The Peggy Hawkins Fundraising Gala 2025

Choreography: André Fabien Francis

Teaching Assistant: Anneli Tan

Performers: Leila Spanswick Smith, Margherita Frauto, Sorrel Barnes, Savanna Noel, Florence Iozzi Hodgson, Imogen Bowes, Connor O’Shea, Nicole Chan-Fook, Jocelyn Goldstein, Sarah Head, Leona Lewis, Isobel Staddon, Aida Aquilina, Antony Dearlove, Carys Barker

Music: "Everybody’s Free" by Quindon Tarver, Baila Conmigo, Doug Gomez & Ceevox

Lighting: Lucy Hansom

Costume Design: Emma Lyth & André Fabien Francis

Curated in collaboration with the living sculptures of fluid expression, adorned in extravagant, avant-garde garments. Entwined in motion, these artistes thread and loop through space, weaving an intricate tapestry of movement—an exploration without constraints, a celebration of artistic expression, and a move towards liberation.

Choreographer: Hana Carlson

Performers: Hope Germaine, Ixchel Martinez, Noor Darwish

Music: "Tomorrow Is My Turn" (Live) by Nina Simone

Lighting Design: Lucy Hanson

This story starts from my enragement as a Black woman. This story continues as collective anger. Tomorrow is my turn to receive without giving in the words of Nina Simone. These words allow me to stare down the oppressors and not be moved. And I don't need applause or congratulations.

Choreographer: Elina Saryazdi, in collaboration with the dancers
Performers: Isabella Gaynor, Sophie Scarborough, Yu-Ning Tan
Music: "Where we meet" composed by Tayla-Leigh Payne
Musicians: Rebekah Dickinson, Flora Valila
Original Lighting: Ali Hunter, in collaboration with Elina Saryazdi
Lighting: Lucy Hansom

Refinding yourself, refinding each other. External conformity, evolving identities. What does it mean to feel connected?

Director & Choreographer: Benjamin Jonsson

Performers: Leila Carroll, Mina Clair, Ola Derecka, Laure Dubanet, Megan Dyke, Iyanah Gordon, Elisa Irsara, Quincey Kawahara, Mak Korda, Pearl Lee, Abi Lewis, Siyu Lu, Sophia Morton, Paul Davidson Natt, Ana Noakes, Maria Paz Oviedo, Lorien Peters, Ella Posti, Harrison Putt, Marianna Sfyridi, Timea Szalontayova, Alessia Tomassi Marinangeli, Eve Walker, Jessica Warshal, Ruby Wenham and Shiina Yoshida.

Photographer: Josie Hall

Executive Producer: Ben Totty at Box Artist Management
DOP: Thomas English
Styling: Jon Morales
Make Up: Dakota Blacklaws-Lacy
Hair: Moe Mukai
Editor: Georgie Daley
Grade: Sharon Chung
Graphic Designer: Amy Garthwaite
Focus Puller: Michael Rock-Perring
Choreographic Assistants: Oliver Chapman, Max Cookward, Pfion Vince and Angelica Wólanska
Styling Assistants: Marouane Joubba, Scarlett Lucia and Noor Zouitina
Hair Assistant: Nao Sato

Director-choreographer Benjamin Jonsson collaborates with the prestigious London Contemporary Dance School's MA program for short dance film HERD(mentality), capturing the intricate dynamics between herd mentality and personal identity.

Choreographing students in a vigorous dance interpreting this complex relationship, Jonsson develops a compelling visual narrative, isolating each of the school’s twenty-five dancers in turn to highlight the struggle of asserting one’s identity. Moving between distinct styles and scenarios from the confines of Studio Wayne McGregor, HERD(mentality) explores the essence of personal expression within the collective, navigating the delicate balance of belonging and self-discovery.

Concept, direction and choreograph: Dickson Mbi
Associate Choreographer: Kenny Wing Tao Ho
Performers: Lu Deng, Julia Lupascu, Elliot Meunier, Cynthia Cheung, Cheng Cheng, Nicole Maltezaki, Kadin Vanden Heuvel, Yvonne Wang, YiMeng Liu, Ka Ki Christina Lai, Catrin Thomas, Kalea Escobosa
Original Sound Design: Jaycee Kwok
Original Lighting Design: Law Man Wai
Original Costume: Hong Kong Arts Festival
LCDS Remount, Rehearsal Supporting Artist: Wenlin Wang, Siyu Lu
Music: Ruth Chan
Lighting Designer: Lucy Hansom

This work was an original choreographic commission by the Hong Kong Arts Festival 2021 as part of their Contemporary Dance Series.

