Meet the team
The DCD team are a small and dynamic team based across the UK
We are proud to work together with a range of committed freelancers, including DCD alumni, to deliver our programmes and priorities.
'I have been extremely impressed with the organisation as a whole, its fulfilment of its promises, the welcoming nature of the employees, and the openness to talking things through to an individual, rather than following a one-size-fits-all solution to life after a performance career.'
DCD Supported Dancer
Meet our warm and friendly team
Click here to read bio.
Vanessa Lefrançois
She / Her
Executive Director
Based in Oxford
Previously, Vanessa was a freelance consultant working in the arts and cultural sector, with experience in senior roles including Joint Director and CEO of Oxford Playhouse; Artistic Director and CEO of the Brewhouse Theatre & Arts Centre, Somerset; and Director of Recreational & Prevocational Dance at The Place, London.
Vanessa spent the first 15 years of her career working internationally as a freelance choreographer and director for opera, theatre and dance companies. A Trustee of South East Dance, Vanessa also sits on the OxLEP Culture and Visitor Economy Sub-Group and Tourism Task Force.
Vanessa has an Executive MBA (with Distinction), Bayes Business School (formerly Cass); BA (Hons) in Arts Practice and Cultural Studies (First), Coventry University; and trained at London Contemporary Dance School and Alvin Ailey, New York.
Click here to read bio.
Debbie Cowley
She / Her
Admin & Data Manager
Based in Manchester
Having originally trained as a dancer and dance teacher at Laban and London College of Dance and Drama, Debbie has over 35 years’ experience of working in dance and the creative industries. Debbie joined DCD in September 2021 having most recently worked for Cheshire Dance as their General Manager and prior to that having worked for 14 years at Trafford Council as Strategic Manager for Culture & Sport.
Prior to moving to Manchester from London in 1999, Debbie worked as a freelance dancer, teacher, lecturer and advisor, and boasted a portfolio of clients that included; Greenwich Dance Agency, Random Dance Company, Union Dance Company, the London Boroughs of Croydon, Bromley & Lewisham and working as far afield as Cumbria and the Lake District.
Click here to read bio.
Ceri Brierley
She / Her
Marketing & Communications Manager
Based in North East Wales
Ceri joined Dancers’ Career Development in autumn 2023, following an incredible year leading the marketing for Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.
Between 2014 and 2022 Ceri, then based in Leeds, worked as an Independent Arts Manager specialising in audience development and dance. During this time she worked with dance organisations including: Anjali Dance Company, ATMA Dance, Balbir Singh Dance Company, Ballet Black, Fallen Angels Dance Theatre, Made by Katie Green, Pell Ensemble, The Place and Yorkshire Dance; alongside other arts companies touring theatre and festival work.
Before this Ceri worked in senior marketing roles at Northern School of Contemporary Dance/The Riley Theatre, Phoenix Dance Theatre, South East Dance and Company Wayne McGregor.
Ceri is based in North Wales, has a lifelong passion for dance, and holds a first class honours degree in Dance and Culture from the University of Surrey. She has been a trustee for Eleni, the dance development organisation for North East Wales, and an Artistic & Quality Assessor for Arts Council England.
Previously, Vanessa was a freelance consultant working in the arts and cultural sector, with experience in senior roles including Joint Director and CEO of Oxford Playhouse; Artistic Director and CEO of the Brewhouse Theatre & Arts Centre, Somerset; and Director of Recreational & Prevocational Dance at The Place, London.
Vanessa spent the first 15 years of her career working internationally as a freelance choreographer and director for opera, theatre and dance companies. A Trustee of South East Dance, Vanessa also sits on the OxLEP Culture and Visitor Economy Sub-Group and Tourism Task Force.
Vanessa has an Executive MBA (with Distinction), Bayes Business School (formerly Cass); BA (Hons) in Arts Practice and Cultural Studies (First), Coventry University; and trained at London Contemporary Dance School and Alvin Ailey, New York.
Having originally trained as a dancer and dance teacher at Laban and London College of Dance and Drama, Debbie has over 35 years’ experience of working in dance and the creative industries. Debbie joined DCD in September 2021 having most recently worked for Cheshire Dance as their General Manager and prior to that having worked for 14 years at Trafford Council as Strategic Manager for Culture & Sport.
Prior to moving to Manchester from London in 1999, Debbie worked as a freelance dancer, teacher, lecturer and advisor, and boasted a portfolio of clients that included; Greenwich Dance Agency, Random Dance Company, Union Dance Company, the London Boroughs of Croydon, Bromley & Lewisham and working as far afield as Cumbria and the Lake District.
Ceri joined Dancers’ Career Development in autumn 2023, following an incredible year leading the marketing for Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.
