Alexander Whitley Dance Company

Alexander Whitley Dance Company Artist led contemporary dance company creating work at the intersection of choreography & technology

Alexander Whitley's intricate choreography draws on his background in classical and contemporary dance and is noted for its strong musicality and striking visual design. Alexander has created work for several of the UK’s leading companies including The Royal Ballet, Rambert, Balletboyz, Candoco, Gandini Juggling and Birmingham Royal Ballet. Alexander is a founding member of New Movement Collective

and a tutor on the Design for Performance and Interaction Masters programme at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. He is also a New Wave Associate at Sadler’s Wells Theatre and a former Choreographic Affiliate of Rambert and The Royal Ballet. Founding Alexander Whitley Dance Company in 2014, his works have toured the UK and internationally including Sadler’s Wells commissions: Overflow, Strange Stranger, 8 Minutes, Pattern Recognition and The Grit in the Oyster; and Royal Ballet commissions: The Measures Taken and Noumena. Working in partnership with The Guardian’s VR studio he created the virtual reality experience Celestial Motion which has recently been extended into Celestial Motion II in collaboration with HTC Vive Arts. During the Covid-19 lockdown Alexander launched the Digital Body project, using motion capture technology to remotely collaborate with digital artists and composers in the creation of digital dance films. This has developed to include an augmented reality filter for Instagram and is being extended in a triptych of films called Chaotic Body, the first of which will premiere in October at Roma Europa Festival. Alexander's 2020 commission, The Butterfly Effect is a new stage production for Hessisches Staatsballett. He is also working on a new Virtual Reality experience based on the seminal ballet The Rite of Spring as part of this year’s cohort of Creative XR.

📣 WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT 📣 Join company dancer this Saturday 7th March 12-2pm for a creative movement workshop inspired...
02/03/2026

📣 WORKSHOP ANNOUNCEMENT 📣

Join company dancer this Saturday 7th March 12-2pm for a creative movement workshop inspired by the company’s new double bill Rite of Spring/Mirror. Designed for participants aged 50 and over, the session offers an open space to move, create, and connect with the ideas from the hearts of the productions.

The double bill programme opens with Mirror, inspired by philosopher Shannon Vallor’s book The AI Mirror, and set to a score by . The work explores the risks artificial intelligence poses to human relationships, particularly when we begin forming attachments to its reflections and mistake them for something deeper than they are.

This is followed by a radical reinterpretation of Igor Stravinsky’s seminal work The Rite of Spring, reframing its primal themes of community and sacrifice within the context of our collective surrender of trust to AI.

In the workshop, participants will explore these ideas through movement by engaging with:

- Mirroring and reflection
- Choreography as algorithm
- Ritual and repetition
- Agency, autonomy, and human–machine interaction

The space is open, supportive, and invitational and we look forward to sharing the themes of our latest production with you in this creative session.

To book your place, please see the link in our bio. For any queries about the session please email: [email protected]

📣 OPPORTUNITY 📣 AWDC 6-month Youth Ambassador Programme CALL OUT for 18-24 Year Olds (UK-based applicants only) We are s...
23/02/2026

📣 OPPORTUNITY 📣

AWDC 6-month Youth Ambassador Programme CALL OUT for 18-24 Year Olds (UK-based applicants only)

We are seeking applications from curious, creative and motivated young people to step inside our world.

The AWDC Youth Ambassador Membership is designed to break down barriers to the behind-the-scenes processes of a working arts company.

We want to create genuine dialogue with younger generations - not as a token gesture, but as an ongoing exchange of ideas that meaningfully influences how we think, create and communicate ideas.

This initial 6-month membership is not simply about observation. It is about participation, perspective and active discussion.

While this is an unpaid opportunity, AWDC Youth Ambassadors will be invited to:

• Join some rehearsals and studio sessions
• Attend shows & exclusive BTS events
• Observe technical and creative discussions
• Engage with artists and collaborators
• Share perspectives that can inform our productions and programmes
• Contribute ideas shaped by your experiences, interests, and awareness/experience of current events
• Access to technical equipment for creative exploration where possible

Travel is supported on a case by case basis.

