Joining NSCD as a Master’s student on the MA Interdisciplinary Dance Performance course this September?
As you prepare to embark on a new era, the artists you encounter during the year ahead are all set to support your studies and help with developing your practice further.
In addition to GECKO, Dan Canham, Susan Sentler and AΦE (AE), here are just some of the extra artists you will be working alongside on the course.
“Hannes’s work is powerful
in its expressiveness, intelligent and wonderfully poetic in its visual power”
Trierischer Volksfreund about “UNRUHE”
Hailing from Wurzburg Germany, Hannes discovered his love for dance and performance at an early age. After completing his National Service, he went on to study at London Contemporary Dance School.
In 2015, he participated in a unique European interdisciplinary program DANCE (Dance Apprentice Network aCross Europe) before going on to join DV8 Physical Theatre where he performed in To Be Straight With You – nominated for an Olivier award, and Can we Talk About This. From 2014 to 2015 he became DV8’s Creative Associate. Hannes has worked with many companies including Punchdrunk (UK), Thomas K. Kopp (D), Stefan Dreher (B/D), Wayne McGregor/ Random Dance (UK), Thierry de Mey (B), Fabulous Beast Dance Theatre (IRL) and Akram Khan Company (UK).
While constantly striving to develop his passion for teaching and nurturing young talent, Hannes has taught at English National Ballet, Iwanson International School for Contemporary Dance and London Contemporary Dance School as well as teaching company classes for DV8 Physical Theatre, The Featherstonehaughs and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, among others.
Find out more about Hannes by visiting his website here.
Alex Palmer is a theatre director based in the North. He has an extensive knowledge of immersive theatre and site-based work and is known for creating award-winning digital and immersive theatre events. He has worked with Internationally renowned company Punchdrunk (2013, ‘The Drowned Man’) and on the BAFTA-nominated show with You Me Bum Bum Train. (2014).
In 2014, Alexander founded Riptide, an immersive theatre company that places the audience at the heart of the experience. Ultimately, Alex is responsible for the creative direction and artistic quality of Riptide’s work. Riptide have gone on to make a large range of work including; large-scale immersive shows (SWARM, 2015) to intimate, personal performances (You Are Here, 2014) and performances which are bespoke to each audience member and which pervade across several weeks (The Lucky Ones, 2018).
In the early days of his career, Alex was awarded a place on the JMK Young Directors scheme (Leeds Playhouse), where he has gone on to work with award-winning artists such as David Shearing (‘The Weather Machine’ (2014) – winning Gold for Installation at the World Stage Design).
Alex teaches classes at Leeds Conservatoire and University of Leeds on Acting, Directing and Performance courses.
Find out more about Alex and his work by visiting the Riptide website here.
Facilitator, coach, mentor, director, choral leader, singer, songwriter and voice coach, Em Whitfield Brooks works with professionals, amateurs, workplace teams, organisations and groups of all ages and abilities on their voice, performance, presence and communication skill.
Em has been practising meditation for ten years, and believes this plays an important part in the creation of her work. With many years of mentoring experience, she has a Diploma in Coaching from Oasis School of Human Relations, accredited by the Association for Coaching, of which she is a member.
As Associate Director with The Map Consortium, Em facilitates professional learning development, often with a focus on presence, communication and women’s leadership.
Em has taught, led projects and trained leaders for Sage Gateshead, Opera North, Whitby Musicport, Leeds Playhouse, Stephen Joseph Theatre, York Theatre Royal, Leeds College of Music, University of York, York St John’s University, Sing Up and Youth Music. The founding director of Ryedale Festival Community Opera, Em was Artistic Director at Helmsley Arts Centre for five years. She has also founded three choirs and has led numerous projects at Freedom Festival and Hull Jazz Festival.
Early in her career, Em trained at the UK’s first circus school, and has since co-directed punk-pop circus opera Back to Bransholme for Back to Ours.
Find out more about Em and her work by visiting her website here.
Simone Sistarelli is a dance artist, musician, social entrepreneur, author and public speaker, who is passionate about inspiring others. He is the founder of Popping For Parkinson’s, a project that transforms Parkinson’s patients into Popping dance students.
Simone trained in contemporary dance at Trinity Laban and has a MSc in Dance Psychology from the University of Hertfordshire. He was awarded the Universal Hip Hop Museum Hall of Fame for his contribution to Hip Hop Culture, and he has also been recognised by the UK Government as a Point of Light outstanding volunteer.
He has performed in productions by Sadler’s Wells, Bittersuite, Brighton Festival, Nottingham Playhouse, You Me Bum Bum Train, Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, R2M Edinburgh, and many more.
As a teacher, Simone has worked at Paralympics 2012, Move It, DanzaInFiera, Rambert, The Place/LCDS, University of Suffolk, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, Parkinson’s UK, DanceWest and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures.
As well as teaching and performing, Simone is a musician and accompanist, and has played music for dance classes at Trinity Laban, The Place/LCDS, Royal Ballet School, Rambert, English National Ballet, DV8 Dance Company, Matthew Bourne, Akram Khan and many more.
Find out more about Simone and his work by visiting his website here.
Jennifer-Lynn Crawford trained in Canada at Quinte Ballet School and the School of Toronto Dance Theatre before gaining her Pg-Dip and M.A. at London Contemporary Dance School. She completed her Rolfing training at the European Rolfing Association in Munich and continues her study through ongoing workshops.
She has a long-standing involvement in the UK’s conservatoire system for HE dance training and was on faculty at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance 2007-2016. She has taught and performed throughout the UK and internationally, working with choreographers such as Charlotte Spencer, Hagit Yakira and Hofesh Shechter.
Jen believes that dance is a way of addressing what doesn’t get addressed in our current culture, that movement is an opening towards life. She is fascinated by how the Rolfing process supports individuals to explore and integrate their own best way of embodying and feeling movement through their physical structures, of understanding how their specific life experience impacts their bodies, their breath and their movement.
Find out more about Jennifer-Lynn and her work by visiting her website here.
The founder of his company, Toussaint to Move, NSCD Alumni Akeim Toussaint Buck is known by his audiences for creating thought-provoking performances that reflect on reality and look at ongoing socio-political issues. Akeim believes that audiences are not just observers; they are implicit in the experience of both creating and performing art.
As a maker and collaborator, he gives focus to combining expressive skills such as: dance, poetry, beat-box, singing and acting through performance and storytelling that reach beyond existing dance audiences. In 2022, he created the Radical Visions programme that explored race, ancestry and power across a range of artforms
Akeim’s choreography and performance work includes: Snakebox’s PLAY, Windows of Displacement, Reckoning, Sib Y Osis, Beatmotion and Souls & Cells. Film work includes Galvanise & Displaced etc. Movement Director credits include Far Gone, Carnival Chronicles, Idol, High Rise Estate of Mind, Nine Night. Curated events Snakebox & Friends and Radical Visions. Akeim’s work has been supported by Yorkshire Dance, Leeds Playhouse, Leeds Inspired, IRIE! Dance Theatre, Deda Derby, Barnsley Civic, RJC Dance, The Place, Journeys Festival, Spin Arts, Serendipity, NSCD, Sadler’s Wells and Arts Council England.
Find out more about Akeim and his work on his website here.
