Photography Chris Nash
Company
Watkins Dance Company is a contemporary dance company, formed in 2011 by Artistic Director/Choreographer Anna Watkins. Her work is very physical, technical and demanding.
Delivering performances, education programmes across the UK and Internationally. The strong technical dancers excite you with their strength and emotion. The choreography detailed, and complex. Introducing a raw, contemporary dance company
Anna has been commissioned by several organisations and dance companies for her choreographic work for prestige youth & training dancers such as: Phoenix Dance Theatre, Tavaziva Dance, English National Ballet (including creating on ENBYouthCo based on Akram Khan Giselle), Balletboyz, Rambert School, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, CAT Scheme all over the UK, Rambert Dance Youth Company (Quicksilver), international students (Italy) and youth dance companies all over the UK. Anna has led various professional classes around the UK including at The Place London and for companies Rambert Dance Company and Tavaziva Dance.
Previous work has been shown across the UK at various events/venues including internationally in Italy, Las Spezia 2013, solo extract performance by Anna from her 2012 work ‘Forget – me – not’ at the Dance Again Foundation Gala Evening, venues on tour in 2012 funded by Arts Council England - Grants for the Arts, Tottenham Civic Day 2011, ADAD open stage event 2012, Ella Thiele Arts 2012, ‘Inseparable’ performed for the F.C.C – the launch of the Female Choreographers Collective, Resolutions 2013, AEDA VIP Opening Night, Musical Mayhem, - raising funds for the Stella Louise Children's Hostel in India.
As part of the international commission in Italy, Anna choreographed two pieces for the students at Studio Danza 82 .
In 2014, awarded funding from Grants for the Arts, Arts Council England for a Research and Development project to create new work for a future National tour.
In 2017 Anna joined in collaboration with choreographers Neus Gil Cortés and Salah El Brogy to form a triple bill. Awarded funding from Arts Council England and East London Dance Ideas Initiative Fund. Commissioners include: The Garage, DanceEast, Swindon Dance and South East Dance.
In 2017 - 2018 she was awarded Associate Artist at Swindon Dance. Awarded Arts Council England funding for Spring 2018 Tour including new short dance film in collaboration with Film Oxford. In 2018 Anna was selected as one of the four choreographers for the Cohan Collective, mentoring residency with Sir Robert Cohan & Eleanor Alberta, and continued with Cohan Collective for the Development stage in August 2019. Hosted at Pavilion Dance South West. Directed by Yolande Yorke-Edgell (Yorke Dance Project). Mentorship also from renowned choreographer Kim Brandstrup and composer Kenneth Hesketh. Guest speakers including Shobana Jeyasingh and Mark Bowden.
Currently this year, Anna was commissioned by Swindon Dance to create and perform in a new duet, for Swindon Spring Festival of Literature and the Arts. The duet went international this June as part of DAP Festival 2019 - International Dance and Visual Arts Festival.
Anna was also commissioned by Film Oxford to create a new short dance film for project FLUX bringing three artists together - dance, film and music. MORTELLE, the new short dance film and performance filming of new duet REPEL, were screened at various film festivals in summer 2019. Screenings included: Modern Art Oxford | Dancin' Oxford, Leeds Festival 2019 and Reading Festival 2019.
