Because of her people….
People who refuse to accept anything other than infinite possiblity.
A love letter to the persistent dreamers, in a world that says: ‘like you’d ever be able to fly.’
Throughout 2025 and into 2026 we’ve been collaborating with Maiya Leeke to develop new movement language that combines aerial suspension, contemporary dance and the mechanics of her wheelchair. This exploration builds on the harness work she did with Lina Johansson and James Doyle-Roberts for Bradford 2025’s opening spectacular Rise, using the suspension of the harness, with and without her wheelchair in the air, in combination with her contemporary movement training.
How far can I dream if my body and wheelchair are suspended in the air? Through research in Contemporary dance, aerial suspension, and the mechanics of my wheelchair, I am uncovering a new language of possibility. – Maiya Leeke
We are working towards creating She Dreams. She Flies! as a piece of outdoor aerial dance theatre in 2027.
Team
Maiya Leeke: Co-Director, Choreographer and Performer
Stef O’Driscoll: Co-Director
Lina Johansson: Director of Aerial
James Doyle-Roberts: Head of Rigging
Sadé Alleyne: Movement Director
Lou Cope: Dramaturg
Martha Harrison: Performer
Lucie Maisha N’Duhirahe: Counter-weighter and Performer
Ihsaan de Banya: R&D Dancer
Lissy Lovett, Mimbre: Producer
Research supported by
A Jerwood Choreographic Research Project, funded by Jerwood Foundation and FABRIC
Arts Council England
Sadler’s Wells
Photographs by Lizzie Quek
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