Disco Queen is a solo contemporary dance-theatre show delving into the world of Disco Freestyle Dance. Using lived experiences it will shed light on & celebrate a dance form mostly practised by young girls from working class communities, exploring the grit, sacrifice & resilience to compete & succeed.
Disco Freestyle is a competitive athletic virtuosic style of dance that has evolved from the John Travolta Saturday Night Fever era and since evolved into its own entity of routines compromising of fast high kicks, spins, acrobatics and jumps. It is a working class dance form, existing within its own culture and underrepresented within contemporary dance spaces. Disco Freestyle is often misunderstood, based on impressions built on pageant like costumes/fake tan/make up on young girls. This narrative must change and instead celebrate and respect the dance form itself - which demands energy, skill and talent. Ella was a Disco Freestyle dancer from the age of 6 - 18 years before a training in contemporary dance.
Disco Queen will be developed in Autumn 2023, with support from Choreodrome The Place, Cultural Knowledge Exchange The Place, Mind The Gap & Barnsley Civic. Mini Seed Commissioned by Bradford 2025.
