Tell us about your dance journey
I was very lucky that a music teacher at my primary school recommended that I audition for the Arts Educational School at 10 years old. I was always interested in the performing arts as a kid but growing up in the suburbs of London that wasn’t something that seemed like a path I could choose but I auditioned and was offered a scholarship and it was a really great experience for me. There was a lot of dance on the curriculum and at 15 I was accepted at the Royal Ballet Upper School.
Tell us about your experience as a dancer at the Stuttgart Ballet
I joined the Stuttgart Ballet when I was 19, the same year that Reid Anderson took over as the new director and around a third of the company was also new so the atmosphere was one of change and excitement. I was given a lot of big roles to dance very early in my career and the repertoire was very broad with a lot of different styles to adapt to and also included many new creations which I came to love being part of the most.
Tell us about your first experience as a choreographer
I created my first piece in Stuttgart for the Noverre Society’s young choreographers evening which they still have annually. My director at the time offered me the chance to make a new creation for the company afterwards. I must have been about 22 at the time so it was a really great opportunity to have so young and I continued to choreograph for the company regularly after that.
Tell us about your experiences as a choreographer in the different dance companies.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with a lot of different dance companies around the world and each experience has been unique in its own way. Getting to work with companies I’d admired from afar like Netherlands Dance Theatre or New York City Ballet has been a real thrill!
Tell us about your creation that will be premiered in March, with the Delattre Dance Company, in Mainz
My creation in Mainz will premiere March 7th at the Mainzer Kammerspiele and is called Trancing. It’s a work for 4 dancers and my long time composer Nicholas Savva has written a new electronic score for the piece which I’m very excited about.
Tell us about a creation that makes you proud.
Being proud of my work isn’t something which comes naturally
to me but when I compare my recent creations with ones from
further in the past I am proud of the progress I feel I’ve made
and the development in my work.
How do you get inspiration for your creations?
I always start with the music for my pieces and that remains an important influence during the process and any other inspiration has to be in keeping with what the music is suggesting to me. I am inspired by other choreographic work as well and other forms of art and theatre.
What advice would you give to aspiring dancers?
Don’t get too sidetracked by what you are good at dancing naturally and what others want for you and try to find out what it is that YOU really enjoy dancing/creating. It’s a very short career so you have to both throw yourself into it 100% but also be a little selfish with your choices.
What are your future projects?
As well as Mainz I have new works premiering in Augsburg, Klaipeda and Dortmund and also some companies restaging works of mine.
What do you like to do when you're not working?
I watch a lot of TV and read quite a bit too. I have a very energetic dog at home so a lot of long walks for her too.
Ph. Credit : De-da Productions and Stuttgart Ballet