Sue MacLennan Cert Ed
Head of Postgraduate Choreographic Studies
Sue studied dance and drama at Dartington College of Arts. She has choreographed over 50 works, including a piece for EDge in 2006. She is interested in collaboration, new technology and improvisation, has worked as a movement director in theatre, curated programmes for London’s South Bank and was a long-standing member of the Rosemary Butcher Dance Company. Sue joined LCDS in 1995.

Elizabeth Nabarro BA BSc
School Counsellor
Elizabeth studied French and Psychology at Sydney University and the Sorbonne, Paris, and graduated in Psychology from London University. After working for some years as a research psychologist in schools and hospitals, she trained as a student counsellor and psychoanalytic psychotherapist. She has a particular interest in learning difficulties and eating disorders, and has been working with dancers since 1989.

Rick Nodine MA
Lecturer in Choreography and Improvisation
After completing a degree in Biology, Rick Nodine went on to study Contact Improvisation with the pioneers of the form. He began a performing career in the early 90s, and has danced in many contexts including theatre, dance theatre, digital media, opera, television and site specific dance. In 2001 Rick became a member of staff at LCDS where he teaches Composition and Improvisation.

Sonia Noonan
Lecturer in Physical Support
Sonia trained in Australia from a young age and, after dancing and teaching professionally she immigrated to the UK. She then trained and worked in the Pilates technique with Alan Herdman at The Place, and began teaching Body Conditioning at LCDS in 1979. She has a particular interest in assisting students and to explore ways of maximizing their skills alongside keeping their dance training both healthy and exciting.

Kate Price
Lecturer in Contemporary Technique and Repertoire
Kate trained at the Royal Ballet School and LCDS before dancing with Rambert for 10 years. She subsequently worked as a freelance dancer with Michael Clark, Lloyd Newson and Mark Baldwin, and taught with companies and schools nationally and internationally including Ballet Atlantic, DV8, Richard Alston Dance Company, The Cholmondeleys and The Featherstonehaughs, AMP, Charleroi and the Conservatoire de Paris. Kate was rehearsal director for RADC from 1996–1998 before joining the faculty of LCDS.

Eva Recacha MA
Lecturer in Choreology
Eva trained at LCDS, graduating with an MA in Choreography, before founding her own company, Proyecto Babel in Spain. As a dancer, Eva has performed for Frauke Requardt, inFlux (Switzerland), Lost Dog and Proyecto Babel (Spain). Eva is currently making her own work in UK and she was a Place Prize finalist in 2011. Most recently, she has been selected as a Work Place Artist. Eva teaches at London Contemporary Dance School, Birkbeck College and CSD Maria de Avila in Spain.

Patricia Rianne
Lecturer in Ballet Technique and Artistic Director, LC3
Patricia trained in New Zealand and at the Royal Ballet School, London. Her extensive international performance career began as a founder member of Rambert Dance Company. An interest in sports training methods to support and enhance the well being of dancers led her into full time teaching. Guest teaching and staging commitments have taken her to Europe, China, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, South Africa and Hong Kong.

Sara Rigden BA (Hons) PGCE
Lecturer in Design and Costume, Senior Costume Assistant
Sara trained in dance at Laban, where her interest in costume developed. After graduating she started working in the costume department at LCDS, and making for EDge, the postgraduate performance company of London Contemporary Dance School. Sara also works freelance, making and designing for various choreographers, including the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games handover ceremony.

Sasha Roubicek PG Dip
Lecturer in Contemporary Technique and Repertoire
Sasha trained at LCDS 1982–1986. In 1987 she cofounded Reflex Dance Co with Paul Douglas, going on to perform with Motionhouse, Yolande Snaith Theatre Dance, Small Bones Dance Co. and Siobhan Davies Dance Co. Sasha has led master classes for companies, vocational dance schools and studios, teaching in the USA, Russia, Britain, Scandinavia and the rest of Europe. Sasha is artistic advisor to moving east and is a senior Aikido practitioner of Tetsushinkan Budojo, she is graded 3rd dan. In 2007 she was awarded a Lisa Ullman Travel Scholarship to Japan to study Aikido.

