Interviews with our 2025 MA cohort

Katya Bourvis

Please can you explain how you came to pursue choreography as a career path?

I always wanted to be a choreographer. From my time at the English National Ballet School through to my career in international ballet companies, I found myself far more drawn to the creative process than to performing itself. Over time, I worked more as a dancer and often took on movement direction for the commercial industries. While valuable, this meant I was facilitating other people’s visions rather than exploring my own artistic process.

It was during lockdown that I began to return to my own creativity. I started making short movement studies for camera, while also experimenting with sound design. This exploration led to me being awarded a Sadler’s Wells artist residency, which brought me back into the studio and reignited my choreographic practice.

Why did you want to pursue an MA in choreography?

I wasn’t sure that I could create long-form choreographic work. Deep down, I think I did know, but I didn’t yet have the confidence to claim it. Choosing to take the MA was a way of building more rigour and trust in my own ability, while gaining the practical experience I felt I needed. In many ways, it was an impulsive, instinctive decision but one that has proved invaluable.

Why did you choose Central for your MA in choreography?

It felt important to choose a course with a strong emphasis on classical training, as that is the environment I come from and feel most at home in. The opportunity to choreograph on first year students at a recognised and respected institution felt like a brilliant opportunity, offering a chance to build work for my portfolio in a meaningful context.

I was already aware of some of the graduating students, whose practices and work I greatly respected, which reinforced my decision. And when I met Susan Kempster, the course lead, I immediately felt her support and guidance would be instrumental in developing my capabilities. It was both comforting and motivating to know I would have someone to help steer and nurture my journey.

Tell us a little about your choreographic work, how would you describe your choreographic style?

Stylistically, I draw on all of my movement practices – classical ballet, contemporary dance and a more theatrical flair that I think was perhaps inspired by working in opera. I’m constantly balancing absurdity with tender intimate human moments, weaving macabre humour with a cartoon-like exaggeration.
I am fascinated by the mythic, and as a result, I create symbolic and slightly off-kilter worlds that explore the tension between natural and dreamlike states, and the mysterious, unexplainable territory that exists in between.

What did you hope to gain from the MA here?
Through this course, I was seeking a deeper confidence in my artistic voice, alongside more practical experience in choreography and presenting work. I wanted the opportunity to reflect more fully on my practice and to explore what it means to me to be an artist. Just as importantly, I wanted to develop the skills to articulate that meaning with a precise clarity.

Kai Tomioka

Please can you explain how you came to pursue choreography as a career path?

My journey into choreography was a natural progression from my path as a dancer. I have always enjoyed creating, and even during my BA training at Central I would always try to find time and space to do so. Alongside my career as a dancer, I leapt at any opportunity to create. Over the last few years, I have been sharing my time between the UK and Japan. Much of my time in the UK was spent as a dancer, while in Japan I worked more as a choreographer and teacher. I have always valued the responsibility of being a dancer, supporting and facilitating the realisation of a choreographer’s vision and voice. As time has gone on, I have become more curious about my own voice and about what I want to say as a person, creator, and choreographer.

Why did you want to pursue an MA in choreography?

My initial intention in pursuing an MA in choreography was to dedicate focused time and energy to choreographing. I wanted the space to refine, question, and confront my voice as a maker, and to find clarity in what it is I want to create. The MA offered me a framework and structure to do this, not only in making work but also by providing a clear time period in which to focus. Having now been through the programme, I realise that it is about more than the act of making. It is about the ongoing process of being a creator, one that can be constantly informed by everyday life. This shift in perspective is why I chose to pursue the MA.

Why did you choose Central for your MA in choreography?

I remember my time at Central School of Ballet fondly. I feel fortunate to look back and see that I was supported and encouraged to follow my curiosity in dance. Without that freedom at the time, I doubt I would be where I am today. Being quite a nostalgic person, it felt right for me to experience this full-circle moment. Central’s focus on ballet and contemporary dance appealed to me because that technical vigour and physicality both complement and contrast with what interests me in my own work.

Tell us a little about your choreographic work—how would you describe your choreographic style?

My choreographic style is quiet but charged. I work with subtlety, minimalism, and attention to detail. I draw on traditional Japanese aesthetics, and I am inspired by Japanese folklore. I like to see dancers on stage as their most honest selves, stripping back as many layers as possible to reveal the person rather than a façade or an effort at being. The simple act of being present is already enough.

What did you hope to gain from the MA here?
I hoped to articulate my practice more clearly and to challenge my assumptions. I also wanted to ground my choreographic thinking in theory, not only making work intuitively but understanding and contextualising my decisions. I was looking to build relationships with artists across disciplines and to explore new ways of integrating sound, space, and movement.