YOLANDE YORKE-EDGELL
CONTEMPORARY TECHNIQUE, SWINDON & EXETER CONTEMPORARY PROGRAMME
Yolande was born in Hertfordshire and trained at Arts Educational School, Central School of Ballet and London Studio Centre. After graduating she joined Extemporary Dance Theatre. She went on to dance with Extreme Measures before joining Rambert Dance Company under the direction of Richard Alston.
In 1994 she moved to Los Angeles to join the Lewitzky Dance Company where she danced many leading roles and was appointed Master Teacher by Lewitzky herself. After the closure of the Lewitzky Dance Company in 1997 Yolande formed her own dance company in Los Angeles, Yorke Dance Project, presenting her own choreography alongside fellow Los Angeles based choreographers. Yolande has been a guest artist for Pacific Dance Ensemble, the Posthouse Dance Group and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra’s Stravinsky Evening at the Walt Disney Hall. She has worked for the Los Angeles Opera and in 2001 she co-directed the play Time Out for the New York Fringe Festival.
On returning to England she danced in Adam Cooper’s production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Graham Vick’s production of A Midsummers Marriage with the Royal Opera. Yolande joined Richard Alston Dance Company in the summer of 2006 touring throughout the UK and the US. Whilst performing with Alston, Yolande continued to develop her own choreography with the premiere of two of her works in the Resolution! seasons at the Robin Howard Dance Theatre. She has made work for Intoto, Millenium Performing Arts and teaches contemporary dance to Royal Ballet Students at White Lodge in addition to choreographing for their annual graduation performance.
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