Chisenhale Dance Space announces artists selected for the Interval retreat

We are happy to announce the participating artists of the Interval retreat. The retreat, carried out in collaboration with Chisenhale Dance Space, brings together six artists — three from the UK and three from Finland — for collective reflection, mutual support and development in London.

The selected artists for the Interval 2025 retreat are:

Carolyn Roy (she/they) London, UK
Carolyn Roy London-based, freelance dancer and writer whose practice examines philosophical concepts through the materiality of bodies. Her work crosses disciplines, with outputs in the form of performance, writing, audio work and political action. She uses improvisatory and somatic processes, and durational performance to explore politics and the social agency of dancing; trans-disciplinary encounter and exchange; the pedagogy and writing of dance practice. Teaches at Laban, ID and LCDS. Member of CDS and Musarc music collective.

Elli Isokoski (she/her) Helsinki, Finland
Dance artist Elli Isokoski has been working in the field of dance for the elderly since 2002. She works as a performer, teacher, community artist and producer. Isokoski is the founder and director of Myrskyryhmä art group.
Isokoski is committed to widening access of senior citizens to dance. She is passionate about diversifying the body image in the arts and promoting seniors as creative agents. Her work with the elderly began with dance performances in care units. Her practices have since widened to include participatory workshops for seniors, artists, and nursing staff, inclusive dance video projects, and art residencies in care units.

Hanna Lappalainen (they/them) Edinburgh, UK
Hanna Lappalainen is a movement artist, performer and filmmaker based in Edinburgh. Their practice is rooted in improvisational movement and speech, a form of embodied storytelling often drawing from personal memory. In recent years, much of their performance work has focused on creating and touring shows for children. They're also a part of the Neuk Collective and facilitate participatory movement work and screendance projects, aiming to centre diverse bodies and experiences. Lappalainen often works with themes of identity, language and the performer-audience relationship. Neurospicy, chronically achy and working-class to boot, their work cannot help but be informed by the confluence of various marginalised experiences. They still attempt to make it at least a little bit funny.

Herbert-Cristian Panduru (he/him) London, UK
Herbert is a dancer and theatre practitioner, with a background in theatre devising, interdisciplinary dance and choreography. As a passionate immigrant artist who didn't have a traditional pathway into dance, he dedicates his craft to the grey area between theatre and dance. Past projects have taken many forms: mixed media, live & online installations, immersive theatre, dance films, non-verbal theatre, dance shows, research of historical and scientific studies. Most recently Herbert has worked with: Tower of London, V&A East, Akādemi, Birmingham Open Theatre, Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, Chisenhale Dance Space, Les Enfants Terribles Theatre Company, We Are Unlimited, East London Dance and Paenji Productions.

Kardo Shiwan (they/them), Tampere, Finland
Kardo Shiwan is an award-winning dancer, actor, choreographer, director, screenwriter and editor. For the past decade, Kardo has been working as a freelance artist in a wide range of roles and environments, both in Finland and abroad. Kardo approaches every project with enthusiasm and passion. Right now, Kardo is interested in the intersections of feminism, cultural research and corporeality.

Will Dickie (he/him) Merseyside, UK
Will Dickie is a self-produced interdisciplinary artist working across dance, theatre & live art that uses body, sound, autobiography & place. His work has reached 50+ different UK venues including the Southbank Centre and In Between Time Festival. He has dedicated 20+ yrs to performer training including time in India, Australia & Europe with key practitioners in theatre, dance & martial arts, and he is an experienced facilitator/director for disabled artists, emerging artists & students of performance. He is also a qualified feldenkrais practitioner. Recent works: White Sun – a dance theatre solo that used intercultural performer training to experiment with text and movement. An interrogation of British colonial history and the artist's personal white privileges. Canning Town – a screendance made with the artist's partner Fabiola Santana and her mother. Shot under East London street lights with spoken word responding to migration and Brexit. The focus of Will's work is to apply his performer training to create detailed experiences for audiences. Experiences that feel live, visceral and exhilarating.

Congratulations to all selected artists!

The project is supported as part of the pARTir initiative funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU, in collaboration with the Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland and Chisenhale Dance Space.