Helen Parlor
Helen trained at Swindon Foundation course and Northern School of Contemporary Dance. She has danced with Dansconnect and toured nationally and internationally with Motionhouse Dance Company and Panta Rei Danseteater. Helen choreographs for numerous organisations around the UK. Helen's classes explore grounded movement, floorwork and mobility of the spine with exciting dynamic quality.
Chris Bradley-Goodship
Chris graduated from De Montfort University and has performed with Eusebia and Co., Full Force and Mercurial Dance Companies and has also toured nationally with The Mission. His release based classes explore space, shifting in and out of and across the floor, using the dancer's strength to propel and control the body.
Sadie Hunt
Sadie trained at Roehampton and gained an MA in Choreography at Middlesex University. She works as a freelance choreographer and teacher. Sadie set up Shunt Dance Company, for which she choreographs and performs. Sadie teaches Release based classes with a focus on creating and carving shapes in space.
Laura Gibson
After graduating with a BA Hons degree in Dance, Laura has worked with a number of professional and community organisations. In 2005 Laura became a founding member of Two Thirds Sky, performing in all of the company's work to date, including The Size of Thought (by Kerry Nicholls) and Hold at Edinburgh Fringe (2011). She has performed at various national theatres and venues with the company including The Place, London. In January 2009 Laura worked on a feature for the BBC series Tough Guy or Chicken and some of her recent work includes the dance film The Water Rail (2014) by TTS. Laura has worked with various choreographers throughout her career, including Kerry Nicholls and Shane Shambhu, John Ross and since 2003 has worked with the Richard Alston Dance Company, delivering workshops nationally. Laura has also worked on ACE funded youth dance projects with Henri Oguike and Arc Dance. Dance United (Yorkshire) recently commissioned her work Behind the Wall (2014) to be a part of their repertoire. Recently Laura was a performer and assistant choreographer for the site specific work, Eventide (2015), a collaboration between Two Thirds Sky and producing partner The Castle, supported by Arts Council England. Laura is also an established technique teacher and facilitator and delivers training in Conservatoires and Universities nationally.
Effie McGuire Ward
Effie is a graduate of Stella Mann College and the Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Her performance projects have included working with Shobana Jeyasingh, Parlor Dance, Rosemary Lee and Ffin Dance. Effie’s classes use intricate movement patterns with a fast pace to challenge both minds and bodies.
Hannah Delaney
Hannah trained at the University of Chichester, graduating with a BA (Hons) Dance, before going on to achieve an MA in Dance Performance, also from the University of Chichester. As a member of mapdance, Hannah toured nationally and internationally, under the artistic direction of Yael Flexer and Detta Howe, performing works by Jonathan Burrows, Abi Mortimer (Lîla Dance), Ofra Idel (Machol Shalem Dance), Rick Nodine and Kerry Nicholls. Since then Hannah has gone on to perform in various site-specific works alongside teaching and art marketing projects.
Hannah is a freelance dance artist engaging people in the experience and sharing of dance, through her teaching, performing and arts marketing. Hannah teaches contemporary dance, tap and ballet for people of all ages and abilities offering an enjoyable, engaging and challenging environment for learning. Her contemporary dance style blends a release based, somatic practice with focus on stimulating physicality and musicality.
Lisa Risdale
Lisa is Artistic Director of Two Thirds Sky. She developed a career originally as a performer and teacher and has had the privilege of working with; BBC Education, Bock and Vincenzi, V-TOL, Yael Flexer, Essential Alston (RADC), Ersatz Dance, and Rosemary Lee. After gaining an MA Choreography in 2005, Lisa founded Two Thirds Sky as a vehicle for collaborating with artists, and has received ACE funding and good critical reception. Projects have included; a collaboration with Kerry Nicholls, a dance and technology piece filmed in Russia for The Place Prize, a large scale cross-community promenade piece called Eventide (2015) and most recently a year-long project with Richard Alston Dance Company (2017). Lisa has lectured extensively throughout the UK and Europe including; De Montfort University, University of Leeds, Trinity Laban, University of Northampton, Middlesex University, and University of Bedfordshire. In 2014, Lisa was invited to deliver a Master class at the Centre National de Danse Contemporaine for the ‘World Dance Alliance’ summit in Angers. Whilst Senior Lecturer at UoB, Lisa lead BA Performing Arts 2008-2011 and wrote their MA Community Dance.
Hannah Pickett
Hannah Pickett is a professional dance artist, choreographer and teacher based in Milton Keynes. After graduating from the University of Roehampton with a First Class (Hons) Dance Studies Degree, she has taught contemporary classes to adults, young people and children, produced numerous dance performances, directed commissioned dance projects and choreographed professional and youth dance pieces.
Hannah specialises in teaching creative and contemporary workshops to young people and adults and is a Dance Specialist for primary schools. She currently teaches children and young adults of all different ages and abilities in a variety of school and workshop settings. She provides INSET training for teachers and a range of creative and wellbeing dance workshops to Primary Schools in Milton Keynes and Beds/Bucks/Herts.
Hannah Pickett Dance choreographs, directs and produces exciting, innovative contemporary dance work that inspires a diverse mix of participants and audiences to engage in making and enjoying dance. Her choreographic work ranges from professional group choreography, site-specific work, youth dance and music and dance improvisational performance and has been performed at Greenwich Dance (London), Brighton Fringe Festival, The Old Market Theatre (Hove), OUTPOST Gallery (Norwich) and in Milton Keynes & Amsterdam.
In 2021, Hannah Pickett Dance developed a new contemporary dance work that explores themes, ideas and stories of isolation, belonging and resilience and performed in Libraries across Hertfordshire. The project was in partnership with the Hertfordshire Library Service and funded by National Lottery Arts Council England and the East Herts District Council.
