SKETCH DANCE COMPANY
CONTEMPORARY DANCE THEATRE
Welcome to the Company page for Sketch Dance Company. Here you can read about our sole founder, Artistic Director, Choreographer and Producer Jasmine Andrews in addition to browsing all our past and present company cast members and creative artists.
JASMINE ANDREWS
FOUNDER | ARTISTIC DIRECTOR | CHOREOGRAPHER | PRODUCER
Originally from South West London, Jasmine began her training in dance and theatre from an early age. She went on to study performing arts, specifically Musical Theatre, alongside film and music production at college level. She found contemporary dance within this time in her life and went on to graduate with a BA (HONS) Dance Studies degree from Roehampton University. She studied part of this degree abroad in San Jose, California. Here she was able to learn new techniques, skills and network with international artists of whom now have strong ties to the company. Jasmine has upheld multiple roles within teaching, choreographing, directing, arts administration and production in her professional career. She continues on with leading the company, hoping to grow her brand alongside her working life.
PRESENT COMPANY
MEMBERS
Francesca Lista
Francesca started studying ballet and contemporary dance at Domus Danza, in Italy, at the age of 13 and then moved to the UK in 2015 to continue her studies at The Centre - Performing Arts College in Rochester, where she trained in ballet and contemporary dance,
Hip Hop, Commercial, Tap and Jazz. In 2017 Francesca joined EDGE Dance Company where she had the opportunity to tour nationally and internationally performing the works of Ben Wright, Tamsin Fitzgerald, Athina Vahla and Philippe Blanchard.
EMA THOMAS
Ema Astarloa trained at Bird College Conservatoire of Dance and Musical Theatre and at London Studio Centre. Whilst at Bird College she obtained her Bachelor’s degree in 2019. Since then she has appeared as a ensemble/understudy in the show Puss In Boots at the Belgrade Theatre. She has also appeared as a contemporary dancer for Burberry in a London Fashion Week performance at The Tate Modern. Film & Television credits include: Britain’s Got Talent: The Champions (ITV); Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (Universal Pictures) and Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway (ITV). She also appeared in the music video for Conor Maynard’s ‘Friendzone’. Ema is thrilled to be working with Sketch Dance Company.
claire hackston
After being introduced to contemporary dance at Swindon Dance CAT and Hampshire Youth Dance Company Claire went on to train at London Contemporary Dance School, graduating with first-class honours. Whilst attending LCDS Claire performed works by choreographers such as Lea Anderson, Richard Alston, Hofesh Shechter and Liz Aggiss. During this time, she also worked with Rosemary Lee and OperaUpClose. Since graduating Claire has danced with Company Wessex and Wessex Dance Academy, and with Katie Dale-Everett Dance on their creation of Virtual You.
COMPANY MEMBERS:
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'TO HAVE AND TO HOLD'
BRIGHTON FRINGE FESTIVAL: DIGITAL EDITION
OCTOBER 2020
PAST
COMPANY
MEMBERS
anton aguirre
Anton started dancing Ballet at the age of 5, progressing into Hip Hop and Urban Dance styles a few years later. Since then he has been teaching a variety of styles in his hometown in Spain comprising of Commercial, Contemporary and Urban Dance. Anton has been apart of various dance groups and won a lot of prizes within competitions and showcases in Spain. He loves to choreograph, sharing his experience and movement styles, in addition to being on stage as a performance artist.
TELISA COTTIER
andrew cording
Andrew is currently studying at Studio 79 in Leicester on a BTEC Level 3 course. He has always danced from a young age and has a very unique style of movement. Andrew began as a commercial dancer, however due to current training, his focus shifted onto contemporary movement. He now experiments with the fusion of Commercial and Contemporary styles, specifically focusing on dynamics and musicality within his artistic practice. He is excited to join the original cast of Sketch Dance Company’s new work.
Telisa began her training in 2014 at both Birmingham Metropolitan College and The Dance Factory in Tamworth, where she studied Jazz, Ballet and Contemporary styles. Telisa developed a particular interest in contemporary dance, which led to further training at the University of Roehampton; where she graduated with a dance degree in 2019. During her time at University, Telisa had the opportunity to perform in works by Cara Hagan, Janine Harrington, Laliteraja Chandler and Anne-Marie Smalldon. She furthered her knowledge by training with Jasmin Vardimon Company in Barcelona in 2018 and the following year gained a scholarship to take part in Tecniche Di Danza Moderna in Rome. Telisa is excited to develop her skills as a performer, while working with Sketch Dance Company.
