Gerrard Martin: Artistic Director/ Dance Artist
Gerrard Martin trained at De Montfort University, gaining a BA Hons in English Literature and Performing Arts; he then went on to Northern School of Contemporary Dance and obtained a Diploma in Professional Dance Studies. Gerrard was awarded an MA in choreography from the Central School of Ballet.
He has danced for Jose Agudo for Akademi, Rosie Kay Dance Company, and has toured nationally with Tavaziva Dance, Union Dance Company, as well as dancing for the West End's production of the Lion King, Ballet Black, Aletta Collins Dance Company, State of Emergency, and Phoenix Dance Company.
Aside from modelling, commercial dance contracts, and film engagements, Gerrard has also danced for National Theatre, has toured internationally with the English National Opera, and the Royal Opera House.
Gerrard has taught and mentored the Place, Mount View Theatre Arts Academy, The Royal Central School of Speech & Drama, Trinity Laban, Rambert School & the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art & Arts Ed. He was an associate lecturer at the University of Northampton.
Gerrard has choreographed for the National Youth Ballet, Outbox Theatre, Longborough Opera, British Museum, Pegasus Opera and the National Portrait gallery. The West Bengal Federation of Dance, India commissioned Gerrard’s choreography for World Dance Day.
He created his project-based company Gerrard Martin Dance in 2011 and has had work featured at the Sadlers Wells, Tate Modern, National Portrait Gallery, RichMix and the Emerge, Between the Lines, South Bank Urban, Let’s Dance International, and Cloud Dance Festivals. Gerrard's work has also been selected for The Field Film festival, UK and the Athens Video Dance Project, Greece.
He is associate choreographer for the West End's production of Stranger Things and was an assistant choreographer on the English National Opera’s Porgy and Bess, One Love Musical, (Bob Marley), and the 40th UAE Royal Anniversary Performance, Abu Dhabi.
Gerrard aims to produce works of emotive and socially relevant dance-theatre; to teach and facilitate creativity through movement, yoga, and dance, and wishes to collaborate and engage with artists across different mediums.
He is part of the first cohort of The Kerry Nicholls Dance Mentoring Programme, co founder of two organisations Black Artists in Dance (BAiD), & the Pathways House Collective. Gerrard is also an experienced Yoga Alliance trained yoga teacher and a experienced movement director.
Vanessa Abreu: Dance Artist
Following 12 years of ballet training, Vanessa studied in Lisbon's Escola Superior de Dança and at Laban (BA & MA Choreography), where she received the Simone Michelle Award for outstanding achievement in Choreography.
Professional engagements and collaborators include: Alexis Blake, Candoco Dance Company, State of Emergency, Shobana Jeyasingh, Upswing, Fleur Darkin Ensemble, The Generating Company, Janine Harrington, Haptic Dance, Jennifer Essex, Dane Hurst, Gerrard Martin Dance, White Flag, Pair Dance, Move: Choreographing You (Tânia Bruguera, Pablo Bronstein), Union Dance, Vago Tedosio (ARTEVICT), Gary Nurse (Legends of the Underground), Luke Thomas Dunne (En Knap Group), Andrej Gubanov (Film, Light), Mathew Orange (Composer), Noura Sanatian (Violin), Ejnar Askberger (Flute, Voice, Electro), Jane Mclean (White Flag), Jonathan Chadwick (AZ Theatre).
In 2011, Vanessa was a Southbank Emerging Artist in Residence, received a choreographic commission from En-Knap, Slovenia and was a winner of the BBC Performing Arts Fund Dance Fellowship with Upswing.
More recently as a performer for Candoco Dance Company's Jérôme Bel's The Show Must Go On, a recipient of the UK Theatre Awards Outstanding Achievement in Dance' 2015.
Alecsander Nilsson: Dance Artist
Alecsander started his dance training at a conservatory in Sweden. During his study, he work with ‘Opera på Skäret and their production of the opera Madama Butterfly.
He continued his training at the Theatre Dance BA (Hons) program at London Studio Centre. During his years at LSC he obtained an apprenticeship with Diamond Dance, participated in the Balletboyz Weekend Dancers Course, and worked with choreographers including Luke Brown, Laura Weston and Alleyne Dance.
In 2021, before his graduation, Alecsander joined the new cast of Upswing’s show Catch Me for their UK tour.
Later the same year he worked with Gerrard Martin Dance and performed the duet A Journey to Love at the festival A Time to Breathe.
Since then he has been working with the companies Ockham’s Razor, Upswing, Gerrard Martin Dance, Irie! Dance Company and Balletboyz for the spring/summer UK tour of their show Deluxe.
In 2023 Alecsander will performed at Dance West in the new piece Obsidian, choreographed by Gerrard Martin Dance, and later the same year he will join the first Swedish cast of Wicked the musical at the Gothenburg Opera.
