Series 7

November – December 2023.

Interviews include Drew McOnie, Jakob Wheway Hughes, Pam Tanowitz, Aaron S. Watkin, Benjamin Zephaniah, Nina Wadia, and Olga Smirnova.

Episode 1: Drew McOnie

Series 7 kicks off with Drew McOnie, British choreographer, theatre director, and one of the busiest people in show business. He danced with Matthew Bourne's…
Read more

Episode 2: Jakob Wheway Hughes

Jakob was gold medallist at the Royal Academy of Dance's Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition 2023. The Fonteyn took place at His Majesty's Theatre in…
Read more

Episode 3: Pam Tanowitz

Pam Tanowitz is now an in-demand choreographer – but her career has followed a unique trajectory. For years, she and her company had an under-the-radar…
Read more

Episode 4: Aaron S. Watkin

Aaron S Watkin seems like a man who knows what he likes: perfect material to direct a leading ballet company, and to judge a leading…
Read more

Episode 5: Benjamin Zephaniah

In this episode of Why Dance Matters, we revisit a conversation from October 2022, in tribute to the poet, performer and activist Benjamin Zephaniah, who…
Read more

Episode 6: Nina Wadia

This festive episode visits the pantomime: that uniquely British blend of song, dance, and silliness. Explaining its appeal is the cherished comic actor, Nina Wadia,…
Read more

Episode 50: Olga Smirnova

Why Dance Matters celebrates its 50th episode in conversation with one of the world's great ballerinas. Olga Smirnova's Giselle with Dutch National Ballet will be…
Read more