Artistic Director:  Janet Smith

Janet has been Artistic Director of Scottish Dance Theatre since 1997 and has created 6 works for the company– Playfall (1998), Song of Songs (1999), Still (1999), Highland (2001)  Forty Minutes (2004) and most recently I thought I Heard Somebody Calling (2009). She has also restaged Chiaroscuro (1997) and Touching Zulu (2006) for the company. In Spring 2006, Janet co-directed MONKEY, a collaboration between Dundee Rep Acting Ensemble and SDT.
 
Janet studied dance and drama at Dartington College of Arts and continued dance studies in New York. She created and toured 2 solo programmes before forming Janet Smith & Dancers.  The company toured nationally and internationally for over 12 years – visiting Europe, the Middle and Far East.  Janet also worked as a freelance performer with London Contemporary Dance Theatre and Rosemary Butcher.
She has taught widely, at student and professional level, encouraging creativity, ownership and expressive range.

Janet has choreographed internationally for companies including Dance Theatre of Ireland, The Playhouse Company (South Africa), Batsheva (Israel), Cisne Negra (Brazil) and Dance Theatre of Freiburg (Germany). She has created children’s works for English National Ballet and Janet Smith & Dancers and worked in opera and theatre including the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Janet’s work concerns people, culture, community and identity. She works collaboratively, drawing inspiration from individual dancers as well as the world around her.

In January 2009 Janet won the 2008 Jane Attenborough Dance UK Industry Award. This honours an individual working in dance who has made an outstanding contribution to the artform.

Assistant Director:  Sally Owen

Sally was for 10 years a principal dancer with Ballet Rambert (now Rambert Dance Company), where she created leading roles in work by Christopher Bruce, Glen Tetley, Louis Falco, Lar Lubovitch, Richard Alston and Lindsay Kemp.

Her freelance career has embraced dance, theatre and mime, and she has appeared with companies including Second Stride, The Lindsay Kemp Company, Rosemary Butcher Company, Gateway To Freedom, Women’s Comedy Workshop and with Nola Rae's London Mime Theatre.

She has created works for many dance and theatre companies including Ballet Rambert, Nederlands Dans Theater 2, La Compangnie Renaud-Barrault, The David Glass Ensemble, The Royal Shakespeare Company, Ra-Ra Zoo and Extemporary Dance Theatre.

Sally was also Course Director for ten years at the Contemporary Dance Professional Option at London Studio Centre and Co-Artistic Director of their contemporary performing company Intoto Dance.

Sally feels very privileged to work with SDT, to pass on her knowledge to a younger group of dancers and in return learn from them and be bathed in youthfulness.

Rehearsal Director/Dancer:  James MacGillivray

 

 

James began dancing at the age of 11, at Harlow Ballet School. A graduate from Central School of Ballet in 1997, James was immediately engaged by Ballett Schindowski, Germany, creating and performing solo roles. He choreographed several pieces for children's performances with the company. From June 1999, James worked as a freelance dancer/choreographer in various projects in collaboration with the Choreographisches Zentrum NRW, Essen, including the debut performance of Temper Temper Dance Company.

 

He joined SDT in 2000 and was appointed Rehearsal Director in 2002. James has choreographed student pieces for Telford College, Edinburgh, Scottish School of Contemporary Dance, Dundee, and a dance film for SDT. James has mentored apprentices on placement from both Northern School of Contemporary Dance and London School of Contemporary Dance. He was mentored by Gregory Nash when he participated in a mentoring scheme operated by Dance UK to learn skills in producing, commissioning and facilitating dance. In summer 2008 James received Professional Development funding from the Scottish Arts Council and SDT to study with the Martha Graham Dance Company and School in New York.

 

In his time with SDT James has performed and created roles in 27 works by over 20 choreographers. He enjoys working with the diverse range of choreographers who are invited to make pieces for SDT, and finds each new work a challenge and a thrill to create and perform.

Dancer:  Toby Fitzgibbons

Toby began dancing at Central School of Dancing in Norwich before continuing his studies at the age of 16 at Doreen Bird College in London, graduating in 2003. During his time at college he toured internationally with the performance company. Toby took up an apprenticeship with SDT before working in London with Smallpetitklein Dance Company, joining SDT in summer 2004. Toby very much enjoys the challenge of performing work by the diverse range of choreographers who come to create work for SDT and also enjoys collaborating with the SDT Creative Learning team in the delivery of education work on tour.

