Episode 26: Ayesha Mailey & Kelly Quigley

This week on the podcast, we speak with Ayesha Mailey and Kelly Quigley, ensemble members of Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company.
Following up on our previous episode with Echo Echo’s Artistic Director, Steve Batts, we dive deeper into the challenges currently facing the company and its members as the future of Echo Echo remains uncertain.

Ayesha and Kelly share their personal journeys—beginning in the company’s youth dance programme and growing into their roles as professional dancers and artists. They reflect on the impact Echo Echo has had on their lives and the wider artistic community, and what’s at stake in this critical moment.

Echo Echo Dance Theatre Company is based in Derry, Northern Ireland, with its home studios located in Waterloo House on the city’s historic Walls.Founded in Amsterdam in 1991 by Ursula Laeubli and Steve Batts, the company toured extensively throughout Europe before relocating to Derry in 1997. Since then, Echo Echo has become a cornerstone of the region’s cultural life.Echo Echo operates as an ensemble, favouring collaborative and co-operative working methods. Its core group of artists is committed to long-term collaboration and mutual support.The company creates touring performances, site-specific and event-based productions, a festival of dance and movement, a vibrant programme of artistic residencies, performances by visiting artists and companies, and a wide variety of participatory projects.Echo Echo’s work defies rigid stylistic categorisation. Rather than adhering to a single aesthetic, the company approaches dance as the art of poetic movement—similar to how poetry relates to everyday speech. This broad, inclusive approach enables meaningful participation across a wide spectrum of communities and experience levels.Echo Echo is deeply committed to high-quality artistic practice and to making dance accessible. The company rejects a rigid distinction between “professional” and “participatory” work, instead fostering numerous ways for people to engage with the art form.Echo Echo works with diverse groups including pre-school children and parents, schools and youth organisations, people with learning or physical disabilities, older adults, professional dancers, and multidisciplinary artists.Connect with us:⁠Instagram:⁠   / confession_boxcollective  ⁠Website⁠⁠: https://confessionboxcollective.com/⁠Facebook⁠: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...⁠LinkedIn: .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}