Rosie Kay

Rosie Kay
Born (1976-03-27) 27 March 1976 (age 48)
Scotland
OccupationChoreographer
Years active2004–present
Websiterosiekay.co.uk

Rosie Kay (born 27 March 1976) is a British choreographer best known for her show 5 Soldiers,[1][2] MK ULTRA[3][4] (produced in collaboration with Adam Curtis)[3] and choreographing the handover in the 2018 Commonwealth Games closing ceremony.[5] Kay is the founder and former artistic director of Rosie Kay Dance Company, Associate Artist at Dance City,[6] and a research associate to the University of Oxford School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography.[7][8]

Early life

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Rosie Kay, born in Scotland and brought up in Devon, began dance classes at the age of three.[9] She trained at London Contemporary Dance School, graduating in 1998.[10]

Career

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Rosie Kay first worked as a dancer outside of the UK before founding Rosie Kay Dance Company in 2004.[10]

In 2013, Kay became Leverhulme Artist in Residence at the University of Oxford, using the archive of the Pitts Rivers Museum to create Sluts of Possession with Brazilian dance artist Guilherme Miotto. She worked with the director of The Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology, Professor Stanley Ulijaszek, research partner Dr Karin Eli, Dr Noel Lobley (ethnomusicologist), Dr Christopher Morton (Curator of Photographs at the Pitt Rivers) and Prof Clare Harris to develop the piece.[11][12][13] Performed by Kay and Miotto, Sluts of Possession featured at Dance Base at Edinburgh Festival Fringe, honing in on trance-like states and tribal ritual.[14]

In 2014 producer James Preston joined Rosie Kay Dance Company as executive director, with the pair first meeting at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe whilst Kay was performing her piece The Wild Party in 2006.[15]

In 2015, Rosie Kay's production 5 Soldiers received a Special Commendation from the Royal Society of Public Health's Arts and Health Awards and was nominated for Best Choreography at the National Dance Awards in 2015 whilst the company won Best Independent Dance Company.[16][17] The show also garnered considerable critical praise, attaining 5 stars in The Scotsman, The Herald, the Observer, the Independent, and 4 stars in The Guardian, and was included in the Best Dance Charts 2015 for the latter three publications.[2][18][19][20][21][22][23] In 2017, it returned to Edinburgh Festival Fringe with a sell-out run presented by Summerhall’s Army@TheFringe and was awarded a Summerhall Jawbone Award for ‘Greatest Festival Moments 2017’.[1][24] A digital commission from The Space in 2017 enabled a live stream of the show from an Army base in London presented by Sadler's Wells on BBC Arts Online.[1]

In 2015, Kay danced as character Nastya Terpsikhorova and took the role of Movement Director in Irina Brown's stage direction of Shostakovich's Orango at BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall in London.[citation needed]

MK ULTRA, performed in 2017 is politically focused,[25] the final part of a trilogy beginning with 5 Soldiers (on war) and There Is Hope (on religion).[26][27][28][29] In it, Kay explores themes of surveillance, propaganda, and "total war".[25]

Rosie Kay was chosen as the Choreographer of the Commonwealth Games handover performance as the sporting event transitioned from Australia to Birmingham, UK for the 2018 Commonwealth Games.[30][31] The choreography was put together in ten days and was televised live to an estimated one billion people globally, in a performance that also included the longest ever single-camera shot of a live handover.[31][32] The performance featured Birmingham Royal Ballet's principal dancer Céline Gittens and blended ballet, street, jazz and contemporary dance. Approximately 1,500 volunteers auditioned to take part with 500–600 participating in the live show.[32]

In April 2018, Rosie Kay Dance Company became an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation.[33][34]

Kay is associate director and choreographer for a large-scale adaptation of Woyzeck, with a community cast of 100+ at Birmingham Repertory Theatre as part of Birmingham International Dance Festival 2018.[5][30]

In September 2021 Romeo + Juliet premiered at Birmingham Hippodrome, and received four further performances in a double-bill with Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Rosie Kay resigned from her company,[35] Rosie Kay Dance Company following an investigation after claims were made by her dancers regarding Kay's views on gender & biological sex.

