Members’ Conference London 1-Day Pass (Sunday)

Simona Scotto is a renowned dancer, choreographer, and educator specializing in community engagement and dance with older people. Born in Sardinia, she trained extensively in classical and contemporary dance across Italy, London, and New York. 

Simona has performed and choreographed internationally at venues including theatres in Turin and Rome, Il Teatro del Conservatorio (Cagliari), The Place Theatre, and the Lilian Baylis Theatre at Sadler’s Wells. 

For over two decades, Simona has dedicated her career to dance and older adults, initially training with the Camden Active Health Team and evolving her practice to focus on the artistry of movement and fun for active groups. She is currently the Rehearsal Director of Sadler’s Wells Company of Elders, a role that involves collaboration with globally recognized artists such as Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, Hofesh Shechter, Jasmin Vardimon, and Wayne McGregor. Her choreographic work with the company has toured across the UK and Europe. 

In addition, Simona is the Director of her own company, Counterpoint Dance Company, which focuses on challenging older dancers. She has also acted as a Social Entrepreneur and Creative Producer for the Claremont Project, an arts centre for individuals over 55, developing multiple intergenerational productions. 

Dollie is a pioneering choreographer, director, and educator whose career spans over four decades. Widely regarded as one of the world’s leading exponents of Artistic Jazz Dance, her work is defined by a unique fusion of theatrical narrative and the profound heritage of the jazz lineage.

In 1996, Dollie founded the Body of People (BOP) Jazz Theatre Company, a creative hub dedicated to the evolution of jazz as a concert art form. Alongside her creative partner, jazz composer and trumpeter Paul Jenkins, she has produced a prolific body of work that emphasises the vital marriage between live jazz music and dance. Her choreography is celebrated for its technical precision, emotional depth, and unwavering commitment to the Africanist roots of the genre.

Dollie’s extensive professional credits include choreography and movement direction for the West End stage, film, and television. She is a sought-after creative collaborator for major theatrical institutions and has served as a guest lecturer and choreographer at prestigious conservatoires, including Trinity Laban, Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, and PPA Guildford.

A tireless advocate for dance education and mentorship, Dollie has travelled the globe sharing her jazz dance aesthetics through masterclasses, workshop programs and residencies. She continues to lead the way in jazz advocacy, producing and curating the bi-annual Jazz Arts Rewired Conventions at The Place, London. Dollie has also published the highly recommended book ‘The Essential Guide to Jazz Dance’, available direct from their publishers, Crowood Press: Essential Guide to Jazz Dance by Dollie Henry & Paul Jenkins.

Beyond her creative and educational leadership, Dollie holds several prestigious advocacy roles that champion excellence and representation across the arts. She is a proud Patron of the IDTA, The Hammond School, Ignite Dance Company and STEPPS.  

Her commitment to industry reform and mentorship is reflected in her positions as an Artistic Guardian for the CGO Institute, Creative Advisor with Audition Circle and as a member and presenter of the Black British Theatre Awards. Through these roles, Dollie continues to shape the future of the British performing arts landscape, ensuring the integrity and diversity of the art form are preserved and integrated into the broader fabric of modern performing arts training for future generations.

In recognition of her extraordinary contribution to the British dance landscape and her dedication to the preservation of jazz culture, in 2021, Dollie was appointed with an ‘MBE’ for Services to Dance. She remains a transformative force in the industry, inspiring the next generation of performers to view jazz not just as a style, but as a sophisticated and expressive form of creative expression and art.

Thérèse Cantine was born in Woodstock, New York, USA and now holds dual citizenship. She trained at the Royal Ballet School and Rambert School of Ballet, and upon graduating, danced for six years in Germany, the last three as a soloist in Essen. On returning to England she joined Northern Ballet Theatre as a Soloist. She then retrained as a teacher, graduating from the Royal Academy’s then PDTC course in 1979.

Thérèse’s first full-time teaching post was at Elmhurst Ballet School, where she later became Deputy Head of Dance. In 1982, she joined the staff at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, becoming Deputy Artistic Director until summer 2007. She has also taught at many of the leading Ballet Schools in London. Now as a freelance teacher and lecturer, Thérèse continues to teach on many international summer schools and courses throughout the world and has been a consultant for the CDMT since 2011. For six years from 2009 to 2014, she taught extensively on the PDTD and from 2009-2020, she also taught on the LRAD each year. She was on the Board of Trustee of the Royal Academy of Dance from 2012- 2023. Thérèse has been a Tutor and Examiner for the Royal Academy of Dance from 1992 and was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Dance in 2025.