Studio Wayne McGregor

Studio Wayne McGregor announces a rich, dynamic, and diverse season for 2023/2024, with three trailblazing world premieres, two European premieres and five revivals.

Opera and ballet join forces for the world premiere ofJocasta’s Line: Oedipus Rex (Igor Stravinsky)/Antigone (Samy Moussa),created on the Dutch National Opera and the Dutch National Ballet, staged at the Dutch National Opera and Ballet, Amsterdam (March 2024). The ill-fated family line of the Theban queen Jocasta resonates between two works brought together under the direction and choreography of Wayne McGregor: Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex (1927) and Samy Moussa's new composition Antigone (2023).  

The anticipated world premiere of Deepstaria, a Studio Wayne McGregor original performed by Company Wayne McGregor, will headline Montpellier Danse festival. It will simultaneously launch into the metaverse, using the latest AI technology, to exist across multiple dimensions as a shape shifting work in constant parallel communication with itself.

Wayne McGregor and Ben Cullen Williams join forces with conductor Edward Gardner to reinvent Szymanowski’s ballet for concert halls with A Body for Harnasie.Wayne McGregor responds by using digitally enhanced choreographic storytelling to open a portal to a new expressive world, with innovative technological interventions by Ben Cullen Williams. Conceived and produced by Studio Wayne McGregor, A Body for Harnasie is a co-production between The Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR) and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and will make its world premiere at NOSPR, Katowice, Poland (February 2024), followed by the UK premiere at Southbank's Royal Festival Hall, London (March 2024).

McGregor's Olivier Award-winning Woolf Works, inspired by the writings of modernist 20th century author Virginia Woolf, makes its North American premiere on the American Ballet Theatre at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, California, US (April 2024).

McGregor's Autobiography- the evocative dance portrait inspired by the sequencing of Wayne McGregor’s genetic code and performed by the beguiling dancers of Company Wayne McGregor, will begin its 23/24 season European tour with Autobiography (v 88.0), the 88th iteration of the work, at Theatre-Senart, Lieusaint, France in November 2023. Autobiography reimagines and remakes itself anew for every performance, making each and every staging of the production a recurring world premiere with infinite possibilities. Meanwhile, McGregor’s Dyad 1929 enters the Croatian National Ballet’s repertoire for its European premiere at Croatian National Theatre, Zagreb, Croatia (March 2024).

Company Wayne McGregor will embark upon a European tour of UniVerse: A Dark Crystal Odyssey (February 2024) following the rapturous critical acclaim and sell-out run of its world premiere at The Royal Opera House in May 2023.

Company Wayne McGregor will then return to Sadler’s Wells with Autobiography, now in versions 95.0 and version 96.0 (March 2024) and in dialogue with Aisoma (a new AI tool developed with Google Arts and Culture utilising machine-learning trained on hundreds of hours of McGregor’s choreographic archive), along with UniVerse: A Dark Crystal Odyssey (March 2024). 

Further revivals include Infra, which was created in collaboration with British artist Julian Opie, Max
Richter and Lucy Carter as a response to the July 2005 London bombings, and makes its debut with Ballet Zürich (December 2023). The Dante Project makes its debut with the Royal Danish Ballet (November 2023) following the rapturous critical acclaim of its world premiere at The Royal Opera House in 2021, where it was performed by The Royal Ballet, and its European premiere at The Palais Garnier in 2023, where it was performed by the Paris Opera Ballet. The Dante Project will then return to The Royal Opera House to be performed by The Royal Ballet (November 2023).Chroma, which explores the drama of the human body and its ability to communicate extremes of thought and emotion, makes its Memphis debut with Collage Dance Collective (April 2024).

Wayne McGregor, who was named Director of Venice Biennale Danza, in 2021, will announce his programme for the 18th Annual Festival of Contemporary Dance in April 2024. McGregor recently concluded his third year as Director with Altered States, a radical and genre-defying fifteen day programme of artists, performances and world premieres that explored the limitless possibilities of artistic collaboration and creation.

