Cristian Addams Adjudicator SOBHD, FBATD(Highland)
Lecturer in Ballet
Cristian studied ballet and danced professionally in Canada, before becoming a soloist with Ballet Rambert and London Festival Ballet. He was a principal dancer with Scottish Ballet, Hong Kong Ballet, Ballet Gulbenkian in Portugal and PACT Ballet in South Africa among others. He spent 11 years teaching ballet and Highland dancing in the USA, and taught at Central School of Ballet before coming to teach at LCDS in 1997.
Helen Angove BA (Hons) PGDip MA MlfL
Head of Learning & Teaching
Helen holds a degree in Drama from Royal Holloway and postgraduate qualifications in Dance from Laban and the University of Surrey. She has taught and led a variety of performance programmes and initiatives across a range of educational and community sectors and has worked as a freelance dance artist, researcher and consultant. Helen’s academic research is informed by identity politics and she is especially interested in contrasting representations of the dancing body. Alongside this she continues to undertake research within both educational and community contexts. Helen has presented her research at a range of international conferences in Finland, France, Poland, USA and the UK.
Dr Henrietta Bannerman PhD
Head of Research and Academic Practice
Henrietta gained a Doctorate in 1998 on the work of Martha Graham, and has given conference papers nationally and internationally on Frederick Ashton, Jane Dudley, Martha Graham and London Contemporary Dance Theatre. She has published articles in Dance Research on aspects of Martha Graham's technique and repertory and has contributed a chapter on Graham's Greek dances for a book published by Oxford University Press in 2010. Henrietta teaches aesthetics and cultural studies at LCDS.
Laurent Cavanna
Lecturer in Performance Studies and Ballet
Laurent trained in France at the Centre International de la Danse. He then worked with Balletto di Toscana, Staadtteater Bern, Hong Kong Ballet, Rambert Dance Company and Siobhan Davies Dance. He has danced both classical repertoire and modern works for choreographers such as Merce Cunningham, Christopher Bruce, Jiri Kylian, Ohad Naharin and Mark Baldwin. He graduated in the teaching of ballet from the French National Teaching School in Lyon in 2001. Laurent is a freelance choreographer. His second commission for Mavin Khoo Dance, Devi: the female principal was invited to the Venice Biennale in June 2006. In 2007, Laurent started a Postgraduate course in Arts Management at City University graduateing in 2008.
Raymond Chai
Lecturer in Ballet Technique
Raymond has worked in classical ballet, musical theatre and television as a dancer, actor and choreographer. He danced with the National Ballet of Portugal and in musical theatre productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal National Theatre and in London's West End. Choreographic commissions include Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (BBC), Ballet Black (Royal Opera House), East London Dance and National Ballet of Portugal. Raymond is also a guest teacher for New Adventures, Richard Alston Dance Company, Wayne McGregor Random Dance, Rambert Dance Company, and National Ballet of Portugal.
Sharon Coleman BA (Hons) PGCE
Head of Design and Costume
Sharon trained in Jewellery Design at Middlesex University, where she became increasingly interested in movement and dance. Within the Costume Department, Sharon produces the costumes for EDge and teaches on the Design for Dance courses. Sharon has worked as a freelance designer and maker for various choreographers, including Shift Youth Company and Maresa von Stockert. Sharon has a PGCE from the Institute of Education.
Jorge M Crecis MPhil
Lecturer in Contemporary Technique, Improvisation and Performance Studies
While completing an Exercise and Sports Sciences degree Jorge studied contemporary dance at the Real Conservatorio Profesional de Danza in Madrid. He has worked as a professional dancer in leading European companies. Since 2002 he has led his own company somoSQuien as well as collaborating with other artists to create installation, video and dance performances. His work has been commissioned in Austria, Belgium, Russia and Spain. Jorge is currenly pursuing his doctorate at Goldsmiths, University of London.
Nicky Ellis BSc (Hons) Osteo Med
Osteopath and Lecturer in Anatomy
Nicky trained at the Arts Educational School and London Contemporary Dance School. She has worked with choreographers Aletta Collins, Laurie Booth, Charles Linehan, Lea Anderson, and Jasmin Vardimon. She has taught at various dance institutions including The Royal Ballet School (White Lodge), Central School of Ballet and led the Contemporary and Choreography courses at English National Ballet School 2005 - 2009with her students winning several internationsl contemporary prizes including The Prix de Lusanne and Beijing International Ballet Competition. Nicky currently teached sontemporary for CAT at The Place and regularly guest teaches and choreographs in Europe alongside her osteopathy.
Antigone Exton-White BA (Hons), CTEFLA ATS
Lecturer in Academic Support
Antigone studied English Literature at Birkbeck College, then trained to teach English as a foreign language. She has been at LCDS since 1997. She is responsible for Professional Studies, and for the provision of English for speakers of other languages and is also a specialist dyslexia support tutor.
Karen Greenhough MA BEd
Head of Undergraduate Choreographic Studies
Karen undertook an undergraduate degree in theatre in Canada which was followerd by a Diploma in Contemporary Dance in Vancouver, and an MA at Laban. She has held full-time teaching appointments in Britain and Canada and extensive guest appointments in Europe, most recently at the State School in Athens. Her choreography has been performed on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1992 she won the Bonnie Bird New Choreography Award.
Anna Helsby
Lecturer in Ballet Technique
After graduating from the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, Anna performed as a soloist with the Theater St Gallen in Switzerland and choreographed for the company. She gained a BA(Hons) in Humanities with History from the Open University and has a Professional Dancers Teaching Diploma from the Royal Academy of Dance. Anna worked as a freelance artist in various contemporary companies in Switzerland, Austria and Germany, as well as musicals such as Fame, Miss Saigon and Gaudi. Alongside teaching for LCDS, Anna is the Classes & Courses Programme Manager at The Place.
Peter Laycock BA (Hons) MA QTS
Project Officer (Creative Teaching and Learning)
After gaining his BA in Performing Arts Dance with first class honours from Middlesex University in 2002, Peter worked as a freelance dance artist, creating work in a wide range of educational contexts spanning early years to undergraduate level. In 2007, he gained Qualified Teacher Status (Dance with Drama) through Huddersfield University. Following being awarded his MA Choreography from the University of Leeds in 2010, Peter joined The Place and teaches Fundamental Teaching Practice on the BA (Hons) course.
Jovair Longo
Lecturer in Choreography and Improvisation
Jovair trained in dance at Unicamp University in Brazil and EDDC-Arnhem in the Netherlands. He also trained independently following his interest in the work of some particular teachers. He performed with Yolande Snaith, Rosemary Lee, Gaby Agis and Earthfall Dance among others. His work in the independent dance sector involves teaching, making work, performing and curating. He has taught at different schools, festivals and companies, both in the UK and in Europe. His latest interest in dance video has produced works screened in festivals in London and Europe. He joined London Contemporary Dance School in 2004.