
BA (Hons) Contemporary Dance
Course details
Introduction
Our three-year BA (Hons) Contemporary Dance prepares you for a life-long career in contemporary dance by giving you the opportunity to acquire the technical, creative and performance skills needed to become an individual and versatile dance artist. Our graduates find work as dancers, choreographers, teachers, facilitators, directors and curators amongst many other dance related professions. The programme will also help you gain the contextual and critical understanding of how dance can shape and influence the wider creative industries and benefit society.
Key Features
Working with leading international dance practitioners you will engage in a range of performance projects. This involves the creation of new choreography as well as the restaging of existing repertoire investigating movement and dance in its historical, socio-political, and cultural contexts. Training in contemporary dance techniques including Hip Hop and ballet will further equip you with the finely tuned skills, flexibility and inquisitive mindset required to respond to the current developments within the artform of contemporary dance.
Over the three years you will collaborate across artforms and explore different creative modes such as dance in galleries, site-specific dance, dance film or community engaged dance. You will develop your own artistic practice and perform in your own and other students’ projects. You will participate in traditional and more experimental showcases aimed at specific audiences or the general public including your family, friends and industry experts.
You will be introduced to dance pedagogy in your first year and have the option to further specialise in this field in the second and third year. Electives, industry placements, master classes and an independent project in your third year will allow you to tailor your course to areas of your personal interest and will set you up for a successful transition into the profession.
Key Facts
- UCAS
- 200F
- Location
- Laban Building
- Duration
- 3 years (Full-time)
- Start Date
- September
Fees
Audition fees
There is no audition fee for this course. You will only need to pay the UCAS Conservatoires administration fee of £28.50 for 2025 entry.
2024-25
- Dance audition fee 24/25
- No charge
- BA Contemporary Dance (Full-time) 24-25
- Home £9,250 International £21,860
- BA Contemporary Dance Foundation Entry (Full-time) 24-25
- Home £9,250 International £21,860
- Info 24/25
- Fees represent 2024/25 year only, programmes with more than one year are subject to fee increases after the first year
2025-26
- Dance audition fee 25/26
- No charge
- BA Contemporary Dance (Full-time) 25-26
- Home £9,535 International £22,520
- BA Contemporary Dance Foundation Entry (Full-time) 25-26
- Home £9,535 International £22,520
- Info 25/26
- Fees represent 2025/26 year only, programmes with more than one year are subject to fee increases after the first year
2026-27
- Dance audition fee 26-27
- No charge
- BA Contemporary Dance Full Time
- Home £TBC* International £23,420 *Tuition fees for Home students are aligned with the maximum tuition fee cap set by the UK Government (£9535 in 25/26)
- Info 26/27
- Fees represent 2026/27 year only, programmes with more than one year are subject to fee increases after the first year.
Key Dates
Applications open on UCAS Conservatoires
Undergraduate on-time deadline (late applications will be considered)
Undergraduate audition period
Welcome Week
Autumn Term
Spring Term
Summer Term
Detailed Information
You’ll study on the BA (Hons) Contemporary Dance course on a full-time basis, over three consecutive years. The curriculum integrates technical practices, creative practices, performance and contextual knowledge to support your development as an independent learner and dance artist.
Year 1 is designed to support the smooth transition into higher education by introducing new ways of working, building strong foundational knowledge and fostering a feeling of community and belonging for all our students.
Year 1 Components:
- Dance Techniques 1 (Release Technique, Hip Hop styles, Ballet, Cunningham Technique, Partnering skills, Improvisation for Technique and further dance techniques through project-based intensives)
- Complementary Embodied Practices 1 (Experiential Anatomy, Pilates, Yoga)
- Physical Awareness and Development 1 (Topics include safe dance practice such as physiological warm-up and cool-down, injury prevention, nutrition and psychological skills for dancers)
- Choreography 1
- Improvisation
- Choreology 1
- CoLab (collaborative project between dance, music and musical theatre students)
- Performance Projects
- Leading and Facilitating
- Research Methods 1
- Historical Perspectives on Dance
Year 2 further encourages versatility and risk-taking in all core areas of the curriculum with an opportunity to embark on an element of individual interest in either film, music collaboration, performance design or teaching within community practice. All students undertake an industry placement of their choice and have the option to participate in our international exchange programme in the first term.
Year 2 Components:
- Dance Techniques 2 (Dynamic Floorwork, Ballet, Release Technique, Hip Hop styles, Cunningham Technique, Classical Indian Dance forms and further dance techniques through project-based intensives)
- Complementary Embodied Practices 2 (Capoeira, Pilates, Body Conditioning and Feldenkrais)
- Physical Awareness and Development 2
- Choreography 2
- Contact Improvisation
- Choreology 2
- CoLab
- Dance Repertory Project
- Industry Placement
- Research Methods 2
- Cultural Perspectives on Dance
- Electives: Dance and Film, Performance Design (costume and lighting), Dance and Music collaboration or Teaching (community and schools)
Year 3 is designed to facilitate the creation of a personally relevant portfolio of work, to delve deeper into the development of an individual artistic voice and to prepare for the transition into the professional context.
Year 3 Components:
- Dance Techniques 3 (Release Technique, Hip Hop styles, Ballet, Cunningham Technique, Partnering skills, a range of current practitioner-based techniques and company-style classes)
- Complementary Embodied Practices 3 (Voice work, Yoga)
- Commissioned Works and Tour
- Industry Engagement (entrepreneurship, masterclasses, audition coaching, talks with industry specialists)
- Independent Research Project
- Research Methods 3
- Options: Further engagement with either Choreography, Performance or Teaching
Entry Requirements
Our application process is designed to help us find out about your individual interest in and passion for a career within contemporary dance. We are looking for dancers from all dance backgrounds to join our programme. As an applicant you will have experience in contemporary dance or any other dance form and meet the academic requirements listed below.
To study with us you’ll need:
5 GCSEs 9-4 (or A*-C)
One of the following:
Two A Levels at Grade E or above.
Level 3 BTEC Extended Diploma (PPP)
For International students, International Baccalaureate and other equivalent diplomas (e.g. USA High School Diploma and Abitur) are recognised. Alternatives may be considered.
If you do not have the standard academic requirements, we might be able to consider alternative qualifications. Please contact our admissions team in this case on Admissions@psychraph.online
Auditions
The audition workshops will allow you to demonstrate your potential to acquire the technical and creative dance skills and develop the versatility and resourcefulness needed within the professional sector of contemporary dance and the creative industries more broadly. All applicants will be invited to join the following sessions on one of our audition days within our positive and friendly atmosphere:
Release-based warm up and technique class
Creative workshop
One additional class of your choice (either Ballet or Hip Hop)
An individual interview
All applicants participate in the full day. You do not need to bring any prepared materials, and we do not expect that you have experience in all elements. We will assess your application based on your engagement with the range of classes and your ability to respond to tasks, potential challenges and the teachers’ feedback.
If you cannot attend auditions in person, you can submit recordings of yourself. The recordings are auditioned in the same way as live auditions and are considered by relevant tutors. These applications are submitted using Embark. For more information see Dance Auditions.
English language requirements (if applicable):
IELTS (General or Academic Training) minimum 5.5 in all four areas; or B2 First (Cambridge English) minimum 160 in all four areas; or Trinity College London – Integrated Skills in English level II or above. For alternative tests and possible exemptions please our English Language Requirements page.
If you require a Student visa to study in the UK you may require a Secure English Language Test (SELT). More information can be found here.
Staff
Programme Leaders

Stephanie Schober
Programme Leader
Learn about Stephanie Schober

Stephanie Schober
Stephanie studied Medicine at the Humboldt University in Berlin and Dance Theatre at Trinity Laban. A recipient of the Bonnie Bird New Choreography Award she founded Stephanie Schober & Dance Company in 2002 and became a resident dance artist at Southbank Centre in 2003.
Biography
Supported by the Arts Council England, she has since then created numerous productions for her company, of which many are interdisciplinary collaborations with a particular focus on movement, the visual arts and sound. Her work so far has toured to theatres and other performance spaces in the UK and abroad in Belgium, Ireland, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Sweden and Spain.
Stephanie has a passion for and extensive experience in teaching in community, vocational training and professional development contexts. She has been commissioned to create works for students at Northampton University, London Metropolitan University, The Place, Northern School of Contemporary Dance and Trinity Laban. In 2014 she initiated ‘Locus’, a professional development project for dance and performance artists in the East of England.

Amanda Gough
Programme Coordinator
Learn about Amanda Gough

Amanda Gough
Amanda trained as a dancer at Laban and Florida State University. She has danced for (among others) Clare Baker, Mothers of Invention and Erica Stanton. Amanda Gough and Sonia Rafferty formed Double Vision in 1997 and have choreographed numerous works together most recently, recipice (2022) for BA3 Commissioned Work. Amanda’s dance film Grace Notes (2011) has been screened in festivals in the UK, Uruguay, USA and Brazil.
Amanda also works as a freelance dancer, teacher and choreographer.
Biography
Qualifications / Educational Background
- BA Dance Theatre from Laban
- MFA in Dance from Florida State University
- Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Creative Outputs
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Performing:
1992-4: Florida State University graduate shows, including; Jeff Slayton “ Don’t Fear the Fire”, Doris Humphrey “Brandenburg Concerto no 4” , Martha Graham “Steps in the Street”
1997: Rafferty & Gough “Sonnet: The Better Angel” The Place, Jackson’s Lane, Roehampton, Laban
2001: Clare Baker, “Flock” Bloomsbury
Mothers of Invention – “My Mother, My Daughter, Myself”, Roehampton, Chichester, lilian Baylis, Laban
2002: Amanda Gough “12 Steps”, Laban
2003: Erica Stanton “The Gravity of the Situation”, Bedford, Laban
2004: Erica Stanton “ Undercurrents”, installation by Rosie Leventon, Fabrica Gallery, Brighton
Erica Stanton “Matters of Gravity” , The Place
Installation by Rosie Leventon
Choreography:
1992: Hop
1993: Recipe
Shoot the Breeze chosen to represent FSU at the American College Dance Festival (South East Region)
1994: MFA Concert – The Rhythm Method
The Rhythm Method, Hop, Trudge
1995: Chance Encounters for Gloucestershire Youth Dance Group
1996: Paradigm, Paradox, Parallax, Paradiddle for Much Ado
Resolution at The Place
The Edge for Hextable Youth Dance
1997-present: Co-director of Double Vision Dance Company with Sonia Rafferty. “After Images” site specific piece for 50 local children and the Company at Lacock Abbey, commissioned by National Trust/Lacock Education 2003. “Sowing the seeds” site-specific piece for local children and the Company at the Courts Garden, commissioned by National Trust/Lacock Education 2002. “In:site” for Double Vision https://vimeo.com/73867731 and “In:sense” for local community dancers, Millenium Project commissioned by the Derngate Theatre, Northhampton 2000. “Double Vision, Second Sight” full length A4E lottery funded work which also commissioned choreographer Fiona Edwards 1998. “Sonnet” choreographed and performed with Amanda Gough 1997.
