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Dance Live! Senior Producer
Cherry studied her BA Hons Choreography and Dance and MA Cultural and Arts Management at the University of Winchester. After working closely with children in after school clubs and summer camps in the UK and Italy, Cherry began an Internship as Dance Administrator at The Point, Eastleigh. Whilst at The Point, Cherry regularly produced dance shows and platforms for local dance groups and The Point’s seven Point Dance Companies including ORB Male Youth Dance Company and Hampshire Youth Dance Company. In 2019, Cherry became Education Coordinator at Pavilion Dance South West before joining the Dance Live Team at The Guildhall Trust.
Cherry also has experience in teaching a variety of dance styles (including Contemporary, Commercial, Latin and Ballroom, Street Dance and Hip Hop) as well as drama and physical theatre. Cherry often teaches ages 6-18 as well as children and adults with additional needs.
Head of Learning and Participation at The Guildhall Trust
Hayley was a competitive figure skater up to leaving to head to Cardiff for University to study Performing Arts, where she worked alongside studying, as a performer for theatre and TV.
During her time at university, Hayley taught youth theatre, and facilitated applied theatre projects with young people in the community.
Upon moving to Portsmouth, Hayley continued to deliver Youth Theatre programmes for a local Theatre, and then joined the Portsmouth Guildhall in the Box Office.
Hayley gradually built up the The Guildhall Trusts Learning and Participation department, initiating programmes of activity for communities. These include activities for schools, singing groups for older people and skills programmes for young people, before launching Dance Live! in 2019.
Dance Live! Coordinator
Ella studied BA Dance Performance and MA Performance: Dance at The University of
Chichester. As part of her studies Ella also completed her Diploma in Dance
Education in Imperial Classical Ballet and Modern Theatre, as part of the ISTD.
Ella has toured and performed professionally for choreographers such as James
Cousins, Keira Martin, Sarah Golding, Rob Clark, and Sonia Sabri.
Ella is excited to be back full-time with the Dance Live team combining her experience as a dancer, choreographer, and teacher to ensure the running of the event.
Events Director at The Guildhall Trust
Since 1984, Nick has developed a vast knowledge of sound, lighting and stage production with a number of positions held within the Guildhall Stage department. In 2012, Nick was appointed the role of Head of Technical Services, with the responsibilities of maintaining and enhancing the fabric of the building, along with overseeing the requirements of events.
Nick is now Events Director and takes a lead in all internal Guildhall Trust events such as Portsmouth Comic Con, Guildhall Games Fest, Sampled and of course, Dance Live!
Stage and Technical Manager at The Guildhall Trust
Craig initially became interested in backstage and technical work through his school performances. After leaving school, he landed a role as a technician at Portsmouth Guildhall where he is now Stage and Technical Manager alongside his freelance stage and technical work.
Craig specialises in concerts, conferencing, exhibition, competition and outdoor event production and is most excited about working with the Dance Live! LED Screen.
Chief Executive Officer at The Guildhall Trust
Andy has been the CEO of The Guildhall Trust since 2012. Andy has spent his whole career in arts management. Originally with the Apollo Leisure Group in the late 80s where he worked at some of this country’s largest theatres, he joined Stoll Moss Theatres in 1989. He worked on the opening of Miss Saigon at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane before taking over as manager of the Lyric Theatre Shaftesbury Avenue. He has opened and developed many unique venues including the Hat Factory in Luton in 2004 and the Luton Cultural Trust in 2008.
Take a look at some our brilliant judges, hosts and patrons for Dance Live! 2024.
Dance Live! Patron and Finals Judge
Mark Smith, is a Choreographer, Movement Director, Dance Teacher, Workshop Leader and Director, Founder and Artistic Director of Deaf Men Dancing, Patron for The Imperial Society of Teachers and Dancing (ISTD) and was nominated as Best Choreographer in the Off-West End Awards and the Broadway World UK Awards for Ace of Clubs, Call Me Madam & Iolanthe and Live Theatre & British Theatre for Tommy.
Dance Live! Judge
Hayley Jane is a choreographer regularly working both in the UK & internationally.
She creates in all dance disciplines, is known for powerful and vivid movement, and is passionate about creative story telling through dance.
Her choreographic repertoire encompasses a wide variety of theatre shows and productions. She has also produced and directed her own UK theatre tours.
She regularly works with students of all ages, and as a teacher strives to help them find and increase their self confidence and artistry, to sit alongside their technical ability.
Dance Live! Judge
Thomas Buckley is a creative director working across theatre and the arts. They are associate artist here at the guildhall, developing new works that use cutting edge technologies alongside embodied and sensory practices like dance and contemporary sculpture. Last year they were guest curator at Brighton’s digital arts festival; Dreamy Place following their fellowship with the Royal Shakespeare Company where they worked with international partners to develop immersive retellings of classic works of Shakespeare.
