Jodie & Co. Mad Moves, Glad Hearts
Jodie & Co. is a home for gentle rebellion, movement expression, and serious play. Soft uprisings. Quiet revolutions. You don’t need technique. You just need a body. Through autobiographical stories and community co-creation Jodie & Co. creates live performances and community experiences exploring the relationship between dance, disability, and joy.
"Joy is an act of resistance"
Jodie & Co. is a collaborative company and has created work with:
Karl Fagerlund Brekke
Jessica Skelton (Diverse City)
Laura Dredger
Beach Babe (work-in-progress)
Beach Babe is an autobiographical dance theatre work created and performed by Jodie Cole. A 60-minute solo that reflects the intersections of trauma, resilience, and creativity. The performance is deeply rooted in Jodie's artistic voice: part confession, part celebration, and full of feeling. Set on the shores of Margate, Beach Babe blends storytelling, movement, and disco with an open-hearted examination of emotional survival, self-discovery, and the very human desire to begin again.
Jodie is interested in the impact of movement improvisation and immersion in nature on mad identities and communities. Can the sea really heal us all?
Jodie & Co. is currently seeking support to develop Beach Babe into a full length show. It has recently been supported by Arts & Homelessness International, Old Diorama Arts Centre, Ideas Test, and 1 Degree East.
Feel The Beat Creation & Co-Creation
Created by Jodie & Co and Kent Association for the Blind.
Director/Choreographer: Jodie Cole
Dancers/Collaborators: Simon Palmer, Karl Fagerlund Brekke, & Faith Prendergast
Audio Describer & Dancer: Alexa Ledecky
Costume & Set Design: Jida Akil
Costume Maker: Shereen Maungoo
Original Design Concept: Kat Heath
Composer & Sound Designer: Quiet Boy
Associate Composer & Sound Designer: Abey Bradbury
Access Support & Poetry Consultant: Neelam Saredia-Brayley
Visual Impairment Consultant: Susie Eder
Creative Enablers: An(dre)a Spisto & Naomi Cooper-Davis
Stage Manager: Steph Dickinson
Consultant Producer: Mo Pietroni-Spenst
Original Devising Cast: Jessica Skelton
ACE Application Access Support - Roxanne Carney
Supported by Arts Council England, Dance East, Kent Association for the Blind & Meadowfields School.
Feel The Beat CPD
In partnership with Kent Association for the Blind and Elevate. Elevate is an accessible programme of events for artists and organisations working in inclusive and disabled-led arts in Kent & Medway.
Jodie & Co. and members from Kent Association for the blind provided professional development based on our Dance Is Everywhere community engagement programme as part of Feel the Beat. For artists and dancers in the region, and anyone else interested, looking at sensory approaches to dance to enhance visually impaired access
Feel The Beat R&D
Created by Jodie & Co.
Choreographer/Director: Jodie Cole
Creative Producer: Mo Pietroni-Spenst
Devised with and Performed by:
Alexa Ledecky, Faith Prendergast, Jessica Skelton, Simon Palmer.
Audio Describer: Alexa Ledecky
Creative Access Support: Neelam Saredia-Brayley
Composer & Sound Designer: Quiet Boy
Design: Kat Heath
Dramaturg: Nicky Napier
Visual Impairment Consultant - Susie Eder
Photography: Stephen Daly
Original Devising Cast: Karl Fagerlund Brekke
Access Support Worker: Eilís Davis
Video by Big Egg Films.
Supported by Arts Council England, The Marlowe Theatre, Applause touring, 1 Degree East.
Audio described version also available here: https://youtu.be/8OjmKYFbMH4
DANCE IS EVERYWHERE
Community engagement workshops as part of Feel the Beat .
During research in 2023 & 2024 with Kent Assocaiation for the Blind, Dance East, The Marlowe Theatre, and Meadowfields Special School we:
-enhanced visually impaired access to dance
-created a show with integrated access throughout
-provided new experiences to people who have low engagement / limited access
-developed resources towards alternative AD
-produced high-quality dance, audience participation, and community activity.
FtB was born from acknowledging that people with disabilities experience music & dance differently, and as such are habitually excluded from public dance experiences. The show and community engagement blends dance, AD, & poetry to challenge the functions of AD in dance & its’ perception as elite.
“There’s not a lot of work for visually impaired people, certainly not dance. I was dancing with my guide dog to ABBA in the kitchen! I would never have done that if I hadn’t come to your sessions”. KAB participant
"The movements were unrushed and rhythmic. Nothing was forced. Her team were very clever, using varying sounds and music. I found this helpful with spatial awareness. Blind people move cautiously so this was very freeing”. KAB participant
Jodie Cole has been awarded funding by Arts Council England to research Class, Collaboration, & Complex PTSD.
I aim to learn best practice in developing more ambitious community engagement projects from leading UK practitioners, especially when working with disabled &/or untrained participants in habitually excluded areas. This access research will also apply to my own work, as I learn to lead with mental health access needs.
Boogie Booth - National Tour
Created by Jodie & Co.
Assistant choreographer: Laura Dredger
Understudies: Tolu Oshodi & Simon Palmer
BSL interpreter: Dee King
BSL dramaturg: Jason Tennant
Composer & sound designer: Gareth Tomlinson
Production Manager: Darryn De La Soul
Hip Hip choreographer: Michaela Cisarikova
Set designer: Emily Bestow
Costume design: Isabella Van Braeckel
Logo design: Sprankenstein Studio
Supported by: Arts Council England, Kent County Council, The Marlow Theatre & 1 Degree East
I Am Not in Love
A piece about love, finding love, finding lasting love. Through text, movement and a journey on her bike, Jodie tells a story of unforeseen love.
"What a way to start a performance! Cole welcomes us to her world with a very realistic and loud orgasm centre stage. Then without a blink of the eye, turns to face the audience and matter-of-factly introduces herself. You cannot help but instantly like her"
The Dance Enthusiast
Performed at The Space, London. The Place, London. Salisbury Arts Centre
Lead Artist & Performer: Jodie Cole
Lighting: Lise Smith