Terpsichore

Episode 15: Joy Alpuerto Ritter

While growing up in Freiburg in South Germany, Joy Alpuerto Ritter started dancing at the Ballettschule Armin Krain, and learned Philippine Folk Dance in the cultural dance group led by her mother. After training at the Palucca School in Dresden, she started working as a freelance dancer in Berlin—her current base—and learnt urban dance styles such as hip hop and voguing. In 2011, Joy joined Cirque du Soleil as a dancer and aerial artist for the Michael Jackson Immortal World Tour, and since 2013, she has been a dancer and rehearsal director for Akram Khan Company, dancing in works including 'ItMoi' and 'Until the Lions'. Now, Joy is focusing on creating her own choreographic works. Her solo 'Babae', a reimagining of German dance pioneer Mary Wigman’s 'Witch Dance', was shown as part of Aerowaves Springforward festival in 2020, and has toured extensively around Europe at festivals including Dance Umbrella in London. After speaking to Joy about 'Babae' numerous times for post show talks, I couldn’t wait to invite her on the podcast to delve deeper into her journey into dance, the many different styles she’s trained in over the course of her career, and her dreams for the future.

Episode 14: Ceyda Tanc

Ceyda Tanc is Brighton, UK-based choreographer. After studying dance at the University of Roehampton, she spent four months at The State Turkish Conservatoire for Music and Folk Dance in Izmir to train in Zeybek and Denizli, the styles of her heritage. On her return to the UK, Ceyda founded her eponymous company, and started to create a body of contemporary dance work with influences from Turkish folk culture, specifically exploring how the virtuoso movements of male Turkish dancers translate onto female bodies. Now, she’s become well-known for her signature style, and was even invited by Tamara Rojo to advise on the representation of Turkish folk choreography in English National Ballet’s reworking of  ‘Raymonda’ in 2021.  Ahead of the premiere of Ceyda’s latest work, KIZLAR, at Brighton Festival on 16th May 2023, I couldn’t wait to talk to to her about her experience training in Izmir, how and why she seeks subverts gender stereotypes in Turkish folk dance, her current work, and her dreams for the future. 

Episode 13: Sonia Sabri

Sonia Sabri's eponymous company is one of the leading contemporary South Asian dance & music organisations in the UK. She has an international reputation for presenting classical North Indian Kathak dance in a contemporary context without diluting its integrity. Her fresh, new style of Kathak was developed by reinventing it from within, stretching its limits, and generating socially and politically engaged works that are relevant to today’s audiences. Sonia frequently works across dance styles and art forms, and has collaborated which dance pioneering creatives such as Richard Alston, Shobana Jeyasingh, Nitin Sawhney, Jonzi D and many more. 

Episode 12: Camilla Greenwell

Camilla Greenwell is a London-based dance photographer. She has worked with numerous high-profile dancers, companies, and venues, including the Barbican, Sadler’s Wells, Candoco Dance Company, and Rambert, to name a few, for who she creates unique imagery informed by her interest in people and the stories they tell. Outside of dance, Camilla has also photographed for publications such as The Guardian, The Telegraph Magazine, FT Weekend, and Toast, using her editorial work to inform her performance photography and visa versa. Most recently, Camilla put together a digital exhibition with Sadler’s Wells titled Movement in Still Form. I couldn’t wait to talk to her about the collaborative process when working with leading dance companies and institutions, how she aims to give the impression of motion in static photographs, and whether dance photography should be viewed as an artistic medium in its own right rather than just for documentation and promotional purposes. 

Episode 11: Stina Quagebeur

Originally from Belgium, Stina Quagebeur is a First Artist and Associate Choreographer with English National Ballet. During her time with the company, she has performed in works by acclaimed choreographers, some of her favourite experiences being creating the role of Myrtha in Akram Khan’s Giselle and dancing in William Forsythe’s In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated. Stina created her first mainstage work, Nora, in 2019 as part of ENB’s She Persisted, their second programme dedicated to encouraging and celebrating female choreographers. Ahead of the performance of her work Hollow, a duet exploring depression, as part of ENB’s Solstice Programme at the Southbank Centre, I thought it was a great opportunity to talk to Stina about her route into choreography, telling female narratives through dance, and what it’s like to have the dual role of dancer and choreographer in one of the U.K.’s leading ballet companies. 

Episode 10: Joanna Lesnierowska

Based in Poznan, Joanna Lesnierowska is a dance writer, curator, and dramaturge. She is best known for setting up Poland’s first regular dance space and choreography development centre, Old Brewery New Dance, which falls under the umbrella of Art Stations, a foundation created by Grażyna Kulczyk. Recently, Kulczyk set up Muzeum Susch, a contemporary art museum in Switzerland where Joanna curates the Acziun Susch choreographic programme. We spoke about the contemporary dance scene in Poland before and after she established her pioneering venue, how she approaches curating a dance programme in a contemporary art museum context, and the importance of maintaining open dialogues between artists and audiences. 

Episode 9: Enam Gbewonyo

Enam Gbewonyo is a British-Ghanaian multidisciplinary artist working between the realms of textiles, movement, and performance. Exploring African diaspora experiences through her work, she notably examines the history of nude tights and the way the garment has marginalised women of colour in her Nude Me / Under the Skin series, which has been performed at Christies and the Venice Biennale. This year, Enam also developed a live streamed performance piece in response to the Tate’s Lynette Yiadom-Boakye exhibition. I couldn’t wait to talk to her about the parallels between textiles and dance, working collaboratively with creators from different art forms, and working as a Black female performance artist in 2021.

Episode 8: Holly Blakey

London-based choreographer Holly Blakey has built a successful career choreographing music videos for the likes of Florence and the Machine and Coldplay, as well as on projects for art galleries and fashion houses such as Gucci and Dior. She has also created extensively for stage, premiering Cowpuncher and its sequel Cowpuncher My Ass—which both explore cowboy archetypes and the Spaghetti Western film genre—at the Southbank Centre in 2018 and 2019 respectively. 

Episode 7: Oona Doherty

Northern Irish choreographer Oona Doherty was announced as this year's recipient of the Venice Dance Biennale's Silver Lion Award. Having performed across Europe before returning to Belfast to focus on creating her own work, her pieces include Hope Hunt and the Ascension into Lazarus, an exploration of masculinity, Hard to Be Soft: A Belfast Prayer, an ode to the toughness of Oona's hometown, and Lady Magma: The Birth of a Cult, an exploration of female sexuality. 

Episode 6: Vidya Patel

Vidya Patel is a Birmingham-based dance artist with a background in Kathak. In 2015, she represented the South Asian Category in the Grand Finals of the inaugural BBC Young Dancer competition, and has since performed in works by the likes of Sir Richard Alston and Gary Clarke. Currently a Young Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells, Vidya is developing her own choreographic practice, collaborating with artists including Shammi Pithia, Connor Scott, and Hetain Patel.