Artist Spotlight: Stefania Pinato and Amarnah Ufuoma Cleopatra

Each week, we’re shining a light on the incredible artists we collaborate with at The Middle Floor. We work on a diverse range of projects with our artists – and now, it’s time for you to get to know more about the artists behind the work.

Who are you, and how would you describe your work?

We’re Stefania Pinato and Amarnah Ufuoma Cleopatra — two freelance dance artists based in Leeds & London. As a duo, our collaborative practice lives at the intersection of dance, theatre, activism, and storytelling. What binds us is a desire to create space for vulnerable, often silenced experiences, using performance as a tool for both personal healing (ours and the audience’s) and collective change. Our latest joint piece, WOMB PARTY, is a dance-theatre show born from our shared experiences with abortion and reproductive choice. It's full of joy, rage, softness, humour — and driven by the belief that art can be a place where shame is shed and agency is reclaimed.

How would you describe your approach to creating or preparing for a new project or idea?

Our process is always rooted in conversation — honest, sometimes messy and complex, but always real. WOMB PARTY actually began in a dressing room when Stefania opened up about an unwanted pregnancy, and Amarnah shared her own story of abortion. That exchange sparked a fire and became the foundation for a much larger idea. From there, we embarked on deep research — not just into personal narratives but into history, legislation, community activism, medicine and embodied knowledge.

We brought in collaborators across disciplines: writer, set and costume designer, choreographic mentor, social justice practitioner, composers, producer and even healthcare professionals. This allowed the work to develop through multiple lenses — not only as a performance but also as a tool for education and community care. We also paid close attention to how we held space for one another. Dance breaks, energy healing, therapy, check-ins — these weren’t extras, they were essential. They helped us approach heavy themes with a sense of safety, curiosity, and even joy.

Are there any themes or ideas you find yourself returning to in your work?

Because WOMB PARTY is our first collaboration, the themes we’ve explored together are specific to this piece, but they’re themes we both feel deeply connected to in our wider practices as well. Reproductive justice, choice, power, shame, and resilience sit at the centre of this work. 

With WOMB PARTY, we wanted to create a space where stories that are often silenced, like abortion, could be shared without shame. And not just shared, but celebrated. We’re interested in how tenderness, laughter, and community can act as powerful forms of resistance. Sometimes that looks like a quiet moment of care, and other times it looks like glitter, dancing, and throwing a party. For us, that range, the emotional fullness of it, is what makes the work political.

What has been one of the most rewarding projects you’ve worked on, and why?

WOMB PARTY is our first collaboration together, and without a doubt, it’s been one of the most rewarding creative experiences either of us has had. The piece was born from a place of real vulnerability and care, sparked by a candid conversation about our own experiences with abortion. What began as a personal exchange has grown into a full-length show that uses dance, theatre, and humour to invite audiences into a tender but defiant conversation about reproductive justice.

Premiering the work has been incredibly moving — both in how it's been received and in how it’s allowed us to reimagine what support, choice, and storytelling can look like in dance spaces. We’re not rushing into the next thing. Right now, our focus is on touring WOMB PARTY more widely, sharing it with new audiences, and continuing to build the momentum around the conversations it’s sparked.

Alongside the performance, we co-created: Navigating Abortion and Returning to Physical Activity, a guide for dancers returning to movement after an abortion in partnership with One Dance UK. It’s been incredibly rewarding to see this tool come to life, and now we’re focused on distributing it through dance schools, theatres, and dance houses across the UK and beyond.

How do you balance creative work with the more practical aspects of being a working artist?

Balance? Ha! As freelance dance artists, our lives feel more like a rollercoaster  — at times we’re sprinting between rehearsals, performances, admin, marketing, fundraising, producing, creating, back to back meetings, teaching, playing Tetris with your calendar. Other days? Just us and our foam roller in the living room, watching Netflix and wondering if we still have a career. It’s a full-on performance one minute, and a slow-motion pause the next. All or nothing. 

In other words we perform and collaborate widely, dancing for various artists and choreographers, along side creating and touring Womb Party. Beyond that Stefania works as a rehearsal director with Scottish Dance Theatre and Amarnah is a unit leader for one of the MA courses at London Contemporary Dance School. These roles allow us to stay grounded in movement practice while also contributing to wider dance ecosystems. 

Are there any upcoming projects you're currently working on or where we can next see you?

Absolutely! Here’s where you can catch us next:

• Stefania will be performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in In the Bushes, a new duet created with choreographer Léa Tirabasso. 

• Amarnah is currently touring with Punk Alley by Moxie Brawl, the next performance scheduled for 25 July at Latitude Festival. 

Meanwhile, WOMB PARTY continues to grow: we're planning more shows and making sure the dancer's guide reaches communities across the UK.