The initial term for the programme begins now and ends in August 2026.

Please submit your 100 word overview, explaining why you would like to be considered for the programme along with your CV to [email protected] by Friday 27th February at noon.

For more info please see the link in bio and get in touch should you have any queries.

Please note: Participation in the programme is voluntary and while there are no obligations to contribute or attend specific events, continued engagement in the programme would require clear ongoing communication.

Join us, next month, for the premiere of our new Double Bill production…✨ Mirror + Rite of Spring ✨ Book your tickets no...
23/02/2026

Join us, next month, for the premiere of our new Double Bill production…

✨ Mirror + Rite of Spring ✨

Book your tickets now! Preview performances take place next week (!) on Friday 6th and Saturday 7th March, ahead of the world premiere at on Wednesday 18th-Saturday 21 March. Link in bio!

The double bill opens with Mirror, inspired by philosopher Shannon Vallor’s book The AI Mirror and set to a score by who’s described as a ‘powerful force in new and primordial music’.

This new work examines the risks that AI poses to human relationships when we form attachments to its reflections and mistake them for something deeper than they are.

This is followed by a radical reinterpretation of Stravinsky’s seminal work, The Rite of Spring, which reframes its primal themes of community and sacrifice in the context of our collective surrender of trust to AI.

Post-show talk 18th March

Co-commissioned by . Mirror is co-produced by .staatsballett and The Rite of Spring is co-produced by . Supported by , , , Foyle Foundation, Leche Trust, Reed Educational Trust Limited, Big Give Christmas Challenge donors with core support from the John Ellerman Foundation, Coln Trust and Edwin Fox Foundation.

Cast: 🪩

Creative team:
Artistic Director - Alexander Whitley
Lead Technologist -
Technical Director - Dom Martin
Costume and Set Designer -
Lighting Designer -
Relighter - Sarah Danielle Martin
Costume makers - Queen of Stretch Amanda Barrow & Lynn Hamilton
Music- Mirror: & Rite of Spring: Igor Stravinsky as recorded by Luxembourg Philharmonic
Producer -

We’d love to see you there! 💛

📣 CAST ANNOUNCEMENT 📣 Introducing our wonderfully talented cast for Mirror and Rite of Spring, March tour 2026. 🪩 Gabri...
16/02/2026

📣 CAST ANNOUNCEMENT 📣

Introducing our wonderfully talented cast for Mirror and Rite of Spring, March tour 2026.

🪩 Gabriel, Daisy, Elaini, Natnael & Nafisah 🪩

Each dancer is bringing something unique and fresh to the work and we can’t wait to share with you what we’ve been working on.

The cast will be showcasing their debut performances at on 6th & 7th March and at on 18th - 21st March.

🎟️ Book your tickets now! ( Link in bio)

🪩 🪩

✨ Join Company Class with Alexander Whitley Dance Company ✨While we’re deep in rehearsals for our new double bill Mirror...
27/01/2026

✨ Join Company Class with Alexander Whitley Dance Company ✨

While we’re deep in rehearsals for our new double bill Mirror / The Rite of Spring, we’re opening up company class and inviting you into the studio. Train alongside Alexander Whitley and the company dancers in a professional environment in the beautiful studios at .

🗓️ Selected dates in January & February 2026 (See registration form for more info!)
⏰ 10.00–11.15am
📍 Sadlers Wells East - Martha Graham Studio (Jan) & Alvin Ailey Studio (Feb)
💷 £13 per session or 3 sessions for £30
🔗 Booking encouraged - registration form and payment link in bio

We love sharing the space with returning dancers and new dancers alike. The session is open to all; however, as this is a professional company class, participants should use their discretion when booking. We will cover a mixture of contemporary and ballet technique. If you have any queries regarding the class please get in touch and we’d be happy to help: contact us at [email protected].

