About The Webinar:

Are we creating shows for money or creating art?

How do you balance a career in the arts between taking passion projects and keeping yourself economically sustainable?

How is art affected by budget in positive and negative ways?

​​​​​​​What are the differences between working on corporately funded projects and independent work?

We will ask these questions and more with this international, multi-discipline panel joining us from the UK, USA, Romania, Australia, Dubai and Hong Kong. 
 
Horia Suru

Horia Suru is a theatre director, mostly known for staging contemporary dramaturgy. He graduated from the Theatre College of Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj Napoca (Romania) in 2008 and followed several theatre studies and training in New York (USA), Clermont-Ferrand (France) and Valencia (Spain). 

He was a full-time actor with the Tineretului Theatre in Piatra Neamt (Romania) since graduation until 2012. He made his official debut as a theatre director in 2011 with the show To Sir, with Love at Maria Filloti Theatre in Braila (Romania). 

Since his directorial debut, he directed 27 theatre performances at public and private theatres across Romania: Romanian National Theatre I.L.Caragiale Theatre, Odeon Theatre, Act Theatre, Mic Theatre, Excelsior Theatre and Point Theatre in Bucharest, four city theatres in Transylvania (Arad, Baia Mare, Oradea, Sf. Gheorghe) and two in Romanian Moldavia (Bacau and Botosani).

His shows were invited in nearly all Romanian theatre festivals: The National Theatre Festival in Bucharest, The International Theatre Festival in Sibiu and prestigious theatre festivals in Oradea, Cluj, Iasi, Piatra Neamt, Arad, Timisoara, Brasov, Braila, Galati, Constanta. He also presented his work abroad in tours and festivals in Macedonia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Moldova.

Sophie Duncan 

​​​​​​​Sophie Duncan is a multi-disciplined, award winning pole artist, dancer, circus artist and choreographer, creating and performing internationally with companies including Cirque Du Soleil, Franco Dragone Entertainment and The Old Vic. She is also the co-founder of The Foundry by H+D - a pole and dance training hub. She studied a BA in Contemporary Dance from London Contemporary Dance School, and initially started her career as a contemporary dancer, choreographer and actor.

Sophie created her first international theatre production in 2011, ‘To Sir, With Love’, with Horia Suru in Romania, and musical, ‘EPIDEMIC’, at the Old Vic, London. In 2016, ’COLUMBINUS’ - the tragic true story of the Columbine High School Massacre - won ‘Best Show’ at The National Theatre Bucharest’s Teen Theatre Festival. She currently has 3 productions playing in Romania - ‘Si Linistea Are Puls’, ‘Amphitrion 38’ and ‘Ziua Recunostintei’. Sophie was a dancer in Franco Dragone’s, ‘The House Of Dancing Water’, in Macau, and cross-trained to become a dancer/house troupe swing. This led to her perform dancer/generalist roles in Marie Robitalle’s ‘Gynoïdes’, Cirque Du Soleil’s ‘Scalada Vision’ and ‘Pop Circus’ at The Roundhouse, London.

In 2017, she retuned to Macau as Dance Captain and dancer/generalist for the creation of MGM’s ‘Destiny’. Sophie began training pole dance in 2017 and in just over 3 years, she now holds four titles, most notably Pole Theatre UK Drama Champion. Until recently, Sophie was Dance Captain with Cirque Du Soleil in 2 new shows; her first on-stage pole role as the lead character ‘Carol’, in ‘Excentricks’, and as a dancer / aerialist in ‘Cosmos’.
Instagram: @soduncan
Facebook: /soduncandance
Website: www.soduncan.com

Paul Collison

Paul has amassed a wealth of experience over 25 plus years in many varied aspects of live and broadcast entertainment lighting. Originally studying as a musician, Paul toured Australia and beyond as a lighting designer. Throughout the 2000's, Paul began to focus on multi camera television and live broadcast events, whilst building a stable of corporate and theatrical clients. As a result, Paul is involved in many world-class events of various scales.

Working primarily as a lighting and production designer, Paul has  extensive experience in lighting design in multiple genres including, multi camera broadcast lighting, dance, opera, theatre, fashion, large scale public events, video content creation, as well as video mapping and video replay systems. In 2006, Paul created eleven DESIGN, a creative agency of like minded individuals focused on lighting design, production design and motion graphic content creation.

Natasha Jean Bart

​​​​​​​Natasha "Tash" Jean-Bart is a curator of ethos who alchemically synthesises the world through her senses. Through her writings, she seeks herself, and by design, the words transcend the page to make their imprints on those who also seek themselves.

Born in 1971 in Montreal, Canada, Natasha has been dancing since the age of four. She began her dance studied with Classical and Jazz Ballet. Still, her love and dedication in learning the street dances led her to seek and follow the unbeaten path. In 2005 she landed a lead role as Lady Madonna in The Beatles "LOVE" by Cirque Du Soleil at the MGM Mirage in Las Vegas. Today "Tash" is actively sought out by companies, corporate events, theaters, competitions, and artists for her fundamental yet progressive approach to teaching, consulting, coaching, and mentoring. With a career that spans over thirty-five years, her specialties range from preserving the heritage of the original street dance styles to their application on the theatrical and competitive stages.

Tash travels extensively throughout Europe, Canada, Japan, China, Singapore, India, Brazil, and the United States to share her knowledge with a new generation of dancers. Her personal mandate (calling) is to bridge the gap by connecting today's dancers to the creators and pioneers of the art forms, through implementing dance curriculums, lectures, panel discussions as well as teaching the dance at a grassroots level. 

As a connector, she created hundreds of opportunities for artists and companies alike. In 2011, she co-founded the Wättssoul company with her husband, Ghislain Malardier. The company invests time and resources to sponsor international community events that promote artistic growth and cultural awareness. Her ultimate and greatest achievement lies with her four children and grandchildren. Through them, she learned her most important life lessons; how to become an empowered role model and a healthy human with a purpose to inspire artists to follow their dreams. 

Karl Jenkins

Karl Jenkins is a New Zealander living in Dubai. With an undergraduate degree in Performing Arts Management, coupled with an extensive focus on technical design, operations and production, he has seen his career take him regional New Zealand theatre to Cirque du Soleil.
 
After completing his studies in New Zealand he was intrinsically involved in several of Cirques shows for many years, most notably the creation of both Zarkana in New York and the KURIOS tour. Initially focused with his passion for lighting, projections and all things visual, after 15 years, Karl has seen his career pivot to Technical Direction in recent years with his most recent placements at The House of Dancing Water in Macau and now currently as the Technical Director for La Perle by Dragone in Dubai.
 
With a keen eye for management, leadership and strategy you can find Karl leading some of the most talented teams in the world on some of the most technically complex shows it has to offer.

​​​​​​​Anna Robb​​​​​​​

Anna’s 20-year work history spans Asia Pacific, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. She has worked for companies such as Cirque du Soleil, Franco Dragone Entertainment Group, The City of Sydney and The Sydney Opera House. Anna has been employed on over 70 shows in the areas of concerts, arena events, corporate events, musical theatre, plays, dance, circus, outdoor festivals and mega shows.

​​​​​​​Anna is also the Co-Founder and Managing Director for TheatreArtLife, an online platform for entertainment industry professionals. Anna has lectured on Stage Management and given speeches on show creation and is passionate about the evolution of the entertainment industry.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​