Finally,ABBA Voyage, the revolutionary concert that launched the Swedish pop sensations back onto the stage in May 2022 for an outstanding avatar performance choreographed by Wayne McGregor, continues to book throughout 2024.


Image: Wayne McGregor's Deepstaria.

LOUD LUXURY! When Moschino invited superstar-super-stylist Katie Grand to create a capsule collection for their 40th anniversary runway show '40 Years of Love' during  Milan Fashion Week she asked Wayne McGregor to choreograph his trailblazing company of dancers, COMPANY WAYNE MCGREGOR,  for the final act.

Image: Backstage at Vogue Runway, for Moschino Spring 2024 Ready-to-Wear Photographed by Jason Lloyd Evans

Wayne McGregor said: "The RCA - a world-leading, industry-defining institution (in the best city in the world) has nurtured an inspirational alumni, changing our creative, ethical, and political landscape daily. I feel extremely fortunate to be honoured today in their company. Many of my incredible collaborators have been RCA schooled: provocative, individual and divergent thinkers, always taking the unconventional path to rich new seams of the possible."

Image: Edward Enninful and Wayne McGregor Photographed by Shaun James Cox

Wayne McGregor, in his role as Director of the Dance Department of La Biennale di Venezia, will announce the programme for the Biennale Danza 2023 on Monday 3rd April.

The announcement will be part of La Biennale di Venezia’s press conference announcing the 2023 programmes for Theatre, Music, Dance and the Biennale Colleges.

The event will be live-streamed at 11:30am CEST on www.labiennale.org and La Biennale di Venezia’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube channel. 


Image: Courtesy La Biennale di Venezia/photo by Andrea Avezzù

Launched in 2017, the PEER  mentoring programme for recent dance graduates offers a range of interactions with the Studio to further develop the skills needed to prepare for a portfolio career and to gain exposure to life as a professional dancer, alongside mentoring and development of a peer network. 

Introducing the 2023 PEER cohort who will be with us until August 2023:

Nya Bardouille
Nya Bardouille is a freelance dance artist and holistic movement practitioner from North London. As a Sports Science and Physiology graduate, she practices sports massage at Welbeck Health in Marylebone and is a physical therapist on the CAT scheme at The Place. Recent projects include US and EU tour with Jamie xx, Hang in There, Baby choreographed by John-William Watson and facilitator for NYDC. BODY LANGUAGE is Nya’s ongoing and bespoke practice of mind-body-movement management for dancers.

Lucy Clark
Lucy is a disabled dance artist with an interest in challenging boundaries between art and dance, and the places they can co-exist. She has become fascinated by the vulnerability held within her lived experiences of hidden disability and what happens when this is presented in a performative or multi-disciplinary context. Lucy is co-founder of fuse, an interdisciplinary collective creating performance art which is currently showing work in Oxford and London.  As a graduate from Trinity Laban, Lucy has worked with a number of well-established professionals including Stephanie Schober, Daniel Squire, Joel Brown, and has also trained externally with Candoco Dance Company, Stopgap, and Boy Blue to name a few.

Ruby De Ville Morel
Ruby De Ville Morel is a dancer, multidisciplinary artist and movement director, who recently graduated from Trinity Laban Conservatoire with a first class degree in Contemporary Dance. Rooted in the weird and wonderful, they aim to infuse their work with humour, joy and playfulness as they explore identity, queerness and fantasy. Drawn to storytelling Ruby's creativity is threaded with a sense of magic influenced by their childhood spent on the wild natural landscape of Dartmoor.

Maiya  Leeke
Maiya is a London based Contemporary Dance Artist. She is a Sadler’s Wells Young Associate 2023/24, was a finalist in BBC Young Dancer 2022, is alumnus of National Youth Dance Company working with Alesandra Seutin and has an MA from Northern School of Contemporary Dance. She is currently dancing for Candoco Dance Company working with Extended Play Dance, and continues to research her practice with Hawk Dance Theatre, Mimbre, and Alleyne Dance. 

