When jewellery steps beyond the bench and into live performance, something fundamental shifts. Materials are no longer static, and design is no longer confined to the body as an object. Instead, jewellery becomes responsive — shaped by motion, sound, emotion, and human connection. This was the starting point for a recent interdisciplinary collaboration between the British Academy of Jewellery and the London Contemporary Dance School, staged at The Place, one of Europe’s leading centres for contemporary dance.

Bringing together jewellery design students and contemporary dancers, the project explored a shared theme: Connection. Over an intensive five-week period, BAJ students collaborated closely with nine dance students from LCDS to create jewellery-led performance works that examined how objects interact with the moving body. The result was a live showcase in Camden, attended by more than 70 guests, where jewellery was not simply worn — it was activated.

Exploring Connection Through Jewellery and Movement

At the heart of the collaboration was an investigation into how jewellery can shape, restrict, amplify, or transform movement. Each jewellery piece was developed in direct dialogue with choreography, resulting in performances where material, body, and motion were inseparable.

Themes explored ranged from friendship and intimacy to emotional fragility and personal narrative. Rather than treating jewellery as adornment, students examined its physical and emotional impact: pieces that attached to unexpected parts of the body, generated sound through motion, altered posture, or changed how dancers navigated space.

Alongside the primary performance works, students also created diffusion pieces — secondary wearable designs that extended each project’s concept beyond the stage, reinforcing the idea that jewellery can exist both as a performance artefact and as an object for everyday wear.

Piece by: Nina Lenne / Dancer: Ava Moseley, Piece by: Scarlett Smyth / Dancer: Izzy Pringle, Piece by: Sylwia Wroblewska / Dancer: Oliver Clarke, Piece by: Nadine McBurnie / Dancer: Ximena Zeron Ballesteros

Designing Under Real-World Pressures

The project went far beyond creative exploration. Students were responsible for managing timelines, collaborating across disciplines, coordinating technical elements, and organising the event itself. This included sponsorship, meetings with dancers, and planning the practical and technical requirements of the showcase. The event was supported by CARR Garden Buildings, adding an industry-facing dimension to the experience.

Phoebe Coleman, Lecturer in Design and Professional Practice and Deputy Course Leader at BAJ, reflected on the importance of this approach:

“The collaboration with London Contemporary Dance School proved exceptionally productive. Students handled a demanding five-week schedule with consistency and focus, creating work while also organising the wider event, from sponsorship to meetings with dancers and planning the technical elements.

Engaging with practitioners from another discipline allowed the group to expand its creative thinking and understand the practical value of collaborative work. The theme of ‘Connection’ shaped their responses, inspiring pieces that attached to the body, generated sound, altered movement, or carried personal narratives.

This project plays a significant role in their development, giving them experience in teamwork and shared problem-solving while managing several components at once. It offers a realistic insight into the demands of professional practice.”

Phoebe Coleman, Lecturer in Design and Professional Practice and Deputy Course Leader at BAJ

A Dancer’s Perspective: Jewellery as a Creative Partner

For the dancers involved, the collaboration offered a new way of thinking about costume, constraint, and storytelling. Jewellery was not treated as a finishing detail, but as an active creative partner that influenced movement and performance.

LCDS student Ximena Zeron Ballesteros described the experience as deeply enriching:

“As a performer, this collaboration was truly enriching, as ideas flowed perfectly with the jewellers. I feel immensely grateful to have worked alongside such exceptionally talented people and to have created enjoyable and meaningful pieces.

It was incredibly inspiring to observe the jewellers’ design process and how it forged a beautiful connection with the world of dance.”

LCDS student Ximena Zeron Ballesteros

Her reflection highlights the mutual exchange at the core of the project — where both disciplines adapted, learned, and responded to one another.

Piece by: Avant Williams / Dancer: Eve McGlashan, Piece by: Avant Williams / Dancer: Eve McGlashan, Piece by: Rayhaan Shaikh / Dancer: Ishbel Sinclair, Piece by: Rebecca Prenga / Dancer: Kyah Oti

Student Voices: Expanding Craft Through Collaboration

For BAJ students, working across disciplines challenged established approaches to materials and making. Jewellery student Nadine McBurnie reflected on how the project pushed her practice in new directions:

“Being able to collaborate with the students from LCDS and seeing them bring our ideas surrounding connection to life has been such an amazing experience.

It was a challenge to work with a material that is on the opposite spectrum to metal — using fabric and embroidery to bring the concept to life — but I believe it opened more avenues for how I can push my craft and approach briefs from a different perspective in the future.”

Nadine McBurnie - BAJ student

These experiences underline the educational value of interdisciplinary collaboration, particularly as jewellery increasingly intersects with performance, fashion, and storytelling.

Piece by: Emaan Hasan / Dancer: Samantha Amali Joseph / Choreographer: Cynthia Nalyanya, Piece by: Veroni Dimitrov / Dancer: Ximena Zeron Ballesteros, Diffusion piece by: Sylwia Wroblewska, Diffusion pieces: by Emaan Hasan

The Jewels Club Take

This collaboration is a compelling example of how jewellery education is evolving. By placing jewellery within a live, performative context, the British Academy of Jewellery and The Place demonstrate how design can respond to movement, emotion, and narrative in real time. It challenges traditional notions of what jewellery is — and what it can do — offering a glimpse into a future where jewellery is not only worn, but experienced.

Discover More

Explore more stories on jewellery education and emerging talent and learn more about the British Academy of Jewellery www.baj.ac.uk

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