We’re halfway through the Big Give Christmas Challenge 💛At AWDC, young people are at the heart of everything we do. Thei...
05/12/2025

We’re halfway through the Big Give Christmas Challenge 💛

At AWDC, young people are at the heart of everything we do. Their joy, questions, and fresh perspectives push us to innovate, helping us improve projects like Otmo and shape experiences that are truly theirs.

Workshops are playful, experimental, and full of dialogue - exploring dance, technology, and big questions about our world. Your support keeps these spaces open, welcoming, and full of possibility.

Every donation to our campaign is doubled - help us reach our target!

🔗 Link in bio

25/11/2025

Tickets are now on sale at and for our new double bill production of Rite of Spring + Mirror. Links to book through linktree in bio.

🌍 📣 World Premiere Announcement 📣 🌍It’s been a while in the making, but we are thrilled to share that our new Double Bil...
06/11/2025

🌍 📣 World Premiere Announcement 📣 🌍

It’s been a while in the making, but we are thrilled to share that our new Double Bill production of Rite of Spring + Mirror will be premiering at on 18th March, 2026

Fusing dance, live motion capture and Artificial Intelligence, this new Double Bill explores the ancient and ongoing struggle between human autonomy and the forces that shape our fate.

Drawing on mythology, machine logic, and raw physicality, these two new works reflect our past and speculate on our future - from the haunting influence of algorithmic systems to the ritualistic surrender to something greater than ourselves.

Together, Mirror and The Rite of Spring offer a visceral journey through observation, transformation and the enduring human need to be seen.

👀 Previews: 6 & 7 March

🎭 Premiere: 18–21 March

🎟️ Priority booking now open:

https://www.sadlerswells.com/whats-on/alexander-whitley-the-rite-of-spring-mirror

📩 For any tour enquiries or engagement-related queries about the productions, please contact [email protected] with the subject line “Double Bill”.

We can’t wait to share these works with you!

📷: Concept Photography + Videography for Mirror (with assistance from Katerina Vahalova). Oskein for Rite of Spring

🪩: Dancers featured are & in Mirror, and & in Rite of Spring

🎨: Graphic Design by

With special thanks to those organisations and individuals who have made this work possible so far:

Co-commissioned by Sadler’s Wells. Mirror is co-produced by Hessisches Staatsballett and The Rite of Spring is co-produced by MA Scène Nationale – Pays de Montbéliard. Supported by Arts Council England, DanceEast, Cockayne Grants for the Arts, Foyle Foundation, Leche Trust, Reed Educational Trust Limited, Big Give Christmas Challenge donors with core support from the John Ellerman Foundation, Coln Trust and Edwin Fox Foundation

AUDITION CALL OUTSeeking Professional Contemporary Dancers for Mirror / Rite of SpringAlexander Whitley Dance Company is...
10/10/2025

AUDITION CALL OUT
Seeking Professional Contemporary Dancers for Mirror / Rite of Spring

Alexander Whitley Dance Company is seeking highly skilled professional contemporary dancers for our upcoming double bill production, Mirror / Rite of Spring, set to premiere in Spring 2026.

We are looking for:

Dancers with strong contemporary and ballet techniques

A minimum of 3 years’ professional experience

Dancers comfortable with or open to working with motion capture technologies.

Please complete the short application form (link in bio). If you have any queries or need to send attachments, please email [email protected].

The deadline for applications is Monday 20 October, 2025 at 12:00pm.

Alexander Whitley Dance Company is an inclusive organisation. If you have any accessibility requirements for the application process or the audition, please contact [email protected] and we will be happy to make appropriate arrangements.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Thrilled to be for the opening of the amazing new Doris Duke theatre tonight. We’ll be performing Otmo Live linking dan...
09/07/2025

Thrilled to be for the opening of the amazing new Doris Duke theatre tonight. We’ll be performing Otmo Live linking dancers and digitally between their old and new venues with the tool.

Special thanks to for costumes and Digital Learning Lab for mocap support.

Address

Stratford Walk, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
London
E20 2AR

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Alexander Whitley Dance Company posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Featured

Share

Category