Making Moves 2023-24 Choreographers
Jules Cunningham
Jules Cunningham (they/them) is from Liverpool and has worked professionally as a dancer for over twenty years, recognised for Outstanding Modern Performance by the Critics Circle National Dance Awards, 2014. After training at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in London, they worked with Ballett der Stadt Theater Koblenz in Germany, Merce Cunningham Dance Company in New York, and Michael Clark Company in London, and in projects with Boris Chartmatz, Thick & Tight, Anne Carson, and Pauline Boudry / Renate Lorenz across Europe. Jules was in residence for Haroon Mirza’s exhibition at ACCA as part of Melbourne International Festival in 2019.
Jules has presented work in the UK and internationally, alongside choreographic research and extensive teaching. They were one of 10 commissioned artists for Art Night 2019 in London and a recipient of the 2021 Founders Prize Award at the Bethlem Gallery for their visual art work currently exhibited at the Long Gallery, Maudsley Hospital.
Jules founded Julie Cunningham & Company in 2017, to create and present work that combines clarity of form and attention to detail with an interest in gender identity, the body & its emotional states and mental health. Jules is developing a movement language that draws on their technical training, expanding and queering it collaboratively, working between sound, text and visual art.
JCC was launched at the Barbican and was associate company of Rambert in 2017. Jules has created 13 works for the company which have toured in the UK and Europe.
Jules made their main stage debut at Sadler’s Wells as a New Wave Associate in 2018 with m/y, commissioned as part of the theatre’s 20th anniversary celebration. Sadler’s Wells subsequently commissioned how did we get here?, a work for Jules, Harry Alexander and Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm, which was presented in Sadler’s Wells Theatre across 11 nights in January 2023.
Jules has an established teaching practice, working as a guest lecturer for Trinity Laban over many years, as well as guest teaching and choreographing at Rambert School, The Place, Glasgow Clyde College, Glasgow School of Art, and ZHdK in Zurich. Jules is increasingly committed to working in healthcare settings undertaking JCC residencies at Bethlem Royal Hospital with Bethlem Gallery and also as an independent artists with Dulwich Picture Gallery and Siobhan Davies Studios at the Tessa Jowell Health Centre.
Ben Duke
Ben is Artistic Director and co-founder of Lost Dog. He trained at Guildford School of Acting, London Contemporary Dance School and has a degree in English Literature from Newcastle University. His work is an attempt to reconcile those three subjects.
For Lost Dog Ben has created Ruination (co-produced by the Royal Ballet; National Dance Award for Best New Choreography), A Tale of Two Cities, Juliet & Romeo, Paradise Lost (lies unopened beside me), and the Place Prize-winning It Needs Horses.
Ben has also created work for Rambert (Cerberus and the Olivier Award-nominated Goat), Scottish Dance Theatre (The Life and Times of Girl A), Dance Umbrella (The Difference Engine), Phoenix Dance Theatre (Pave up Paradise), and the contemporary circus company Barely Methodical Troupe (Kin).
Ben created the Swan Lake-inspired, There Were Definitely Swans with Hi Fliers dance company and collaborated with composer Orlando Gough to create a dance theatre piece for stroke survivors with Rosetta Life (Stroke Odyssey). He has choreographed for theatre projects by the National Theatre of Scotland (Dolls), Gate Theatre, London (Sexual Neuroses of our Parents) and Handspring UK (CROW). As a performer he has worked at the Gate Theatre (I am Falling), Hofesh Shechter Company (Political Mother) and Punchdrunk (Faust).
Ben is an Associate Artist at The Place. In 2016 he won the National Dance Critics Award for Outstanding Male Performance for Paradise Lost (lies unopened beside me).
Seeta Patel
The award-winning choreographer and dancer Seeta Patel was born in London and began her training under the guidance of Kiran Ratna in 1990. Over a career spanning two decades, she has transformed the face of the South Asian dance community in the UK. She has dedicated herself to creating high-quality political work that entertains, engages and broadens the perspectives of audiences both in the UK and internationally, as well as nurturing new talent through mentorship and support.
Seeta has worked with a range of Bharatanatyam and contemporary dance professionals including Mavin Khoo, Pushkala Gopal and Liz Lea. She has also performed and toured globally with a number of companies such as DV8 Physical Theatre, Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company, David Hughes Dance Company and Gandini Juggling. Her work has been presented at internationally recognised venues The Royal Opera House, Sadler’s Wells and the Southbank Centre.
In 2022, Seeta Patel’s dance company Seeta Patel Dance became a National Portfolio Organisation with Arts Council England, and is excited to develop more exciting projects in the coming years. The constantly evolving world of South Asian Dance is developing as an integral part of the international dance landscape and Seeta Patel is a vital part of this growing business.
Kloé Dean
Choreographer Kloé Dean specialises in hip hop, funk and street dance styles, with a breadth of experience spanning close to 20 years she creates work for theatre, TV, film, music, fashion, corporate, community and education.
Kloé has worked with a range of music artists and brands such as Little Simz, Ghetts and Kojey Radical. Founder of all-female dance company, Myself UK Dance, Kloé has presented work across various platforms including Ladies Of Hip Hop and The Sub Urban Dance Festival.