Today we are chatting with René Alejandro Huari Mateus. René is a dance artist from Colombia, she studied chemistry before discovering dance and the power of movement rolling down her spine one day. Encounters brought her to Germany where she trained At the Folkwang School in Essen - before dancing as a guest dancer for Pina Bausch. She then worked as a full time dancer of the the Staatsatheater Kassel, for 3 seasons, she also worked amongst others, with Tino Sehgal during Documenta13. René has always been interested in creating, she (and I quote) 'choreographs dances that celebrate the more-than-human, pursuing a naïve stubbornness: to defy the windmills of institutionalized discrimination, which in Germany occasionally allows some dances to be choreographed by some non-Germans.'René is a gift in my life, I will always remember the joy I felt when we bumped into each other in an elevator. This meant the audition we both attended, was about to offer 2 years of incredible friendship and artistic partnership. René is a dear friend and a wonderful artist and thinker I feel connected to - someone with an ultra creative mind and a fascinating analytical eye. She thinks outside the box and outside the box thats outside the box. You will laugh at her stories, and think through her words.. I hope you’ll enjoy this chat as much as I did!

Seeta Patel is an award-winning choreographer and dancer based in London. She began her training under the guidance of Kiran Ratna in 1990. She has since worked with a range of Bharatanatyam and contemporary dance professionals including (and to name a few) Mavin Khoo or Darshan Singh Bhuller. She has also performed and toured with a number of companies such as DV8 Physical Theatre and Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company amongst others.Seeta is an Associate Artist at Sadlers Wells (London). More recently, her work ‘The Rite of Spring’ was nominated for an Olivier Award in the Best New Dance Category, making her the first woman of colour nominated in this category. The piece has also just been nominated for a National Dance Awards in Best Classical Choreography, her company in Best Independent Company Category,, and one of her collaborator Sooraj Subramaniam, for Outstanding Male Classical Performance in ‘The Rite of Spring’ ….. Best of luck!!!!! Compassion and integrity are the two words that come to mind when reflecting on the chat we had together. Compassion towards herself, compassion towards the live performance - a space where everything can happen. We talked about the incredible power of art, the invaluable chance being able to create represents, misogynie, racism, cats, tripping on stage… I hope you’ll enjoy this chat as much as I did!

Breanna O’Mara is a Dance Artist from Detroit (US) and is now based in Vienna. She has worked with Liquid Loft, Staatstheater Kassel, Ballett Baselm, and has danced and toured the wolrd with Tanztheater Wuppertal and Dimitris Papaioannou. She is currently the Contemporary Dance Rehearsal Director at the Paris Opera. Breanna shines bright with passion, enthusiasm, humility and empathy. Distance too.. which I love! Together we talked about being stuck in a curtain for 10 minutes, empathy and other forms of intelligence, the world made of tiny pools, not being seen, and dance as a way to express oneself. -> Quick note about this episode; it was recorded when I was abroad in a very echoey hotel room / apologise for that!

Sarah Blanc is an Irish artist based in London. She is simply magnificent: she shines with positivity, passion and enthusiasm. She s also funny as hell. I love that she describes herself as a loud mouth choreographer, performer and host. Sarah is the Artistic Director of Moxie Brawl -  a spicy inclusive dance theatre company who makes work that your mum would love (isn’t that best line ever). As a freelance choreographer/movement director she has worked with companies, organisations and artists such as Complicite, Bryony Kimmings, the Royal Opera House, Perth Concert Hall and The Place amongst others. She is currently working with  Dan Daw and Xnthony Ltd.Together we talked about protecting your own peace, happiness, the love of performing and the sensation of a full on impostor syndrome of a council estate princess.

Anne-Mareike Hess is a Luxembourgish dance artist and has been working in the field of contemporary dance for 17 years. Her work has toured extensively and counts amongst others, the piece Warrior which was part of Aerowaves 2020. I personally love Anne-Mareike’s take on life, work and her exquisite sense of humour! Together we talked about being tutu number 26, about the importance of being creative, living fully one impulse to not regret it, not letting the outer world or definition of success rule YOUR world and the wonderful feeling of herself being in a beautiful place about her practice and work today.

Seke Chimutengwende is a choreographer, performer, movement director and teacher based in London. As a performer, he’s worked with DV8, Lost Dog and Forced Entertainment amongst others. Improvisation is at the centre of Seke’s work.He has been practicing completely improvised performance, using movement and text, since 2006 and has performed over 70 solo improvisations internationally. Together we talked about the need and the luxury of time, the feeling of constantly auditioning as an artist, and enjoyment… I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did!

Laura Patay is a French dancer. She’s worked for several years with Candoco Dance Company where she performed works by Trisha Brown and Yasmeen Godder and amongst others. Laura is phenomenal, fierce, fearless and quite frankly the incarnation of resilience.Together we talked about different bodies, pleasure, touring the world, accelerated solo, motherhood and postpartum bodies... … I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did!

Orrow Bell is a London based dance artist. They make, perform, work as dramaturg, facilitator, and curator. Orrow’s solo works have toured widely. As a performer, they worked with Tino Sehgal, Hussein Chayalan & Damien Jalet, Lea Anderson, Maresa von Stockert, Alessandro Sciarroni and Chiara Frigo amongts others. To me, Orrow is a quiet strength. The kind of strength that radiates from people who are fully, rootedly, themselves.  Together we talked about queerness, failure being a systemic bullshit, lycra and blank on stage, the cosmos, being a recovering perfectionist, putting care alongside actions…. It is a dense and rich conversation you are about to listen to, it is bound to question your perspectives and angles… I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did!

Samir is a french dancer based in Marseille, he worked with DV8, Les Ballets C de la B, Peeping Tom, Blanca Li, and Philippe Lafeuille amongst others. Together we talked about training, fitting in, taking actions, self-sabotage, working hard, working with kids, and..dreams.He has such a powerful presence, he’s determined, hard-working and his journey is, I believe, one of the most inspiring ones. This chat will leave you with a strong sense of being able to achieve pretty much anything. I hope you’ll enjoy this chat as much as I did!

SUNG-IM HER. Sung-im is a South-Korean dance artist based in London, she danced with Jan Fabre, Les Ballets C de la B and NeedCompany amongst others. Her work has been touring internationally and she was an Aerowaves artist in 2021. She’s radiant, her energy is joyfully contagious… I hope you’ll enjoy the chat as much as I did!!

A presentation of where this podcast comes from, and what I imagine it might become!Music: Martin Durov (from the piece 'The Ephemeral life of an octopus')