Jess Gibson
Movement // Choreography// Community Arts // Performance
Imagination, play & collaboration
About
Jess Gibson is an independent movement artist based in Sheffield, UK. Her work spans across choreography, live performance, theatre, community arts and movement direction.
At the heart of her practice is facilitating pockets of joy, as an antidote to a changing and challenging world. Jess' work, be it choreography, workshops or performances, often bring with it a sense of empowerment and curiosity; work that has social impact, can build community or has an edge of activism.
Over the last 15 years, Jess has facilitated workshops, co-devised projects and choreographed live work for schools, universities, charities, festivals, DIY venues and arts organisations. Whilst movement is her main practice, she has also developed theatre performances, supported installation artists and assistant-directed Sheffield's first 3 day live art festival.
Jess is a keen collaborator; adapting needs to each context and project. Her collaborative working has led to creative projects with people in diverse disciplines such as visual art, sculpture, puppeteering, acrobatics, academia and comedy.
Gallery
Photo credits:
Kate Daley for Quarantine
Pipp Atkinson for CocoonCo
Joseph Samuel Priestly for Departure Point
Triumvirate Media for Towards Lightness and Work In Progress
Ai Narapol for Rivelin Co
Alan Blundell for Compost Cabaret
Projects
Compost The Cabaret (2026/27)
Welcome to Black Gold, the hottest underground nightclub hidden within a compost heap- where microbes and fungi go to bump, flirt and mingle. Meet an all star cast of filthy characters. Driven to decompose the toxic parts of society, breaking them down into life affirming, interconnected, nourishing networks.
Exploring themes of life, sex and death through a queer ecology lense through song, dance, drag and a big fat dirty disco. The festering ideals of patriarchy, heteronormativity and colonialism have been consumed and digested by society and are beginning to rot the very thing they sought to uphold. Now is the time for the mycelium to break them down, permanently alter their structure, establish new roots and feed on anything nutritious that remains.
Projects 2024/25:
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RivelinCo - Neighbourhood Artist commission in collaboration with Foxhill Forum (2025).
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A New Direction- Lead choreographer at Tate Modern, London, for parade with I Am Festival (2025).
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Clams in their Eyes - Movement direction support alongside Delicious Clam and Glitterbomb Dancers (2024/25).
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Moments of Joy - South Yorkshire Housing Association, multi-disciplinary artist for co-creation of performance (2024).
Video credits: Wayne Sables/South Yorkshire Housing Association/Artistic Producer Cara McAleese.
Past Projects:
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Dance OnWards (2021-23) - Facilitating dance and movement sessions on acute mental health wards with Sheffield Health and Social Care arts festival.
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Sightlines Festival (2021) - Panellist Speaker discussing the link between wellbeing and performance making.
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Glimmer (2020) - Ats Council England funded R&D, using theatre and dance to develop a new performance about social media and self-esteem. In collaboration with Genevieve Carver and Sheffield Futures.
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Unshut Festival (2019) - Co-creating Sheffield's first live art festival over 3 days at DINA venue, inclusive of all forms of live art performance.
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Work In Progress (2018) - Arts Council funded R&D, with following touring show, exploring emotional landscapes and being comfortable with feeling uncomfortable. Audio-visual collaboration with Zaron Mismeres and producing support from Joe Willis.
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Cocoon Collective (2017/18) - collaboration with SheFest, headlining for International Women's Day events in Sheffield with a rendition of Eve Ensler's Vagina Monologues in 2017 and an original performance of showcase titled 'Wild Woman' from women of Sheffield and Together Women Project.
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My One True Glove (2016) - Choreography collaboration with Travelling Shadow Theatre Company. Showcasing a surreal tale depicting lost love and loneliness using object theatre, dance and puppetry.
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Hazard/Word of Warning Festival (2016) performer in duet alongside Ali Wilson for incidental intervention and sited performance, hazard is cheeky, thought-provoking with sprees of eccentricity.
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Summer. Autumn. Winter. Spring. (2014/16) - Performer with Quarantine, Manchester based performance company for showcases 22 & 26 March and 2 & 3 April 2016 | Old Granada Studios, Manchester, UK.
Other training programmes and CPD have included:
Diverse City, Extraordinary Bodies - Unexpected Leaders cohort (2024)
People Dancing - Power Up Your Practice (2024)
People Dancing - Live Well and Dance with Parkinson's (2024)
Edge Hill University - Arts for Blues training (2023)
Luminelle - Artist Exchange Programme (2019)
Third Angel - Third Angel Mentoring Scheme (2017)
