This year, we will be collaborating with the London Philharmonic Orchestra for Debut Sounds 2024. Eight Trinity Laban choreographers will work closely with the LPO Young Composers this season, mentored by LPO composer-in-residence Tania León. They will create choreography for five brand new pieces by the Young Composers, to be performed at the LPO’s Debut Sounds concert at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank Centre in June 2024.
On 26 October, TL choreographers joined forces with Tania León and the LPO Young Composers for the first time, launching the start of their creative discussions. One of the five LPO Young Composers is our alum Eliana Echeverry, one of the most versatile composers and arrangers in Colombia, who previously completed an MMus in Composition at Trinity Laban.
Tania set the session in motion by introducing the brief and discussing the collaboration in more detail. Each composer and choreographer split into their teams to discuss and develop their artistic ideas, with different directions being explored: in-depth discussion, online research and drawing to unlock creativity. The groups then reunited – the perfect opportunity to get to know each other better and come together as part of a creative community. The composers and choreographers will continue to meet throughout the season, before their works are performed in June by Trinity Laban dancers, members of the LPO, and musicians from the LPO’s Foyle Future Firsts scheme. Read on to learn more about the brilliant TL choreographers who are taking part in the project…
Dr Irene Fiordilino is a London-based choreographer and researcher. She is the director of the emerging Scirocco Dance Theatre Company and Associate Director of the London International Screen Dance Festival. Irene’s original artistic methodology – Transitory Architecture – sits in the space between choreography and architecture: the intention is to bring the relation between bodies and space to the fore, questioning the aesthetics and the politics of cohabitation. Irene completed her PhD in Creative Practice at Trinity Laban where she occasionally works as a lecturer. Both her papers and choreographic work have been presented at international conferences and festivals in Europe, India, the UAE and the United States.
Sarah do Carmo Santos is Brazilian and relocated to England to pursue her MA in Choreography at Trinity Laban. She graduated with a BA in Dance from the University of Campinas in Brazil, where she trained in ballet, contemporary dance, and Brazilian dances. She is a dancer/choreographer interested in exploring movement through touch and text, combined with practices of mindfulness and body awareness.
Nina Murphy is a creative artist who works in the mediums of movement/dance, choreography, and film. She is currently living and working in London. Preceding her time in London, Nina resided in Helena, Montana as a dance instructor/choreographer at two established dance studios. She holds a BFA in Dance Performance from the University of Wyoming as well as an MFA in Creative Practice from Trinity Laban. Nina has had the honour of working with artists such as Daniel Charon, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Charmaine Hunter, André Megerdichian, and Jesse Obremski. She also had the opportunity to perform as a soloist and ensemble in works choreographed by José Limón and Colin Connor. She has training in ballet, modern (Limón and Graham technique experience), jazz, tap, and vertical dance. Nina’s choreographic experience spans from small black box works and dance films to site-specific and studio recitals. During her time in London, Nina has had the pleasure to dance in several dance films by artists around the world as well as take part in the historic event of The Platinum Jubilee Pageant for the late Queen of England. She also had the honour of presenting her dance film Unapologetically Herself in an art exhibition where she explored the use of the female figure as art.
Yun Cheng is a choreographer based in London. Born in Taipei, Taiwan, Yun began her dance journey in creative dance lessons, and trained in ballet, contemporary and Chinese dance. She studied at Taipei University of the Arts and London Contemporary Dance School with a focus on choreography. Yun explores the delicate connection between human beings and introspection in her choreographic works in collaboration with dancers, musicians, new media artists, and filmmakers. She is currently conducting her PhD research – Nurturing the process: a Feldenkrais-informed choreographic practice at Trinity Laban. Her previous choreographic works include Closer: Five Portraits of Dancers (Dance film) (London, 2020) and The Quake Within (The Place London, 2020), among several others.
