Terpsichore: Voices in Dance

Formerly the director of Bern Ballet from 2007 to 2013, Cathy Marston is currently the Director of Ballet Zürich in Switzerland, as well as an internationally renowned choreographer of contemporary ballet. Originally trained at the Royal Ballet School, she’s known for her inventive approach to storytelling—translating seminal works from the English literary canon onto stage and into movement to offer new perspectives on familiar narratives. For example, her Mrs Robinson (2023) was an adaptation of Charles Webb’s The Graduate for San Francisco Ballet, and Snowblind (2018), created for the same company, was inspired by Edith Wharton’s Ethan Frome. Other literary adaptations include D. H. Lawrence’s Lady Chatterley’s Lover and John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. Similarly, her biographically inspired ballets bring historical women to the fore: while The Cellist, created for The Royal Ballet in 2020, tells the story of celebrated cellist Jacqueline du Pré; Victoria made for Northern Ballet in 2019, explores the life and legacy of renowned British monarch Queen Victoria. Originally choreographed on Northern Ballet in 2016, Cathy’s adaptation of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre has been regularly restaged since its creation. It’s currently on tour around the UK, with upcoming dates at Sadler’s Wells (13th-17th May 2025) and Norwich Theatre Royal (20th-24th May 2025). In light of the revival, Terpsichore spoke to Cathy about her choreographic voice, collaborative methods, and the stories that continue to inspire her to reimagine narrative through movement.  

Robyn Orlin was born in 1955 in Johannesburg. Known in South Africa as "the permanent irritation," through her work she reveals the difficult and complex reality of her country. Originally trained at London Contemporary Dance School before later completing an MA at the Chicago School of Fine Arts on a Fulbright scholarship, she combines various artistic expressions  including text, video, and the plastic arts to explore a theatricality that is reflected in her choreographic vocabulary. Robyn's work includes 'Daddy, I've seen this piece six times before and I still don't know why they're hurting each other' (1999), which won the Laurence Olivier Award for the Most Outstanding Achievement of the Year. Her 2012 work 'Beauty remained for just a moment then returned gently to her starting position...' (2012) was the opening performance of the South African season in France in 2013.  From the 21-22nd March, Robyn’s work 'WE WEAR OUR WHEELS WITH PRIDE' will be performed at London’s Southbank Centre as part of Dance Reflections festival by Van Cleef & Arpels. A homage to the rickshaw drivers of South Africa’s past, it is a celebration of dance and song imbibed with a joyous thirst for life. Performed by Moving into Dance Mophatong (MIDM), a Johannesburg-based company nourished by Zulu traditions and a flagship for contemporary dance in South Africa, 'WE WEAR OUR WHEELS WITH PRIDE' was inspired by Robyn’s experience as a child in the 1970s when, at the height of apartheid, she would watch the ornate decorations of Zulu men’s vehicles and headdresses with awe, as well as their sprightly dance like steps. Coincidentally, this was also the period when MIDM was founded. Ahead of the performance, I was privileged to speak to Robyn about the role of art in times of political struggle, why she loves working with her fellow South Africans, and the main message she wants people to take away from her latest production—not to forget history. 

Eun Me began training in Traditional Korean Dance at just 12 years old before attending Ewha Womans University in Seoul. She later continued her studies in New York, graduating from Tisch School of the Arts in 1994. During her time in the U.S., she refined her craft as a choreographer, exploring how to translate Korean dance philosophies onto the bodies of American dancers. After 10 years in the States, Eun Me returned to Korea to become the Artistic Director of Daegu City Dance Company, where she created bold works featuring surreal costumes, daring stunts (including duets with live chickens and jumping from a crane to destroy a piano with an axe), and even choreographed the 2002 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony. Now, Eun Me leads her own company. One of her latest works, 'Dragons', features a pan-Asian cast born in the Year of the Dragon (2000). Though conceived before the pandemic, it underwent significant changes due to the unprecedented situation. For example, it came to feature hologram projections of dancers who couldn't travel. 'Dragons' is currently touring the UK for a second time, with stops at Theatre Royal Newcastle, Eden Court Theatre, Alhambra Theatre, and Birmingham Hippodrome. Before the tour kicked off, I had the privilege of chatting with Eun Me about 'Dragons', her creative process, and what she thinks of being dubbed “The Pina Bausch of Asia.”

