VERVE: Triple Bill

Alethia Antonia (They/Her) is a British Caribbean, West Yorkshire-based independent choreographer, performer, teacher and researcher. Alethia’s practice incorporates various movement practices/music/singing, and academic frames to explore artistic & socio-political questions related to identity. Their practice also explores accessibility, decolonisation and the use of dance as a place to reimagine and heal.

Alethia’s choreographic work has been presented at The Place, DanceEast, Lilian Baylis, UTA Artist Space LA and Centre Pompidou in Paris. Their outdoor performances have included National Theatre Riverstage and London Gallery Weekend as well as appearing in Phoenix Dance Theatre and Sadler’s Wells Digital Programmes.

Their research is supported by institutions such as Akram Khan Company, FABRIC, NSCD, and Yorkshire Dance. They are a Work Place Artist at The Place and a part-time PhD student at DMU with a Midlands4Cities scholarship.

www.alethiaantonia.com

Born and raised in Italy, Andrea Costanzo Martini began his dance training at Danzicherie in Cuneo, Teatro Nuovo in Turin, and the Heinz Bost Stiftung Ballet Academy. He has performed with renowned companies such as Aalto-Theater, Cullberg Ballet, Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak Dance Company, and danced with both the Batsheva Ensemble and Batsheva Dance Company.

As a choreographer, Andrea’s work has been presented internationally at major festivals and venues, including Curtain Up Festival, The Place, and Zurich TanzhausAerowaves20. He has created commissioned works for companies such as Balletto di Roma, BTT, and Pollak Dance Theater. Recent projects include Wild Thoughts for NDCWales, Life in Lycra for the Grand Opera Avignon, and Animal In for the Bora Art Project in Seoul.

Andrea has received numerous awards, including First Prize for Performance and Choreography at the International Tanz Solo Competition in Stuttgart, and two partner prizes at the RIDCC in Rotterdam, 2024. He is also a dedicated teacher of Gaga and improvisation, working with companies like Batsheva, Cullberg Ballet, and the Royal Swedish Ballet. He is an associate artist of the VAN Cultural Association (Italy) and a member of the Israeli Choreographers Association.

www.andreacostanzomartini.com

Oona Doherty is an Irish choreographer, dancer, and performer known for work that fuses raw physicality with social observation. Born in Belfast, she draws deeply on the landscapes, tensions, and working-class communities of Northern Ireland, creating performances that are both confrontational and tender. Doherty’s choreography often explores masculinity, power, ritual, and identity, blending street movement, contemporary dance, and theatrical intensity. Her internationally acclaimed works include Hope Hunt and the Ascension into Lazarus, Hard to Be Soft – A Belfast Prayer, and Navy Blue. In 2021, she was awarded the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale for Dance, recognising her distinctive voice and impact on contemporary performance worldwide.

“I am honoured to work with VERVE, a company whose very existence carries meaning. In a time of severe cultural cuts, VERVE stands as one of the only postgraduate dance companies left in the UK. That fact alone speaks volumes about the fragility of arts education and the resilience required to sustain it. VERVE is not just a training ground for emerging artists; its survival is an act of resistance. To continue creating, questioning, and moving together under these conditions makes VERVE a living protest for the value of dance, education, and collective imagination.”

www.oonadohertyweb.com

VERVE is the international touring dance company of Northern School of Contemporary Dance, led by Matteo Marfoglia. The company comprises 16 exceptional dancers, trained at one of the UK’s leading dance institutions. Each year the company commissions established and emerging choreographers to create an artistically distinct, physically-daring and engaging programme of dance work. The company tours extensively to venues and festivals across the UK and internationally.

Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD) is a leading centre for contemporary dance based in Leeds, UK. For over 35 years the School has enabled aspiring dance artists to enter and shape the industry. Professional training and education are offered at CertHE, Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels, focusing on the development of versatile dance artists with highly-tuned technical, creative and performance skills.