Karen Gallagher MBE
Artistic Director
Dance
I look back on my three years at Laban with fond memories, I made friends for life and it was instrumental to my career achievements in dance on graduating. The courses I took and the tutors I encountered were diverse and inspiring – not to be forgotten.
Karen Gallagher MBE
Biography
Karen Gallagher MBE graduated in 1985 after completing a dance theatre diploma and community dance certificate. After graduating she moved to Liverpool and worked extensively with arts organisations in the area including Merseyside Arts, Unity Theatre, Disability Arts Resource Unit, Southport Arts Centre and Seconds Out Theatre Workshop. Karen also performed in Germany with a collective set up by Debbie Marley. In 1992 Karen joined Cheshire Dance as Assistant Director before moving to Merseyside Dance Initiative (MDI) in 1994 where she is now Artistic Director. In 1994 MDI was a new agency set up as a pilot scheme since then, under Karen’s leadership, it has grown into one of the UK’s leading strategic dance agencies. Karen was awarded an MBE in 2012 for her services to dance and an Honorary Fellowship in 2014 from LJMU for bringing world class dance to Liverpool.