The inspiration of this work came from many experiences in my life where things are often left ‘unspoken’. The word Mokita, comes from the language Kivila of Papua New Guinea, which means ’the things that we all know but we don’t talk about’, like the phrase ’The big elephant in the room’, I believe this is something that we all encounter on a daily basis, whether it be in reference to our race, gender, social or financial status.

In an attempt to create a world that visualises these feelings into movements that cannot be categorised or understood but can be felt and possibly connect to how we see ourselves. We experimented with these ideas with three dancers by looking at their identity, cultural roots and self-reflection through open discussions and improvisational tasks. The topic of their hair was significant in looking at how to analyse ancestral history through extracting DNA and information about a person. This resulted in developing a movement language that I’m particularly interested in which embodies the use of the hair and grounded movements.

We are extremely excited to be collaborating the LCDS MA dance artists to bring this work back to life and further explore this movement language on a larger group of artist as the original work was made with four dancers.

Choreography and Direction: Hannah Ekholm & Faye Stoeser
Original Scores Composed by: Floating Points
Performers: Hannah Ekholm & Faye Stoeser
Costume Design: George H Wale
Splice Costumes made by: George H Wale & Octavia Austin
Rehearsal Director: Oliver Chapman & Gabriel Moraes
Lighting: Lucy Hansom

An exhilarating piece by choreographic duo Ekleido, Hannah Ekholm and Faye Stoeser, who are known for their work in contemporary dance and underground club dance scenes, featuring a new original score by world-renowned electronic musician Floating Points. Ekleido’s critically acclaimed Splice features two dancers finding the balance between limitation and possibility to solve a physical puzzle. The movement language takes influences from both Faye and Hannah’s vocabularies combining contemporary dance and underground club styles including New Way Voguing, Threading and Bone-Breaking.

Choreographer: Anthony Van Laast 

Performer: Amonik Melaco
Music: "This is me" sung by Keala Settle and written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul
Lighting: Lucy Hansom 

An affirmation to the joy of dance.

Choreographer: Anthony Van Laast 
Performers: Anmol Kaur, Jreena Green, Megan Griffiths, Jacqui Jameson and Ellie Peacock 
 Music:  "Both sides now" by Joni Mitchell
Lighting Designer: Lucy Hansom   

Decades features five London Contemporary Dance School alumni spanning the five decades of the school. A moving new piece by Anthony Van Laast exclusively created for the Peggy Hawkins Fundraising Gala 2024.

Anthony Van Laast CBE is a patron of The Place.

Anthony trained at the London School of Contemporary Dance, and later joining the resident London Contemporary Dance Theatre company as both performer and choreographer. As a choreographer he has received international acclaim. In 2018, Anthony was awarded the CBE for services to dance and choreography and in 2019 he became an Honorary Doctor of the Arts.

Theatre credits include: Tina The Musical – worldwide (Outer Circle Critics Award, Tony Award nomination); Mamma Mia! – worldwide (Dora Mavor Moore Award, Helpman Award nomination); Sister Act – worldwide (Olivier Award nomination).

Film work includes: Beauty and the Beast; Mamma Mia! Here we Go Again; Mamma Mia!; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1; Never Say Never Again; Excalibur; Hope and Glory.

Angela Rippon CBE will co-host the evening's gala. A journalist and broadcaster with over 50 years of experience, Angela has worked in radio and TV in the UK, USA, and Australia, and was inducted into the Royal Television Society’s Hall of Fame in 1996. She was named European Woman of Achievement in 2002, received an OBE in 2004, and a CBE in 2017 for her work in dementia care.

Currently, she hosts BBC's "Rip-Off Britain," contributes to "The One Show," and presents "HealthCheck UK Live." She has also hosted game shows and worked on health-related documentaries.

An author of 14 books, Angela is Vice President of the British Red Cross and involved in charity work with Comic Relief. She competed on "Strictly Come Dancing" in 2023 and launched the Let's Dance campaign in 2025.

Pernille Charrington graduated from LCDS in 1980 as one of the youngest students to ever take up a place at the school. After graduating, Pernille joined English Dance Theatre Company, travelling to New York and Canada. However, Pernille’s passion has always been to nurture the next generation of dancers and to ensure that everyone has access to dance. She has worked extensively with children with special needs, the elderly, Dance for Brain Health and people living with Parkinsons. In 1989, Pernille along with Peggy Hawkins formed the School of Creative Dance, to introduce children to dance and gain a deeper understanding of their own bodies as well as appreciation of rhythm and space. Pernille set up the fund alongside Peggy’s son, Anthony Van Laast in 2012 to honour Peggy’s commitment to the teaching of dance and dancers.

