Meet Rubicon's Staff

Chief executive officer - Simon Morris

Simon has worked as a senior executive within various arts organisations for more than 25 years. He is particularly passionate about increasing the diversity of representation in the cultural industries and has focussed on increasing inclusion during all his previous roles.

Originally starting out as a freelance visual artist and designer, Simon became a director of the community arts organisation Coventry Artspace before moving into the performing arts via Salisbury Arts Centre and then working as the CEO of two charities supporting performers with learning disabilities. After relocating to South Wales in 2021, he initially worked for the national traditional music and dance organisation, Trac Cymru, before starting his current employment at Rubicon Dance.

Simon has a very broad professional knowledge of the arts after working and collaborating with many other artists across a huge range of disciplines and genres. He also moonlighted as a lecturer for more than 10 years, most extensively within higher education institutions but also in further education, lifelong learning, and professional development training.⁠

Although Simon says his primary skillset will always be his drawing and painting skills, in addition he enjoys playing various musical instruments to different standards, including guitar, ukulele, and drums. He's also a keen Welsh learner, currently at intermediate level.⁠

Education manager - Deborah Ford

Deborah is an experienced dance educator and manager, and accredited yoga teacher, with over 30 years in the professional dance sector. After training at London Contemporary Dance School, where she graduated with 1st Class Honours, Deborah joined its Postgraduate Performance Company, performing works by leading choreographers including Wayne McGregor, Henri Oguike, Mark Baldwin, and Siobhan Davies. She went on to perform nationally and internationally with companies including Earthfall and National Dance Company Wales, where she became a Senior Dancer and mentored apprentices. Across her performance career, she toured in over 40 original works.

Deborah spent 15 years at Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD), teaching across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and contributing to curriculum and leadership development. She continues to freelance with NSCD as an MA tutor on the Professional Placement Scheme and remains a strong advocate for conservatoire dance training.

Since 2022, Deborah has been based at Rubicon Dance, where she is the Education Manager and leads the full-time BTEC Extended Diploma in Performing Arts (Dance Pathway). Her practice centres on inclusivity, excellence, and empowering the next generation to thrive in a demanding and evolving dance industry.

stakeholder manager - Tracey Brown

Tracey has come full circle because she started out as a student on Rubicon's full-time course, and she says it was there that she discovered her love for community dance and never looked back! She has worked for Rubicon since September 1996, developing her experience through 5 different roles – the first of which was Dance Development Worker and included leading dance sessions with a wide range of ages, abilities and backgrounds and within a wide range of community contexts.

In January 2025 Tracey began her new role as the Stakeholder Manager for Rubicon, which includes developing the Wales Wide Training Programme and working with twenty-eight partners organisations and hundreds of practitioners from across the Welsh national dance sector. She also oversees the activities of the team who lead our community programme, looks after our donors, writes funding applications, and develops links with sponsors and many of our valued funders. In her new role she is always looking for new connections with individuals and organisations to increase the reach of Rubicon’s community programme, to enable as many people as possible to participate in a dance session, whatever their ages, abilities or backgrounds.

There are many highlights during Tracey’s time at Rubicon, but she says that one stand-out project was the inspirational ‘Rubicon to Romania’ programme which engaged with deaf children in Craiova.

Operations Manager - natasha Gajda

Natasha is an experienced Business Operations Manager specialising in arts education, community engagement, and organisational management. She has built her career around creating systems and processes that improve efficiency while supporting creative work.

For ten years, she worked as a freelance singing and piano tutor, delivering lessons across Gwent and Bristol. During this time, she was contracted by Gwent Music and Bristol Beacon, which allowed her to work with a wide range of students while building a strong professional network across the arts and education sectors. Alongside teaching, she managed all aspects of her independent business, balancing lesson planning, scheduling, and financial administration.

She later joined Cardiff Council’s CF Music Education team, where she led administrative processes and introduced software solutions to streamline finance and customer relations systems. Her work focused on improving efficiency and supporting the team to implement more effective workflows.

Now at Rubicon Dance, Natasha works on refining internal systems, strengthening operations, and supporting long-term sustainability. She collaborates across finance, customer relations, and programme delivery, helping to align resources with organisational needs.

Natasha is passionate about supporting inclusive and engaging programmes that empower communities through the arts. She believes that well-structured systems and thoughtful processes help organisations thrive, ensuring that creative opportunities remain accessible and impactful.

JEsse Thornton - Dance Performance Tutor

Aisling Wallace – Children and Young People's co-Ordinator

Aisling trained at Northern School of Contemporary Dance and Edge Hill University, graduating with a BA (Hons) in Dance and Drama with Aerial Performance. She then completed a community dance apprenticeship with Rubicon Dance in 2020 and has worked as community dance leader ever since, both for Rubicon and as a freelance practitioner.