Dancer:  Ruth Janssen

Ruth started dancing at the Monica Furneaux School in Devon before moving to London Contemporary Dance School in 2000 where she obtained a first class honours degree in contemporary dance and choreography. She has performed with Manchester City Ballet, Jonathan Lunn, Bark Dance Productions and Smallpetitklein Dance Company. Ruth has also choreographed work on SDT company members as part of Out Of The House, which premiered in Spring 2006. Ruth joined SDT in 2001.

Dancer:  Jori Kerremans

Jori (Belgium) began dancing at “Terpsichore” Centre for Dance and Movement before continuing his studies at the age of 15 at Dé Kunsthumaniora Lier, where he studied contemporary dance for two years. He then went to study at The Royal Ballet school of Antwerp where he worked together with national and international choreographers like: An Van den Broeke, Sandra Dehertogh, Nancy Rusek(FR) and Toru Shimazaki(JP). Jori was invited to perform in Japan and China to dance choreography by Toru Shimazaki.

His professional experience includes IT-Dansa (directed by Catherine Allard ) where he danced choreographies by Natcho Duato, Jiri Kylian, Stijn Celis, Jo Stromgren, Raphael Bonachela, Alexander Ekman, Monste Sánchez, Nora Sitges and Gustavo Ramírez.

Dancer:  Naomi Murray

Naomi began her training in her hometown of Cupar with Yvonne Gray School of Dance before attending the Dance School of Scotland at Knightswood Secondary School in Glasgow.

During her time there she won a six week exchange to Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) in Melbourne.

In 2000 she performed pieces by Oliver Hindle, in the Glasgow Holocaust Memorial and a duet in C.H.A.S.S.
In 2005, Naomi graduated from London Studio Centre with a BA (Hons) in Dance and Theatre (contemporary dance), and joined SDT in 2006.
Teaching has been a huge focus for her since then, most recently at the open classes in The Place, London and for SDT.

Dancer:  Rocco Vermijs

Rocco was born in the Netherlands and studied at the Rotterdam Dance Academy and Rudra-Béjart. His professional experience includes IT-Danza (directed by Catherine Allard) and Titoyaya (directed by Gustavo Ramírez). He has danced also in work by Uri Yvgi, Maurice Béjart, Ramon Oller, Jírí Kilian, Stijn Celis, Nacho Duato, Martha Graham, Itzik Galili and Gustavo Ramírez. 'SDT is a special place to work. Janet Smith created a company of high professionalism, creativity, humanity and exciting works are very important. I feel privileged to be in such a special place like that. It is a great group of people to work with.'

Apprentice Dancer:  Audrey Rogero

Born in France, Audrey first developed an artistic interest in piano at seven years old. The following year, she started to study dance in her hometown. In 2006, with an increasing passion for performance, she joined the Junior Ballet of Aquitaine, directed by Lucie Madona. In 2007, Audrey studied at London’s Laban Conservatoire for contemporary dance, and obtained a BA(Hons) in 2010.

During her time at Laban, she worked with commissioned choreographers Charles Linehan, Rosemary Butcher and Rosalind Crisp. In 2009, she participated as an improviser in the festivals In the Moment and Time and Space directed by Lizzi Kew Ross, and performed at the Royal Observatory in London. Alongside her studies, Audrey has a wide range of performance experience including works by Faizal Zeghoudi, Raphaël Cottin and Claude Magne. More recently, she danced for the Company Le Passage based in France, and for the Tamara Gvozdenovic Company with which she toured in Switzerland.

She is joined Scottish Dance Theatre as an apprentice dancer in July 2010.

Dancer :  Nicole Guarino

 

 

 

Nicole Guarino was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She started her studies at Cisne Negro Ballet School, where she received her diploma from the Royal Academy of Dance in Advanced II.

In 2004 she received a scholarship for Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. She graduated with a First Class Honours in Ballet and Contemporary Dance. Nicole has worked for Cisne Negro Dance Company, The Mark Bruce Company, The Dutch National Opera and Introdans Emsemble. She has performed works by world known choreographers such as Jiri Kylian, Mats Ek, Forsythe, Itzik Galili, Lightfoot & Leon, Inbal Pinto, Patrick Delcroix, Mark Baldwin, Hans Van Manen, Mark Bruce, Jonathan Lunn and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. In October 2007 she was appointed in Dance Europe magazine as a new name to watch in Contemporary Dance.

Nicole joined SDT in July 2010.

Apprentice Dancer :  Ellen Cobbaert

Ellen began dancing at MUDA in Ghent, Belgium at the age of 14. She continued her dance studies at The Royal Ballet School of Antwerp, where she worked with national and international choreographers such as Gaby Sund and Jan de Schuynkel.

