
Leadership for independent choreographers
★★★★★★★★★★
9.50 rating from participants
flexible training
specific to your practice
60+artists consulted
26th October – 4th December
Want to maximise the time you spend in the studio and create your strongest work yet?
We are entering a new era, one that is moving towards a healthier, more sustainable way of working. It’s more important than ever to become part of a new wave of choreographers who are reshaping what it means to lead – for ourselves, for the sake of the piece and, importantly, for the people who make it all possible.
Our promise to you
In this training you will learn how to hold onto your artistic vision while creating space for brilliant collaborations.
You will do the work of getting to know yourself, developing the support structures you need, and understanding the legal aspects of being a fair and responsible employer.
You will learn how to communicate better, navigate conflict and build resilience, not by ploughing on until breaking point, but by allowing challenges and conflict to strengthen the relationships you build with your team.
Right now you might feel like you are carrying immense pressure, often without ever having been taught how to handle it.
We’re here to change that.
This is your chance to transform the way you lead, the way you work and the experience you create for everyone around you.
Join us, and get the tools to make your most ambitious projects your most successful yet.
The format
This is a 6-week online course created by and for dance professionals. Curated by leadership coach and choreographer Neus Gil Cortes, and shaped with input from over 60 artists, you will be learning from specialists in leadership, strategy, health, and conflict engagement.
Through a mix of flexible learning, peer support, and live masterclasses led by coaches and experts in the dance sector, you’ll gain practical tools, reflective frameworks, and mentoring guidance.
You will get:
- Weekly content (such as podcasts, TED Talks, and articles) to explore in your own time
- 2-hour online live masterclasses with guest specialists every Friday 8:30am-10:45am UK (London time) except for Dana Caspersen session (see schedule below). These sessions are all recorded and available to watch for 3 months afterwards).
- A private LinkedIn group for peer connection.
Flexible and affordable, you can tune in from anywhere in the world!
Early Bird
£135
Book between 30 Sept- 9th Oct
Full Price
£185
Book until 23rd October
Concessions
£90
Three places
Bonus 1
2 group mentoring sessions
A space to explore your specific issues or areas of interest in a group environment facilitated by Neus Gil Cortes.
Only for course participants.
Friday 23rd October and 11th December 8:30-10:45am
£30
Bonus 2
tourbooking and partnership building
Join Richard Chappell to learn practical tools and relationship building skills with venues and programmers.
Open to all.
Friday 27 November 8:30-10:45am
£25 if booked with course
£37 independent bookings
Bookings open 30th September
*Keep scrolling down to find the full schedule*
hear from previous participants
Testimonials
I’d recommend it to anyone leading in any capacity, not just dance makers
I almost didn’t book the course because I worried about the cost and the time investment it required. I wasn’t sure if it would be worth it.
What surprised me most about this work was the clarity of the learning and the direct application to our day-to-day practices and choreographic processes. The way we engaged in each session made it easy to implement the concepts immediately. How quickly I could see results was truly eye-opening.
The moment everything changed was when I realised that I could apply research and learnings that not only supported my intuitive practices but also challenged me to rethink how to manage studio and rehearsal time.
★★★★★
Johnny Autin
A course where you can both learn and put ideas into practice
The biggest difference for me is that I now feel more comfortable with the idea of being a leader, and that leadership feels like a colourful title rather than a rigid one.
The courses were guided in an open, supportive, and spacious way, allowing room for personal realisations. What surprised me most about this work was how quickly everything came together, and how natural and coherent the progression of the courses felt.
I would recommend Lead&Create courses to anyone who is ready to create in healthy, confident conditions, with awareness throughout the process.
★★★★★
Eliane Roumie
So needed
Lead&Create with Neus offered exactly what independent dance needs right now- reflective space, practical support and honest artist dialogue.
★★★★★
Kesha Raithatha
This was everything I hoped for
I’m deep into the rehearsal process for my next creation. I am using so many of the tools I learned from the Leadership course. Thank you. It has made an enormous impact on my confidence and how I show up.
★★★★★
Marika Brussel
Absolutely Inspiring
Thank you for putting together such an incredible experience! These weeks were absolutely inspiring – each speaker brought so much knowledge and passion. It really reinforced for me how crucial this kind of insight is. Being a great creative isn’t just about the work itself but also about learning how to effectively lead a room full of creatives.
★★★★★
Stephen Moynihan
It’s an intense shot of inspiration and validation that is worth the investment in money and time.
A bespoke course directly addressing the leadership challenges of the choreographer, which is welcoming and relevant to those creating movement in a range of settings, genres and careers stages.
The quality of facilitation and content from the speakers was really high quality and everyone involved is clearly very knowledgeable and experienced. Immediately I trusted the “room” and felt open to learning and development. I didn’t expect the calibre of materials and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to get involved.
Thank you for such a nurturing and helpful experience.
★★★★★
Melanie Bradford
Our Speakers

