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boulder, belly, radar, song is a performance to be premiered in 2027.

Developed over residencies in the US, Brazil and UK, the work’s starting point was the question ‘what does it mean when fat people are in physical contact with one another?’. What we've been making casts fat people as forever-beings, countering the ways in which fat people are figured as a temporary aberration with shortened cultural and biological lives. It conjures textures of solidarity and support through being together and being apart, being malleable and being solid.

Performed by artists who all experience fatphobia - whether only in dance or in all of their lives - the performance is not ‘about’ fatness, but makes an illuminating offering into the dangerous and tender place where fatness and dance meet.

The danced and spoken material will be supported by songs and singing scores created with and by Verity Standen, design by Tim Spooner, and lighting by Marty Langthorne, and has the backdrop of a set of beautiful large gongs, which are also played during the performance. 

We are seeking partners to collaborate on production and touring of boulder, belly, radar, song from autumn 2026. We also invite dialogue with sector colleagues who are interested in the themes and forms who may be interested in the work in other ways. There is in-progress documentation of the work which can be supplied on request.

Fat Dance | Dança Gorda was a project funded by British Council's International Collaboration Grants. It aimed to contribute to the development of a multinational artistic community focused on fat dance. The field of dance has long ignored the marginalisation of fat people; Fat Dance | Dança Gorda was an opportunity to focus not only on inclusion but on fat embodiment’s relevance for the fields of dance and choreography. The project consisted of an exchange between two prominent fat choreographers/performers, Gillie Kleiman (UK) and Jussara Belchior (Brazil), working with performers locally in the English Midlands and São Paulo, in a collaboration between FABRIC (UK) and Corpo Rastreado (Brazil).

The two exchange residencies involved fat dancers local to São Paulo, Brazil (April 2025) and Nottingham, UK (July 2025), meeting collaborators through open calls. Documentary filmmaker and fat screendance scholar Magdalena Hutter followed the research and produced a documentary film exploring the project and its themes, which is currently available for screening; please contact producer Beckie Darlington: beckie@haus-projects.com.

Gillie has been experimenting with community dance with and for fat people since 2022. Since 2025, this has mostly been in the form of an ongoing group - a 'troupe', meeting weekly at Dance City, Newcastle upon Tyne. We even did our first performance in early 2026!

We are open to new members a lot of the time, but especially at the start of the new school year, to build our bonds in the darkest days!

Over the years of doing this we’ve realised that it’s about the incredible friendships we develop as much as the dancing we do. This term we'll be focused on the relationships between dancing, drawing and writing. The dancing is unadulteratedly weird, exploratory, and creative - this isn't the place for the 5-6-7-8 dance routine (however much we love them elsewhere). This is a closed and committed group, not a drop-in session, but we are very flexible with each other! 

This is fat-liberationist space, that at we really need in the age of super-thinness. It’s so exciting and inspiring to be with other people who accept body diversity (or are actively working towards it). It’s completely free to participate, though those of us who can and want to contribute to some of the costs.

Please get in touch if you’re interested: gilliekleiman@gmail.com, or message on Instagram.

Testimonials:

I was very lonely before I joined Fat Dance and now I'm much less lonely. It can be very hard to make friends as an autistic person. There aren't many spaces that are truly welcoming to people that are both queer and neurodivergent. Unlearning diet culture and internalised fatphobia can be quite isolating, as family and friends are often still so entrenched. Coming to Fat Dance every Tuesday brings me a lot of joy and has a significant positive impact on my mental health.

— 

Joining Fat Dance felt intimidating at first. I’d danced before, but coming back in a bigger body was a daunting step. Being part of this group has transformed the way I relate to myself. I’ve found a deeper level of acceptance than I ever thought possible, thanks to the group’s warmth, encouragement, and genuinely supportive atmosphere.

As my sense of self has shifted, I’ve moved away from body dysmorphia and the belief that my worth is tied to appearance. I’m beginning to experience my body as something I can enjoy. Because of that, I now run and swim as well as continuing to dance, embracing movement in ways I thought had passed me by.

I’m incredibly grateful to Gillie, whose teaching creates space for fat dancers both physically and emotionally. Dancing in a purpose built studio has lifted my confidence and expanded my hopes for my future in dance providing a safe space which facilitates movement.

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I'm not exaggerating when I say Fat Dance has been life changingly good for me. I discovered the flyer at the very beginning of the project, when I was getting into dance for the first time in my life outside of a few classes at university; since then it's given me the confidence to go to many, many other dance events, connected me to a lot of great people, and given me an opportunity to perform that I never expected to have.

—

It is not an exaggeration to say that Fat Dance has changed my life. As a fat person, I am now part of community of other fat people where I am valued and validated. I have been able to embrace and celebrate my fatness. As a dancer, I have learned new and interesting ways to express myself through dance. It has expanded my understanding of what dance can be. As a person, I have experienced a significant improvement in my own physical, mental and emotional health. Being in an environment where eating is a way to fuel your body has meant that I am eating properly. I am happier in my own body and have somewhere that I can fully express myself, which keeps me emotionally well.

Past versions:

The Fat Dance Sessions - Newcastle upon Tyne, 2023-4

The Fat Dance Sessions are an opportunity for people in larger bodies to dance together in Newcastle upon Tyne. In studios in the city centre, fat dancer and choreographer Gillie Kleiman will lead a series of sessions of creative, exploratory movement for fat people, for us to reclaim our dancing for ourselves, get to know each other, and simply have fun moving.

The sessions are open to anyone who experiences themselves as fat. Other words that are often used are plus-sized, or living in larger bodies. If you're interested but not sure how to think about fatness, this might be a helpful resource, but it's only a starting point.

Fat people are routinely and systemically the objects of discrimination. As such, it's really important that we keep ourselves safe, so we won't be sharing publicly the exact dates and times of the sessions. The first season took place weekly throughout autumn 2023 on Friday evenings. Season Two will be fortnightly on Wednesday evenings. If you'd like to come, please email Gillie: gilliekleiman@gmail.com.

Fat Contact - Portland, Oregon, 2024

Fat Contact is an artistic research project that explores the ways in which the bodies of fat people come into contact with each other. Inspired by early versions of the American dance form Contact Improvisation, the Japanese wrestling practice Sumo, and the sculptures of Eva Fàbregas, the sessions will be exploratory workshops creating choreographic structures in a playing field informed by and curious about our own fat embodiments and their capacity to create meaning. We will fall, fold and falter, spoon and smush and spread; we will push and prang and ping. All fat people welcome, at all levels of experience, for as much of it as you like.

Fat Contact Portland was supported by Body Home Fat Dance with monies from Another Route including a seed commission from Jerwood Arts.

friend is a performance for a non-professional dancer to present in their home to an audience of only their friends. The fixed score, made up of distinct components, comes together into a 30-minute choreography which playfully folds the performer and their performance into cultural history. Rather than asking the performers to talk about their lives, friend is a form of portraiture that allows the audience to see their dear one completely anew, invoking the strange potentialities of contemporary dance to tenderly invite the friends to see and be seen in a novel way. It involves iconic post-modern American dance performance Trio A, two versions of I Will Always Love You, karaoke, and a small but effective smoke machine. It gestures to existing practices of domestic performance (beatnik poetry recitals, children’s pop concerts) whilst creating the context for introducing performers and audience alike to the skill and joy of watching contemporary dance through a series of carefully-designed discussion prompts over a shared post-show meal. It is craftful, ridiculous, and very very friendly.