After graduating at the age of 18 she moved to the United Kingdom and continued her studies in contemporary dance at Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds where she had the opportunity to work with choreographers as Debbie Johnson, Hagit Bar and Simon Birch.

During her second and third year at NSCD she developed her interest in choreography, she especially focussed on the relationship between voice and movement by collaborating with musicians. In her third year Ellen was asked to direct and choreograph a piece by a MA music student at the University of York.

Ellen joined SDT as an apprentice dancer in July 2010.

Dancer:  Solene Weinachter

Solene Weinachter is French and was originally educated in Lyon. She graduated from London Contemporary Dance School in 2007. Solene has also studied theatre, cinema and circus as she is interested in art as a way of sharing universal issues.

Solene started contemporary dance at the conservatoire of Lyon with Michele Mengual and Françoise Benet as her former teachers. She pursued her training at the London Contemporary Dance School where she obtained a postgraduate diploma in contemporary dance and performance. She joined SDT as an apprentice in 2007 and became a company member in 2008.

Solene’s interests in performance art lead her to work collaboratively and to believe in movement as a pivot point between all art forms.

Dancer:  Joan Clevillé

 

 

Joan was born in Barcelona and graduated in Humanities from the University Pompeu Fabra.

He received his Dance education at Elise Lummis' La Companyia, where he worked with the Cuban teachers Rodolfo Castellanos and Mirta Plá, amongst others.

Before joining SDT in Summer 2009, his professional engagements included the Ballet Carmen Roche (Madrid), the company of the Choreographic Centre of Valencia and the Ballet of the Graz Opera (Austria).

Joan has worked with choreographers such as Cathy Marston, Katrín Hall, Darrel Toulon, Catherine Guérin, Ramon Oller, Thomas Noone, Pascal Touzeau, Ángel Rodríguez and Gustavo Ramírez.

Joan has also choreographed several pieces that have been presented in Spain, Austria and Japan.

Dancer:  Natalie Trewinnard

Natalie has gained a variety of performance experience including dancing for a charitable organisation as part of a cultural exchange programme in Asia; as part of the LCDS representation at a festival in Malta and in Palermo and with LC3, the performance company of London Contemporary Dance School. In 2007, she received The Robert Cohan Award for most Promising Female Dance Artist at the school. Natalie is an apprentice dancer with Scottish Dance Theatre as part of the Postgraduate Diploma in Contemporary Dance (LCDS Performance).

SDT Dance Agent For Change:  Caroline Bowditch

Caroline has been dancing in mixed ability companies for 15 years. Since arriving in the UK in 2002, she has been mentored by Adam Benjamin (CandoCo) and Yael Flexer (Bedlam Dance) and has participated in several residencies with CandoCo. Caroline participated in The Dancers Project 2005 (The Place) and underwent training on the Cultural Shift project 2005 (East London Dance). She has choreographed and performed work as girl jonah with Fiona Wright and is a founder member of Weave Movement Theatre (Melbourne) and The FATHoM Project (Newcastle). Caroline toured with SDT in the spring 2007 where she helped create and performed in Adam Benjamin’s Angels of Incidence.

For more information on Caroline's post as SDT's Dance Agent for Change click here.

To read Caroline's Blog click here.

Associate Director Fellow:  Marc Brew

Marc Brew has been working in the UK and Internationally for the past 13 years as a dancer, choreographer and teacher; with the Australian Ballet Company, the State Theatre Ballet Company of South Africa, Infinity Dance Theatre in New York and for 5 years up until early 2008 with CandoCo Dance Company. He was a guest performer and media spokes person for the London Hand Over Ceremony for the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games Closing Ceremony.  Since 2001 Marc has been dedicating time to my own choreography with Marc Brew Company.

Whilst in Australia Marc was the Victorian Arts Award Winner for the Young Australian of the Year Awards 2001 and received the Fringe Performance Award for Best Original Solo Work at the 2002 Melbourne Fringe Festival. In 2003 he was a recipient of the Shine On Award from Rotary International and received a Centenary Medal of Australia for outstanding service as a dancer and choreographer. Marc was awarded a place on the DanceEast Rural Retreat 2008 - Future Directors and Creative Producers for Ballet and Dance and as a result received a Rural Retreat Placement with 'Scotland's principal contemporary dance company'- Scottish Dance Theatre, shadowing artistic director Janet Smith. Most recently Marc was featured by Time Out Magazine as the best of the new breed of London’s Rising Dance Talent.

As a choreographer Marc seeks to challenge and be challenged. Providing the dancers with a new vocabulary that enhances their creativity, he tries to redefine expectations of physicality for both performers and audiences. His work is renowned for its tender, precise choreographic material that exemplifies the beauty of the moments shared between people, revealing the unusual and the inspiring in the everyday and the mundane.