2010: Movement direction for finale of Sound Moves, Festival Hall
2011: “The Stone Diaries” (with Sonia Rafferty), TrinityLaban BA3 Commissioned Work. https://vimeo.com/73867731
2011: ’Grace Notes’ , Dance Film screened at Merge Festival, Exeter (March 2011) and New Gallery, London (April 2011), V Sao Carlos Videodance Festival, Sao Paula, Brazil (1-3 October 2011), Third Coast Dance Film Festival USA (September 16th/17th 2011), Festival Internacional de Videodanza del Uruguay (24th-30th October 2011) Slippery Rock University, Pennsylvania (26th April 2012) GLOW Dance Festival Castle Green Hereford (30th June 2012) FiELD UK Dance Film Festival, Stratford Circus (10th August 2014) https://vimeo.com/38087646
2012: Movement Director for Youth Music Voices, Choir performing at WOMAD, Houses of Parliament, Royal Opera House, Velodrome (Olympic Park), Trafalgar Square, Hyde park and Battersea Park
2013: “The 5ecret lives of Numbers”, Trinity Laban BA1 Performance Project https://vimeo.com/73951696
2014: Commission from Brighton and Hove Arts – director/choreographer for a collaborative project music and dance (Feb 2014), working with 6 young dancers aged 16-18 and a string orchestra of 15 young musicians. Performed at Trinity Laban as part of Colab
2014: “Instructions for Folding” Trinity Laban BA1 Performance Project https://vimeo.com/99542948
2015: “Spheres of Influence” (with Sonia Rafferty)Trinity Laban Centre for Advanced Training
2017: choreography/movement direction for Trinity Laban Sinfonia Strings at Laban Theatre
2022: “Precipice” (with Sonia Rafferty) Trinity Laban BA3 Commissioned Work
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Publications
Articles published in Dance UK magazine (2002 – “A Fairy Tale Career?” & 2004 – “Choreographic Observerships – a reflection”) and Dance Matters (2004 – “A Site-Specific Exploration” & 2008 “Dance Captures”)
Presented at Wellcome Trust conference – University of Manchester School of Music and Drama (2004) “Left – choreographic research project”
Redding, E., Baker, C., Clements, L., Gough, A. & Lefebvre Sell, N. (2017). Collaborative research in dance science and creative practice. Labanarium Symposium: Thinking in terms of Movement: Teaching and Researching Movement and Dance in University and Conservatoire Settings, University of Surrey.

Will Aitchison
Programme Coordinator
Learn about Will Aitchison

Will Aitchison
Will trained at London Contemporary Dance School where he gained BA Hons in Contemporary Dance. He then went on to become a member of Transitions Dance Company at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance; a programme that brings together the worlds most exciting choreographers and exceptional young dancers which toured the UK, Japan and Singapore.
Biography
After Transitions Will performed in Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake completing two international tours, a UK tour and a Sadler’s Wells season. He then moved into more project-based work whilst developing an interest in teaching and in 2008 joined Trinity Laban as the Graduate Assistant for Technique.
Since then Will has taught at graduate and undergraduate level as well as many youth and community projects and more recently at Arts Educational Schools, London and as the Lead Teacher for the Centre for Advanced Training at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. He is currently the Programme Leader for Contemporary Dance Foundation Programmes at Trinity Laban and is still performing and choreographing professionally. Will co-founded his own company called Anecdotal Evidence in 2013 and continues to make work under this banner.
Teaching Staff
- Kim Amundsen
Kim Amundsen
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Kim Amundsen
Kim Amundsen
Kim Amundsen trained at the Oslo National Academy of Dance and Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung Ballett Akademie Hochschule fur Musik und Theater in Munich.
He has danced with several global recognised Ballet and contemporary Companies and productions includiding Bavarian State Ballet, Wayne Sleeps World of Classical Ballet, Wayne McGregor’s Random Dance Company, Matthew Bournes Adventure In Motion Pictures Swan Lake (World Tour) Ballet Ireland, Moving Art A Nordic Dance Company, Wildfire, Oslo Danse Ensamble, Traveling by Molly Molloy, Les Ballet de Trockadero, Julius Cesar Opera Lille, Song of the City Akademie, Street Dance the Movie, Three Cities Dance, Speak Easy Secrets by Julia Gleich and many more.
Biography
In 2012 Mr Amundsen graduated from The Royal Academy of Dance, Professional Dancer’s teaching Diploma(PDTD).
As a dance teacher Kim has been teaching Ballet, Contemporary, and Boris kniaseff Floor Barre technique (learned from Jaqueline Fynnaert in Paris) for Ballet and Contemporary Companies and Colleges across the UK and internationally. Such Companies and Organisations include:
Moving Art A Nordic Dance Company, Matthew Bourne’s Adventure In Motion Pictures, Randon Dance Company, The Place, Murley Dance Company, Colin’s Performing Art, Master’s Performing Art, London Studio Centre, Dance East Academy, Pineaple Dance Studio, Central School of Ballet, Oslo Danse Ensamble, GDT(Free daily classes for Professional Dancers, Norway), Baardar Performing Art Academy, Akademi, London Amateur Ballet, D&B School of Performing Arts (head of Ballet). Lecture at Kington University, Dance East CAT, Lecturer of Ballet and Contemporary dance at Trinity Laban Conservetoire of Music and Dance (present) Acosta Dance Centre (present) The Hub studios London (present).
- Kathy Crick
Kathy Crick
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Kathy Crick
Kathy Crick
Kathy teaches Contact Improvisation, Choreography and Performance as a faculty member at Trinity Laban. She has been developing and sharing her practice through creative collaboration, performance and teaching for over 25 years. Her interest is in improvisation as an integrated technical, compositional and performance practice.
Biography
She studied Theatre at Dartington College of Arts in the 80s, where she first encountered Release Dance with Mary Fulkerson and Contact Improvisation with Steve Paxton and Mary Prestidge. As a performer, Kathy has worked with Steve Paxton, Laurie Booth, Yolande Snaith and Motionhouse Dance Theatre, Michael Mayhew, Jia-Yu Corti and Florence Peake. Her practice is also informed by studies in education, psychology, shiatsu, and an MA in Dance and Somatic Well Being.
Kathy’s previous work includes: performing with Motionhouse Dance Theatre, Jai- Yu Corti and Florence Peake; collaborations with choreographer Yolande Snaith and theatre directors Richard Gregory and Tim Wheeler; research and performance-making with choreographer/composer Sarah Goldfarb; site-specific work with composer Charles Hayward; improvised music and dance with composer Paul Bartholemew; and Live Art with Michael Mayhew. Kathy is a member of SoFt, a collective of artists with a mutual curiosity for exploring ensemble performance, CI, and improvised music.
- Jo Cork
Jo Cork
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Jo Cork
Jo Cork
Jo Cork joined Trinity Laban in 2022 as a component leader of the Dance and the Moving Image unit. Additionally she is an academic supervisor on the BA(hons) Contemporary Dance Programme.
Biography
Jo Cork is an independent dance and film artist. She has been working with film and screendance since 2014. She has an an MA in Screendance and has enjoyed working as a performer (with choreographers including Elizabeth Streb, Gary Clarke, Wayne Sables, Tempered Body Dance Theatre, Fleur Darkin and Lea Anderson), as a choreographer, screendance practitioner and filmmaker, and in dance education and community settings.
Since completing the award winning dance film, Sensate, Jo has developed numerous works including films, multi-screen/device and hologram installations, and pieces utilising QR codes and elements of augmented reality. Her works have been shown across the globe in festival settings, art galleries and museums, as well as in less conventional spaces including pubs and restaurants. Collaborators include Zoonation, H2Dance Company, One Dance UK, Candoco, Milap, The Place, Birmingham DanceXchange, Motion Dance Collective, and Divya Kasturi Company, to name a few. “
- Dominic Hamilton
Dominic Hamilton
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Dominic Hamilton
Dominic Hamilton
Creative Producer, Choreographer, and Educator with a diverse portfolio spanning media production, performance, and education.
Known for blending innovative storytelling, cutting-edge choreography, and entrepreneurial vision, he specialise in crafting captivating narratives through visual and physical mediums. With a track record of leading creative projects, mentoring emerging talent, and collaborating with esteemed organisations, he brings a unique perspective to the intersection of dance, media, content and education to BA Dance & Musical Theatre at Trinity Laban.
- Matthew Harding
Matthew Harding
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Matthew Harding
Matthew Harding
Choreographer, Hip Hop International Judge, Mentor, Movement Artist, Facilitator and Dancer.
Matthew Harding is the artistic director for Urban Interface Dance UK bringing an alternative composition to Hip-Hop and Contemporary Dance in theatre, film, and alternative spaces.
Biography
As a choreographer Matthew Harding has received awards for the work, he has produced both independently and with Urban Interface Dance UK. These productions have taken place at theatres throughout the UK and venues such as , Sadlers Wells, Royal Albert Hall, The Place, Brighton Fringe and Internationally.
Matthew Harding is also the founder and director for Wolfpack Dance Collective UK.
Matthew Harding is a well-respected international Judge for Hip Hop International Judging at competitions within Europe and Internationally.
Tina Krasevec
Lecturer in Dance
- Henry Montes
Henry Montes
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Henry Montes
Henry Montes
Henry is a freelance dance maker, performer and teacher. He has performed for many independent choreographers and companies in New York and Europe including Susanne Linke, Reinhild Hoffmann, Keely Garfield, Kirstie Simson, KJ Holmes, Gaby Agis, Charles Linehan, Kate Brown, Rosemary Butcher and Jonathan Burrows Group. Henry is currently a member of Siobhan Davies Dance and was awarded the 2003 Critics Circle National Dance Award For Outstanding Male Artist. He continues to study Yoga and the Alexander Technique and is a registered Craniosacral Therapist.
- Giacomo Pini
Giacomo Pini
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Giacomo Pini
Giacomo Pini
Giacomo is a British-Italian Dance Artist who lives and works in London.
He trained in classical ballet at Arabesque Dance Center (Italy), where he also started to approach voice work, dance theatre and choreography. After completing his Bachelor Degree in Contemporary Dance at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, he was selected to perform with EDge Dance Company for their 2016/2017 season, and graduated from London Contemporary Dance School with a Masters Degree in 2018.
Giacomo currently teaches Ballet and Contemporary techniques on the Foundation and Bachelor Programmes at Trinity Laban. He has been invited as a guest teacher on the Centre of Advanced Training at Trinity Laban, as well as other HE institutions across the UK and internationally.
In recognition to his professional expertise and experience of teaching in Higher Education, Giacomo was awarded the Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA) in June 2022.
Biography
Alongside his own choreographic research, that led him to create and perform site-specific and stage works for venues across the UK and Europe, Giacomo has worked with several choreographers including Eliot Smith, Dora Frankel, Mathieu Geffré, Shobana Jeyasingh and Dam Van Huyn, performing in works for stage and camera as well as delivering a wide range of dance workshops.
Giacomo worked and studied with internationally acclaimed artists such as Jorge Crecis (Towards Vivencia), Katie Lusby (Gecko), David Zambrano (Flying Low) and Hannes Langolf (DV8), whose artistry and teachings influence his current movement research.
Giacomo is also a certified Yoga Instructor and has been teaching in different yoga studios across London since 2019.
Qualifications and awards:
BA (Hons) Contemporary Dance, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
MA Contemporary Dance Performance, London Contemporary Dance School, University of Kent
AFHEA Associate Fellowship Higher Education Academy
Inspire Seminars – The Royal Ballet School
RYTT Dynamic Yoga, The Yoga Edge
- Dr Rebecca Stancliffe
Dr Rebecca Stancliffe
Research Fellow and Lecturer
Learn about Dr Rebecca Stancliffe
Dr Rebecca Stancliffe
BA (Hons) Contemporary Dance, BSc Dance Science, MA/MFA Dance Performance, MA/MFA Dance Leadership and Community Practice, MA/MFA Creative Practice, MSc/MFA Dance Science
Dr Rebecca Stancliffe is a Research Fellow at Trinity working in arts and health, co-production, and digital media. She is also a Lecturer, teaching across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in dance and dance science in the areas of dance technique, contextual studies, and research methods.
Research areas and areas of supervision
- Creative health
- Co-produced research
- Participatory and community practice
- Philosophy of technology and digital methods
- Online and blended environments for learning and creative practice
- Notation, scoring, documentation
- Dance history
Biography
Rebecca has a BA (Hons) in Dance Theatre with First Class Honours from Laban (2008) and an MA in Dance with Distinction from London Contemporary Dance School (2010). She completed her PhD at the Centre of Dance Research in 2019.
Rebecca’s research and evaluation activity focuses on arts and health, participatory arts practices, and digital media and methods. She is the Principal Investigator for ‘The Language of Pain’ (2023-present), a co-produced research project exploring the expression of pain narratives through arts-based methods. Interested in the postphenomenological experience of our encounters with digital media, Rebecca also explores online and blended environments for community arts practice and what best practice looks like.
