Who are we?
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.
What do we do?
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 creating and touring several works:
The Rainbow Butterfly is an aerial hip hop family show with an accompanying book.
Okan is a mid-scale piece exploring Salsa as a martial dance in collaboration with Akeim Toussaint under the name Maya & Toussaint.
A Jellyfish Love Story is a family show which combines puppetry and dance under the sea.
Indra’s Web is a duet in R&D phase exploring ancestry and knitting…