Oluwaseun: Poet, choreographer, critic, and dance artist
Oluwaseun is based in London. His choreographic work has been commissioned by Southwark Council and Studio 3 Arts.
He’s an associate artist at Swindon Dance. His creative and critical work has been published in the Guardian, The Poetry Review, Oxford Poetry, 14poems, The Telegraph, and the TLS.
He has an MFA in Choreography from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, where he was a Fulbright Scholar.
His debut collection is forthcoming from Granta.
Roshaan Asare: Dance Artist
Roshaan is a dancer from South London currently in his first year of
training at the Rambert School.
Roshaan got into dance around 11 years old after going to school and youth street dance
clubs. Around 13 years old he discovered contemporary dance after a school trip and
decided to pursue it as well.
As well as doing dance in school at GCSE and Post-16, Roshaan has had a myriad of dance
experiences including Step into Dance, The Place CAT scheme and being a part of the 10th
cohort of NYC under the artistic direction of Alesandra Seutin.
In the future, Roshaan aspires to continue to develop as a dancer by working with and
learning from different people as well as becoming more confident in his own artistic voice
Joanne Bernard: Dramaturg / Rehearsal Director
Joanne Bernard trained at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance.
Her performing career started with Kokuma Dance Theatre Company based in Birmingham, which opened up opportunities to work and perform with international African and Caribbean artist.
Joanne was part of the choreographic platform State Of Emergency which resulted in her being asked to take on the role of Rehearsal Director for 4 seasons.
Joanne also became Rehearsal Director for Tavaziva in 2004 and shortly after Rosie Kay, during this time she became Movement Director for children’s theatre company Tutti Frutti and Red Earth Theatre.
Currently teaching Contemporary Technique BA Hons students at Salford University.
Mike Scott-Harding: Singer, song writer, play wright, critic, music producer
Mike Scott-Harding is a singer, songwriter, and playwright. As a singer, he has performed nationally and internationally in some of the worlds prestigious venues.
He has performed in Dubai, Oil Barons' Ball, for HRH Prince Albert in Monaco, for Princess Stephanie of Monaco in London, and in Hyde Park, London, as part of BBC proms.
He has vast experience singing in different genres (including Soul, Jazz, R'n'B, Doo-wop, Rock, Blues, and Reggae).
As leader of Soul/Motown group The Tops, he has performed on many elite-line cruise ships for several top companies (including P&O, Royal Caribbean, SAGA and Celebrity) throughout Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Australasia.
As a session-singer he has performed, both live and in the studio, for Brazilian-fusion outfit Da Lata, and for Doo-wop harmony group, The Extraordinaires (including on Northern Ireland’s Late, late Show, and in the 2016 Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekend Festival, Las Vegas.
As a writer-producer, he has written and produced the musical soundtrack for several of Gerrard Martin Dance’s performance pieces.
Mike has recently been commissioned the University of Northampton, writing the music – and performing guitar and vocal – for a multi-platform piece based on Greek play, The Oresteia.
Kinnetia Isidore: Costume Designer
Kinnetia's theatre credits: Black Super Hero (Royal Court Theatre) Adult Children (Donmar); Our Generation (National, The Minerva Chichester); Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train (Young Vic); The Wife of Willesden (co-designer; Kiln, Brooklyn Academy of Music, American Repertory Theater Boston); Enter Achilles (Rambert, Sadler’s Wells & Onassis Stegi), Scandaltown, Aladdin (Lyric Hammersmith); The Night Woman (The Other Palace).
As associate costume designer, theatre credits: Constellations (Donmar, Vaudeville West End); Ragtime (ArtsEd); Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons (Harold Pinter West End).
William South: Composer & Multi-instrumentalist
Over a long and varied career composer and multi instrumentalist William South has enjoyed global and critical success with his projects Heavy Shift, Philadelphia Bluntz and The South Trio, freelanced on tour and in the studio with artists as diverse as David Byrne, Larry Heard, All Saints, Dead or Alive and Tom Jones among others, composed extensively for TV/media
(including BBC shows Hustle, Death in Paradise and Freefonix) and over the past few years after working as co-composer and band leader on the Punch Drunk immersive theatre show The Drowned Man has developed a passion and focus for composing for contemporary dance/ballet shows and works regularly with various institutions such as English National Ballet and Laban and choreographers such as Sarah Dowling, Stephen Pelton, Gerrard Martin, Jo Meredith and Feet off the Ground among others.
Other activities include regularly playing small jazz gigs and also mentoring young musicians. Currently teaching at Trinity, William has mentored many young musicians on to way to a career in music, notably recent Mercury Prize/Brit Award nominees Nova Twins who he taught from scratch right through to global touring and chart success.
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