Safety In Dance: Staging Intimacy, Violence & Autobiographical Material

Join us for an online panel discussion looking at  staging practices in the dance sector. 

We bring together a group of top professionals to introduce their work and chat about their experience rehearsing intimacy, violence and autobiographical material with dancers and other performers. 

Current Panel Line Up (more to come):

• Casey Hudecki (Canada) - Intimacy Coordinator (Little Pretty Things, Netflix), Stunt Coordinator and Fight Director.
• Nigel Poulton (Australia) - Fight Director (New York Ballet, Australian Ballet, Finnish National Ballet, The Metropolitan Opera).
• Nicole Perry (USA) - Intimacy Choreographer, Intimacy Coordinator and Dance Educator, Founder of Momentum Stage.
• Rachel Vogler (UK) - women’s right campaigner, a member of Houselights and workshop facilitator on Consent & Power, researcher on sexual violence in the theatrical institution .
• Nikki Disney (UK) - Artist Wellbeing Practitioner, Dramatherapist, Clinical Supervisor (Royal Court, Bristol Old Vic, Nottingham Playhouse, BBC productions.
• Erin Sanchez (UK) - One Dance UK, Manager of Health, Wellbeing & Performance
• Hagit Yakira (UK) - Choreographer, teacher & researcher. 
• Stuart Waters (UK) - Dance Artist & Maker exploring theraputic practices in dance. 

Panel Chaired by:

Yarit Dor (UK) - Co Director of Moving Body Arts. Intimacy Director (Rooms, Rambert) and Intimacy Consultant (The Burnt City, Punchdrunk)

Panellist Bios:

Casey Hudecki (Canada)

Casey Hudecki has worked professionally for over twenty years in film, television and theatre. She is a choreographer, educator and has worked in front and behind the camera as an actress, stunt performer, stunt coordinator and intimacy coordinator. Casey is an IDC Certified Intimacy Coordinator with over twenty credits to her name, including Sex/Life, The Boys, Ginny and Georgia, The Handmaids Tale, and Tiny Pretty Things. Casey is a Fight Master with Fight Directors Canada, and is passionate about telling physical stories with safety, specificity and authenticity. Having performed on camera, both naked and on fire, Casey is aware of the vulnerability of these performances, as well as the collaboration and preparation that go into making a scene safe and successful.

Nicole Perry (USA)

Nicole Perry is an intimacy choreographer/coordinator and choreographer in South Florida. Recent credits include a Broward County Artist Investment Grant for a new dance work, intimacy coordination for Arena, an award-winning short film, and choreography and intimacy choreography for the US premiere of The Glass Piano at Theatre Lab.

Nicole is a Certified Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst and teaches dance at the University of Miami. She is a regular contributor to DanceGeist Magazine. Nicole is the founder of Momentum Stage, a non-profit that provides professional development to dance and theatre artists and educators.

Nicole is a member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and the Association of Theatre Movement  Educators. She apprenticed with Intimacy Directors International. She is in the final stage of certifying as an Intimacy Coordinator,  and is a fully Certified Intimacy Director with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators.

Nigel Poulton (Australia)

Nigel is an award-winning movement, fight and intimacy coordinator, SAG-AFTRA / MEAA stunt performer and actor with over 25 years of professional experience. Nigel is a certified Intimacy Director and Coordinator with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators (IDC); a Fight Master with the Society of American Fight Directors, a Fight Director and past President of the Society of Australian Fight Directors Inc; an Honorary Fight Director with Fight Directors Canada; and has been certified with the British Academy of Dramatic Combat.

Choreography credits include the Finnish National Ballet (2021), the Australian Ballet (2018), the New York City Ballet (2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018), The Metropolitan Opera (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2014 and 2015), Sydney Theatre Company, Bell Shakespeare, Washington Opera Company (2002 tour of Japan), Opera Australia, Circus Oz, Melbourne Theatre Company, Queensland Theatre, Belvoir Street, La Boite Theatre (Brisbane), Playbox Theatre (Melbourne), and Kooemba Jdarra (Brisbane).

Rachel Vogler (UK)

Rachel is a women's rights campaigner, specialising in sexual violence prevention work. She has been running Houselights, a project set up to tackle institutional power abuse and sexual misconduct in the theatre world since 2018 and has worked with a wide of drama schools, theatres and entertainment unions during that time. She is currently a postgraduate at SOAS in the Gender Studies department and will begin her PhD at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama researching sexual violence in the theatrical institution.