Born and raised on Kibbutz Ein Hahoresh, Jasmin Vardimon was a member of the Kibbutz Dance Company for five years before being awarded the prestigious British Council ‘On the Way to London’ Choreography Award in 1995. This led her to move to the UK permanently, where she went on to establish her eponymous company. Under this banner, she has developed a distinctive choreographic voice, defined by highly physical, detailed movement language, insightful humour, theatricality, and incisive socio-political commentary. For example, 'Justitia' (2007) examined the complexities of the justice system, while 'Park' (2005) explored themes of urban society, land ownership, and the tension between private and public spaces. Beyond the stage, Jasmin has choreographed for leading musical artists, earning a nomination for Best Choreography at the 2018 UK Music Video Awards for Paloma Faith’s 'Loyal'. She is also deeply committed to training the next generation of dancers, serving as the first guest artistic director of the UK’s National Youth Dance Company in 2013 and running JV2, a full-time Professional Development Diploma programme at JV Home, her creative hub in Ashford, Kent. To celebrate 25 years of her company, Jasmin has created NOW, a programme revisiting iconic moments from her body of work that remain as relevant today as ever. Ahead of the performances at Sadler’s Wells East from 5th–8th March, I couldn’t wait to speak to Jasmin about her creative process, the evolution of her choreography, and the enduring themes that drive her work.

Paris-based Leïla Ka began her dance journey by engaging with hip-hop and street dance styles before discovering contemporary and modern dance. Notably, she danced in ‘May B’ the seminal work by renowned French choreographer Maguy Marin, which is a powerfully theatrical response to the writings of Samuel Beckett. Leila now imbues her own choreography with the powerful theatricality she experienced while working with Marin. Her first solo, Pode Ser, premiered in 2018 and has gone on to be performed extensively, receiving many awards and accolades around the world. Her first evening length group piece, Maldonne, premiered at La Garance, Scène nationale de Cavaillon, where Leila is an associate artist, at the end of 2023. The work explores multiple identities within femininity as the cast changes between 40 different dresses, from ball gowns to wedding dresses to nighties. Described by Le Monde as a demonstration of the Paris-based choreographer’s “feminist commitment,” it has now been nominated for The Bloom Prize, a new award for works by emerging choreographers that is part of London’s Sadler’s Wells’ inaugural Rose International Dance Prize. The work will be performed twice on the theater’s Lilian Baylis stage in February before the winner is announced, marking Leila's UK debut. Ahead of the performances, I couldn’t wait to speak to Leila to find out more about her creative process, the themes that drive her work, and how her experiences as a dancer and choreographer have shaped her unique approach to movement and storytelling.  

Based in Glasgow, Scotland, Claire Cunningham is one of the UK’s most acclaimed and internationally renowned disabled artists. Her work, which is often biographical and deeply personal, explores Crip & disabled experiences, practices of care, and questions societal ideas of knowledge and value. The movement vocabulary she uses to delve into these these topics is often rooted in the use/misuse, study and distortion of crutches – the objects she uses to engage physically with the world.   Claire has made everything from solos to large ensemble works. Notably, in 2012, she created ‘12’, an exploration of the word crutch in a metaphorical sense, on Candoco Dance Company. Since then, she’s made the solo 'Give Me a Reason to Live', inspired by the role of beggars and cripples in the work of Dutch medieval painter Hieronymus Bosch, and the full length show  'Guide Gods', looking at the perspectives of the major faith traditions towards the issue of disability. Claire’s new show ‘Songs of the Wayfarer’, is inspired by Gustav Mahler's 'Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen' as well as her life experience as a disabled person, the memory of her training as a singer, and the expertise of mountaineers and disabled friends. In this, her first solo piece in 10 years, she asks what it means to hike, and to strive for great heights.  After seeing her perform ‘Songs of the Wayfarer’ at HAU in Berlin, and ahead of its run at Sadler’s Wells' Lilian Bayliss theatre from 4th-6th December, I couldn’t wait to talk to Claire about how she challenges conventions around virtuosity in dance, making work that attracts disenfranchised audiences to the theatre, and how she’s going to continue her work in a new context as as Professor of Choreography, Dance, and Disability Arts at the Hochschule fur Zeitgenössische Tanz in Berlin.

