New Trustees at DV8

Following an extensive search, leading dance theatre company DV8 Physical Theatre has appointed a new chair of trustees. Andrew Barnett, UK Director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, will chair his first meeting this month. Previous chair Sue Hoyle resigned from the board in 2009 after taking up the role as director of the Clore Leadership Programme.

Other recently appointed DV8 trustees are Free Word director Shreela Ghosh and the incoming head of Performance & Cultural Industries at Leeds University, Sita Popat. Artistic director Lloyd Newson and executive producer Eva Pepper are delighted with the appointments and look forward to working with the new trustees.

Andrew Barnett said: “It will be a privilege to work with Lloyd Newson and all at DV8. Using physical movement and speech, Lloyd explores and challenges some of the contradictions that lie at the heart of our humanity and free society - intolerance and injustice - to create extraordinary and often controversial work. In an era of stringent public funding restraint, it will be more important than ever to emphasise the uniqueness of DV8, the critical acclaim it enjoys, and the importance of Lloyd's work in the arts ecology".

Note to Editors

DV8 Physical Theatre was formed in 1986 and has been led since its inception by Lloyd Newson. The company has produced 16 highly acclaimed dance pieces, which have toured internationally, and four award-winning films for television. DV8’s most recent stage production, To Be Straight With You, was an exploration of tolerance, intolerance, religion and sexuality. It toured nationally and internationally to great acclaim and won the Grand Prix de Danse at the French Critic’s Award as well as a nomination for Best Dance Production at the 2009 Laurence Olivier Awards. The company is currently in research and development for a major new touring production, which will premiere in 2011.

Short biographies of the new trustees:

Andrew Barnett has been Director of the UK Branch of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation since September 2007. Andrew joined the Foundation from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation where he held the post of Director of Policy Development and Communications. Prior to this, he held posts at the National Consumer Council, HSBC, and the Arts Council of England. He is also chair of the Novas Scarman Group of social enterprises and a trustee of Addaction.

Shreela Ghosh trained in classical Indian dance before getting her Equity card and starting a 10 year career as an actor in theatre, film and TV (original cast of Eastenders). She then worked as a reporter with BBC TV News and went on to make documentaries. Changing family circumstances led Shreela from journalism into arts management and she became the director of Aditi a national dance agency before joining the Arts Council of England in 1994. Shreela has also worked in local government and was the first
director of Arts & Heritage at the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation (one of the largest grantmaking trusts in the UK). Recently, Shreela has been instrumental in launching a number of high profile venues in London. She is currently a member of the Heritage Lottery Fund (London Committee) and on the advisory board of the Cultural Leadership Programme.

Sita Popat takes on the role of Head of Performance & Cultural Industries at the University of Leeds in August 2010. Sita has lectured in Dance at Leeds since 2001, and previously held the post of BA Dance programme leader. Her research specialism is dance and new media technologies. She is author of Invisible Connections: Dance, Choreography and Internet Communities (Routledge, 2006), and Associate Editor of the International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media.

Other board members: Kelly Duffy, Heather Foster, Mark Godfrey, Kate Mayne, Lloyd Newson, Nick Nuttgens and Jenny Waldman.

For further information please contact eva.dv8@artsadmin.co.uk
www.dv8.co.uk