Between 2014 and 2022 Ceri, then based in Leeds, worked as an Independent Arts Manager specialising in audience development and dance. During this time she worked with dance organisations including: Anjali Dance Company, ATMA Dance, Balbir Singh Dance Company, Ballet Black, Fallen Angels Dance Theatre, Made by Katie Green, Pell Ensemble, The Place and Yorkshire Dance; alongside other arts companies touring theatre and festival work.
Before this Ceri worked in senior marketing roles at Northern School of Contemporary Dance/The Riley Theatre, Phoenix Dance Theatre, South East Dance and Company Wayne McGregor.
Ceri is based in North Wales, has a lifelong passion for dance, and holds a first class honours degree in Dance and Culture from the University of Surrey. She has been a trustee for Eleni, the dance development organisation for North East Wales, and an Artistic & Quality Assessor for Arts Council England.
PROGRAMMES TEAM:
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Ellen Chambers
She / Her
Relationship Manager
Based in Nottingham
Ellen joined DCD in October 2013, combining her passion for dance with a wealth of project management experience and her desire to help others to achieve their potential. Ellen provides one to one support to dancers as well as leading on DCD’s flagship projects such as EVOLVE and the Transition Coaching Programme, and regularly delivers workshops and talks on the Schools and Conservatoires Programme.
Ellen is an accredited Relational Dynamics 1st coach, passing the course with Distinction in April 2016. She is also a proud trustee of Dane Hurst’s Moving Assembly Project.
Since graduating from the University of Lincoln with a BA(Hons) in Drama in 2008, Ellen has contributed to the success of leading theatre-in-education organisation Freshwater Theatre Company and Squeaky Gate, a charity providing Further Education arts courses to vulnerable adults.
A life-long amateur dancer, Ellen has participated in projects with East London Dance, Big Dance with Wayne McGregor | Random Dance, and currently trains in Jazz Dance at Morley College.
Click here to read bio.
Hannah Osmond
She / Her
Relationship Manager
Based in Brighton
Hannah graduated from London Contemporary Dance School with a degree in Dance Performance in 1998 and has spent the past quarter of a century charting a career within the dance industry that has taken her on a journey through performing, teaching, project managing, producing and as a commissioned writer creating educational resource packs and other materials.
Hannah is passionate about the transformative impact that dance has on people’s lives and is thrilled to be joining the team at DCD, where she hopes to utilise her own experiences to support others with their own career transitions.
Over the years Hannah has worked across a wide spectrum of different dance genres and with people of all ages and backgrounds. She continues to work as an Producer & Project Manager and for the past 6 years has been working with Eleesha Drennan Dance. She has also worked with Deaf Men Dancing, Hofesh Shechter, Mark Murphy and Lost Dog among others. Hannah is also an Independent Funeral & Wedding Celebrant, having trained with the fellowship of Professional Celebrants in 2016. In her spare time, Hannah volunteers with Brighton-based cat welfare charity, ‘Lost Cats Brighton’, with whom she is also a member of the Board of Trustees.
Click here to read bio.
Crystal Nicholls
She / Her
Relationship Manager
Based in Bedfordshire
Crystal obtained a BFA in Performance Dance from Toronto Metropolitan University in 2012, and has over a decade of experience as a professional dancer and performer. Her journey across stage and screen includes notable credits such as The Marvels, Dance 100, and a six-year tenure as a dancer and Sarabi cover in Disney’s The Lion King.
Crystal’s passion now lies in helping dancers thrive both on and off stage, enabling them to build healthy and sustainable careers. She qualified as a nutrition and health coach in 2020 and has since delivered coaching for Scottish Ballet, ENBYouthCo, the Museum of London, and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures. As an associate team member of Applause For Thought, she regularly delivers well-being workshops in West End productions, as well as drama schools.
Crystal is thrilled to be joining the team at DCD, where she hopes to utilise her own experiences in the industry to support others to build sustainable careers at every stage.
Ellen joined DCD in October 2013, combining her passion for dance with a wealth of project management experience and her desire to help others to achieve their potential. Ellen provides one to one support to dancers as well as leading on DCD’s flagship projects such as EVOLVE and the Transition Coaching Programme, and regularly delivers workshops and talks on the Schools and Conservatoires Programme.
Ellen is an accredited Relational Dynamics 1st coach, passing the course with Distinction in April 2016. She is also a proud trustee of Dane Hurst’s Moving Assembly Project.
Since graduating from the University of Lincoln with a BA(Hons) in Drama in 2008, Ellen has contributed to the success of leading theatre-in-education organisation Freshwater Theatre Company and Squeaky Gate, a charity providing Further Education arts courses to vulnerable adults.