Rebecca is author of the forthcoming monograph Video Annotation in Dance and Performance (Palgrave Macmillan) and has co-edited special issues of Theatre, Dance and Performance Training (Training for Movement, Physical Activity and Health, 2025) and International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media (Digital Annotation and the Understanding of Bodily Practices, 2021). Her works has been published in International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, Theatre, Dance and Performance Training, [insert name of journal for dance and wellbeing research].
Rebecca’s forthcoming monograph Video Annotation in Dance and Performance (2025, Palgrave Macmillan) explores how we can work with time-based media to develop the analytic capacity and deep attention of human (rather than computational) subjects. She has co-edited special issues of Theatre, Dance and Performance Training (Training for Movement, Physical Activity and Health, 2025) and International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media (Digital Annotation and the Understanding of Bodily Practices, 2021). Rebecca’s work has been published in edited books (Intellect, Palgrave Macmillan, Routledge) and journals including International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being, and Theatre, Dance and Performance Training.
She is the Principal Investigator for The Language of Pain (2023-present), a co-produced research project exploring the expression of pain narratives through arts-based methods. Interested in the postphenomenological experience of our encounters with digital media, Rebecca also explores online and blended environments for community arts practice.
Rebecca is an editorial board member for International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media. She is a peer reviewer for International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media, International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices, Journal of Dance Education, and Thinking, Skills and Creativity.
Rebecca has a BA (Hons) in Dance Theatre with First Class Honours from Laban (2008) and an MA in Dance with Distinction from London Contemporary Dance School (2010). She completed her PhD at the Centre of Dance Research in 2019.
Selected publications
Stancliffe, R. (forthcoming, 2025). Video annotation in dance and performance: Attention, thinking and thinking. Palgrave Macmillan.
Stancliffe, R., Wakeling, K., Evans, L. & Howard, S. (2022) ‘Beyond the Walls’: The Artist-Researcher and Performative Dissemination. In R. Prior & T. Fischer (Eds.) Applied Arts and Health, Education and Community: Building Bridges. Intellect.
deLahunta, S., Rittershaus, D., & Stancliffe, R. (2021) Editorial. International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media 17(1), 1-6
Stancliffe, R. (2021) Differentiating (an)notation practices: an artist-scholar’s observation. International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media 17(1), 69-85
Stancliffe, R. (2021) Moving (together) in a distributed setting: The impact of online music and dance delivery for older adults’ lived experience. In L. Bissell & L. Weir (Eds.) Performance in a Pandemic. Routledge.
Stancliffe, R. (2019) Training the Analytical Dance Eye: Video Annotation for Dance. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training 10(2), 273-288
Stancliffe, R. (2018) Video Annotation for the Articulation and Transmission of Dance. In S. Ellis, H. Blades, & C. Waelde, C. (Eds.) A World of Muscle, Bone and Organs. Coventry University, pp. 358-381.
Stancliffe, R. (2018) Mediating and Visualising Steve Paxton’s Material for the Spine. In S. Whatley, R. K. Cisneros, & A. Sabiescu (Eds.) Digital Echoes: Spaces for Intangible and Performance-based Cultural Heritage. Palgrave MacMillan, pp. 213-230
- Simonetta Alessandri
Simonetta Alessandri
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Simonetta Alessandri
Simonetta Alessandri
Simonetta has collaborated as a dancer and choreographer in many Companies in Italy: Jazz Ballet, Encanto, Pudore ben in Vista, Dark Camera, La Fabbrica dell’Attore, MDA. Her choreography has been shown in Italy, UK, Turkey, Japan, and Colombia. Since 1999 MDA Produzioni Danza has produced her choreographies in Italy. Simonetta has been teaching for more than 20 years in Italy (Ballet, Contemporary Dance, Contact Improvisation, Improvisation, and Feldenkrais) and she has also taught in France, Germany, Colombia, Norway, and Israel. She recently moved to London and has taught at London Contemporary Dance School, Moving East, Independent Dance, Goldsmiths and Trinity Laban.
Biography
Simonetta Alessandri studied Ballet, Modern, Contemporary and Jazz dance in Turin (Bella Hutter school and Teatro Nuovo school) in Rome (Mimma Testa school) and she obtained the TC at the Royal Academy of Dance. In the early 90s, she started to study Contact Improvisation and Improvisation with the foremost teachers: S. Paxton, N. Stark Smith, A. Harwood, J. Hamilton, J. Skinner, D. Heitkamp, and R. Saporah. In 2002 she completed a 4-year programme to become a qualified teacher of the Feldenkrais Method. She is currently working on an MA in Choreography at London Contemporary Dance School.
- Luke Birch
Luke Birch
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Luke Birch
Luke Birch
Luke Birch is a lecturer on the BA(Hons) Contemporary Dance programme.
Biography
Luke began his dance training at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and then went on to complete his BA Hons degree at Laban in 2008. In 2009 he joined post graduate dance company Edge at London Contemporary Dance School.
Professionally he has performed for a variety of companies internationally alongside working with visual artists performing in galleries (Tate, Hayward Gallery)
His choreographic work has been shown at Canterbury Festival, Saddlers Wells (Damn Fine Dance at Elixir Festival), The Place, Siobhan Davies Studios, Move it 2016 and Arts Depot.
Luke also has a passion for teaching and has delivered classes and workshops with Greenwich Dance, The Place, Circus Space, Independent Dance, Laban, Surrey University, London Studio Centre, Salzburg Academy of Experimental Dance, Shobana Jeyasingh and Candoco.
- Alice Sara
Alice Sara
Contemporary Technique, Performance and Improvisation Tutor
Learn about Alice Sara
Alice Sara
Alice Sara graduated from London Contemporary Dance School with a first class BA (Hons) degree and joined 4D (LCDS’s postgraduate performance company, now ‘Edge’) where she danced in work by Wayne McGregor, Richard Alston, Yael Flexer and Stephen Hughes, and went on to complete her MA in 2000. On graduating, she became a core member of ‘seven sisters group’, co-devising and performing in major projects in varied locations, including a forest, Selfridges, the Royal Opera House – Clore Studio, European mainline railway stations, and working as both performer and rehearsal director for Like a Fish Out of Water in seven sisters group’s partnership project with English National Ballet. She has also performed nationally and internationally in works by Deborah Hay, Tom Dale, Maresa Von Stockert, Andreja Rauch, and in film and multimedia projects with Deborah Tiso, including the channel 4/Big Dance film Big Sofa . She currently dances with Lizzi Kew Ross & Co, most recently performing Being There in St Paul’s Cathedral.
Biography
Through her extensive performance and creative work, Alice has become increasingly focused on the subtleties and interplay of audience/performer, and the relationship of event and site. This informs her ongoing collaboration with architectural research fellow Dr Rachel Sara, with whom she has co-authored and presented this research in various contexts. These ideas have informed a series of choreographic works including ‘Body Stories in a Peopled Space – v.1 & v.2’ created in collaboration with dance artist Clare Baker and presented at the AHRA Transgressions conference – MShed Bristol, ICA, Blackheath Halls, ‘Rosemary Butcher in the Present Tense’ at Siobhan Davies Studio. Alice and Clare have most recently devised and presented Betweens and Aparts, a collaborative performance project at Tate Exchange in collaboration with Dr Rachel Sara and composer Ronen Kazokoro with Dance and Music students from Trinity Laban and Architecture students from the University of the West of England.
Alice has taught at Trinity Laban for over a decade, teaching Contemporary Dance Technique, Improvisation and Performance. Her technique class aims to develop an articulate, efficient and expressive use of the body in motion, informed through her wide-ranging experience in dance and somatic movement approaches, including her diploma in Pilates Matwork Teaching, and her broad experience of devising and improvisational processes, varied audience/performer relationships and performance contexts influence her approach to rehearsal direction, improvisation and performance mentoring.
Qualifications
- MA – Contemporary Dance – London Contemporary Dance School/University of Kent
- BA (Hons) – Contemporary Dance – London Contemporary Dance School
- Diploma – Art, Media & Design – University of the West of England
- Diploma – Pilates Matwork – The Place/Pilates Foundation
Outputs & Publications
- Sara, A and Sara, R. (2006) ‘Between the Lines – Experiencing Space through dance’ Transactions Vol. 3, Issue 1, April, pp 95-105
- Sara, R in collaboration with Sara, A (2015) Between dance and architecture. In V. Hunter (Ed.), ‘Moving Sites: Investigating Site-Specific Dance Performance’(pp 62-77). London: Routledge.
- Christine Tanner
Christine Tanner
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Christine Tanner
Christine Tanner
Christine Tanner completed her training in 1981 at the Arts Educational Schools and The Royal Ballet School. She has worked with companies including Stadttheater Bern (Switzerland) Scapino Dance Co (Holland), Mark Baldwin Dance Co and Nederlands Dance Theatre.
Biography
As a freelance teacher Christine has taught Rambert Dance Company, NDT 2, Scapino Dance Company, Charleroi Dance Company, Jonathan Burrows Group, AMP, and Scottish Dance Theatre. Christine also teaches on the International Dance Course for professional dancers and choreographers. She teaches Evening classes at the Place in London.
- Rahel Vonmoos
Rahel Vonmoos
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Rahel Vonmoos
Rahel Vonmoos
Rahel Vonmoos is a Swiss/British independent dance maker, performer and lecturer. She has created a substantial body of work, presented in theatres, galleries and site specific places in Europe and USA; at the Hayward Gallery, Dance Umbrella and Spring Loaded Festival in London. Her work To Find a Place, was a Compass Commission 2015, and premiered at GDA in January 2016. Her ongoing research deals with ‘mothers and sinks’. Since 2008 Rahel uses projections in her work.
Biography
Rahel is a certified Body-Mind Centering practitioner and holds an MA in Arts: The Body in Performance. She teaches dance, improvisation and performance practice for different organisations in the UK and abroad. At the moment she is a guest lecturer at Trinity Laban, teaching contemporary technique (BA) and choreography (MA). 2016 she was acting artistic director of Transitions, MA in Performance, and in 2017 acting head for the MA Choreography at Trinity Laban.
Rahel has worked in collaborative contexts, amongst others, with dancer/choreographer Wally Cardona (NY), filmmaker Ruth Schlaepfer (CH) and company Pool (CH).
For over 20 years she worked, amongst others with Rosemary Butcher, Iztok Kovac (for film), Philippe Gehmacher, Charles Linehan, Liz Roche Cie, Ricochet Dance Company. - Marina Collard
Marina Collard
Lecturer in Contemporary Dance
Learn about Marina Collard
Marina Collard
Lecturer in Release Technique.
Biography
Marina works across painting, performance and video, presenting work internationally in galleries, theatres and found sites. After many years of working in the contemporary dance field, she studied for an MFA in Fine Arts in Rome. As a performer, Marina has worked with ceramicist Claire Twomey, Florence Peake, Dog Kennel Hill Project, Carol Brown Dances, CandoCo Dance Company, Joe Moran among others. She has taught in professional and educational settings both nationally and internationally and since 2010, she has worked as a Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist in Hackney, London. Marina finds that both her dance practice and Craniosacral practice inform one another and enrich, as well as deepen, her curiosity about the body.
In recent years, Marina has presented solo and collaborative work in contexts including FESTENFEST at APT (London), Tanz Namedy Festival (Germany), Ambedkar University (Delhi/London), Progetto Esthia (Italy). and in Rome – at La Nuova Pesa, Atelier San Lorenzo, Castello di Rocca Sinibalda and RUFA Space among others.
photo: Rachel Cherry
- Clare Baker
Clare Baker
Choreography, Contemporary Dance Technique, Improvisation and Repertory
Learn about Clare Baker
Clare Baker
Clare has taught widely throughout Europe, Asia, and South Africa, as well as on the independent circuit in London.
Clare holds a BA in Dance Theatre and has an Advanced Performance Diploma from Laban.
