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Staffordshire Dance Collective - Members As a group, the eleven core members bring a wealth of skills and experience to the collective. As choreographers, their artistic practice involves integrated dance, live art, text, fusion of dance styles, and working collaboratively with musicians, visual artists, filmmakers, and award winning film directors. They work choreographically and teach/facilitate professional dance artists, children and young people, further & higher education students, older people and people with a disability. Their work also includes ‘looked after children’ and those who are classed as ‘disadvantaged and at risk’ including young people who have been permanently or temporally excluded from school.
Rachael Lines  In 1998, Rachael graduated from the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, with a BPA degree, and also has a post-graduate certificate in ‘Dance Artists in Education', from the University of Derby. Throughout her training and career, she has performed and toured work by Darshen Singh-Bulher, Alan Greig (X Factor Dance Co ), Emliyn Claid, Sharon Donladson (Phoenix), Helen Parlor (Motionhouse), Lorena Todino, Gill Levell & Simon Birch (Nexus), Kuldip Sing-Barmi, Sue Smith, Charlotte Derbyshire, Dave French & David Toole (CandoCo). As a choreographer and workshop facilitator she has worked for a number of national organiastions and agencies, working with all ages and abilities from nursery aged children to professional dancers. Since 2001, Rachael has been the Artistic Director of FRONTLINEdance, an integrated dance company, where she has choreographed; collaborated with muicians/film makers/fine artsists; performed nationally; taught; delivered inset; created education packs; created and managed many projects and tours. Contact: rachael@staffsdancecollective.co.uk
Anna Macdonald  Anna has been a member of Forecast since 2002 along with dance artist Penny Collinson (Ludus, Motionhouse) and Olivier award winning director Mark Whitelaw. Forecast is a collective committed to long term research into dance within an interdisciplinary context. Their latest work 'Wordsolos' is touring nationally in Spring/Autumn 07 in double bills with Andrea Buckley and Lisi Perry’s company Collision. Anna’s work has been supported regularly by the Arts Council for several years. Alongside her ongoing work with Forecast, she has collaborated with, amongst others, Kirsten Davidson (Piano Circus), Paula Hampson (Yolande Snaith, Chapter 4), Andrea Buckley (Kirsty Simpson, Chapter 4) and Heidi Rustgaarde (H2 dance). Anna has an MA in choreography and is a Senior Lecturer in Dance and Live Arts at Manchester Metropolitan University where she has been programme leader for SH and JH Dance for the past two years.
Clare Reynolds  Orignally from Stoke on Trent Clare trained at Laban, graduating with a BA(hons) Dance Theatre in 2004. Now based on the border of North Staffordshire and Cheshire she has established herself as a Community Dance Artist working in both counties delivering and choreographing dance in many aspects of education and the community. She has worked in a wide variety of settings including schools, hospitals, day care centres and prisons. Clare delivers workshops for Stoke-On-Trent based dance and community arts companies including FRONTLINEdance, Planet Sound Community Arts and Capoeira Art Brasil, as well as regional organisations like Cheshire Dance.
Amy Tomson 
Amy began her training at The Stoke-on-Trent College, and continued at Bretton Hall gaining an honours degree in Dance. Amy has worked with Ruby Dance, FRONTLINEdance, Salamanda Tandem, Hull Trunch Theatre, Gerry Turvey, Lucy Cullingford, Jordi Cortes Molina, Wardrobe Dance Theatre, and performers from DV8 and Pina Bausch Dance Company. Amy has taught dance at Bretton Hall University and Doncaster College as well as a variety of local schools, colleges and community groups. Contact: Amy_Tomson@hotmail.com
Lisa Wetton  Providing Choreography, Movement Direction, Workshops and Performance, currently based in Staffordshire and with a decade of experience in professional arts, Lisa is now Creative Director of Physically Speaking – The Foundation for Natural Dance, delivering workshops, education and professional collaborations. Lisa works with the ethos ‘if you can move...you can dance...and all movement can become dance!’ Focusing on the importance of movement as a valuable tool of communication and creative expression, building self-confidence, aspirations, self-esteem and individuality. Encouraging expression from the soul...through the body, using spontaneity and instinct!
