Artistic Director

Susan Norwood

Background
Born in the UK, Norwood studied Fine Art and Dance, before gaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree at Dartington College of Arts, specialising in choreography.

Experience
Norwood combined a career as a Fashion Stylist and choreographer. Her choreographic work includes London based performances at The Place, Tate Modern, The Royal Festival Hall, Whitechapel Gallery, Channel Four television and Modern Art Oxford. Norwood's choreography focuses on a wide diversity of dancers, including people with disabilities, students of art and dance disciplines, choreographers, intergenerational groups and academics.

Norwood was co-founder of Corali Dance Company, a company for dancers with learning disabilities and worked extensively with Corali for twelve years. During this time she explored the influence and use of visual art, film and theatre in the teaching and choreographing of dancers with disabilities.

In 2002 Susan Norwood became Education Director for Anjali Dance Company. Over four years Norwood designed and delivered a groundbreaking accredited dance-training programme for dancers with learning-disabilities. This included dancers with learning disabilities studying to become choreographers in their own right. This work was taught alongside some of the United Kingdom's most respected and award winning choreographers, including Siobahan Davies Dance Company, Rambert Dance Company and Birmingham Royal Ballet.

Norwood  completed a research project at an Oxford University, looking at how dance can be used as a tool in the creation of equal learning platforms when working with diverse learners. More recently she designed and led a groundbreaking training project for emerging artists with learning disabilities to begin to understand how to curate a multi-media exhibition. Norwood has worked nationally and internationally disseminating her unique methodology.

Image: Susan Norwood, photographed by Judie Walmann