Gavin Rees
Gavin graduated from the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in 1999, with a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Dance) Degree. He originally trained in music, performing as singer with Welsh National Opera, following which, he discovered his passion and talent for dance.
Since 1999 Gavin has worked extensively throughout the UK and Europe as a professional dancer and rehearsal director with many ballet, contemporary and physical theatre companies; The European Ballet; Maxine Doyle’s First Person Dance Company (now Punch Drunk); DaThe Dance Company; Welsh Independent Dance. Gavin also has worked in collaboration with Hofesh Shechter and Akram Khan and was a founder member of Jasmin Vardimon Company. In more recent years Gavin has worked as a freelance guest teacher and choreographer and supports other artists and performers with their creative Research and Development processes.
The diversity of Gavin’s multi-disciplined training and performance experience including classical singing, dance and drama is reflected in his work, which he would describe as physical theatre, using traditional contemporary techniques including Cunningham, Graham, Limon and release, as well as other aforementioned performance art forms.
Gavin Rees is a choreographer with a Disability. After 8 years of unexplained health issues, in 2017 Gavin was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) and suspected Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), which have a detrimental physical and rheumatological effect on his nervous and cardiac system. Following 18 months of home care and hospitalisation, his symptoms are now controlled by medication. Gavin is now ready to take Rees Dance into the next stages of its development.
Caroline Rees
Caroline undertook her professional training as a Royal Ballet Senior Associate, followed by the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, graduating in 1998 with a Bachelor of Performing Arts (Dance) Degree, Distinction. Since 1998 Caroline has worked professionally; winning a place as a dancer on the International Course for Professional Choreographers and Composers, under the direction of Jonathan Burrows and as a dance artist with companies such as Scottish Dance Theatre, JazzXchange Dance Company, Errol White Company, The Curve Foundation Dance Company, as well as working with many leading British and international choreographers, such as Yael Flexer, Sean Feldman, Rodolfo H. Fournier, Janice Garrett, Jan De Schynkel, Janet Smith and Sheron Wray.
In 2015 Caroline became a founder member of Rees Dance, working as a dance artist and delivering company class.
Collaborators / Dance Artists
All artists are Yorkshire based and started their professional dance training at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance, graduating within the last 5yrs. The dance artists became founder members of Rees Dance in 2015 during a dance research project and residency in Bradford. They continued with Rees Dance on a R&D of ‘Helium’, working as dance performers, and performing the company’s repertoire at community events and during the Exchanges project.
Wayne Sables Project
Wayne Sables Project (WSP) is an international dance theatre and film company with its roots firmly grounded in community and education. Working within education since 2001 across the UK and USA, working with pupil referral units to mainstream across all age ranges We have extensive knowledge of the benefits the arts, specifically dance and film can bring to education solely and cross curriculum and fully support joint working methods to increase young people’s access to the arts.
Creating dance theatre works that pushes the boundaries between audience and performer. All WSP performance work crosses between contemporary dance, theatre and film to create a performance style unique to WSP. We create dance for tour yearly for WSP and dance companies, Universities, Colleges and Schools across the UK
Hayley Youell – Musician/Composer Collaborator
Hayley is a creative musician, collaborator and composer based in Yorkshire. Bringing her unique blend of soulful vocals, song, sound and music, Hayley creates work for theatre, dance, exhibitions and site-specific works. Her most recent credits include collaborations with 154 Collective, Wayne Sables Project and documentary artist, Lee Stow for Hull 2017. She was also selected as 1 of 12 international artists to take part in Arthouse Jersey’s Artist Lock In 2017 exploring collaborative practice.