“The evening's honours belonged to Marc Brew Company. Brew's precise duet exuded a rough sensuality. Its stirring, succulent ambiguities arose out of the clarity and strength of the performers”. Donald Hutera Reviewer, The Guardian

Recent works have included commissions by Scottish Dance Theatre, Without Walls Consortium, Greenwich and Docklands International Festival for Liberty Festival at Trafalgar Square, East London Dance for The Big Chair Dance as part of Big Dance 2008, London Contemporary Dance School Graduation Dance Season, Small Dances at Stratford Circus, Resolution!, Choreodrome and Touch Wood at The Place. New choreographies for youth dance companies include work for Cando2 and Shift, Bournemouth and Poole College, London Contemporary Dance School and a new series of site specific interventions Turning the Inside Out for the InTransit Festival 2008 in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Marc was also choreographer for the fashion industry's ultimate night of celebration the British Fashion Awards 2009 and was choreographer and performer for the National Theatre of Scotland’s ensemble production of Mary Queen Of Scot’s Got Her Head Chopped Off and Our Teacher’s a Troll.

Marc has now returned to Scottish Dance Theatre at Dundee Rep Theatre as Associate Director Fellow and will be co-directing ‘NQR’ a work in collaboration with Janet Smith and Caroline Bowditch for SDT’s performance programme in Spring 2010.

To find out more about Marc and Marc Brew Company visit www.marcbrew.com

Dancer:  Matthew Robinson

Matthew graduated from London Contemporary Dance School in 2009 with a first class honours degree. He was the recipient of the Robert Cohan Award for Most Promising Dance Artist, and in his final year toured internationally with LC3.

He has danced work by choreographers including Richard Alston, Lorena Randi and Jan De Schynkel, and has created his own work for The Scottish School of Contemporary Dance and The Place Centre for Advanced Training.

Joining SDT as an apprentice in 2009, he became a company member in 2010.

General Manager:  Amanda Chinn

Amanda Chinn started her career in the arts as a stage manager working both in Rep and on tour with companies including Hampstead Theatre, Tynewear Theatre Company, Haymarket Theatre, London and toured extensively with Triumph Productions. A job at the Byre Theatre brought her to Scotland in 1980 where she has lived and worked ever since. Amanda moved to administration in 1989 working with both theatre and dance companies including Plan B Dance Company and Scottish Youth Dance Festival. Amanda joined SDT as General Manager in 1997.

Education Manager:  Dawn Hartley

Dawn began ballet training in Ayrshire and moved to Bush-Davies School in East Grinstead, aged 14. Completing her training at London Contemporary Dance School, she joined Michael Clark and Company and toured worldwide. In 1990, Dawn became Scottish Arts Council’s trainee Dance Artist in Residence and subsequently danced, choreographed and taught throughout Scotland and abroad, including working with Bosnian children in exile in Slovenia. Dawn was Movement Lecturer for the Drama Department at Edinburgh’s Telford College and for the Vocal Studies Department at RSAMD for many years. She was Dance Artist to East Lothian Council from 1999 to 2007, also performing (with Company Chordelia, Alex Rigg and as Puck at Aldeburgh Festival etc) during this time. Dawn joined Scottish Dance Theatre in January 2007.

Dance Worker:  Lorraine Jamieson

Lorraine trained at the Centre for Professional Dance Training at Edinburgh's Telford College, graduating with a BA (Hons) degree in 2005. Lorraine completed a year long apprenticeship with YDance, eventually joining the company as a full time dance worker and performer. She has also performed with Spinal Chord, On the Runn Dance Productions and Smallpetitklein Dance Company as part of their residency at Dance Base.

Lorraine Joined SDT in August 2007

Marketing Manager:  Katie Smith

Katie started her career in the Arts at Scottish Dance Theatre in 2004 as Amanda Barnett's maternity cover and returned as Marketing Manager in 2008. During the interim Katie spent 3 years working at Dundee Contemporary Arts and gained considerable experience of press and marketing and event management.

Press and Marketing Officer:  Vicky Wilson

Vicky graduated from university with a degree in Forensic Psychobiology and quickly realised crime fighting wasn’t for her. She joined Dundee Rep in 2002 as a Box Office Assistant and was soon snapped up by Dundee Rep’s Marketing Team where she worked for 6 months before moving upstairs to SDT. Vicky has also been Marketing Officer across the road at Dundee Contemporary Arts but is now with SDT full time as Press and Marketing Officer. Vicky loves her job with SDT and enjoys working with such inspiring people.