COMPANY MEMBERS:
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'TO HAVE AND TO HOLD'
EVOLUTION DANCE FESTIVAL: the place
FEBRUARY 2020
Hannah jennings
Born in Essex, UK. Hannah started her dance training at age 4. Studying in all styles such as Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, Commercial and Hip Hop. In 2006, Hannah was 7 & moved to Melbourne, Australia with her family, where she attended Wendorff Dance Academy & Jason Coleman’s Ministry of Dance. Hannah started to take her dance to a professional level at age 16, and decided to move back to the United Kingdom to pursue her career. Hannah graduated from Masters Performing Arts with a Diploma in Dance & Musical Theatre in July, 2017. She is now working as a Freelance Professional Dancer and Dance Teacher across London, UK. Hannah is thrilled to be apart of ‘Sketch Dance Company’ and to continue her pathway in Contemporary Dance.
AMELIA COTES
Originally from Wiltshire, Amelia trained at Swindon Dance. She then went on to train at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary receiving her BA Hons degree. After graduating she then did an independent apprenticeship with Tavaziva and toured Bawren Tavaziva's new
production 'Africarmen'. She has previously worked with Robert Cohan, Christopher Bruce, Adrienne Hart and Tammy McLorg. Amelia also worked on a new creation “(UN)ONES” with Maria Miguel Rodrigues which was performed at the Barbican combining the piece with an instillation called towards the mean. She is looking forward to performing at Resolution with Sketch Dance company.
COMPANY MEMBERS:
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'MY OTHER HALF'
EVOLUTION DANCE FESTIVAL: the place
FEBRUARY 2018
EMMA MORAN
Born in Sydney, Australia, Emma began her training aged 3, under the direction of Dianne Pokorny and Jane Moran. She started professional training at Alegria Dance Studios and later completed her BA (Hons) at Northern School Of Contemporary Dance. In 2012 she joined Phoenix Dance Theatre as an apprentice dancer under the NSCD graduate apprentice scheme. In 2014 Emma was part of Sydney Dance Company’s inaugural Pre-Professional Year and in the same year a choreographer for Cecchetti Society Of Australia’s Annual Conference. She has previously worked for SCIMM Dance Company as a choreographer and Opera Australia as a dancer and joins Sketch Dance Company in 2016.
JENNY GEERTSEN
After finishing her studies; HND Performing Arts, BA Musical Theatre and MA Physical Theatre, she continued her passion in theatre by joining various companies. She has been in the professional theatre for three years exploring many disciplines in the field. She has worked with Sketch Dance Company and ENTITA Theatre on various projects, that have been toured, performed at various festivals, site-specific venues and have been featured in film. She has trained in many styles of dance but does especially enjoys mixing various styles with contemporary. She also works with children’s choirs, operas, kathak dance, acrobatics and anything else that will develop her passion for theatre and performing.
JEMIMA BROWN
Jemima Brown, originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland went onto train at London Contemporary Dance School graduating with a 1st Class Honours in 2015. Upon graduating, she completed a UK tour with Joss Arnott Dance '5/0' which was performed alongside renowned musician Dame Evelyn Glennie. She then went onto perform 2 UK tours with Tony Adigun and Avant Garde Dance in collaboration with The Place throughout 2016, playing the role of Oliver in 'Fagin's Twist' - an exciting gender twist out of many others in the story and re-telling of the Dickensian classic tale. Jemima has also had the opportunity to work with Hofesh Shechter, James Cousins, Kerry Nicholls, Crystal Pite and Didy Veldmon among many other fantastic artists throughout her career so far. She is excited to be joining Sketch Dance Company for their work 'Raised by Wolves' as part of Resolutions at The Place.
