Welcome to

DECADENCE, DESIRE, AND DECAPITATION

A double bill by Camille Cooper

SALOMé

Why do you look at her?

You must not look at her.

You must not look at her… Something terrible may happen

It is dangerous to look at someone in such fashion. Something terrible may happen.

Do not look at her. I pray you not to look at her.

I have told you not to look at her.

Something terrible will happen.

Dancer: Camille Cooper
Narrative and text: Oscar Wilde
Storyteller voice: Colin Cooper
Music: Patti Smith - Privelege (Set Me Free), Patti Smith - Hymn, Shirley Bassey - Vehicle, P.J. Harvey - Electric Light, LiLiPUT - DC-10
Photography: Jemima Yong
Thank you to Siobhan Davies Studios and the University of Chichester for their support in the making of this piece.

Portraits of perversity

Beardsley’s black ink creates opulent scenes, fantastical characters, and intricate detail (often disguising erotic imagery). Instantly recognisable by his scandalous spirit and skilled use of line, this enfant terrible of the 1890s has an irreverent portfolio that defines the Decadent art movement.

And now, we put it on stage.

See for yourself.

Dancers: Emily Lally, Jess Meek, Matilda Feather, Sam Wild, and Camille Cooper
Music: Carmel - I’m Not Afraid of You, Pixies - Cactus, The Velvet Underground & Nico - Femme Fatale, Della Reese - Whatever Lola Wants, The Fall - Dead Beat Descendant
Photography: Freddie Rainbow
Thank you to previous dancers Bethany Jarvis, Megan O’Donnell, and Milly Stead for their hard work and collaboration on this piece, and to Yael Flexer for her support as dissertation supervisor.

Cast & choreographer

  • Camille Cooper (she/her)

    CHOREOGRAPHER & DANCER

    Combining her experience in Latin and Ballroom dance with her training in Contemporary, Camille has a passion for creating striking movement that demands to be watched. Her choreography engages audiences through its sense of character, relationship to music, and unique shaping.

    Her distinctive style earned her the Liz Aggiss Award for choreography from the University of Chichester as she graduated from her BA, before receiving her place as a dancer on MapDance’s 2024 tour.

    Headshot by Aoife Lanigan

  • Emily Lally (she/her)

    DANCER

    Emily is a dancer artist from the Isle of Man, where she began her training before joining Moorland Ballet Academy. She holds both a BA and MA from the University of Chichester where she toured with MapDance Company. Emily has performed at events such as Resolution Festival and is passionate about works dealing with feminist and eco-political themes. She also particularly enjoys creating and performing work in natural outdoor settings. This summer, she will represent the Isle of Man at the Lorient Interceltic Festival as a dancer and choreographer with Skeallyn Vannin.

    Headshot by Hannah Mulligan

  • Jess Meek (she/her)

    DANCER

    Jess is a contemporary dance artist and performer based in Suffolk. With both a BA and MA in Dance Performance from the University of Chichester, she has collaborated with choreographers such as Yukiko Masui, Renaud Wiser, and Jose Agudo.

    Her practice is defined by a grounded, responsive performance style that centres embodied experience and presence.

    Headshot by Hannah Mulligan

  • Matilda Feather (she/her)

    DANCER

    Matilda is a dance artist based in Oxfordshire. She studied dance performance at the University of Chichester, where she had the opportunity to tour with the 3Fall and Mapdance companies.

    She is currently concentrating on yoga and revisiting her childhood passion for figure skating.

    Headshot by Hannah Mulligan

  • Sam Wild (she/they)

    DANCER

    Sam is a dance and visual artist from the West Midlands, where they began their training at Birmingham Ormiston Academy. Since graduating from the University of Chichester, Sam has performed as part of Resolution Festival 23 as well as joining mapdance where she toured and performed works by Carrie Whitaker, Yukiko Masui, Sarah Golding, and Renaud Wiser. 

    Sam’s work combines their passions for fine art and dance to create bold interdisciplinary performances.

    Headshot by Hannah Mulligan

Shout out to our talented friend Hannah Mulligan, whose dance photography exhibition takes place as part of Brighton Fringe at The Dance Space on the 27th May

The space we Take

A huge thank you to South East Dance for awarding me their 2025 Brighton Fringe Bursary and for hosting this event!