Board members
Meet the Flexer and Sandiland board members.
Cath James
Cath is currently the artistic director of South East Dance and works closely with the Executive Director to ensure the effective management and leadership of South East Dance.
Originally from Australia, Cath’s background is in dance, having been a leading dancer at Rambert Dance Company and a founding member of Siobhan Davies Company and Snag Project in the UK, and Expressions Dance Theatre in Brisbane Australia.
As well as being an international contemporary dance teacher, she has curated programmes including Snagged and Clored in the Clore Studio at the Royal Opera House for three seasons, written about and choreographed dance during her 40 year career. In 1994 Cath was the UK’s first online dance correspondent for ANANOVA, the first avatar-led news website.
Gerson Saldanha
Gerson is a corporate finance professional and strategic advisor. He has worked in investment banking at Deutsche Bank for 14 years advising management teams, companies, private equity and other institutions across industry sectors in the UK, EMEA and Australia.
He is an adventurer and a supporter of dance and the arts.
Mhora Samuel
Mhora is a strategic business and planning consultant in theatre, screen, and heritage sectors. As a Director and CEO, Mhora led the Theatres Trust for ten years, CIDA – the Cultural Industries Development Agency in east London, and Total Theatre, where she set up the Total Theatre Awards.
She managed the development of London’s Creative Enterprise Zones at the Greater London Authority and more recently managed the implementation of Screen Scotland for Creative Scotland. Currently managing parliamentary engagement for the Houses of Parliament Restoration & Renewal programme.
Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and Member of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising and UK Theatre.
Adam Holloway
Adam has been director of Cheshire Dance since 2016. Over the past few years, Adam has led the artistic and organisational development of Cheshire Dance by ensuring a stable and growing artistic profile and programme, a sound and well-resourced financial base and by developing and extending its range of strategic and operational relationships.
Adam produces creative projects on a range of scales, thriving in broad cross-sector partnerships and in artistically and socially challenging contexts. In 2012 he was responsible for welcoming the Olympic Torch to the North of England at a celebration event at Chester Racecourse. He initiated Dance Consortia North West in 2018, a partnership of 40 Dance and Arts Organisations, Higher Ed Institutions and a 200 strong network of Artists in the region, securing Arts Council England support for a 5 year development programme. The same year he co-produced the inaugural Now Northwich Festival.
Pip Sayers
Pip is a safeguarding and inclusion consultant specialising in the adaptation of dance provisions to ensure access and inclusion underpins the ethos of the activity.
With a background in Psychology and advocating for children with social and emotional challenges, Pip applies her theoretical knowledge and practical experience to the Cultural Sector, allowing her a unique insight into the barriers that exist for young people and the ways in which these can be addressed.
Pip has worked with Project Female Dance Company since 2018 to create a unique approach to dance activity which acknowledges the complexities of navigating the pathway through adolescence.
Alongside this, she has worked with the Marina Studios to develop their youth volunteer and ‘Empowerment Through Streetdance’ programme as well as working with South East Dance as their Assistant Producer for Artist Support. Pip has a passion and commitment to providing a platform and a voice for people to express themselves, and make sense of the world, through arts and culture.
Annie Pui Ling Lok
Annie is a freelance dance artist since 1999 and a biodynamic craniosacral therapist (BCST) since 2014. She works with live performance in processes that are experimental and collaborative.
Teaching and facilitation remain a key part of her practice and she has taught in numerous community, professional and Higher Education settings.
She is Co-Artistic Director of Siobhan Davies Studios job-sharing and in collaboration with independent producer Kat Bridge, both on a part-time basis.
She continues to freelance and take care of her 2 nearly 3-year-old daughter.