General 5

Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Gemma and…

I’ve always been theatrical, adventurous and a little bit mischievous… especially compared to my puzzle loving bookworm sister!…It all starts with that one person who believes in you…

At school, I was often the one in trouble! I always wanted to make stuff happen, and no matter how silly or unachievable the idea was, if it got stuck in my head I was determined to take charge, defy the odds and lead everyone to our (soon to be much applauded) triumph!!! Hmmm...

In truth it wasn’t really until college where I met my match…someone who could channel my energy in a productive & positive direction. Alison Jones... A-level dance teacher, company director and professional dancer (now Senior lecturer at Laban) saw immediately what I was about and quickly fathomed that I loved rising to a challenge, hated being told NO, was solution focused and very much needed more guidance than I let on... I thought she was wonderful!!

After college, I went on to train at Northern School of Contemporary Dance and worked as a dancer with a few companies - leading workshops, classes and projects to support the company's funding. This led to my first job as a teacher where I met another jewel of a human and supremely talented leader, Kathy Rablah!!

Kathy and I hit it off immediately. I grew to become 'Head of Dance' & 'Director of Community Engagement', learning how to create projects from scratch (secure funding, partnerships, and collaborators). My focus was always to push young people to take risks & enable their potential - helping to build their confidence by providing wraparound support, opportunity, role models and funds.

I love teaching and leading project to support people to cultivate their talent. It's a real honour and privilege. Connecting the arts sector with education was one of my main focuses whilst leading as a Head of Faculty in Expressive Arts and Director of Learning (at a Hackney Secondary and Further Education Academy). There I successfully nurtured departments across disciplines and built strong partnerships to enable young people and emerging artists of all backgrounds to develop their talent and establish their first steps into early careers.

I am particularly proud of my achievements with MADD Literacy Project, a collaborations with the V&A, Etc, etc, etc, etc…It was through one of these successful partnerships that I became a Creative Producer at East London Dance, which in turn opened the door for me to …

Trained as a Wellbeing Listener, learnt about Inside Out Practice, completed the Start Up Leadership course which has resulted in becoming a Coach and Community Engagement Consultant. When I am not working in any of these roles, or working as a lecturer or facilitator, I am on the Board of trustee for Uchenna Dance, One Dance UK and Co-lead a National Dance Learning & Participation Network Group (DLPN).

The arts have brought me a sense of belonging, provided a space in which I can be as bold and as brilliant as I can, and connected me with the wonderful people I love working with. I love a bit of silliness and always strive to bring out the best in myself and others with powerhouse energy, creative play, and lots of problems to solve.