ABOUT
Levantes Dance Theatre is an award-winning female led company known for its vibrant fusion of aerial dance, physical theatre, and striking visuals. Our work is bold, colorful, and imaginative, blending the bizarre with the everyday.
We offer opportunities for local communities to perform in our professional shows in each place we tour, building relationships with our audiences and enabling them to be part of the work.
The company’s practice includes:
Innovative Productions: Daring, humorous performances in black box theatres that challenge conventional dance and theatre.
Public Interventions: Quirky, bite-sized routines that closely engage audiences at events.
Educational Programs: Skill-building opportunities for communities, students, and professionals.
These three strands help Levantes connect with audiences seeking something refreshingly different.
The Company has created an international reputation for original conceptual productions and work with a number of exceptional collaborators on each new project.
Levantes Dance Theatre has partnered and has been supported over the years by Jerwood Arts, The Albany, Contact, National Centre for Circus Arts, Greenwich Dance, London Fashion Week, Crying Out Loud, Dance Umbrella, Sadler’s Wells, The Royal Opera House, the Barbican, Take Art, Marks & Spencer and Selfridges amongst other venues, festivals and events; and has toured in France, Norway, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Greece and the UK.
HISTORY
Levantes Dance Theatre was formed by Greek born Eleni Edipidi and British born Bethanie Harrison in 2005, who attended Manchester Metropolitan University together, studying Dance & Visual Art Practices.
They became the creators, designers and performers of a series of award winning, physical, humorous and visually quirky duets. Continuing as sole Artistic Director after Bethanie’ s departure from the company in 2017; Eleni added in the company’s repertoire her love of movement in the air, whilst continuing developing Levantes’s strong and recognisable visual style.
OUR NUMBERS SINCE 2017
- 148 PERFORMANCES
- 7 COUNTRIES
- 75 CREATIVES
- 93 COMMUNITY CAST PARTICIPANTS
- 78,000 LIVE AUDIENCE
OUR MISSION
to bring stories of colour in a life that is sometimes grey
to fuse artistic disciplines and indulge in vibrant aesthetics
to bring unexpected and approachable performance to all
to amplify ordinary voices in spectacular ways
to collaborate with new and old creatives
to inspire others and get inspired
to move audiences
to open conversations
to keep bringing high production quality work to all
AWARDS & COMMISSIONS
2024 - Recipient of Circus Around And About 2 for ‘THE BAND’ (Take Art, Crying Out Loud)
2022 - Arts Council England Project Grant for Creation of ‘RUN RABBIT RUN’ & Company Development
2021 - Pop Up London Commission for ‘High Tea (With A twist)’ (Battersea Arts Centre, Found in Music, Mayor of London)
2021 - Flying Fantastic Creative Residency for ‘High Tea (With A Twist)’
2021 - Arts Council England Project Grant to tour ‘THE BAND’ & ‘CANAPE ART’
2020 - Jerwood Circus Residency for ‘RUN RABBIT RUN’ (Jerwood Space & National Centre for Circus Arts)
2020 - Seed Commission for ‘RUN RABBIT RUN’ (Harrogate Theatre)
2019 - Arts Council England Project Grant to develop ‘RUN RABBIT RUN’
2019 - Clear Sky Residency (Irish Aerial Creation Centre)
2018 - Eleni Edipidi - ‘Develop your Creative Practice’ (Arts Council England)
2018 - Representation of UK Circus at Auch Fest with ‘THE BAND’ (Crying Out Loud, Spotlight UK)
2016 - Circulate Artists for outdoor work ‘Parlour’ (The Albany)
2016 - Eleni Edipidi - Choreographer ‘SOHO’ (National Centre for Circus Arts, The Peacock Theatre/ Sadler’s Wells)
2016 - Eleni Edipidi - Choreographer ‘Dancing Bear’, Jamie Fletcher (West Yorkshire Playhouse, Palace Theatre)
2015 - Commission for outdoor work ’Sun Kissed’ (Greenwich & Lewisham Young People’s Theatre)
2013 - Choreography for Children's Award for ‘Duck Man’ (The Place, Sadler's Wells, Company of Angels)
2012 - Commission for ‘Canapé Art’ (The Royal Opera House)
2012 - 2020 - Associate Artist (Greenwich Dance)
2011 - Escalator Dance Artists (DepArts)
2011 - Method Lab Commission for ‘Two Peas without a Pod’ (greenroom)
2010 - Bonnie Bird New UK Choreography Award for ‘Two Peas without a Pod’ (Laban)
2009 - The Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award for ‘Room Temperature Romance’ (The Barbican)
2009 - Marion Mentoring Scheme Award (Laban)
PEOPLE
ELENI EDIPIDI
Artistic Director & founder
Eleni is a freelance performer, choreographer and teacher.
