Trained at the Ballet Rambert School in London, Niall joined Scottish Ballet in 1981, where he worked with choreographers including Peter Darrell, Christopher Bruce and Michael Clark and performed in works by Bournonville, Cranko, Kylian, Prokovsky and Muldoon. He created and performed many solo roles during his years with the company and performed at festivals in the USA and Australia as well as in Turkey, Italy, Spain and Cyprus.

When a recurring injury curtailed his ballet career, Niall changed track and performed in a number of internationally-acclaimed commercial shows including the Moulin Rouge, Paris, and elsewhere including Monte Carlo and South Korea. In 1993 he established the John Field Memorial Ballet Seminar which quickly gained an international reputation for its rigour and for the high quality of teaching it offered. Niall is a highly-respected ballet master, having worked with Phoenix Dance Theatre, Scottish Ballet and Northern Ballet Theatre. He has taught for the Royal Ballet School, Elmhurst (Birmingham) and the Royal Academy of Dance, as well as at summer schools in the UK and abroad, and for five years under the direction of Nadine Senior was Senior Lecturer in Ballet at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. He is a Panel Assessor for the Council for Dance Education & Training (CDET) and a highly sought-after dance consultant. He has founded New English Contemporary Ballet School of which he is currently Director of the vocational programme. Having co-created New English Contemporary Ballet, his direction has quickly established the company’s reputation as a major contributor to the developing UK dance scene.

Martine trained at the Havo voor Muziek en Dans in Rotterdam, Hogeschool voor de Kunsten in Amsterdam, Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds and subsequently participated in a summer intensive at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance in New York. In 2005 she won a Master Class with Krisztina de Châtel with her piece Het Wonder van de Ontmoeting and choreographed In Between for the Edinburgh Festival. She created Was ik Maar for Provadja Danst, Eb en Vloed for Noord Holland Danst and made three pieces for DWP Haarlem in France. She started her own company Dansgroep Haarlem in 2006. The company is still performing on a project basis under the name PicturePerfect.

Martine will join the Company full-time this September and will be responsible for management of the Junior Company - NECB2.

Born in Thionville, France, Benoit studied at the École de Danse Opéra de Paris, directed by Claude Bessy. He continued his training at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Danse de Paris.

Benoit joined the Junior Ballet de Paris where he performed works such as Apollo (Balanchine), Mythologie Plastique (Ashley Page), Light Fandango (Robert North) and Jewish Songs (Douglas Becker). In 1998 he joined Les Grands Ballet Canadiens de Montréal where performed a range of works by Balanchine, Forsythe, Duato, Niels Christie and Weldman among others

. In 2001 he joined Ballett Basel under the direction of Richard Wherlock where his roles have included Peer Gynt (wedding pas de deux), Roméo and Juliet (Paris), Les Noces (Father), Sidewinding (solo). In 2003 he had Light into Shade, a pas de deux, created on him for the Brisbane International Dance Festival, Queensland, Australia It was subsequently performed at galas within Germany and Switzerland. Other choreographers’ works performed during this period also included Kylian (Sechs Tanze, Forgotten Land) and Forsythe (Vile Parody of Address). Benoit acted as Rehearsal Director for Wherlock’s work whilst NECB was preparing for its first tour in 2006 and comes to the company now directly from Ballett Basel. He joined NECB in 2008 as Ballet Master and, having recovered from injury, now also returns to the stage this season for Light into Shade.

Jamie trained at the McMahon School of Ballet, The Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance and at the Royal Ballet School. He subsequently performed with various companies in the UK. In 1995 he was the winner of the prestigious Ursula Moreton Choreographic Award with his piece Me, Myself and I Alone which went on to be performed at the Cochrane Theatre, London. His choreographic output is extensive and his works have been performed both in this country and in the USA.

Jamie inaugurated New English Contemporary Ballet’s education department in February 2006 and subsequently set up its highly-acclaimed youth company, Nottingham Youth Dance. He choreographed a contemporary ballet version of The Nutcracker for NECB in 2007 and made the critically-acclaimed .com together for the company’s 2008 tour. This work has recently been selected for the final of the 23rd International Choreographic Competition in Hannover. He has created another new work, Ctrl-Alt-Delete, for the company this season.