The Times reads... Kay asked them to define non-binary. At that she says several male dancers shouted that she was a bigot and a terf. Kay said that she supported single-sex spaces, especially because in 2019 in a dance studio’s gender-neutral changing rooms she saw “women and girls getting undressed and in the middle a young man dancing about with his penis out. I was too shocked to complain".

In July 2022, Kay launched the K2CO dance company.[36] Company members will sign a commitment to freedom of expression, the Charter of Creation, that the workplace will be "a safe space where we are free to express our thoughts and feelings without fear of being silenced, shut down or cancelled".[36][37] Artist Jess de Wahls and Jan Teo, past head of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, will sit on the board.[36] Kay said that K2CO will stage a version of Orlando, with a woman in the lead role.[36]

Influences

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5 Soldiers

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In 2006 Kay experienced a knee injury, with doctors saying that she would never dance again.[38] When recovering from an operation and still feeling the effects of general anaesthetic, she had a vivid dream which inspired the creation of 5 Soldiers: The Body is the Frontline, a piece that tells the story of servicemen and women in the British Army.[39] Recalling the dream, she told The Daily Record:

“I dreamt my leg had been blown off on a desert battlefield. In the dream, my first thought was, ‘Oh s**t’. My second thought was, ‘My body is not my soul, I can chop off my arms and legs and I’d still be me’. I thought, ‘What are the links between dance training and soldiers’ training? Could I understand the way they use their bodies? Could I step into that? How would it feel to change my body in that way? What happens in your mind to take those risks?"[38]

After coming up with the idea for 5 Soldiers, it took her nearly two years to gain an embedded attachment to an infantry battalion. With the support of retired British Army Major General Sir Michael Carleton-Smith, she secured an attachment with 4th Battalion, The Rifles with whom she took part in intensive training on Dartmoor before spending time with medics and injured soldiers the Defence Medical Rehabilitation Unit at Headley Court and Selly Oak in Birmingham (Royal Centre for Defence Medicine).[40][41] At these army rehab centres, Kay spoke with soldiers who had returned from Afghanistan with complex trauma injuries and multiple amputations.[39] General Nick Parker, KCB, CBE commented on Kay's

“use of dance to help create a complex and nuanced picture of conflict is one of the most innovative and compelling initiatives that I have experienced in the aftermath of Iraq and Afghanistan. It demonstrates how art can be used as a powerful tool in the healing process, how it can touch the extended family of those who have been caught in the horror of battle and how it can send a universal message about the soldier. It is an extraordinary achievement which will make a difference to many people.”[40]MK Ultra

Together with journalist Adam Curtis, Kay interviewed 14- to 25-year-olds from the West Midlands, incorporating some of their testimonies into the piece.[25]

Romeo + Juliet

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"A new re-imagining of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy sets the action in the hot Birmingham summer of 2021.[42] In this diverse city, young people’s family loyalties give way to gang allegiance as teenagers play with adult rules. A party in the park gets out of control sparking rumours, rioting and revenge. In the midst of rivalries, first tastes of freedom and sparks of a full-on first love ignite. Two young lovers are led to their tragic deaths by events they can’t control."

