In Conversation with Joe Powell-Main (via Zoom)

📷Sian Trenberth

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DATE :  Monday 11th August 2025, at 7pm 🇬🇧  

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Joe Powell-Main is a disabled freelance dancer and choreographer from Mid-Wales.
Before acquiring his disability Joe trained locally in Mid-Wales and on the Royal
Ballet School and Elmhurst Ballet School Associate programmes. He then
progressed to full time vocational training at The Royal Ballet School White Lodge for
three and a half years, where injuries cut his time there short. Whilst training as a
young student he had the opportunity to perform with companies such as English
Youth Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and The Royal Ballet, as well as a special
dance and drama performance attended by HRH Princess Alexandra during the
diamond Jubilee year.

After leaving White Lodge Joe stopped dancing all together following complications
due to his injuries and being involved in a serious car accident which led to him
acquiring his disability. After a period of significant personal challenge Joe found his
way back to dance through Latin and Ballroom competitions for wheelchair users
and throughout his competitive career, he won a total of fifteen gold medals some of
which were with his sister Holly, as the UK National Para Dance Champions in the
combi freestyle category for three years in a row.

Joe furthered his training first through a performing arts course in college and then a
BA (Hons) in Dance and Performance at The Arden School of Theatre from which he
graduated from in 2020 with a First-class degree. During his final year he undertook
an apprenticeship with Ballet Cymru which then transitioned into him becoming the
first full time member of the company to be a wheelchair and crutch user.

In recent years Joe has continued to grow in his career as a freelance dancer and
choreographer. He is the first visibly disabled dancer to have performed as a guest
artist with the Royal Ballet and he has continued to develop his professional
relationship with the Royal Ballet and Opera as a choreographer and dancer, on
different projects including the Learning and Participation programme. He also
recently performed with Northern Ballet as a Guest Artist in Victory Dance
choreographed by Kristen McNally in both Leeds and performances at The Linbury
with the opening night being attended by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. In Autumn
2024 he conducted a Research and Development project in collaboration with
Scottish Ballet as both choreographer and Dance Artist.

Joe continues to advocate for access and inclusion both in dance and everyday life
and highlights the continued importance of this through his teaching work and charity
patronships, and trustee positions for different dance organisations.
In 2025 he officially created JPM productions a new part of his freelance career,
which had existed unofficially since 2022. JPM productions is dedicated to creating
new dance work both through independent projects and in collaboration with leading
dance companies, with an aim to develop high quality, accessible, inclusive and
innovative dance works.

Professional credits include: Apprentice and Company Dancer at Ballet Cymru
(2019 – 2021), Guest Artist with The Royal Ballet for 2021 Paralympic Homecoming
performance and The Sleepwalker, Company dancer for projects with Southpaw
Dance Company, Sweetshop Revolution, Propel Dance and Humans Move,
Choreographer and performer for Undone for One Young World 2022,
Choreographer and performer for Learning and Participation programme for The
Royal Ballet and Opera, Guest Artist with Northern Ballet for 2024/25 production
of Three Short Ballets, Choreographer and Dance Artist for The Armed Man a
research and development project with Scottish Ballet , Choreographer, Performer
for Lady of Llyn y Fan Fach a work in progress for Arrive at Home 2025
presented by Ransack Dance. Upcoming engagements include working as a
choreographer and performer for events as part of The Royal Ballet Learning and
Participation Programme and a Guest Artist for New Works Ballet Theatre
summer production of Wuthering Heights in which Joe will be portraying the role of
Heathcliff.

For this London Ballet Circle event Joe will be sharing further information about his
journey, having conversations about challenging the stereotypes within dance and
classical ballet as well his hopes for the future.
More information about Joe can be found at www.joepowellmain.com
And a link to support his new Venture JPM Productions can be found here:
https://gofund.me/9913d755

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*** The ZOOM event is FREE to LBC members ***

Non-members are welcome to join by booking below.