People Dancing

Chris is Chief Executive of People Dancing, the development organisation and membership body for community and participatory dance - a national and international network of 7,000+ dancers, teaching artists, community practitioners and organisations all committed to driving forward greater inclusion and equality in dance, the arts and civil society. First starting work with the organisation in 1992 as the administrator, after graduating from Leicester Polytechnic with a BA (Hons) in Performing Arts, he brings 30+ years' experience to this current role where he leads the organisation’s strategic development, partnerships, external relations and advocacy for the work, artists and organisations that People Dancing represent.

In 2011-12 Chris was seconded to develop the UK-wide programme of Big Dance 2012, part of the London 2012 Festival, and continued with this until the 10th and final Big Dance programme in 2016. He is a regular contributor to publications and journals and a speaker at events and conferences in the UK and internationally, has previously been a dance assessor for Arts Council England and serves on various advisory/reference groups including for the Culture Health and Wellbeing Alliance.

Chris has served on boards of several arts organisations including East London Dance and Creative Lives, and is currently Chair of Dancefest. In 2024 Chris was awarded honorary degrees - Doctor of Arts honoris causa - from both the University of Roehampton and De Montfort University.

Daryl has worked at People Dancing since 2012. He acts as a first contact for enquiries regarding membership services as well as providing administrative support to other projects within the organisation.

Daryl has a background in music and previously delivered composition and performance workshops in HMP and YOC settings as well as teaching in mainstream educational settings.
 
Daryl currently shares his time between working for People Dancing, as a working musician and as a massage therapist.

Rosie is the Website Manager at People Dancing and first worked with People Dancing (then the Foundation for Community Dance) as Assistant Administrator over 20 years ago.

Since graduating in dance from De Montfort University in 1994 Rosie has been continuously involved in the world of dance.

For many years Rosie was a professional artist, performer, production and choreographic assistant – in physical theatre and release-based movement – touring and performing with various companies and artists around the UK.

Rosie also has extensive experience of educational dance and arts projects and has taught dance nationally, to people of all ages and experiences in schools, prisons, arts venues and community centres. Rosie particularly enjoyed working with children and young people and combined dance with youth work to encourage young people to physically and emotionally support themselves through creative activities.

Rosie lives with her partner and son and enjoys driving, walking, listening to vinyl, keeping house plants and of course – dancing!

Anna has worked as a dance practitioner in a variety of participatory contexts over the last 20 years. Initially trained in contemporary dance at the Laban Centre she went on to develop her practice in a community context working with children and adults using a wide range of dance styles.

She has performed and delivered workshops in England, Denmark and Germany and currently works in partnership with older people’s groups throughout Devon.

Anna works part-time for People Dancing as the Executive Director, Qualifications and is currently leading the work on the People Dancing Professional Qualifications portfolio. She enjoys meeting People Dancing members at in-person training and online events.

Shelley began her time at People Dancing (then the Foundation for Community Dance) in the 2000's, helping to mail out membership resources. A few years - and more than a few changes - followed, which saw Shelley into her current role as Membership Development Manager.

Shelley is People Dancing's go-to person for membership services, making sure that the Members receive support and information.

Shelley is also a musician and teaches singing and guitar.

Emma trained at the University of Strathclyde in Community Arts and specialised in theatre. Over the past 15 years, she has worked in heritage and arts education across the country with arts organisations such as Shape Arts and Writing East Midlands, Scottish industrial museums including the Titan Crane Clydebank and as a freelance artist.

When Emma isn’t working, you will most likely find her curled up with a good book, at the theatre watching a musical (with her son as an enthusiastic theatre buddy!) or sweating it out at Hot Yoga.

Louise describes herself as a woman of mixed Ugandan and English heritage and has been a versatile contributor to the UK dance scene for over two decades.

She is especially acknowledged for her national and international development work in dance by, for and with disabled people.

In 2006 her company of cross-generational, culturally diverse, disabled and non-disabled professional dancers, Foot In Hand, made history at The Place Prize semi-finals with one of the first works featuring dancers with impairments. In 2012, she co-choreographed the inclusive dance aspect of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Sailing Events in Weymouth and was commissioned to create new works for the Olympic and Paralympic torch celebrations in Leicester.

