Our People

Anuradha Chaturvedi Seth
Yuva Gati Principal Artist, Kathak

Anuradha Chaturvedi Seth
Yuva Gati Principal Artist, Kathak
Anuradha Chaturvedi is a Reading based Dancemaker and teacher. She has studied Kathak under late Pundit Arjun Mishra in Lucknow India and is a recipient of Sringaarmani from Sur Sringaar Samsad, Mumbai, India. Anuradha has been a performing artist for nearly 15 years and she works as dancer, choreographer and teacher in Reading and surrounding areas. She has done Sangeet Praveen from Prayag Sangit Samiti and also holds ISTD’s level 6 Diploma in Dance Pedagogy. She is the founder and artistic director of Drishti Dance, performing arts organization known for its Vibrant Youth Dance wing, which has represented Southeast Region in National U Dance in 2018 and 2019.

Atxarte Lpz. de Munain
Producer

Becky Bailey
Producer / Interim Head of Participation and Learning

Cara Verney
CAT Admin Assistant

Charley Perks
Front of House Coordinator

Charley Perks
Front of House Coordinator

Clare Lewis
Deputy Chief Executive

Clare Lewis
Deputy Chief Executive

David Bowley
Company Administrator

Divya Ravi
Yuva Gati Lead Artist, Bharatanatyam

Divya Ravi
Yuva Gati Lead Artist, Bharatanatyam
Divya Ravi is a Bharatanatyam practitioner, performing artiste, choreographer and educator. Recognized among the most prominent young soloists in the South Asian Dance arena, Divya’s sensitive and immersive performances are marked by conviction and ownership of the movement vocabulary, finesse and fluidity in expressions, innate musicality, and a commanding stage presence.
Divya’s artistic journey is driven by the quest to make indic ideologies relevant and accessible in a modern society. Her solo choreographic works for the stage – MANJARI, SARVASYA, POEMS OF LOVE, SAARINI and NARMADA, and for the digital medium – ‘Kanhopatra’, ‘The 12 names of Lord Ganesha’, ‘Kaapi with Krishna’, ‘Navadurga #NotJustAnIdol’, ‘Taaye Taalelo’, ‘Lal Vakh’, and ‘Tiranga’, have been lauded for their thought-provoking premise and path-breaking choreography. A graded artiste of Doordarshan and empaneled with the Ministry of Culture for Festivals of India Abroad, Divya is a recipient of many awards and accolades and has extensively performed at coveted dance festivals in India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Kuwait, Hong Kong, UK and China.
Divya’s sound technique stems from rigorous formative training under Sri. Kiran Subramanyam & Smt. Sandhya Kiran, Dr. Soundarya Srivathsa, and Smt. Bragha Bessel. She continues to explore her artistic pursuits in the UK, training with Sri. Mavin Khoo.

