Moon-Stained - Research & Development
The working title for Premier Dance Theatre’s newest work is ‘MOON-STAINED’. It’s an original work of dance-theatre for 4 female/non-binary performers that explores themes of identity, betrayal, revenge, forgiveness and grief through an intertextual and intersectional lens.
Using Act 2 of Giselle and the characters of the Willis as a framework, while interweaving stories of real women with the mythological, MOON-STAINED aims to question whose stories get told and who gets to do the telling. This new work specifically focuses on the stories of women and non-binary people who are immigrants, refugees, in the LGBTQIA community and/or are part of the global majority.
Inspired by the book Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés & Giselle, original choreography by Jean Coralli & Jules Perrot.
OUR CAST & CO-CREATORS
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Olivia Wallis Jackson
FOUNDER, CHOREOGRAPHER
Olivia Wallis Jackson is a British-German Contemporary Dancer, Choreographer, Photographer, Teacher, Rehearsal Director & Administrative Support Worker currently based in Hampshire and working across the South and in London.
As a dance artist with an exciting blend of technical and explorative movement, she uses her unique performance skills and intellect to collaborate deeply with other artists. She strives to understand choreographers’ artistic aims and processes, fulfilling their visions to make work that is impactful and meaningful to a wide range of audiences.
Throughout the course of her training and career she has worked with artists and companies such as Luke Brown Company, Amy Foskett Dance, Stefan Puxon and director Polina Kulbachevskaia, DownTown Pompey, Tom Weinberger, Michael Getman, Jonathan Fredrickson, Samm Anga, Morvell Dance, Charles Linehan and Alleyne Dance.
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Martina Tartarini
DANCER
Martina Tartarini (b. 2004) is an Italian dancer and choreographer specialising in performance, creation, and improvisation.
Born in Italy, she began her training at a young age and has developed a diverse movement vocabulary across contemporary dance, Graham, Cunningham, ballet, floorwork, heels, and hip hop. She trained at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance in London, where she cultivated a strong technical foundation alongside a deep commitment to artistic expression.
Her practice is rooted in improvisation and acting, through which she explores different facets of identity, emotion, and physicality, constantly seeking new ways to move and communicate.
Martina is also a member of KIN Dance Company, a collective through which she has both performed and choreographed, engaging in collaborative creation and shared artistic research.
Throughout her career, she has collaborated with artists including Adrian Look, Faye Tan, and Freya Thomas Taylor, and has performed with companies such as Thick & Tight and Inverse Dance Company.
Alongside her work as a performer, she creates her own choreographic projects, moving fluidly between independent creation and collaborative processes. In addition to dance, she is a pianist, and her strong sense of musicality plays a central role in shaping her movement and creative approach.
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Marianna Da Costa
DANCER
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Ran Zhang
DANCER
Ran Zhang is a Chinese contemporary dancer and choreographer whose artistic practice is grounded in performance and interdisciplinary exploration. She graduated from the PLA Academy of Arts and later studied choreography at the Beijing Dance Academy, where she was selected for the Outstanding Talent Training Program. She is currently pursuing an MA in Interdisciplinary Dance Performance at Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD) in the United Kingdom. After four years working with a professional dance company, Ran developed her career as a freelance independent artist, collaborating with creators from diverse cultural and artistic backgrounds. Her performance practice investigates the relationship between body, narrative, and cultural context, positioning movement as both a physical and conceptual language. In 2024, she co-created and performed in Look at Them!, a physical theatre production by Wen Xiaochao, which premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to critical acclaim, including a four-star review from The Scotsman and a five-star review from Scottish Field. The work was subsequently invited to the 23rd China Shanghai International Arts Festival and was performed at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing in October 2025. Ran also performed in Two Legs, presented at the 11th Wuzhen Theatre Festival, an experimental physical theatre production that emphasized collaborative devising and interdisciplinary structures. Her international collaborations include participation in the ArtsCross/Danscross International Dance Festival in Hong Kong, where she worked with Hsieh Chieh-hua, Artistic Director of Anarchy Dance Theatre (Taiwan). As a choreographer, her works Hi! Over There! and Wandering Tree received First Prize in the Young Choreographer Category and Second Prize in Contemporary Dance at the Seoul International Dance Competition, as well as the Gold Award and Grand Jury Prize at PRIX D’EUROPE in 2022. Across major international festivals and national stages, Ran Zhang continues to cultivate a performance language that bridges embodiment, identity, and cross-disciplinary dialogue. Her current research at NSCD further expands her exploration of contemporary performance as a space for reflection, collaboration, and artistic innovation.
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Indigo Tarran
DANCER
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Madil Hardis
MUSICIAN
Madil Hardis is an award-winning audiovisual artist with a background in classical and electronic music, filmmaking, and fine art. She has scored films screened at festivals such as Flickers Rhode Island, The British Short Film Awards, Visa pour l'image, and New York Shorts International Film Festival. Beyond film, she composes for contemporary dance, immersive, and theatre productions. She is also a multi-award-winning filmmaker with work screened internationally.
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?
POET
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Michelle Rose (Romi Folder)
PHOTOGRAPHER/VIDEOGRAPHER
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Jonah Woolfenden
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Previous Work
In 2024 Olivia launched her own company Premier Dance Theatre, beginning the development of her first work Stasiland with the support of Arts Council England, Thrive (Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance) Luke Brown Company and generous donors. Premier Dance Theatre strives to make works that can be situated in multiple environments, allowing outstanding dance-theatre work to be accessible to communities across the UK and internationally.
Premier Dance Theatre, currently based in Southampton, works across the South and in London creating dance theatre pieces that are rooted in contemporary dance. With a focus on storytelling collaboration is essential to this work. Our processes draw on a variety of art making practices, inviting artists from across the UK’s vibrant art and performance scene to share their unique stories in creation and performance.
