TRACY TINKER  |  REHEARSAL DIRECTOR

Born in South Yorkshire, Tracy studied at Electric Theatre Studios, Barnsley College, receiving A Levels in Dance, Theatre Studies, Theatre Design and Textile Design. She continued her studies at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and upon completion joined The National Contemporary Dance Company of Wales, Diversions.

After leaving Diversions in 1992 she taught contemporary classes at numerous colleges and universities in England and Holland, meeting Philip Taylor during a project in Humberside. She studied for a degree in Arts Practice and Cultural Policy which she received in 1994 from Coventry University, and directly thereafter joined Philip Taylor in Augsburg as a dancer with his company, which in 1996 moved to Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich.

She danced with Ballet Theatre Munich (BTM) until 2000 and from 2000 until the closing of the company in 2007 Tracy was Rehearsal Director, choreographic assistant and in 2004 was also made Associate Director. When BTM closed Tracy moved back to England and spent a year as Rehearsal Director for Verve, the postgraduate performance company of NSCD. She became Rehearsal Director for Phoenix in July 2009.

AZZURRA ARDOVINI  |  DANCER

Azzurra started her training in ballet and contemporary in Florence, before moving to the UK to continue her training at London Contemporary Dance School (LCDS) from 2003 to 2006, where she worked with Kerry Nicholls, Sean Feldman and Jan De Schynkel. In 2005 she was awarded The Robert Cohan Prize for outstanding potential and after graduating with a First Class Degree she joined EDge Dance Company.

Azzurra has a long standing working relationship with Frederick Opoku Addaie which began with a piece for The Place Prize 2006 that went on to be selected for the Finals and won the First Prize at the International Choreographic Competition in Burgos, Spain. Since graduating she has worked with Rosemary Lee, Jonathan Lunn, Rashpal Singh Bansal, ENO, Ajose Cutting Dance for The Place Prize 2008 and toured internationally with Henri Oguike Dance Company. She has taught at LCDS, East London Dance, for Yorkshire Young Dancers, Northern Ballet and in several colleges in Italy.

Azzurra joined Phoenix Dance Theatre in 2009, and continues to pursue choreographic interests having choreographed two pieces with fellow Phoenix dancer Phil Sanger – Nothing in the Real World for the Phoenix Youth Academy and One in 285,000 for the 2011 Phoenix Dance Theatre and Northern Ballet choreographic workshop. In summer 2012 Azzurra was one of a handful of dancers selected by Akram Kahn to perform in the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympics. Azzurra writes a monthly blog about her life as a dancer which can be found on the dance website Article 19 and in 2012 she graduated with an MA in Contermporary Dance from LCDS.

ANTONIO BORRIELLO  |  DANCER

Antonio was born in Sardinia, Italy where he trained for 8 years in rock’n’roll and boogie woogie. From the age of 16 he studied Graham technique for three years and in 2007 he moved to Florence where he danced with Florence Dance Company and trained in classical ballet and contemporary dance.

From September 2008 he studied at Codarts, Rotterdam Dance Academy, graduating with a Bachelor in Dance in June 2012. During his academic years he danced works by Jiri Kylian, Hans Van Manen, Regina Van Berkel, Natcho Duato and Neel Verdoorn. Between 2011 and 2012 Antonio danced with Scapino Ballet Rotterdam performing pieces by Ed Wubbe and Marco Goecke.

Antonio was supported by the Swiss Pierino Ambrosoli Foundation from 2010 till June 2012, and received the prestigious Hugyens Schoolarship, for excellence in his studies as a foreign student in The Netherlands, for the year 2011/12. He joined Phoenix Dance Theatre in 2012.

GLENN GRAHAM  |  DANCER

Born in Nottingham, Glenn started his professional training age 19 at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance.  On graduating in 2003 Glenn joined Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, performing in Nutcracker! and Swan Lake for the Sadler’s Wells seasons and touring extensively throughout the UK, Japan and South Korea. During the 10th anniversary tour of Swan Lake, Glenn performed the principal role of the Swan/Stranger in Paris and USA.

In 2006 Glenn joined Compañía Metros de Danza under the direction of Ramon Oller and later Ballet Santa Coloma under the direction of David Campos in Barcelona. From 2007/10 he joined Introdans, in The Netherlands, touring the world dancing signature roles in choreography by Matz Ek, William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Paul Lightfoot & Sol Leon, Inbal Pinto, Hans Van Manen, Fernando Melo, Nils Christie, Cayetano Soto, Robert Battle and Alwin Nikolias. Whilst with the company he choreographed the piece Intimate Windows for Introdans 2009 DANSEMAKEN, a collaboration with Dutch fashion designers.

In 2010 Glenn returned to New Adventures to perform the role of the Angel in Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella, before joining Phoenix Dance Theatre in August 2011.