The Peggy Hawkins Fund was created by Anthony Van Laast CBE and Pernille Charrington, in memory of Peggy Hawkins, whose life was dedicated to teaching dance and choreography. Peggy was Anthony’s mother, and Pernille’s devoted friend and colleague.

An ex-Ballet Rambert dancer, Peggy Hawkins was a follower of Emile Jaques-Dalcroze’s Eurhythmics method, which combines learning and experiencing music through improvised movement. Peggy lived and worked in many locations all over the world and taught dance and choreography.

She received the Dalcroze Specialist Certificate in Eurhythmics once back in London, and continued to teach and choreograph well into her eighties in her own school, founded with Pernille Charrington. An accomplished pianist, Peggy also played for classes at London Contemporary Dance School in her spare time.

The Peggy Hawkins Fund (PHF) is a vital programme within our Student Fund. Founded in 2012 as the Peggy Hawkins Scholarship, the fund was first established to support talented students at London Contemporary Dance School with financial aid and mentoring and career support from Anthony and Pernille.

Since then, it has grown into the Peggy Hawkins Fund, a holistic student wellbeing support fund which has evolved to meet the challenges of the dance students of today. Donations received for the PHF are distributed in two ways. Firstly, via the LCDS Hardship Fund for individual students, developed to support and relieve financial pressures students face while studying at LCDS. Secondly, via the Student Support Service, available to all LCDS students, including our physical, learning, mental health and wellbeing support. By supporting both these vital areas, PHF therefore supports any registered student whether undergraduate, postgraduate, home or overseas status. While all students benefit from our Student Support Services, the Hardship Fund can be accessed by application, at any point throughout a student’s studies, including at the point of admission. Hardship Fund awards are assessed on a case-by-case basis and can range between £200-£3000.

Your support is important!

It is because of supporters such as yourself, that we have been able to remain responsive to student need. Over the years, we have raised over £100,000 for our students and we are truly grateful for the boundless generosity of our wonderful supporters who help us to ensure students are able to thrive at London Contemporary Dance School and graduate with the tools, passion and resilience they need to build fulfilling, life-long and meaningful careers. Thank you!

If you would like to make a donation to the Peggy Hawkins Fund, please use the donation form at the bottom of this page or visit our Support Us page.

Today The Place engages hundreds of artists, students, dancers and audiences, both onsite and online digitally, in pursuit of a world with more dance. Continuing to lead the way in shaping the art form, it remains the thriving hub of innovation and creativity that it was when it first opened its doors in 1969, as London Contemporary Dance School (LCDS) and a home for London Contemporary Dance Theatre (LCDT 1967-1994).

The Place is an institution that thrives due to its remarkable history, values and ability to move with the times. A move that unifies education, training and creative processes making The Place a global-leading institution that it has always aspired to be. Now honouring the extraordinary work of people responsible for carving out its identity and Robin Howard’s inspiring leadership (1966-1988), the current collaborative leadership team with Clare Connor as Chief Executive, establishes the theatre, the School and professional artists programmes as one integrated unit.

Extending the generosity of Founding Principal Robin Howard (1924-1989) and his belief that dance could transform and enrich lives, The Place’s vision includes a world with more dance fuelled by a mission that strives to “power imagination through dance”. Pioneering new ideas, taking risks and creating the best conditions for artists and audiences are core values that inform attitudes to pedagogy, artistic development, audiences and engagement.

The Place’s creative excellence builds on the legacy of its first artistic director Robert Cohan, who directed The Place, LCDT and LCDS between 1967- 1987. Cohan’s passion for performance and dance education together with that of Howard and fellow founders of The Place - Jane Dudley, Janet 'Mop' Eager and Patricia Hutchinson Mackenzie, developed both theatre and school into an accessible and friendly meeting place of contemporary ideas and experiments. In its embracing of a wide range of artists and art-forms, the school began to resemble an artist’s community that reflected the radical politics and art of the 60’s and 70’s. Echoing a shift in thinking about dance in higher education during the 80’s, Cohan and Howard appointed a new Principal, Richard Ralph (1979-1996), with the clear objective that he should enable students to obtain a dance degree. In 1982 he succeeded in negotiating a degree course validated by the University of Kent, and the first graduates emerged in 1985. They and successive LCDS graduates went on to shape contemporary dance’s impact in the UK and beyond.