Georgia Rowan
Georgia is a queer, interdisciplinary dance artist based in London. She trained at Iwanson International in Munich before completing an MA at LCDS in 2022. Alongside her movement practice in contemporary and commercial styles, her current research is concerned with connections between human nature, modern society, and myth. It is her aim to create work that challenges, reflects, and encourages conversation, working with professionals and the local community. 

Tom Sutton
Tom is from Middlesbrough and is currently in his graduating year of Rambert School training in Contemporary Dance and Ballet. He previously trained on the CAT program at Dance City in Newcastle and was a member of the National Youth Dance Company in 2019/20. He is particularly curious about the blending of both raw and technical movement to explore character and offbeat theatrical expression. 

Melanie Whitehead Smith
Melanie is dance artist whose practice finds itself in movement, film, theatre and research. Melanie’s work centres around club culture, queer identity and experiences of womanhood.  Graduating from Falmouth University with a First Class BA (hons) Dance and Choreography degree, she went on to work in music videos, short films, commercials and live performance. As a performer, Melanie has worked with artists including: Emeli Sande, Rag’n’Bone Man, Honne, Pride in London and Monica Nicolaides. 


Clockwise from top left: Nya Bardouille, Lucy Clark, Ruby De Ville Morel, Maiya Leeke, Georgia Rowan, Melanie Whitehead Smith, Tom Sutton, Georgia Rowan.

Saturday Classes @SWM is a new programme of creative movement sessions at Studio Wayne McGregor, led by a team of world-class teachers, open to all levels of adults and children aged 0-14.

Classes encourage play and curiosity in thinking through and with the body in space.

New to the Summer Term is Adult Fit to Dance, a high intensity exercise class focusing on articulation, strength, coordination and balance. Participants must be over 18.

REGISTRATION
Registration is now open for Summer Term, 22 April to 15 July 2023, and will remain open throughout the term.

Click the class below to register via Eventbrite:
- 10:00 - 10.45: 0-3 yrs 
- 11:00 - 12:00: 3-5 yrs 
- 12:15 - 13.15: 6-9 yrs & Adult Fit to Dance
- 15:00 - 16:15: Over 50’s Creative Movement
*No class on 3 June

COST
Full Term £120 (12 weeks) 
Half Term £60 (6 weeks)

FREE TASTER CLASS
We offer a free taster class for first time attendees. You can book your taster class via the Eventbrite links on the left for a Saturday of your choice.

ENQUIRIES
If you have any questions or require further information, please contact Jessie at jessie@waynemcgregor.com.


Image credit: Jack Thomson.

Join Company Wayne McGregor dancers on Saturday 22 April for a one-day lab exploring Wayne McGregor’s repertoire and creative processes.

The day will begin with an energetic and fast-paced contemporary technique class, followed by phrases from Company Wayne McGregor’s repertoire, with the remainder of the day focusing on Wayne McGregor’s creative tools, practices, and exercises, giving deep insight into his artistic process and an understanding of how Company repertoire is developed during a creation period.

The lab is suitable for professional dancers, graduates and students enrolled in professional dance training who are 18 and over.

BOOKING
The lab costs £80.

Please click here to book your place via Eventbrite.


Image: Rick Guest and Olivia Pomp.

We offer up to 10 places for professional dancers, graduates and students enrolled in professional dance training to join Company Wayne McGregor's morning class.

Sessions are fast paced, rigorous and highly technical, and are taught by a top dance professional at Studio Wayne McGregor, Here East in east London.

We currently have weekday morning classes available to book from Monday 6 March to Friday 28 April 2023, including ballet, contemporary and Cunningham technique classes. All classes run from 10:00am to 11:30am.

BOOKING
Classes are £8 each, and are offered on a first come, first served basis.