Belinda studied dance and musical theatre at Laine Theatre Arts. On graduating she took up her first teaching position as head of Jazz, Tap and Modern at the Tanz-Etage in Bremerhaven, Germany. She also worked further a field as a freelance dance lecturer, performer and choreographer throughout Germany as well as in Poland and Switzerland. As a performer her Musical credits include ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ where she played the role of Columbia in several German productions, ‘West Side Story’ in the role of Consuela, ‘Kiss me Kate’, ‘Victor Victoria’ and ‘Count Dracula’. As a choreographer Belinda has worked with Theatres and Production Companies on Musicals such as ‘The Little Mermaid’, ‘The Rocky Horror Show’, ‘Fire of Dance’, ‘Andrew Lloyd Webber Tribute Show’. She also choreographed numerous pieces for her own Contemporary Jazz Youth Company in Bremerhaven. Belinda returned to England in 2002 to be a member of the teaching faculty at Laine Theatre Arts where she stayed until moving up to Nottingham to join the team at the New English Contemporary Ballet School. Here she began her role as Vocational Teacher for Jazz, Contemporary and Tap in September, 2008.

Born in North Lincolnshire Becky trained locally and was coached by Niall McMahon before being accepted at Central School of Ballet where she studied for three years. Becky has performed with the Kirov Ballet in their production of Sleeping Beauty, Aida and Ballet Central. She has taught on Northern Ballet Theatre’s Yorkshire Young Dancers /Associate training programmes and at Lincoln University and currently teaches at the Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher education. Having completed an MSc in Dance Science at Trinity Laban, Becky aims to continue her research in dance physiology, work with dancers and companies to achieve healthier dancers. She is a member of: The Royal Academy of Dance, Dance UK and the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS).

Tom trained at The Royal Ballet School, White Lodge, Elmhurst Ballet School and completed his training with Niall and Nicki McMahon. He has worked with City of London Ballet, Scottish Ballet and Phoenix Dance. His theatre credits include 'Guys and Dolls' (Piccadilly); 'Mary Poppins' (Prince Edward) where he understudied the lead role of Bert; English National Opera's 'On the Town' (London Coliseum) dancing the role of Dream Gabey; 'The Likes of Us' (Sydmonton Festival);and 'Singin' in the Rain' (Sadler's Wells). Number One UK tours include Mungojerrie in 'Cats'; 'Boogie Nights-The Musical', Carnival Boy in 'Carousel' with choreography created for him by Wayne Sleep and '42nd Street' undertaken when Tom was just sixteen years old.

Tom made his West End debut in Trevor Nunn's acclaimed National Theatre revival of 'Oklahoma!' working alongside Hugh Jackman, Josefina Gabrielle and Maureen Lipman. This production, choreographed by Susan Stroman, later transferred to The Lyceum. Tom also appears on the recording of the production. Other TV credits include the 'George Gershwin Centenary Gala' (London Palladium); 'A Royal Celebration'; 'The Royal Variety Show'; BBC's 'Blue Peter' and 'The Dick and Dom Show'.

Tom returned to the National Theatre for the revival of 'My Fair Lady' which transferred to the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He features on the cast recordings of 'Oklahoma','My Fair Lady' and 'The Likes of Us' Tom returned to 'Boogie Nights' as Dance Captain and again played Mungojerrie in second UK tours. He has taught at vocational schools throughout the country. Tom recreated the role of Carnival Boy in the 2008 UK tour and West End production of 'Carousel' (Savoy) with Lesley Garrett. He was delighted to be asked by Adam Cooper to assist in choreographing the show and later became Resident Choreographer. Most recently Tom again assisted Adam on his new dance creation, 'Shall We Dance' at Sadler's Wells Theatre where he also played The Friend to Adam's The Guy.

Nicola joined the Bluebell Girls at the Lido de Paris in 1984 where she initially remained for a period of 3 years. She performed in Donn Arden’s ‘COCORICO’ and opened his spectacular production ‘PANACHE’, performing as soloist. Nicola then danced at the Loews Monte Carlo before returning to Paris, opening the 100-year anniversary show ‘FORMIDABLE’ at the Moulin Rouge. Nicola then travelled to Korea to perform at Kayagum Theatre in Seoul before returning to the Lido in 1989 as soloist opening ‘BRAVISSIMO’. Nicola performed in Tokyo for the Lido touring company. She co-founded the school with husband Niall in 1992 and is its Principal, in 1993 they also created together the John Field Memorial Ballet Seminar which they ran together until 2002.

