Why Dance Matters

Our first guest of 2026 is the choreographer of the Wicked movies: the defying gravity force field that is Christopher Scott. In two phenomenal films, based on the hit stage musical, Christopher brings the land of Oz to stomping, whirling life – continuing his collaboration with director John M Chu (including In the Heights and the web series Legion of Extraordinary Dancers). How does Christopher, who began as a street dancer, work with stars like Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande? And there is no Oscar for choreography – how does this passionate advocate for dance feel about that?Christopher Scott graduated from the Hollywood High Performing Arts Magnet Program, and began his choreography career in the Step Up dance films. He became associate producer and choreographer of The LXD: The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers. From 2010-16, he was a resident choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance, receiving three Emmy nominations. He has directed for stage and screen and has worked with artists such as Miley Cyrus and Gloria Estefan. In 2019, for director Jon M Chu, he choreographed the film of Lin Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights, followed by Wicked and Wicked: For Good.Why Dance Matters is a dance podcast featuring inspiring conversations with extraordinary people from the world of dance and beyond. Hosted by David Jays, editor of Dance Gazette, this podcast explores how dance shapes lives and why it matters to us all. Brought to you by the RAD, which inspires the world to dance, these insightful stories will surprise and delight. Tune in and discover more on our website

Jamiel Devernay-Laurence has a dance brain, but also a business brain. Founder, artistic director and enthusiastic compere of the ever-growing series of Ballet Nights events, he has also created the production house Fundamentally Dance. Having danced with Scottish Ballet, Jamiel then parlayed his energy into Ballet Nights, taking its programmes of dance into big London venues like Cadogan Hall and the Ministry of Sound nightclub, and to international editions. New events are in the works, and Jamiel’s ballet evangelism knows no bounds – why shouldn’t ballet play the biggest stadiums? Jamiel Devernay-Laurence is an acclaimed creative arts producer, choreographer, filmmaker and entrepreneur. Through his production house, Fundamentally Dance, and the performance umbrella Ballet Nights, he curates and produces high-impact programmes of ballet and contemporary dance across the UK and beyond. A former Soloist with Scottish Ballet, he has earned critical acclaim and a nomination for the Innovation Award at the 2024 Stage Awards in recognition of his dynamic approach to developing exciting new ideas in performing arts. An Evening With Matthew Ball is at the Susie Sainsbury Theatre, London on 14 December: https://www.fundamentallydance.com/an-evening-with-matthew-ballBallet Nights New Year’s Day Concert is at Cadogan Hall, London: https://www.balletnights.com/new-years-dayWhy Dance Matters is a dance podcast featuring inspiring conversations with extraordinary people from the world of dance and beyond. Hosted by David Jays, editor of Dance Gazette, this podcast explores how dance shapes lives and why it matters to us all. Brought to you by the RAD, which inspires the world to dance, these insightful stories will surprise and delight. Tune in and discover more on our website.

Here’s an unusual compliment: “Evie has amazing eyes that can emote both compassion and complete psychotic behaviour.” This is a director describing Evie Templeton, who at 16 stars in the hit Netflix series Wednesday. Evie brings her compassionate/psychotic presence to Agnes DeMille – stalker and ally of Wednesday Addams in the comic and macabre series. The character, named for the pioneering choreographer Agnes DeMille, even dances to an original number by Lady Gaga. Evie herself has a background in RAD ballet (her sister Jessica was a medallist at the RAD’s Genée competition). How has ballet shaped Evie’s approach to performing? Evie Templeton was born in Barbados and later moved to England. Aged 10, she played young Cosette and Eponine in Les Misérables in the West End. She made her film debut in Red, followed by roles in Life After Life, Disney’s Pinocchio and Lord of Misrule. As well as playing Agnes DeMille in Wednesday, she is due to appear in Return to Silent Hill. Wednesday on Netflix https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81231974Why Dance Matters is a dance podcast featuring inspiring conversations with extraordinary people from the world of dance and beyond. Hosted by David Jays, editor of Dance Gazette, this podcast explores how dance shapes lives and why it matters to us all. Brought to you by the RAD, which inspires the world to dance, these insightful stories will surprise and delight. Tune in and discover more on our website