Personal life

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Kay is the daughter of Stefan G. Kay OBE and Helen Kay.[43][44] She has a son, Gabriel and lives in Northfield, Birmingham, with her film-maker husband Louis Price.[5]

Resignation from Rosie Kay Dance Company

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In December 2021, The Times published an article regarding Kay's resignation from her own dance company. According to the article, Kay stepped down after complaints were made to the company's board about her views on transgender identity, which she expressed in conversation at a private dinner party she threw in her home for company dancers. The ostensible purpose of the gathering, which took place during rehearsals for the company's production of "Romeo and Juliet." was to "relax and cheer everyone up," although the dancers have claimed that Kay was still acting in the role of their employer. The complaints that ultimately led to Kay's resignation from the company she founded were made by four of the dancers who attended the party, some of who say they are non-binary.[45]

The conflict leading to the complaints arose during a conversation in which Kay told the party attendees she was working with an LGBT book club and several trans friends to create a new production based on Orlando. According to Kay, "Debate turned heated as we talked about the differences between sex and gender and whether transwomen should be admitted to women’s spaces, such as refuges for victims of domestic violence. I believe in sex-based protections and women’s sex-based rights. Women’s rights and freedom of expression are a cornerstone to my artistic expression."[46] Kay, who says she was raped at 16 by a school friend, says she is gender non-conforming, but that "as a dancer, you live in your body. You are under no illusion about your sex. During periods, you injure more easily. When you ovulate, you're wobbly."[45]

According to the article in The Times, the complaints alleged that Kay was aggressive and had made the dancers uncomfortable by showing them her child's bedroom on a general tour of the house. In an article by the BBC, Kay is alleged to have made comments including: "identifying as non-binary is a cop out", that "allowing trans people to take hormone blockers is creating eunuchs" and that "transwomen are a danger to actual women in toilets and only want access to female toilets to commit sexual assault."[47] The complainants also claimed Kay had said that being non-binary is "insane." Kay denies having said this, but acknowledges that she did say, and does believe, that "there is no such sex as non-binary."[45] In response to the complaints made to Rosie Kay Dance Company's board of trustees, the board wrote to the Arts Council and the Charity Commission, telling them that Kay was under investigation for transphobia. The board demanded that Kay be investigated by an external HR consultant, but Kay refused to submit to any investigation "which does not acknowledge my gender-critical beliefs are protected under law."[45] She resigned from the company after seeking legal advice.

On 9 December, Kay said she was exploring whether to pursue "legal routes" to force the company to hand over her intellectual property, which "belongs contractually" to her, and would also be considering whether to pursue a claim for constructive dismissal and discrimination.[46]

On 10 December, six dancers in her former company released an open letter accusing Kay of having created a hostile work environment, saying she had made those statements. The open letter further said that Kay had asked non-binary members of the company to confirm which genitalia they had.[48] Kay denies these allegations, saying that the only talk about "eunuchs" was a reference to Germaine Greer's feminist text The Female Eunuch, and that she was not transphobic, saying that "the presence of males who may falsely say they are transwomen in female toilets can cause trauma to women who have suffered sexual assault, as a significant number of women have."[47]

Kay described her perspective in an essay My body will never be erased, published by UnHerd on 17 December.[49]

Kay said she experienced depression after losing her company, but was encouraged by the support of the author J. K. Rowling, who tweeted: "Rosie, you proved you were ready to lose everything in this fight and I couldn’t admire you more."[36]

Awards and accolades

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  • 1st Prize Choreography, International Solo Dance Festival Stuttgart[50]
  • Award from The Queen as ‘Young Achiever of Scotland’.[10]
  • Bonnie Bird New Choreography Award.[5]
  • First associate artist of DanceXchange[10]
  • First Leverhulme Artist in Residence to the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, University of Oxford, 2013–2014, member of St Cross College.[11][51][52]
  • Research Associate, University of Oxford, with papers published in Medical Humanities and a book chapter published by Oxford University Press on ‘War and Choreography’.[53][54]

List of major works

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  • Asylum (2004)
  • The Wild Party (2006)
  • Ballet on the Buses (2007)
  • Double Points: K (2008) in collaboration with Emio Greco | PC.
  • Supernova (2008)
  • 5 SOLDIERS – The Body Is The Frontline (2010–2017)
  • The Great Train Dance (2011) on the Severn Valley Railway
  • There is Hope (2012)
  • Haining Dreaming (2013)
  • Sluts of Possession (2013)
  • MOTEL (2016) in collaboration with Huntley Muir
  • MK ULTRA (2016–2018)
  • Modern Warrior (2017–18)
  • Choreography of Commonwealth Games handover (2018)
  • Artemis Clown (2018–19)
  • 10 Soldiers (2019)
  • Absolute Solo II (2021)
  • Romeo + Juliet (2021)

