Board of Trustees

Former managing director of Oberon Books, the most prolific publisher of new plays and books on theatre practice. Chair Yorkshire Ballet Seminars, Trustee The Faction Theatre.

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Joce is Director of Learning & Engagement at Sadler’s Wells, overseeing the organisation’s extensive work with children and young people, local communities as well as talent development programmes including the National Youth Dance Company and Young Associates. Prior to joining Sadler’s Wells, Joce was Director of Creative Projects at Rambert, where he worked as part of the senior management team for 9 years. Having previously worked as a professional dancer, performing with Scottish Ballet from 1998 – 2004, Joce was supported by DCD in 2009 to undertake an MA in Cultural Leadership at City University London.

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Adam Adnyana is the Assistant General Secretary for Live Performance at Equity. Equity is a trade union representing performers and creative practitioners, including dancers. Adam has overall responsibility to support and improve the working lives of dancers, including management of trade union negotiations with employers and engagers across the sector.

Adam has worked in the finance sector, and for a number of trade unions in the banking and public services sectors, in the UK and Australia. He holds an MA in Employee Relations from Newcastle University.

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Sonia Benhamida is a Managing Director at BlackRock, based in London, focusing on the healthcare sector. She previously led Healthcare CEMEA at DNB and has held roles at Ipsen and Rothschild & Co in Paris. She also worked as an Assistant Professor at CentraleSupélec. Sonia holds a degree from HEC Paris and a PhD in Molecular Biology from Paris University.

Sonia is passionate about dance and an avid balletomane, with a strong appreciation of the discipline and commitment required in training. She believes in the transferable skills developed through dance and is committed to supporting dancers in building fulfilling careers beyond the stage.

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Sarah is the Executive Director of The Frederick Ashton Foundation, an organisation dedicated to preserving and promoting the legacy of Frederick Ashton, Britain’s founding choreographer, and ensuring his ballets continue to thrive for future generations.

Prior to this role, she spent 15 years at The Royal Ballet School, working closely with young dancers, many of whom are now performing at the highest level on stages around the world. As Head of Development, she led a small team that raised over £50 million to support students throughout their rigorous eight-year training.

Driven by a deep concern for the “what next” facing young dancers, who often underestimate the breadth of transferable skills they acquire, Sarah has long championed the work of Dancers’ Career Development (DCD) and was honoured to join its Board. She also serves on the Board of Action Through Enterprise, which supports communities in Upper West Ghana.

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Rebecca Jones is a journalist and broadcaster who worked for the BBC for nearly 30 years, as the Arts Correspondent and Chief News Presenter. She regularly chairs events at organisations including The Royal Ballet and Opera and at literary festivals. She has judged arts awards, served on the board of the Birmingham Royal Ballet and is a former trustee of the Henry Barber Institute of Fine Arts.

Rebecca is also a qualified Barre instructor.

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Judy is a chartered accountant with 25 years’ experience working in the voluntary and charitable sector.  She recently worked with Home Start Cymru as a consultant and previous roles include Director of Corporate Services at Cwmpas and Finance Director at Chwarae Teg.

A Trustee on the board of WCVA for many years, she also served on a number of Third Sector financial committees in Welsh Government and the Welsh European Funding Office.

Judy started her career as a dancer, training at the Royal Ballet School and dancing professionally with the Berlin Ballet, Ballet de Monte Carlo, Northern Ballet and Ballet Arizona.

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Ida Levine is a Principal with Two Rivers Associates Limited, consulting on policy, strategy and governance.

She is a Governor of the Royal Ballet Companies and a Non-Executive Director on the Board of the UK Impact Investing Institute. Ida sits on the Board of Trustees of the Maria Bjornson Memorial Fund and was formerly Deputy Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Academy of Dance.

Ida also sits on the Advisory Boards of the Institute for Carbon Management and Promise Institute for Human Rights Law at UCLA.

Previously Ida was Board Director, Senior Vice President and Senior Counsel for the Capital Group in Europe. Before CG, Ida was European Counsel at JP Morgan Investment Management and a Partner at the international law firm Jones Day (London and New York).

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Georgina Robbins is the founder and Director of Georgina Robbins Associates Limited, a financial services compliance and risk consulting business. Georgina also sits on the Board of Trustees of the Royal Academy of Dance and is a keen Silver Swan.

Previously, Georgina held global and international compliance roles for investment banks including Goldman Sachs International Limited, ABN Amro Bank N.V. and Lazard & Co. Ltd.

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Nandita Shankardass is a dance artist, choreographer, interdisciplinary facilitator, educator and speaker. She is the founder of Welcome Movement® created to generate wellbeing, stimulate creativity and empower freedom of expression through movement and dance experiences.

Nandita works across educational, professional and community settings and creates for public spaces, from galleries to the outdoors. She is continually driven by care and compassion in her practice to encourage spaces which are inclusive, accessible and empowering. Nandita formed part DCD’s first Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group between 2022-2024.

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