She Dreams. She Flies!
by Maiya Leeke x Mimbre
Aerial
A love letter to the people who dream the wildest dreams… She Dreams. She Flies! is a fusion of contemporary dance and aerial circus, researching the potential of equipment to reimagine possibility, refusing to accept a world that says, ‘that’s just the way it is’.
Shining a disco ball light on the often hidden politics of wheelchair life, She Dreams. She Flies! seeks to feel the piercing hope of what it means to be able to fly.
“Leeke’s beautiful integration of flow and sharpness in her movement is striking.”
Gramilano on Maiya Leeke’s previous work with Cathy Waller Company
“Women stood on other women’s shoulders […] breaking gender barriers and breaking hearts with the symbolism of so much female support: She ain’t heavy – she’s my sister.”
Vogue 2019 on Dream Parade – a Dior/Mimbre collaboration
About Maiya Leeke x Mimbre
Maiya Leeke is a performer and choreographer, with a practice that spans contemporary dance and collaboration across theatre, film and large-scale performance. Her work has been supported by institutions including Sadler’s Wells, as a Young Associate 2023-2025, the Arts Foundation Fellowship Future Awards, as a shortlisted artist, and the Jerwood Choreographic Research Award from Fabric which supported the early stages of She Dreams. She Flies! She has danced with companies such as Candoco Dance Company, Cathy Waller Company, CoDa Dance Company and Paraorchestra.
For this project she is working with Mimbre, a female-led producing company, creating delicate, breathtaking and highly-skilled contemporary circus for outdoor and unusual settings. Mimbre run a vibrant local youth programme and an Artist Development Programme for physical performers.
Funding, commissioning and partner credits:
She Dreams. She Flies! is also commissioned by The Place through their Choreodrome programme and has previously been supported by Arts Council England, Sadler’s Wells and a Jerwood Choreographic Research Project, funded by Jerwood Foundation and FABRIC.
Image credits: Maiya Leeke taken at Rebel Circus © Elizabeth Quek.
Video credits: Maiya Leeke with Martha Harrison, Lucie Maisha N’Duhirahe and Ihsaan de Banya filmed at Rebel Circus and Flying Fantastic.