Panel Member Biographies

Please note: Panel members will updated as they are confirmed.

Opening Pathways

Paula Hocking Wheel Fever, Plymouth

Paula Hocking works as a freelance Community Dance Practitioner in Plymouth. Since 1997, her practice has included working with young people by creating and delivering dance projects that provide opportunities for groups to perform in dance platforms, festivals and theatres. Paula’s son is a wheelchair user, so she became aware that disabled children and young people felt excluded from dance as an art form. Stories of exclusion, for example, wheelchairs being a health and safety risk or needing to be able to walk or jump to take part motivated her to initiate a project in 2007 that gave those young people opportunity to explore the art from; with support from Sue Smith and Kuldip-Singh Barmi (original members of Candoco), Paula founded Wheelfever Projects. The project offers a spectrum of provision for children and young people, disabled and non-disabled, with a culture that both nurtures and empowers each individual in and through their artistic development. Monthly dance workshops allow for new participants to drop-in and have a go; providing a space for finding their body and enjoying a sense of freedom and expression. Weekly workshops give the keen dancer a space and place to develop their movement and performance skills as part of Crossing Tracks, the projects youth dance performance group. In 2010, Paula completed her MA in Choreography at Dartington College of Arts, where she researched the relationship between dance and disability. Her study has fuelled her direction as she mentors dancers who desire to have more opportunity to be taken seriously, where the measure of their ability is not reliant on the external idea of a physical norm and where dance challenges the notion of disability and disability challenges the cultural perception of dance.

Imogen Walker, MSc Trinity Laban

Imogen Walker holds a BA(Hons) in Dance and an MSc in Dance Science. She is currently leading a research project on current dance provision and best practice in talent development for young people with disabilities at Trinity Laban, in partnership with Dance4. She is also completing her PhD on commitment, adherence and dropout among young talented dancers as part of a larger project on dance talent development in young people (for more information, please see www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/dance-science). Imogen has lectured in dance technique and dance science in further and higher education, and continues to teach these subjects on a freelance basis. She has published her research in peer-reviewed scientific journals and has presented at international conferences on dance science and dance education. Imogen has also written over twenty dance science and health articles in dance magazines, and is the author of two information sheets which were part of the legacy of the first Foundations for Excellence conference in 2009.

Dr Lio Moscardini, School of Education, Strathclyde University

Dr Lio Moscardini is a lecturer in the School of Education at the University of Strathclyde. The focus of his teaching in the School of Education is on inclusive education and additional support needs with his research interests relating to inclusive practices and pedagogy particularly with regard to pupils with learning difficulties. He is currently leading a longitudinal research study joint-funded by The Roberston Trust and the KPMG Foundation investigating inclusive practice in primary schools in supporting children with attachment issues. He has recently completed a study funded by SEMPRE (Society for Education, Psychology and Music Research) entitled 'Who gets to play?'. This study investigated equality of opportunity in the selection of children for musical instrument lessons in primary schools. He was a member of the UK team selected to undertake an EU commission that involved ten European states reporting on inclusion and education. Lio is a member of the Additional Support Needs Tribunals Scotland. He has taught in primary and secondary special and mainstream schools and, prior to joining the University in 2007 he was Depute Head Teacher of a school for pupils with moderate learning difficulties.

Training

Sarah Whatley Professor of Dance and Director of the Centre for Dance Research at Coventry University

Sarah Whatley is Professor of Dance and Director of the Centre for Dance Research (C-DaRE) at Coventry University. As a researcher and dance artist, her work specialises in the interface between dance and new technologies, dance analysis, somatic dance practice and pedagogy, and inclusive dance practices. Amongst her publications that focus on inclusive dance, she is author of the PALATINE funded ‘Moving Matters’, which emerged from a period of research into the experience of disabled dance students in higher education and exiting into the profession. She is now working with Blue Eyed Soul Dance Company on the Dance Transformations project, supporting the development of disabled dance choreographers. Additionally, she led the AHRC-funded Siobhan Davies archive project (www.siobhandaviesreplay.com) and is now working on the AHRC-funded Digital Dance Archives project with the University of Surrey. She also led the JISC-funded D-TRACES project, to embed digital dance resources in the curriculum, is part of the AHRC-funded Screendance network and is a member of the International Education Workgroup for The Forsythe Company’s Motion Bank project. She is Academic Advisor: Digital Environment for The Routledge Digital Performance Archive, is Editor of the Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices and is on the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Screendance.