Robyn works extensively within live performance as a stage and company manager. It was through opportunities provided whilst in training at the Central School of Speech and Drama that she discovered her passion for dance and site-specific theatre. Recent credits include the award-winning Edinburgh Fringe show ‘The Container’, ‘Scaramouche Jones’ with Theatre Tours International, ‘Move It! Dance London’ exhibition and ‘Somewhere, Anywhere, Nowhere’ an outdoor site-specific piece by Restless Nights, commissioned by the 2007-08 Latitude Festival. She was also a member of the stage management team for the Liverpool Capital of Culture 08 opening celebrations at the Liverpool Empire Theatre and Albert Docks.

Robyn worked as stage manager for NECB’s 2007 and 2008 tours and was Stage Manager for Nottingham Youth Dance during 2008 working in association with NECB. She is looking forward to continuing her work with NECB on the 2009 tour.

(Light into Shade, Ctrl-Alt-Delete,)

Andy trained at Central School of Speech and Drama. Work includes designing for plays, musical theatre, sight-specific theatre and contemporary dance. Andy has re-lit two tours for NECB, designed by Paul Taylor, and worked closely with NECB School and NYD on a number of performances. At the beginning of 2009 Andy became the company's resident lighting designer.

Design Credits include NYD Performances (Edinburgh Festival, Nottingham Sandfield Centre) NECBS performance (Nottingham Royal Concert Hall) Coppelia, McMahon School of Ballet and NECBS Collaboration (Rotherham Civic Centre) Unzipped (Arts Theatre London West End) Sanctity of Hair (ICA) Run for your life (Teatro Technis). Other credits include Touched (Trafalgar Studios) Lucky Stiff (Arts Ed) The White Devil (Menier Chocolate Factory.

Linda began her dance studies in Waterloo before receiving a grant to study with Piotr Nardelli and Andrzei Ziemski in Brussels. At eighteen she moved to the renowned Rosella Hightower School where she studied with Monique Loudière, Monet Robier, Peter Lewton and Christophe Duveaux and joined the Cannes Jeune Ballet, dancing in works by Balanchine, Kylian, Nureyev and Bournonville amongst others.

On her return to Brussels, Linda engaged in further study with Daniel Job before joining the Benedicto Cieza Company to dance in his Pictures from Jamboree and went on to perform with the Brussels Ballet under David Sonnenbluck in Diva and Alice in Wonderland. She recently performed in their production of Barbie Story. She joined NECB in 2007.

Australian by birth, Alex began her training at the Ransley Ballet and Dance Academy on the Gold Coast before taking up a place at the New Zealand School of Dance in 2001.

After graduating she accepted a contract with Singapore Dance Theatre under the direction of Goh Soo Khim where she worked for four years dancing in a wide range of productions including Cinderella (Spring), Paquita (Pas de Trois), The Nutcracker (Clara), Raymonda, Swan Lake (Cygnet). She performed as a Principal in Mauricio Wainrot’s Seasons of Buenos Aires (2007). Alex joined NECB for its 2008 tour.

Rachel was born in Sevenoaks, Kent were she began ballet classes, aged four, at her mother’s school, the Lisa Maybank School of Dance.

She attended Senior Associates at The Royal Ballet School and then completed her training at The English National School of Ballet and at London Studio Centre where she was given the opportunity to perform one of the lead roles in David Fielding’s Game Over in the 2005 Images of Dance tour. She also performed in Pineapple Poll, Othello and Laurencia (pas de six). Shortly after graduating Rachel joined Ballet Ireland for their production of Die Fledermaus. On returning to England Rachel joined NECB as an apprentice for their 2007 tour, appearing with the company in The Nutcracker. She was promoted to Dancer for the 2008 tour.

Born in Southampton, Laura began her training locally, and as a Junior Associate of the Royal Ballet. Aged eleven, she accepted a place at Elmhurst School for Dance in association with Birmingham Royal Ballet, where she completed eight years of training. During this time Laura performed with the Birmingham Royal Ballet in their productions of The Nutcracker; Elite Syncopations and Dante Sonata, as well as touring with the company to Japan, to dance in Coppélia and David Bintley’s Beauty and the Beast. Upon graduating from Elmhurst in 2008 she toured with Ballet Ireland in their production of Swan Lake, before joining NECB as an apprentice for its 2009 tour.