Biography
Clare has produced and toured her own work for the last 10 years and has also received a number of international commissions. These include She Has Fallen and Now She is Awake for The First Physical Theatre Company, South Africa: Between The Corridors, a large scale site-specific work set in an old turbine hall in Copenhagen for The European City of Culture, and Flock for SMD Denmark. She has danced with numerous companies including the Rosemary Butcher Dance Company, the Gregory Nash Group, The Cholmondeleys, Oracle Dance Company, Fin Walker, and Emily Burns.
- Stella Howard
Stella Howard
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Stella Howard
Stella Howard
Stella is a dance artist and facilitator with a keen interest in exploring creative practices in health-based settings. Her enquiries into creativity, the body and wellbeing, empower participants individual explorations of their physical body, whilst supporting creative, emotional, and social confidence.
Biography
Stella has 20 years’ experience as a dance artist: performing nationally and internationally, teaching extensively in schools, colleges, community and health settings. She also leads professional development opportunities with teachers, dance artists, and professional dance companies.
She is Artist-in-Residence at Great Ormond Street Hospital for children, where she engages children and their families to find joy in moving. She also leads Breathe Dance at Guys & St Thomas’ hospital, and Dancing for Health at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance developed with Headway the Brain Injury association.
Stella worked with artist Lucy Evans to choreograph I grew out of that a long time ago, a duet exploring reflections from creative interventions in adults living with dementia. She has had international success with award winning dance film Porcelain (Directed by Roswitha Chesher) featuring the relationship of a married couple in their 60s.
As faculty at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Stella lectures on the soft and hard skills of teaching dance, within education, community, and inclusive practice.
- Sonia Rafferty
Sonia Rafferty
Programme Leader: BSc (Hons) Dance Science
Learn about Sonia Rafferty
Sonia Rafferty
Sonia has been a member of the Dance Faculty at Trinity Laban since 1991, contributing to many of the different programmes in a diverse range of roles. She trained at the Laban Centre, gaining a BA (Hons) in Dance Theatre, before becoming a member of the first cohort of the Advanced Performance Course, Transitions Dance Company. In 2004, she was also one of the first cohort of the MSc Dance Science at Trinity Laban, graduating with Distinction.
Biography
Describing herself as an ‘academic artist’, Sonia has over thirty years experience as a performer, teacher, choreographer, director, mentor, researcher, consultant and author. She has had a long performing career: As a dancer/singer with the innovative electric voice dance company, La Bouche, she toured extensively with original electronic music and dance works by the company and commissioned choreographers, including Lloyd Newson, Lea Anderson, Ashley Page and Lidy Mouw. La Bouche performed in a wide variety of contexts including televised appearances, the theatre circuit, clubs and festivals, including Glasgow Mayfest, the Edinburgh Fringe and Glastonbury Festival Pyramid stage. The company also produced several albums, culminating in a record contract with CBS Records. Sonia also performed with V-Tol Dance Company and with several independent choreographers, most recently in site-specific work with Athina Vahla and Lizzi Kew Ross.
Sonia is an established dance technique teacher and has regularly delivered workshops and masterclasses in the UK and internationally. During her teaching career, she has provided professional level classes and company class for many high profile companies including Adventures in Motion Pictures, Balletboyz, Candoco, the Cholmondeleys, Clod Ensemble, DV8, Hofesh Schecter, Protein Dance, Random, Shobana Jeyasingh, Siobhan Davies and Springs Dance Company. She has directed and choreographed for her own company, Blueprint Dance Company, and co-directs Double Vision Dance Company with Amanda Gough, working on several large scale site-specific community commissions.
In her role as a consultant in safe and healthy dance practice, Sonia provides professional development for companies, agencies and training institutions. She is Co-Founder of Safe in Dance International (SiDI), developing a range of Healthy Dance Certificates for dance practitioners to evidence their knowledge in this area, also working with awarding bodies and universities worldwide to integrate healthy dance principles into teacher training and practice. She is co-author of “Safe Dance Practice: An applied dance science perspective”, which has become a seminal text in the field. Sonia has presented at several conferences, as well as authoring and co-authoring a number of research and Journal articles. Her research interests range from dance specific fitness to the embodied practices of dance technique teachers. These combined interests have led to qualifications as a Personal Trainer, experience as a member of the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science Education Committee, an External Examiner role in Dance and Fitness and peer reviews of Journal and book proposals. As a portfolio practitioner herself, Sonia’s main focus is to combine all these fields so that dance science, pedagogical research and an understanding of the conditioning needs of dancers can together inform training, performance and curriculum planning.
Qualifications
- 2014: Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
- 2003: MSc Dance Science (Distinction), Laban
- 1984: Advanced Performance Course Diploma, Laban
- 1983: BA (Hons) Dance Theatre, Laban
- 3 A-levels, 11 O-levels, St Joseph’s Comprehensive, Workington
Performances
- 2010-12: Lizzi Kew-Ross – “Without Warning”
- 2000-08: Athina Vahla – “The Listening Post”, Science Museum site-specific commission 2008, “Wrestling an Angel” 2004, “Sonia Says” 2000 and 2002
- 1997-2003: Erica Stanton – “Gravity” 2003, Erica Stanton/Marion Gough – “Locus” 1997-8.
- 2001:Mothers of Invention – “My Mother, My Daughter, Myself”.
- 1996: V-TOL – “By Force of Fantasy”.
- 1994-5: Nikky Smedley and Dancers – “Talking of the Sex of Angels”
- 1992: Scott Clark – “In the Upper Room”
- 1991: Julie Blackman – “Anatomy of a Conversation”.
- 1990-93: Dale Thompson “Monolith” 1990 and “Mandala” 1993.
- 1986-91: Dancer/singer with electric voice dance performance group, La Bouche (dance, voice and live sound mixing). Several albums of original songs/music and recording contract with CBS Records 1990. Choreographers: Lloyd Newson, Ashley Page, Lea Anderson, Pete Purdy, Lidy Mauw, the company. Extensive national and international touring and TV appearances: Edinburgh Fringe, Glasgow Mayfest, Glastonbury Festival Pyramid Stage and Theatre Tent, “Harty in Edinburgh”, “Acropolis Now” for Scottish TV, “Celebration” for Granada TV, “01for London”, “Folio” for Anglia TV.
- 1986: Scott Clark – “Heaven Somewhere”.
- 1985 : Philip Grosser – “U-Totem”
- 1984 : Luis Gonzalez – “Night Song”.
Choreography and Direction
- 2015: “Sphere of Influence” Double Vision (with Amanda Gough) commission for TrinityLaban Centre for Advanced Training students.
- 2012 – 2015: New works for TrinityLaban BA1 Performance Project, “Experimental Wings”, “Imprints and Shadows”, “Black Velvet Blanket” and “The Butterfly Effect”.
- 2011: “ABBVN” for Virginia Rep Touring Company. Commissioned by James Madison University, Virginia, USA.
- 2011: “The Stone Diaries” Double Vision with Amanda Gough, Laban BA3 Commissioned Work.
- 1997-present: Co-director of Double Vision Dance Company with Amanda Gough. “After Images” site specific piece for 50 local children and the Company at Lacock Abbey, commissioned by National Trust/Lacock Education 2003. “Sowing the seeds” site-specific piece for local children and the Company at the Courts Garden, commissioned by National Trust/Lacock Education 2002. “In:site” for Double Vision and “In:sense” for local community dancers, Millenium Project commissioned by the Derngate Theatre, Northhampton 2000. “Double Vision, Second Sight” full length A4E lottery funded work which also commissioned choreographer Fiona Edwards 1998. “Sonnet” choreographed and performed with Amanda Gough 1997.
- 1996-99: “Slipstitch”, “Satellite”, “Lexicon”, and “Circa ‘74” for Lewisham College Touring Company.
- 1996-7: Director and choreographer of Arts Council funded Shawbrook Summer school, Co Longford, Ireland. “Prophecy” 1996, “Between wind and water” 1997.
- 1992-4: Recipient of Arts Council bursary to train as an Artistic Director, Thamesdown National Dance Agency, Swindon. Artistic Director and choreographer for Blueprint Dance Company, “Dreaming Like a Tall Man” 1992, “Common Denominator” 1993.
- 1994: Artistic Director of the “Kaleidoscope” Project, a European Union funded venture initiated by The Council For Dance Education and Training to explore, in a cross-cultural context, the role of Dance in the National Vocational Qualification framework.
“Terra Incognita” created in Rotterdam on eight dancers from Great Britain, Greece, Italy and Portugal.
- 1994: Workshops and performance project with South East London schools, including the Brit School, and Blueprint Dance Company.
- 1992: Collaboration with composer Philip Chambon – “Shoal”
- 1984-5: Co-founded Group 6 Dance Company, workshops in schools around the UK, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Bath Festival, Chelsea Arts Fair fashion show.
Interests and Achievements
- London 2012 Olympic Games Opening and Closing ceremonies volunteer performer -Industrial Revolution Pandemonium Drummer and Marshall.
- Costume design for Mark Bruce “Angel” 1996 and Mark Bruce/PJ Harvey collaboration “Dance Hall at Louse Point”, Queen Elizabeth Hall 1997. Costume realisation Erica Stanton/Marion Gough “Locus” 1997. Costume design and realisation Double Vision Dance Company “Double Vision, Second Sight” 1998.
- University College Union Branch Executive representative (Treasurer) 2011-2014
- Sports First Aid Certificate – St Johns Ambulance.
Teaching Experience
- 1991 – present: TrinityLaban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
Senior Lecturer: Dance Technique, Dance Fitness, Performance and Repertory modules, Choreography, Dance Science and Well-being modules, Academic Tutor, Undergraduate and Masters Project Tutor, Component and Module Leader, Student Union master classes.
Education/Learning and Participation: Career Days, Teachers Days, CAT Programme, DTAP pilot.
Initiatives and teams: Injury Report, Dancer’s Physique Report, Working Practice sessions, Blue Sky sessions, Health Research team.
- 2014 – 2019: Bucks New University, External Examiner for BA Dance and Fitness.
- 2005: University of Roehampton, Anatomy and Kinesiology lecturer.
- 1999-2004: Lewisham College, External Examiner for Dance Technique.
- 1997: De Montford University, Dance Technique and Repertory.
- 1995-96: Lewisham College, Dance Technique teacher.
- 1985 – present:
Professional/company classes, summer schools, festivals, workshops: Greenwich Dance, The Place Artist Development, South East Dance, Hampshire Dance, TrinityLaban, James Madison University London summer school.
Company teacher: Adventures in Motion Pictures, Bare Bones, Candoco, The Cholmondeleys, Clod Ensemble, DV8, Hofesh Schechter, Imlata, New Adventures, Protein Dance, Random, RDC Youth, Shobana Jeyasingh, Siobhan Davies, Springs Dance Company, V-Tol.
International master classes: Ireland, Venice Bienalle, Naples, USA.
Professional and company development activities and mentoring: BalletBoyz Dancers’ Training Course, Candoco, Maelstrom Dance, Greenwich Dance, University of Roehampton.
Creative Outputs
- 2015: Co-author of “Safe dance practice: An applied dance science perspective” published by Human Kinetics.
- 2014: Senior Associate for Safe in Dance International (SiDI). Development of the “Healthy Dance Practice” initiatives.
- 2009 – 2013: Member of Steering Committee, Lead Assessor and Consultant for Trinity College London “Certificate in Safe and Effective Dance Practice”.
- 2006 – 2014: Member of Education Committee (including Deputy Chair role), International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS).
- Publications and presentations
Presenter: NIDMS and Dance UK Healthier Dancer Programme, “Strength and Conditioning in Dance” Conference, Elmhurst School of Dance, October 2015.
Resource paper: “Dance Fitness”. Irvine S., Redding, E., Rafferty, S.
IADMS website https://www.iadms.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=303
2010: “Considerations for the integration of fitness into dance training”.
Journal of Dance Medicine and Science, 14 (2): 45-9.
2009: “Development of a high intensity dance performance fitness test”. Redding, E., Weller, P., Ehrenberg, S., Irvine, S., Quin, E., Rafferty, S., Wyon, M., Cox, C. Journal of Dance Medicine and Science, 2009, 13(1): 3-9.