Born in Marseille in 1948, Malou Airaudo began her dance journey at just eight years old at the Opéra de Marseille’s ballet school. She later joined the opera’s ensemble and went on to perform with prominent companies, including the Ballet de Monte Carlo and Ballet Théâtre Contemporain, before eventually moving to New York. There, in 1971, she met Pina Bausch, who would invite her to join the newly formed Tanztheater Wuppertal in Germany two years later. As a core member of the company, Malou played a pivotal role in the creation of some of Bausch's most iconic works, including 'Iphigenie auf Tauris' and 'Cafe Muller'. In addition to her work in Wuppertal, Malou continued to perform internationally, and in 1975, she co-founded the Paris-based company La Main. Teaching has also been a significant part of her career: in 1984, Bausch invited her to become a professor of Modern Dance at Folkwang Hochschule, and from 2012, she directed the university’s institute of contemporary dance. Since 2018, Malou has been active in staging new productions of Bausch’s repertoire, including 'Iphigenie auf Tauris' at Dresden’s Semperoper, a process captured in the documentary Dancing Pina. She's also created her own work on the likes of Folkwang Tanzstudio, and hip-hop and breakdancers from pottporus company. In 2020, she collaborated with Germaine Acogny, the Senegalese dancer choreographer and teacher known as the mother of contemporary African dance, to create 'common ground[s]', a duet where they explore their shared histories and emotional experiences. Over recent years, Malou has continued to perform this deeply personal work, and as goes through its final run at Sadler’s Wells in London from November 6-10, I couldn’t wait to sit down with her to reflect on her amazing life and career.

Rio de Janeiro-based choreographer Lia Rodrigues began her dance journey by training in classical ballet alongside studying history at the University of São Paulo. After cutting her teeth as a dancer in France, most notably performing with modern dance legend Maguy Marin and being part of the creation of her seminal Samuel Beckett-inspired work May B, Lia moved back to her home country of Brazil and founded her eponymous dance company in 1990. Lia works extensively at the intersection between art and social activism. Since 2004, her company has helped to develop outreach and arts actions in the Maré favela in Rio de Janeiro, in conjunction with an NGO based in the neighboruhood. This partnership gave rise to the Maré arts center, which opened in 2009; and to the Maré free dance school, which has been open since October 2011.  Over the years, Lia has accrued many accolades, from receiving the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters from France to receiving a portrait at Paris’ Festival d’Automne in 2021. Recently, it was announced that her work ‘Encantado’ has been nominated for the Rose Prize, a new international choreography award established by Sadler’s Wells in London. Ahead of the announcement of the Rose Prize winner in February 2025, I couldn’t wait to speak to Lia about the inspirations behind 'Encantado', how what she's learnt from motherhood has influenced her career, the responsibility that comes with privilege, and how she strives to make contemporary dance more accessible in her unequal home town. 

Originally trained at the Julliard school in New York, Janet Eilber danced professionally with the Martha Graham Dance Company for many years. During this time she danced many of the greatest roles from the Graham repertoire and had several new ones created on her by Graham herself. In 2005, she was appointed as the company’s Artistic Director, tasked with preserving Graham’s legacy while keeping it relevant for new generations. Her leadership has been defined by a commitment to expanding audience access to the Graham masterworks, which has seen her do everything from implementing contextual programming to pioneering the use new media, as well as commissioning contemporary choreographers to create new works that shed new light or engage in dialogue with Graham’s oeuvre. Now, she’s overseeing GRAHAM100, a three-season-long centennial celebration of the company and its dancers.  I sat down with Janet to find out more about what’s in store for the GRAHAM100 programme, to discuss what it was like working in the studio in one of the leading pioneers of modern dance, and what she thinks the next century of the Martha Graham Dance Company will look like.

Cassa Pancho founded Ballet Black in 2001 after graduating from professional dance training and was one of the first dancers and choreographers in the company. Her initial goal was to provide role models to young, aspiring Black and Asian dancers. A year later, she opened the Ballet Black Junior School in Shepherd’s Bush, London.  Since starting Ballet Black, Cassa has commissioned over 40 choreographers to make work for the company, including Richard Alston, Javier de Frutos, Annabelle Lopez-Ochoa, Shobana Jeyasingh, Henri Oguike, Arthur Pita, Will Tuckett, and Mthuthuzeli November, who himself is a dancer with the company.  Currently, Ballet Black is touring, ‘Heroes’, a double bill of works by Sophie Laplane and Mthuthuzeli November, around the the UK. I sat down with Cassa to find out more about what’s in store, as well as reflect on how the landscape has changed for dancers of colour since she started Ballet Black in 2001.