The Playground

In November 2017, The Playground was just beginning.

These photographs were taken at our very first session by photographer Elliott Franks, who sadly is no longer with us 🕊️

Founder Simone Simone Damberg Würtz still remember Elliott looking at her during that very first Playground when moving from space to space to capture it all and saying, “This is bonkers.” ❤️

And we think he was right. There was something a little bonkers about it, a room full of artists coming together to experiment, create, take risks and play, with no real idea of what The Playground might become.

It’s special to be able look back at these, before we could ever have known how many artists would pass through the doors, how many connections would be made, or how many moments of creativity and play would follow.

We feel incredibly lucky to have these photographs and that Elliott was there to document that first chapter of our story, and we will be forever grateful.

Thank you, Elliott, for capturing the beginning and for being part of it. May you rest in peace.
Elliott will always be part of The Playground’s history❤️

📸 Elliott Franks
The first ever Playground — 10th November 2017

We’re so excited to welcome Heft Heft to The Playground tomorrow night🤍
Heft is joining Choreographer Neus Gil Cortés Neus Gil Cortes for a live collaboration. ✨

Heft is a London-based Burmese artist, producer and sound designer creating immersive post-club music that blends ethereal textures with cinematic composition and the intensity of heavy music. His work inhabits the space between fragility and power, inviting deeply physical and emotional experiences.

We can’t wait to see what unfolds when these two artists come together. 💫

See you tomorrow ☀️

✨ CHOREOGRAPHER ANNOUNCEMENT ✨

We’re thrilled to welcome Choreographer Neus Gil Cortes Neus Gil Cortes back to The Playground! 🤍

📅 Friday 17th July 2026
🕕 18:00–21:00
Rambert HQ

Neus is a London-based choreographer, dramaturg and leadership coach, and the founder of Nua Dance Choreographer Neus Gil Cortes🧡
Following a performing career with companies including Hofesh Shechter Company, National Dance Company Wales and Dance Works Rotterdam, she has developed a distinctive choreographic voice rooted in curiosity, imagination and embodied storytelling.
Alongside her choreographic work, Neus is a creature movement specialist, with credits including The Mummy, His Dark Materials and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.

For this Playground session, Neus will introduce us to her movement practice, Delicate Beast.
Together we’ll explore the creature - the monster. Monsters are often feared because they’re misunderstood, yet they frequently reveal something deeply human. Through fully embodied improvisation, we’ll investigate timing, tension, drive and vulnerability, allowing imagination to guide us into unexpected physical worlds.

The session is open to everyone, including dancers, actors and anyone curious about creature-based movement and physical storytelling.

We can’t wait to welcome Neus back into the studio and discover where this imaginative exploration takes us.

Image credits | Lola Garcia Spanish Photographer in London | Weddings & Events Courtesy of productions from The Mummy and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom |

✨ CHOREOGRAPHER ANNOUNCEMENT ✨

We’re delighted to welcome Narina Bira Narina Bîra to The Playground 🤍

📅 Friday 17th July 2026
🕕 18:00–21:00
Rambert HQ

Narina is a Romanian dance artist whose work celebrates the beauty of connection, harmony and our shared human experience. Rooted in ballet, Humphrey, Graham and release techniques, her creative practice is deeply influenced by improvisation, musicality and moving from within.
In this session, Narina will be sharing material from her new work, Healing Chant, currently in development. Together we’ll explore themes of connection, ancestral wisdom and the sharing of energy through movement.

Drawing inspiration from the Romanian folk dance Hora, alongside influences from ballet and contemporary dance, the session will be full of joyful group movement, circles, skipping, jumping and repeated patterns that invite us to move together as one.
The class is open to everyone. The movement isn’t highly technical, but it will be very energetic, so come ready to move, connect and have fun!

🎶 We’re thrilled that bobby demers bobby demers will be joining the session as a live musician and collaborator. Originally from Toronto, bobby is an e-drummer and multi-instrumentalist who has been creating music for dancers since he was just 16 years old. He regularly accompanies classes at Trinity Laban and The Place and has been a much-loved part of The Playground for the past five years, bringing decades of musical experience, creativity and infectious energy into the studio.

