Corinne Bailey Rae

From Leeds, England, singer/songwriter/musician Corinne Bailey Rae shot to stardom with her self-titled #1 UK debut album in 2006, featuring the global hits “Put Your Records On“ and “Like A Star”

Bailey Rae has received two GRAMMY AWARDS, two MOBOS, alongside multiple nominations including BRIT and BET Awards. She was awarded her first GRAMMY® in 2008 for Album Of The Year when featured on Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters. Her second album,The Sea (2010) was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize. The subsequent EP Is This Love garnered a GRAMMY® for Best R&B Performance

In 2016 Bailey Rae returned with “boundary-defying, epic music” (NPR) for her third studio album, The Heart Speaks In Whispers, also declared “the best R&B of 2016” (The Guardian). The album featured the stunning "Green Aphrodisiac" named “10 best R&B songs of 2016” (Billboard) and selected by President Obama for his summer playlist.

Bailey Rae’s success has lead her to composing music for film and television, including the theme to Stan Lee’s Lucky Man (SKY1). She recorded “The Scientist” for Universal Pictures’ Fifty Shades Darker opening title and soundtrack, which charted globally. 2020 included The High Note with Bailey Rae’s “New to Me”, performed in the film by Tracee Ellis Ross.

Bailey Rae continues to collaborate and perform with artists across musical genres, including Mary J Blige, Al Green, Herbie Hancock, KING, Paul McCartney, Kele Okereke (Bloc Party), Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Questlove, Salaam Rami, RZA, Tyler The Creator, Paul Weller, Richard Hawley, Stevie Wonder, Tracey Thorn, Pharrell, Logic, Mick Jenkins, and many more.

Throughout Bailey Rae’s career she has performed worldwide from Glastonbury to Byron Bay Blues Festival. In 2019 Bailey Rae performed at BST Hyde Park, Newport Jazz Festival, Central Park SummerStage, London Jazz Festival, Delicious Festival (Johannesburg, SA), Rio Montreux Jazz Festival, The O2 (London), and Billboard Live Osaka & Tokyo. Most recently Bailey Rae performed Sam Cooke’s “A Change Is Gonna Come” as a duet with Leslie Odom Jr. at the 2021 BAFTA’s in London at The Royal Albert Hall.

Sharon Watson

After studying at London Contemporary Dance School, Sharon graduated from the BPA (Hons) in Contemporary Dance at NSCD in 1997.

Sharon Watson is the fourth Principal of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Prior to this she was the longest-standing Artistic Director of Phoenix Dance Theatre. Her journey with the company began when she was one of the first female Principal Dancers invited to join the all-male award-winning company, touring from 1989 to 1997 and choreographing Never Still and Shaded Limits. Having left Phoenix to pursue a number of other ventures including setting up her own company ABCD, Sharon returned in 2009 as the new Artistic Director. Sharon choreographed numerous works for the company including the celebrated Windrush: Movement of the People and Black Waters.

Andi Walk-er

Andi Walk-er:/  is a textiles art-ist:/ their studio practice is deeply rooted in process. From their dye-ing:/ techniques of creating unique paint-erly:/ fabrics which are records of the often perform-ative:/ methods of applying the dye to the surface of the cloth.

Their work frequently challenges and subvertssocietal norms around gender and masculine femininity’s. and exploring this through the garment and stitch-ed:/ narratives sited on the body and this work is frequently positioned within the context of dance.

Their work investigates materials that are at odds with each other which can been seen as autobiographical of their life journey with their gender.

Since graduating from the Royal College of Art Constructed Textiles in 2010 they have been engag-ed:/ in collaborative projects with choreographers & dance companies to explore the relation-ship:/ between dancer & garment.

They have recently completed working with the Yorkshire Sculpture Park within their summer exhibition ’On Queer Ground’ which saw them create a quilt of ‘stitched stories.’

Matteo Marfoglia

Matteo graduated from Codarts in Rotterdam and danced for many years with Introdans in the Netherlands and National Dance Company Wales in the UK, performing works by international choreographers including Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Roy Assaf, Alexander Ekman, William Forsythe, Christopher Bruce, Johan Inger, Paul Lightfoot and Sol Leon, Inbal Pinto and Angelin Preljocaj. In 2011 Matteo danced in the multi-disciplinary project Nierka created by Satore Studio in London, directed by Tupac Martir and choreographed by Fernando Hernando Magadan (Netherlands Dance Theater).

In 2017 Matteo founded his own project-based company in Cardiff (Wales, UK). Matteo’s work has been commissioned by organisations in Wales including NDCWales, Wales Millenium Centre and Rubicon Dance, as well as being presented at international festivals such as Altofest (Naples, IT), Vetrina della giovane danza d’autore (Ravenna, IT), Interplay/18 (Turin, IT), Teatro Fontana (Milan, IT), HangartFest (Pesaro, IT), and Valletta 18 European City of Culture (Malta).

In 2018 Matteo worked as Rehearsal Director for National Dance Company Wales and has been an Associate Artist with the company since 2017. He is also a certified Gaga Teacher, having undertaken the Gaga Teachers’ Training in Tel Aviv under the artistic direction of Bosmat Nossan, Saar Harari, and Ohad Naharin. Matteo is the creator of Together We Create//Creu Gyda’n Gilydd a project created in partnership with arts and non-arts organisations, artists and community members that gives voice to the hopes, desires and needs of the Penrhys community in Rhondda Cynon Taff.

In 2020, The Sunset Show was commissioned through The Agency programme run via National Theatre Wales. Matteo supported The Agency participants to create an outdoor show in Grangetown streets, with Grangetown artists, for Grangetown residents.​

Aimee Grundell

Aimee Grundell is a specialist in eco large format print and build, often coming up with original, highly creative ideas and then executing them alongside her talented collaborative team of designers, engineers and builders. With her team she builds interactive art pieces, exhibitions, stages, events and much more, working with clients to push the boundaries of what's possible.