Based in Leicester, she has enjoyed a broad portfolio career as a performer, teacher, choreographer and - now parenthood is in progress - increasingly, a consultant, strategic thinker, dramaturg and creative producer. 

She describes her role at People Dancing as follows:

“The Change I am attempting to  produce through this role and my association, as a still active freelance dance artist with a national and international ACE NPO, is toward better equity around who People Dancing employs, supports, develops and serves. It is a role I have been quietly growing into – or did it grow out of me? – at People Dancing since 2016, when, inspired by Urban Bush Women’s keynote speech at Serendipity UK’s conference that year, Chris Stenton, suggested we apply for funds to work together to augment the voice and presence of women of the African Diaspora in community, educational and participatory dance. You can read more about what this funding achieved here: Voice and Presence... the story so far.

In Autumn 2020 People Dancing invested in employing me part-time in order to extend ‘Voice and Presence’ to include all global majority artists. I am beyond excited to continue our journey together which extends all the way back to membership in the mid-90s through serving on the board 2002-2009 and now move on to industry Change Making for the future.”

Louise trained at London Contemporary Dance School, Coventry University (Performing Arts) holds a first-class degree in Film and Literature from the University of Warwick and trained as a life coach. She is board adviser to Turned On Its Head Early Years Dance Theatre, a board member of ArtReach a multi- and outdoor arts company and NeSSIE, a children’s mental health charity. She is also trustee of ASSITEJ UK, one branch of a larger international network around arts for young audiences and temporarily co-opted as a board member of Phoenix Dance Theatre, the UKs leading Black contemporary dance company.

Image Louise Katerega. Photo: Natasha King at Clifton Photographic in the Bath studio.

Louise has worked in the arts for over 25 years working in diverse spaces from theatres, galleries and museums through to prisons and secure units and with numerous organisations spanning over a freelance career. Her roles have included actor, director, dramaturg, education manager, associate artist and producer.

Louise joined People Dancing in 2013 as Producer, Deaf and disabled People – working on the successful 11 Million Reasons photography exhibition and then working across the organisation as Director of Engagement. Louise is now Head of Inclusion.

Yaël trained at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance and is a project manager, dance educator, academic. Yaël's work ensures all people can dance through drawing from their own experiences, their leadership, and their participation in democratic and co-created contexts.
 
Yaël has worked as a Relationship Manager at Arts Council England (Birmingham) with a portfolio including Dance and Disability. The role included engagement with several NPOs, independent arts organisations, artists, and companies. She has also held Senior Leadership roles as Head and Deputy Head of Service at Coventry Music Education Hub and Arts Service, developing several socially engaged initiatives designed to enable children and young people in creative dance and music making.
 
In April 2019 Yaël was appointed as Project Director to the development of Coventry Dance CIC a strategic dance organisation with and for the dance communities of Coventry and until May 2020 she was part-time Course Director for Dance at Coventry University.

Yaël is also project manager for Say Man Take Heart a programme of Movement, Poetry and Creative Writing with people who are users of the UK/USA Criminal Justice System. Developed through an artist residency in the USA, the project has most recently worked with participants in HMP Stafford. The project will further develop its international links in 2020/21.

Yaël also sits on the committee of the Lisa Ullman Travelling Scholarship Fund (LUTSF) and is a PhD researcher in disability dance in the context of Special School provision.

www.falmouth.ac.uk/staff/dr-sue-smith

Anand Bhatt is a dance enthusiast and producer from Leicester. With an interest in all things Michael Jackson and Bollywood, he stumbled upon contemporary dance in 2007 when he was dancing in a Kathak show along with dancer Aakash Odedra. As Aakash and Anand found their creative talks and dreams aligned, the clearer it also became that Anand was not in fact a dancer. He started to help out Aakash with his shows, and ended up as his producer.