2009: “Dance Specific Fitness class”. Quin, E., Irvine, S., Rafferty, S. Redding, E. IADMS 19th Annual meeting, The Hague, Netherlands.
2007: “The effects of a one year dance specific fitness training programme on undergraduate modern dance students; An experimental study”. Rafferty, S., Redding, E., Irvine, S., Quin, E. Abstract, Journal of Dance Medicine and Science 2007, 11(1):16.
2006: “The effects of a one year dance specific fitness training programme on undergraduate modern dance students; An experimental study”. Redding, E., Rafferty, S., Irvine, S., Morant, R. (2006), Conference proceedings IADMS 16thAnnual Meeting, West Palm Beach, Florida. Recipient of Lisa Ullman Travel Scholarship to attend.
2004: “Leadership in Dance: An application of the Leadership Scale for Sport to dance technique teaching”: Presented IADMS 14th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, 2004. Recipient of IADMS Student Travel Award to present. Published, Rafferty, S., Wyon, M. Journal of Dance Medicine and Science, 2006, 10, (1&2), 6-13.
2004: “Leadership behaviour in dance”. Dance UK Magazine, Issue 53, p. 21.
Other: “Warm-up and Cool Down” presentations, Move It and NDTA conferences
- Susan Kempster
Susan Kempster
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Susan Kempster
Susan Kempster
Susan is an award-winning choreographer, performer and teacher. Her career as a dancer took her from Sydney to Tokyo, New York, Madrid, Barcelona, and now London. Her choreographies have been programmed in festivals and theatres in Czech Republic, Chile, Italy, Spain and the UK. She teaches in schools and academies and has been guest teacher for companies in Spain, Sweden and Germany. Since living in London, she has taught at London Contemporary Dance School, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London Studio Centre and Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance as well as leading open professional classes at The Place.
- Damien Anyasi
Damien Anyasi
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Damien Anyasi
Damien Anyasi
Damien is a Hip-Hop Dance Teacher for the Centre for Advanced Training in Dance and a lecturer for the BA in Contemporary Dance.
Graduating from the London Music School in 2001, Damien promotes connection to, and reflection of, sound in his classes, and encourages self-expression. In class, you can expect sessions focused on the student’s success with an emphasis on application, authenticity and expression.
Biography
Damien has undergone training with notable Street, Club and Funk style dance icons including, Elite Force (HipHop), Breed of Motion (Waacking), Mighty Zulu Kingz (Breaking) and more.
Performances include Brit Awards and principle dancer with London’s Big Dance Bus tour, while choreographic credits include The National Theatre and London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony.
Damien’s commitment to educating others earned him UK Dance Teacher of the Year (2014) as voted by Dance Today magazine. He has also headlined as a teacher for Unidance resulting in a 5 year tour of Russia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine.
As director of B-Better dance education company, Damien teaches many demographics and lists American School in London, Royal Academy of Dance and British Heart Foundation as former residencies.
Vanessa Michielon
Lecturer in Dance
- Lauren Potter
Lauren Potter
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Lauren Potter
Lauren Potter
Lauren Potter has been a member of the Professional Dance Faculty since 2016, teaching within various programmes and projects throughout the year groups.
Biography
Lauren Potter (FHEA) is an independent dance artist/teacher (with a strong interest in the practice of performance).
Originally trained at The Place, she performed with London Contemporary Dance Theatre for many years, was a founder member of Siobhan Davies Dance, and then worked with a range of companies and choreographers such as DV8, Rosemary Butcher and Second Stride.
She recently taught and led on the Locating Practice Unit of the PG Expanded Dance Practice at London Contemporary Dance School and had previously fulfilled the role of Artistic Director for ‘Edge’ – The Postgraduate Performance Company at LCDS.
She has also recently been involved in the Aerowaves touring performance of ‘Because I Can’- a solo by Eva Recacha and a film work ‘Sentence’ by Rosemary Lee and Hugo Glendinning, currently being shown as part of Digital Dance Umbrella 2024.
- David Kam
David Kam
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about David Kam
David Kam
David Kam is a London-based movement artist and educator sharing embodied practices of connection from the lens of joy, wonder, and freedom. Blending the worlds of architecture, dance and spirituality, David pitches movement as an expression of party and protest to offer a space for others to find home in their bodies and to explore ways of moving together towards collective action and transgenerational healing. He collaborates with various leading institutions to offer uniquely curated wellness experiences.
Biography
As an educator, David lectures on the Bachelor and Master Programmes at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance where he specializes in choreological studies based on the body of work developed by Rudolf Laban. Beyond academia, David offers movement masterclasses, workshops and retreats internationally since 2018. He also contributes his expertise in yoga to various movement communities including the Ferus Animi / Terra Nova collective.
From the lens of social justice, David founded kindredpacket, a grassroots movement uplifting East and South East Asian (ESEA) communities through culturally sensitive practices of wellbeing. As part of Britain’s East and South East Asian Network (the organization that initiated ESEA Heritage Month in the UK), he delivers Active Bystander Trainings across England and Wales. His work with queer communities include being a facilitator for We Create Space, a global platform advocating wellness for queer leaders and being on the advisory board for Rendez-Vous Dance, championing LGBTQIA+ stories, past and present through performance and education.
David’s research interests include:
- the relationship between body and home
- queering theoretical and pedagogical praxis of movement
- Eastern philosophies of movement and spirituality
- movement as a social practice of embodied placemaking
Qualifications and awards:
- BA (Hons) Architecture, University of Sheffield
- MA Dance Performance, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance (Distinction)
- Specialist Diploma in Choreological Studies (Distinction)
- 2014 Sylvia Bodmer Award for Outstanding Achievement in Choreological Studies
- Alison Curtis-Jones
Alison Curtis-Jones
Choreological Studies, Education and Choreographic Practice
Learn about Alison Curtis-Jones
Alison Curtis-Jones
Alison Curtis-Jones FHEA, MA, PGCE, BA(Hons)
Artistic Director of award-winning Summit Dance Theatre, internationally recognised dance artist, movement consultant, contemporary choreological expert, researcher and leading exponent in re-imagining Rudolf Laban’s ‘lost’ choreographic works. Ali teaches annually in Switzerland and Croatia and her choreographic work performed throughout Europe, UK, Switzerland and Canada, filmed and screened by Swiss TV company RSI, German TV company ARTE and featured in the BBC documentary Dance Rebels.
Ali presents conference papers and lecture demonstrations, workshops and masterclasses internationally. The body as a dynamic archive is central in her work, examining dance pedagogy, training practices and creative processes for contemporary dancers. Her current practice promotes movement for wellbeing and her written work published in Journal of Dance and Somatic Practice, Movement and Dance Magazine, Dance Books, and her chapter ‘Transmission: Reimagining Laban. Contemporising the Past, Envisioning the Future, in Transmissions in Dance: Contemporary Staging Practices, published by Palgrave Macmillan.
Ali teaches at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and The University of Creative Arts.
Biography
Ali graduated from Trinity Laban with a BA(Hons) in Dance Theatre and later gained her MA in European Dance Theatre Practice. She has a PGCE in Dance and is an experienced practitioner in teaching, performance and creative contexts.
- Heidi Rustgaard
Heidi Rustgaard
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Heidi Rustgaard
Heidi Rustgaard
Heidi is a choreographer, dancer and curator. Since 2000, she has worked collaboratively as a choreographer and performer duo with Hanna Gillgren operating as H2DANCE, working between Norway, Sweden and the UK. In 2018, H2DANCE set up Fest en Fest, an international festival of expanded choreography.
Biography
Heidi’s research aims to resituate and reframe choreography and curation, exploring how they can move and subsequently move other things.
Currently, Heidi is busy with a series of choreographic works, titled Amplified Edition. This series seeks to queer the relationship between the body, sound and space toward activating and re-centring choreographic material which are otherwise situated in the background or hidden from view.
Her ongoing curatorial project Fest en Fest, thinks with choreography and its potential and seeks to rehearse new relations between artist, curators and audiences and choreographing alternative models for producing, presenting and congregating. H2DANCE continues to place the festival in new relations and spatial settings, enabling different forms of entanglements troubling current choreography definitions. It is as much about curating choreography as choreographing the curatorial.
Heidi recently finished her MRes in Advanced Practises with her research project; Queer Choreo Curation – off-score, wobbles and conviviality (2023). The project addresses forms of sociality and various kinds of social settings, working from highly scripted and unscripted forms, scores and off-scores as a way to queer and expand choreographic practises. Queer Choreo Curation formed part of Fest en Fest – LAB 2023 which was centred around the convivial as a way to think and experiment with questions of networks, relations, ecosystems, and infrastructures.
Qualifications and Background:
1992-95: Trained as a dancer at London Studio Centre
2021: Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA)
2020 – 23: MRes in Advanced Practised, Visual Cultures Department at Goldsmiths, University of LondonCreative Outputs
Selected choreography:
Skinned (2022). Commissioned and performed by Emilyn Claid. Funded by The Arts Council of England.
Amplified Edition N ° 2 (2022). Funded by Nordic Culture Fund and Arts Council England. Co-produced by Rosendal Teater NO, Roehampton University, Firstsite/Colchester Arts Centre Colchester, Peterborough Museum/METAL Peterborough and Dance4 UK.
Vi & Oss & Andre (2021). Funded by Norwegian Arts Council – Fond for Lyd og Bilde. Co-produced by Sentralen Oslo NO
Amplified Edition (2019). Funded by Arts Council England & Nordic Culture Fund, The Norwegian Foreign Ministry. Co-produced by Rosendal Teater, DansiT and Black Box Teater NO, Dance4, MetalCulture & Earl Street Creative Space, Dansens Hus SE, and Dance All Year Along DK.
Strangers & Others (2017). Funded by Arts Council England, Arts Council Norway, Nordic Culture Fund, Region Värmland Sweden, Dance4 Nottingham UK and supported via South East Dance and Jerwood Charitable Foundation Dramaturg in Residence programme. Co-produced by Dance4, Laban Theatre and Metal UK, Nordic House IS, Region Värmland and Dansens Hus SE, Bergen Dansesenter and Liikelaituri FI.
STAGING AGES (2015). Funded by Arts Council England, Norwegian Arts Council, Swedish Arts Council and Region Värmland, Sweden. Co-produced by Riksteatern SE, DansiT NO, Trestle Arts Base, St Albans, DanceEast Ipswich, The Place London and Pavilion Dance South West UK.
SAY SOMETHING (children) (2014). Funded by SEANSE, SPENN, Norwegian Arts Council – Kunstløftet NO
DUET (2013). Funded by Arts Councils of England, Norway and Sweden, Region Värmland SE and Fond for Lyd og Bilde NO. Co-production DansiT NO, Studiotrade Cologne DE, Dans i Värmland SE, South East Dance and The Place UK. Supported by Escalator East to Edinburgh and The British Council Edinburgh Showcase. The audience vote winning Place Prize version was commissioned for The Place Prize for dance sponsored by Bloomberg in 2012.
SAY SOMETHING (2011). Funded by Arts Council of England, Nordic Arts and Culture Fund, Norwegian Arts Council, Swedish Arts Council and Buskerud Fylkeskommune, Fond for Lyd og Bilde NO, Säffle Kommun, Dans i Värmland SE and Arts and Grants Kensington and Chelsea UK. Co-produced by Choreodrome and Something Happening at The Place, Scenerommet, NO Union Scene NO, Medborgarhuset, Säffle SE, Devir CAPA PT, Hextable Dance, Laban Theatre, London Studio Centre and Goldsmiths College UK.
To Die For (2007). Co-production: Hedmark Teater NO. Funded by Statens Kulturråd and Värmlandsoperan SE and Royal Norwegian Embassy. Supported by Laban Theatre and Greenwich Dance Agency UK
På Gränsen (2005). Co-production Dans i Värmland and Värmlandsoperan SE.
