Jasmin Vardimon MBE

Artistic Director

Jasmin Vardimon MBE is an internationally acclaimed choreographer and Artistic Director, renowned for creating bold, visually arresting dance theatre that combines intricate movement, dark humour, theatricality and emotional depth. For more than 25 years, her distinctive choreographic voice has challenged audiences while making ambitious contemporary dance accessible and engaging.

Born and raised on Kibbutz Ein Hahoresh in Israel, Jasmin trained and performed with Kibbutz Dance Company for five years. In 1995, she received the prestigious British Council On the Way to London Choreography Award, which brought her to the UK. She settled permanently in Britain and, in 1998, founded Jasmin Vardimon Company (previously Zbang), creating an acclaimed body of work that has toured nationally and internationally.

Jasmin has been an Associate Artist at Sadler’s Wells since 2006. Her work has been commissioned and presented by leading international opera houses, theatres and dance organisations, including the Royal Opera House, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Glyndebourne Festival, Staatstheater Braunschweig, MIR Dance Company, Bitef Theatre Belgrade, Hellenic Dance Athens and Candoco. Her opera credits include Tannhäuser for the Royal Opera House and Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Carmen for Glyndebourne Festival in 2024. She also created the choreography for Paloma Faith’s music video Loyal, which was nominated for Best Choreography at the UK Music Video Awards.

Alongside her choreographic career, Jasmin is committed to developing the next generation of dance artists. She has been a Visiting Professor at the University of Wolverhampton since 2011 and has developed a range of professional training initiatives through her company, including JV2 and JVIntensive, as well as a postgraduate programme for dancers and actors delivered in partnership with Royal Holloway, University of London.

In 2013, Jasmin became the first Guest Artistic Director of the newly formed National Youth Dance Company, helping to shape and establish the programme. Through JV2, her company has provided valuable opportunities for emerging dancers, choreographers, lighting and costume designers, nurturing new talent and supporting the development of the next generation of creative practitioners.

Jasmin was awarded an honorary doctorate by Royal Holloway, University of London in 2014 and an honorary fellowship from the Institute of Arts Barcelona in 2018. In 2022, she was appointed an MBE for services to dance, and in 2023 she received the Honorary Ambassador of Ashford Award.

Her work and creative practice have been explored in two books: Jasmin Vardimon’s Dance Theatre: Movement, Memory and Metaphor by Libby Worth (Routledge, 2017), and Justitia: Multidisciplinary Readings of the Work of the Jasmin Vardimon Company, edited by Paul Johnson and Sylwia Dobkowska (Intellect, 2016).