SANDRINE MONIN  |  DANCER

Sandrine was born in France and trained at the Conservatory National Superior of Music and Dance
in Lyon where she worked as a member of the Young Ballet with choreographers such as Yuval Pick, Agnès Nolthenius, Michel Keleminis and Davy Brun.

From 2007-2009, Sandrine was an apprentice in the Dance Apprentices Network aCross Europe programme (D.A.N.C.E) where she worked with the Forsythe Company, Random Dance under Wayne McGregor, Ballet Preljocaj and National Ballet Marseille under Frederic Flamand. In 2010 Sandrine graduated from Palucca Schule Dresden with a Masters Degree as Dancer Interpret.

From 2009 to 2012 she was a member of TanzTheaterMünchen in Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, where she performed work by many choreographers including H. Henning Paar, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, Christian Spuck and Fernando Melo. Sandrine joined Phoenix Dance Theatre in August 2012.

PHIL SANGER  |  DANCER

Phil trained at the Electric Theatre Studios, Barnsley College and the Northern School of Contemporary Dance (NSCD) in Leeds and has worked under the direction of some of the UK’s leading choreographers such as Fin Walker, Kim Branstrup, Glen Wilkinson and Hofesh Shechter.

Phil worked with Slanjayvah Danza and Shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company before joining Phoenix Dance Theatre in 2009. He has choreographed numerous pieces including working with fellow Phoenix dancer Azzurra Ardovini to choreograph Nothing in the Real World for the Phoenix Youth Academy and One in 285,000 for the 2011 Phoenix Dance Theatre and Northern Ballet choreographic workshop. In 2012 he received Arts Council England funding to initiate the collaborative Arts network artistsnorth.co.uk which included the production and direction of dance theatre platform Beyond The Parasol.

JITKA TŮMOVA  |  DANCER

Born in the Czech Republic, Jitka started her professional training at the age of 14 whilst attending the conservatoire Dance Centre Prague. After graduation she continued her studies at the London Contemporary Dance School where she gained a BA Hons degree in contemporary dance. In 2008 Jitka studied and performed at SUNY Purchase College, NY as part of an exchange programme and in August 2009 she joined Phoenix Dance Theatre as an apprentice dancer under the apprentice scheme at The Place, London.

Since finishing her apprenticeship, Jitka has performed in Phil Sanger’s Professional Widow and worked with Balbir Singh on the research and development of Synchronised. As a freelance teacher she has taught dance classes throughout the UK, and she coordinated Phoenix’s Youth Academy for two years. Jitka became a professional dancer with the company in March 2012.

VANESSA VINCE-PANG  |  JUNIOR DANCER

Born in Hong Kong, Vanessa trained at the Royal Ballet School (SA) and Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. Whilst at Rambert School Vanessa performed works by Mark Baldwin, Kerry Nicholls, Ross McKim and Martha Graham. More recently she has performed with Moving Visions Dance Company and ThickSkin, with whom she performed at the Lawrence Olivier Awards. Vanessa joined Phoenix in August 2011 as an apprentice dancer under the London Contemporary Dance School scheme before becoming a junior dancer with the company in 2012.

JOSH WILLE  |  DANCER

Born in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, Josh started as a gymnast competing for the East of England before dancing at Footlights Dance Centre, and then going on to train at Central School of Ballet, London. Josh Graduated in 2009 with BA (Hons) and joined Phoenix Dance Theatre the same year. In summer 2012 Josh was one of a handful of dancers selected by Akram Kahn to perform in the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympics.

CHRIS AGIUS DARMANIN  |  APPRENTICE DANCER

Chris was born in Malta where he trained at the Johane Casabene Dance Conservatoire. He started his professional training at the age of 18 at Central School of Ballet in London where he graduated with BA(Hons) in 2012. Chris joined Phoenix in November 2012 as an Apprentice Dancer under the Northern School of Contemporary Dance graduate apprentice scheme.

EMMA MORAN  |  APPRENTICE DANCER

Born in Sydney, Australia, Emma trained at Northern Districts School Of Ballet with Dianne Pokorny and Jane Moran. She began her professional training aged 15 at Alegria Dance Studios under the direction of Hilary Kaplan and Archiebald Mckenzie. Here she studied classical ballet, Graham technique and Spanish dance and worked with Patrick Harding-Irmer and Paul Saliba. She completed her BA (Hons) at Northern School Of Contemporary Dance and joined Phoenix Dance Theatre in August 2012 as an apprentice dancer under the NSCD graduate apprentice scheme.

CARMEN VAZQUEZ MARFIL  |  APPRENTICE DANCER

Born in Sevilla, Spain, Carmen trained at the Conservatoire of Sevilla. She continued her studies at Central School of Ballet, graduating with BA (Hons). At Central Carmen performed works by Glenn Wilkinson, Sarah Matthews and Sharon Watson. Carmen joined Phoenix in November 2012 as an Apprentice Dancer under the Northern School of Contemporary Dance graduate apprentice scheme.