COW the udder way (2004). Shrinking Cities, reinventing urbanism competition. Funded by German Federal Cultural Foundation. Winning entry.
Silent Movie (2004). Funded by The Arts Council England, London and Embassy of Sweden. Supported by Laban.
Curation:
FEST EN FEST – LAB (2023). Co-production with Sadler’s Wells and Dance Umbrella UK. Funded by the Nordic Culture Fund, The Royal Norwegian Embassy London, The Swedish Embassy London and The Finnish Institute.
FEST EN FEST (2022). Funded by Arts Council England, Cambridge Junction, The Royal Norwegian Embassy, Embassy of Swedish London, Embassy of Iceland and the Finnish Institute. Partnering with APT Gallery, NO Format gallery, Sadler’s Wells, Trinity Laban, VSSL, Firstsite og Cambridge Junction UK.
FEST EN FEST – PERFORM EUROPE (2022). Feminist Futures Towards antiracist and intersectional stages. Funded by Perform Europe, EU-funded project.
FEST EN FEST (2022). Funded by Arts Council England, Embassy of Sweden London, Royal Norwegian Embassy, Embassy of Iceland, Finnish Institute, Cambridge Junction. Partnering with APT Gallery, No Format Gallery, VSSL, Trinity Laban, Cambridge Junction, Sadler’s Wells, Roehampton University, Firstsite, Goldsmiths University of London
Fest en Fest – YOUTH – FÔLEGO (2022). Funded by Iceland Norway Lichtenstein Grants, EEA Grants Norway and Portugal. Partnering with Academia de Produtores Culturais Lisbon.
Fest en Fest – LAB (2021). Funded by Arts Council England, Royal Norwegian Embassy, Embassy of Sweden, London Contemporary Dance School, Roehampton University and Cambridge Junction.
Fest en Fest (2020). Funded by Arts Council England, Vision Mixers, Nordic Culture Fund, London Contemporary Dance School, Embassy of Sweden, Royal Norwegian Embassy Supported by Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Cambridge Junction, London Contemporary Dance School, Goldsmiths University of London, Colchester
Arts Centre, Roehampton University, Gaff@The Fuel Tank, Shapes Lewisham
Fest en Fest (2018). Funded by London Contemporary Dance School, Opstart Nordic Culture Fund, Royal Norwegian Embassy, Embassy of Sweden
Grants:
2017: Artist International Development Fund Arts Council England
2015: Miscellaneous grant from Arts and Culture Norway
2012: Miscellaneous grant from Arts and Culture Norway
2010: Miscellaneous grant from Arts and Culture Norway - Adam Pudney
Adam Pudney
Ballet Tutor
Learn about Adam Pudney
Adam Pudney
Born in Perth, Western Australia, Adam trained at the Australian Ballet School in Melbourne, graduating in 1988 and relocating to London the following year. He joined the now defunct London City Ballet in 1990, touring the UK and internationally until the company’s untimely closure in 1996. While in LCB, in addition to dancing in the corps de ballet and as a soloist, Adam established himself as a strong character artist, performing roles such as Dr Coppelius in Coppelia, Baron Von Rothbart in Swan Lake and Hilarion in Giselle.
Biography
Qualifications / Educational Background
Turning his attention to working as a freelance dancer, Adam began working extensively in productions by English National Opera, the Royal Opera House, Scottish Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera and Raymond Gubbay’s popular “in-the-round” operas at the Royal Albert Hall. In 2001 he joined English National Ballet for the in-the-round production of Derek Deane’s Romeo & Juliet, appeared as an acrobat in Deane’s Swan Lake in 2004, and has worked with the company every year since, returning every Christmas to reprise his role as the acrobatic Grandfather in Christopher Hampson’s production of The Nutcracker. Branching out from classical ballet and drawing on skills he learned in his youth, especially acrobatics and break-dancing, Adam had success on the commercial dance circuit appearing in trade shows, promotional videos, on television and in feature films including Human Traffic, Phantom of The Opera and Pride and Prejudice and worked closely with the director on choreographed scenes in Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut. Adam was one of Kylie Minogue’s backing dancers for her Fever (2002) and Showgirl (2005) world tours, working with choreographer Rafael Bonachela.
Teaching Experience
In 2007, Adam gained the Royal Academy of Dance Professional Dancers’ Teaching Diploma and immediately began teaching ballet at Cambridge Performing Arts (Bodywork), where he also introduced the gymnastics/tumbling programme. Adam is currently a member of the full-time teaching staff at Ballet Black, has coached and taught summer school participants and cast-members of the critically acclaimed West End show Billy Elliot, and has taught an advanced/professional level ballet class at Danceworks since 2008.
- Melanie Clarke
Melanie Clarke
Programme Leader: MA/MFA Dance Leadership and Community Practice
Learn about Melanie Clarke
Melanie Clarke
Melanie Clarke is Programme Leader for the MA MFA Dance Leadership and Community Practice, Graduate Certificate in Dance and Graduate Diploma Dance & English. She is also a Module Leader within the BA Contemporary Dance and MA MFA Creative Practice programmes. She teaches Release-based dance technique and Choreological Studies, supervises student research as well as creates original choreographic work on students. She is a Teaching Fellow of Trinity Laban and in recognition of her leadership in Higher Education, she has been awarded a Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.
Biography
As an academic and teacher her aim is to enable understanding through demystification of bodily and artistic processes. This is engendered by her knowledge of anatomy and physiology as well as Rudolf Laban’s praxis and supported by her creative practice. She is the author of the Essential Guide to Contemporary Dance Techniques published by Crowood in 2020. Her research encompasses choreographic practice and movement analysis; she recently presented with Lizzi Kew Ross on the material of process at the Craft and Art Symposium in London (Feb 2020). She is a specialist in Labanotation and a fellow of the International Council of Kinetography Laban. She has presented papers at conferences around Laban Praxis and contributed to Preston-Dunlop (2013) Laban Man of Theatre. Dance Books: London. Among others, she has scored Yvonne Rainer’s Trio A (with Jouke Kolff) which she has also reconstructed for educational proposes and also for the MOVE: Choreographing You exhibition at the Hayward Gallery London in 2010.
Her choreographic work includes independent solo and group works and commissions: Presenting 16 original works in Britain and internationally between 1999-2019.
Qualifications and Educational Background
Melanie Clarke is an alum of Trinity Laban graduating with a BA Honours Dance Theatre degree and a MA degree in Dance Studies focusing on Dance in Education, Dance Documentation and Reconstruction, and Choreography. After passing with Distinction Melanie joined the Trinity Laban faculty.
She is an accredited External Examiner (AdvanceHE) and has undertaken this role for Greenwich University and Suffolk University.
Hilary Stainsby
Programme Leader: MA/MFA Dance Performance Programme
- Kate Johnson
Kate Johnson
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Kate Johnson
Kate Johnson
Kate teaches choreography and performance on Trinity Laban’s BA Contemporary Dance Programme.
Kate studied fine art at Goldsmiths and choreography at TrinityLaban. As a choreographer, she works collaboratively across art forms and has exhibited kinetic sculpture at CPG London; film at the One Take Film Festival, Zagreb; and choreography at Tripspace London.
Biography
For the past few years, Kate has been creating a series of dance scores for use in everyday situations, with a particular focus on relationships and mood. Where and how these scores exist, in terms of location and medium, is an important aspect of this work.
Her current collaboration, with artist Lili Murphy-Johnson and dancers Kirsty Alexander and Lily Paine, is an exploration of the act of “doing” through film and dance and uses film as an integral part of the choreographic process.
Previous collaborations have been with dance artist Marina Collard, poet Carol Watts, and film maker Ros Cheshire.
As a dance animateur for Yorkshire Dance, Swindon Dance, Cambridgeshire and Rambert, Kate has taught in a variety of community settings. She has also taught at Barnsley College of Art, Lewisham College and London Contemporary Dance School.
- Stephen Berkeley-White
Stephen Berkeley-White
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Stephen Berkeley-White
Stephen Berkeley-White
Stephen joined Trinity Laban in 2011-12 as a contemporary dance teacher, specialising in Cunningham Technique, as well as creating original choreography for undergraduate performances.
Biography
Stephen trained at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance and began his professional career before graduation, working with Lloyd Newson, David Massingham and co-founding Triptych Dance Company as a choreographer.
After graduation, he began an apprenticeship with Rambert Dance Company before joining Diversions (now National Dance Company Wales).
Stephen began a long relationship with Mark Bruce Company, who he has worked with on many productions, as well as David Massingham Dance, Random Dance Co. (now Company Wayne McGregor,), Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, V-Tol, Red Rain, Irish Modern Dance Theatre, English National Ballet and opera productions for ENO, ROH, Glyndebourne and Opera Glass Works.
Stephen has worked with many choreographers including Christopher Bruce, Matthew Hawkins, Richard Alston, Darren Ellis, Jo Fong, Seeta Patel, Etta Murfitt, Arthur Pita, Michael Keegan Dolan, Gaby Agis, Kate Flatt, Anthony van Laast and Alexandra Reynolds.
Theatre directors include Howard Davies (National Theatre), Stephen Pimlott (Apollo Theatre), Braham Murray and David Threlfall (Royal Exchange, Manchester), Robert La Page and Atom Egoyan.
Stephen was a dancer and principal understudy for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Bombay Dreams (original cast) and has also worked in theatre, film and TV as both actor and dancer.
In 2005, Stephen studied professional photography at London School of Communication and worked at Amberroom Studios before turning freelance. He continues to work as a photographer specialising in arts and creative editorial.
Before joining Trinity-Laban Stephen taught at Rambert School, Northern School of Contemporary Dance and London Studio Centre, as well as providing classes and workshops for professional companies to this day.
- Daniel Squire
Daniel Squire
Lecturer in Dance: Technique
Learn about Daniel Squire
Daniel Squire
Daniel has been on faculty at Trinity Laban since 2015. He also teaches internationally to various colleges and companies.
He studied dance at White Lodge and at the Rambert school, concurrent with working as a percussionist in several semi-professional orchestras in Yorkshire and London.
Biography
In his early career, Daniel worked as a dancer with Michael Clark and Matthew Hawkins, as well as appearing as Tadzio in Britten’s Death In Venice at Glyndebourne.
After moving to the Big Apple, aged 20, Daniel worked for many years with Merce Cunningham, performing around the world in theatres including Palais Garnier & Théâtre de la Ville (Paris), Staatsoper unter den Linden & Schiller Theater (Berlin), the Roundhouse, the Barbican, Tate Modern (London), Festival Theatre (Edinburgh), Kennedy Center (DC), New York State Theater, Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Rose Theater & City Center (NYC); with musicians including Radiohead, John Paul Jones, Sigur Rós, Takehisa Kosugi & Sonic Youth.
He was a core member (actor, videographer, musician) of Marisela La Grave’s inter-media group Magnetic Laboratorium for many years, and has worked with, (among others), Philippe Parreno, John Kelly, Irish Modern Dance Theatre, Paulina Olowska.
In 2013/14 he was Curator for the Dance Program for the exhibit Dancing Around the Bride: Cage, Cunningham, Johns, Rauschenberg, and Duchamp at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
In 2018 he performed a free-improv trio as part of the Hoping for Palestine benefit with guitarist Thurston Moore and drummer Steve Noble, with an audience of 1,700 people at London’s Roundhouse.
His 2019 staging projects for the Merce Cunningham Trust include Night of 100 Solos: A Centennial Event — for the occasion of Merce Cunningham’s 100th birthday — at London’s Barbican, as well as staging Merce’s work on the Royal Ballet and Dance On Ensemble.
- Robert Anderson
Robert Anderson
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Robert Anderson
Robert Anderson
Robert Anderson joined Trinity Laban in 2015. He teaches on the BA (Hons) Contemporary Dance and MA/MFA Dance Performance programmes. He specialises in teaching contact improvisation.
