Trained at Edinburgh University as an art historian, Joanne has spent most of her career lecturing and publishing in the field of late medieval and renaissance art at the University of Nottingham whilst concurrently directing the exhibition programme at the Djanogly Art Gallery. Over the years she was responsible for more than 200 exhibitions which brought works by such masters as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, Rubens, Constable, Gainsborough, Turner, Monet, Rossetti and Whistler to East Midlands’ audiences. Many exhibitions of modern and contemporary art were also mounted under her curatorship. Hers was the vision which led to the creation of Lakeside Arts Centre, which she was instrumental in developing and supervising up to its opening in 2001. She also planned and delivered the first season of work for the Djanogly Theatre.

Since leaving Lakeside in 2002, Joanne has worked as Director for Enterprise in the Arts at UNIEI (Nottingham University Business School). In this capacity and in partnership with Niall McMahon she has developed New English Contemporary Ballet as a dance company of international quality for the East Midlands region and as a model for business entrepreneurship in the creative industries.

Radostina began her dance training in her hometown of Targovishte (Bulgaria). From there she attended training at the Varna Summer Academy. After moving to Germany she completed the degree programme of the Staat Ballett Schule, Berlin.

She began her professional career with Ballett Elbe-Saale-Bühnen, Wittenberg, Germany. In 1992 she joined the Tanztheater der Komischen Oper, Berlin. During her time with the company she toured extensively throughout Europe and worked with numerous contemporary choreographers including Flemming Flindt, Cesc Gelabert, Birgit Scherzer and Jochim Ulrich.

Moving to the United States, she danced with the Cleveland San Jose Ballet where her performances included works by George Balanchine, Roland Petite and Dennis Nahat. She later joined Canada’s Royal Winnipeg where she danced in numerous classics, including stagings of Swan Lake, Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty and Peter Wright’s Giselle, as well as working with Mauricio Wainrott on his Carmina Burana. Radostina has appeared as a guest solo artist with Ballett Ulm (Germany), Braunschweig Ballett (Germany), Ballett Salzburger Landestheater (Austria), Evansville Dance Theatre (U.S.A.), Southold Dance Theatre (U.S.A.) and Ballet Russe in Swansea (UK).

Radostina began her teaching career in 2000 with the Southold Dance Theatre. She has taught for the Evansville Dance Theatre and ran their summer course in 2003. She also taught for the Louisville Ballet’s summer course, 2004. Her film credits include Becoming Colette (1991), with Klaus Maria Brandauer, Virginia Madsen and Mathilda May. Radostina joined New English Contempoprary Ballet in 2006 for its inaugural tour.

Born in Würzburg, Germany to Polish parents, Claudia began her dancing career as a student in Coburg before moving to the Music Conservatory at Cologne. She completed her studies at the Conservatory for Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt from which she graduated in 2002. Her professional career first took her back to Coburg where she worked at the Landes Theater dancing in Le Sacre du Printemps and in Petruschka in the role of the Ballerina. This was followed by a period at the Landes Theater in Salzburg, Austria where she danced solo roles in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Carmen and Othello. At the Tiroler Festspiele in 2006 and 2007 she performed in a production of Parsifal directed by Gustav Kuhn. Most recently she has performed the role of the Student in Ionesco’s The Lesson and the Fox in Stravinsky’s Le Renard under the direction of Milli van Lit.

Claudia has also taught in several ballet schools in Cologne, Frankfurt, Salzburg, Coburg and in Australia where she has also had a number of her own choreographies performed.

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. Most recently she has performed with the Brussels Ballet under David Sonnenbluck in Diva and Alice in Wonderland.

Marina was born in Barcelona in 1988 and began to dance at the age of three. At eleven she stared her training at the Dance Conservatory in Barcelona, EESA/CPD de L’Intitute de Theatre, where she studied on the classical dance degree programme for six years. In 2006 she transferred for her final year to Central School of Ballet, in London, from which graduated after the Ballet Central Tour 07.med 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. Rachel is delighted to be returning for her second season with NECB.

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. Rachel is delighted to be returning for her second season with NECB.

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 has worked for the past 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 joins New English Contemporary Ballet for its 2008 season.

Born in Genova, Eddie studied ballet with Prisca Picano, principal at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples and 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.

Jonas began his vocational ballet training in his native Brazil in 2001 at the Academy Albertina Ganzo. In 2003 he moved to Europe for further study at the Real Conservatorio de Madrid in which city, in 2004 he worked with Ballet de Camara directed by Alicia Alonso, Director of the National Ballet of Cuba. He also worked with Tamara Rojo (Royal Ballet) on Snow White, a project for Stanza, produced for Global Media Enterprises.

In 2006 he moved to Switzerland where he worked with Ballett Basel under the Directorship of Richard Wherlock before joining NECB for the 2007 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 Kyle 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 performed at the ABS Pas De Deux exhibition performing a new contemporary pas de deux by Maggie Wilson entitled Opus 2.

Born in Lancashire, Alastair trained at the Royal Ballet School and the Arts Educational School, Tring. At the end of his studies he joined Adventures in Motion Pictures performing Swan Lake on a UK, European and West End Tour. Alastair has also worked with Scottish Ballet, Adonais, The Curve Foundation, the Royal Opera House and K-Ballet created by Tetsuya Kumakawa in Japan.

Classical repertory in which he has performed includes Don Quixote, Nutcracker, The Prodigal Son in which he danced the role of the father, Swan Lake, Coppelia, Facade, Bark with Bite and Orpheus. Alastair also worked with Kevin Spacey and Rob Ashford in Beyond the Sea. He joined NECB for its first season in 2006.

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 2^nd 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.

Biographical information will follow shortly