Online programme book Up & Coming Choreographers '26

The smallest heart often hears the danger first.

Inspired by the historical use of canaries in coal mines, CANARY explores the value of a fragile life. Chosen for their sensitivity, canaries became an early warning system—their vulnerability protecting the lives of others.

The work unfolds within the tension between containment and permeability. Bodies strive toward order and composure while something more tender continues to surface beneath the effort.

The canary is not merely a warning. It becomes a symbol that sensitivity carries knowledge—that what is most vulnerable often perceives what is most true.

As we build even stronger systems to protect ourselves from uncertainty, discomfort, and loss, what part of ourselves must remain open?

Perhaps the signal is that something essential is disappearing: a quiet erosion of tenderness, wonder, empathy, and our capacity to recognize ourselves in one another.

If we lose our ability to tremble at another's pain, to marvel at beauty, to hold each other in the unknowing, then the silence will arrive long before we notice the air has changed.

"From the very first moment Rachelle stepped into the studio, we felt her warmth, her generosity, and her deep care for genuine connection. She created a space where curiosity felt safe, where vulnerability became a source of strength, and where every voice mattered. Meeting a woman who leads with such honesty, courage, and love has been profoundly inspiring.

Throughout this creation, we weren’t only creating movement, we were asking questions together. About love and loss, about memory, about the invisible threads that bind us to one another.

This piece carries fragments of all of us. It holds the tenderness and complexity of relationships, the weight of grief, the joy of being seen, and the quiet resilience we often overlook. These are experiences we all share, yet so rarely give ourselves permission to speak aloud.

I hope this work invites us all to be present, to listen a little more closely, to meet one another with compassion, and to find the courage to share our own stories.

As this is my final time performing on stage with NDT 2, I couldn’t ask for a more special farewell than sharing it with this extraordinary group of artists, and under Rachelle’s guidance.

Thank you, Rachelle, for reminding us that somewhere within each of us there is still a little bird waiting to be heard."

"Working with Rachelle has been a bubble of intimacy and sensitivity. As soon as the process started, I immediately felt a genuine curiosity and excitement from both ends to get to know each other, both on a artistic and human level. Rachelle has opened up beautifully, which has given space for honesty and vulnerability in the room at any given moment. I truly appreciate her trust and desire to hear us out on however we feel throughout the piece, and regarding the process.

I think Rachelle’s world is filled with humanity, sincerity and poetry. Often times she will feel first how movement needs to come out and then explain where it might come from or why she felt a certain way while creating it ; and this has been interesting for me to follow her blindly and allow both of us to discover what can magically come out of it, or make sense in (un)expected ways.

I feel grateful and happy to have been able to support Rachelle as she dove in this sensitive realm, and I hope people will get to see/feel all the light and darkness contained in the work.

Much love,

César”

An afterimage.

An orchestral, blackbox story ballet.

A mosaic, galloping to a kneel.

*A special thank you to Aurélie Cayla, Lydia Bustinduy, Yuka Hisamatsu and Matan Daskal for their contribution and craft.

"Once we expand someone's mind, it becomes similar like the body of an orchestra. It plays the same score, yet there are millions of ways of approaching it. And each one of us reflects the mind. We have the same melody, we have the same directions, but we all have different experiences and sensations. Some of us are the strings, and some of us are the percussion. Some of us see violet, and some of us smell it. Some of us feel pride, while others feel sorrow. And it all lives within the same score.

We, the orchestra, unfold a story. Until the volume gets too loud, and the orchestra starts sounding too similar. The symphony screams, and all that's left is everything happening within the mind.

Working with Tom has been an immersive creative journey. From the very beginning, he guided us through creative tasks and playfulness. A lot of trust in the unknown and an endless curiosity about discovering what we wanted this piece to be. Throughout the entire process, the work has morphed into a beautiful scene—something that exists somewhere between dance, theatre, film, a painting, and a musical score. Through it all, Tom made sure it remained deeply human. He gave us the opportunity to create from our personal sensations, which is why I feel like I can be all versions of myself within this piece.

Thank you, Tom, for your generosity and your richness. For diving into this new world together, for trusting us to shape it with you. And for the never-ending exploration. Because the world is ever evolving, so is art, and so are we."