Week 1- Isabel Mortimer
Coach at Clore Leadership and Dancers Career Development
Isabel is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach CPCC. She works with individuals and organisations in creating positive change, effective decision making, and robust strategic thinking. She is experienced in leadership coaching, working with organisational development and enabling positive team dynamics, most recently with The Royal Opera house, Tyne and Wear Archives & Museums, Capita, The South Bank Centre, Unltd, Britvic, Save the Children, Comic Relief, South East Dance.
She specialises in Executive Development, Career Development, Coaching, Executive Coaching, and Facilitation.
She is a coach and trainer with RD1st, where the focus is on training coaching skills for leadership and management, as well as training for individual coaches. RD1st offers in-house bespoke coach training to organisations and teams, most recently for The Royal Opera House, The Royal National Theatre, The South Bank Centre, Hauser and Wirth, The Clore Leadership Programme, and The Arts Council England.
She is the Director of Coaching for the Dancers Career Development, where the focus is on positive navigation through change and enabling clarity of focus.

Week 2- Lottie Stables
Equity Dance Officer
Lottie Stables is Equity’s Industrial Official for Dance, and Secretary to both Equity’s Dance Committee and Choreographers and Movement Directors Network.
Equity is the performing arts and entertainment trade union in UK. It’s made up of 50,000 performers and creative practitioners. They are actors, singers, dancers, designers, directors, stage managers, puppeteers, comedians, voice artists, and variety performers.
For more than a hundred years they have been pushing for better pay, terms, and conditions for the creative industry workers.

Week 2- Andrew Hurst
One Dance UK Chief Executive
Andrew trained at the Royal Ballet Lower and Upper Schools, and his first contact was with Basel Ballet in Switzerland. He later worked with Ballet Gulbenkian in Portugal, Nederlands
Dans Theater in Holland, Berlin Ballet at the Komische Oper in Berlin, and Rambert where he was Equity Deputy and started studying Business with the Open University, later making his transition from performing to managing whilst working there. He led the Dancers’ Management Team at Rambert, was General Manager and then Executive Director of
Phoenix Dance Theatre, and then went on to be Company Manager, and later Company & Tour Manager for The Royal Ballet.
He is Chief Executive of One Dance UK, and is proud to be the Chairman of Company Chameleon, and a non-Executive Director of Dance Consortium. He is currently one of 21 Global Arts Management Fellows taking part in the DeVos Institute of Arts and Non-Profit Management’s international Executive Fellowship programme.
He completed the MBA for Senior Leaders in Arts & Culture in 2022, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Chartered Management Institute, and was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours list 2020 for ‘services to Dance, particularly during the Covid-19 Response’.

Week 3- Charlie Brittain
Dance artist/Integrative Health Coach
Charlie’s passion lies in empowering others to take ownership of their practice and champion their values through dancing. His training includes the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance, Tring Park School for the Performing Arts and London Contemporary Dance School CAT scheme. Charlie’s independent choreographic work is performed internationally, and he regularly delivers commissions for dance companies, training institutes and festivals; he has taken up invitations as Artist in Residence for research and choreographic processes across Europe and continues to collaborate with other artists as a dramaturg, co-author and choreographic mentor. Charlie nurtures close collaborations with Kirstie Simson and Milan Tomášik, and continues to perform internationally, most recently with Russell Maliphant Company. He is a sought-after rehearsal director, working across a variety of artistic environments and ventures for dance companies and independent projects throughout Europe as well as a passionate teacher, regularly invited to lead classes, workshops and masterclasses for dance companies, educational institutes and festivals worldwide. Charlie has been Associate Artist at English National Ballet, Associate Creative Director at the National Youth Ballet of Great Britain, where he is currently Artistic Consultant, and is currently Rehearsal Director at Scottish Dance Theatre. Alongside his commitment to the arts, he is a practising Clinical Sports Therapist, Movement Rehabilitator, Musculoskeletal Health Specialist and Biomechanics Specialist specialising in the treatment, rehabilitation and education of dancers and movement practitioners. A qualified teacher and assessor, Charlie lectures and examines on higher education and professional training programs in the U.K. and Europe. With a commitment to holistic practice, he is currently studying for his Graduate Diploma in Integrative Health Coaching and Nutritional Therapy. Charlie is qualified, and remains active, in pre-hospital emergency care and is studying for his Master’s Degree in Acute Medicine.

Week 4- Neus Gil Cortes
Choreographer and Leadership Coach
Neus Gil Cortes is a leadership coach as well as a choreographer, dramaturg, and teacher. She is the founder of Lead&Create and the artistic director of Nua Dance, a project-based company regularly funded by Arts Council England. She was previously a dancer in companies such as NDC Wales, Hofesh Shechter and Dance Works Rotterdam as well as for freelance projects.
Neus regularly facilitates leadership and professional development sessions for organisations including Sadler’s Wells, National Centre for Circus Arts, Dance Leaders Group and London School of Muralism. Her leadership training includes Relational Dynamics Coaching (2026), Discover your Leadership by Clore Leadership (2024), Leading with Kindness- Resource Alliance/Global community (2023), Coaching Skills for Cultural Leadership by Arts Connect and University of Wolverhampton (2022), Self leadership by Coach Sarah Purisa Maguire and Echo (2022).
Neus also hosts the Lead & Create podcast, which shares conversations with artists and cultural leaders about leadership, creativity, and the independent dance sector.
Her work combines practical experience as a maker and dramaturg with a commitment to creating supportive, collaborative spaces for artists to thrive.
More info

