Introducing Central’s 2026 MA Choreography Cohort
8 July 2026
Central School of Ballet is delighted to announce it’s 2026 MA Choreography cohort. Find out more about each of our MA candidates below…
Yeji Kim
Yeji Kim is a South Korean choreographer and dance artist known for her powerful, physical work that explores what it means to be human. She is passionate about creating dance work with emotion and authenticity at its heart.
Yeji trained at the Korea National University of Arts and has completed a post graduate diploma at London Contemporary Dance School. For 16 years she was a member of Hofesh Shechter Company (HSC), during which she intensely developed her craft as a dance artist, shaping her profound physicality, artistry and commitment to dance. Her dedication led her to become workshop leader and rehearsal assistant for HSC, as well as a certified Pilates instructor.
In 2025 Yeji co-founded YAK Dance with Kenny Wing Tao Ho to create groundbreaking dance and film work exploring integrity, authenticity and the human experience. Their first work ARRIVAL was sponsored by ONE ArtCentre’s International Choreographic Residency Program and was previewed to critical acclaim in Shanghai. Her choreographic work has been presented internationally and she has been commissioned by Korea National University of Arts, Rambert School, Fengling Productions, New Earth Theatre, X Young Dance School, and The Greater Bay Area Dance Festival. Recent work includes ARRIVAL and Pigs in Heaven for YAK Dance, and The Golden Future for X Young Dance School.
Yeji continues to teach workshops and residencies around the world. In addition to developing her choreographic work she is also diligent pilates teacher. She continues to work with Hofesh Shechter as a rehearsal director for Shechter II and is studying a Masters Degree in Choreography at Central School of Ballet.
Photo by Hu Yifan and Yan Zi
Ruaidhrí Maguire
Ruaidhrí Maguire is an Irish choreographer whose work has been presented across the UK, Ireland, Canada, Poland, and Japan. His highly athletic choreography blends fluidity with angularity to tell stories of identity, vulnerability, and strength. His work has been described as demonstrating “beautiful partnering and a lovely soulful intention” (John Scott, Artistic Director, Irish Modern Dance Theatre) and showcasing “exceptional neoclassical precision” (Amy Growcott, Ballet Historian & Writer).
His work has been commissioned by Ballet Ireland, Ballet Victoria (Canada), Baltic Opera Ballet, Dancer From the Dance Festival, Q Dance Canada as the inaugural ChoreoLab Resident Artist, and his own company, Six Dance Collective, which he co-founded in 2023. In 2025, he choreographed The Triumph of Music for Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller and London’s National Gallery as part of its Bicentenary celebrations, culminating in a landmark performance in Trafalgar Square. He is currently an MA student in Choreography at the Central School of Ballet in January 2026, supported by the Musical, Opera, and Ballet Trust of Switzerland. He was a 2024 Theatre and Dance Northern Ireland INVEST Artist and has held residencies with Dance Ireland and Galway Dance Project.
Originally from Moneymore, N. Ireland, Maguire is a former principal dancer with Baltic Opera Ballet and has performed with Milwaukee Ballet II (USA) and Ballet Victoria. He returned to Ireland in 2024 to join Ballet Ireland (National Ballet of Ireland) and is a Guest Artist with Cape Ballet Africa.
Photo by Elly Wellford
Joseph Powell-Main
Joseph is a disabled ballet dancer and choreographer, becoming the first wheelchair user to perform with The Royal Ballet Company. He was commissioned by The Royal Ballet Company, the first disabled classical choreographer to achieve this. He created Strength in Adversity, a piece which he also performed in alongside dancers from National Youth Ballet for The Royal Ballet’s Next Generation Festival 2024. Since graduating from The Arden School of Theatre in 2020, with a First-Class Honours Degree in Dance and Performance, Joe has also become a prominent advocate for increasing access and inclusion in dance. He is a Patron for BBODance, championing their inclusive practice in their exam syllabus and events. He also is an ambassador for National Youth Ballet.
Joe has recently formed JPM Productions a project-based dance company dedicated to creating new accessible dance work both through independent opportunities and collaborations with leading dance organisations and companies.
Additional professional performance and choreographic credits include working as a Guest Artist with Northern Ballet, a dancer and choreographer for a Research and Development Project with Scottish Ballet, performing as a Guest Artist and creating a one act ballet Sylvia for New Works Ballet Theatre. Joe is currently developing three new dance works. JPM Productions will premiere its first full evening of new dance work, Vengeance and Valour: A Mixed Bill which will premiere in March 2027 in Hereford.
Joe’s choreographic practice has a specific focus on utilising classical technique and presenting this in slightly different ways, such as combining ballet with stylistic elements of other dance genres. Joe also enjoys bending the roles of a dance partnership where the roles of who is supported and who is the supporter, become interchangeable, due to having the lived experience of a disability and learning how to access pas de deux using his wheelchair. This has led him to want to discover how these ideas can also be explored in partnerships where dancers may not have the lived experience of disability. He aspires to increase representation within the field of ballet and create further opportunities for disabled choreographers and dancers.
Photo by Creative Studio