The Art of Faux Pas Léa Tirabasso

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!