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Abbie is a freelance dance artist; performer, choreographer and teacher. Below you can read Abbie's biography and find out more information about the latest projects she has been part of as a performer. For more about her own choreographic work, you will find them over on AT Projects page, by clicking here.
About Abbie Thompson
Abbie is an emerging artist who's own practice is driven by the enjoyment of movement as she has explored the relationship between humour and the audience in contemporary dance and investigated how Rudolf Laban's theories can be incorporated into inclusive practice.
Abbie has been dancing with Stopgap Dance Company since 2019. Beginning as an apprentice dancer through Northern School of Contemporary Dance postgraduate apprenticeship scheme, after graduating from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. During her time with the company, she has been a performer in a film documentary of Here and Where and in Beyond the Waves, a dance film by Chris Pavia Productions. Abbie was also a part of the research and creation of a children’s interactive piece, Adventures in Slumberton. She also understudied for Stopgap's outdoor production Frock and performed as part of GDIF.
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Abbie relishes in her own projects being research-based, her recent projects have included exploring the relationship between the audience and humour in contemporary dance and investigating how Laban's theories can be incorporated into inclusive practice. Find out more about her projects here.
During her vocational training, she performed works by choreographers such as Stephanie Schober, Struan Leslie, Sara Wookey, Sonia Rafferty and performed in the restaging of José Limón’s ‘A Choreographic Offering’ by Jacqueline Bulnes. Abbie has had the opportunity to perform with Candoco's youth company and Magpie Dance for Co-Motion dance platform which was choreographed by Luke Brown.
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'Abbie’s teaching is always generous and supportive.'
- Siobhan Hayes, 2021
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'I really like Abbie’s ideas and intuition to dig deeper and try the impossible!'
-Lucy Bennett, 2020
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(Quotes referring to Abbie's teaching style)
![[ID: In a sculpture gallery with large glass cupboards reflecting greenery from the outside in the background, Abbie is off centre. Abbie’s body is twisted with her left elbow forced high and forward with her hand below her elbow palm facing outwards. She is tilted slightly backwards looking up along the line of her front elbow. Abbie is wearing all white linen like material, her top is tied up by a distressed bow on the left side of her waist.]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/46360a_539e0abb31c540f3bbe9e4d2fd3e321e~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_488,h_325,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/46360a_539e0abb31c540f3bbe9e4d2fd3e321e~mv2.jpg)
Beyond The Waves (2021)
Information from Watts Gallery Website.
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Beyond The Waves is a collaboration between choreographer Chris Pavia, Watts Gallery Trust and DAiSY (Disability Arts in Surrey) with mentoring support and dance artists from Stopgap Dance Company. Beyond The Waves explores the dynamics of energy and movement seen in the full and partial sculptures by G F Watts displayed at Watts Gallery.
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Ahead of the full immersive display of Beyond the Waves at Watts Gallery in Summer 2022. A Q&A about this project is now available on youtube, to access the video click here.
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Image by Callum Graham-Roberston
Here and Where (2021)
Information from Stopgap's Website.
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About Here and Where: Here and Where is a dance documentary following Stopgap’s apprentice dance company as they return to the studio after the UK-wide lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic, ending with a dance film reimagining of the choreographic work ‘Here and Where’ by Maria Koliopoulou.
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Image by Chris Parkes.
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