has made appearances in tabloid newspapers and celebrity magazine
s. He has appeared on The Chris Moyles Show
radio show on BBC Radio 1
, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
on BBC One
, Top Gear on BBC Two
, regularly on Harry Hill's TV Burp
, and as a guest on ITV1
show Loose Women
, ITV2
's Celebrity Juice
, Shooting Stars
on BBC
and Five's Justin Lee Collins Good Times. He has most recently appeared on Channel 4
's Chris Moyles' Quiz Night
alongside Jonathan Ross
and Patsy Kensit
. Spence now has his own Sky1 series, Louie Spence's Showbusiness
. He danced an interpretive dance
to represent the Chilean mining accident
on the 2010 Big Fat Quiz of the Year.
gay
. He has been in a relationship with a Spanish
man, who is eight years younger than him, since September 2000. They have been in a civil partnership since 2007.
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
at the London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
Pineapple Dance Studios
Pineapple Dance Studios
Pineapple Dance Studios is a dance studio complex based in the Covent Garden area of central London, England. It was founded by the English model and businesswoman Debbie Moore in 1979. The studio is used for castings and rehearsals by dance companies, record labels, television networks, film...
. He was a professional dancer in his youth, performing in West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
musicals
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
such as Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
and Closer to Heaven
Closer to Heaven
Closer to Heaven is a musical by Jonathan Harvey and Pet Shop Boys. It was premiered in May 2001 at the Arts Theatre in London, opening to mixed reviews, and ran until 13 October 2001...
, and has more recently become known from his appearances in the Sky1 docusoap Pineapple Dance Studios
Pineapple Dance Studios (TV series)
Pineapple Dance Studios is a docusoap which aired on Sky1 during 2010. The show gave viewers an insight into the world of Pineapple Dance Studios, a London dance complex, and introduced several employees including Louie Spence and Andrew Stone. The show was first broadcast on 14 February 2010 on...
.
Education and dance career
Spence was born in Ponders EndPonders End
Ponders End is a place in the London Borough of Enfield, North London located in an area generally known as the Lea Valley. It is roughly located in the area either side of Hertford Road between The Ride and the Boundary Public House and Wharf Road and the Southbury railway station/Kingsway...
, in the Borough of Enfield
London Borough of Enfield
The London Borough of Enfield is the most northerly London borough and forms part of Outer London. It borders the London Boroughs of Barnet, Haringey and Waltham Forest...
in north London and grew up in Braintree
Braintree, Essex
Braintree is a town of about 42,000 people and the principal settlement of the Braintree district of Essex in the East of England. It is northeast of Chelmsford and west of Colchester on the River Blackwater, A120 road and a branch of the Great Eastern Main Line.Braintree has grown contiguous...
, Essex. He attended Notley High School
Notley High School
Notley High School is situated in Braintree in Essex, England. It is for 11–16 year olds. There is currently a lack of places available to children who live outside of the catchment area....
before moving on to the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts. He has subsequently danced with many recording artists.
Spence performed in the West End as part of the award-winning original cast of Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...
. He went on to star in Cats
Cats (musical)
Cats is a musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot...
and perform with a number of pop bands. He toured with the Spice Girls
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...
, Take That
Take That
Take That are a British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter...
and Bjork
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
.
Television
Spence was a judge and mentor on Trouble TV Bump'n'Grind 2004–2006. Shortly after this, Spence became a judge on the 2006–2007 television series Cirque de CelebritéCirque de Celebrité
Cirque de Celebrité was a celebrity reality TV show broadcast on Sky One. The show features celebrities training for and then performing various circus acts. The winner of the 2006 series was Grace Adams-Short....
on Sky1, and the 2008 series Celebrity Circus
Celebrity Circus (U.S. TV series)
Celebrity Circus is an American version of the Celebrity Circus reality television show based on the Australian television series of the same name originally aired in 2005...
for American channel NBC. In 2010 he appeared on Sky1's Pineapple Dance Studios
Pineapple Dance Studios
Pineapple Dance Studios is a dance studio complex based in the Covent Garden area of central London, England. It was founded by the English model and businesswoman Debbie Moore in 1979. The studio is used for castings and rehearsals by dance companies, record labels, television networks, film...
and Louie Spence's Showbusiness
Louie Spence's Showbusiness
Louie Spence's Showbusiness is a docusoap that is the follow-up series to Pineapple Dance Studios. It was announced by Louie Spence on Alan Carr: Chatty Man on 9 July 2010 and he stated that the series would be "the same, but bigger; if that's possible." It has a similar format to its predecessor...