To book a class and for further information about the classes and teachers leading the session, please click here for dates in March and click here for dates in April.

If you have any questions or require further information, please contact studioteam@waynemcgregor.com.


Image: George Harvey.

Directed by Wayne McGregor, the Biennale College Danza is seeking sixteen dancers and two choreographers for a three month intensive programme during summer 2023.

Led by internationally renowned teachers, this unique initiative will immerse participants in classes of classical and contemporary technique, and workshops focused on repertory, the creative process, improvisation and new creations, including a re-staging of a historic work by Simone Forti (winner of the Golden Lion), exploration and development of a work by William Forsythe, participation in a new creation by Xie Xin commissioned specifically for the College, and production and shared experience of two new original creations conceived by the selected choreographers.

To apply and for further information, please click here.

The deadline for applications is 22 March 2023.


Image: XU Xiaowei.

Conciding with the school's centenary celebrations, Wayne McGregor has been announced as the new President of Elmhurst Ballet School, succeeding Sir David Eastwood.

The announcement forms part of an ongoing relationship between Elmhurst Ballet School and Studio Wayne McGregor. Since 2019 the relationship has enabled students to work with professional company artists and explore Wayne McGregor’s creative process and cutting-edge choreographic repertoire, including performances of excerpts of Entity and Atomos.

“Wayne McGregor is regarded as one of the world’s leading choreographers and today’s announcement is an exciting development for Elmhurst as the school celebrates and builds on its one-hundred-year legacy." - Jessica Ward, Principal of Elmhurst Ballet School.

 “I am thrilled to contribute to the vision and future programme of Elmhurst as President. The creative training of young dancers has been a career-long passion. As dance companies worldwide extend their repertoire, dancers need to be equipped with new skills that offer them the best chance to succeed.” - Wayne McGregor CBE.


Image: Rick Guest.

Join us at Studio Wayne McGregor on Friday 9 December for an eclectic afternoon of taster workshops, films, interactive displays and guided tours of our beautiful, east London studio.

We are delighted to be offering free taster workshops in creative movement and wellbeing, ahead of the launch of our new public classes programme in January. 

Taster Workshops

3:00pm – 3:45pm: Creative Movement, adults class
Explore contemporary dance and creative movement. The class will start with a gentle warm-up, followed by creative tasks to encourage improvisation. No experience required. 

4:00pm – 4:45pm: Contemporary Dance, young people, ages 7-13
A dynamic class where young people will explore contemporary dance technique and learn new creative movement skills. No experience required. 

5:00pm – 5:45pm: Pilates, ages 18+
A gentle pilates class led by a Company Wayne McGregor alumna. No experience required. Mats are provided. 

Those attending will also be able to:
- See works by emerging talent from UCL’s Bartlett School of Architecture in our gallery area.
- Watch Atomos, a dance film directed and choreographed by Wayne McGregor; Wayne McGregor: Dancing on Edge, a documentary produced for BBC imagine…; and a selection of interviews and insights about Studio Wayne McGregor’s research and art/technology projects.
- Join a guided tour of our east London studio. 

The event is FREE but registration is required as places are limited. Please book your place via Eventbrite.

This event has been generously supported by Hackney Council.


Image: Jack Thomson.

Studio Wayne McGregor is offering an opportunity for five graduating students or recent dance graduates to become part of PEER, a unique professional development programme with us in January - August 2023.

The PEER programme will offer a range of interactions with Studio Wayne McGregor to further develop the skills needed to prepare for a portfolio career and to gain exposure to life as a professional dancer alongside mentoring and development of a peer network.

The programme is open to dancers in their final year of training who are about to embark on their professional career or who have graduated in the last year and could benefit from supported experience in the professional dance world.

Thanks to generous support from the Idlewild Trust the programme is free of charge to participants and there will be support for travel costs.

The deadline for applications is 16 January 2023.

For further information and to apply, please click here.


Image: Studio Wayne McGregor, Richard Davies.