NSCD CEO and Principal Sharon Watson was recently interviewed by ITV News as part of their Black Voices in Conversation series.

Leah Magras spoke with Sharon about how growing up in Harehills as one of eight children, and being taught at high school by NSCD founder Nadine Senior MBE, helped her to discover her passion for dance. Sharon also discussed joining Phoenix Dance Theatre as one of the company’s first female dancers before working for the company as artistic director for 11 years, and drawing on her Caribbean heritage to create works such as Windrush: Movement of the People.

The Black Voices in Conversation series asks groundbreaking individuals from the black community about their lives and their vision for the future. In the interview, Sharon talks about her ambition of improving the levels of diversity and inclusion within UK dance institutions, and says she hopes to instil an ethos at NSCD that anyone, of any background, can overcome barriers and shape the dance industry.