Nikki Disney (UK)

Nikki  is a state registered Dramatherapist, Clinical Supervisor (MA. HCPC, Badth, Dip), theatre director and yoga teacher who has worked with vulnerable groups and individuals using art for over 16 years.  She specialises in artist wellbeing during the rehearsal process specialising in themes of trauma, mental health and autobiographical material as both 1:1 and group work.   She has implemented and delivered safeguarding and wellbeing procedures within arts organisations, lead on access and wellbeing for festival’s and trained artists on boundaries, trauma informed approaches and wellbeing with organisations such as Derby theatre, Birmingham Hippodrome, Oily Cart, Mouthy Poets and JMK.  Recent projects include; Purple Snowflakes and Titty Wanks at The Royal Court, Wonderboy at Bristol Old Vic, Private Peaceful at Nottingham Playhouse.  She has worked on BBC productions such as Jamie Johnson.

Erin Sanchez (UK)

Erin is the One Dance UK expert on dancers’ health, wellbeing and HDP talks and conferences. Alongside knowledgeable, experienced colleagues in the Healthier Dancer Programme, Dance Medicine and Science Expert Panel, and the National Institute of Dance Medicine and Science, Erin works to ensure dancers’ health education and resources are evidence and best practice-based and led by the needs of the sector. She is incredibly proud of our Healthier Dancer Talks, which have reached over 11,000 people to date.

Hagit Yakira (UK) 

AWARD WINNING Israeli choreographer Hagit Yakira founded Hagit Yakira Dance Company in 2007 and has since gone on to tour the UK, Europe, Scandinavia and Israel. Two of her company works were awarded: first prize for 'Oh Baby' in the 'Kajaani Choreography Competition', Finland 2009, and second prize for 'Somewhere between a self and another' in the 'Burgos New York Choreography Competition' (New Dance Trend Category), Spain 2007. Hagit's work has been commissioned by Sadler's Wells, The Place, Greenwich Dance, Trinity Laban – London, the Respond project, Yorkshire Dance, University of Leeds, Breakfast Creative – Leeds, Dance4 – Nottingham, and supported by Arts Council England and Arts Council Norway.

Hagit received her PhD from Trinity Laban/City University. Her thesis is titled: Relational Autobiographical Choreographies - on a new choreographic practice. These days and alongside her freelance work and her company, she is an Associate Professor at the University of Stavanger, Norway where she teaches improvisation, contact improvisation, contemporary technique and choreography.

Stuart Waters (UK)

Is a queer, neurodiverse dance artist who advocates for diversity, mental health and emotional safety through safe practice awareness, training and public speaking. Having worked as performer and maker for 23 years with Protein Dance, Motionhouse and Wired Aerial Theatre, Stuart has become a dance maker in his own right, underpinning biographical art making with a therapeutic approach. Stuart effects sector change inter/nationally whilst creating powerful, inclusive audience experiences. His mission is:

- to create dance theatre work that draws on human experience and story-tells in a manner that is relevant and resonant to diverse audiences, encouraging them to reflect on choices and judgements.

- to embed therapeutic models and safeguarding techniques into practice, advocating inter/nationally for mental health safeguarding and best practice

- to challenge ablism and heteronormativity by centring diversity, inclusivity and intersectionality; working collaboratively to help disseminate and exchange knowledge

- to develop and share an empowering approach that is liberating, challenging the limitations that self-doubt can impose.

Panel Chair:

Yarit Dor (UK)

Yarit is co-director of Moving Body Arts, a BASSC certified stage combat teacher and IDC certified Intimacy Director and Intimacy Coordinator. In 2019 she was the first Intimacy Director on the West End (Death of A Salesman). Her dance credits include: Intimacy Direction for Rooms (rambert Dance), Intimacy Consultant for The Burnt City (Punchdrunk), Dramaturge for 2B and Sunday Morning (Hagit Yakira Dance) and Dancer in Leah and Somewhere Between A Self And Other (Hagit Yakira Dance). Theatre credits include: Rockets and Blue Lights (National Theatre), The Shark Is Broken (Ambassadors Theatre West End), Death Of A Salesman (Piccadilly Theatre/Young Vic, West End), Love & Other Acts Of Violence (Donmar Warehouse), Richard II, Hamlet, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare’s Globe) amongst others. Film includes: The Colour Room, Knives Out 2. Television includes: The Wheel Of Time, Shadow & Bone, Adult Material, Atlanta 3, Cheaters and Starstruck among others.