KSDT

• KSDT makes dance theatre work about people living on the outskirts of society.
• KSDT create productions and projects that hold integration of feeling, movement and thought at it’s core.
• KSDT invent considered dance theatre inspired by the world around us.

also…..

We aim to reach and engage disadvantaged people through strategic partnerships with socially engaged organisations, offering opportunities for participation, inclusion and access to our projects, as participants and audiences.

We seek to reach audiences much wider than the majority of contemporary dance companies through these forms of engagement and by bringing together a community of artists that range from popular musicians, to film-makers, poets, writers, designers, sound artists and producers.

About: Kieran
Kieran Sheehan was mentored by Kate Flatt as part of the Marion North Mentoring Scheme Award from the Bonnie Bird Choreography Fund. He is currently the Associate Artist of UpSwing, and iceandfire as well as regularly working as a movement director across the country. Coming to formal dance class at the late age of eighteen Kieran originally trained at The Place on the degree course but found the desire to go to drama school overwhelming and left after one year to study at Guidlford School of Acting. Whilst at drama school he found a vital connection to movement and focused a lot of his time on the annual choreographic competitions developing a passion for working with actors to create dance theatre.His fifth year of training was on the first year of the MA Movement Studies course at Central School of Speech and Drama from which he graduated aged 23 in 2005.

For UpSwing Aerial Kieran’s main focus is developing Fallen, the new aerial theatre piece he is co-directing for the company. He has also co-created two small works for the National Theatre and is currently choreographing their project for young people in collaboration with The Albany Theatre.

Within iceandfire Kieran has developed the participatory project Children Together which works with refugee and asylum seeker families through movement and dance (see education). Kieran regularly movement directs for Actors for Human Rights, the company’s outreach department as well as choreographing their education productions. He is currently developing two more physically focused productions with the company.

Kieran has worked frequently as a movement tutor in London Drama Schools most significantly holding the post of Head of Movement at the Actors Company, London Centre for Theatre Studies between 2006 and 2008. Kieran also regularly teaches animal studies at the Circus Space on the degree course. Other schools he has lectured at include Arts Educational, Rose Bruford, Mountview and East 15 ,LAMDA and most recently working as acting head of movement at ALRA.

On graduating from CSSD he co-founded Knavish Speech, a devised theatre company for early years children which toured with Birmingham Repetory Theatre and Oxford Playhouse. Sparking an interest in the use of movement for early years children Kieran has gone on to develop a significant practice in this area.

Other notable collaborations/work includes a three month period of movement coaching at the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2007.

Other Artists I regularly work with:

Matt Spencer

Matt graduated in dance (Bretton Hall 1999), worked as a choreographer for three years, joined the David Glass Ensemble and started touring as a sound and AV technician.  A few years and several continents later, Matt found his grove producing video projection designs, animations and films for theatre companies.  Credits include; Great Expectations (Library Theatre – Manchester), Crece, (Rob Tannion – formally of DV8), Take Action Stunt Dancing (Royal Festival Hall), The Doubtful Guest  (Hoipolloi), Revelations, Sinner  (Stan Won’t Dance), Absolute Beginners (Lyric Theatre Hammersmith), The Moon Behind The Clouds (Lunasea), Disembodied, The Chimp that Spoke (David Glass Ensemble), A Fine Balance, Child of the Divide, The Trouble with Asian Men, Lyrical MC, and Sweet Cider (Tamasha), Slamdunk, Mass Carib (Nitro), The Arab & the Jew (Gecko), Transitions Dance Co. (Laban), Dido, Queen of Carthage (Angels in the Architecture),
Inchoate, The Real Lavender Hill Mob (Fleur Darkin), BHP (Online Television), Together Higher (Ensemble Films – Vietnam), Prey taa toke (World Vision – Cambodia), Rock ‘n’ Roll (Library Theatre Manchester), The Magic Flute (English Touring Opera).  Matt is Associate Director of Kieran Sheehan Dance Theatre, responsible for developing film for live perfomance.

Sonja Perreten

Originally from Vancouver, Sonja began her training with Anna Wyman before going to the School of Toronto Dance Theatre and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Centre. She stayed on in New York, where she performed as a principal dancer for Infinity Dance Theatre, Roxanna Young and Dancers, Ginger Thatcher, and Bartholomew Baptista.  Sonja returned to Canada in 2001 to dance for The Holy Body Tattoo, Compagnie Vision Sélective, and Animals of Distinction as well as perform on Canadian stage and film for independent choreographers.  She recently completed two new dance films to be premiered in 2009: “Turn Me Loose” is based on the stage choreography of “Wait” created on Sonja by Noam Gagnon, and “Aurelia” is an underwater version of “Davy Jones’s Locker” created on Sonja by Dana Gingras.

Since 2006 Sonja has also been devising and performing dance and physical theatre in London, UK, and she has worked as a collaborative dancer and aerialist on a number of projects with Stan Won’t Dance,Upswing Aerial, and Kieran Sheehan Dance Theatre.  In 2008 she directed the movement for The Old Vic’s “New Voices” première of “1800 Acres”.  Sonja now divides her time between performance in pure dance and physical theatre crossover projects and movement direction.

Lucia Tong

Lucia Tong studied Chinese dance from an early age and continued her training as a member of the Hong Kong National Rhythmic Gymnastics Team. Lucia was introduced to modern dance while earning her B.Sc. in Environmental Science at the University of California-Berkeley.  Lucia has performed in North America, Asia, and Europe with Protein Dance, Upswing Aerial, Troika Ranch and the Joe Good Performance Group amongst others.

Megan Saunders

Megan Saunders trained at Laban and works as a choreographer, dancer and teacher. She has performed among others with Taskforce, Transitions Dance Company 2008, Leila Mcmillan and Transition_projects. She has choreographed critically acclaimed Venus and Adonis by Transition Opera, The Gutter Press by Rat Pack productions, and directs UpsideDance who perform site specific improvisations at festivals.

She has experience in varied education and community and currently works as an animateur for Richard Alston Dance Company and iceandfire theatre.

Rachel Drazek

Rachel graduated from GSA Conservatoire with a first class honours from the Acting course in 2007. Most recently she has worked with Ice & Fire Theatre Company at The Unicorn Theatre, and for The Romany Theatre Company on a schools tour across London, with a new play, O Patrin. Also for RTC and produced by the BBC, Rachel plays Solona in the second series of the radio drama Atching Tan. This is currently aired weekly and can also be found online. With a background in movement and physical work, Rachel has also spent much time overseas training with companies/practitioners such as Piesn Kozla, Anna Helena Mclean and Phillip Zarilli. She is also a physical theatre workshop leader for Trestle Theatre Company and has worked frequently for Kieran Sheehan Dance Theatre.

Miranda Jankowska – Intern

Miranda is currently the intern for KSDT and Paul and Kieran Dance Theatre. She is a graduate of Goldsmiths and has a wide range of event management experience.