Dance Live! Judge
After graduating Performers college in 2018, Callum joined Sol Dans – a contemporary and jazz company based in London, workshopping with them for their forthcoming European Tour. In early 2019, Callum joined the world renowned New Adventures company, where he made his full professional debut in Swan Lake. This production toured internationally, culminating in an unforgettable two week residency at the New York City Centre Theatre.
Callum originated the role of Sebastian in the Capulet company of Matthew Bourne’s Romeo & Juliet. Following an extensive tour of the UK, this production has also been screened in cinemas nationwide and on Sky Arts. Recently, Callum performed at Portsmouth’s New Theatre Royal during the Christmas season, and was Dance Captain in their festive shows.
Dance Live! Judge
Adam John Roberts is a neurodiverse contemporary dance artist and entrepreneur based in Halton and an alum from Liverpool John Moore’s University where he studied Dance, both at BA and MA Level. The undergraduate dance degree studied entailed the development of contemporary and jazz techniques and learning about choreography and dance film whilst having the opportunity to practically explore, experiment, structure, film and edit. In September 2016, Adam returned to LJMU to continually enhance his creative practice supported by academic research under assessment. Since graduation, Adam has been an associate artist on the ‘Occupied’ scheme with Ludus Dance and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures
Dance Live! Host
An “absolute tornado of a cabaret star”, Aidan Sadler is routinely vandalising the face of cabaret. Described as the “Demonic David Bowie”, they made their staggering ascent to notoriety at Edinburgh Fringe 2021 with their debut show, Tropicana, which went on to sell out, extend and win “Best Solo Act” at The Scene Alba Awards. They have since appeared in Fringe festivals across the globe every year. Aidan has appeared in west-end residencies at Proud Embankment and Cellar Door, both receiving nationwide acclaim in The Sun, TimeOut and Metro. Aidan continues to tour nationally with new shows, constantly reinventing what it means to be a cabaret artist in the 21st century.
Dance Live! Judge
Amy is Artistic Director of Morvell Dance – a dance and physical theatre company based in the South of England. With her company, Amy is currently in research for a new show called ‘The Difference a Year Makes’ which will be a dance and digital work that presents real stories of women from different walks of life who have simultaneously experienced a transformation over the same 12-month period.
Alongside her own work, Amy is a dancer for Lîla Dance, currently on tour with their new work ‘Fault Lines’ and is also lecturing in Dance & Choreography at The University of Chichester.
Dance Live! Judge
Black British Dancer / Choreographer / Company Director of Ascension Dance Company. AJ has produced work for the BBC (BBC Dance Passion 2022 & BBC Contains Strong Language 2021) , Sky Arts and worked with the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 to create and tour a piece of work throughout the game’s activities. Inspired by movement physicality and the fusion of contemporary dance with parkour and freerunning, AJ’s work embodies a raw and unrelenting quality that tackles topics relating to us as humans.
Dance Live! Judge
Courtney (She/They) is a Choreographer and Digital Artist based in St. Albans,
Hertfordshire, producing visually dynamic work that is curious about how different artforms living harmoniously in a shared space. Since graduating from The University of Chichester, Courtney has created the dance & digital art work ‘Sketch’ with The Point, as part of the
graduate scheme ‘GradLab’ . ‘Sketch’ toured to The University of
Chichester, The Point, Rambert School and The Place for Resolution Festival 2022. Courtney has completed digital commissions for One Dance UK, ResDance Podcast, Independent Dance Artists and most recently worked with Lila Dance as their Digital Illustrator for new dance theatre work ‘Fault Lines’ (touring in February 2024).
Dance Live! Host
Hayley Kay has been a familiar voice in Lancashire for many years having spent over twenty years presenting local radio and can currently be heard on BBC Radio Lancashire and BBC Radio Cumbria, as well as Coastal Radio DAB on the the Flyde Coast.
Hayley is a well known presenter at local events and over the years has presented such prestigious events as Lytham Festival, Blackpool Illuminations Switch On, Miss Blackpool & many more.
Hayley trained in dance until she was 16 and in more recent years has starred in pantomime at Blackpool’s Grand Theatre.
Dance Live! Judge
Jazz Gritt is a dance artist based in Bournemouth. He has worked in creating experiences for audiences, communities and dancers in training as a teacher, choreographer and performer. From his training at Northern school of contemporary dance he began working for 2 years with contemporary dance company, 2Faced Dance. He moved on to work on Swan Lake Dreams with Birmingham Royal Ballet, now he works as a visiting tutor at the Arts University in Bournemouth. He has created cabaret shows dancing through the musicals, current top charts and old classics that you can’t help but groove to and is passionate about sharing the love of his craft with anyone wanting to dance.