A life-long amateur dancer, Ellen has participated in projects with East London Dance, Big Dance with Wayne McGregor | Random Dance, and currently trains in Jazz Dance at Morley College.
Hannah graduated from London Contemporary Dance School with a degree in Dance Performance in 1998 and has spent the past quarter of a century charting a career within the dance industry that has taken her on a journey through performing, teaching, project managing, producing and as a commissioned writer creating educational resource packs and other materials.
Hannah is passionate about the transformative impact that dance has on people’s lives and is thrilled to be joining the team at DCD, where she hopes to utilise her own experiences to support others with their own career transitions.
Over the years Hannah has worked across a wide spectrum of different dance genres and with people of all ages and backgrounds. She continues to work as an Producer & Project Manager and for the past 6 years has been working with Eleesha Drennan Dance. She has also worked with Deaf Men Dancing, Hofesh Shechter, Mark Murphy and Lost Dog among others. Hannah is also an Independent Funeral & Wedding Celebrant, having trained with the fellowship of Professional Celebrants in 2016. In her spare time, Hannah volunteers with Brighton-based cat welfare charity, ‘Lost Cats Brighton’, with whom she is also a member of the Board of Trustees.
Crystal obtained a BFA in Performance Dance from Toronto Metropolitan University in 2012, and has over a decade of experience as a professional dancer and performer. Her journey across stage and screen includes notable credits such as The Marvels, Dance 100, and a six-year tenure as a dancer and Sarabi cover in Disney’s The Lion King.
Crystal’s passion now lies in helping dancers thrive both on and off stage, enabling them to build healthy and sustainable careers. She qualified as a nutrition and health coach in 2020 and has since delivered coaching for Scottish Ballet, ENBYouthCo, the Museum of London, and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures. As an associate team member of Applause For Thought, she regularly delivers well-being workshops in West End productions, as well as drama schools.
Crystal is thrilled to be joining the team at DCD, where she hopes to utilise her own experiences in the industry to support others to build sustainable careers at every stage.
FREELANCE COACHING AND FACILITATION TEAM:
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Isabel Mortimer
She / Her
Director of Coaching and EVOLVE Workshop Facilitator.
Isabel is a Personal and Executive coach CPCC, Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, and an Organisational Relationship and Systems Coach (both endorsed by the International Coaching Federation, ICF). Isabel specialises in Leadership development, cultural change, and enabling positive team dynamics.
Click here to read bio.
Jane Ralls
She / Her
DCD Coach (Birmingham) and School Workshop Facilitator.
Jane Ralls is a coach and Action Learning Facilitator based in the West Midlands.
Jane has worked in the arts since the late 90s, including being on the Senior Leadership Team at DanceXchange in Birmingham and also being a trustee and more recently Vice Chair for People Dancing. She also has experience in supporting individuals and companies in both personal and professional transition. This includes career progression, parenthood, redundancy, confidence and work/life balance.
Jane enjoys working with a range of clients and aims to provide a positive and empowering experience.
Click here to read bio.
Louise Yates
She / Her
DCD Coach (Leeds), Evolve and School Workshop Facilitator.
Louise is an experienced coach and facilitator who is passionate about supporting individuals to work and live at their best, particularly when they are going through life changes. Helping people to connect to what is really important to them and develop their confidence to take those steps to achieve this lies at the heart of how Louise works with her clients. She combines a warm, calm and supportive approach with intuition and challenge, providing a safe exploratory space for her clients to learn and develop.
Louise has 18 years coaching experience and is a Certified Co-active Coach, Certified Organisation and Relationship Coach and a trained coach supervisor with The Coach Supervision Academy.
Click here to read bio.
Frances Cairney
She / Her
DCD Coach, Glasgow.
Frances is an experienced coach with fourteen years’ experience of helping a wide variety of people explore and clarify their goals then supporting them to make the changes they want to make. Within the safety of the coaching relationship, she blends warmth and encouragement with challenge and focus to give people the confidence to try new things and learn through their experiences.
She is passionate about helping people have balanced and rewarding lives. She firmly believes that given the time and space to think, people can discover their untapped resources, allowing them to grow and be happy.
She is also an accredited BABCP Psychotherapist so can use a wide range of research-evidenced psychological tools and techniques to help individuals overcome their fears to make change happen.
Isabel is a Personal and Executive coach CPCC, Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, and an Organisational Relationship and Systems Coach (both endorsed by the International Coaching Federation, ICF). Isabel specialises in Leadership development, cultural change, and enabling positive team dynamics.
Jane Ralls is a coach and Action Learning Facilitator based in the West Midlands.
Jane has worked in the arts since the late 90s, including being on the Senior Leadership Team at DanceXchange in Birmingham and also being a trustee and more recently Vice Chair for People Dancing. She also has experience in supporting individuals and companies in both personal and professional transition. This includes career progression, parenthood, redundancy, confidence and work/life balance.