Biography
Robert Anderson teaches dance improvisation and contact improvisation for actors and dancers in Higher Education and in a variety of settings in the UK and abroad. Robert has been passionately involved with contact improvisation since 1996. Influential teachers have included Kirsty Simson, Nancy Stark Smith, Martin Keogh, Ray Chung, Charlie Morrissey, Angus Balbernie and Rick Nodine. Robert has taught workshops in Austria, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Reunion, Northern Ireland, France, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Poland, Czech Republic, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, and Italy.
Robert directed London Contact Improvisation (2001 – 2021), a community-based organisation, which delivered a programme of classes, workshops and jams at Moving East and Caxton House. He was also part of the curator team for CI36 in Pennsylvania (2008) and the European Contact Improvisation Teachers Exchange in Ormskirk, England (2009).
Alongside teaching and organising, Robert is actively involved as performer, director and collaborator in many performance projects. Robert has been a company member of Touchdown Dance since 2002. He performed in TACT (2002) and Closer (2005) which throughout the UK. He has also performed in many choreographies and improvised works by artists including Joe Moran, Kate Brown, Tino Seghal, Jovair Longo, Meghan Flannigan, Adriana Pegorer, Lalitaraja, Sarah Shorten, Magdalena Radlowska, and the improvisation collective SoFt.
- Hubert Essakow
Hubert Essakow
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Hubert Essakow
Hubert Essakow
Hubert Essakow is a London based choreographer, born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Trained as a classical ballet dancer by Dianne Cheesman, Hubert joined Capab Ballet at the age of 18 in 1989. In 2003 Hubert moved to London and joined The Royal Ballet Company, where he remained for 10 years becoming a soloist and performing in works by Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan, George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, Mats Ek, Christopher Wheeldon and William Forsythe amongst others.
Biography
Next followed work with BalletBoyz and Rambert Dance Company, shifting into contemporary dance. He was particularly inspired by the work and technique of Merce Cunningham and also appeared in works by Christopher Bruce, Doug Varone, Mark Baldwin, André Gingras and Aletta Collins. He started choreographing while at Rambert. The first piece What Rainbow? was performed at Resolution (The Place). As a choreographer, his works have been commissioned by English National Ballet, Transitions Dance Company and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
He is currently an associate artist at The Print Room in London, under the Artistic Direction of Anda Winters. Works include Jealousy (2012), and the critically acclaimed Elemental Trilogy, Flow (2012) and Ignis (2013).
- Hilary Neethling
Hilary Neethling
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Hilary Neethling
Hilary Neethling
Hilary’s teaching methodology has evolved into a multi-layered construct, which has strongly been influenced by her studies in Psychology and Pilates. The issue of body – mind integration in the learning process of dancers is at the centre of her approach. In essence, she places great emphasis on sound embodiment of movement principles to enhance technical and artistic excellence, but strives to create a learning environment that acknowledges “the essence of movement as means of expression that could reverberate on a much deeper level in terms of the well-being of the individual”. Hilary currently enjoys teaching master classes and is actively pursuing her interest in dance health and psychology by attending conferences and workshops arranged by Dance UK, IADMS and the Pilates Foundation.
Biography
Hilary holds a BA in Psychology and Linguistics, ARAD and PDTC Teaching certificate from the Royal Academy of Dance, and has recently completed her Pilates Teachers Qualification with the Pilates Foundation, UK. She has more than 12 years experience as performer and dance teacher and has worked with a wide spectrum of dancers both abroad and in the UK.
- Gary Lambert
Gary Lambert
Programme Leader: MFA/MA Choreography
Learn about Gary Lambert
Gary Lambert
Gary teaches Cunningham-based technique across the undergraduate dance programme at Trinity Laban, and also on the MA Dance Performance (Transitions Dance Company) Programme.
He is Component Leader for BA1 Choreography and the OYP Devising and Performance. Gary also devises and choreographs work for BA1 Performance Project and BA3 commissioned works.
Biography
Gary Lambert trained at the Royal Ballet School and worked with the Royal Ballet as a graduate. In 1983 he joined London Festival Ballet (now English National Ballet) dancing for two years, working with choreographers Glen Tetley, Alvin Ailey, Sir Frederick Ashton, Roland Petit and Christopher Bruce before moving on to Rambert Dance Company in 1985. Whilst with Rambert, he worked and danced in works by Richard Alston, Merce Cunningham, Glen Tetley, Robert North, Ian Spink, Michael Clarke, Christopher Bruce, Lucinda Childs, Siobhan Davies, Ashley Page and Laurie Booth, receiving national and international acclaim for his performances as a dancer. In addition to dancing, he has choreographed works for Rambert Dance Company and Phoenix Dance Company, where he was Assistant Artistic Director from 1993-96, presenting works in Phoenix Dance Company’s Repertory nationally and internationally, such as the Cultural Olympiad in Atlanta 1996. Other commissions include works for English National Ballet, Scottish Dance Theatre, Ricochet Dance Company, Loop Dance Company, Tambuka Dance Company (the National Contemporary Dance Company of Zimbabwe) Ffin Dance and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.
His independent roles such as choreographer, teacher and performer, led him to co-establish the company Small Axe in 1992, an Arts Council of England project funded Dance Company, with a national touring and educational profile. The company received acclaim for the work Cold Ground Drifting at the International Choreographic Competition in Groningen, the Netherlands in 1994, winning first prize. His collaborations include projects as a dancer and choreographers with the likes of artists such as Laurie Booth, Requair, Storm Garden, Actual Factual, 97-98 and Rosemary Butcher, Scan, 2001. In 1992 he choreographed Meantime for the BBC 2 Dance House Season, directed by Peter Mumford with music by John Mark Gowen. In 1994 his choreography and improvised performance Five Dances for the Five Floor Project was a response to Hans Peter Kuhn’s sound installation for Art Angel. In 1995 he choreographed Movements in 8 for Phoenix Dance Company, in collaboration with the Jazz composer Orphy Robinson and Artistic Director Maggie Morris.
In 1999 Gary presented XXL, an original digital site-specific performance work at the Arches Glasgow, commissioned by the Tramway in collaboration with DJ’s Carl Cox and Dave Clarke, setting an installation dance performance within a clubnite environment. Degrees of Freedom a solo work, commissioned by Edinburgh Dance Base was performed at the Edinburgh festival in 2004. It was performed again that year at Laban’s Bonnie Bird Theatre and again in 2005 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, summer collection, at the Millennium Theatre, Cardiff and Paris. In 2010 the solo was re-worked for the Albany Theatre, Deptford as part of “Our Lives in Dance”, an evening of solo works by independent dance artists. Gary was previously Senior Lecturer in Contemporary Dance in 2004 at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance where he has worked since 1998, teaching Cunningham based technique, Choreography and creating commissioned works. He was Guest Artist at White Oak, Jacksonville University MFA programme in the USA. In 2012 he was appointed Creative Director at Tanz@Namedy, establishing a dance programme for the Princess Von Hohenzollern at Burg Namedy, Germany, presenting works by European and British artists. He was awarded the Howard Gilman Fellowship in 2013 by the Howard Gilman foundation, to undertake a MFA in Choreography at Jacksonville University, Florida, which he completed in 2015. He is currently engaged in developing new work in response to his research.
- Lizzi Kew Ross
Lizzi Kew Ross
Other
Learn about Lizzi Kew Ross
Lizzi Kew Ross
Lizzi Kew Ross teaches on the BA, Graduate Diploma and MA programmes at at Trinity Laban.
Biography
Lizzi trained at Roehampton and London Contemporary Dance School, and is a choreographer and teacher, and the Artistic Director of Lizzi Kew Ross & Co, formed in 2012.
Recent choreographic credits include December 1952, the graphic score by Earle Brown for Chelsea Space, and performed at the South Bank as part of Move, Choreographing You at the Hayward Gallery, 2010; Harmony of the Spheres at The Royal Observatory, Greenwich. Colourscape on Clapham Common, directed by Stephen Montaque; Please visit the churchyard for Celebrate the City Festival with music by James Keane; Loss of breath at Selfridges Project Ocean; Speak but one word to me, a commission for Dance United in response to the William Morris exhibition; Without Warning, a movement, sound and light piece, inspired by images in Brian Keenan’s memoir, An Evil Cradling at Laban Theatre and at The Old Vic Tunnels, London, with composer Natasha Lohan; Concert Conversations at Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly, with dancers and pianists, playing John White’s, First set of Duets 1974. Lizzi co-directed with Douglas Finch, In the Moment Improvisation Festival – 350 performers over three days in site-specific locations; Edgelands, with the British Contemporary Art Group, poets and dancers in response to the theme of urban edgeland and space, opened in Marylebone Crypt in April 2016 and touring nationally till 2018.
Projects for 2017-2019 include Stations of the Resurrection with installation artist Mark Dean for St Pauls Cathedral, and Midnight Closedown, Chance of Rain, with composer Josh Spear, an elegy on the Shipping Forecast for the 150th celebrations of the Cutty Sark at the NMM.
Visit Lizzi Kew Ross’ website for more information.
Dr Carolyn Roy
Lecturer in Dance
- Charles Linehan
Charles Linehan
Reader in Choreography
Learn about Charles Linehan
Charles Linehan
Charles Linehan is a Jerwood Award winning independent choreographer and Reader in Choreography at Trinity Laban. He has been Choreographer in Residence at The Place Theatre, London; Joint Adventures, Munich; and an Associate Artist with Dance4, Nottingham
Venues and festivals Charles Linehan Company has performed at include: Danspace Project, New York; Kaai Theatre Brussels, Venice Biennale, Bagnolet, Paris; Muffathalle, Munich; National Arts Centre Ottawa, Harbourfront, Toronto; PACT Zollverein, Essen; Hermitage St. Petersburg, the National Theatres of Thessaloniki and Bucharest, Dublin International Dance Festival, Nottingham Contemporary, Brighton Festival and multiple venues in London
Research interests and areas of supervision:
- Choreography
- Creative practice
- Lighting design: role, environment, interactivity
- Film making, photography
- Screen dance festivals: production, curation
Biography
In the last 25 years Charles Linehan Company has been regularly featured in Dance Umbrella Festival, London
Charles has been commissioned to create work by The British Council, a variety of state theatres throughout mainland Europe and Jin Xing Dance Theatre- China’s largest independent dance company based in Shanghai
He is the Founder and Director of London International Screen Dance Festival, a Panel Member for Screendance International Detroit, and curator for Brighton International Screen Dance Festival
Charles’ recent dance film The Shadow Drone Project has been presented at Festivals around the world including San Francisco International Dance Festival, Dance on the Camera, New York; Mexico City Video Dance Festival and Dance Umbrella Festival, London
He received a Winning Film Award for The Shadow Drone Project from Pool: Internationales TanzFilmFestival in Berlin in 2019.
- Hannah Cameron
Hannah Cameron
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Hannah Cameron
Hannah Cameron
Hannah Cameron has been a Dance Lecturer at Trinity Laban since 2014. She teaches release-based contemporary technique across all BA and Foundation Contemporary Dance programmes. Alongside technique, she is also on the teaching team for performance, teaching and creative components.
Biography
Hannah is an independent dance artist and teacher based in London. Since graduating with an MA in Dance Performance (Trinity Laban) she has danced with Nina Kov, Masha Gurina, Nutshell Dance Company, SKADooSH Dance, Daisy Farris Dance Collective and as part of the Olympics Closing Ceremony directed by Kim Gavin.
Hannah teaches dance across a range of professional and educational settings and has been part of the Dance Faculty at Trinity Laban since 2014. She is also an Associate Dance Artist for English National Ballet (ENB) delivering open technique classes and creative workshops to a wide range of participant groups. From 2018-21 Hannah was the contemporary dance tutor at ENB School, delivering contemporary technique, creative workshops and audition coaching for all three year groups. She produced choreographic work for second year students as part of the Winter Showcase (2018/9), directed contemporary classwork as part of a showcase filmed at The Roundhouse (2020), and supported the rehearsal direction of works by Jose Agudo and Didy Veldman. She has taught on the BA programme at Bird College (2016-18) and as a freelance dance artist for City Academy, Springs Dance Company and University of Portsmouth amongst others.
