Lady MacMillan Announced as First Patron of K2CO
K2CO dance company, led by award-winning choreographer and dance artist Rosie Kay, is delighted to announce that Lady MacMillan is joining the company as its very first Patron.
Deborah MacMillan, a huge supporter of Rosie Kay’s work, is the wife of the late Sir Kenneth MacMillan who is regarded as one of the UK’s finest choreographers.
Commenting on her appointment Deborah said, “The Arts are peopled by those rare and brave individuals who cherish and protect their creative flame and I am delighted and honoured to be the first patron of K2CO.”
Rosie Kay added: “I am delighted to have the patronage of Deborah MacMillan. She has been an incredible source of support and inspiration through the setting up of K2CO and I, with her vision, very much look forward to the future of my company and my choreography.
“Sir Kenneth MacMillan is the greatest choreographer of the 20th century, and I have long studied his works. The combination of real emotional storytelling, exquisite and technically challenging dance, and the exploration of the biggest themes on life and death have been an inspiration to me. To be able to work with Deborah MacMillan now is a dream come true.”
K2CO also announces new board members joining the Oversight Board: Jo Quillan, COO at The Really Useful Group; digital arts curator Tony Guillan; writer, speaker and University of Edinburgh Rector Simon Fanshawe and director and photographer Robert Knights.
K2CO was launched in 2022 and in 2023 toured to Norwich Theatre Playhouse, Blackpool Grand Theatre and Theatre Royal, Bath with an updated version of Kay’s acclaimed 5-star award winning production 5 Soldiers. Funded by Arts Council England it used dance to explore the emotional stories of a group of combatants who become fractured by war.
Running alongside the main stage performance of 5 Soldiers at Norwich Theatre Playhouse was Rosie Kay’s award-winning engagement programme, INCUBATE which saw the company work with young students from Norfolk Institute of Performing Arts.
Kay looks forward to shaping the vision of K2CO with Deborah MacMillan, and the Oversight Board will help with Kay’s plans to tour her work, fundraising and developing a new work for large scale theatres.
K2CO programming details will be announced later this year.
Visit https://k-2co.com/ to learn more.
Deborah MacMillan head shot, Image credit K2CO