Dance Umbrella moves to new joint leadership model

Dance Umbrella Festival will adopt a co-CEO model, with the appointments of current Artistic Director and CEO FREDDIE OPOKU-ADDAIE and Executive Director TANIA WILMER as joint CEOs.

The company says that under this leadership structure, in which Opoku-Addaie will retain his Artistic Director responsibilities, the executive team's capacity will increase, enabling it to advance several strategic areas of focus for the organisation. 

Appointed in 2021, Opoku-Addaie has over 20 years' experience as a choreographer, performer and teacher. In 2016, he became the founder, director and curator of the SystemsLAB platform, which offers support and visibility to artists in the middle of their careers. 

Before joining Dance Umbrella in 2020, Wilmer was Director and CEO at Stratford Circus Arts Centre for five years, having previously been the organisation's Head of Education. She also spent six years as an Arts Council England Dance Strategy Officer. 

Wilmer said: “Freddie and I have clear ambitions for how Dance Umbrella can impact the local, national and international dance scene over the next five years.

"As cultural leaders with strong individual track records, we see real value in a co-leadership model which will give us the capacity to maximise our complementary strengths, accelerating the momentum and growth of the organisation.”