Franziska Boehm is a multidisciplinary artist, performer, and lecturer whose work is grounded in embodied awareness and phenomenological research. She believes in artistic expression as a transformational tool for finding language on seemingly inexplicable topics such as grief, loss and love. She holds two degrees (BA, MA) in Music (Flute, Voice, Music Education) from the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, and an MFA in Creative Practice: Dance Professional from Trinity Laban. Currently in her last year of a practice-based PhD at Trinity Laban, she continues to explore the lived experience of the “vocalic self” in performance and practice. As a lecturer, she worked in the field of music and dance at different conservatoires in Germany and the UK, taught as a course presenter in China, and has been involved in artist-in-school programs, developing choreography with children and youth. Performances, exhibitions and workshops include: feel soft at ASC Croydon (collaborative exhibition with Mira Hirtz, London 2023), a revealed study at Resolutions Contemporary Dance Festival (London 2022), and for expressions sake (a performative installation at Laban Theatre, 2022), among several others. As a performer, she works with creatives such as Lizzy Le Quesne, Mira Hirtz, Kate Wilson, and Joachim Hamou. She also has a creative long-term partnership with artist S. Ruth, making work together since 2021.
Sofia Pomeroy is a dancer and choreographer who was born and raised in Madrid, but is half English. After finishing her studies in Psychology, she went on a gap year to New York and this ignited her desire to start a career in dance. Encouraged by her peers, she went to Germany and studied Dance and Pedagogy at Iwanson International School of Contemporary Dance in Munich. During her studies, she focused on Contemporary Dance and developed a strong passion for choreography, taking every opportunity to make a new creation. In her final year at Iwanson, she took part in the festival Hier=Jetzt with her choreography Stuck/unstuck. Immediately after her graduation, Sofia received state funding to create a dance performance of her own and in the following month, she premiered a two-day performance called Suit-cased at PLATFORM gallery in Munich. The day after the performance, she flew to London and started an MA in Choreography at Trinity Laban.
In my practice, I research questions related to social matters and I am intrigued about all topics related to psychology. I enjoy including floorwork and partnering in my choreographic practice as tools to communicate the message of the work.
Valentina Vidal Streitwieser is a London-based dancer and choreographer from Uruguay. She has trained extensively in ballet and contemporary dance, and has acquired a Bachelor (Hons.) in Dance Studies from the University of Malta. During her early training years, Valentina had the opportunity to work with several renowned ballet masters in Uruguay, and to attend intensive courses at the Cia de Ballet do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and the University of North Carolina School of The Arts (United States). As an undergraduate student in Malta, Valentina performed in works by local and international choreographers, spent a semester on an Erasmus+ program at Middlesex University in the UK, and performed with Maltese companies and festivals, including the Malta International Arts Festival and the APS Summer Festival. In the last two years, Valentina’s choreographic work has been performed in events in Uruguay and Malta, and she has developed a teaching practice that combines technical training with creative improvisation tools. Valentina relocated to London in September 2022 to study at Trinity Laban, supported by the Arts Scholarship of the Leverhulme Trust and the Janatha Stubbs Foundation. During her postgraduate studies, Valentina enjoyed immersing herself in the diverse London dance scene, participating in as many professional classes, workshops, and performances as she could fit in her schedule. During this time she has also created four new works researching the possibilities if interpreting poetry in movement for her master’s project titled Dance Ekphrasis as Intersemiotic Translation. Valentina’s choreographic practice is grounded on a highly physical contemporary language that oscillates between balletic lines, floor work, and intricate gestural movement. Her interest in literature is reflected in the intermedia collaborations and theatrical aspects of her work, something that she wishes to push further in her future artistic explorations.
James Adamson is a graduate from Brigham Young University with a BFA in dance and is currently studying for his MFA in choreography at Trinity Laban. He has performed with and choreographed for Open Arms Dance Company and Atlas Dance Collective, among others. He has presented works at Red Rock Dance Festival, Boise State University Dance Intensive and American Collegiate Dance Association Conference. Currently dancing in London, James has worked with choreographers such as Gary Lambert, Zoi Dimitriou, and Vanio Papadelli. Originally from Idaho, he has been awarded the Leverhulme scholarship, Fulbright grant for experiential, and BYU’s Chorographic Excellence scholarship. James specializes in contemporary movement and somatic practices exploring the physical dimensions of emotions and how they can be used in the chorographic processes.