Few classical singers embrace movement as vividly as the star countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo. He explores all the possibilities of a performing career, from opera to cabaret. His captivating high tones specialise in both early and modern operas: famously, in the testing title role of Philip Glass’ Akhnaten. Recent audacious projects include playing Maria Callas, and a solo Marriage of Figaro where he sang all the roles. As director of Opera Philadelphia he has attracted new audiences with a successful Pick Your Price ticket scheme. He’s an astonishing, eloquent advocate for the arts – including dance.Anthony Roth Costanzo began performing professionally aged 11 and has appeared in opera, concert, recital, film and on Broadway. In 2024, he became the General Director and President of Opera Philadelphia. He has appeared with many of the world’s leading opera houses and at a venues ranging from Carnegie Hall to Madison Square Garden. His most recent album is Anthony Roth Costanzo & Justin Vivian Bond: Only an Octave Apart, and he stars on the Metropolitan Opera’s Grammy award-winning recording of Akhnaten.Anthony’s website https://anthonyrothcostanzo.com/Opera Philadelphia https://www.operaphila.org/Why Dance Matters is a dance podcast featuring inspiring conversations with extraordinary people from the world of dance and beyond. Hosted by David Jays, editor of Dance Gazette, this podcast explores how dance shapes lives and why it matters to us all. Brought to you by the RAD, which inspires the world to dance, these insightful stories will surprise and delight. Tune in and discover more on our website.

To be artistic director of one of the world’s great ballet companies is a daunting task. But Tamara Rojo is accustomed to pressure: as Royal Ballet, artistic director of English National Ballet, and now of San Francisco Ballet (SFB), America’s oldest classical company. Tamara has the gift of making each programmes an event; the highlight of her first season at SFB was Mere Mortals, a ballet for the age of AI, which attracted a new audience to watch and party. We ask Tamara: how does she juggle all the demands of her role? And what is it like to lead a major arts organisation in modern America? Tamara Rojo is a celebrated leader and principal dancer who became Artistic Director of San Francisco Ballet in 2022. Previously, she was Artistic Director and Lead Principal of English National Ballet (ENB) for over 10 years, having also been principal dancer of the Royal Ballet. Her repertoire includes lead roles in all full-length ballet classics, as well as works by Balanchine, Robbins, Ashton and MacMillan. Her numerous awards include the Olivier Award for Best Achievement in Dance in 2017 and the Principe de Asturias Award in 2005. In 2016, she was awarded a CBE for services to dance. Listen to RAD's Why Dance Matters podcast now, available on all major listening platforms.

Today we enter the world of Strictly Come Dancing. The show is a phenomenon of British television, and our guest is the longest serving professional dancer on the series – the sparky Venezuelan-American dancer Karen Hauer. Karen spoke to us just before she learned her partner for the 2025 series would be the Team GB sprinter Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (aka Nitro from Gladiators) – but Karen tells us how she forges a partnership with a non-dancing celebrity, and about the pressures and pleasures of the iconic show. Karen Hauer is Strictly Come Dancing's longest standing professional dancer, starring in the show since 2012. Her partners have included Westlife's Nicky Byrne, The ‘Hairy Biker’ Dave Myers, Jeremy Vine, Will Young, Jayde Adams and Paul Merson. Previously, she was crowned 2008 World Mambo Champion, was a finalist on So You Think You Can Dance USA, and principal female dancer in the original Broadway cast of Burn The Floor and subsequent world tours. With Gorka Marquez, she created the successful shows Firedance and Speakeasy, on which she was Associate Choreographer and Associate Creative Producer. Karen’s Hauer Power website https://www.hauerpower.co.uk/homepageStrictly Come Dancing on BBC https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006m8dq Why Dance Matters is a dance podcast featuring inspiring conversations with extraordinary people from the world of dance and beyond. Hosted by David Jays, editor of Dance Gazette, this podcast explores how dance shapes lives and why it matters to us all. Brought to you by the RAD, which inspires the world to dance, these insightful stories will surprise and delight. Tune in and discover more on our website.

