SPRING SEMINAR

Nicola is a highly accomplished dance professional, graduating from the prestigious teaching program at the Royal Ballet School in London, England. Her comprehensive three-year training encompassed a wide range of dance disciplines, including classical ballet, repertoire, RAD and Cecchetti syllabus, character dance, Spanish dance, anatomy, music, History of Dance, and Benish Notation. Nicola’s exceptional performance during her studies earned her the esteemed 1998 Dame Ninette de Valois Award for teaching excellence.

For a span of nine years, Nicola was a faculty member at the renowned London Studio Centre, a prominent institution specializing in performing Arts Education. Nicola held the position of Head of Year for first- and second-year students. In this role, she provided personalized guidance to each student, crafting individual timetables to meet their unique needs and career aspirations. Nicola also collaborated closely with leading dance physiotherapists, creating rehabilitation programs to support injured dancers on their path to recovery. Additionally, she had the privilege of working alongside Margaret Barbieri, a former Principal dancer with the Royal Ballet Company, assisting in European audition tours to recruit talented dancers for her professional company Images of Dance.

Since her relocation to Vancouver, Nicola has made significant contributions to the dance community in the lower mainland for over 20 years. She has been a guest teacher at Ballet BC and an adjudicator at the Prince Albert Festival of Dance. Nicola has incorporated the teaching of Progressive Ballet Technique (PBT), a discipline that aligns seamlessly with her extensive anatomical knowledge and meticulous attention to detail. She continues to impart her wealth of knowledge and unwavering passion for dance to students of all age groups, eagerly anticipating the opportunity to guide them in achieving their individual artistic aspirations.

Kit Holder is the Artistic Coordinator of Birmingham Royal Ballet. He trained at the Royal Ballet School and joined Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2000 (First Artist 2007; Soloist 2014; First Soloist 2019). During a 24-year performing career he toured nationally and internationally, performing featured roles across all of the company’s repertoire in work by many of the world’s leading choreographers. Since choreographing his first ballet for the company in 2007 he has gone on to create ballets for Birmingham Royal Ballet and elsewhere and also choreographed short films, music videos and independent theatre productions.

Kit has led BRB2, Birmingham Royal Ballet’s junior company, since its inception in 2022 and upon retiring from performing in 2024 expanded his role across the organisation to become the company’s Artistic Coordinator.  He holds Masters degrees in Choreography and in Sport & Performance Psychology. In addition to his work in dance, Kit is a frequent consultant in elite sport and high-performance environments.