Emma Payne
Ballet & Contemporary
Emma graduated from the Ballet Rambert School in 1986. She then went on to have a long and successful career with several ballet and contemporary companies: Savidge Dance Theatre, Vienna Festival Ballet, London Ballet Theatre, Telos Tanz Theatre in Stuttgart, Ballet Creations of London and Capital Chamber Ballet. She danced the Principal roles in Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, Coppelia and Giselle: danced Puck in A Midsummer’s Night Dream and created the role of Marcelline in Figaro. She has also danced with many Folk dance companies – Tziganka, English National Folk Ballet and Taras Cossacks.
Emma choreographed several pieces for her own company, Ballet for Heroes, including Getting There for Battersea Arts Centre, Tossing off the Crown for a rural touring project and several pieces for the Edinburgh Festival. For the Soundbeam Project in Bristol she was asked to experiment with their Soundbeam technology, creating Leonardo’s Lists and, in conjunction with Henry Daniels, Nu for Resolution at the Place.
In 2006 Emma joined the creative team of La Folia as choreographer, working with schools to create new musical and performance pieces. So far these include Brave New World, Enchanting Voices, Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Petrushka for the Chichester Festival Theatre: Baba Yaga, Midsummer Dreaming, Travelogue, Sounds that Hurt Not, The Ring Cycle (completed over four years) and The Tempest for Salisbury Arts Centre: and 100 Years On and Gandhi in Mind for the Anvil in Basingstoke.
As well as her ongoing project work for La Folia, she has taught ballet, contemporary and Folk dance since leaving college, both in schools – notably Graham technique at the Royal Ballet Upper School – and in workshops worldwide. In 2009 she opened, and still runs, Overton Ballet Club. She became an RAD ballet teacher in 2010 and has been teaching at JLD School of Dancing since January 2011.
As well as teaching our Contemporary students and introducing the new ISTD Contemporary syllabus to the school Emma teaches graded and Vocational RAD classes.