Our Story
Alexander Whitley Dance Company (AWDC) is an internationally acclaimed artist-led creative studio that has been redefining the boundaries of dance over the past decade through its pioneering work with digital technology. We create multi-disciplinary performance experiences across stage, screen, immersive and interactive platforms, which have been presented across many of the world’s most prestigious theatres, festivals and media channels.
“Alexander Whitley is one of the most cerebral and meticulous choreographers working in the UK today. His work is the product of his own artistry as a mesmerising dancer and his abiding interest in science. This translates into cutting-edge, thought-provoking works where technology is central.”
Our Mission
We believe that energy is created when physical and computational creativity collide.
In the melting pot of embodied knowledge and motion-responsive technology, we see the art of the moving body reaching out into new territory and taking on previously unimagined forms, bringing with it a deep rooted intelligence, intuition and emotional grounding to the new hybrid-spaces of action unfolding around us.
We explore new opportunities for the creative expression of human action and choreographic ideas and seek to highlight the value they have in shaping the emerging field of spatial technologies.
We explore new modes of performance and public participation in movement-based experiences, using interactive technology as a means of communicating ideas nonverbally and engaging people in processes of physical thinking.
And as digital technology becomes more deeply enmeshed in every corner of our lives, we make use of it to ask questions about the contemporary world, exploring what it means to act through and exist in a condition of interaction with increasingly intelligent machines.
Through our work we are committed to furthering the creative exploration of movement, seeking to integrate the latest cultural, scientific and technological thinking in the creation of:
Performances exploring relationships between physical and digital forms of motion
Interactive experiences inviting the public to move, think in action and deepen their awareness of the nature of embodiment
Immersive experiences where new spaces of action, perception and physical communication are explored
Tools and engagement programmes to support young people and other artists in their pursuit of movement-based creativity.
Our Values
We celebrate movement as a means of artistic enquiry, entertainment, social connection, self-discovery and well-being. We embrace its ability to communicate universally, cutting across linguistic, cultural, economic and racial boundaries, and see it as an essential component of physical and mental health.
We see digital technology as a powerful amplifier for culture, extending people and their abilities and broadening the reach of artistic ideas. We are inspired to explore the new creative opportunities it presents and believe it is a vehicle through which access can be widened to the arts, addressing economic and geographical constraints that limit participation, and through which new generations of audiences can be reached.
Our Studio
Studio 90 is AWDC’s first satellite space, based in East London’s, Hackney Wick. While DanceEast, Ipswich remains our home, we felt it was important to create a hub where we can invite local communities to share in our work, forging greater opportunities for collaboration, innovation and engagement.
Studio 90 is a multi-functional space available for hire.
To enquire about booking the space, please complete the enquiry form with details of your requirements and we will be in touch.
Features/amenities include:
Meeting set-up including facilities for in-person attendees and video conferencing
Rehearsal space for small groups
Communal kitchen/toilets
Additional hires including: motion capture equipment, VR headsets, projector & large screen
Find us here
Studio 90
The Trampery Fish Island
43 Rookwood Way
London, E3 2XF