Female Choreographers Collective

Posted on October 2, 2012

The Female Choreographers Collective (FCC) is a new initiative that aims to promote and support female choreographers in the UK. Founded by Holly Noble, director of AD Dance Company, and Jane Coulston, of Beyond Repair Dance, the FCC will be launched with a women-only performance on October 13.

Though the dance industry is full of women, there are few high-profile female choreographers. Noble and Coulson plan to support, encourage and spearhead work by women across the UK. They hope to make contact with female choreographers organising forums, networking opportunities and platforms to showcase female talent.

Noble and Coulston will also investigate the reasons behind the dwindling number of female choreographers receiving regular funding or support. They ask interested female choreographers to share their experiences. They also seek feedback and discussion with men in the dance industry. In the FCC mission statement, they explain: “The Female Choreographers Collective endeavour to promote, support and build the profile of female choreographers in the UK. Through provoking debate and facilitating discussion across the perceived gender lines, we aim to unite, not segregate, all choreographers, regardless of gender, in the pursuit of equal representation in the arts.”

The FCC will launch on October 13 with We Face Forward, a women-only platform held at the Actors’ Church in Covent Garden, London. The programme will include a new solo work by Lucia Piquero of Diciembre Dance Group, with live music by Alberto García and Victor Gil. Holly Noble’s new duet Possession, set to music by Max Richter, will be danced by AD Dance Company members Brett Murray and Chandelle Allen. Jane Coulston’s new Seven explores superstition, while Anna Watkins will present her recent duet, Inseparable. Tickets are now on sale, with discounts for those who have registered with the FCC.

To register, please send your name, telephone number, email address and a short outline of your work to femalechoreographerscollective@gmail.com. To book tickets for We Face Forward, please email the same address.

Picture: AD Dance. Photograph: Alicia Clark

Zoe Anderson

Zoë was born in Edinburgh, and saw her first dance performances at the Festival there. She is the dance critic of The Independent, and has also written for The Independent on Sunday, The Scotsman and Dancing Times. In 2002, she received her doctorate from the University of York for a thesis on “Nationhood and epic romance: Ariosto, Sidney, Spenser”. She is the author of The Royal Ballet: 75 Years and The Ballet Lover’s Companion.