Image credits | Gabija Grisiute Gabija Grisiute | Serena Mary | Ashleigh Stohr | Henry Curtis Henry Curtis |

✨ CHOREOGRAPHER ANNOUNCEMENT ✨

We’re so excited to welcome Choreographer Jessie Cotgrove Jessie Cotgrove back to The Playground! 🤍

📅 Friday 17th July 2026
🕕 18:00–21:00
Rambert HQ

Jessie will be leading an emotionally driven movement exploration centred around unity, release and transformation.

“Together we’ll explore what it means to be part of something greater than ourselves, and what happens when consciousness, colour and sense begin to break free after life. Through guided improvisation and physical exploration, we’ll investigate connection, holding on, and letting go, using the ballet barre as both a physical and creative stimulus before developing the material into a final sharing.”

This is a session for anyone who loves diving into ideas, emotion and storytelling through movement.

✨ We can’t wait to have Jessie back in the studio and to see where this beautiful exploration takes us.

📸 Photographers & videographers: If you’d like to capture Jessie’s rehearsal or final sharing, please get in touch with Jessie directly via Instagram Jessie Cotgrove.

🎉 Bookings are NOW OPEN! 🎉

Join us for our next The Playground session on Friday 17th July 2026.

This will be our last Playground before our summer break, so we’d love to welcome as many of you as possible for one more evening of creating, connecting and moving together before we pause for the summer.

We’ll be back on Friday 18th September 2026, refreshed and ready for another exciting season.

✨ Book your place via the link in our bio! ✨

Our Playground team for the evening will be ✨ Sarah Rubidge ✨ Archie White Archie White ✨ Jaimée-Jett .jett ✨ Jonah Yang Jonah Yang / Artist & Actor ✨

As always, expect an evening full of creativity, generosity, collaboration and community.

We can’t wait to welcome you all for one more Playground before the summer. Happy booking! ❤️

Image by the wonderful Oliver Smart 📸 taken at the Playground May 2026

We’re delighted to have bobby demers bobby demers joining Choreograppher Jaimée-Jett .jett tomorroew Friday, bringing an evening of live music, infectious grooves and plenty of rave-inspired beats to fuel the session. 🎶⚡

Originally from Toronto, bobby is an e-drummer and multi-instrumentalist who regularly accompanies classes at Trinity Laban and The Place. A familiar face at The Playground over the past five years, he first started playing for dancers at just 16 years old and has been creating music for movement ever since.
With 47 years of experience performing and composing across a huge range of musical styles, bobby has an incredible ability to respond to dancers in the moment, making every session unique.

We can’t wait to welcome bobby back to The Playground tomorrow evening! 💙

Image by Henry Curtis Henry Curtis

✨ We are incredibly excited to welcome Adrian Del Arroyo Adrian Del Arroyo to The Playground. ✨

Adrian is a dance director, writer, and producer whose choreographic practice is rooted in spirituality, healing, unity, and wisdom. Drawing inspiration from classical and contemporary dance, flamenco, Spanish Baroque traditions, martial arts, and ancient ritual, Adrian creates deeply atmospheric and thought-provoking work.

During this special research and development session, participants will explore material from ‘Dead Blue’, Adrian’s latest creation. Through movement, gesture, voice, storytelling, and live music, dancers will investigate themes of ancient knowledge, resonance, and human connection.

Adrian will be joined by his associate composer, Louis La Porte Louis, who will lead a short voice workshop before accompanying the session live.

Louis is an interdisciplinary composer and dancer, creating neoclassical soundscapes, and electronic music for dance workshops and live performances. His work draws inspiration from artists such as Arvo Pärt and GoGo Penguin, as well as spacious house music and geometric patterns.

Expect an evening of exploration, imagination, live music, and embodied storytelling unlike any other.

Images by Umberto Rozzo and Stephanie McMahon

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