A life in movement

Growing up in 1960s and ’70s Walthamstow, wasn’t entirely bereft of charm. It had its market, dog stadium, cinema, the William Morris Gallery (although I never went inside) and a very impressive Town Hall. However, E17 wasn’t the ‘happening’ place it is now. I imagined my escape by becoming a pop star.

With a group of friends, and inspired by David Bowie, we started a band. When I read he’d studied mime with Lindsay Kemp, I found a class in Time Out’s Dance and Mime section. I didn’t know that dance and mime were different and ended up in a dance class. That misunderstanding shaped my life.

The dancing years

Bowie made me realise that it was good to be different. Well, contemporary dance was completely different; no one I knew had even heard of contemporary dance. It was way beyond my comfort zone, but it was much more exciting than being in a band.

I began performing in 1979 with a company called Jumpers. The 1980s brought consistent work, including a stint at Ludus with extraordinary artists like Wendy Houstoun and the late, great Nigel Charnock. In retrospect I had it easy, it is much harder to earn a living as a dancer today, especially early in your career.

Life after performance

In the late ’80s, I became dance animateur for Islington, tasked with getting people excited about dance. There was a network of animateurs in the UK which included the brilliant Scilla Dyke in Suffolk, who later founded what’s now DanceEast. I realised I was much happier working behind the scenes, enabling others.

In the early ’90s, I joined the Arts Council England (ACE), keen to understand how decisions were made. I’m enormously grateful to my colleagues in the dance department there – Julia Carruthers, Jeanette Siddall, dance director Sue Hoyle and the late Prue Skene, who was chair of the then Dance Panel. Hilary Carty later took over from Sue.

It was an extraordinary team. I was so lucky to have my very own Clore Leadership programme before it was invented.

Continues…

End of year show at the Centre for Advanced Training at DanceEast. Photo: Rachel Cherry

Leadership – Greenwich Dance to DanceEast

I only joined ACE to learn, so when the director role at Greenwich Dance became vacant, I knew it was time to leave. London’s dance scene in the late ’90s and early 2000s was dynamic.

Greenwich wasn’t a shiny new ‘dancehouse’ but it was a magical space filled with amazing artists. We did pioneering work, including commissioning Wayne McGregor’s first simultaneous live and webcast performance for Dance Umbrella 2000.

In 2012, when Assis Carreiro stepped down from DanceEast, I wasn’t job-hunting, but senior leadership roles of this calibre are rare. Assis had created an amazing opportunity as the Jerwood DanceHouse is one of the best dance buildings in the UK. I had to throw my hat in the ring.

Looking back, looking forward

Nearly 50 years on, I’m still just as passionate about dance. I’ve had the most fantastic time at DanceEast. I’ve had the privilege of supporting incredible talent – like Joseph Toonga, now an associate at The Royal Ballet; Dickson Mbi, an Olivier award winner; and former CAT (Centre for Advanced Training at Trinity Laban)  student Hannah Dodd, now starring in Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club in the West End.

But I worry as so much of what we have built for dance remains fragile. Overall, it’s a much harder funding landscape now. I genuinely feel for artists, at whatever level they are working. Making and touring dance work is expensive, and budgets have not kept pace with increased costs.

My optimism is always restored, however, by the young people that attend our CAT programme.  As I write this, they are busy rehearsing for their end of year show. Their talent and tenacity are inspirational, and I know that I will be totally blown away when I watch them perform.  If anyone can sort out the future, I know they can.