UPLIFT 2025 Artists Announced
13 August 2025Our Artist Development programme for dance makers in the North West of England continues, as we proudly announce Matthew & Bren, and Hui-Hsin Lu and Hui Jing, as our UPLIFT 2025 artists.
Matthew & Bren, and Hui-Hsin Lu and Hui Jing, will be in residence at Company Chameleon for four weeks this Autumn.
Working from our studio, the artists will focus on developing their choreographic talent and creating a new performance piece, supported and mentored by Chameleon’s creative team.
Our UPLIFT artists will then showcase and perform their new work at our November platform event on Friday 21 November at Company Chameleon in Openshaw. (Tickets on sale soon)
Matthew & Bren is a collaboration between Matthew Rawcliffe (he/him) and Holly ‘Bren’ Brennan (she/her), known as Bren on this collaboration.
Matthew is a dance artist based between Manchester and Copenhagen. He has an MA specialising in Inclusive Practice and Immersive Performance and won the contemporary category of BBC Young Dancer. Matthew recently played the title role in Pinocchio at the Danish Royal Theatre.
A Manchester born dance artist, Bren, is interested in work that expresses a humanness whilst celebrating the rigour and articulation of the body, which led her to tour and perform with companies including Hofesh Shechter II Company and Musiktheater Im Revier ‘MiR’ Dance Company.
Talking about the collaboration, Bren said, “ Matthew and I worked together as teenagers in a promotional photoshoot for Company Chameleon back in 2016, so being part of UPLIFT now feels especially meaningful! We’re thrilled to be supported in this new creation together and are particularly looking forward to working in the warm and welcoming studios of Company Chameleon that have been such a vivid part of our individual artistic journeys.”
Matthew said, “I’ve been joining Chameleon classes since I was sixteen and I first met Holly at a CAT taster day at The Lowry when I was 15, so this is a very exciting full circle moment to be together as part of UPLIFT!”
Our other UPLIFT artists for 2025 is also a collaboration, this time between Hui-Hsin Lu (she/her) and Hui Jing (he/him).
Hui-Hsin Lu is a choreographer and movement artist exploring social issues and personal identity through interdisciplinary performance. Blending dance, installation, video and immersive forms, she draws from different disciplines to create new vocabulary. Rooted in her cultural background, she questions the boundaries between body, space and the audience.
Hui-Hsin Lu said, “I’m really looking forward to using this residency to deepen the visual and thematic elements of my project, Me, myself, and I, particularly the interaction between lighting, visibility, and movement. This opportunity comes at an ideal time in the project’s development, and I’m excited to test ideas in a supported environment. Having access to time, space, and guidance through UPLIFT opens up new possibilities to push the work further, explore bolder choices, and ultimately bring the piece closer to its full potential.”
Hui Jing is a Lancaster-based dance artist and PhD researcher, who began dance training at Beijing Dance Academy from middle school and is currently pursuing a PhD at Lancaster University. Hui Jing has performed across various European countries with the Beijing Dance Academy, Confucius Institute, and the INNOPRAKTIKA SCHOOL. His artistic practice and research are dedicated to transcultural dance, exploring the boundaries and integration between different cultures, disciplines, and media.
Hui Jing said, “Company Chameleon is a company I have long admired. I am truly delighted and excited to further develop my fluorescent costume series during this residency with Hui-Hsin. In this project, I hope to deepen my exploration of the relationship between light, body, and music, creating works with strong visual impact.”
UPLIFT demonstrates Company Chameleon’s commitment to raising the bar for dance in the region where we live, and supporting dance artists with different voices, histories and stories to flourish and grow. We’re excited to support this year’s UPLIFT artists and we’re looking forward to working with them this Autumn!
Find out more about our UPLIFT artists on Instagram (links below) and keep an eye on our socials for tickets for our November platform on Friday 21 November, which presents the opportunity to watch new work by our UPLIFT 2025 artists.
@hollybr
@matthewrawcliffe
@luhuihsinn
@hui_jing.dance
Photo credits: No.1 – Holly ‘Bren’ Brennan by Angelina Gorgaeva | No.3 – Holly ‘Bren’ Brennan by Tim Dunk | No.2 & 4 – Matthew Rawlinson | No.5, 6, 7 & 8 – Hui-Hsin Lu ? No.9 Hui Jing