We are committed to fostering working environments that are collaborative, experimental, supportive, risk taking & innovative, while providing opportunities to those in the transition between training and professional life. Additionally, we strive to make work that can be situated in multiple environments, allowing outstanding dance-theatre to be accessible to communities across the UK and internationally.
Olivia Wallis Jackson - Choreographer
Above: This trailer shot by RomiFolder shows Premier Dance Theatre in the Studio in Summer 2025 as we developed our previous work Stasiland. The development of Stasiland was supported by Arts Council England, Pavilion Dance South West, Mast Mayflower Studios, Hampshire Libraries, Hampshire Cultural Trust, Luke Brown Dance Company, Lila Dance, ZoieLogic Dance Theatre.
Above: This trailer shot by RomiFolder shows Premier Dance Theatre in performance at Basingstoke Discovery Centre in October 2025. The performances of Stasiland in October 2025 were supported by Arts Council England, Pavilion Dance South West, Mast Mayflower Studios, Hampshire Libraries, Hampshire Cultural Trust, Luke Brown Dance Company, Lila Dance, ZoieLogic Dance Theatre.
Below: Image by Grace Richardson shows Premier Dance Theatre in Research & Development for ‘Stasiland’ at Trinity Laban Creekside Studio in Summer 2024. The rehearsals of ‘Stasiland’ in Summer 2024 were supported by Arts Council England, Thrive (Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance) & our generous donors.
Previous Performances of ‘Stasiland’
September 2024 - Tailwind Dance Theatre Physical Theatre Scratch Night @ VFDalston, London
March 2025 - Common Threads curated by Finleigh Zack with Finleigh Zack Dance, Conjure Collective & VIM VIGOR @ Chisenhale Dance Space, London
September 2025 - Signal Exhibition @ Aldershot Contemporary, Hampshire
October 2025 - Gosport Discovery Centre & Basingstoke Discovery Centre, Hampshire
The Online Reach of ‘Stasiland’
In our last phase of development for ‘Stasiland’ we reached over 23,000 individuals through social media and online.
Audience Comments on ‘Stasiland’
We collected audience feedback from our October 2025 Performances on Post It Notes; prompting them to share their thoughts through one to three-word descriptions of their reactions, questions they might have &/or describing the elements of the work that stood out to them. Audiences described the work as;
‘Compelling’, ‘Dynamic’, ‘Intense’, ‘Stunning & Emotional’, ‘Intriguing, Captivating & Beautiful’, ‘Tender’, ‘Really Moving’, ‘Ethereal’, ‘Love the small little stories’, ‘You invited us into the performers’ world, created a landscape on the stage’, ‘The information was buried. We are all looking.’, ‘Got the shivers from the duet!’, ‘The paper is such a strong visual image, creates a landscape.’, ‘The way the paper falls and sticks to your skin like memories out of reach but also indelible.’
This feedback is really encouraging for to me as an emerging artist, suggesting audiences are connecting with my work in meaningful ways, that Stasiland has emotional impact and is inviting people to find ‘connection with the characters throughout’.
Madil Hardis - Musician
Madil Hardis is an award-winning audiovisual artist with a background in classical and electronic music, filmmaking and fine art. With raw honesty and vulnerability, her creations navigate the emotional landscapes of isolation, connection, and self-discovery, encapsulating feelings without words. Her creative and compositional practice encompasses a range of media, including film, theatre, contemporary dance, and immersive installations.
Madil's music is a hypnotic blend of acoustic and electronic elements as well as original sample manipulation. She is known for her 3-octave vocal range, and takes an experimental approach to both her voice and a multitude of instruments, often utilising them in unconventional ways to create a truly unique soundscape. Her music ranges from introspective and atmospheric to grandiose and climactic, and has been described as otherworldly, evocative and haunting. Her influences include classical, electronica, synthwave, jazz, ambient, and experimental music.
Madil has accumulated over 170 music credits and 3.8 million streams across music streaming platforms. A frequent collaborator, she has worked with a variety of artists, including Ashbury Heights, Magnavolt, Mondträume, Turbo Knight, and Nature of Wires. Her album “Natural Darkness” (2023) received rave reviews from music magazines including Blitzed Magazine, ReGen Magazine, and Orkus!, with her single “To The Heart” placing in the top 10 of the German Alternative Charts. Her second studio album "Visionary Sadness" was released in November 2024 and has been lauded by Amplify the Noise magazine as "a captivating blend of electronic textures and ethereal vocals that push the boundaries of conventional music."
Madil has scored award-winning films screened at festivals such as Rhode Island International Film Festival, The British Short Film Awards, Visa pour l'image (Festival International du Photojournalisme), New Renaissance Film Festival, British Urban Film Festival, and New York Shorts International Film Festival. She was recently awarded Best Soundtrack at Beeston Film Festival for her work on "By Any Other Name" (Daniel Deville, Slick Films). Madil also works as a composer for contemporary dance, performance art, and all facets of musical theatre, and has performed as a soloist in venues such as Gasteig/Munich, Cadogan Hall/London and Basilika/Ottobeuren.
She is also a multi-award-winning filmmaker herself, creating music films and audio-visual poetry that have been screened at festivals around the world, among them "Disintegrate", a short music film that was selected for the Brussels Independent Film Festival in 2025 and has received the Tarkovski Grant.
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Michelle Rose (RomiFolder) - Photographer/Videographer
Bio.
You can see more work from Romi below and throughout this web page.
Above: These images & footage by RomiFolder shows Premier Dance Theatre in performance at Chisenhale Dance Space, London in Common Threads. This was the first time we worked with Michelle and fell in love with her work.
Jonah Woolfenden - Graphic Designer
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Letters of Support
Partners.