Dwayne Church-Simms
CAT Coordinator

Emily Tregale
Communications Administrator

Emma Hayes
Executive Director

Farai Pfende
Board Member

Farai Pfende
Board Member

Freya Coles
CAT Assistant Manager

Hannah Sharpe
Programme Director

Hayley Arthur
Senior Producer: Learning & Skills

Helen Lound
Programme Manager

Imogen Wilmot
CAT Assistant

Imogen Wilmot
CAT Assistant

Isla Clarke
Programme Administrator

Isla Clarke
Programme Administrator

Jack Wallace
Front of House Coordinator

Jack Wallace
Front of House Coordinator

Jade Barnes
CAT Assistant

Jade Barnes
CAT Assistant

Jamaal O’Driscoll
Lead Engagement Practitioner

Jerrel Jackson
Board Member

Jerrel Jackson
Board Member
Jerrel is a neurodivergent leader working in the social, cultural, education and voluntary sector specialising in theory of change, inclusion, inequality, injustice and leadership.
From a place of lived experiences, at the age of 25, he co-founded and is CEO Creative Academies Network (CAN) a multi-layered organisation that supports the development of children & young people in the Black Country to accelerate their full potential through Cultural Education, Creative Practice & Civic Leadership.
Jerrel received his Masters and Bachelor’s degree in Creative Performance, Creative Technology and Media from Chichester University. In 2014 he was awarded Young Educator of the Year (Royal Bank of Scotland and Trinity Mirror) and Princess Diana Memorial Award for recognition of his contribution towards the local community through the arts & education and overcoming adversity/bereavement of his brother and mother at the age of 16.
In 2016 Jerrel was awarded the Arts Council England Fellowship through the Clore Leadership Programme under the direction of Sue Hoyle OBE and mentorship from Andrea Stark FRSA.
Over the past few years, Jerrel has toured across Hong Kong, India, France, Malta, Spain, Dubai, Greece, Croatia, Sweden and Bulgaria to strengthen his international relationships and leadership enquiry of the experience of children and young people across the sub-sectors of Cultural Education, Creative Industries, Cultural Diversity, Community Regeneration and Creative Economy. Jerrel is a PhD Academic Researcher working towards his publication D.I.C.E (Diversification In Cultural Education) addressing inequalities and injustices experienced by marginalised people.
Jerrel currently holds several strategic board roles; West Midlands Combined Authority Cultural Leadership Board, Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust Arts Committee, Windsor Academy Trust, Sandwell Cultural Education Partnership. Black Country Dance Hub, SIPs Education Music Hub & Arts Council England Cultural Education Leadership Programme. He is also a core member of the Strategy and Innovatory group at UK Youth and Co-Creating Change Network at Battersea Arts Centre.
https://creativeacademies.co.uk/

Jessica Ashley
Assistant Producer

Jim Hendley
Producer

Jo Belton
Board Member

Jo Belton
Board Member

John Houlden
Board Member

John Houlden
Board Member
John Houlden is a chartered accountant and since 2007 has been a partner at Ernst & Young in Birmingham specialising in corporate finance and working with a wide range of private and public sector organisations in the Midlands. Prior to his current role, John worked in corporate development and finance at Homeserve plc in Walsall and also in the Birmingham offices of Arthur Andersen and Deloitte. Originally from Yorkshire John went to university in Nottingham and has lived and worked in Birmingham for the last 20 years and has an MBA from the University of Warwick.
Over the last 10 years John has worked with a variety of not for profit organisations, arts and dance companies (including Anurekha Ghosh in Birmingham) through Arts & Business providing strategy, business planning, accounting and financial advice and support.

Libby Aldrich
Senior Communications Manager

Lucie Mirkova
Head of Artistic Programmes

Max Simpson
Front of House Coordinator

Max Simpson
Front of House Coordinator

Mira Balchandran Gokul
Yuva Gati Principal Artist, Bharatanatyam

Mira Balchandran Gokul
Yuva Gati Principal Artist, Bharatanatyam
Mira Balchandran Gokul had a rigorous full time training at the Kalakshetra College of Fine Arts participating in their world renowned dance dramas, festivals and lecture demonstrations. As a child she trained in Kathakali and Mohiniattam and have been exposed to a wide variety of dance and theatre forms of Kerala. These combined experiences have laid a strong foundation and appreciation of all art forms of performance and a passion to share her knowledge and experience with young people.
Mira has worked with pioneering tutors and choreographers in India and England. She is Co-Founder and CoArtistic Director of SANKALPAM, an international touring dance company that has created and toured over 14 new works and presented an annual programme of classical work with accompanying education and training programmes.
In the UK she has collaborated, as well as attended residencies, with a wide range of artists such as choreographers Luca Silvestrini, Lea Anderson, Stephanie Schober, jazz saxophonist Iain Ballamy, Yoruban Dancer Peter Badejo, lighting designer Lee Curran and Theatre Director and scholar Philip Zarrilli amongst many others. She brings to this role a wide network of contacts both in India and England, as well as a wide understanding.
In addition, Mira has worked with MDI, a leading national dance agency in Liverpool, as Youth Dance Development Officer to roll out the national programme for Children and Young People in Merseyside and as Big Dance 2012 Coordinator to lead on developing the dance programme in the North West, as part of the London Olympics Festival 2012. The flagship project brought together over 1000 participants aged 8 – 86 years from across the North West to create the largest dance performance in the country.
Mira was part of Kaleidoscope Arts, a combined-arts collective in Sefton that was nominated in 2008 and 2009 for the Cultural Champions of Merseyside award. Through a recent master’s programme from University of Manchester she has focused on the role of the dance artist in conflict situations. She has continued this research and in 2016, along with dance researcher Debbie Fionn Barr, presented work at conferences in Stockholm, Lincoln, Leeds and Oxford University. She was selected for the Dance UK mentoring programme 2015/2016. She has performed and taught extensively and has been a dance research consultant, mentor and judge on youth dance panels in India and England.
Mira was a Judge for the category finals of BBC Young Dancer 2015 and Mentor for the BBC Young Dancer 2017.