. Spence has made appearances in tabloid newspapers and celebrity magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
s. He has appeared on The Chris Moyles Show
The Chris Moyles Show
The Chris Moyles Show is the current BBC Radio 1 breakfast show in the UK, and has been since Chris Moyles became the station's breakfast show presenter on 5 January 2004. From 2004 to 2007, the show was broadcast 6:55–10:00 am each weekday, but since 15 October 2007 it has started from...
radio show on BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross was a British comedy chat show presented by Jonathan Ross. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 2 November 2001. The programme featured Ross's take on current topics of conversation, guest interviews and live music from both a guest music group and the house band...
on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, Top Gear on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
, regularly on Harry Hill's TV Burp
Harry Hill's TV Burp
Harry Hill's TV Burp is a British television comedy programme produced by Avalon Television for ITV and hosted by comedian Harry Hill. The show presents a satirical look at the week's television, including extracts from TV shows with added sketches, observational voice-overs, and guest appearances...
, and as a guest on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
show Loose Women
Loose Women
Loose Women is a British lunchtime television programme, first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip...
, ITV2
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...
's Celebrity Juice
Celebrity Juice
Celebrity Juice is a British television comedy panel game show on ITV2 that has been airing since 24 September, 2008. The show is presented by Keith Lemon, with regular captains Holly Willoughby and Fearne Cotton, alongside regular panellist Rufus Hound...
, Shooting Stars
Shooting Stars
Shooting Stars is a British television comedy panel game broadcast on BBC Two as a pilot in 1993, then as 3 full series from 1995 to 1997, then on BBC Choice from January to December 2002 with 2 series before returning to BBC Two for another 3 series from 2008 until its axing in 2011...
on BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and Five's Justin Lee Collins Good Times. He has most recently appeared on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
's Chris Moyles' Quiz Night
Chris Moyles' Quiz Night
Chris Moyles' Quiz Night is a British television comedy game show, presented by Chris Moyles. It was first broadcast on 22 March 2009 and is in its fifth series....
alongside Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross
Jonathan Ross may refer to:* Jonathan Ross , English television and radio personality* Jonathan Ross , United States Senator, Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court* Jonathon Ross , former Australian rules footballer...
and Patsy Kensit
Patsy Kensit
Patricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit is an English actress, singer, model and former child star, known for her television and film appearances. Her films include Lethal Weapon 2 and she has been married to rock stars Jim Kerr and Liam Gallagher, as well as herself fronting the band Eighth Wonder...
. Spence now has his own Sky1 series, Louie Spence's Showbusiness
Louie Spence's Showbusiness
Louie Spence's Showbusiness is a docusoap that is the follow-up series to Pineapple Dance Studios. It was announced by Louie Spence on Alan Carr: Chatty Man on 9 July 2010 and he stated that the series would be "the same, but bigger; if that's possible." It has a similar format to its predecessor...
. He danced an interpretive dance
Interpretive dance
Interpretive dance is a family of dance styles that seeks to translates particular feelings and emotions, human conditions, situations, or fantasies into movement and dramatic expression combined...
to represent the Chilean mining accident
2010 Copiapó mining accident
The 2010 Copiapó mining accident, also known as the "Chilean mining accident", began in the afternoon of Thursday, 5 August 2010 as a significant cave-in at the troubled 121-year-old San José copper–gold mine. The mine is located deep in the Atacama Desert, one of the driest and harshest...
on the 2010 Big Fat Quiz of the Year.
Autobiography
Spence's autobiography Still Got It, Never Lost It was published on 29 September 2011.Personal life
Spence is openlyComing out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
. He has been in a relationship with a Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
man, who is eight years younger than him, since September 2000. They have been in a civil partnership since 2007.