‘Unbroken’ Biographies
Nikki Rummer – Director, Performer
Nikki trained for 10 years as an artistic gymnast in Washington State, USA, and has since trained in hand-balancing and hand-to-hand at the National Centre for Circus Arts. In addition, she trained the Afro-Brazilian movement art, Capoeira, for 10 years under Brazilian-led schools Raizes de Rua and Cordao de Ouro. She is one half of Nikki & JD whose award-winning Knot has toured internationally since 2016.
Ben Duke – Dramaturg
Ben is Artistic Director and co-founder of Lost Dog. He trained at Guildford School of Acting, the London Contemporary Dance School and has a first class degree in English Literature from Newcastle University. His work is an attempt to reconcile those three subjects.
In 1997 Ben saw Alain Platel’s show Bernadetje at the Newcastle Playhouse and has been trying to re-create the feeling of confusion and joy he had while watching that piece in his own artistic practice. The majority of his artistic output has been within Lost Dog.
Outside of this company, Ben has also worked as a freelance choreographer and performer. Most recently he created the Olivier award-nominated Goat for Rambert.
He has also created work for Scottish Dance Theatre (The Life and Times of Girl A), Dance Umbrella (The Difference Engine), Phoenix Dance Theatre (Pave up Paradise), the contemporary circus company Barely Methodical Troupe (Kin), Hi Fliers (There were definitely swans) and last year he collaborated with composer Orlando Gough to create a dance theatre piece for stroke survivors with Rosetta Life (Stroke Odyssey).
He has choreographed for theatre projects by The National Theatre of Scotland (Dolls), the Gate Theatre, London (Sexual Neuroses of our Parents) and Handspring UK (CROW).
As a performer he has worked at the Gate Theatre (I am Falling), The National Theatre of Scotland (Dolls), and with Probe (May) and Punchdrunk (Faust).
Ben is a Work Place artist and was Associate Artist at South East Dance 2012-14. In 2016 Ben won the National Dance Critics Award for Outstanding Male Performance for Paradise Lost (lies unopened beside me).
Jim Manganello – Dramaturg
Jim is co-artistic director of the Glasgow-based dance-theatre company Shotput. Shotput’s work includes Totentanz (a LoveDanceScotland commission) and Ferguson and Barton, which will tour Scotland in 2022. Jim works across theatre, dance, and opera. As director: Lucia di Lammermoor (Fulham Opera); The Mute Quire, String Up the Moon, and The Judge (Fratellanza); War and Peace (Viaduct, Chicago). As movement director: Assassins (RCS); Lost at Sea and Aladdin (Perth); The Enchanted Bullets (Blackheath Halls), Elixir of Love (Scottish
Opera). He has been an artist in residence with Imaginate and Lyra. Training: National Theatre Directors’ Course; Birkbeck College; École Lassaâd, Brussels.
Alberto Ruiz Soler – Sound designer
Alberto constructs soundscapes and listening spaces through contemporary dance, installations and generative art. His work has toured internationally and has been well received by audiences.
His work has been three time finalist of the The Place Prize with Begin to begin with Eva Recacha (2010); Cameo with Riccardo Buscarini and Antonio de la Fe (2010) and The wishing Well with Eva Recacha (2012).
His 2013 work, Idiot-Syncrasy with Igor+Moreno, is still touring, has been presented in Europe, Asia, Africa, South and North America. Nominated for National Dance Awards, Total Theatre Awards, selected for Aerowaves and British Council Showcase in 2015.
Stephanie McMann – Movement director
Stephanie McMann is a dancer and movement director from London. She works as a performer with makers including Roberta Jean, Theo Clinkard, Lucy Suggate, Oona Doherty, Laura Dannequin, Dan Canham, Janine Harrington, Damien Jalet, Hussein Chalayan, Seke Chimutengewende, Jamila Johnson-Small and Julie Cunningham amongst others. Stephanie’s TV and film work includes His Dark Materials (2019/20) GoT (prequel, 2019) World War Z (2013), assisting Alex Reynolds and Suspiria (2018) with Damien Jalet. She is a past Sadler’s Wells Summer University artist and a movement & rehearsal director for dance, film, theatre and circus, including Liz Aggis and Acrojou. She has worked with Scottish Dance Theatre as Rehearsal Director (maternity cover from Nov 19-Feb 20) and Movement Director (cover) for the film Louis Wain (2020) and upcoming projects during 2020. Stephanie is dancer/co-artistic director of Nora with Eleanor Sikorski & Flora Wellesley Wesley, with their last commission by Deborah Hay. Nora is currently working with Eleanor Bauer.