Dance Live! Host
Joe started off in the holiday parks working for Haven. After leaving the parks, he went on to perform as an actor, comedian, and Pantomime Dame!
Joe has performed in Panto for the past ten years and most recently as Mrs Smee in Peter Pan for the Hazlitt Theatre. Joe is also the founder and producer of Page to Panto, a company that specialises in children’s theatre, site specific productions and, of course, Pantomime!
This past year Joe has been touring his own one-man Pantomime Dame show ‘Dame Dolly Does…’ all over the country. Last year Joe also debuted a brand-new solo show ‘The Joe Show’.This year has also been an exciting one for Joe, who’s Pantomime scripts were published by Beercott Books. Joe has also appeared on television alongside Milkshake Monkey for Channel 5, as well as appearing in ‘You Call That Hard Work’ for the BBC.
Dance Live! Judge
Since graduating with a 1st BA(Hons) in Choreography from Falmouth University (2014), Katie has developed opportunities for young people and communities who face barriers to accessing dance through her work as a choreographer and producer. She is the Artistic Director of KDE Dance, Sussex Dance Network and Co-AD of Kabecca Films. She is also a Creative Producer at OBX Hastings. Her choreographic work is interdisciplinary spanning motion capture, MR, film and audio and is made for unconventional theatre spaces such as sheltered accommodation, youth centres and community halls. Supporters of her work include Studio Wayne McGregor’s QuestLab Network and Goldsmiths University’s Mocap Streamer Residency.
Dance Live! Judge
Matt has worked extensively in theatre production, ranging from touring theatre to being head of technical for venues to lighting design and sound design. He currently works for theatre consultancy and project management company Charcoalblue as a technical expert.
Some career highlights include: sound design for Brian Blessed‘s directorial debut of The Hollow by Agatha Christie, sound design for Educating Rita directed by Robin Herford, lighting design for Plastic Paradiso by Claire Benson and PDSW.
Dance sector highlights include: Richard Alston Dance Company as Sound Engineer, PDSW as Technical and Production Manager, and Cathy Waller Company as Production Consultant.
Dance Live! Judge
Mike, a creative videographer, has over 15 years professional experience in Performing Arts and Creative Industries. As a Technical Manager, Sound Engineer and Lighting Designer in Contemporary Dance, working alongside artists such as Hofesh Schecter, //TRIBE, Lost Dog Dance, Lîla Dance, Richard Alston and Flexer & Sandiland he has collaborated with artists, creatives, and engineers worldwide and helped them stand out in their field. More recently Mike is founder of a creative videography and photography service located in Worthing and West Sussex ‘mikebdesigns.com’. Specialising in Dance video, mike b designs create bespoke tailored promotional content for your passion.
Dance Live! Judge
Mike, a creative videographer, has over 15 years professional experience in Performing Arts and Creative Industries. As a Technical Manager, Sound Engineer and Lighting Designer in Contemporary Dance, working alongside artists such as Hofesh Schecter, //TRIBE, Lost Dog Dance, Lîla Dance, Richard Alston and Flexer & Sandiland he has collaborated with artists, creatives, and engineers worldwide and helped them stand out in their field. More recently Mike is founder of a creative videography and photography service located in Worthing and West Sussex ‘mikebdesigns.com’. Specialising in Dance video, mike b designs create bespoke tailored promotional content for your passion.
Dance Live! Judge
Rebecca Evans trained in the states with Rochester City Ballet then completed her contemporary dance training at Laban Centre. Since 2014 she has been creating digital dance experiences in the UK and abroad. Her work uses interactive and immersive technologies, spanning the wide spectrum of interactivity from traditional black box theater to fully immersive.
Rebecca completed her MA in Virtual and Extended Realities at UWE Bristol in December 2023. She is a 2018/2019 Studio Wayne McGregor Questlab Network artist. Her work has been commissioned by 2Faced Dance, Wilton’s Strike, The Vaults, Athens Digital Arts Festival, Waltham Forest Council, Dance Beds and London Borough of Culture.
Dance Live! Judge
Stevie has been dancing since the age of 7, studying dance throughout her education, culminating in training professionally at Wilkes Academy of Performing Arts. She is trained in all styles of dance, but is particularly interested in hip hop and commercial. Since graduating, Stevie has worked professionally within the commercial, corporate and modelling sectors. Whilst studying and building her career, Stevie developed her passion for choreography and working with others through teaching dance and has now been teaching for nearly 10 years.
Portsmouth Guildhall, Guildhall Square, Portsmouth, PO1 2AB
Mon- Fri 9am-5pm
