We are delighted to announce that Pawlet Brookes, who has been at the forefront of the changing attitudes across the arts sector since the 90s, and Darshan Singh Bhuller, whose collaborations in arts and theatre spaces span forty years, have been conferred as this year’s Honorary Fellows.
The highest honour the School is able to bestow, Honorary Fellowships are awarded during a small ceremony each year at the BA Graduation Performance: FUTURE NOW. The recognition goes to individuals who have made an exceptional contribution to the School, contemporary dance and the wider cultural ecology.
Sharon Watson, MBE, CEO and Principal of NSCD, comments:
“It is an honour for the Northern School of Contemporary Dance to offer these Fellowships. It is fair to say that no one has the same creative experience, each person brings their unique experiences into the room, into spaces for others to engage and participate. This goes way beyond the walls of the studios of the school. We rely on the expertise and curiosity of our Fellows to support the thinking and actions needed for change.
“Both awarded Fellows have history which we can connect to and can look to facing the future in this vast creative and inspiring world. Their ability to see the needs of the industry and to be a voice which enables others to achieve their dreams.”
Since 2017, Honorary Fellowships have gone to alumnus and choreographer Akram Khan MBE, Miranda Tufnell, author of Body, Space, Image: Notes Towards Improvisation, alumna Gail Parmel, founder of ACE Dance and Music, Wayne McGregor, and alumnus Gary Clarke. See the full list here.
The Honorary Fellows this year have had a long-standing relationship with the School - find out a little more about their background and their connection to NSCD below.
Pawlet Brookes MBE is the founder, CEO and Artistic Director of Serendipity – Institute for Black Arts and Heritage. An experienced and highly respected senior leader and producer, Brookes has been at the forefront of the development of Black arts in the UK since she was appointed Marketing Manager at the Nia Centre (Manchester) in the 90s.
Under Brookes’ leadership, Serendipity was recently awarded £760k to support the development of a new project Unearthed: Forgotten Histories, one of the largest grants given by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to a Black arts and heritage organisation. Brookes has been the Arts Council assessor for a number of Black arts capital projects, such as the National Centre for Carnival Arts (Luton). She has over 30 years’ experience as a cultural leader and was awarded an MBE for Services to the Srts and Cultural Diversity in the 2022 New Year Honours.
She has been on the panel of Northern Connections, an NSCD-rooted platform for promising creative voices in the region.
Speaking of receiving the Honorary Fellows Award, Pawlet said:
“I have always been passionate about nurturing young talent and supporting their future careers, therefore I am delighted to accept this Honorary Fellowship from NSCD.”
Darshan has a background in dance under the direction of Robert Cohan at London Contemporary Dance Theatre (LCDT) and this year, he became Co-director for the Sir Robert Cohan Dance Legacy CIC.
Darshan has created and directed works for international companies including London Contemporary Dance Theatre, Rambert Dance Company, Scottish Dance Theatre, CandoCo, Nordic Dance Theatre, CeDeCe, Zero Culture and for Companhia de Bailado Contemporaneo (Portugal).
Schools for which he has created work include Northern School of Contemporary Dance, London Contemporary Dance School, Danshögskolan in Sweden and English National Ballet School.
Darshan Singh Bhuller has had a connection with NSCD since it was founded back in 1985 and he worked closely with Nadine Senior during his time as Artistic Director of Leeds-based Phoenix Dance Theatre.
Darshan, who grew up in Chapeltown, near the former synagogue that now houses NSCD’s Riley Theatre comments:
“I remember being invited by the visionary Nadine Senior to co-host a dance workshop in Kirkstall alongside London Contemporary Dance Theatre (LCDT). Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of choreographing several works for Northern School of Contemporary Dance.”
Sharon Watson said:
“We cannot take it for granted that the efforts of those past and present who accept the Fellowship award have helped to pave the way for us here at Northern School and in the wider sector.
“The Honorary Fellowship awards are a small gesture to say thank you and we look forward to an ongoing relationship.”