Ali Jarvis Scottish Funding Council

Ali is a freelance consultant and coach specialising in leadership, strategic change management and equality with organisations in the public, private and non-profit sectors. She is also an independent assessor for the Office of the Commissioner for Public appointments (OCPAS) in Scotland, and a Board member of NHS Health Scotland.

Until Autumn 2007 Ali was Director of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) in Scotland responsible for delivering a strategic approach to racial equality in policy development, the law and public education programmes. She also lead the work of the CRE's Welsh and English regional offices and their community engagement and grant-making functions.

Before joining the CRE, Ali was Director of Stonewall in Scotland working on legal equality and social justice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. Major advances during this time were made in public health, education and social attitudes as well as in the achievement of civil partnership legislation.

Ali was directly engaged with the process of developing the UK Equality and Human Rights Commission in the 4 years leading up to its opening in 2007 and has been involved in many other cross-Equalities Groups and initiatives in the UK and internationally to ensure that joined up approaches are used to advance a fairer society.

Prior to 2000 Ali spent 12 years in the private sector holding senior management positions in marketing, human resources and strategy for a number of large multi-national companies focusing on organisational change management, leadership and diversity.

Professional

Robert Softley Gale Co-Director of Flip

After graduating from Glasgow University, Robert’s first professional acting job was in 2002. He then spent the following years working for theatre companies throughout the UK, appearing in shows such as ‘The Threepenny Opera’ and ‘Heelz n Wheelz’, a show about disabled drag queens - as well as for the BBC on both radio and TV. In 2005 Robert joined Birds of Paradise as their Agent for Change, which saw him shift focus to look at policy and training in the area of arts and disability. He then went on to the post of Equalities Officer (Arts and Disability) for the Scottish Arts Council where he initiated and developed a number of programmes and projects that enabled arts organisations to engage with disabled people and enabled disabled artists to develop their practice. Unlimited – the disability arts commission fund that has been developed by London 2012 and the four UK arts councils – was of particular significance during this time.

Robert is now a co-director of flip – disability equality in the arts (http://www.flip.org.uk). Alongside Mairi Taylor, Robert established flip to support arts organisations and artists in Scotland who wish to embed equalities within the fabric of their working practice. Flip has been in operation for almost two years and in that time has established partnerships with Edinburgh International Festival, Federation of Scottish Theatre, National Theatre of Scotland, engage Scotland and many others.

At the core of Robert’s working practice is a belief that by creating key partnerships, we can develop an arts sector in Scotland that is inclusive of disabled people and that reflects the society in which we live.

Anne Henderson Casting Director, National Theatre of Scotland

Anne Henderson is currently the Casting Director of the National Theatre of Scotland (www.nationaltheatrescotland.com), and has cast all their productions, including the multi award winning, Black Watch. She is also the professional advisor at one of the top London drama schools, Drama Centre London (www.csm.arts.ac.uk/dramacentrelondon), whose alumni include Colin Firth and Tom Hardy. Anne trained as a drama teacher at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now known as the Royal Scottish Conservatoire). She worked as a Stage Manager at the Glasgow Citizens Theatre, Duke’s Lancaster and Southampton before Stratford East and London’s West End. In her career as a Casting Director, which spans more than 30 years she has cast films, TV and theatre. Her film credits include Santa Claus, The Movie and Highlander. Her TV credits include the award winning Traffik, House of Eliott, Jeeves & Wooster, Taggart, House of Cards, A Very British Coup and Porterhouse Blue. In theatre, Anne has cast for the Almeida Theatre, West End as well as being the Casting Director of Chichester Festival Theatre for 3 seasons. Anne has lectured at some of the top drama schools in the country including RADA and RWCMD. She is also a member of the Review Committee of the National Council for Drama Training, which accredits drama schools.