Hilary Stainsby BA MA
Lecturer in Contemporary Technique
Hilary trained at LCDS between 1995 - 1999, graduating with a First Class BA and an MA with Distinction. She has worked with a variety of choreographers including Martin Lawrance, Maresa von Stockert, Tom Dale and Yael Flexer. From 2001 - 2006 she was a member of Random Dance touring nationally and internationally as well as delivering an extensive education programme. She has taught and made work in a variety of different schools and community settings across the UK. Hilary is also Rehearsal Director for Shift, the resident youth dance company at The Place.

Jeannie Steele
Lecturer in Contemporary Technique and Repertoire
Jeannie was a member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company from 1993-2005. She began teaching in 1997 and served as MCDC's Rehearsal Assistant from 2001-2006, participating in the reconstruction of a number of works on MCDC, as well as projects with New York City Ballet, the Royal Swedish Ballet and Rambert Dance Company. Jeannie continues to stage Cunningham's work internationally.  She also teaches regularly for the companies of Richard Alston, Rafael Bonachela, Matthew Bourne, Michael Clark and Rambert. Jeannie joined the LCDS faculty in 2007.

Philippa Thomas BA MA
Lecturer in Contextual Studies
Philippa teaches cultural studies with a particular emphasis on postcolonial theory. Her research interests include questions of power, play, the body, and unofficial knowledges such as jokes and rumours. She has lectured at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, written for Dance Theatre Journal and contributed a chapter for a forthcoming Routledge publication on dance and media culture. She also creates fiction and filmwork, and is currently undertaking her PhD at Goldsmiths College in Sociology.

Chris Thomson AGSM Cert Ed MA
Director of Creative Teaching & Learning
Chris studied at Edinburgh University and Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He performed with Lindsay Kemp and was a founding member of Ludus Dance Company. From 1986-1991 he directed the Community Dance course at Laban, and took his MA there, specialising in the sociology of community dance. A former Chair of the Foundation for Community Dance and Vice-Chair of Dance UK, he is a member of the Dance Programme Board overseeing the work of Youth Dance England. Chris has taught and lectured internationally and has strong links with the community dance sector in Finland. Chris teaches Fundamental Teaching Practice on the BA (Hons) course.

Gabriela Tropia BA MA
AV Technician
Gabriela's work in videodance began in 2004 while studying Dance at Unicamp (Brazil). Her debut film was selected for the Brazilian One Minute Film Festival. In 2006 Gabriela moved to London to study video and completed her MA in Dance for the Screen at LCDS, joining the faculty in 2008. Gabriela has been commissioned to create works in London and Singapore. Her videos have been screened in more than 20 countries, including Live Screen at Sadler's Wells and the Videodance Mercosur Circuit.

Neil Webster GTCL Hons LTCL Cert Nat Sci (Open) Dip Phys Sci (Open)
Chief Accompanist
Neil played at Central School of Ballet from 1985-2000 and began playing at London Contemporary Dance School in 1990, becoming Chief Accompanist in 2000. He has played extensively on the open class circuit, and has played class for companies including London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Rambert Dance Co, Adventures in Motion Pictures and Richard Alston Dance Company. Neil's professional performances have included solo and ensemble work with Rambert, and Richard Alston Dance Company in the UK and abroad.

Colyn Wohlmut BA MLS MA
Learning Resources Manager
A native of California, Colyn holds a BA in Music from San Francisco State University and an MLS from San José State University. Prior employment includes ten years at the Stanford University Libraries where she worked with diverse collections including:  Film and Media Studies, French and Italian Studies and the History of Science and Technology Collections. In 2011, she was awarded an MA in Conservation from the University of the Arts, London.

Jeanne Yasko MA
EDge Artistic Director
Originally from New York, Jeanne was based in London from 1979-83 before continuing her successful career as a choreographer, dancer and teacher in Sweden and Denmark. From 1995-2005 she was Artistic Director of NorrDans, an acclaimed company based in the northern Swedish town of Härnösand. Since then she has taught regularly as a guest at the Danish National School of Contemporary Dance, Dansens Hus, ArtEZ Institute of the Arts in Holland and was recently artist in-residence at the Black Diamond, the Royal Danish Library’s house of culture.