Dancer Michael Clark choreographs art auction for Sotheby's

Dancer Michael Clark says he felt like he stumbled “into a world within a world” when he joined Sotheby’s to curate their latest sale.

The performer, who has worked with Tate Modern and the Paris Opera, helped organise the contemporary art exhibition and auction.

He said: “Auctions are going on continually, it’s like a world within a world and I stumbled upon it and I was amazed to see some of the works of art that I’d never seen before. At first I was somewhat overwhelmed, I was daunted by the prospect of it.”

He added that he’d chosen pieces for various different reasons. Among them is one by a former collaborator Sarah Lucas — Ones Knob, made out of beer cans with cigarettes stuck to them, valued at £15,000.

Lucas, one of the original Young British Artists, briefly employed Clark as an assistant when he “needed the money”.

The Contemporary Curated exhibition is at Sotheby’s on Friday, with the sale on April 12