Phoenix Fridays 2026/27 Artists announcement
6 Apr 2026
We’re pleased to announce that our Phoenix Fridays Artists for 2026/27 are Samantha Markham and Douglas Thorpe
Since 2024, our Phoenix Fridays artist programme has been dedicated to supporting freelance dance artists based in Leeds who are engaged in ongoing projects, especially those aiming to enhance their visibility within the industry. This season, artists Samantha Markham and Douglas Thorpe will join our artistic team in the studio for two distinct residencies scheduled in April and July.
Hear from Samantha Markham about what it means to be selected:
“To be selected for this opportunity gives me the chance to workshop and develop my practice as a choreographer. Being able to test new ideas and methods for future pieces. With Phoenix, I will be exploring the movement language and creative process of the human body shutting down and finding how similar our differences are to reconnect in the present moment – what would that look like in space? What can the lights design do for us? By encouraging the dancers through different stimulus to find patterns in movement as well as the emotions they are receiving and responding. We will go into workshops to help dive into the mental state and movement language such as; drawing, automatic writing, partnering, theatre work, light shadow creative, body isolation, deforming/reforming the body, and improvisation scores.
I’m looking forward to collaborating ideas, thoughts, and moments to hopefully put the dancers in a creative output and give them the space to explore and express. Giving them the opportunity to dive into their mental and physical creations within the freedom of working in the studio. Learning how they can collaborate with different motions of the movement processes, theoretical emotions, light structures and dynamics within creative scores.” – Samantha Markham
Recognising the needs of freelance artists, particularly in relation to studio time, space, visibility, and opportunitities to build networks, Phoenix Fridays was established to provide local artists with in-kind access to studio space, as well as dedicated time to research and create alongside our company dancers.
Douglas Thorpe shared with us what it means to be this year’s Phoenix Fridays Artist:
“Being selected for this opportunity means a great deal to me, particularly as it brings me back to Phoenix, where my journey in dance began. Maintaining a connection with the company as a class accompanist has allowed me to observe the dancers closely and appreciate the depth of their talent. I’m excited to now work more directly with them – both engaging with the qualities I’ve admired and uncovering new, less explored dimensions of their movement.
During this residency, I will be researching partner work, focusing on how two bodies communicate, respond, and react to one another across a spectrum of energies, emotions, and physical states. I’m especially interested in exploring different methods of connection and interaction, and how these can evolve into authentic, embodied movement.
What I’m most looking forward to is the process of discovery; experimenting, taking risks, and collaborating with the dancers to create work that feels organic and true to them. It’s important to me that the movement lives within their bodies, shaped by their individuality, allowing their unique voices and physicality to come through.” –Douglas Thorpe
As part of their residencies, each artist will present their work through informal studio sharings, with local people invited to attend.
Studio Sharing Dates & Times
Samantha Markham: Friday 24 April, 4.30PM
Douglas Thorpe: Friday 10 July & Friday 17 July, 4.30PM
About Samantha
Samantha is a freelance choreographer and movement artist based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. She was born and raised in Chicago, IL and has studied at Northern School of Contemporary Dance with a BA Hon(Dance) and MA in Interdisciplinary Dance Performance. She has worked with a wide range of creators and choreographers such as Fernanda Prata, Dan Camham, Susan Sentler, Theo Clinkard, Northern Rascals, Phil Sanger, Rhiannon Faith and Gecko Theatre.
Over the years, she has produced work of her own. From dance films to live performances such as Red (2025), Take the space( 2024), Wonder (2023), and Playground (2023). Samantha explores her creative movement through the topics of sexuality, mental health, and movement structures. She challenges how to use the creative practice between space, artificial lighting, and patterned movement structures to help teleport new ideas. Working on how to collaborate creatively with light architecture to enhance the emotional impact and enforce the movement in a clear and direct fashion.
About Douglas
Douglas Thorpe trained at London Contemporary Dance School before joining Phoenix Dance Theatre (then Phoenix Dance Company), where he performed for over twenty years. In 2008, his choreographic voice emerged with the founding of Mad Dogs Dance Theatre, known for its explosive, powerful, and highly physical style. Since then, Douglas has built a strong reputation as a dynamic choreographer.
In 2009, he was commissioned to work with ACE Dance & Music and Phoenix Dance Theatre, followed by an invitation in 2011 to create a new work for Staatstheater Tanz in Braunschweig, Germany. As part of the 2012 Cultural Olympiad, Leeds Canvas and Brothers Quay commissioned him to create a duet for the Overworlds & Underworlds project, later performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Douglas returned to Phoenix Dance Theatre in 2013 to create a new touring work, and his piece Beast was revived for their 2016 tours. He also created work for Verve 14, which toured nationally and internationally, later re-staged by Möbius in 2019. That same year, he was commissioned again for Verve 20. In 2023, Douglas collaborated with Red Ladder Theatre Company on TAXI and recently took part in artist development with CoLab North, supported by Bonnie Bird Choreography Fund.