The 90’s and noughties saw a new chapter for The Place under Richard Alston as artistic director (1994-2018) with the building becoming a home for his company, Richard Alston Dance Company (1994-2020). Pioneered by John Ashford, both school and theatre flourished in a period of modernisation and expansion as new links were forged with international artists, through programmes such as Aerowaves, European Dance Network and Resolution as well as initiatives to support artist development. Ashford during his time at the Place (1986-2009) together with partners Dance Umbrella , played a significant role in bringing international work to the UK.

During Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp’s time as Chief Executive (2009-2017), The Place Prize sponsored by Bloomberg, continued to bring media attention and popularity to contemporary dance and The Place. Set up in 2004 and continuing for ten years, it enabled the commissioning of new work in the UK that was toured in festivals and theatres nationally and internationally. Meanwhile Veronica Lewis as principal of the school between 1998-2018, concentrated on her mission to prepare students for varied and lifelong careers in dance, nurturing independent and individual artists, as well as setting up and co-founding the National Centre for Advanced training .

Howard’s hope for contemporary dance “to remain international and continue to cooperate with the other arts and reflect the world outside” is still alive in the current opportunities for artists and students, both nationally and internationally. In the last few decades, reflecting the politics of our time, The Place has invested in the diversity and plurality of artists seeking to lead societal change through art and dance. Under the artistic leadership of Eddie Nixon, a renewed concentration on artist development, commissioning and artist support enables independent artists, unlock their potential and develop the artform.

A productive and inspiring engagement with people, so vital to The Place’s evolution, is seen in the programming of performances at the Robin Howard theatre. In addition, new international and national touring initiatives and a stimulating programme of live streamed and digital performance (started during covid lockdowns) continue to reach and expand audiences across the UK and abroad. The range of dance classes for school children and young people as well as the National Centre for Advanced Training, fulfils an ongoing pledge to ensure as many children and adults from local communities have the opportunity to explore their creativity through dance. Directed by Dr Lise Uytterhoeven, the school's current focus is on developing pedagogy driven by diversity and inclusion as well as critical thinking and a continuing dialogue around performance. Activities in the theatre, outreach programmes and professional artists’ residencies provide students with opportunities to interact with and work in a professional environment throughout their studies. The Place prioritises the value of creating resilience and entrepreneurship in students, making sure that teaching and best practice enhance their development and preparation for professional outcomes. A newly validated degree programme by University of the Arts London reaffirms the Place’s significance in higher education and its potential to create exceptional alumni who continue to shape the art form and industry on a global scale.

For London Contemporary Dance School

Chief Executive: Clare Connor
Director of Dance Studies: Dr Lise Uytterhoeven
Artistic Director: Eddie Nixon
Chief Financial Officer: Caroline Busby
Director of Research: Dr Efrosini Protopapa
Director of Undergraduate Courses and International Development: Baptiste Bourgougnon
Director of Student Lifecycle and Well-Being: Anna Helsby
Deputy Director of Undergraduate Courses: Josh Slater
Head of Learning and Teaching: Jeannie Steele
Head of Dance Science: Stephanie De’Ath
Director of Development: Anna Cassidy
Director of Communications: Holly Conneely
Marketing Manager: Akshara Vasavada
Development Manager: Jessica Steele
Producer for the Peggy Hawkins Fundraising Gala: Rho Thomas

For The Place

Technical Manager: Marco Cifre
Deputy Technical Manager: Luke Marino
Senior Theatre Technician: Martin Kucera, Martin Tucker
Casual Technicians: Amirul Azmi, Keng Cheng, Chris Cormack, Zoe Ritchie, Ben Batdorff, Seth Rook-Williams, Eleanor Boyle, Bernadette Ward , Jennifer Cashman, Sara Wilson, Andres Velasquez, Matt Illes, Alexander Standish-Arnold.
Visitor Services Manager: Eleanor Farrow
Deputy Visitor Services Manager: Ifiyenia Kolla
Front of House and Events Coordinator: Johanna Tuominen
Ticketing and Box Office Supervisor: Georgie Brown
Theatre Duty Managers: Amy Johnson, Line Guld Pedersen, Kevin Smith
Box Office Assistants: Christina Adonoo, Aaron Lamont, Daisy Chan, Shay Bu, Ruby Wenham, Theia Maldoom
Visitor Services Assistants: ZE King, Xan Dye, Aisling Gabriel Munn, Bronté Adelman, Sophie Morrison, Eloise Frey, Orla Hardie, Jacy Keddie, Mak Korda, Carrissa Ting, Ayebainemi Abieyuwa Ese, Jack Trotter, Jack Algar, Amy Keall, Eline Peres