Maddie Jamieson is one of the UK’s leading experts in dance team. As a former competitive dancer, and now a choreographer, coach and judge, she’s the perfect guide to a discipline which sits between sport and art (the International Cheer Union was recently recognised by the IOC, possibly paving the way for inclusion in a future Olympic Games). What is the difference between dance team and cheerleading? Why is ballet training good for dance team? And what is the best way to use a pom-pom? Maddie Jamieson is an internationally-renowned dance team choreographer, coach and adjudicator. Following a dance career which saw her place 7th in the world and work for the BBC, IKEA, and Disney, she went on to coach the national dance team of Scotland to a bronze medal at the ICU World Championships in 2022, and had three teams placing in the top 10 at the Dance Worlds 2024. She has also judged across three continents including at the ICU European Championships in 2023. Why Dance Matters is a dance podcast featuring inspiring conversations with extraordinary people from the world of dance and beyond. Hosted by David Jays, editor of Dance Gazette, this podcast explores how dance shapes lives and why it matters to us all. Brought to you by the RAD, which inspires the world to dance, these insightful stories will surprise and delight. Tune in and discover more on our website

Alexander Campbell has been Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Dance for just over a year. Formerly a gleaming principal with the Royal Ballet, the Australian-born dancer is no stranger to the RAD. His grandmother was an RAD examiner, so he took the RAD exams and won medals in its major competitions. Stepping off stage and into the office must have seemed like a natural move – or did it? How easy is it for a dancer to leave their all-consuming dance routine? In a changing dance landscape, how might the RAD develop? And why does dance matter to Alexander?Alexander Campbell was born in Sydney, moving to the UK to train at the Royal Ballet School. In 2003 he won the silver medal at the Genée International Ballet Competition and was a Prix de Lausanne finalist. He joined Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2005, and moved to the Royal Ballet in 2011, becoming a Principal in 2016. He left the Royal Ballet and became Artistic Director of the Royal Academy of Dance in 2024.Why Dance Matters is a dance podcast featuring inspiring conversations with extraordinary people from the world of dance and beyond. Hosted by David Jays, editor of Dance Gazette, this podcast explores how dance shapes lives and why it matters to us all. Brought to you by the RAD, which inspires the world to dance, these insightful stories will surprise and delight. Tune in and discover more on our website

Lewis Walker is a former world champion gymnast and now a dancer. We often talk about dance as a short career, one which embeds a very binary approach, and in which partnering is a question of intense trust – well, all this is even more true of gymnastics. Lewis discovered the sport at six, reached its peak – but also realised there was more to explore, more to express. Their side-shimmy into dance has led to collaborations in music, fashion and choreography. Their new work, Bornsick was co-commissioned by the Serpentine Gallery and travels to the Edinburgh Art Festival this summer.Lewis Walker is a London-born queer, non-binary movement artist. A former Great Britain gymnast and Acrobatic Gymnastics World Champion, they trained from age 6 to 21 before earning a degree in Contemporary Dance. Their work spans theatre, film, fashion, music, and the commercial sector. Walker continues to choreograph gymnastics competition routines for the Great Britain, Italian and French national teams. Their creative vision and dynamic movement style have led to collaborations with Tim Walker, Yorgos Lanthimos, ANOHNI, Tirzah, BULLYACHE, Burberry, UNTITLAB, and the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA).Beyond performance, Walker is dedicated to teaching movement as a tool for accessing deeper states of consciousness and developing a deeper understanding of consensual touch. Their Connecting to Improv workshop explores dance improvisation as a ritual of shared energy and expression, while MOVE HYPNO, a collaboration with hypnotherapist Michele Occelli, blends movement and hypnotherapy for personal transformation.Walker is currently a Studio Wayne McGregor RESIDENT 6 artist-in-residence.Lewis Walker’s website https://www.lewiswalker.uk/Why Dance Matters is a dance podcast featuring inspiring conversations with extraordinary people from the world of dance and beyond. Hosted by David Jays, editor of Dance Gazette, this podcast explores how dance shapes lives and why it matters to us all. Brought to you by the RAD, which inspires the world to dance, these insightful stories will surprise and delight. Tune in and discover more on our website.