Jane enjoys working with a range of clients and aims to provide a positive and empowering experience.
Louise is an experienced coach and facilitator who is passionate about supporting individuals to work and live at their best, particularly when they are going through life changes. Helping people to connect to what is really important to them and develop their confidence to take those steps to achieve this lies at the heart of how Louise works with her clients. She combines a warm, calm and supportive approach with intuition and challenge, providing a safe exploratory space for her clients to learn and develop.
Louise has 18 years coaching experience and is a Certified Co-active Coach, Certified Organisation and Relationship Coach and a trained coach supervisor with The Coach Supervision Academy.
Frances is an experienced coach with fourteen years’ experience of helping a wide variety of people explore and clarify their goals then supporting them to make the changes they want to make. Within the safety of the coaching relationship, she blends warmth and encouragement with challenge and focus to give people the confidence to try new things and learn through their experiences.
She is passionate about helping people have balanced and rewarding lives. She firmly believes that given the time and space to think, people can discover their untapped resources, allowing them to grow and be happy.
She is also an accredited BABCP Psychotherapist so can use a wide range of research-evidenced psychological tools and techniques to help individuals overcome their fears to make change happen.
Click here to read bio.
Jaimie Tapper
Skills for Living Facilitator.
Jaimie is an Organisational and Coaching Psychologist who draws on contextual behavioural approaches, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). She works with individuals and groups to improve their performance and enhance their health and wellbeing.
Jaimie’s portfolio career includes an executive role leading the strategic development of community health interventions and staff training, health and performance at Shoreditch Trust as Deputy Chief Executive Officer.
Jaimie is a Research Associate at City, University of London and a guest lecturer at Chester University. In addition, Jaimie works as a consultant Psychologist for a range of clients, including Dancers Career Development, the Royal Ballet Company, the Royal Ballet School and the National Ballet School of Canada. Jaimie is a Trustee of Studio Wayne McGregor and of the Prix de Lausanne.
Prior to retraining as a Psychologist, Jaimie was a Principal Dancer with the Royal Ballet company.
Click here to read bio.
Ross McIntosh
He / Him
Skills for Living Facilitator.
Ross takes a stand for what’s possible in the workplace. He designs and delivers evidence-based skills training to support adults in realising these possibilities for themselves. With a particular focus on psychological well-being, adaptability and recovery from work his approach is founded in contextual behavioural science.
At City, University of London, Ross works alongside Dr Paul Flaxman in an academic/practitioner partnership. Together, they design, deliver and research ACT Workplace Training for both the public and private sector. Ross also lectures in the application of ACT in the workplace and in coaching at City, University of London and Birkbeck, University of London.
As part of his mission to make behavioural science more accessible, useful and fun he established his start-up, People Soup, over seven years ago. People Soup is also the name of his award-winning podcast which has a strong global following and is available wherever you get your podcasts.
Jaimie is an Organisational and Coaching Psychologist who draws on contextual behavioural approaches, including Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). She works with individuals and groups to improve their performance and enhance their health and wellbeing.
Jaimie’s portfolio career includes an executive role leading the strategic development of community health interventions and staff training, health and performance at Shoreditch Trust as Deputy Chief Executive Officer.
Jaimie is a Research Associate at City, University of London and a guest lecturer at Chester University. In addition, Jaimie works as a consultant Psychologist for a range of clients, including Dancers Career Development, the Royal Ballet Company, the Royal Ballet School and the National Ballet School of Canada. Jaimie is a Trustee of Studio Wayne McGregor and of the Prix de Lausanne.
Prior to retraining as a Psychologist, Jaimie was a Principal Dancer with the Royal Ballet company.
Ross takes a stand for what’s possible in the workplace. He designs and delivers evidence-based skills training to support adults in realising these possibilities for themselves. With a particular focus on psychological well-being, adaptability and recovery from work his approach is founded in contextual behavioural science.
At City, University of London, Ross works alongside Dr Paul Flaxman in an academic/practitioner partnership. Together, they design, deliver and research ACT Workplace Training for both the public and private sector. Ross also lectures in the application of ACT in the workplace and in coaching at City, University of London and Birkbeck, University of London.
As part of his mission to make behavioural science more accessible, useful and fun he established his start-up, People Soup, over seven years ago. People Soup is also the name of his award-winning podcast which has a strong global following and is available wherever you get your podcasts.
Click here to read bio.
Hannah Moore
She / Her
Schools Workshop Facilitator.
Freelance.
London.
Information coming soon.
Click here to read bio.
Araminta Wraith
She / Her
Schools Workshop Facilitator.
Freelance.
London.
Information coming soon.
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