Feature Film credits include choreographer for Sunshine on Leith (2013)[5][55] and Brummoves (2014).[56] 5 SOLDIERS – the film, was exhibited at The Herbert Gallery Coventry, Stadtmuseum Dresden and is in the film collection of la Médiathèque du Centre National de la Danse, Paris.

References

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  1. ^ a b c "BBC Arts – 5 Soldiers – The Body is the Frontline – BBC Arts". BBC. Archived from the original on 28 October 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  2. ^ a b Jennings, Luke (3 May 2015). "5 Soldiers review – war from a female perspective packs a punch". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  3. ^ a b Jennings, Luke (23 April 2017). "MK Ultra review – Rosie Kay, Adam Curtis and the Illuminati". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  4. ^ Levene, Louise (2017). "Dance for conspiracy theorists". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Meet the Brummies performing at the Commonwealth Games handover ceremony | I Am Birmingham". I Am Birmingham. 10 April 2018. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Associate Choreographic Dance Artists – Dance City". Dance City. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  7. ^ [email protected] (22 May 2018). "Show". newsroom.au.dk. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ Guardian, Stuart Gillespie, The. "Rosie Kay talking about her work". www.creativescotland.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "10 Minutes With... Rosie Kay – Warwick Arts Centre". Warwick Arts Centre. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  10. ^ a b c d "Rosie Kay – Dance City". Dance City. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  11. ^ a b Gillespie, Stuart. "Rosie Kay talking about her work". www.creativescotland.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  12. ^ Mackrell, Judith (13 March 2017). "Inside the Illuminati with Rosie Kay and Adam Curtis". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  13. ^ "Dance reviews: Missing / Bird's Eye View / Sluts Of Possession". The Herald. 8 August 2013. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  14. ^ Mackrell, Judith (22 August 2013). "Sluts of Possession – Edinburgh festival 2013 review". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  15. ^ "James Preston–Executive Director | Rosie Kay Dance Company". rosiekay.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 September 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  16. ^ RSPH. "RSPH celebrates arts and health innovations at annual award ceremony". www.rsph.org.uk. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  17. ^ "2015 National Dance Awards – Winners Announced". DanceTabs. 25 January 2016. Archived from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  18. ^ "5 Soldiers, Yeomanry House, London, review: Kay makes the experience of injury feel viscerally real". The Independent. 8 September 2017. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  19. ^ "Dance review: 5 Soldiers: The Body is the Frontline at Tramway, Glasgow". The Herald. 30 April 2016. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  20. ^ Mackrell, Judith (8 May 2015). "5 Soldiers review – lust, shock and awe in the modern army". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  21. ^ Mackrell, Judith (16 December 2015). "Judith Mackrell's top 10 dance of 2015". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  22. ^ Jennings, Luke (13 December 2015). "Luke Jennings: the best dance of 2015". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  23. ^ "Five top plays and performances from 2015". The Independent. 16 December 2015. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  24. ^ Carrell, Severin (4 May 2017). "British army to play host to Edinburgh festival fringe". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  25. ^ a b c "Rosie Kay on MK Ultra: delving into pop culture, brainwashing and mind control – Seeing Dance". www.seeingdance.com. 3 March 2017. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  26. ^ "Rosie Kay on her new MK Ultra – exploring the world of conspiracy theory and the Illuminati". DanceTabs. 28 February 2017. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  27. ^ "Choreographing conspiracy". ArtsProfessional. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  28. ^ Kay, Rosie; Reynolds, Dee (1 May 2016). "The Body Is the Frontline". Choreographies of 21st Century Wars. Oxford University Press. pp. 241–268. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190201661.003.0013. ISBN 9780190201661.
