News: Dance UK mentoring scheme awards announced
Twenty dancers, all nominated by colleagues they have worked with as potential future leaders, have been selected to take part in Dance UK’s new Dancers’ Mentoring Scheme. The programme is organised by Dance UK in partnership with Dancers’ Career Development, with the support of Arts Council England. Over eight months each dancer will have a paid mentor who is a high profile leader from the arts world or beyond. Demand for places was high and Dance UK plan to extend the programme to Scotland and to raise further funding to repeat the scheme over the next two years in the whole of the UK.
The dancers selected to take part this year are: Kate Coyne, dancer, Michael Clark Company; Shane Shambhu, dancer, actor and Artistic Director of Shane Shambhu Company; Neil Westmoreland, Resident Director for Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures; Kit Holder, first artist, Birmingham Royal Ballet; Jonathan Goddard, independent dancer; Laura Jones, dancer for Stopgap Dance Company; Lee T Johnston, dancer, National Dance Company Wales; Henrietta Hale, independent dance artist;* Sonia Sabri*, Artistic Director of Sonia Sabri Company and independent dancer, choreographer and teacher; Malgorzata Dzierzon , dancer, Rambert Dance Company; Jonathan Payn, first soloist, Birmingham Royal Ballet; Hannah Bateman, leading soloist, Northern Ballet; Angela Towler, dancer, Rambert Dance Company; Catarina Carvalho, dancer, Wayne McGregor | Random Dance; Anusha Subramanyam, Artistic Director of Beeja, performer and choreographer; Emma Dunn, independent dance artist; Naomi Cook, Springs Dance Company, freelance dancer, teacher, rehearsal director; Catherine Bennett, independent dance artist; Dena Lague, independent dance artist; Nicole Watson, dancer and creative director at Surface Area Dance Theatre.
The selection panel, which was Chaired by Dance UK included Pedro Machado, Co-Artistic Director of Candoco Dance Company (who was part of the mentoring scheme in 2006), Marie McCluskey MBE, Founder and Artistic Director of Swindon Dance; Sue Wyatt, experienced arts manager and dance company leader; Benjamin Dunks, Artistic Director of Attik Dance; Dr Scilla Dyke MBE, Senior Lecturer, Royal Academy of Dance and Trustee of Dancers’ Career Development; Monique Deletant, Administrative Director, Akademi South Asian Dance UK; and Jan De Schynkel, former dancer, teacher, choreographer and Arts Council England Relationship Manager.
Images: Angela Towler, Rambert Dance Company, photo: Simon Weir and Kit Holder, Birmingham Royal Ballet, photo: Tim Cross