Week 5- Dana Caspersen
Conflict Engagement Specialist
Dana Caspersen is a conflict engagement specialist, award-winning performing artist, and best-selling author. She works internationally with arts leaders and organizations to strengthen their capacity to engage conflict as an opportunity for constructive action. Drawing on her backgrounds in both conflict studies and dance, her work integrates conflict engagement practices with choreographic thinking to create innovative approaches to teaching and dialogue.
Dana is the founder of Conflict Fluency—The Art & Science Cohort, an initiative for leaders in the arts and sciences, and the author of Conflict Is an Opportunity: 20 Fundamental Decisions for Navigating Difficult Times and Changing the Conversation: The 17 Principles of Conflict Resolution.
For nearly three decades, Caspersen co-created and performed internationally with choreographer William Forsythe in Ballet Frankfurt and The Forsythe Company. Her work as a performing artist has been recognized with a Bessie Award for Outstanding Creative Achievement in the U.S. and a nomination for a Laurence Olivier Award in the UK.
More info

Week 6- Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu
Lighter Leadership™ Coach and choreographer
Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu is the Lighter Leadership™ Coach, supporting creative leaders and changemakers to trust themselves, redefine leadership on their own terms, and find liberation from stress and burnout. Her coaching invites clarity, confidence and courage, helping people put themselves first so they can thrive personally and professionally.
Her belief in empowerment and transformation runs through all of her work. She is the Founder and Creative Director of Uchenna, the dance company whose mission of empowerment, entertainment, and education creates performances and workshops that connect deeply with audiences and participants alike. In theatre, Vicki has built a reputation as a sought-after choreographer and movement director, bringing bold physical storytelling to stages across the UK and internationally. She is also Director of Empowerment at People Make It Work, working with cultural organisations to unlock potential, embed equity, and strengthen leadership across the sector. Vicki is a Trustee of New Adventures, the iconic and ground-breaking British dance-theatre company famous for telling stories with a unique theatrical twist, further extending her commitment to shaping a vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable cultural landscape.
Across everything she does, Vicki champions self-trust, creativity, and boldness, helping people, whether in leadership, on stage, or in the studio, to trust their instincts, embrace who they are, connect to their internal power, and step into their external influence.
Schedule- All times listed are UK (London) time
oct
26-30
Week 1- Who are you as a leader?
Led by Isabel Mortimer
Live session: Friday 30 October 8:30-10:45am on zoom
nov
2- 6
Week 2- Understanding your legal responsibilities
Led by Equity officer Lottie Stables and One Dance UK Chief Executive Andrew Hurst
Live session: Friday 6 November 8:30- 10:45am on zoom
nov
9- 13
Week 3- Creating structures of care
Led by Charlie Brittain
Live session: Friday 13 November 8:30-10:45am on zoom
nov
16 – 20
Week 4- Collaborating and managing studio dynamics
Led by Neus Gil Cortes
Live session: Friday 20 November 8:30-10:45am on zoom
nov
23-27
Week 5- Constructive conflict in creative processes
Led by Dana Caspersen
Live session: Friday 27 November 12:30-2:45pm on zoom. Please note the different time!!
nov/dec
30-4
Week 6- Strategies for the future
Led by Vicki Igbokwe-Ozoagu
Live session: Friday 4 December 8:30-10:45am on zoom
Frequently Asked Questions
What if I can’t make some of the live sessions?
No worries! All sessions will be recorded and available to watch for 3 months after the date of the session, so you can catch up when it suits you.
How much time commitment does the course require?
The course will take around 4 hours per week. Two hours are for self-study, where you’ll dive into material provided each week (such as podcasts, TED Talks, and articles). You can access this material on the weekly course page. The other 2 hours are for the live sessions on Fridays.
Is there any access provision?
We are committed to making the course as accessible as possible. However, as this is an independently run course, we may not have funds for additional support like BSL interpreters or support workers. Please contact us with your access needs, and we will do our best to accommodate them.
How does the course work?
Each week, you’ll receive an email with a link and password to access the upcoming week’s content on our website. On the page, you’ll find materials relevant to the week’s topic along with an exercise to complete at your own pace. Every Friday, there will be a 2-hour live Zoom session with a guest speaker. These sessions include a presentation, group exercises, a 15-minute break, and a Q&A at the end.
What is your refund policy?
You can request a full refund before the course begins on 20 October. If you cancel between 20-24 October, we offer a 50% refund. No refunds will be issued after 24 October.
Money is a barrier for me. What can I do?
We have 3 places concession places at a discounted rate. Please get in touch with admin@leadandcreate.uk if they are sold out and money is a barrier for you to attend.

Have additional questions?
We will be happy to answer them! Send us an email at admin@leadandcreate.uk