For millions of little girls their first experience of performing is having their chubby limbs encased in a leotard and hair scraped firmly back as they stand in a row at the bar, trying to mirror their ballet teacher.

For Jasmin Vardimon, word-renowned dance company founder and associate artist at Sadler’s Wells since 2006, it was quite a different experience altogether.

Born in the creative hub of a kibbutz in Israel, her grandfather was a poet, her father a theatre director and Jasmin was surrounded by creativity and freedom of expression from a young age.

So I was astonished to discover that not only did the dance world almost miss out to sport, but that she didn’t even start learning ballet until she was a teenager.

“As a child I did many different things,” explains the Crouch End resident. “I was training for the 2000 Olympic Games for long-distance running and did gymnastics and many things. I only started dancing when I was 14 and loved it right away. I wouldn’t say I had talent, but I worked very hard, as you have to as a dancer, and I still am.”

Despite her passion, the dance world almost missed out again when Jasmin had to complete two years of compulsory military service, and then decided to start courses in anthropology and psychology.

But her creative side won out and she dropped her studies to join Israel’s Kibbutz Dance Company for five years and in the early ‘90s began choreographing her own work, with her third piece being awarded the prestigious British Council On the Way to London Choreography Award in 1995.

She moved to the UK permanently in 1997, founding her company at the same time, after falling in love with now husband Guy Bar-Amotz, who was studying at Goldsmiths.

The mother-of-one has gone on to become a leading light in the dance world, her work tackling gritty subjects such as the Holocaust (she is a third generation survivor). Her piece Park, is about to be performed at Sadler’s Wells and looks at homelessness, community and alienation.

Set on a piece of public land in London, that has just been sold to a private investor, young lovers wrestle in a historic fountain, a graffiti artist sprays his story, a busker finds his only appreciative audience in a bag lady, and a flag-waving bully rants worn-out political beliefs, set to a heady soundtrack of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Brian Eno and Fiona Apple.

“The original piece was created in 2004 and at the time I was living in south London and my work is always triggered by observing contemporary society, “ explains Jasmin.

“I was interested in homelessness and belonging and I feel like all those concerns that I dealt with are even more relevant now than they were in the world then and even more important.”

Jasmin says she loves the diversity of dance in London but she never concerns herself with competing with other companies, preferring to focus on making it relevant to everyone.

“I think my work is very accessible. It’s very theatrical and I think that means people understand it and we use spoken word and text and deal with subjects that concern a lot of people.”

But Jasmin is very clear that it is about encouraging the audience to think – rather than providing answers herself.

“The homeless in Park ask for spare love not change and that’s a statement in itself. I believe a lot of these people need someone to care for them more than the cash.

“There’s no one solution,” she adds, “these subjects are bigger than that, otherwise they would have been solved many years ago.”

For her the cast, made up of eight performers from eight different countries, is integral to the piece, which was developed through discussion of their personal experiences of the issues.

“I haven’t personally experienced homelessness or any of the issues, but I have observed a lot of those around me. We all see homelessness in the street, the question is why are they there and how do we deal with them?”

It is this responsibility of art to inspire new ways of thinking in audiences that guides Jasmin when she is looking for dancers to join her company.

“I’m looking for versatility and some maturity as the hardest thing can be for them to let go of what they know and learn new ways of expression.”

She adds: “The best advice I ever had was from my dad when I was quite young and I always carry it with me. It was to always feed my curiosity and listen to it.

“I think that is good advice to any creative person.”

  • Sadler’s Wells, Rosebery Avenue, Islington, November 10 and 11. Details: 0844 4124300, sadlerswells.com