Alongside teaching, Hannah has presented her own choreographic work as part of Resolution! Festival (The Place, London) and has extensive experience working with artists from other disciplines, most recently with visual artist, Emma Cousins. She has developed a keen interest in capturing movement (through film, drawing and text) collaborating with filmmakers and artists to gain new perspectives on the moving body and our relationship to wider contexts. Hannah has worked as Rehearsal Director on a number of short dance films including Michael Boucherie’s ‘OneShot’ (Trinity Laban), Lingjing Yin’s ‘Touch the Sound’ (YAMAHA) and Ron Arad’s ‘Curtain Call’ (The Roundhouse, London).
- Zoi Dimitriou
Zoi Dimitriou
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Zoi Dimitriou
Zoi Dimitriou
Zoi Dimitriou was born in Athens, Greece. She graduated from the Greek State School of Dance with Honours, going on to study with Trisha Brown in New York. She completed a masters degree in European Dance Theatre Practice at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, graduating with distinction.
Biography
As a dancer, Zoi has worked with Kirstie Simson, Yvonne Rainer, Felix Ruckert and Siobhan Davies, among others. She launched her choreographic career in 2006 and her professional portofolio includes, among other works: Can You See Me? (2006), Dromi (2007), Limen (2007), Goddesses in Exile (2008), In The Process of … (2010), Little Creatures (2011), You May! (2012), The Chapter House (2014), Side Effects (2015), Peregrinus (2017), Vanishing Points (2018), When Pillars Evaporate; Work in Progress (2019).
She is the recipient of important UK choreographic awards such as the Robin Howard Foundation Award 2008, the Bonnie Bird Choreography Fund Award 2009 and the CFC Award 2010 by the Company of Angels, Sadler’s Wells and The Place, and has participated in Aerowaves, a well-renowned European Dance Platform. She has received several commissions (eg Greek National Ballet) and her works have been presented at venues/festivals such as: Fast Forward Festival 4, ROH2, Arnolfini, BE Festival, Lilyan Baylis, the Athens and Epidaurus Festival, the Kalamata International Dance Festival, Operaestate Veneto Festival at the Scala of Milan, Europe in Motion Festival and Springloaded at The Place.
She has participated in several international European Dance Research programs such as the Choreoroam, Big Intensive, Europe in Motion, and she is funded/commissioned by institutions such as the Arts Council England, the Hellenic Centre for theater and dance, the Onassis Cultural Centre, among others. She is a Research Fellow at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London and teaches internationally at institutions/festivals such as: Impulstanz Festival, Sasha Waltz Company, Independent Dance, National Dance Academy of Rome, Athens State School of Dance (KSOT) among others.
Her research is focused on notions of time and the passing of images. It reflects the direction of her practice away from the conventional theatre space and towards off-site installations and interactivity, investigates the qualities and conditions of spectatorship, and draws from the larger social for the development of choreographic activity.
- Yami Löfvenberg
Yami Löfvenberg
Lecturer in Dance: Hip-Hop & Vernacular Dances for Undergraduate Programmes
Learn about Yami Löfvenberg
Yami Löfvenberg
Yami is a multidisciplinary artist, a movement and theatre director, working at the intersection of dance, theatre and cross-arts. Between making her own work, Yami deliver workshops and mentor.
Biography
A British Council and Arts Council England recipient, Howard Davies Emerging Directors Grant Recipient, One Dance UK DAD Trailblazer Fellow, Marion North Recipient. She was on the choreographic team for the 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony (NHS Section) and is a member of the internationally acclaimed performance collective Hot Brown Honey.
With over 23 years of teaching experience, she has worked and collaborated with a multitude of diverse artists and organizations. A well sought-out teacher, choreographer, judge and host, she has established herself as one of UK’s finest and a highly respected role model within the Hip Hop dance community.
Yami previously worked at RAD, UEL , and Irie Dance theatre.
Daniel Hartley
Post-Doctoral Researcher
- Raymond Chai
Raymond Chai
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Raymond Chai
Raymond Chai
Raymond has work in classical ballet, musical theatre and television. He danced with the National Ballet of Portugal where he danced a repertoire of classical and contemporary works which includes Napoli, Raymonda, Rite of Spring, Graduation Ball, Carmina Burana among others. Musical theatre productions include CATS, Miss Saigon, Anything Goes, Kiss Me Kate and The King and I (Royal Shakespeare Company, National Theatre, London West End).
Biography
Raymond has guest taught for various dance companies around the world including English National Ballet, National Ballet of Portugal, Singapore Dance Theatre, Rambert Dance Company, Richard Alston Dance Company, Pheonix Dance Theatre, New Adventures, Company Wayne McGregor and highlights includes International Ballet Gala in Malaysia featuring principals and soloists from San Francisco Ballet, Hamburg Ballet and Boston Ballet. He has coached dance students for the Adeline Genee Awards and the Asian Grand Prix. Raymond is also a guest tutor at the Dance Masters International in New Zealand.
Choreographic commissions include for the National Ballet of Portugal, Hong Kong Ballet, Ballet Black (Royal Opera House), Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, Dance Space Malaysia and the BBC.
Raymond has produced and choreographed two ballet productions, La Sylphide (Slovenia) and The Sleeping Beauty (Malaysia).
In October 2015, Raymond premiered his piece ‘Unbroken Silence’ in the USA at YourMove Modern Dance Festival, New Jersey.Raymond was invited to Hong Kong in 2017 where he choreographed ‘The Architecture of Wu’ for the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts.
In June 2018, Raymond was awarded Master of Arts in Dance Technique Pedagogy by Middlesex University.
In 2021, in response to the pandemic, Raymond produced, choreographed and directed his film Monoi/Mazi (Alone/Together), using purely non-professional dancers who survived Covid 19 virus.Raymond has been Lecturer in Dance for London Contemporary Dance School and Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance and is currently Lecturer in Dance at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance.
Raymond has just wrapped up filming the TV drama To Be Continued as Choreographer and Movement Director (2022).
- André Fabien Francis
André Fabien Francis
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about André Fabien Francis
André Fabien Francis
Andre is a Contemporary Dance Teacher, Creative Teacher and Tutor for the Centre for Advanced Training in Dance.
Before joining the faculty at Trinity Laban: Centre for Advanced Training as a Dance Teacher, André played Seaweed J Stubbs in Hairspray for The Grange Park: Pimlico Opera; and then simultaneously played Issachar in Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at The London Palladium – alongside Alexandra Burke, Linzi Hateley & Jason Donovan – and most recently played Richie Walters in the Made At Curve production of A Chorus Line. During this time, André was headhunted to join the Faculty at Trinity Laban: Music & Dance, as a freelance choreographer and as a Technique Lecturer on their Honours Programmes.
Biography
While successfully auditioning for the Council for Dance, Drama and Musical Theatre: Aspiring Dance Mentoring Scheme, Under the direction of Liz Dale – Director of Dance at ISTD – and Hannah Dye – Head of Programming for Breathe Arts and Freelance Producer for English National Ballet – André was scouted to join the Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) Programme at The Place: London Contemporary Dance School. After nearly 3 years, André graduated from The Place: CAT accepting a fully funded place at London Studio Centre (LSC). During his time at LSC André took some time out to attend The Ailey School – the training ground for the world renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre – Summer Intensive in 2013, before returning to LSC where in 2014 he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree.
Following graduation, André joined the ensemble of The Lion King, Germany where he was trusted with the responsibility of teaching Company Class. On returning to the UK André joined the West End Production of Wicked in the prestigious Ribbon Boy Track before going on to play Paul in Kiss Me Kate at The Watermill Theatre choreographed by Oti Mabuse – for which André was the Dance Captain and was nominated for the BroadwayWorldUK: Best Supporting Actor Award.
Having worked in the Arts industry for two decades, André has danced, taught, assisted, created work and been mentored both nationally & internationally. Working with world class artists, theatres and organisations including: Richard Alston, Denzil Bailey, English National Ballet, Thea Barnes (1952-2018), James Bennett, the Southbank Centre, the Olympic Ceremonies, Royal Academy of Dance, Artistry Youth Dance, Nikolai Foster, the Royal Albert Hall, Rebecca Howell, Richard Jones, Ellen Kane, Trinity Laban, Paul Liburd, Oti Mabuse, Mandy Montanez, Alex Parker, Joan Peters, Richard Roe, Jane Sanig, Tamara Saringer, David Shrubsole, Judine Somerville, Christian Storm, the CDMT, Disney Theatrical Productions, Eric Underwood, Antoine Vereecken, Buddy Watkins, Nikki Woollaston and Sadler’s Wells. Which André continuously utilizes to inspire his work in the studio, on stage and off stage.
- Leanne Steel
Leanne Steel
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Leanne Steel
Leanne Steel
Leanne graduated from the MSc Dance Science programme at Trinity Laban in 2018. During her studies she investigated relationships between hypermobility and proprioception among adolescent dancers’ as part of her thesis project. Before studying her master’s degree, Leanne completed a BA in Dance Performance at Middlesex University where her passion for dance science began through learning dance science modules and writing a dance science dissertation exploring the well-being of dancers with scoliosis.
Biography
Having also studied dance vocationally at London Studio Centre, Leanne still enjoys participating in dance and now applies dance science techniques when in class and also when teaching young students. As an active member of the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science, Leanne has previously volunteered as part of their Student Committee and is now currently a member of their Promotions Committee. Leanne is also a qualified Group Exercise to Music instructor and hopes to incorporate this within her work in Dance Science in the future.
Since graduating Leanne has worked as a Graduate Intern in both the Dance Science and Health department at Trinity Laban and now also works as a Lecturer on the BSc Dance Science programme as Module Leader of Researching Dance Science. Leanne also teaches Dance Science to the first year students studying at Bird College. Leanne is also Communications Coordinator for The Bridge Dance Project which is a cooperative endeavour between leaders in the dance medicine and science field, and in the competition / commercial dance field.
- Otis Carr
Otis Carr
Lecturer in Dance
Learn about Otis Carr
Otis Carr
Upon graduation Otis performed with the Red Tape Dance Company as part of the Malta Arts Festival 2008 going onto further engagements with ACE Dance and Music for their Autumn Tour of SKIN and Turandot at the Royal Opera House 2008, 2017 & 2023. From 2009-2013 Otis danced with Rambert Dance Company working with choreographers including Henri Oguike, Henrietta Horne, Tim Rushton, Marguerite Donlon, Itzik Galli and Mark Baldwin as well as performing in works by Merce Cunningham and Paul Taylor. 2013-2014 included performing as a Signet and Medium Swan in Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake National and International tour. 2015 marked the start of a recurring working relationship with Barry Kosky and Otto Pichler creating both the Glyndebourne Opera’s Production of Saul and Royal Opera House, Covent Garden production of The Nose with Saul going on to be presented as part of the Glyndebourne 2015 Tour and the Adelaide Festival 2017. During this time Otis was also engaged with CIE 7273 (Geneva), performing Tarab in Europe, Serbia and the Middle East. Other notable work includes End of Line by Goshka Macuga preforming at the Lowry Gallery 2017.
Otis has presented work as part of the Rambert season of new choreography at the Place Theatre 2011, has choreographed for Moveo Dance Company (Malta) 2022 as well as assisting rehearsals with the Choreographer Mbulelo Ndabeni in subsequent seasons.
Biography
For the 2019-2020 Academic year Otis was a Graduate Intern in Dance Technique and Programme Support at Trinity Laban after which he obtained an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy accreditation (AFHEA) before becoming a Lecturer in Dance from February 2021. He Teaches Classical Ballet, Cunningham based and fusion contemporary dance styles combining training methods explored spanning his fourteen-year career and currently teaches at Bird College and on the Centre for Advance Training programme at Trinity Laban.
Otis is currently engaged with CIE 7273 (Geneva) after re-joining the Company for the creation of Ever 2021 and the revival of Tarab. He is involved in various creative processes and re-staging’s maintaining a professional practice to inform his educational approach.
Sara Ruddock
Lecturer in Dance
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