Instantly falling in love with contemporary dance but not having seen much of it, Anand has remained focussed on gathering experience and skills by intensively supporting Aakash. The first project ‘Rising’ featured commissions by Akram Khan, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and Russell Maliphant. Aakash has since gone on to be one of the most globally toured contemporary dancers living in Britain over the past five years. Commercially Anand ran a studio space in Leicester, and the resident Bollywood dance school Desi Masti was a force for South Asian dance in the Midlands. In 2014, Anand closed Desi Masti (as Aakash’s work was getting too busy) and signed a franchise with Aakash’s Alma Mater – ‘Shiamak’ the world leader in Bollywood Dance. Anand was also artistic director of MJ Timeless, a summer residency show at Blackpool ‘s Globe Theatre which featured an international award winning cast and the show was ravely reviewed.

In 2014 Anand was accepted on the Step Change programme and took on a placement at London Festival ‘Dance Umbrella’ where his enquiries included 1) how can I upscale my work from small scale to larger scale and 2) Can I stay in the Leicester area, and still be considered world class, and thereby changing the perception of the place. Anand achieved this ‘upscaling’ challenge when Dance Umbrella assigned Anand to work with Marcos Morau’s La Veronal at Sadler’s Wells and the subsequent year working with Aditi Mangaldas Company touring to The Barbican, Warwick Arts Centre, The Lowry and Curve. His idea of placemaking saw him heavily focus on ‘Diwali’ - the Festival of lights - as an opportunity for building quality and he is advocating for this festival to become a world-class festival. Anand’s other interests include the possibility of getting more audience members from all communities and how his learning in South Asian arts can be applied more broadly to mainstream projects.

Anand formed Aakash Odedra Company with Aakash in 2011, and in 2016 formed their new structure Leicester Dance Theatre Limited which brought together their various strands of activity under one structure. In 2018 this new structure was awarded NPO status by Arts Council England and is the highest new entry for any dance company in the country.

Dance City, the North East’s leading development organisation for dance, appointed Anand as its new Chief Executive and Artistic Director in July 2020.

Image credit: Anand Bhatt. Photographer: Glen D’Mello.

Jane Chan is an independent dance artist whose practice spans choreographing, making, teaching, facilitating, project managing, producing, writing, and instigating change. Her training includes kathak, ballet, contemporary dance, Chinese classical and folk dance, as well as martial art Wing Chun.

Jane works in an artist advisory capacity and is an independent mentor for dance professionals and for Arts Emergency, a charity supporting under-resourced young people. Jane is the founder of Passion Project, a teaching initiative that aims to share the joy and benefits of movement and dance with communities who may be in the margins of societies.

After ten years of being a dancer for Amina Khayyam Dance Company (AKDC), Jane is now the Associate Creative Producer at AKDC. Jane’s work is autoethnographical and aims to question and reclaim cultural and social misrepresentation as well as dismantle, redistribute and reconstruct the power dynamics within the landscape of movement, dance and body practices, and it takes her around Britain and internationally.

Image credit: Jane Chan. Photo: Simon Richardson.

Fergus Early is Artistic Director of Green Candle Dance Company. He began his dancing career with the Royal Ballet, later studying at the London Contemporary Dance School where he became a senior teacher.

He was a founder member of X6 Dance Space and New Dance magazine. In 1987 he formed Green Candle, a dance company working in community and educational contexts for all age groups and abilities. Green Candle has won three Digital Dance Awards and for almost 40 years has been at the forefront of new developments in community dance. Fergus is the winner of several awards, including a Greater London Arts Dance Award, a Lisa Ullman Traveling Bursary, the Time Out/Dance Umbrella Award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement and a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship.

In 2010 he was awarded an OBE for his contribution to dance and In 2011 he was made an Honorary Doctor of Arts by De Montfort University, Leicester. He is the co-author, with Jacky Lansley, of a book - The Wise Body, published by Intellect Books.

Diane Hebb was Director of Arts Engagement at Arts Council of Wales (ACW) until March 2025, after almost 33 years with the organisation having first joined ACW in 1992 as the Dance Officer.

