May 25, 2017

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Debbie Williams Jardine as DanceXchange’s Interim CEO, starting this June. Debbie trained in dance at Trinity Laban, and has over twenty years’ experience of strategic leadership in dance, creative and digital industries, including as Founder Director of Déda Dance and Arts Centre in Derby and as Chief Executive of EM Media Regional Screen Agency in Nottingham.

Peter McHugh, Chair of DanceXchange, says: “Debbie has a strong track record in effective advocacy and partnership working, achieving transformational growth and change and developing talent. This makes her very well equipped to lead and support dx’s capable and committed team through a period of change as our current CEO & Artistic Director David Massingham moves on after 18 fruitful years in post.”

Debbie will lead DanceXchange through to the end of International Dance Festival Birmingham 2018 next June and will support the Board in recruitment of a permanent CEO during that period.

Debbie says, “It is fantastic to be working with such a passionate and committed board and staff team at DanceXchange and a delight to be back in my home city where my early dance training began.  Birmingham is a truly vibrant, international city.  I’m really looking forward to working alongside the city’s many diverse cultural organisations and I’m keen to do all I can to enable DanceXchange to build on its successes and make an imaginative and positive contribution to the city’s cultural ecology.”

Lucie Mirkova, dx’s current Executive Producer, will take on the role of Interim Artistic Director throughout this period. Lucie has an MA in Choreography from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and an MA in Arts Management and Policy from Birkbeck College, London. Prior to joining DanceXchange in 2013, she produced, managed and toured numerous dance projects for Prague-based DOT504 Dance Company and Retina Dance Company, Nottingham. Her new role builds on the extensive work she is already doing in programming, artist support, producing and partnership building for dx and IDFB.