2025 FINALS CONTEMPORARY JUDGES

Hannah began her training at Elmhurst Ballet School and went onto London Contemporary Dance School where she completed her BA Hons and her MA. In 2007 Hannah joined Richard Alston Dance Company, with whom she performed for six years both nationally and internationally. She has performed for many other leading companies and choreographer’s, notably Merce Cunningham Company, Russell Maliphant, New Movement Collective, Didy Veldman, Ashley Page, Wayne Parsons Dance, Darren Ellis Dance and Mark Bruce Company. Hannah was twice nominated for the National Dance Award's Outstanding Female Performer. Hannah was part of the original cast for Bruce’s Dracula, winner of the Sky Arts South Bank Award 2014. Most recently she performed in A night of 100 solo’s, a centennial celebration for Merce Cunningham at the Barbican, London, the event was live streamed worldwide. Alongside performing, Hannah has taught in many of the UK's dance conservatoires on both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at London Contemporary Dance School, Royal ballet School, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Rambert School, Central School of Ballet and at Trinity Laban, as well as for companies Richard Alston Dance Company, Protein, Matthew Bourne's New Adventure's and Mark Bruce Company. Hannah has been in post as Head of Education and Examination’s at Rambert Grades since 2022 after taking a leading role in the creation of the syllabus.

Stéphen Delattre is an international choreographer and artistic director of the Delattre Dance Company and the Evolution Dance Platform. Known for blending classical and contemporary vocabularies into a dynamic and emotionally authentic style, he has created works for leading ensembles and institutions worldwide, including Balletto di Milano, Split National Ballet, Staatsoper Ballett Hanover, Elmhurst Ballet (UK), the National Dance Academy Beijing, and the Conservatoires of Lyon, Cannes, and Marseille.

In 2012, he founded the Delattre Dance Company in Mainz, which has since presented over 20 productions and celebrated its 10th anniversary at the Mainz State Theatre. He has also choreographed for international stars of the Paris Opéra Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Berlin State Ballet, English National Ballet, Vienna State Ballet, and more.

Delattre has received numerous awards, including the Critics’ Prize at the Hanover International Choreographers’ Competition, Sweden’s ilDance Choreography Prize, and Italy’s Premio delle Eccellenze della Danza. In 2021, he was named Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government. Through the Evolution Dance Platform, launched in 2022, he also supports the next generation of professional dancers in Germany and Europe.

Sharon Watson is CEO and Principal of the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Trained at the London School of Contemporary Dance, she was one of the first female Principal Dancers invited to join the all-male award winning Phoenix Dance Company, touring with the company from 1989 to 1997 where she choreographed 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.

During her tenure at Phoenix Dance Theatre, Sharon received several awards and accolades: In 2010, she was named as one of the Cultural Leadership Programme’s ‘Women to Watch’, a list of 50 influential women working in arts and culture in the UK. She was awarded The Sue Ryder ‘Yorkshire Women of Achievement in Business Award’ and named ‘Yorkshire Woman of the Year’ in 2016. She recently received the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts’ Companionship Award from Sir Paul McCartney and was recognised as one of ‘100 faces of a vibrant economy 2017’ by Grant Thornton. Acknowledged at the 2017 Northern Power Women Awards as part of the very first ‘Top 50 Power List’, in 2018 Sharon won the First English Woman’s Award for Arts and Culture. In 2018 choreographing the award winning Windrush: Movement of the People

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In November 2020, Sharon was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire and awarded an MBE in the 2021 New Year’s Queens Honours 

Sharon is a trustee of factory International and Leeds 2023. She is committed to improving diversity within the arts by supporting the creative voices of women and Black, Asian, and ethnic minority artists.

Marek Rozycki trained at the State Ballet School in Poznań, Poland and began his career with the Polish Dance Theater During a tour to Italy with the Company, Mr. Rozycki received an invitation from Reinhild Hoffmann to work with the Bremer Dance Theatre. He performed wtih Deutsche Oper Berlin Ballet and the Berlin State Opera (Staatsoper Berlin) where he later became Company Ballet Master and Choreographer. Mr. Rozycki then became a Principal Ballet Master and assistant Choreographer to Peter Schaufuss and his dance company, while choreographing and teaching ballet all over Europe and obtaining his Dance Teacher Diploma at the Centre National de la Danse in Paris. He then became a Guest Ballet Master and Professor for classical dance at the Conservatoire National de Région in Strasbourg. Presently, Mr. Rozycki is Deputy Artistic Director with the National Ballet School Berlin, Germany, and acts as judge on several panels of international dance competitions.

osh Slater is Deputy Director of Taught Courses at London Contemporary Dance School, London, as well as a contemporary dance artist, theatre maker and performer. He is a part-time Ph.D. student at the Centre for Dance Research (C-DaRE) at Coventry University. He has created and toured dance and theatre works, both nationally and internationally, funded by the Arts Council England. Josh’s research interests are focused on choreographic practices, risk taking, Dance Theatre, improvisation and collaborative practices. He is an assistant editor for the Intellect Choreographic Practices Journal and has been working in a variety of teaching and leadership roles in Higher Education for the last 10 years.

Giuseppe Canale is currently the Artistic Director of GCDANCEVENTS and a former international dancer. He began his training in Italy at ArtGarage under Emma Cianchi and later pursued advanced studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich and the Palucca Hochschule für Tanz in Dresden. Professionally, Canale has danced with several world-renowned ballet companies, including: Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal (Canada) West Australian Ballet (Perth, Australia) Sofia Opera and Ballet (Sofia, Bulgaria) Israel Ballet (Tel Aviv, Israel) National Moravian-Silesian Theatre (Ostrava, Czech Republic) Throughout his career, he has collaborated with internationally acclaimed choreographers such as Jiří Kylián, Mauro Bigonzetti, and Marcia Haydée. In 2019, he founded GCDANCEVENTS, an international dance agency dedicated to guiding dancers through the audition process and securing professional opportunities worldwide. 

The agency represents prominent choreographers such as Garrett Smith and Ken Ossola, promoting their creations globally, as well as acclaimed principal dancers for international opportunities. The agency also organizes audition events, galas, and artistic interventions during major festivals in Italy, Japan, Korea, Argentina, Canada, and the Philippines. As Artistic Director of GCDANCEVENTS, Canale works closely with prestigious academies and companies worldwide, serving as an international recruiter to identify and promote talented dancers for study and employment opportunities.