Lea Anderson MBE is a Britishchoreographer and artistic director. With Teresa Barker and Gaynor Coward, she co-founded The Cholmondeleys and The Featherstonehaughsdance companies, with which she has choreographed over 100 works. The Cholmondeleys and The Featherstonehaughs are two of the foremost contemporary dance companies who have worked in Britain over the past 25 years. Under the artistic direction of choreographer Lea Anderson, they have created a distinctive choreographic language that is as defiantly individual as it is recognisable. The all-female Cholmondeleys were formed in 1984 and the all-male Featherstonehaughs in 1988 and both have toured extensively in Britain and abroad. Original music performed live for all productions and notable collaborations with costume, stage and lighting designers have become defining features of their work. Lea and her companies have also become recognised for outdoor and site specific works, performances in alternative venues such as Glastonbury Festival, work for TV, film and video and an innovative and responsive programme of work with young people. Lea Anderson’s work has been studied from GCSE to post-graduate level. Key collaborators include:
Anderson's style has been described as "...this most accessible of choreographers not on the esoteric and obscure, but on the readily available debris of media culture." The works she has choreographed have been described as ''"Political without being dogmatic, irreverent but not lightweight..."
Career
Anderson graduated from the Laban Centre, prior to that she attended St. Martins College of Art and Design as a visual arts student, but decided eventually to focus on dance. Works made for The Cholmondeleys include: Flesh And Blood , Cold Sweat , Walky Talky , Metalcholica , Car Works made for The Featherstonehaughs include: The Show, The Featherstonehaughs’ Big Feature, The Featherstonehaughs Immaculate Conception, The Bends, The Featherstonehaughs Go Las Vegas, The Featherstonehaughs Draw On The Sketchbooks Of Egon Schiele , Edits Work made with The Cholmondeleys and The Featherstonehaughs include: Russian Roulette, Yippeee!!!, Double Take, 1 1/2 – The Club Shows, 3, The Cholmondeleys, The Featherstonehaughs And The Victims Of Death In Smithereens, Out On The Windy Beach, Precious, Birthday, Flag
