Terpsichore: Voices in Dance

• Episode 33: South African choreographer Robyn Orlin on the importance of not forgetting history

  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. 

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• Episode 32: South Korean dance icon Eun Me Ahn on movement, colour, curiosity, and fantasy

  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.”

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• Episode 31: UK-based choreographer Jasmin Vardimon on 25 years of bold, theatrical storytelling

  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.

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• Episode 30: Paris-based choreographer Leila Ka on exploring femininity through dance and dresses

  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.  

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• Episode 29: Glasgow-based disabled artist Claire Cunningham on choreographing care

  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.

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