TEAM

Artistic Director KENNEDY JUNIOR MUNTANGA

Kennedy Junior Muntanga, born and raised in Zambia, is a dancer and choreographer. Moving to Leeds (UK) at the age of 7, Kennedy’s passion for movement grew from his strong connection to Michael Jackson, in which he would choreograph short dances and host little competitions against his sister and friends. The reverence to dance was already embedded in him through his African heritage and has been an anchor and life line for him, and so Kennedy furthered his training and graduated in Ballet and Contemporary at the Rambert School in July 2019.

Before devoting himself to choreography, Kennedy has danced for companies such Akram Khan Company, Phoenix Dance Theatre, Humanhood, Robert Cohan CBE, Michael Keegan-Dolan, Alesandra Seutin, Raman Schlemmer and many more. He is now focused on being the Artistic Director of Kennedy Muntanga Dance Theatre, as well as Trinity Laban’s Youth Dance Company.

Set Designer MATHILDE HEU

Mathilde Heu (b. 1993) is a Swiss artist and illustrator based in London. She attended the Royal College of Art (2016-2018) and received an MA in Contemporary Art / Critical Practice. She previously studied Fine Art at ECAV (now known as ‘édhéa’) in Switzerland (2013-2016).

Mathilde trains in on the small, the close at hand, the contingent and the otherwise neglected. Her work will return to subjects, assaying at them, to explore what is created through sustained attention and application. At the same time as her work channels a private experience, it is also often conducted in conversation — with other artists, with designers, with dancers, with practitioners of many different disciplines. She thrives when drawing on scientific and philosophical concepts, which she always does in lucid, thoughtful and meaningful ways.

Very attached to the notions of infra-thin and liminality that she explores through her installations, it is often a question of passage, transition, and even reversal. She likes to establish a connection between her work and its audience through close proximity, and an exchange based on the permeability of the body thus made conduct.

Heu is less interested in analogy, in drawing equivalences, than in those moments when we lose the sense of what we’re looking at, when we’re overwhelmed by what things could be.

Assistant Choreographer JESSICA CHAMBERS

Originally from Hull, Jessica’s training began in commercial dance, gymnastics and iceskating. She furthered her dance education, focused in contemporary Dance, at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance CAT scheme and later attended Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. During this period she performed works by Anthony Middleton, Gary lambert, company Wayne Mcgregor and performed fielding sixes by Merce Cunningham (staged by Daniel Squire). Once graduated she then joined Bawren Tavaziva in 2019 as an apprentice. Jessica’s connection to KMDT is through performing works such as Genesis (2019), A Death Has Occurred (2022), Greater Than Lion (2021), and Nebuchadnezzar (2020). Since then she has become the company’s choreographic Assistant and co-choreographer.

Rehearsal Director ELISA INGRASSIA

Elisa Ingrassia is an Italian freelance dance artist working between Italy and UK. After graduating with a First Class Honours in Ballet at the National Academy of Dance in Rome, she moved to London where she successfully completed a Degree in Contemporary Dance at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance.

Within her professional career, she had the opportunity to work and collaborate with amazing choreographers and dancers such as: Hagit Yakira, James Finnemore and Hofesh Shechter, Jessica Wright and Morgann Runacre-Temple, and Wayne McGregor’s dancers.

Since 2019 she has had a close relationship with KMDT, collaborating and performing in Greater Than Lion, A Death Has Occurred, Nebuchadnezzar, as well as dancing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Genesis. Currently, she is working as a ballet and contemporary teacher, and a BASI Pilates Instructor in Milan Italy.