PG Diploma in Performance (Distinction)
BPA (Hons) Contemporary Dance
PG Diploma in Arts Learning and Teaching in Higher Education (Distinction)
Role and responsibilities
Lecturer in Dance and Curriculum Lead (Pedagogy)
MA Dance Teaching & Facilitating Course Leader
Careers Co-ordinator
Module Leader: Performance in Context 2, Teaching Dance 2
“As a relatively late starter, dance was introduced to me during my college education. It started as a hobby before progressing into something more serious that I wanted to pursue professionally. My inspiring teacher recommended auditioning at NSCD. So, having never done any formal technique training I arrived completely clueless (& very nervous) to my audition. Somehow I made it through the day, I was awarded a place on the degree course and moved to Leeds that September to begin the start of my new life… What a life that would turn out to be – exploring the world through dance; travelling, performing, making and teaching; every day something new but always being able to do what I love – MOVE.
Now a dad to a beautiful little girl, life’s challenges continue to shift and evolve, but there’s still something new every day to keep me motivated.
About my work:
My work is very movement focused and is a hybrid of contemporary techniques that use full-bodied connectivity to explore the ideas of weight, momentum, gravity, energy and expansiveness. My virtuosic vocabulary moves through the space and in and out of the floor with an emphasis on efficiency, use of breath and sensitivity.”
Matthew (Matt) is Head of Undergraduate Studies at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD) and has taught in higher education since 2014. He brings extensive experience across professional dance performance, higher education, community dance and outreach, curriculum development, inclusive practice, student support and professional dance education.
Matt began dancing at 17 before training at NSCD, graduating in 2005. He subsequently performed nationally and internationally with VERVE and EDge, working with choreographers including Trisha Brown and Siobhan Davies, as well as with Yael Flexer’s Bedlam Dance Company and Retina Dance Company under the direction of Filip van Huffel. His professional career has encompassed performance, rehearsal direction, education, community dance and choreography, and he continues to guest teach nationally and internationally.
As an artist and teacher, Matt’s movement practice is rooted in full-bodied connectivity, exploring weight, momentum, gravity, energy and expansiveness through contemporary technique, floor work, partner work and performance practice. His approach to teaching is informed by a commitment to inclusive practice, student development and creating meaningful opportunities for the next generation of dance artists and educators.
Matt has held a range of academic and professional roles within NSCD, including Programme Lead for the MA Dance Teaching and Facilitating, Learning and Participation (L&P) Officer, Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) Course Leader, Year Liaison and BA3 Programme Lead, and Careers Co-ordinator. Across these roles, he has contributed extensively to teaching, curriculum development, student support, careers and professional development, with a particular commitment to inclusive practice and the student experience.
His academic leadership includes curriculum design, assessment strategy review, periodic programme review (PPR) and revalidation at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Matt has contributed to NSCD’s FDAP process and has supported Quality and Regulatory processes, including QSR inspections. He is a member of the Learning, Teaching and Quality Assurance Committee (LTQAC) and has led sub-groups supporting BA programme revisions and CertHE validation. Through these activities, Matt has developed extensive experience in quality assurance, academic governance and the ongoing enhancement of teaching and learning.
Matt currently serves as Staff Governor on the NSCD Board and is a member of the Northern Rascals Advisory Board. He has represented NSCD internationally across Italy, Switzerland, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, the USA, Denmark and Belgium, and has developed an international exchange partnership that creates opportunities for collaboration and learning. Matt particularly enjoys meeting and working with dancers from around the world and values the exchange of ideas, experiences and perspectives that international dance communities bring.
Matt holds a BPA (Hons) in Contemporary Dance, a PG Diploma in Performance, and a PG Diploma in Arts Learning and Teaching in Higher Education. His work is driven by a passion for movement, education and inclusive learning, alongside a commitment to supporting the development of future dance artists, teachers and facilitators.
Matthew began dancing at the age of 17 whilst studying A-Level Performing Arts and went on to train at NSCD, graduating in 2005. He toured with VERVE before completing a postgraduate diploma at London Contemporary Dance School (LCDS) and toured internationally as a member of Edge in work choreographed by Sue MacLennan, Trisha Brown and Siobhan Davies.
Upon graduating from LCDS Matthew joined Yael Flexer’s Bedlam Dance Company and toured as part of her production of Doing, Done and Undone alongside working for Retina Dance Company in their graduate project PAGE1. He worked with Retina Dance Company extensively between 2006 and 2014 as a Dancer, Rehearsal Director and Education Manager.
In 2010 Matthew joined the staff at NSCD as Education & Community Dance Worker (later Learning & Participation Officer) and in 2014 became a Lecturer in Technique & Performance Practice (Contemporary), teaching contemporary technique, partner work, performance practice, teaching dance, choreography and repertory. Matthew was a Staff Governor of the CDD Board between 2018 and 2021. In 2021, he was appointed as a Curriculum Lead at NSCD with responsibility for the pedagogy strand. In 2022, Matthew completed his PG Diploma in Arts Learning & Teaching in Higher Education, graduating with a distinction. Matthew currently leads the MA Dance Teaching & Facilitating course at NSCD whilst continuing to deliver into undergraduate modules, co-ordinating the school’s careers programme and being heavily involved in student access, recruitment and progression. Matthew guest teaches around the UK and overseas, and enjoys connecting with new talent through a shared love of movement.
