Ella Mesma Company

Leading Diaspora Dance Theatre in the UK

Ella Mesma Company is a multilingual, UK-based dance and circus theatre company, specialising in Afro-Cuban, Afro-Brazilian, breakdance, contemporary dance, and circus. Touring internationally, we bring diverse stories to life through joyful, inspiring, and heart-centred performance.

For us, dance is a powerful container to explore identity, community, and transformation. A space to dream big, imagine without limitation and heal from – and unlearn – limiting societal beliefs about who we can be. At Ella Mesma Dance Company, the personal is political. We proudly embrace our queer identity, diversity, multiple heritage and feminist principles.

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Fusing folkloric dance styles – from Rumba to Hip Hop – with theatre, storytelling, and circus, we invite you to imagine a radical world where everyone is celebrated. We honour the rich cultural heritage and resilience of all folkloric dances, centring decolonising practices to restore and celebrate their roots. As we create, we embark on a journey where the stories of our ancestors are reimagined with care, bearing witness to our lives today.

The company is currently imagining and touring several works: The Rainbow Butterfly is an aerial hip hop family show with an accompanying bookOkan is a mid-scale piece exploring Salsa as a martial dance in collaboration with Akeim Toussaint; A Jellyfish Love Story is a family show which combines pupetry and dance under the sea, and  Indra’s Web is a duet exploring ancestry and knitting…

Buy your tickets & view dates here!

Production images of  LCDS Graduation Show. 3 July 2023 @ The Place. 
Welcome to Our House 
Choreographer: Ella Mesma & Akeim Toussaint Buck 
Performers: Klemm Delaune-Graber, Ethan Bosworth, Elliot Eve, Silas Groccot Cain, Rebecca Howard, Saoirse Lennon-Noone, Isaac Madden, Jiwon Oh, Olia Poliakova, Emma Poyer, Isabelle Roche, Ethan Sammons Ericson, Clara Selberg, Elly Trent, Pookie Watson 
Music: Akeim Toussaint Buck 
Costume Design & Making: Annette Raudmets 
Costume Assistants: Nicole Bowden, Sharon Coleman, Eve Harsant, Anna Crilly 
Warnings: Loud sounds, audible breath sounds 
Photography: Foteini Christofilopoulou

ELLA MESMA COMPANY

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