Staff Biographies
Deborah Ford – Head of Vocational Training
Deborah has twenty six year’s continuous professional experience in Dance and Dance Education, ten of those years working exclusively as a performer, nationally and internationally and sixteen years teaching in further and higher education.
Completing her dance training at LCDS, Deborah then danced and toured with the Postgraduate Performance Company, performing works created by Wayne McGregor, Henri Oguike, Mark Baldwin and revivals of works by Siobhan Davies and Paul Taylor. On graduating in 1997 she performed for several years in the physical theatre company Earthfall, touring nationally and in Europe. For eight years Deborah then performed with the repertoire company NDCW, rising to the position of Senior dancer and mentoring the company’s apprentices. Deborah was involved in the creation and performance of over 40 new works whilst in the company.
Deborah joined NSCD in January 2007 as Rehearsal Director for Verve in its inaugural year. She became a lecturer in Performance across the undergraduate and PG programmes in 2008.During her fifteen years at the school she held both teaching and managerial roles and responsibilities contributing substantially to the education and training developments across the curriculum.
Deborah joined Rubicon Dance as Head of Vocational studies in September 2022 Rubicon Dance and leads the full - time BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Performing Arts (Dance Pathway) course. Deborah also works freelance as an MA tutor to students on the professional placement scheme at NSCD.
Janet Fieldsend – Assistant Head of Vocational Training and Course Tutor
After training in ballet and Contemporary Dance at Arts Educational Schools, London Janet's initial experience was as a performer. Amongst others Janet performed for Jumpers Dance Theatre (the first incarnation of what has developed into National Dance Company Wales), Moving Being, WNO, Striking Attitudes, and Cwmni Dawns Gwylan . Janet has been active in the Welsh Independent Dance sector for many years since the 1980s and originally worked as a freelance tutor for Rubicon Dance mainly delivering Primary sector work. She has taught on the Full Time course in its various forms since 1992 and her current role is Course Tutor and Assistant to Course Director. Janet has taught GCSE Dance since 2002 and now delivers this as part of Rubicon’s programme.
Siân Rowlands – Youth Producer
Siân started dancing through the community groups Bridgend Youth Theatre and subsequently Bridgend Youth Dance under the artistic direction of Lizzie Davies-MacMillan and Chris Tudor. She went on to study her BA (hons) at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and her Diploma in Dance Teaching and Learning (DDTAL) at Trinity-Laban. Since graduating, Siân has worked as a dancer, choreographer, facilitator and mentor for multiple organisations including New Adventures, Wales Millennium Centre, National Dance Company Wales, National Youth Arts Wales and Ballet Cymru.