Monique Royle
Board Member

Monique Royle
Board Member

Natalia Bateeva
Administration Coordinator

Nathan Lafayette
Front of House Coordinator

Nathan Lafayette
Front of House Coordinator

Natifah White
CAT Teaching Assitant

Natifah White
CAT Teaching Assitant

Parbati Chaudhury
Yuva Gati Lead Artist, Kathak

Parbati Chaudhury
Yuva Gati Lead Artist, Kathak
CAT Lead Artist, Kathak
Parbati Chaudhury is a London-based performer, maker, and teacher, working for a number of companies and choreographers, including Pagrav Dance Company (PDC), ReRooted Dance Collective, Akademi, Kadam Dance, and Amina Khayyam Dance Company.
Her training in kathak began in 1998 at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, and it continues with Urja Desai Thakore.
In the making of her own work, Parbati echoes the narratives she encounters through abstraction, dramatization, and subversion, using dance rooted in kathak, live music, and theatre, with collaboration at its heart. As one of DanceXChange’s 2020 Choreography Awardees, she is further developing her work-in-progress, Goodgirl.
As a teacher, Parbati leads kathak classes for PDC, as well as independently.

Paul Russ
Chief Executive and Artistic Director

Paul Russ
Chief Executive and Artistic Director

Pete Shelton
Board Member

Pete Shelton
Board Member

Richard Woods
Board Member

Richard Woods
Board Member

Rickay Hewitt-Martin
CAT Teaching Assitant

Rickay Hewitt-Martin
CAT Teaching Assitant

Ruthba Choudhury
Communications Manager

Sandrine Monin
Interim Artistic Associate, Contemporary

Sandrine Monin
Interim Artistic Associate, Contemporary
Sandrine Monin is a freelance dance artist and choreographer based in Leeds, whose mission is to connect and empower people through dance and storytelling.
Sandrine is passionate about the exploration of emotions and raising mental health awareness through dance. Using dance as a channel for deeper connection.

Shane Shambhu
Yuva Gati Artistic Associate, Bharatanatyam

Shane Shambhu
Yuva Gati Artistic Associate, Bharatanatyam
Actor, Director and Choreographer, Shane Shambhu is an award-winning artist and the Creative Director of ALTERED SKIN. Shane is a Complicite Associate and an Associate Lecturer at East 15 Acting School. Shane has an extensive performance career spanning different artistic genre’s and includes work with: Short Films Letters From Afar (Omni-kizzy Productions) and Boat (Just So Films), Complicite’s award-winning A Disappearing Number (National Theatre Live and BBC Radio 3), Icon Theatre’s award-winning Release, Theatre Ad Infinitum, Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company, Royal Opera House, inDance (Canada), Nina Rajarani’s Quick! (Place Prize Winner 2006), New Art Club and Menagerie Theatre to name just a few.
Shane’s recent work has involved working as Movement Director for Tara Arts’ Game Of Love and Chai with Writer, Nigel Planer and Director, Jatinder Verma and Crying in The Wilderness Productions’ Conundrum opening at Young Vic, London in 2019. He is currently touring Altered Skin’s Confessions Of A Cockney Temple Dancer with dates set for 2018/2019 and 2020.
Beyond creative works Shane Shambhu is a speaker presenting at conferences nationally and internationally and also co-project lead on Ensemble Mathematics, a curriculum and professional development project, which explores the impacts of using drama in the teaching of primary mathematics, and The Natya Project, a project aimed at discovering career progression routes for young bharatanatyam professionals.

Shekinah Yuhanna
Digital Communications Coordinator

Sophie Humphries
Participation Producer

Susan Turner
Head of Finance and Resources

Zara Portlock
Audience Engagement Manager
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