LEADERS FROM ADVERTISING AND SPORT ANNOUNCED AS SPEAKERS AT DANCEEAST’S RURAL RETREAT
6 – 9 January 2011
House of Commons event on 9 January, 12.15pm – 2.15pm.

Sir John Hegarty, Worldwide Creative Director and Founder of award winning advertising agency, Bartle Bogle Hegarty and Daniel Topolski, writer, broadcaster, world championship gold medallist rower and former Olympic coach have been announced in the line-up of top speakers at DanceEast’s Rural Retreat for future dance leaders which takes place from 6 – 9 January 2012.

Other guest speakers include: Alistair Spalding, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Sadler’s Wells; David McAllister AM, Artistic Director of Australian Ballet; Carrie Cracknell, co-Artistic Director of the Gate Theatre and Kathleen Soriano, Director of Exhibitions, Royal Academy of Arts.

25 current, emerging and aspiring dance leaders drawn from all over the world will come together in a secluded country location at the Ufford Park Hotel near the market town of Woodbridge, Suffolk. Together they will focus on the role and challenges that face them as artistic directors and creative producers in ballet and dance. Amongst them will be Christopher Hampson, recently announced as the new Artistic Director of Scottish Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet’s principal dancer Robert Parker, whose appointment as the new artistic director of Elmhurst School for Dance to begin September 2012 was announced this autumn. Susannah Burke [susannah.burke@danceeast.co.uk]

In an increasingly challenging climate leaders of all types of dance organisations need to draw inspiration and learn lessons from successful peers working in other industries.

Sir John Hegarty started his career as a junior Art Director in London in the sixties and has risen through the advertising industry to found Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) in 1982. Hegarty was responsible for world famous campaigns such as the ground breaking Levi’s commercial starring an unknown model called Nick Kamen who stripped off down to his boxer shorts in a launderette, and he introduced the British to the phrase 'Vorsprung Durch Technik' for Audi. He was also the first to pick a young model/actor called Brad Pitt to star in a commercial.

BBH now has offices in London, New York, Singapore, Sao Paulo, Shanghai and Mumbai and John oversees the creative output of all these offices.

Daniel Topolski is a writer and broadcaster in sport and travel. He rowed for Oxford and won a gold medal for Great Britain at the 1977 world championships. He went on to become an Olympic coach in 1980 and 1984 and coached Oxford to 12 victories in 14 years between 1974 and 1987, following Oxford winning only 12 races in the previous 40 years. His book True Blue, about the Oxford Boat Race mutiny in 1987, was made into a feature film. He now commentates for BBC television’s rowing coverage, as well as making television and radio documentaries, including the BBC Radio 5 series Topolski’s Travels.

DanceEast Director Assis Carreiro said: “The role of artistic director is the most highly coveted and yet is the position which has had little or no rigorous review. There is no training or preparation for the biggest job in dance. More often than not, former dancers and choreographers are handed the top job with no qualifications or previous directorial experience. Not even football managers get away with this. I am truly committed to changing this culture and the Rural Retreats are one step towards addressing these serious gaps.”
The 25 emerging and aspiring artistic leaders and producers are:

• Nova Bhattacharya (Canada) - Artistic Director at Ipsita Nova Dance Projects
• Amanda Britton (UK) - Head of Academic Studies at Rambert School of Ballet & Contemporary Dance
• Mathias Bruehlmann (Germany) – Ballet Master and Choreographic Assistant at Staatsoper Hannover
• Daniela Cardim (Brazil) – Former Dutch National Ballet dancer, Independent Choreographer and BA Arts Management undergraduate
• Claire Cunningham (UK) – Independent Choreographer and rehearsal director
• Robert Curran (Australia) – Australian Ballet, Principal Artist & Bachelor of Business Studies undergraduate
• Joce Giles (UK) - Head of Learning & Participation, Rambert Dance Company, MA in Cultural Leadership
• Christopher Hampson (UK) – Choreographer and Artistic Director designate, Scottish Ballet
• Gabor Kapin (Hungary/USA) - Carolina Ballet, Principal Dancer
• Steven McRae (UK/Australia) – The Royal Ballet, Principal Dancer and Business Management-Leadership undergraduate
• Bastian Manders (The Netherlands) – former dancer and Theatre Production Management undergraduate
• Jorden Morris (Canada) - Independent Choreographer
• Matjash Mrozewski (Canada) - Independent Choreographer
• Etta Murfitt (UK) - Associate Director, Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures
• Cameron McMillan (UK/New Zealand) - Independent Choreographer and Associate Artist, DanceEast
• Emily Molnar (Canada) - Artistic Director of Ballet British Columbia
• Tamas Nagy (Holland/Hungary) - Dutch National Ballet, Principal Dancer
• Christina Polychroniadou (Greece) - Cultural project manager
• Robert Parker (UK) – Birmingham Royal Ballet Principal and new Artistic Director of Elmhurst School for Dance.
• Keith Roberts (USA) – Former dancer with American Ballet Theater and Twyla Tharp
• Viacheslav Samodurov (Russia/UK) – New Artistic Director of Ekaterinburg Ballet, Choreographer and Former Principal Dancer, The Royal Ballet
• Clara Barberá Tomas (Spain) - Independent Choreographer, former Rambert Dance Company dancer
• Beate Vollack (Germany) - Independent Choreographer and former Principal dancer Munich Ballet
• Jessica Ward (UK) – Principal, Elmhurst School for Dance
• Alexander Whitley (UK) – Independent choreographer and dancer Wayne McGregor | Random Dance

Since 2003 DanceEast’s Rural Retreats have brought guest speakers from the worlds of business, sport and the arts to interface with existing and future dance leaders. Previous guest speakers have included ex-England Football Manager Graham Taylor, writer Charles Handy, Random House’s Gail Rebuck, and artistic directors David Lan (Young Vic) and Nick Hytner (Royal National Theatre).

DanceEast’s Rural Retreat 2012 is made possible through the support of the Jerwood Charitable Foundation, Tezmae Trust, Best Western Ufford Park Hotel, Golf and Spa, Harlequin Floors and Arts Council England.