Joshua SCOTT
Joshua Scott is a freelance dance artist from Knutsford, Cheshire. His passion for the art developed at a young age and when he was exposed to it at high school and he was keen to pursue it further, eventually studying at degree level at Trinity Laban Conservatoire for Music and Dance. Since graduating in 2014 he went on to work with NSCD’s post-graduate company VERVE 15 and has been working across the UK and Europe for multiple dance companies and agencies ever since. Joshua spent the early months of his professional career in Figueres, Spain, working alongside Companyia
Agitart as a dancer for their most recent work 'Dust'. Premiering at the Place in London,
he then went on to host a multitude of performances and workshops around areas of
Spain. This culminated in the '2016 Agitart Festival' in which he performed with Israeli choreographer Nimrod Freed for his work ‘Peepdance - The Body is the Last Space for Freedom’. He is now very privileged to be working with Sketch Dance Theatre and has thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the fantastic artists.
KASHISH GABA
Originally from India, Kashish trained in Jazz, Contemporary, Ballet and Modern Dance under 'The Danceworx, India'. In addition, he was selected to join their performance company. Whilst training, he performed in various showcases, events and workshops underneath the company name. Currently, Kashish is studying abroad in London, England at University of Roehampton to complete his BA (Hons) Dance Degree. He is thankful and excited for the opportunity to perform with Sketch Dance Company.
ORNELLA COMPAGNO
Originally from Palermo, Italy, Ornella began her dance training in Palermo with her teachers Melissa Mackie, Lilli Russo (Ballet) and Daniela Donato (Contemporary). She also gained work experience from Massimo Theatre throughout her time in Italy. In 2011, she moved to Florence to study at The Opus Ballet Contemporary School. She moved to London in 2014, graduating at West Thames College on the HE Dance Course. Since then, she has recently collaborated with Emmeline Cresswell Dance Company.
COMPANY MEMBERS:
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'RAISED BY WOLVES'
RESOLUTION DANCE FESTIVAL: the place
JANUARY 2017
CHLOE JONES
DOMINIC AGHAIZU
IRiA ARENAS
Freelance dancer, performer and visual artist based in Kassel, Germany. She holds a BA in Visual Arts and Dance (URJ, Madrid) and a MA in Theatre and Performing Arts (UCM, Madrid). From 2015 to 2018 she worked for several companies in London while developing her practice as research during residencies in Sweden (DOCH), Finland (ODH), Portugal (REAT) or Germany (PReS) with the support of Acción Cultural Española (AC/E). Her last works aims to challenge human perception combining live performance with digital media blurring the line between dance aesthetics and visual art to experiment new ways of narration.
HATTIE GROVER
GEORGIA WESTLEY
Georgia is a dance student at the university of Roehampton. Whilst training at Roehampton, she has worked with Akram Khan for the Big Dance Pledge 2016 and the Royal Academy of Music for the post graduate thesis projects. Before studying at Roehampton, Georgia has trained in both musical theatre and dance as well as involvement in Youth Dance England 2014, Pauline Quirke Academy, Dance Digital , Step into Dance and local dance schools in Essex.
Chloe Jones is a Visual Artist interested in using creativity as a healing tool and believes it can be a powerful device to raise awareness. Chloe currently uses her creativity as a performer with Avant Garde Dance Company and freelance teacher connecting with several young artists. She is an ambassador for The FI.ELD (Future Innovators of East London Dance) and has worked within various organisations such as MOVE IT. In the future, Chloe has a desire to combine her love of photography, dance and wellbeing to empower and support her fellow creatives.
Dominic was a late bloomer when it came to dancing, but he came to realise that dance opened up an entirely new perspective on life that he could no longer live without. He trains in various styles in class across London, getting to know people, and bumped into Jazz Andrews who agreed to have him on her project 'Raised by Wolves', which he is tremendously grateful for. He enjoyed being part of the crew, the process, the performance, and the resulting growth..
Hattie's training began at the age of 3 when she started taking ballet lessons. As her love for dance blossomed she began performing, and amerced herself in a variety of different dance styles specialising in contemporary and breaking. She studied dance at degree level graduating with First Class Honours and went on to dance with companies B Hybrid, PPL and Sketch DC, dancing in venues such as the Olympic Stadium for the Opening Ceremonies, the O2 arena and Copperbox to name a few.
COMPANY MEMBERS:
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'RAISED BY WOLVES'
chisenhale dance space
March 2016
CLAUDIA QUINN
Claudia's movement is a combination of hip hop and contemporary styles, as her training foundations from SOH Dance Company contained break dance, abstract hip hop and floor work. She is now training with Boy Blue Entertainment as well as teaching dance in school as a teacher.