MILTON KEYNES DANCE THEATRE
HISTORY & ALUMNI
Explore the history of MK Dance Theatre, from founding to present day, as well as destinations of our alumni.
2019
MK Dance Theatre was founded
Co-founders Owen, Jess and Olivia created the company in July 2019, and Owen choreographed our first short work entitled ‘Savage Beauty’, exploring how the boundaries of classical and contemporary techniques could be pushed. We also began to rehearse for ‘Romeo and Juliet’, our first full-length production, starting with a cast of just 16 dancers.
2020
First full length & lockdown
Shortly after ‘Romeo and Juliet’, the nation was forced into lockdown due to the Coronavirus outbreak, but we continued to train and build our community through online workshops and intensives, and held our auditions for ‘Pandora’ over Zoom. Our cast had already grown, and we became even more excited for the future.
2021
Back on stage and a new energy
After many months of Zoom rehearsals, ‘Pandora’ eventually hit the stage, and a new ‘Youth Company’ was launched - a select group of dancers who would get extra performance opportunities, to network and showcase the work we do on a wider scale, beyond just the full-length productions. We also had new faces join us moving into ‘Peter Pan’, including juniors age 8 and up.
2022
2 full-lengths, a gala, and new styles
This was the first year we performed 2 full-length narratives, and our ‘Youth Company’ had a gala evening showcasing more upcoming repertoire. ‘Peter Pan’ was playful and charming, while ‘Sleeping Beauty’ was a chance for us to explore the versatile background of our dancers and experiment with different styles like groove and Spanish dance.
2023
Remaking and creating
At the beginning of this year we recreated the original ‘Romeo and Juliet’ but on new dancers, with new choreography, and a much larger company. Alongside this and ‘Fields of Cupid’, we also created numerous short pieces, including ‘Electric Pow Wow’ which was performed at the UDance Regional Platform, ‘1984’ which was co-founder Jess’s first short work, and ‘Sekter’ and 'Stellar Sonatas’ which were created during our first ever Summer School and performed at the end of the week intensive.
2024
Opportunities and a new era coming
‘Grimm’ and a recreation of ‘Pandora’ were the feature productions this year, but we also had more performance opportunities arising, including 3 galas, one which included the dancers’ own choreography, UDance in Brighton, Stars of Tomorrow at MK Theatre, and some of our dancers performed with Alleyne Dance Company. Many of our senior dancers moved on at the end of this season to begin their vocational training, allowing for a new era to be in the works.
2025
Rebranding and new ideas
We welcomed Brooke into our team at the start of this season, and she and Jess worked together to create ‘Lady Macbeth’, followed by all three choreographers working on our ‘Triple Bill’ - this was a new structure we implemented for the second full length production, piecing 3 short works into one full evening, allowing more choreographers’ ideas to be heard, and more dancers to be seen in the spotlight. Our ‘Youth Company’ was evolving, but continued to perform in Milton Keynes, Aylesbury and London, including pieces such as ’Table Manners’, as well as their galas. During the summer, we held our Summer School workshops, but also welcomed alumni back to be part of a new piece ‘F.O.R.E.V.E.R’, which was a chance for MKDT dancers of all ages to connect.
2026
Company Cohort launched
Due to the success and opportunities our ‘Youth Company’ received, we reworked our structure to create the ‘Company Cohort’. All dancers in the Company Cohort performed in 2 full length shows, ‘Robin Hood’ and ‘And Ever’, 3 galas, and a plethora of external events. The opportunities from this year include: Stars of Tomorrow at Aylesbury Waterside, The Place Youth Dance Platform in London, and most notably Making Moves, where we performed our piece ‘How to Hold a Beetle’ at the regional platform at Sadler’s Wells Lilian Baylis, and have progressed to the national platform to be held at the prestigious Sadler’s Wells East, being
1 of 8 out of 52 groups to be selected. We are beyond excited for the upcoming season.
ALUMNI DESTINATIONS
Phoebe Bones
Charlie O'Neill
Georgia-May Phillips
Company Member 2019-2022
Company Member 2020-2024
Company Member 2020-2023
Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures
‘Swan Lake’ & Tring Park School Graduate
Rambert School & Rambert Dance Company’s ‘Peaky Blinders’ China Tour
Laine Theatre Arts Graduate
LIGHTS