An inquest into the death of the former Royal Ballet choreographer Liam Scarlett has opened.
Suffolk coroner’s court heard that the internationally renowned artist, who had been cleared of wrongdoing after being suspended from the company over sexual misconduct allegations, died at Ipswich hospital four days after being admitted.
The court heard a brief statement that read: “Liam Scarlett was admitted to Ipswich hospital on 12 April 2021 due to a cardiac arrest following an attempted hanging.
“Liam was treated in Ipswich hospital. However, following discussions with his family, it was decided that it was in Liam’s best interest to stop active treatment and keep him comfortable, due to the poor prognosis. He sadly passed away on 16 April 2021.
“A postmortem was completed on 23 April 2021 by Dr Olga Gronowska-Szczecina.
“It is requested that an inquest be opened and adjourned for further work to be completed, and a case review will be held on 16 September 2021 and an inquest date has been booked for 11 November 2021.”
The Royal Ballet severed ties with Scarlett last March, having earlier suspended him in 2019 over allegations of sexual misconduct with students. It decided to remove him from his position as artist-in-residence at Covent Garden and said his production Symphonic Dances would no longer be performed.
The Queensland Ballet in Australia also severed ties with the choreographer at the same time.
The Royal Ballet said an independent investigation into his behaviour had found “no matters to pursue in relation to alleged contact with students of the Royal Ballet School”.
In a statement at the time of his death, his family said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the tragic, untimely death of our beloved Liam.
“At this difficult time for all of our family, we would ask that you respect our privacy to enable us to grieve our loss.”
Scarlett, who was born in Ipswich, trained at the Linda Shipton School of Dancing and the Royal Ballet School. He joined the Royal Ballet company in 2006 and retired from dancing in 2012 to focus on choreography.
His works for the Royal Ballet included Despite, Vayamos al Diablo, Consolations and Liebestraum, Asphodel Meadows and Swan Lake. He became the youngest choreographer to create a full-length ballet for the company, with Frankenstein, in 2014.
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