Board of Trustees

Amanda Skoog

Chair of Board of Trustees

Dance has played a significant role in Amanda’s life; she has demonstrated a passionate commitment to the dance sector and enabling creativity through her work as a performer, an educator, a Producer and as Executive Director of two dance companies – one classical and one contemporary.

Currently working as Senior Producer with The Royal Ballet Amanda’s remit includes choreographic development and working with the huge range of Visiting Companies that perform in the Linbury Theatre.  Prior to this Amanda worked as Chief Executive for Shobana Jeyasingh Dance and the Royal New Zealand Ballet.  She has worked as a danced educator for English National Ballet, as Assistant Director of Central School of Ballet and at one time ran Dance Aotearoa New Zealand – an organisation that was modelled on One Dance UK. She knows and understands the business from many sides.

Amanda has a proven ability to deliver positive results to both public and private sector stakeholders, based on a developed and practical understanding of the cultural, business and government sectors.

Julian Flitter

Treasurer

Julian Flitter is a Partner in Goodman Jones LLP, a West End firm of chartered accountants based in Fitzroy Square. He has over 20 years of experience dealing with companies and individuals drawn from a wide range of commercial areas as well as extensive experience dealing with charities and other not-for-profit organisations.   Julian’s work has placed particular emphasis in the media, entertainment and creative services sectors. Indeed, Julian is a founder committee member of the Chartered Accountants Institute’s Entertainment and Media Group, helping to organise seminars and conferences as well as publishing a newsletter on topics of interest to the industry. As well as having a keen personal interest in theatre and dance, Julian serves as advisor to a number of dance companies and is company secretary of the charity Dancing for the Children.

Anthony Bowne

Professor Anthony Bowne is Principal of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. His education in dance at Laban is complemented by a BSc in Economics from the University of Southampton and an MSc Architecture from the Bartlett School of Architecture.   His experience as an educator is balanced with creative expertise as a lighting designer for both theatre and architecture. His lighting comissions for dance included designs for Matthew Bourne’s Adventures in Motion Pictures, Hong Kong Ballet, Rosemary Butcher, the Cholmondeleys and the National Theatre of Taiwan and architectural design for the World Finance Centre in Shanghai. Anthony led the project to realise the Stirling Prize winning Laban Building which opened in 2003. He acted as Arts Council England project mentor for the New Vic Theatre and served on the Rambert Dance Company Property Committee for the company’s relocation to London’s South Bank.   Anthony is currently Chair of the Finance and Remunerations Committees of London Higher and is Chair of Blackheath Halls. He is a trustee of the Bonnie Bird Choreography Fund and has served on HEFCE’s Teaching Quality and Student Experience Strategic Committee, the DCMS Dance Forum and the Mayor of London’s Cultural Strategy Group.

Jane Bonham-Carter

Brroness Jane Bonham-Carter is a former TV producer and Director of Communications for the Liberal Democrats. She is currently the Party Spokesperson for Culture, Media & Sport.

She was a member of the Liberal Democrat Communications and Campaign Committee from 1998 – 2006; a council member of Britain in Europe from 1998 – 2005; and a member of the Referendum Campaign team 2004 – 2005. Jane was created a life peer in June 2004 and was appointed Lib Dem Spokesperson for Broadcasting and the Arts.

In 2012 she was appointed the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Mexico.

She has been a member of the House of Lords Select Committee on the BBC Charter Review 2005 – 2006; the House of Lords Sub Committee on Home Affairs 2004 – 2005; the House of Lords Communications Committee 2007 – 2010; the House of Lords EU Sub Committee on External Affairs 2010 – 2015; and once again a member of the House of Lords Communications Committee since 2015. After the 2015 election Jane was made Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Culture, Media and Sport, in the team led by Tim Farron

Andrew Carrick

Andrew Carrick is Director of education consultancy CarrickWorks, adviser to many prestige organisations (public, private and third sector) on their successful and responsible engagement with education. His work is particularly about creating effective and appropriate marketing, digital strategies and partnerships, as well as producing award-winning educational campaigns and content for clients.   Andrew “discovered” dance relatively late when by chance he attended a dance rehearsal and was smitten. He has lost no time in seizing every opportunity to experience new and old works since “Day Zero” and champions dance with all the passion of a convert. Andrew is particularly interested in the opportunities for expanding the role of dance in schools, and more generally supporting dance for children and young people. In his spare time he is an enthusiastic supporter of contemporary dance, music and theatre.   Andrew served on the Board of Youth Dance England for several years, chairing their Development Committee. He has also been governor in both primary and secondary schools, and is currently Vice-Chair at a State secondary in North London. He has also been trustee for children’s charity Childhope and a coach for Teach First. He is a history graduate of Oxford and Sheffield universities and has an MRes from King’s College London, focusing on the history of childhood in the UK in the interwar period.

Denise Nurse

Denise is Vice President of Elevated Lawyers as well as the co-founder and CEO of Halebury, a pioneering NewLaw firm in the UK. As CEO of Halebury, she focuses on client relationships and developing new product and services solutions, as well as finding more effective, efficient and empowering ways of working with clients. Denise also mentors women in law and tech as well as young entrepreneurs, and speaks regularly on diversity and inclusion in business.  She is an ambassador for Women in the Law UK, a supplier Executive Committee Member of Minority Supplier Development UK (MSDUK) and is also a patron of Uchenna Dance.  Denise has enjoyed dance as a hobby from her early years and was a founder member of Young Impact Performers, a youth dance organisation focussed on street dance.

Susannah Simons

Susannah Simons is a freelance Arts Strategist with a focus on digital strategies. Until March 2018 she was Head of Arts and Outreach for Canvas the ACE funded project designed to grow the audience for the arts online particularly among the key 18-35 year old audience. Prior to that she was Head of Policy and Outreach for BBC Radio and Music and was also responsible for the development of the pilot phase of The Space. She began her career in broadcasting as a presenter, presenting the PM programme on Radio 4 for ten years; Today and The World at One; Channel 4’s Business Daily and in 1992 she helped set up Classic FM .   Susannah was Chairman of the Youth Dance England for two years having served on the board for ten. She is also a trustee of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and of the PRS for Music Foundation, and is an advisor to Artis, a company looking at new ways of providing arts education in primary schools.

David Watson

David is Executive Director of Audiences & Media at National Museums Liverpool and is responsible for exhibitions, marketing and brand, digital, communications, fundraising, audience insights, partnerships and creative studios (design and production) for the group which comprises of seven world-class museums and galleries.

He is also the Founder & Creative Director of The Great British Gala – an all-new annual event that celebrates everyone and everything that makes dance great in Great Britain.

He previously worked as a consultant for the arts, culture and entertainment sectors developing and leading artistic, brand, marketing, technology and digital innovation programmes. Prior to this he was Director of Brand & Advocacy for Birmingham Royal Ballet where he oversaw sales, marketing, digital and communications. He was Head of Digital / Digital Editor-in-Chief for Hull UK City of Culture 2017 where he was responsible for developing a first of its kind citywide integrated ticketing platform alongside overseeing the successful implementation of integrated campaigns, content production and digital innovation initiatives. He has previously worked in similar roles for organisations including English National Ballet, London 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Opening & Closing Ceremonies, Royal Opera House and Rambert Dance Company.

Prior to establishing a successful career in his current field of work, David received professional dance training from the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds and went on to perform around the UK and overseas as well as choreographed for stage and screen.