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 - International choreographer and artistic director of the Delattre Dance Company and the Evolution Dance Platform As an inventive and passionate creator, the French choreographer Stéphen Delattre draws on the synergy of classical and contemporary dance vocabularies to sculpt a distinctive and innovative choreographic langage, that is physically dynamic and emotionally authentic. In 2012, Mr Delattre founded his ensemble, the Delattre Dance Company, which celebrated its tenth anniversary with a successful gala on the main stage of the Mainz State Theatre in 2022. The DDC has presented more than 20 different productions to its loyal audience in Mainz and on tour on the international dance scene. Mr Delattre's versatile choreographic style has led to him being regularly invited as a freelance choreographer by prestigious theatre companies and dance academies, such as the Elmhurst Young Ballet in Birmingham (England), the National Dance Academy Beijing (China), the National Conservatory of Prague (Czech Republic), the Jeune Ballet d'Anvers (Belgium), the Conservatoire national supérieur de danse de Lyon, the École supérieure de danse de Cannes and the École nationale supérieure de danse de Marseille (throughout France). Mr Delattre has had the pleasure of creating works for many outstanding ensembles throughout the world and in his home country of Germany. These include the Split National Ballet (Croatia), Balletto di Milano (Italy), National Modern Dance Company Ankara (Turkey), Dance Company State Theater Kielce (Poland), International Dance Festival Busan (Korea), Staatsoper Ballett Hanover, Ballett des Staatstheater Mainz, Ballett des Saarländisches Staatstheater Saarbrucken, Ballet Augsburg, Tanzkompanie Staatstheater Braunshweig, Gallus Theater Frankfurt, Ballett Hagen, Ballett Koblenz (all in Germany). Stéphen Delattre has also received numerous private commissions from Star dancers of the Paris Opéra Ballet, Stuttgart State Ballet, Berlin State Ballet, Vienna State Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, English National Ballet, Semperoper Ballett and Karlsruhe Staatstheater. In 2012, his creation for the Étoile du Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris, Marie-Agnès Gillot, was presented for the 20th anniversary of the Benois de la Danse on the main stage of the illustrious Bolshoi Theatre. In 2022, Stéphen Delattre created ‘Face my Fears’ for international stars Polina Semionova and Dmitry Semionov, and this duet has been performed at a number of prestigious dance events. Mr Delattre is also a guest member of the jury at various international choreography and dance competitions around the world. Delattre has been honoured with numerous awards for his choreography, including first prize in 2012 at Sweden's premier choreography competition ‘ilDance’, the 2010 Critics‘ Prize at the International Choreographers’ Competition in Hanover, and the 2008 Best Choreographer Award from ‘Dance for you’ magazine. In recent years, Delattre has also been awarded another Italian dance prize, the ‘Premio delle Eccellenze della Danza’. This ‘prize for excellence’ was awarded to Delattre for his outstanding achievements in the field of international choreography. In 2021, Stéphen Delattre was appointed “Chevalier de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres” by the French government. This title is a high distinction awarded by the Minister of Culture for his work over the last few years. Finally, since 2022, Stéphen Delattre has also created a new platform for young dancers, a professional training program that works in collaboration with the Delattre Dance Company. This Evolution Dance Platform project remains unique in Germany and Europe, giving a new generation of dancers the chance to create a future for themselves in the professional world of dance. In recent years, Mr Delattre has not only contributed to the development of dance and its young artists on a cultural and educational level, but has also built an international audience by touching the heart of today's society.

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

​

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.

Samuel Wuersten's life in dance is multifaceted. He enjoyed a diversified career as a contemporary repertory dancer, created self-produced as well as commissioned work as a choreographer and is a sought-after teacher of contemporary dance around the world. He is the artistic and executive director of the renowned Holland Dance Festival, as well as the artistic director of the Bachelor and Master Dance programs at Zurich Arts University in Switzerland, which he helped develop from scratch. For twenty years he was affiliated with Codarts Rotterdam, first as director of its dance programs and later as member of the arts university’s executive board.

He regularly serves as a jury member and consultant to various dance and arts organizations. For over a decade, he was the artistic co-director of the Steps International Dance Festival in Switzerland as well as a member of the artistic committee and the official contemporary dance teacher of the Prix de Lausanne. From 2013 to 2018, he has been curating the international CONTEXT festival in Moscow and St Petersburg for the Russian ballerina Diana Vishneva.
Samuel Wuersten was born and raised in Gstaad, Switzerland. He started his dance studies with Michaela Pavlin in Bern and had his formal dance training at the Hamburg Ballet School as well as at Codarts Arts University Rotterdam (formerly Rotterdam Dance Academy). He is currently based in The Netherlands.

Josh 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.

Johannes Hart is a German choreographer and director at Iwanson International School of Contemporary Dance in Munich. He is known for his inspiring approach to dance, aiming to transform dancers into both skilled artists and more compassionate individuals.