THE COMPANY | 201dancecompany

ABOUT

201 DANCE COMPANY

In ten years, 201 Dance Company staged highly anticipated pieces at Edinburgh Festival Fringe followed by UK tours showcasing their unique style of dance with a theatrical narrative. Past productions include Smother in 2015+16, SKIN in 2017, HOME for Chicago's Joffrey Ballet in 2019 and SAD BOOK, touring the UK in 2025. Their work was billed as "one of the hot tickets of the fringe" by The Herald. 201 Dance Company was founded in 2014 by Director, Choreographer and Artistic Director Andrea Walker. The company is queer-led, and brings together experienced artists and producers to create daring new work that is driven by personal experience of mental illness, is socially responsive, accessible and tackles current social issues. The team share a drive to tell stories that matter and give a voice to underrepresented groups, whilst performing outstanding, original dance to diverse audiences.

★★★★★

"The narrative is clear, direct

and incredibly heart wrenching"

- LGBTY Scotland on SKIN

The company's ethos centres around creating challenging dance theatre that is influenced by different styles of choreography. They are driven to confront controversial issues and challenge social prejudices. 201 Dance Company often partner with charities and community groups to use exceptional dance theatre as a vehicle for engaging audiences in topical social issues.

ANDREA WALKER:
DIRECTOR | CHOREOGRAPHER | ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Andrea is the founder and Artistic Director of 201 Dance Company, and Director and Choreographer of 201's award winning SKIN ("Stand-Out Dance of the Summer" - The Guardian) and SMOTHER (★★★★ "This is the new generation of street dance" - The Times). Based in Brighton, Andrea began dancing aged 14 in Rome, Italy, and continued to study and explore dance at The Metropolitan Arts Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, and at The Broadway Dance Center in New York, from which he graduated with a Certificate of Excellence and won the Outstanding Student Award in June 2014. He also has a BA in Film and Television Production from the University of Westminster.

Andrea choreographed and danced Ebony Bones’ European tour, and directed and choreographed a world-premiere for the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago in 2019 (★★★★ "Hauntingly effective" - Chicago Sun-Times). Most recently - in partnership with 201 - he directed and choreographed "SAD BOOK", a moving exploration of grief adapted from Michael Rosen's award-winning book. The show premiered at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe ("Top Stage Pick"/"Top Dance Pick" - The Guardian/The Scotsman) and will be touring the UK in Spring 2025.

Queerness and openly queer work is very important to Andrea: He regularly works closely with Brighton Pride and their headline acts, including Kylie Minogue and Girls Aloud in 2024. Other credits include work with Coldplay, Aggro Santos, Lounge, Xbox, T-Mobile, Martini and D&G.