Nekoda was born in Australia in1989. She commenced her ballet training at the age of four with the Katherine Maddock Dance School and went on to study with the Ransley Academy and Dance Academy on the Gold Coast. In 2003 she was awarded a full scholarship to study with the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne after which she spent a further year at the Australian Ballet School. In 2006 Nekoda completed her training with the Theater Basel Ballettschule, Switzerland and after graduating with Honours she now joins NECB as an apprentice dancer for its 2009 tour.

Kyle began dancing at the age of eight in Australia at the Dubbo Ballet Studio in New South Wales and at sixteen was offered a full scholarship to attend the Queensland Dance School of Excellence. In his 2nd year he danced with the Queensland Ballet in their production of Excalibur. He also competed in the 2003 McDonald’s Ballet Scholarships winning the boys’ scholarship which included a secondment to the English National Ballet and Australian Ballet Company.

Kyle received the Queensland Ballet Scholarship for 2003 and in the following year was awarded the annual Training Scholarship to The Australian Ballet. He performed in The Australian Ballet Company’s Tour of The Nutcracker in 2005, and in Graduation Ball and Sleeping Beauty in 2006. He also danced with The Australian Ballet Company in the Opening Ceremony for the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and in Scheherazade in June/July 2006. In September 2006 he danced at the ABS Pas De Deux exhibition performing a new contemporary pas de deux by Maggie Wilson entitled Opus 2. Kyle has been with NECB since 2007. He has also worked with Tivoli Ballet in Copenhagen dancing in various programmes including a new work, Syntax by choreographer Louise Bennett and was engaged in summer 2008 as a dancer for a choreographic research project directed by Wayne McGregor at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Born in Bogotà, Colombia, Jean Michael began studying ballet in Venice, Italy at the comparatively late age of 19. He moved on to the school of the Teatro Nuovo di Torino where he studied with Niurka De Saa and Maria Elena Fernandez from the National Ballet of Cuba. He then won 2nd place in the Giovanni Talenti competition in Turin and was offered a scholarship to study at Central School of Ballet in London where he studied with Bruce Sansom and William Glassman.

In 2006 and 2007 he toured with Ballet Central, the school’s graduating company, dancing in works by Sara Matthews, David Fielding and Christopher Bruce. He has worked with Brussels Ballet on their production of Alice in Wonderland in the role of the Mad Hatter. He joined NECB for its Autumn 2007 tour as an apprentice and was promoted to dancer in 2008.

Born in Genova, Eddie came to ballet at the relatively advanced age of 26. He studied first with Prisca Picano, principal at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples and went on to learn Graham technique at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, New York. He completed his training in Barcelona with Ion Beitia (Joffrey Ballet) and Joan Boix (Roland Petit).

His professional career has encompassed a period with the Elisa Monte Dance Company, New York with Teatro Franco Parenti and a contract with the Sisina Augusta Company in Verona. He has also appeared at the Pergine Spettacolo Aperto (Trento) in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

He has also performed in Ballet Romand’s productions of Peter Pan and Cinderella in Vevey, Switzerland. Before joining New English Contemporary Ballet, Eddie danced with Company Segnale.it in Vicenza during their summer project. Eddie joined NECB in 2007.

Leigh trained at The Royal Ballet Lower and Upper Schools graduating in 2006 with two RBS Achievement Awards and the the Lynne Seymour Award for most expressive dancer. Whilst in training the BBC made a series of three documentaries following his life and progress. Whilst still at school Leigh was given the opportunity to choreograph for the Royal Opera House, creating Colourblind, a duet for which he gained the the NJL Choreographic Development Award. Leigh was chosen to perform in Rudi Van Danzig’s Four Last Songs both in Canada and in Stuttgart, and shortly after this was offered a contract with Scottish Ballet with whom he remained for two years. He left to dance with Ballet Russe as Von Rothbart in Swan Lake and the Prince in Cinderella. He made several guest appearances with Cork City Ballet before joining New English Contemporary Ballet in 2009.