Technical Manager:  Emma Jones

Emma has been the Technical Manager with Scottish Dance Theatre since January 2006. After graduating from Aberystwyth University with a degree in Drama, various theatre jobs took her from the West End of London to Butlins Entertainment Resort before migrating north to become the Deputy Chief Electrician at Dundee Rep.

Emma enjoys lighting design and recent credits include The Children for Dundee Rep Young Adults, She was a Knife Throwers Assistant, Girl Jonah, Shoreline, a co-production between Hebrides Ensemble, Opera Circus and Scottish Dance Theatre and Our Country's Good and Maybe Tomorrow and The Little Mermaid for Dundee Rep Creative Learning. 

Travelling to Cyprus, Athens and Germany have been touring highlights of 2008 although Emma's favourite venues are the ones in the remote Scottish Highlands.  Since joining SDT Emma has co-founded Llama Dance Company with colleague Amy Steadman and have created 3 unique works.

Stage Manager:  Amy Steadman

Amy trained in Professional Stage Management at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and after graduating with a BA got a job with Dundee Rep Ensemble in the Stage Management department. She worked as an ASM and eventually DSM on all in house and touring productions with the ensemble, getting to tour to London and Mexico with the company. She joined SDT as Stage Manager in October 2006 and continues to enjoy touring around the UK and abroad with the company. She has presumptuously taken over the role of chief mascot supervisor and considers looking after Felicity the Toad as one of the core aspects of her Job. 

Senior Administrator:  Amanda Barnett

Amanda's experience with Scottish Dance Theatre, formerly Dundee Rep Dance Company, spans 17 years in which time she has worked with three Artistic Directors, numerous choreographers, guest teachers, dancers and other artists. Her role has included tour management, marketing/publicity work, education and outreach work, venue liaison and the general day to day running of the company. The favourite area of her job is the painstaking audition process and she really dislikes things that are a waste of time.  She has gained extensive experience and a wide and varied background in all things theatre and contemporary dance.  

Administrator:  Viktoria Begg

Since graduating from RSAMD in 1993, Viktoria has worked extensively in theatre as a freelance Stage Manager for numerous theatre companies and was The Stage Management Course Co-ordinator for The Birmingham School of Speech & Drama before moving back to Scotland. Viktoria first joined Dundee Rep’s Production team in 1998 where she was responsible for a number of productions prior to moving upstairs to join Scottish Dance Theatre in 2005. Her role within SDT includes tour management, administration, education and outreach work. Occasionally, you may still find Viktoria stage managing theatre or dance productions! Viktoria is passionate about working in the arts and can’t imagine never being a part of it!

International Producer:  Nelson Fernandez

 

Nelson Fernandez is one of the Directors of NFA International Arts & Culture, a UK organisation working in the development of international projects in the arts and cultural sector.  Nelson had a twenty-five year career in the arts as a dance artist, teacher, and producer working in dozens of countries throughout the world.  During this time, he worked with arts organisations of every conceivable size and profile in the fields of dance, drama, and opera such as Ballet Rambert, Koln Tanz Forum, Louis Falco Dance Company, Nottingham Playhouse, the National Theatre, Dance Umbrella, the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne Opera and many others.  In 1997, he joined Visiting Arts UK, a charitable organisation founded in 1977 by British Council, the Arts Council of Great Britain and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, exists to support artistic exchange and intercultural dialogue between the UK and the rest of the world.  As one of Visiting Arts’ three directors, with responsibility for Cultural Operations, Nelson had responsibility for a broad spectrum of programmes promoting intercultural understanding and artistic exchange.  During this time, he was responsibility for the development and delivery of a broad spectrum of arts management programmes delivered in many countries around the world, including Russia, India, China, all of Eastern Europe, Southern Africa, and Iran. 

 

He is a regular speaker at seminars, conferences, and symposia on issues relating to the arts, arts management, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural dialogue.  He is a Director of Riverside Studios in London, Brighton Festival & Dome Ltd., and Theatre O and until recently served on the board of DanceEast in the East of England.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Chevalier of France’s Order of Arts and Letters.    

 

SDT Support Workers: Matt Lackford, Emily Tucker and Samantha McCormick.


SDT Advisory Board:
Jane Richardson (Chair), Morag Ballantyne, Paul Crewes,
Bruno Heynderickx, Joanna Reid, Tim Skelly and Steve Slater.

For Dundee Rep Theatre
Chairman of the Board: Peter Inglis
Artistic Director & Chief Executive: James Brining
General Manager: Ian Alexander
Assoc. Director, Creative Learning: Sarah Brigham