CAT Students Perform at Peggy Hawkins Fundraising Gala

On 17 March 2026, 20 students from the Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) programme at The Place performed at the annual Peggy Hawkins Fundraising Gala, appearing alongside professional dancers in a programme celebrating the journey of a dance artist from training to the professional stage.

A cornerstone of The Place’s calendar since 2012, the Peggy Hawkins Gala brings together industry leaders, alumni and supporters to celebrate emerging talent while raising vital funds to support student training and wellbeing. The CAT students, aged 17-18 and all in their final year of training, performed Kintsugi | Unbroken, a new work choreographed by Aneta Zwierzynska and developed across the Autumn and Spring terms within their CAT classes.

Zwierzynska is an internationally recognised choreographer and multidisciplinary artist, known for her distinctive fusion of contemporary dance and Capoeira. Drawing on over two decades of international practice across Europe, Brazil and Nepal, her work combines athleticism with fluidity and is often rooted in socially engaged themes.

Her collaboration with CAT students offered a rigorous and enriching creative process, challenging the dancers to develop both technical precision and expressive depth. Inspired by the Japanese art of kintsugi – repairing broken pottery with gold – Kintsugi | Unbroken explored themes of resilience, repair and transformation. Through a physically and emotionally nuanced performance, the dancers traced the process of rebuilding the self after fracture, embracing imperfection and the gradual journey toward wholeness.

The performance formed part of a wider evening that highlighted the progression of dance training at The Place, from early vocational pathways through to professional careers. The event was further marked by the attendance of HRH, who met with students following the performance, offering recognition and encouragement as they approach the next stage of their journeys. The gala also reflected the breadth of opportunities available through the CAT programme.

Over the past year, this cohort has worked with choreographer Susan Kempster and will continue their development this summer with Hofesh Shechter Company. Across the wider programme, students are going to be working with artists and companies including LCDS/CAT alum Emily Powell and Jess Yeo, Jordan James Bridge, Max Revell, BalletBoyz and Mark Bruce Dance Company.

As these students prepare to graduate, their performance at the Peggy Hawkins Gala stands as both a celebration of their achievements and a reflection of the artistic and professional experiences that underpin the CAT programme.