Her work currently includes running the GCSE Dance course at Rubicon, as well as devising and delivering a vast range of sessions for children and young people. She has also had training from Stopgap Dance Company enabling her to deliver their IRIS inclusive syllabus. Previously Aisling worked for Royal Ballet School on their Primary Steps programme and has co-created and toured a bilingual performance for under 5s around nurseries in Cardiff and Rhondda Cynon Taf.

Elen Hankey - Dance Leader & Group Assistant

Anwen Davies – Health and Wellbeing Mentor

Anwen completed a BA degree in Dance Studies at University of Surrey, Roehampton, during which she covered community dance modules and knew this was the area of dance she wanted to work in. She went on to study for a Professional Diploma in Community dance at The Laban Centre, London. She then moved back home to Wales and completed a community dance apprenticeship with Rubicon Dance and hasn’t left!

She started teaching classes for early years and over 60’s back in 2005, but then expanded to older people, inclusive classes, schools and now focuses on our Dance for Health programmes.   

In 2026 she got a new job role with Rubicon, which is Health and Wellbeing Mentor. In this role she will be helping, programming and mentoring Trainees, as well sign posting Rubicon staff to help with their own wellbeing.  

Rhian Rogers – Dance for Health Programme Leader

Rhian graduated with a BA Hons Contemporary Dance Degree in 2017. In 2018, she completed a one-year apprenticeship in community dance with Rubicon and the Wales Wide Training Programme, where she worked to the 5 key areas of the National Occupational Standards for Dance Leadership.

Rhian has taught in different settings throughout her time at Rubicon but she currently delivers sessions for people aged over 60 on our development programme throughout Cardiff. She says she loves to see the positive impact that exercise has on the health and well-being of participants.

Sophie Batey – Dance for Health Programme Leader

Sophie has been working for Rubicon Dance since 2006. She has a degree in dance, PGCE in further education and completed an apprenticeship in community dance here at Rubicon.

Sophie currently leads a diverse range of classes in education, health, and out in a range of the different community contexts and venues with a wide range of ages and abilities. She enjoys having a rich and varied programme of work and seeing the positive effects that dance has on people's health and wellbeing.

Sophie has also delivered dance-in-education training to teachers and learning support assistants at various schools and events as well as nursery staff at private nurseries. Through these training events she has helped staff embed the expressive arts strand from the new Curriculum for Wales by equipping them with tools, skills, and ideas that they can implement in their own settings.

India Sutton - Dance for Health Trainee Practitioner

My name is India Sutton. I am a Dance & Movement Practitioner based in Mid Wales. My dance roots began when I was little, I couldn't stop performing to music for my family. I was lucky to be sent to ballet, tap and jazz outside of school to nourish that part of me and eventually I was introduced to contemporary for A-level at college.

I joined Somerset Youth Dance Company (SYDC) outside of college to gain more performance experience and widen my training. I then went on to do a Joint BA in Dance with Arts & Fetsivals Management at De-Montfort University in Lecester. My career as a freelancer has been predominantly project based in Wales with charities such as Impelo and Dance Blast, in various schools and community settings as-well as running my own sessions at a local studio for youth and adults. My movement practice is focused on inclusivity, curiosity, creativity, and a desire to share my joy for dancing with others.

I have always had an interest in the ways in which dance can have a positive impact on people's lives', so I had been actively searching and attending as much training , CPD and R&D as I could, hoping to reach a goal where I can incorporate that interest of 'Dance in Health' in my own practices. Coming across Rubicon's Dance In Health Practitioner training was that next step in my career I needed. Learning in a new environment of healthcare settings requiring new skills, giving me the confidence to use dance to help people thrive. I have learnt vast amounts already, it's fascinating how in depth and strong the programme is and I am so grateful to have the opportunity to be part of it.

Shakeera Ahmun - Dance for Health Trainee Practitioner

Photo credit - Keith Murrell

My name is Shakeera Ahmun, I’m a performer and practitioner based in South Wales. I began my dance foundation training at Rubicon Dance where my love of movement took off. Following my graduation, I became a freelance performer, and in 2021 I began teaching for the first time with Babyballet Cardiff teaching ages 6 months- 6 years old. After building my confidence teaching the Babyballet classes, I began teaching regularly for Arts Active Trust on their Get Moving! sessions for over 50s. I really found my niche teaching with the over 50s and have continued leading these sessions since 2024.

I recently came across a brilliant call out for the Dance for Health Trainee Practitioner role with Rubicon Dance and jumped on the opportunity. I'm learning something new from the experienced practitioners every day as well as meeting a variety of participants who benefit and thrive on the movement sessions.

I'm really looking forward to developing my teaching practice on this trainee placement!

emrys Barnes - outreach & engagement co-ordinator

Emrys has been working within the community arts field for around ten years. He began his career as a theatre practitioner working in a variety of contexts including supporting refugees and asylum seekers with Welsh National Opera, facilitating education projects in Wales and Hong Kong, and developing experimental theatre in Wales and Eastern Europe.

