Meet the Ensemble
Dora Frankel Ensemble was formed in autumn 2018 to give a platform to Dora’s continuing choreography and filmmaking, creating immersive, touring work highlighting the intersection between personal journeys and environmental collapse. A diverse group of dancers of different ages, gender identification and sexual orientation, from both Italy and England, it includes associate artists from other disciplines. Experience exhilarating opportunities from performances to residencies and more, throughout the year and reaching from Newcastle to Whitstable.
Release the Beast
Watch 23 times award-winning Touch the Beast trailer. Hire the film at any time.
LUCA
BRACCIA
DANCER
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Luca Braccia is a London-based portfolio dance artist, senior academic and artistic director, originally from southern Italy.
He performed internationally with artists and companies including Luca Silvestrini, Blanca Li, REQUARDT&ROSEMBERG, Amina Khayyam Dance Company, Akademi, LiLa Dance, Fuora Dance Project and the Dora Frankel Ensemble.
His performance repertoire includes works by Jiří Kylián, Merce Cunningham, Trisha Brown, Kurt Joss, Maurice Bejart, William Forsythe, Nijinsky, Adriana Borriello, Shobana Jeyasingh, Gauri Sharma Tripathi, Mavin Koo, Tony Adigun, Mauro Bigonzetti, Allen and Karen Kaeja, Enzo Celli, Carl Portal, Giovanna Velardi, Fabrizio Monteverde and Patricia Okenwa.
Since 2015, Luca has created work under BARBERDANCE / lucabraccia&Co., developing projects across the UK and internationally in Italy, China, Portugal, Germany and Belgium. Besides, he works as a Lecturer for London Studio Centre, Roehampton University and ISTD.
He is also a CAT (Centre for Advanced Training) Tutor at DanceEast and Artistic Director of The Remarkable Dance Company, based at The Mill Arts Centre
LIVIA
MASSERELLI
DANCER
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Livia Massarelli is a multifaceted dance artist, meditation teacher, and coach. She is the Programme Leader of the Master in Contemporary Dance Performance at Equilibrio Dinamico Ensemble, validated by Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Livia works internationally as a performer, choreographer, educator, rehearsal director, and mentor, dedicating her practice to the development of dance artists and their well-being.
She is the creator of the Mindful Dancer Method, an approach that blends contemporary dance, meditation, and coaching to support dancers in navigating their careers with authenticity, resilience, and self-awareness. This methodology informs her practice as a performer, choreographer, and educator, creating pathways towards sustainable performance and artistic development.
Livia has performed in the creations of renowned choreographers including Emanuel Gat, Shobana Jeyasingh, Tony Adigun, Claudia Castellucci, and Dora Frankel, among others. As a choreographer, her work has been presented at festivals across Europe and in internationally recognised venues including Jacob’s Pillow, La Maison de la Danse, and The Place.
She has worked as a guest artist at leading dance institutions including Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, English National Ballet School, and Institute of the Arts Barcelona.
ZARA
SANDS
DANCER
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Zara graduated with first-class honours in Contemporary Dance from Trinity Laban Conservatoire and has since been working in film, fashion, live music, and theatre. Represented by Crumb Agency, Take 3 Agency and BEX3 Agency, she works as a dancer across commercial and independent arts settings, guided by contemporary artistic practice and a curiosity for how this can converse with the visual languages of contemporary culture. Her accolades include 1st-place at the Hamburg Dance Competition, two-time semi-finalist at the Brussels International Contemporary Dance Contest, and a finalist nomination at The Stage Awards for #CAPITAL where she was choreographer and soloist.
Zara develops and performs her own work. Informed by her background in contortion and driven by a desire to tease apart how the body is observed and internally experienced, her work dwells in dystopias, body horror, the instability of perception, and the body as a site of distortion and metamorphosis.
BECKY
HORNE
DANCER
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Becky (she/her) is a UK based dancer and multidisciplinary artist. She works as a performer, maker, researcher & facilitator and holds an MA in Dance Performance from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance. She is invested in collaborative processes and specialises in improvisation, contact & site-specific performance, working regularly outside & in galleries.
Becky has worked as a performer/practitioner for a wide range of artists and companies such as Leap The Look, Made By Katie Green, Kinship Workshop and Marina Collard. She is interested in the embodied ways in which people engage with art, and is experienced facilitating in various settings – teaching and delivering workshops to beginners, families, students & professionals, in dance, art & outside contexts.
PINI
GIACOMO
DANCER
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Giacomo (he/they) is a Queer, non-binary Dance Artist and Academic based in London.
He joined Dora Frankel Ensemble in 2019, for the creation of award-winning, globally screened dance film Touch the Beast. Since then, they have been collaborating with Dora for several performance projects and outreach activities, supporting the facilitation of creative workshops for young people and artists from the local community across the North-East and in London.
Alongside his freelance performance career, Giacomo is a Yoga Teacher and Lecturer at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (https://www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/), specialising in Contemporary technique, Floorwork and Yoga for dancers. He also guest teaches internationally, having recently been invited by renowned dance organisations in China to lead workshops and create a new dance piece for their young companies.
PETER COYTE
COMPOSER
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Peter Coyte is a composer and sound artist producing work in theatre, film and installations.
He began as Shape Navigator on Guerilla Records writing with Coldcut, Seal and David McAlmont.
Long-term collaborations include Dora Frankel, with whom he has worked since 2012, Salena Godden, John-Paul Zaccarini The MixRace MixTape, John Nicholson Peepolykus, director Gemma Bodinetz, filmmakers Joanna Callaghan and Francois Verster and Exeter based Le Navet Bete.
He is a member of Automatic Writing Circle, a group of sound artists who have performed in festivals and venues across the United Kingdom and Europe.
KATE COLLINS
COSTUME DESIGNER, MAKER
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After training at Wimbledon School of Art in Costume, and subsequent positions with, among others Glyndebourne Opera House, Kate moved back to her home county, Northumberland and has developed a successful freelance career including theatre and dance costume design and make and bespoke wedding and other gowns. Current contracts include Head Cutter at North Stage, Cutter/Maker for TV series Vera and Costume Designer/Maker for Fertile Ground and Dora Frankel Ensemble.
Her collaboration with Dora began in 2008 on Different Spaces/Different Sounds and includes Bridging the Gap (One Small Step/One More Step as well as all the JMWTurner trilogy costumes.
Kate continues to work for other regionally-based theatre companies and also takes commissions for large scale productions nationally and internationally.
ROMA YAGNIK
COMPOSER
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Roma Yagnik is an award-winning UK based composer working in film (feature and short form), dance, theatre, events and television. Her diverse client list includes BBC, Sky/ SATV, EMI, Universal Music, Unicef, PLAN International, Tottenham Hotspur, Tate Britain and the British Library as well as some of the brightest independent film & theatre talent around.
Roma's dance, theatre and event work includes, The opening of Edinburgh International Festival 2024, Resurgam a vertical dance piece performed by Bandaloop on the south facade of St Paul's Cathedral as well as sound design for I, Daniel Blake (Tiny Dragon and Northern Stage) and of course Dora Frankel's Touch the Beast.
Images Luke Waddington, Jonathan Deeley, Camilla Greenwell, Kate Collins.