Temitope Ajose Cutting – Movement director
Bonnie Bird Choreography Award winner (2005), Temitope Ajose Cutting has created and staged works for venues such as Royal Opera House and ROH2. She has been commissioned by The Place Prize Bloomberg, and exciting dance producer Eckhard Thiemann at Woking Dance. Her works have been performed at DanceXchange, RichMix, Dancebase in Edinburgh, Swindon Dance and the Soho Joyce (New York).
As a dancer Temitope has worked with Punchdrunk, director Carrie Cracknell at The Gate Theatre and The National, Theo Clinkard and Protein Dance Company, Darcy Wallace at the V&A, Lea Anderson, Joe Moran, Sue Maclaine and Seke Chimutengwende. Temitope also engages with movement direction (Old Vic and National Theatre). In addition to this she has been part of the performance team restaging Joan Jonas retrospective at the Tate Modern, working with choreographer and curator Nefeli Skarmea for artist Megan Rooney at the Serpentine Pavilion and now collaborates with Megan Rooney for her solo shows at Kunsthalle Germany and most recently the Lyon Bianale.
Temitope continues to make her own work producing a show at The Southbank ‘My name is my own’ with director Jo Tyabji working and writer Jay Bernard on the politics of public speaking with an extraordinary cast.
Seth Rook Williams – Lighting Designer
Operating mainly in dance and theatre, Seth collaborates with directors, choreographers, designers, producers, and multidisciplinary artists in the making, and touring of work across Europe, and the world.
People and companies Seth has recently worked with include Alberto Ruiz & William Fairbrother, Igor x Moreno, Simone Moussett, Duckworth & Persson, Nastassja Simensky, Barely Methodical Troupe.
Seth studied at Wimbledon College of Art, University of the Arts London.
Loren Elstein – Costume designer
Loren is an International Designer for Theatre, Opera and Film. Her current projects include: Once Upon a One More Time (World Premiere, Washington & Broadway); Migrations (WNO, Dir. David Pountney); Cheryomushki (WNO); Hansel & Gretel (Silent Opera/BYO).
For Theatre, Film and Dance: Hamlet (Windsor Theatre Royal, Dir Sean Mathias); Hamlet (The Film); Primetime (Royal Court Theatre, Dir. Roy A Weise); Rent 20th Anniversary Tour (Costume Design, Michael Grandage Company, Dir. Bruce Guthrie); The End of Longing (Co Costume & Associate Set Design, Playhouse Theatre, Dir. Lindsay Posner); The Lie (Costume Design, Menier Chocolate Factory, Dir Lindsay Posner); Terror (Costume Design,Lyric Hammersmith, Dir. Sean Holmes; The Ugly One (Park Theatre, Dir. Roy A Weise); Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Co Costume & Associate Set Design, The Old Vic); The Man Who Almost Killed Himself (Summer Hall at the Edinburgh Festival/ BBC iPlayer);Stoneface (Finborough Theatre,( Dir. Roy A Weise);Unruhe (Theater Trier,Dir. Hannes Langolf), Betty Blue Eyes (Mountview);The Exploded Circus (Mimbre, UK Tour) ; Hidden(Dir: Scott Hurran) Wondrous Strange (RSC, Dir. Lina Johansson); A Room of Her Own with Mimbre Acrobats (The Southbank Centre-WOW Festival Dir: Lina Johansson); Ten Women (Oval House); and circus show Polymer (Udderbelly Festival, Southbank, Dir. Lina Johansson). For Opera: Don Pasquale (WNO); La Traviata (Longborough Opera); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Theater Trier, Dir. Sam Brown); Pia de Tolomei (English Touring Opera, Dir. James Conway); The Water Palace (Tête à Tête Festival, Dir. Sam Brown).
Associate Design includes; Hangmen (Royal Court, Atlantic Theatre New York, Dir. Matthew Dunster);Everybody’s Talking About Jamie ( Apollo Theatre, West End, Dir. Jonathan Butterell) John (DV8 world tour).