Team – Kerry Nicholls Dance

Anna Clifford

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Project Coordinator

Anna is an interdisciplinary performance artist from Bermuda. She has a BA in Modern Ballet from The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and also attained a BA (Hons) in International Business and Management from Bournemouth University. In 2012 she moved to New York after being accepted into the Joffrey Ballet Trainee programme.

Currently based in London, Anna is the business and marketing manager for The Motion Dance Collective (@TheMDCollective), a screendance production company that creates innovative dance works for film. Through her work with The MDC she has had the opportunity to perform at Sadlers Wells, create numerous dance films and explore her own choreographic practice. She can also be found teaching yoga (300RYT) and barre classes/workshops across London and internationally (@dancing.yogi.barre).

Artists and Organisations: Commonwealth Games (Delhi), Scottish Ballet, Louis Vuitton for New York Fashion Week, The Francesca Harper Project (NYC), Karole Armitage, Bermuda Civic Ballet, Jaricco Dance (Bermuda), The Motion Dance Collective, Adesola Akinleye + Helen Kindred, Errol White Company, C-12 Dance Theatre, Cirque Bijou, The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama, Parkinson’s UK, London Fashion Week, House of Jazz: Christie-Lee Manning, Akademi Dance, One Dance UK.

Suzie Robinson

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Producer

After working as a freelance dancer, teacher, choreographer and movement director for 10 years, Suzie now balances her time between Arts Management, teaching Babies and Pre-Schoolers to swim, and being a full time mum to her 2 boys. For Suzie, “variety is definitely the spice of life!”

Suzie first worked with Kerry while working as Development Co-ordinator for National Youth Dance Wales. During her time at NYDW Suzie was involved in creating, developing, and then managing a number of key programmes, including Step Up, aDvance Youth Dance Company, U.Dance Cymru and the U.Dance Ensemble. During this time Suzie was also fortunate to work with a number of Artistic Directors and Associates, including Errol White, Hofesh Schecter (U.Dance Ensemble), Theo Clinkard, Odette Hughes, Kerry Nicholls, Neil Fleming-Brown, and Eleesha Drennan.

As a performer Suzie enjoyed a diverse career working for Bare Bones, Longborough Festival Opera, Bombastic, Music Theatre Wales, Sweetshop Revolution, Luca Silvestrini, Cie Willi Dorner, Welsh National Opera, Earthfall, Volcano Theatre Company, Ascendence Rep, Diversions the Dance Company of Wales (now NDCWales), and Moving Beings Productions.

Her Directorial/Choreographic work includes work for Longborough Festival Opera, Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru, National Youth Theatre of Wales, the Urdd Youth Theatre and Earthfall.

Kerry Nicholls

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Director

Kerry is director and owner of Kerry Nicholls Dance (KND) which launched in autumn 2012. With nearly thirty years of acclaimed international experience in the dance sector, Kerry demonstrates agile leadership with the different strands of her practice coming together to drive the vision and direction of KND. KND has established itself as a strong and influential voice within dance organisations and institutions world wide through devising and delivering programmes of training, mentoring and professional development. Kerry embodies the values and spirit of the brand.

Kerry was appointed Co-Director of Creative Learning for Studio Wayne McGregor 2007 – 2011, the Artistic Advisor for English National Ballet School 2008 – 2015, Artistic Director of National Youth Dance Wales 2014-2018 and Interim Artistic Director for Scottish Dance Theatre in 2019. In 2014, Kerry was awarded a Lisa Ullmann Travelling Scholarship to embark on an extensive period of research in the USA, shadowing and assisting Liz Lerman and advancing her work in the Critical Response Process. Kerry has achieved extensive consultancy scopes for Studio Wayne McGregor, Central School of Ballet, Tring Park School for the Performing Arts, English National Ballet and Candoco Dance Company. In 2020, Kerry was appointed Executive Artistic Lead for English National Ballet.

Having taught regularly for Studio Wayne McGregor, DV8 and Michael Clark companies to name a few, Kerry is widely regarded as one of Britain’s leading contemporary technique teachers. She receives many invitations to teach internationally at Ballet National de Marseille (France), Escuela de Danza (Cuba), the Beijing Dance Academy (China), the Jacob’s Pillow School and is annual Guest Artist at the Juilliard School (USA).

k|n|d|c (kerry nicholls dance company) was founded in 1999 as a vehicle to promote Kerry’s own choreographic research. During its existence, Kerry created numerous works for k|n|d|c and received independent commissions from organisations and companies within Europe, China and the USA, and directed various projects at venues such as the National Theatre, Sadler’s Wells and the Royal Festival Hall.

Currently, Kerry is an external assessor and the Contemporary Module Leader for the Degree programme at the Royal Ballet School. She is also the Artistic Associate for the West Midlands: Centre for Advanced Training 2017-2021. As a Senior Creative Coach with a European Coaching Certificate, Kerry supports established artists, prominent leaders and CEO’s to fulfil their potential and is a regular choreographic mentor, judge and career consultant for the Royal Opera House, One Dance UK, English National Ballet, Rambert, Scottish Ballet, Barbican and Netherlands Dans Theater. In 2019, Kerry was invited to be a Rambert School Centenary Ambassador and she is also a Dance Ambassador for PIPA (Parents and Carers In Performing Arts).