Originally from Athens, Greece, Eleni initially trained as a visual artist and dancer. She gained a BA in Visual Arts (2004, Manchester Metropolitan University) and an MA in European Dance Theatre Practice (2005, Laban). Her passion of marrying Visual Arts & Dance resulted in co-founding Levantes Dance Theatre in 2005.
She has collaborated and performed internationally with Stufish Productions, Anystage Creative (FR/UK), Upswing, Marie-Gabrielle Rotie, Protein Dance, Princess Drawing School, National Portrait Gallery, Retina Dance, CAMPO Victoria (Bel), Interkunst (Ger), Darkin Ensemble, EVERYBODY DANCE, Gossamer Thread Circus, Cirque Bijou and Mandinga Arts amongst others. Eleni is an Associate artist for Tmesis Theatre since 2015.
Eleni has been teaching and devising work internationally for all ages and abilities since 2008.
Nathan Johnston
ASSOCIATE ARTIST/ performer
Nathan studied dance at Middlesbrough College and London Contemporary Dance School.
Over the past 14 years Nathan has performed with Ockham’s Razor, Jorge Crecis, Secret Cinema, Corey Baker Dance, Rhiannon Faith, Punchdrunk, Zoielogic Dance Theatre, Nearly there yet Circus Theatre, Cant Sit Still Theatre, Jabuti Theatre, Etta Ermini, C-12 Dance Theatre, Dina Abu Hamden, Jess & Morgs and Improbable Theatre/LA Opera, amongst others.
His choreographic debut was as Co-Choreographer with Jorge Crecis for ’36’ and recreated to become ’12’ which was part of Carlos Acosta Dance Company Rep, as well as making his own Arts Council-funded show ‘Sleight of Hands’.
Other choreographic credits include working with the Scottish National Opera, Birmingham Commonwealth Games opening and closing ceremonies, Ockham’s Razor, Imagineer Productions, Green Flag TV advert, London Studio, Centre, Middlesex University, Upswing, Scottish School of Contemporary Dance.
Nathan has been an Associate Artist for Levantes Dance Theatre since 2018.
Ivonne Kalter
Associate ARTIST/performer
Ivonne is originally from Germany, where she studied at Heinz Bosl Stiftung Ballet Academy and later on at the Iwanson School of Contemporary Dance. Ivonne received the Isadora Award in 2010 for the most promising young dancer. Ivonne is a dancer for CoisCeim Dance Theatre. She recently performed in the co-production ‘Body Language’ and ‘The Wolf and Peter’ by David Bolger in The Sydney Opera House.
Ivonne has been an Associate Artist for Levantes Dance Theatre since 2018.
Foteini Christofilopoulou
ASSOCIATE ARTIST/
Photographer
Greek born, London based photographer Foteini Christofilopoulou, specialises in portraiture, and the performing arts, where she focuses on dance, opera, theatre and creative learning. She is a regular contributor to the industry publication http://dancetabs.com and has a broad client base spanning organisations such as Dance Umbrella, the Royal Academy of Dance, Sadler's Wells, Etta Ermini Dance Theatre and many more.
Foteini’s more unusual work includes dance theatre shoots, which involves playing an active role in the creative process and subsequently in live performance.
Foteini has been capturing Levantes Dance Theatre with her camera since 2012.
GOPAN IYADURAI
Visual & Multimedia DIRECTOR
Gopan works as Levantes Dance Theatre’s Multimedia and Visual Director since its foundation in 2005. His role involves documenting the work through film, editing moving images and marketing material.
Gopan trained at Goldsmiths and gained an MSc in Computer Arts (2005), he has a BA in Visual Arts (2004, Manchester Metropolitan University). Gopan is also currently working full-time at Channel 4, The Production Centre as a Senior Video Editor.
Niki Edipidi
PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER
Niki is a production stage manager with a demonstrated history of working in the entertainment industry.
She has been working with Levantes Dance Theatre since its foundation in 2005. Since graduating with a BA in Performing Arts (2006, Roehampton University), Niki has been involved in projects such as Sochi 2014 Medals Plaza Winter Olympic Games, Expo 2016 Antalya and Africa Cup of Nations 2019.