  29. ^ "Rosie Kay Dance Company – MK Ultra – Birmingham". DanceTabs. 1 April 2017. Archived from the original on 29 April 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  30. ^ a b BWW News Desk. "Rosie Kay Chosen To Choreograph Commonwealth Games Handover". BroadwayWorld.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  31. ^ a b "LCDS alumna Rosie Kay choreographs Commonwealth Games handover ceremony in Birmingham – Conservatoire for Dance and Drama". Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. 17 April 2018. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  32. ^ a b Elkes, Neil (15 April 2018). "All you need to know about the Commonwealth Games hand over ceremony". birminghammail. Archived from the original on 20 May 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  33. ^ "Arts Council England announces National Portfolio grants – Dancing Times". Dancing Times. 27 June 2017. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  34. ^ "Dance development takes a hit in NPO funding round". ArtsProfessional. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  35. ^ Turner, Janice. "Rosie Kay: I resigned from my own dance company after I was accused of transphobia". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  36. ^ a b c d e Griffiths, Sian (10 July 2022). "'Cancelled' dancer Rosie Kay puts free speech centre stage". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  37. ^ Allfree, Claire (26 August 2022). "'The young can't force their ideology on me': how cancelled choreographer Rosie Kay is fighting back". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  38. ^ a b Burnside, Anna (29 April 2016). "Choreographer Rosie Kay reveals how a spell with squaddies changed her life". dailyrecord. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  39. ^ a b "Rosie Kay: 'I pushed and pushed and pushed this into a choreographic exploration of discipline, energy, repression and aggression.' – LondonDance". LondonDance. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  40. ^ a b "Art of war: dancer Rosie Kay joined the army for her new show, 5 Soldiers". The Herald. 23 April 2016. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  41. ^ "A dance to the music of tedium and terror". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 July 2022. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  42. ^ "Romeo + Juliet | Rosie Kay Dance Company". rosiekay.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 September 2021. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  43. ^ "Stefan G. Kay OBE: Executive Profile & Biography – Bloomberg". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  44. ^ "The Board | Rosie Kay Dance Company". rosiekay.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 April 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  45. ^ a b c d Turner, Janice. "Rosie Kay: I resigned from my own dance company after I was accused of transphobia". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 9 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  46. ^ a b "Rosie Kay- fighting to protect women's rights and freedom of expression | Rosie Kay & Company (Powered by Donorbox)". donorbox.org. Archived from the original on 12 February 2022. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  47. ^ a b "Rosie Kay: Dancers write open letter to choreographer after gender row". BBC News. 11 December 2021. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  48. ^ "Choreographer quits charity after asking trans dancers to 'confirm genitalia'". 11 December 2021. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  49. ^ Kay, Rosie (17 December 2021). "My body will never be erased". UnHerd. Archived from the original on 18 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  50. ^ "Festival Gewinner – Internationales Solo Tanz Theater Festival Stuttgart". Internationales Solo Tanz Theater Festival Stuttgart (in German). Archived from the original on 1 June 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  51. ^ "Rosie Kay,Leverhulme Artist in Residence – Unit for Biocultural Variation and Obesity". oxfordobesity.org. Archived from the original on 20 May 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  52. ^ "St College Cross College record number 32" (PDF). 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  53. ^ "Rosie Kay | University of Oxford Podcasts – Audio and Video Lectures". podcasts.ox.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  54. ^ Kay, Rosie; Reynolds, Dee (1 May 2016). The Body Is the Frontline. doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190201661.001.0001. ISBN 9780190201661.
  55. ^ Studios, Pixelbend. "Black Country Dance Hub – Rosie Kay". www.blackcountrydance.com. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  56. ^ "Pro Class and Talk with Rosie Kay – Birmingham Dance Network". Birmingham Dance Network. Archived from the original on 8 September 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
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