Rae Piper was born in Bristol, England and is the daughter of West End choreographer Gail Gordon and Aeronautical Engineer Adrian Pollicutt.
From a young age Piper balanced training at her mother's dance school in ballet, jazz, contemporary, musical theatre and acrobatics against a rigorous academic schedule. At 17 she gained a place at Cambridge University to read Classics, but declined the place in order to pursue a career in theatre.
From a young age Piper balanced training at her mother's dance school in ballet, jazz, contemporary, musical theatre and acrobatics against a rigorous academic schedule. At 17 she gained a place at Cambridge University to read Classics, but declined the place in order to pursue a career in theatre.
PERFORMER
In the early stages of her career, Piper worked as a dancer, aerialist and singer for leading cruise ship entertainment producer Jean Ann Ryan. From there, Piper's career has made use of her diverse performance skills. Notable credits include Swing in the original and second year casts of Love Never Dies at the Adelphi Theatre in London's West End, Principal dancer for contemporary company Chantry Dance for 11 years, The Black Virgin in INXILE for Compania del Cuerpo di Indias at Sadler's Wells, The Cat in Renard at The Tramshed, Glasgow, Madame Thenardier in Encore! Mr Producer, and one of the four ghosts in Ballo in Maschera at The Royal Opera House.
Piper has also performed her solo contortion and aerial acts internationally, on television and at notable UK cabaret venues including Cafe de Paris and for large corporate clients such as Nikon and Toyota.
CHOREOGRAPHER
Piper had a passion for choreography and writing from childhood, choreographing for herself and other students whilst at dance school, and writing musical plays for Summer School and Youth Company productions. She began working as a professional choreographer while still an active performer and has created choreography for productions including Boyhood’s End for English Touring Opera and its subsequent streaming on Marquee TV, Gloria - A Pigtale for Mahogany Opera at The Linbury, Royal Opera House, and Shadowbox - a dance/circus show commissioned by BESIX performed for the Prince of Belgium.
It was while she was dancing in the West End that she met her husband Paul Chantry. The two were married within a year and formed the choreographic duo Piper Chantry and the contemporary company Chantry Dance.
Together Piper Chantry have choreographed three David Walliams’ shows for Birmingham Stage Company - Demon Dentist, Gangsta Granny and Billionaire Boy. The latter two enjoyed several West End runs and were both nominated for Olivier Awards. They've also choreographed several of the Horrible Histories stage shows, the UK premiere of The Last Days of Mankind for Bristol Old Vic, The Pirates of Penzance and The Yeomen of the Guard for The National Gilbert & Sullivan Company at Buxton Opera House, and were commissioned by the Chinese Ministry of Culture to choreograph the Chinese Calligraphy, Music and Dance Concert at Sadler’s Wells, which Piper also danced in.
PRODUCER/WRITER
For the last 10 years Piper has produced and written all of Chantry Dance's shows and co-choreographed them with Paul Chantry. This includes writing seven original works, such as The Sandman and Chasing the Eclipse which was commissioned by Gravity Fields Festival 2014, and six shows that are reimaginings of well-known fairy tales. Alongside this, Piper has danced in every Chantry production as principal dancer with roles including Princess Aquaria (The Little Mermaid), The Queen of Hearts (Alice - Wonderland Through the Looking Glass) and Mina (Dracula - Welcome to D's).
Piper now also works in film production. She produced and starred in the award-winning short film Whoever You Are directed by Javier De Frutos. The film had its US premiere at Raleigh Studios, Hollywood in 2022 and has gained 29 international awards, with Piper winning Best Producer at the Vegas Movie Awards.
EDUCATOR
Outside of her theatrical career, Piper is an Advanced Personal Trainer, a Fitness to Music Instructor, and a dance teacher (AIDTA). She has guest taught across the UK and internationally at prestigious theatre/dance colleges and conventions including English National Ballet School, Central School of Ballet, The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Art Studio Danza and MOVE IT.
She has a BSc (1st Class Hons) in Sport and Exercise Sciences from The University of Birmingham, where she was the Chancellor's Award winner for outstanding achievement across the Unversity after having gained the highest marks for her degree in the history of the School of Sport and Exercise.
Piper is a happy dog-mum of two German Shortharied Pointers, Bracken and Blue, both of whom are more stagey than she is!