Penny Cunningham
Stage manager
Penny is a touring Stage Manager and Technical Stage Manager from West Yorkshire. She has toured nationally and internationally with numerous small- to mid-scale companies including Filskit Theatre, Pauline Mayers Ensemble, Emma Serjeant Productions, and Images Ballet Company. Her work covers all genres of performance from theatre to dance and circus. She is also Technical Manager of Strange-Twig Theatre taking their performances to outdoor events and venues up and down the country.
Penny has been working regularly with Levantes Dance Theatre since 2013.
Sarah Trist
Tour Booker
Sarah Trist is the only dedicated tour booking agent for contemporary dance artists in the UK, connecting with presenters, communicating with audiences nationally and internationally and meeting a range of cultural objectives. She began her freelance career 30 years’ ago after working at Riverside Studios and Donmar Warehouse Theatre, and founded Sarah Trist Dance Management Agency in 2005. Sarah has worked with Protein Dance, Company Chameleon, Aakash Odedra Company, Didy Veldman, Vincent Dance Theatre, Sankalpam, Rafael Bonachela, Russell Maliphant, Wendy Houstoun and Willi Dorner, and provided training courses and consultancy for Dance City, South East Dance, Dance Northwest, Greenwich Dance, Hampshire Dance and London School of Contemporary Dance. She was a founding member of Independent Dance Managers Network and is a trustee of Pavilion Dance South West. Sarah has degrees in Music from Cardiff University and Psychology & Counselling from Roehampton University.
STEERING GROUP
VICKI AMEDUME ARTISTIC DIRECTOR UPSWING
PHIL HARGREAVES PRODUCER
DAVID HOYLE CABARET ARTIST
MELANIE PRECIOUS CEO GREENWICH DANCE
LOUISE RICHARDS FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MOTIONHOUSE
JOANNA RIDOUT CREATIVE CONSULTANT / FACILITATOR / TRAINER
HILARY WESTLAKE PERFORMANCE DIRECTOR
ABIGAIL YEATES SHOW DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER/ ANYSTAGE PRODUCTIONS
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
JOANNA RIDOUT CREATIVE CONSULTANT / FACILITATOR / TRAINER
CHRIS WILLIAMS JOINT DIRECTOR OF DRUNKEN CHORUS
ISABELLA VALENTINI WORLD CITIES CULTURE FORUM
COLLABORATORS
Marta Beccatini: Devising Performer & Community Cast Workshop Facilitator THE BAND & High Tea (With A Twist)
Ruby Gaskell: Devising Performer High Tea (With A Twist), RUN RABBIT RUN
Paolo Pisarra: Devising Performer RUN RABBIT RUN
Jacqueline McCormick: Devising Performer RUN RABBIT RUN
Jennifer Essex: Devising Performer High Tea (With A Twist)
Parkey Abeyratne: Devising PerformerCANAPE ART
Laura Kenyon: Performer High Tea (With A Twist) & CANAPE ART
Nora Eek: Performer High Tea (With A Twist) & CANAPE ART
Clara Rettinger: Performer CANAPE ART
Lainie Hussein: Performer CANAPE ART
Tina Koch: Aerial Consultant THE BAND
Cat Butler: Performer CANAPE ART
Jamie Higgins: Devising Performer & rigger RUN RABBIT RUN & THE BAND
Billy Alwen: Dramaturg High Tea (With A Twist)
Paul Cockle (ANYSTAGE CREATIVES): Producer RUN RABBIT RUN
Abigail Yeates: Creative Mentor THE BAND, RUN RABBIT RUN
Matt Lackford: Part - time administrator
Amy Nicholls: Fundraiser
Jen Sullivan: Producer
Roswitha Chesher: Filmaker and Photographer CANAPE ART
Abby Grewcock: Costume Designer High Tea (With A Twist), Festive Tea (With A Twist), RUN RABBIT RUN
Gary Clarke: Artistic Advisor RUN RABBIT RUN
Joe White: Rigging RUN RABBIT RUN
Max Juan-Balch: Lighting & Sound Design RUN RABBIT RUN
Dramaturg: Lisa-Marie-Bowler THE BAND
Rob Spaull: Sound Designer THE BAND
Stella-Jane Odoemelam: Costumes & Props assistant THE BAND