Ekleido has announced a UK tour of its latest production Femina, a high-energy new dance work co-produced by The Place that explores and celebrates the many dimensions of femininity.
Touring from October to November 2026, the production will visit DanceEast in Ipswich, Gulbenkian in Canterbury and conclude with a run at The Place in London.
Created by Ekleido founders Hannah Ekholm and Faye Stoeser, Femina combines contemporary, club and street dance styles to examine how femininity is perceived, embodied and valued across time.
Performed by six dancers, the work unfolds through an electronic soundscape created by Mercury Prize nominee Floating Points, alongside acclaimed musicians Ela Minus and Stella Mozgawa.
Discussing the inspiration behind the production, Ekholm and Stoeser said: “An essay through dance, and laying our findings on the floor.
“We explore these questions by playing with different variables: how movement is perceived through the lens of gender; how costume and props shape ideas of femininity; how different movement qualities are read as masculine, feminine or neutral; and how music influences those perceptions.
“Femina brings together performers with varied relationships to femininity, reflecting on its complexity and challenging the idea that femininity belongs to women alone. Each performer brings unique and exceptional skills to the work, with skills varying from House Dance, Waacking, New Way Vogue, gymnastics and contemporary dance. Through this collective physicality, audiences are immersed in moments of shared joy, ecstatic exhaustion and exhilarating vigour.
“The original music is key. We are interested in club, electronic, percussive sounds, and feel extremely lucky to be collaborating with three exceptional musicians; Ela Minus, Floating Points and Stella Mozgawa. Each will bring a different quality and emotion to the work. We worked closely with them to achieve a beautifully weaved experience of movement and music”.
Founded in 2023, Ekleido has quickly established a reputation for blending contemporary dance with underground club culture influences. Femina marks the company’s first work created for an ensemble of six dancers, drawing on the performers’ backgrounds in disciplines including House, Waacking and Vogue New Way.
The cast includes Hannah Ekholm, Faye Stoeser, Rashaan Asare, Rory Clarke, Tia Hockey and Jasper Narvaez, bringing together a range of experiences from contemporary dance, ballroom culture and commercial performance.
Femina has been commissioned and co-produced by The Place and co-commissioned by Gulbenkian and DanceEast, with support from Arts Council England and several other funding bodies.
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
