London Jewellery Design and Dance Students Collaborated for a Unique Exhibition

15 Dec 2024

Jewellery: Emily Murphy // Dance: Anna Heinemann

The British Academy of Jewellery (BAJ), in collaboration with London Contemporary Dance School (LCDS) at The Place, hosted a unique event on Friday 9th December, fusing jewellery design with dance.

Second-year BA (Hons) jewellery students from BAJ worked with 9 contemporary dance students from The Place, designing movable jewellery inspired by the theme of ‘Connection’. Each piece was then brought to life by a dancer, performing bespoke choreography to reflect the theme. Sponsored by Shandy Shack and Modern Love Gin, over 100 people witnessed these cutting-edge projects in a vibrant live setting, held at BAJ’s new HE campus in Camden.

Each dynamic performance and piece explored meaningful themes, ranging from toxic relationships, sensory synapses and CAT scans, to the fragility of spinal connections in the body.

To accompany the journey of movement and adornment, BAJ students also created ‘diffusion’ pieces - a secondary piece of wearable jewellery that continued the theme of their project.

Image: Diffusion piece by Veronika Dika

Phoebe Coleman, Lecturer in Design and Professional Practice, provided some insight into the event, saying,

"We wanted to challenge our students with a project which encouraged close collaboration, allowing them to connect with artists from another discipline and skillset. Partnering with the London Contemporary Dance School was the perfect answer. In just five weeks our second-year students each designed and crafted moveable body sculptures and diffusion jewellery inspired by their collaboration with the dancers. The exhibition was immersive and inspiring, and the packed audience appeared riveted as they witnessed the jewellery pieces connect and expand out from the body and into space through contemporary dance. We are very proud of their remarkable work and the creative skills they are developing on our BA (Hons) Jewellery programme.”

Lilia Rowe, LCDS Dance student reflected on the transformative experience,

“As a producer and performer it was so rewarding to witness and perform such incredible work! It was a really insightful process for me; taking inspiration from jewellery design and translating it into my movement language. The way that I approach choreography and performance has definitely evolved because of this unique collaboration.”

Image: Diffusion pieces by Emily Murphy

Annalia Sparks, LCDS student, explained her role in the collaboration,

“As a curator, I worked with a team of both dancers and BAJ artists to ensure their desires would be communicated through the challenges of uniting space and audience interaction within the immersive, interactive participation of the audience to move around the dancers to witness the work. I was also involved with two performances; one focusing on Synapses and the other embodied Sufi influences to create an angel of death to hold the audience's judgements. Working with the physical constraints and possibilities of the garments/jewellery attire was essential to research and develop the movement texture and language.”

Emily Murphy, BAJ student, shared the inspiration behind her design,

“The concept behind these pieces explores the lingering emotional and physical sensations of a past connection that feels inescapable, even after it’s gone. Inspired by my own experiences of love and heartbreak, the project examines the vulnerability of deep bonds and the marks they leave behind. Using chains and wire to replace the thread enhances durability and wearability while maintaining the symbolic tension and entanglement of the origin performance. Small glass balls move freely along the chains and wires, representing the shifting and inescapable presence of emotional ties.”

Image: Diffusion piece by Ruth Walter

Bayleigh Morris, BAJ student shared insight into his design,

“With connection being under threat of severance in all incarnations of the expression, the piece created collectively with Anna Heinemann (choreography) and Birchy UK (sound) illustrates the sensual and safe state of security in bond, with the horror and impairment at risk of following.”

Rozana Piper, BAJ student, said of her creation,

“Being part of this project, combining my design ‘Scars Woven of Memories’ with performance, has been an incredibly inspiring experience. This body jewellery design celebrates scars as threads of resilience, honouring the memories woven into our lives. Seeing the performance bring these pieces to life through movement and emotion was truly powerful. The exhibition beautifully captures this unique collaboration, where jewellery becomes more than just an accessory, it transforms into a living, breathing story of strength and connection.”

View British Academy of Jewellery

Source: British Academy of Jewellery