Dance Company and Institutional Colleagues

The Place (London Contemporary Dance School) is one of the world's leading dance conservatories offering undergraduate, graduate and professional training. 

Cohan was the institution's founding artistic director, literally building the organisation from the ground up along with co-founders Robin Howard CBE and Janet (Mop) Eager. Cohan remained on The Place board until just a few years before his passing in 2021.

The institution was home base for the London Contemporary Dance Theatre (LCDT) from its formation in the late 1960s till its closure in 1994. Many of the central figures in development of contemporary dance in the UK and abroad began their careers or honed their skills at The Place and in the LCDT.

The Place hosted RCDL's March 2023 event On the And: Honouring the Legacy of Sir Robert Cohan CBE providing significant in-kind production support including venue and studio use. 

The Place Chief Executive Clare Conner played a crucial role in the formation of RCDL and has continued offering her time and support as a member of the RCDL Advisory Board. 

The Martha Graham Dance Company was founded in 1926 and will be celebrating their 100th year with a 3 year series of performances and events, including works by Sir Robert Cohan. Martha Graham was a prime force in the shaping of the art world throughout the 20th century. Her life and work inspired generations of artists in dance and many other disciplines. 

As a young man returning from WWII, Cohan found his way to the Graham studio and the trajectory of his life was forever set. Cohan became a principal dancer with the company and served for a period as co-director. Cohan evolved and developed his own approach to the art but the influence of Graham on Cohan's choreography, technique and teaching style is immeasurable. 

In 2014 Cohan's life and contribution to the Graham Company's development and history was honoured with an evening of performances at the Graham Studios. 

MGDC Artistic Director Janet Eilber has contributed advice and given in-kind support for RCDL and its mission, including providing performance footage of Graham dancers performing Cohan works for RCDL events and the website. 

Yolande Yorke-Edgell formed the Yorke Dance Project (YDP) in 1998 in Los Angeles before relocating to the UK in 2009. Yolande began a productive collaboration with Sir Robert Cohan in 2013.

Over an 8-year period, Cohan restaged existing works for YDP and created original works for the company. Lingua Franca and a solo from Communion were performed as part of RCDL's On the And at The Place Theatre in March 2023.

Cohan's last choreographic work was entitled Afternoon Conversations with Dancers created  almost entirely on Zoom by the 95 year-old choreographer during the Covid-19 lockdown period. This series of seven solos were filmed on location and originally titled Lockdown Portriats. It has since been renamed Seven Portraits.

In 2015 Yolande worked with Cohan and composer Eleanor Alberga to present the Cohan Collective residencies for professional dancers, choreographers, composers and musicians. In November 2021 YDP presented a full evening programme entitled Connecting to Cohan at the Royal Opera House's Linbury Theatre.

YDP continues to perform Cohan works as part of their repertoire, and the films are regularly screened at venues throughout the UK. Yolande contributed her time and expertise as a key advisor during the formation of RCDL and continues as a valued partner and consultant. 

Middlesex University (MDX) is a comprehensive public research institution located in Hendon, UK.

The university has an outstanding dance programme and has provided significant in-kind support for RCDL's activities and mission. MDX also hosted the pilot programme for the Cohan Collective in 2015. 

Cohan had a long-term relationship with the university and received an honorary doctorate from MDX in 1994. 

In 2012, Cohan accompanied MDX Professor Chris Bannerman and Associate Professor Anne Donnelly to the Beijing Dance Academy (BDA). He taught, lectured and observed classes at BDA.

Cohan was appointed as a Visiting Professor at MDX in 2014 at the age of 89. He conducted master classes and was a welcomed guest lecturer in the dance programme. He worked directly with final year students performing some of his classic works including Forest, Stabat Mater and Tzaikerk. 

The Royal Swedish Ballet School (RSBS) provides the most prestigious education in classical ballet and contemporary dance in Sweden. Founded 250 years ago, it continues to train versatile dancers in all genres. 

RSBS first performed Stabat Mater in 2018. Cohan worked directly with school’s tutors and former LCDT dancer and current RCDL co-director Anne Donnelly in mounting the production, including adjusting the costume design and colour palette to suit the young performers.

Under the stewardship of RSBS Artistic Director and Vice Principal Cecilia Selander, the RSBS dancers travelled to London to perform their deeply moving restaging of Stabat Mater for On the And at The Place Theatre in March 2023. 

The Abderrahim Crickmay Charitable Settlement (ACCS) was set up in 1991 by the renown photographer Anthony Crickmay to honour the memory of his life partner Abdou Doulaki. The charity assists UK organisations and individual artists associated with the dance world. 

The careers of Cohan and Crickmay were often entwined and the two remained dear friends for decades. Crickmay often photographed Cohan's work and individual members of the LCDT. He also created some of the most memorable and piercing portraits of Cohan.  

Cohan once noted that a Crickmay dance photograph was "not just a photograph of a dance but a photograph about dance.” The same might be said of a Crickmay portrait. He used the lens to capture not just an image, but to convey something much deeper about the person.

In 2017, a few short years before Crickmay passed in January 2020, the V&A held an exhibition of his work. Crickmay personally accompanied Cohan to view the exhibition. The two had not seen each other for several years and the event rekindled their friendship.  

In keeping with that important friendship and creative collaboration, the RCDL is pleased to have a working relationship with the ACCS.     

Founded in 2011, Eliot Smith Dance (ESD) is an award winning dance company based in Gateshead, England. The company has performed widely in North East, UK and performed in New York, Paris and Rome.

Founder and Creative Director Eliot Smith draws on the technical training of Martha Graham and the influences of contemporary and modern dancers and choreographers that evolved from Graham's work.

While studying at the London Contemporary Dance School, Smith had a chance to discuss his interests and ambitions with Cohan. Cohan suggested Smith study at the Graham school in New York. The advice was taken and Smith spent a short but highly influential period studying in residence at the Martha Graham Dance School.

In addition to building a repertoire company, Smith is committed to providing audiences with the opportunity to explore the history and development of the art form through a series of public events centered on key dance pioneers. 

ESD has presented Martha Graham in partnership with the Martha Graham Dance Company (2021) and Paul Taylor in partnership with Paul Taylor Dance Company (2023) at Newcastle College, Performance Academy in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, funded by Arts Council England.

RCDL and ESD are currently developing plans for an ESD Presents: Sir Robert Cohan CBE to be held in July 2025. Further details and announcements expected in 2024.