On completing a dance degree, Diane moved to Wales to join a dance in education company and then took up the post of Dance Animateur and Joint Coordinator with Rhondda Community Arts. In her most recent role at ACW, Diane was responsible for developing, managing and implementing strategies and programmes that lead to more people creating, enjoying and taking part in the arts in Wales.

During her career she has undertaken many varied roles and responsibilities including as strategic lead for Inclusion and Participation, drafting ACW’s first equalities strategy and co-authored and overseen the implementation of its first arts and young people strategy. Diane worked in partnership with the Welsh Government to deliver an ambitious and pioneering arts and creative learning programme for Wales, supporting schools to develop approaches to the new Curriculum for Wales and also played a central role in the development and introduction of the highly successful Hynt arts access card scheme.

Diane is passionate about community engagement and the transformational impact the arts can have on the lives of individuals and communities.

Sheena Kelly is a community dance artist interested in merging her professional dance practice and community practice to create collaborative & socially engaged work. She graduated in 2008 with a BA Hons in Dance from the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts.

Based in Belfast, she has over 15 years’ experience working with a diverse range of participants including adults and children with disabilities, teenagers and women from diverse cultural backgrounds and older people with dementia.

Her practice has taken her outside of Northern Ireland, including projects in Germany, Romania, Portugal, Norway, Spain, South Africa and Italy, and has included working with dance organisations such as DU Dance NI, Open Arts NI, Dylan Quinn Dance Theatre, and Maiden Voyage. In 2022, she graduated from Queen's University Belfast with a Master's in Arts Management and Cultural Policy.

Sheena is currently Community Engagement Manager with University of Atypical for Arts and Disability, an organisation that supports and promotes work by d/Deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists in Northern Ireland and beyond.

Image credit: Sheena Kelly. Photo Stuart Calvin.

Dr Gillie Kleiman is an artist. Her work measures its distance from dance and choreography, manifesting in performances, texts, pedagogical activities and other events, including a long practice of community dance. Gillie's activities take place in the fields of dance and live art and sometimes in related disciplines, including in venues and festivals such as Sadler's Wells, SPILL Festival, Fierce Festival, Dance Umbrella, Nottdance, and BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art amongst many others.

Gillie holds a BA in Dance and Culture, an MA in Performance and Creative Research and a PhD in Dance Studies; the latter focused on the post-work potentials of choreography with non-professional performers through practices of performance-making and curation. She received danceWEB scholarships in 2008 and 2013, received an Artsadmin Artist’s Bursary in 2012-3, and was part of Sadler’s Wells’ first Summer University cohort in 2011-2014. She is currently an associate artist at Dance4 and a Lecturer in Dance at Leeds Beckett University.

Gillie lives and works in Newcastle upon Tyne.

www.gilliekleiman.com

Image credit: Dr Gillie Kleiman. Photographer: David Wilson Clarke.

Carolyn Lappin was Executive Director at YDance (Scottish Youth Dance) from 2002 until her retirement in 2024. YDance is the national dance organisation for children and young people in Scotland, working across the country to increase access to dance for underrepresented young people, creating performances and workshops that cultivate creativity and progression routes for young dancers, working with dance artists and teachers to develop their practice and skills, and raising awareness of the benefits of dance for young people nationally and internationally.

She graduated with a degree in Politics and Economics from Glasgow University in 1982 and began working in the arts in marketing and box office at the Citizens’ Theatre in Glasgow. From 1984 until 2001 she was General Manager with the Scottish Youth Theatre also managing the Old Athenaeum Theatre in Glasgow for SYT.

Carolyn has experience in touring theatre and dance, having been Administrator for Winged Horse Touring Productions, IPB Productions and Spontaneous Combustions, and she was Chair of the Independent Theatre Council in Scotland from 1996 – 1998 and a member of the UK ITC Board of Directors. She has also chaired Surge, a company which develops street arts, physical theatre and circus in Scotland from 2012 until 2021, and is a director of a community health organisation in her local area in Glasgow.

Louise Marshall has been professionally involved in the world of participatory and community dance for over 25 years. Building on her own experience of community projects in Liverpool, she went on to work as a free-lance dance artist in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, delivering projects that included in specialist hospitals, adult education centres, schools, care homes and village halls.

