038: From Ballet to Movement Direction: Charlotte Broom's Artistic Journey
“I think if you're on stage and you're still worrying about how you're going to do a particular technical bit of movement, then you can't be in the moment, you have to feel certain what your body's going to do and that will give you so much freedom."
Charlotte Broom
In this episode of the Shapes in Motion Podcast, host Stephen Moynihan speaks with choreographer and movement director Charlotte Broom, Charlotte shares her journey from classical ballet training to a dynamic career across dance, theatre, and movement direction. They discuss her early training at the Royal Ballet School and her performing career with companies including Northern Ballet and the Cullberg Ballet, before moving into rehearsal direction with Ballet Black and co-creating the dance company HeadSpace Dance.
Charlotte also reflects on her work as a movement director and choreographer in theatre, including The Hunger Games on Stage with long-term collaborator, director Matthew Dunster, and shares insights into her creative approach to movement, storytelling, and collaboration. We also discuss her exciting upcoming projects, including Sherlock at Regent’s Park, and what continues to inspire her work today.
About Charlotte Broom
Charlotte Broom enjoyed a 25-year career as a ballet and contemporary dancer. She was principal artist at Northern Ballet Theatre and Cullberg Ballet, Sweden, and also performed in numerous productions at the Royal Opera House, Sadlers Wells and in the West End. Charlotte is co-founder and artistic director of HeadSpaceDance (Critic’s Circle National Dance Award for Best Independent Company 2017) She was rehearsal director for Ballet Black until 2025. As movement director and choreographer Charlotte’s work in theatre includes; The Hunger Games (Troubadour Theatre ) Comedy of Errors, Love’s Sacrifice (RSC); Oedipus (Tokyo Bunkamura); The Sum, Twelfth Night, The Misanthrope, Sweeney Todd (Liverpool Everyman/ Liverpool Playhouse); Juno and the Paycock (Liverpool Everyman/ Bristol Old Vic); Home, I’m Darling (National Theatre/ West End/UK tour); Richard II, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, Secret Theatre, The Lightning Child, (Shakespeare’s Globe); Nell Gwynn (ETT/ Shakespeare’s Globe/UK tour/ West End); A Very Very Very Dark Matter (Bridge Theatre); The Seagull, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Regent’s Park); The Country Wife (Chichester Festival Theatre). TV includes Humans and So You Think You Can Dance (assistant choreographer),
Chapters
Training at Royal Ballet School and Elmhurst
Shift from Royal Ballet to Elmhurst and broadening training
Discovering theatre and drama in dance
Touring with Northern Ballet and early career insights
Work with Christopher Gable and the influence of Matzek
Differences between classical and contemporary dance companies
The importance of sincerity and truth in movement
Infusing movement with emotion and narrative authenticity
Role and approach as rehearsal director at Ballet Black
Creating Headspace Dance: A dancer-led company
Innovative projects with Matthew Dunster and others
Stage direction for The Hunger Games
Upcoming project: Sherlock at Regent's Park
Living and working between Bristol and London
The impact of UK-based work and touring
Links:
Instagram -https://www.instagram.com/Charlotte.Broom
Headspace Dance - https://headspacedance.com/
To get in touch with Sarah visit www.sarahperrymovement.com and follow @sarahperrymovement on Instagram.
To get in touch with Stephen visit www.stephenmoynihan.net and follow @stmoynihan on Instagram.