Alleyne Dance: “If You Want to Go Far, Go Together”
Twin sisters Kristina and Sadé Alleyne talk about creating dance together, blending movement traditions, working with communities and refugees, and exploring belonging, home and human connection through the moving body.
You’re identical twin sisters but also creative collaborators. How does that relationship shape the way you make work together?
Being family gives us a unique dynamic. We can be honest — sometimes brutally so! — with each other without worrying too much about the consequences. As twins growing up, we always wanted to make things fair, from deciding who goes next to splitting the last biscuit in the jar.
Since working together, we’ve had to learn to recognise each other’s strengths and be honest in the moment about who should lead and who should assist. In this way, we divide and conquer, trusting that the other will deliver and perform to a high standard.
We both bring motivation and determination to the partnership. We are always inspired by the proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
What did you feel was missing in contemporary dance when you started Alleyne Dance?
It’s not that we felt something was missing, but rather that there was love that needed to be shown. As sisters who genuinely love each other and love what we do, we allow that love to pour into our creations.
We are athletic and have athletic bodies, so we wanted to create work that shows off our physical abilities whilst also tuning into the sensitivity needed to tell stories.
Your work combines African and Caribbean influences with contemporary dance, hip hop and kathak. How has that movement language evolved over time?
Our influences are part of how we understand movement, music and rhythm. But rather than putting styles in separate boxes, we use them as sources, and through our choreography they meet, clash, blend and, ultimately, evolve. Over time, the movement language has become more and more embedded in the way we naturally move. We use these influences as sources for expression. This stems from traditional movement practices, but also from our understanding of music and different rhythmic patterns.
What are you most interested in exploring through your work right now?
Right now, we are really interested in the moving body and how we can make people who don’t necessarily move or dance feel like they are flying. We are also working with communities and refugees, exploring how dance can be a pathway back to yourself and a tool for transformation.
What do you want audiences to feel or question after seeing an Alleyne Dance performance?
We want the audience to feel, to be moved and to be entertained. We hope they see and/or recognise themselves on stage and feel invited into the work, whether physically or emotionally.
In Far From Home, we work with an intergenerational local community cast on stage, which makes this especially important. They bring their own experiences and relationships to movement, and that makes the world of Far From Home feel much bigger than just us as performers.
We want audiences to become engrossed in the world we are creating; to feel the physicality, the risk-taking, the meetings and connections between people, as well as the beautiful music and scenery. Questions may arise such as: Where do you belong? What feels like home? And how do you welcome people into your home?
What’s next for Alleyne Dance?
Next, we are travelling to Basel, Switzerland, and then to Kortrijk, Belgium, to perform A Night’s Game, our first duet, which we created over 10 years ago. The work has had a wonderful journey. In 2019, we won the Best Dancer Award in Austria, and in 2026 we were honoured to receive the Jury’s Special Award in Cairo, Egypt.
In December, our popular annual week-long Alleyne Dance Intensive Training Programme is returning to London. It is open to dancers and movers who want to train and develop their performance skills.
Alleyne Dance presents Far From Home at Sadler’s Wells East on Thursday 15 – Saturday 17 October