As a freelancer she is collaborating on various projects in 2007 including Arts Council West Midlands Moving Image initiative Fracture working with Birmingham based vj & video artist Leon Trimble of Chromatouch Visuals creating moving image installations as Grooving Image Productions. She has choreographed numerous contemporary dance pieces for community arts organizations, theatres and education as well projects for councils, dance development agencies and Creative Partnerships, with whom she spoke at the DfES in Whitehall, in October 2006. She has worked as a special skills artist for Granada Television, performed at New Vic Studio, New Vic Theatre, SJ Theatre, Scarborough, Octagon Theatre, Bolton & Green Room Manchester. She is training in Lau Gar Kung Fu and has gold certification in BADC Stage Combat- Dagger, rapier, single sword & unarmed combat.
Kate Wilcock  Since graduating from Liverpool John Moores University in 2006 where she gained a BA HONS in Dance Studies, Kate has been establishing and building upon her freelance teaching career in the northwest through Cheshire Dance. Kate has formed her own dance company together with two peers from university. 'LIBERATE Dance Company' circulates its work around the northwest and is performing as part of the BDE Fringe Festival in Liverpool at the beginning of February 08. Kate is trained in Contemporary, Jazz and Street dance and comes from a strong Ballet background. She is also be qualified to teach aerobic classes, and plans to fuse her dance training within these classes.
Andrea Renner
Starting dance from an early age, Andrea continued her training at The University of Derby, where she gained a Combined Honours degree in Psychology with Dance. Throughout her training, she pursued her passion for ballet at The Derby Academy School of Dance, while primarily developing contemporary dance styles in her studies. Incorporating this with a background of jazz and street dance has influenced Andreas’ interest in merging these variations of movement in choreography. As a qualified Integrative therapist she endeavors to bring closer her skills in art and music with dance to enable people to find more creative forms of self-expression.
Yee Ling Tang  Occasional teacher, performer, evaluator, supporting artist and student, Yee Ling dances for fun, for the self and the sociable opportunities. After a Dance Theatre Degree at the Laban Centre - way back in 1996, Yee Ling worked with adults with learning disabilities in London and with young people in Hong Kong over a five year period. In 2001 Yee Ling began a one year fellowship placement with Cheshire Dance community dance agency and following this was employed to co-ordinate Cheshire Dance’s professional development programme for dance artists. In 2005 Yee Ling began work within a local Council’s Community team where she occasionally runs sessions with young people. She has been part of Staffordshire Dance Collective for two years and has also recently joined FrontLine Dance Company’s Committee.
Helen Mulford
Being passionate about dance and performance has lead Helen from enjoying dance classes at the age of three, to reading Contemporary Arts Dance and Drama at Manchester Metropolitan University graduating in 2003 with BA Honours. Following this time she has been involved in a number of small projects, performances and performance for film. These include, Cheshire Dance ‘Combine Project’ under direction of Rosemary Lee and Peter Anderson, performance as ‘ghost’ in fellow graduate Chris Matics’ ‘The Legend of Ezra L’eveque’. And performances at Manchester’s Green Room and Royal Exchange Theatre. She has also delivered classes of varying dance styles, including freestyle and contemporary, within the community and primary schools under the council driven Bromley Mytime initiative and IDTA National Dance Company. Helen has additionally worked alongside and has had association with, the contemporary dance companies; FRONTLINEdance, Forecast, Lavantes Dance, Stealth Art, and The Quiet Underground. Following 3 ½ years based in South East England, she has returned to Cheshire hoping to re-establish herself as a freelance dance artist.
Samantha Carruthers After Graduating in 2007 at MMU Cheshire Alsager with a BA(Hons) in dance, Sam has been working with Cheshire Dance and MMU Cheshire. She has worked with companies such as Forecast, Magpie Music Dance Company (Amsterdam), Co3 Dance Company, Torifune Butoh from Japan, and The Body Cartography Project (Minneapolis). Sam is interested in developing her choreographic skills and is in the process of creating her own company. As a choreographer she enjoys pushing herself in new ways of moving, taking risks and creating challenges, allowing new and diverse ideas and experiences for the dancers and for the audience. She is interested in how dance can be used in performance and in education. Sam is also a keen athletic which she involves into her passion in dance. Contact: samantha_jayne_carruthers@hotmail.co.uk or Tel: 07759606067 |
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