Berlin-based dance collective DANCÆ to present a series of new site-specific performances on June 5 & 6, commissioned for the opening of invasive species at Hypha Studios, No. 1 Poultry, the Grade I listed James Stirling building at the heart of the City of London
The evening centres on Primal Cadence, a new choreographic work by DANCÆ founder Soraya Schulthess, performed against the raw geometry of one of London's most architecturally charged spaces. The work moves between classical ballet vocabulary and the visceral physicality of contemporary dance, asking what the body remembers when social performance falls away.
Primal Cadence examines the distance between instinct and obligation, the gradual erosion of emotional life under the weight of contemporary expectation, and finds its release in the freedom and altered states associated with club culture. It is a work about what we suppress in order to function, and what happens when that suppression breaks.
Photo credit: Ivo Saint
The dancefloor is one of the last spaces where being unproductive is not just permitted but necessary. This work exists in that very tension, between the demand to optimise, to perform, to justify existence through output, and something older, more instinctive beneath it. The choreography holds both: the precision of ballet vocabulary and something more primal, more immediate.
Soraya Schulthess, choreographer
DANCÆ produces and curates collaborations across dance, performance art, and electronic music, consistently working against the conventions of the concert stage. Bringing the company to No. 1 Poultry, a building that is itself a collision of historical weight and modernist ambition, places Primal Cadence in deliberate dialogue with its environment.
Ahead of the performance, audiences are invited to gather at Hypha Studios, Gallery 1, to experience the accompanying exhibition of 15 women artists working across disciplines curated by Danielle Mezh and produced by Jelena Cos.
Event details
June 5 - 6, 2026
18:00 Doors open
18:30 Curator's walkthrough
19;00 Performance
Location: No. 1 Poultry, London EC2R 8EJ
Limited seating available
June 5 - 6, 2026
18:00 Doors open
18:30 Curator's walkthrough
19;00 Performance
Location: No. 1 Poultry, London EC2R 8EJ
Limited seating available
Performers
Andrea Marino trained at the Ballet Academy of the Vienna State Opera and the Academie Princesse Grace in Monte Carlo. He joined Les Ballets de Monte Carlo in 2017 before rising to soloist at the Bavarian State Ballet in 2022. His repertoire includes works by John Cranko, Christopher Wheeldon, Sharon Eyal, Wayne McGregor, and George Balanchine, with guest appearances at the Florence Dance Festival and the New National Theatre Tokyo.
Soraya Schulthess trained at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and performed with the Boris Eifman Ballet in Saint Petersburg before returning to Germany to work with Deutsche Oper Berlin. Her repertoire spans from Marius Petipa and Mikhail Fokine to Jiri Kylian and William Forsythe. She is the founder of DANCÆ and Ballet Sur_real.
Davide Sioni trained at the Vienna Ballet School and the Zurich Dance Academy. Since 2016 he has been a member of Staatstheater Hannover, working with Marco Goecke, Hofesh Shechter, Sharon Eyal, and Aszure Barton, among others.
Jade Albrieux is a Berlin-based dancer trained in the Bejart tradition whose practice moves between classical and contemporary work. She has performed across European stages as a soloist and guest artist.
About DANCÆ
DANCÆ is a Berlin-based dance collective that produces and curates collaborations between contemporary art forms and dance. Through projects that fuse ballet choreography, performance art, and electronic music, the company creates immersive performance environments that expand how dance is experienced. For more information: www.dancaeberlin.com
Andrea Marino trained at the Ballet Academy of the Vienna State Opera and the Academie Princesse Grace in Monte Carlo. He joined Les Ballets de Monte Carlo in 2017 before rising to soloist at the Bavarian State Ballet in 2022. His repertoire includes works by John Cranko, Christopher Wheeldon, Sharon Eyal, Wayne McGregor, and George Balanchine, with guest appearances at the Florence Dance Festival and the New National Theatre Tokyo.
Soraya Schulthess trained at the Bolshoi Ballet Academy and performed with the Boris Eifman Ballet in Saint Petersburg before returning to Germany to work with Deutsche Oper Berlin. Her repertoire spans from Marius Petipa and Mikhail Fokine to Jiri Kylian and William Forsythe. She is the founder of DANCÆ and Ballet Sur_real.
Davide Sioni trained at the Vienna Ballet School and the Zurich Dance Academy. Since 2016 he has been a member of Staatstheater Hannover, working with Marco Goecke, Hofesh Shechter, Sharon Eyal, and Aszure Barton, among others.
Jade Albrieux is a Berlin-based dancer trained in the Bejart tradition whose practice moves between classical and contemporary work. She has performed across European stages as a soloist and guest artist.
About DANCÆ
DANCÆ is a Berlin-based dance collective that produces and curates collaborations between contemporary art forms and dance. Through projects that fuse ballet choreography, performance art, and electronic music, the company creates immersive performance environments that expand how dance is experienced. For more information: www.dancaeberlin.com
Exhibition Team
Danielle Mezh (Curator) is an independent curator based in London whose practice engages perception, place, and personal histories across multidisciplinary sites and contexts. Raised between Los Angeles and Moscow, she spent over a decade in New York working across the art world before relocating to the UK. She holds an MA from Central Saint Martins and a BA from New York University.
Jelena Cos (Producer) is a cultural producer and creative strategist based between Berlin and London. Her projects span installations, exhibitions, and performances, with a focus on developing ambitious international work that pushes creative boundaries. She holds a BA from York University and a certificate from OCAD University.
Danielle Mezh (Curator) is an independent curator based in London whose practice engages perception, place, and personal histories across multidisciplinary sites and contexts. Raised between Los Angeles and Moscow, she spent over a decade in New York working across the art world before relocating to the UK. She holds an MA from Central Saint Martins and a BA from New York University.
Jelena Cos (Producer) is a cultural producer and creative strategist based between Berlin and London. Her projects span installations, exhibitions, and performances, with a focus on developing ambitious international work that pushes creative boundaries. She holds a BA from York University and a certificate from OCAD University.