Building on this creative practice, he has further developed his career by managing community arts programmes including at Span Arts in Pembrokeshire and NoFit State Community Circus in Cardiff, and has consolidated this experience through completing the MA Arts Management programme at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama.

Emrys is particularly interested in using Co-Production Methodology to ensure that publicly funded arts meet the diverse needs of people in our communities, especially those most affected by social and environmental injustice.

Lauren Williams - Fundraising co-ordinator

Lauren graduated from Cardiff Metropolitan University in 2016 with a BA Hons in Dance. Lauren has worked at Rubicon Dance ever since assisting with fundraising, particularly applying to trusts and foundations. Lauren loves organising events, especially the annual Rubicon Dance Schools' Festival which works with 60+ schools across South Wales. Outside of Rubicon, Lauren is a trained Latin American dancer who loves all things Strictly!

Valentina Solari-Vodanovic - Volunteer Coordinator

Valentina is a volunteer coordinator, producer and circus teacher with over eight years’ experience in the arts and community sectors. She is passionate about developing inclusive, community-led programmes and experiences that enhance wellbeing, build skills and foster meaningful engagement. Valentina designed and delivered NoFit State Community Circus's volunteering programme (funded by WCVA), leading its development, training, and the management of volunteer teams across events and regular activities. Under her leadership, the programme successfully achieved Investing in Volunteers Accreditation.
With a background in circus, physical theatre and public space performance, she brings a creative and empathetic approach to her work, alongside strong project management expertise. Valentina is deeply committed to accessibility and participation, creating supportive environments where volunteers feel valued and empowered to contribute.

Carmella Searle - Administrator

Carmella has been working at Rubicon Dance since 2004 and enjoys working within the arts sector. Her job includes all areas of day-to-day administration for the company and overseeing the reception activities for our centre’s evening and weekend programme. She enjoys interacting with our members and their families on a weekly basis and says that it's great to see the joy and confidence that dance brings to many of our members.

Carmella is also our exams officer for Rubicon’s GCSE Dance course, which we have been delivering since 2020. If you have any enquiries about Rubicon’s programme, then Carmella is a great person to ask!

Outside of work Carmella enjoys cooking, sports activities with her son, and days out/holidays with her family.

Jemma Thomas - WWTP Admin & Marketing Assistant

Jemma Thomas is a dance artist, producer, project manager and movement specialist based in Mid Wales, with over 16 years' experience working across community arts, education and health.

Her journey with Rubicon Dance began in 2012 when she joined the organisation as an apprentice. During that time, she witnessed the beginnings of the Wales Wide Training Programme and supported some of its earliest events. Returning now as Admin & Marketing Assistant for the programme.

Alongside her role with Rubicon, Jemma works freelance through Latch Dance and is known for her work championing movement, play and physical development in childhood. She is a passionate advocate for creating environments where children feel safe to explore, create, connect and take risks through movement. Her work and writing regularly contribute to conversations about the importance of movement in children's lives, learning and wellbeing.  She has developed and delivered projects in partnership with organisations including Powys Teaching Health Board, Public Health Wales, Sport Powys, Carmarthenshire Council, Radnorshire Wildlife Trust and Celf o Gwmpas. She has also held leadership roles within the sector, including serving as Director of Impelo for almost two years, where she helped shape programmes and strategic development for dance in Wales. She currently also works as an Arts Producer with Shakespeare Link.

Having experienced the Welsh dance sector from many different viewpoints, as an apprentice, artist, freelancer, producer, manager and participant she is passionate about supporting a training programme that listens, evolves and responds to the needs of the people it serves. She believes that when artists are well supported, the benefits ripple far beyond the sector itself, creating meaningful cultural experiences and opportunities within communities across Wales.

John Hale - MAINTENANCE

John came to Rubicon Dance in the 1990s to take additional ballet classes. In 2004, he joined the team as an evening receptionist, providing front-of-house support and helping maintain a welcoming environment for students and visitors. A few years later, he began assisting with building maintenance, contributing to the day-to-day upkeep of the facilities.

Today, John continues to support Rubicon across reception and maintenance, and occasionally teaches adult ballet classes, drawing on his longstanding connection to the organisation and his background in dance.

Lynda Walsh - CLEANER

Lynda has worked at Rubicon since 2010, covering all aspects of cleaning in the building over 5 days a week. Lynda also attended one of our over 50's class when she turned 50 in 2011 and was nicked named 'baby spice' of the group!

Outside of work Lynda also works part time at Tremorfa Pantry as a Volunteer Coordinator. In her spare time, Lynda loves to jet off as often as she can, but when she is in the country she enjoys walking, gardening, and spending time with her grandchildren.