Students Earn Choreography Commission with Worcester Theatre

Two talented dance students will take centre stage at Worcester’s Swan Theatre after securing a prestigious paid commission for their work.

Maisey Tromans and Ruby Brown are both in the first year of their Dance and Performance degree at the University of Worcester and have already been offered a rare choreographic commission.

This will see them co-producing and performing a new contemporary dance duet in February at the City’s only professional theatre. For both students it is their first professional dance job as a choreographer.

“I’m still shocked, but extremely elated,” said 19-year-old Maisey, from Dudley. “This is such an amazing opportunity and a huge step in achieving my end goal of being a choreographer.”

The opportunity arose through the Choreographic Practices module, part of their degree. As the commissioning organisation for this year’s module, the Swan Theatre invited students to create a piece reflecting the history of dance at the venue, with selected works commissioned and performed on its stage.

Students showed their work in progress to Theatre representatives who offered Maisey and Ruby a commission to finish the work. The pair are developing and refining the piece, called ‘Echo In The Shadows', ready for its stage debut at a showcase for up-and-coming artists.

Maisey, who began dancing at the age of three, previously studied performing arts at Birmingham Ormiston Academy and has attended KLM School of Dance for the past four years, progressing from student to qualified teacher.

In 2024, she was one of 100 dancers chosen for the English Youth Ballet’s production of Giselle. While she has choreographed before, her passion for it has grown in recent months.

“For me there's no better feeling than seeing what started out as a small initial idea being made better than you ever thought possible by those who perform your own work,” she said.

Ruby, 18, from Solihull, has danced since she was eight and trained in many styles, with lyrical and contemporary her strengths. She discovered a love for choreography during college coursework.

“I feel very happy about being commissioned for this piece as it’s such a wonderful opportunity,” she said. “This will help me in the future, as I want to be a teacher in dance, which means that coming up with choreography will be needed for the end goals. Doing this has really boosted my confidence and motivation to really go for it.”

Dr Paul Golz, Course Leader and Senior Lecturer for Dance and Performance, said: "Securing paid choreographic work is one of the biggest challenges for emerging artists. Opportunities like this are rare and highly competitive, so for our students to achieve this commission so early in their time with us at Worcester is an incredible testament to their creativity, hard work, and professionalism.”

Dr Golz added: “It’s a significant step for them in their journey towards building sustainable careers in the dance industry."