Since 2001 Louise has led on dance engagement at Eden Court in Inverness. As well as regular classes within the venue, she has developed and delivered Highland-wide projects for all ages and abilities.

Consequently, she has been able to Charleston at Dunvegan, Salsa in Fort William, flashmob at Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival and bring hundreds of people together to perform on the Empire Stage as part of The Big Dance Show.

Current projects include Dance for Parkinsons; a multi-generational and inclusive Community Dance Company; developing young talent with the Eden Court Young Dance Company and SQA Higher Dance qualification; creating performance work with local immigrant communities.

Louise is currently in her final year of a MEd in Learning and Teaching in the Performing Arts at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.  

Melanie Precious believes in the power of the arts to enrich lives. She has supported the development of dance across various roles within regeneration, placemaking, community development, and health and wellbeing agendas.

Melanie brings a wealth of senior leadership experience within the dance sector - from her current role as Executive Director at Candoco Dance Company and previously CEO and Creative Director of Greenwich Dance, as well as leadership positions at Shubbak Festival, The Place, Sadler’s Wells, Hofesh Shechter, and DanceEast. Specialisms include strategic planning and visioning, organisational development, programme design and delivery, fundraising, producing and commissioning, evaluation, and facilitation - all of which are informed by an earlier career in performance and teaching.

Image Credit: Melanie Precious, © Roswitha Chesher.

Dylan Quinn has worked as a professional dance artist for over 17 years. He created Dylan Quinn Dance Theatre (DQDT) in 2009 to further develop his choreographic work. Dylan trained at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds, England.

Upon completing a BA Performing Arts Dance Degree Dylan went on to work with a number of different companies for productions in London festivals Resolutions and Spring Loaded.

Dylan worked for several years with Ludus Dance Company and it was during this time that he further developed his interested in creating work that says something about the world within which we live.

In 2001 Dylan relocated to Spain to undertake an MA in Peace and development Studies at the Universtad Di Cataollina. Upon returning to Northern Ireland Dylan worked as a lecturer on a Peace and Community Development course in Sligo and became Artist in Residence with Fermanagh District Council.

In 2009 Dylan and Dance Manager Hannah Curr established DQDT and since then DQDT has established an extensive programme of community and education work across Fermanagh and beyond.

Image credit: Dylan Quinn, TOST. Photographer: Luca Truffarelli.

Iona Waite began attending dance classes at her local community centre at the age of 9; a year later she joined ACE Youth and has been an integral member of ACE dance and music ever since.

Following a foundation course at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, she went on to achieve a BA Hons at the University of Wolverhampton. In 2011 Iona was successfully awarded with a grant from the BBC Performing Arts Fund to become a Dance Fellow (apprentice) with ACE Dance and Music, on completion of her fellowship Iona was offered a full-time position as Education Officer.

Iona leads on all aspects of education and outreach for the company, delivers ACE’s thriving weekly class programme for children aged 2 – 11 as well as teaching and managing the rehearsal and tour schedule of ACE Youth.

Iona is an integral member of ACE’s professional dance company and has been instrumental in the creation of their innovative work. She has trained with a number of prestigious companies including Josette Baiz- France, Alvin Ailey-New York, Zfin Malta Dance Ensemble and Flatfoot Dance Company-South Africa.

Image credit: Iona Waite. Photographer: Brian Slater.

Catherine Young started dancing at the age of 11 and then went on to gain a BA (Hons) Contemporary Dance Degree from De Montfort University, Leicester. She has worked as a Community Dance Artist and Choreographer for the past 16 years.

Community Dance is Catherine's greatest passion and nothing fascinates or pleases her more than witnessing people of all ages and abilities expressing themselves through movement. She firmly believes that anyone can dance and loves that the profession offers the opportunities for people to discover this.

As Artistic Director of Dawns i Bawb (DiB), the community dance organisation for North West Wales she writes in her Animated article Response-Relationship-Engagement-Dance about how it is unique being part of one of the very few dance organisations in Wales working primarily through the Welsh language.