Lowry Appoints Eva Martinez As Associate Programmer For Dance
Salford venue announces leadership transition following Eckhard Thiemann’s retirement.
Lowry has announced the appointment of Eva Martinez as its new Associate Programmer for Dance. Martinez will join the organisation following the retirement of Eckhard Thiemann, who led Lowry’s dance programme for more than a decade.
Martinez is a performing arts curator, dramaturge, and leadership coach with extensive experience across the UK and international dance sector. She was most recently Artistic Programmer and Head of Artist Development at Sadler's Wells, where she curated programmes focused on artist development and introduced a new generation of choreographers and companies to large-scale stages. Earlier in her career, she served as Dance and Performance Programmer at Southbank Centre and worked with Dance4 (now FABRIC) in Nottingham.
In addition to her programming work, Martinez is a Clore Leadership Fellow, Chair of Pagrav Dance Company, and a Trustee of FABRIC in the Midlands. Her practice is widely recognised for its inclusive and facilitative approach, with a focus on equity, social justice, and artistic expansion.
Martinez’s appointment follows the retirement of Eckhard Thiemann, whose tenure helped establish Lowry’s dance programme as a significant platform for national and international work. Under his leadership, Lowry became a key presenting venue for major touring companies alongside emerging artists.
Steve Cowton and Matthew Eames, Co-Heads of Theatre at Lowry, said the organisation was grateful for Thiemann’s contribution and described Martinez as “exactly the right person” to continue developing the programme. They noted her experience as a programmer, producer, and dramaturg as central to Lowry’s future dance strategy.
Martinez said she is looking forward to bringing her curatorial expertise to Lowry, collaborating with artists and colleagues, and building on the foundations established by her predecessor during a challenging period for the arts sector.
Highlights of Lowry’s 2026 dance programme include MAN in association with Dance Consortium, Tellus by Dickson MBI, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Don Quixote, Ballet Black, Northern Ballet’s Gentleman Jack, the return of Rambert, and New Adventures productions including Matthew Bourne’s The Car Man and Cinderella.
Lowry is a registered charity based in Salford, presenting theatre, dance, music, comedy, and visual arts, alongside an extensive commissioning and artist development programme. Recent co-commissions include Operation Mincemeat, Peaky Blinders (with Rambert), Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead (with Complicité), and 42 Balloons.
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