Leading Off Stage

Talking Moves

In this episode we talk to Cath James and Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE about their transition from stage to management.

This particular topic was inspired by a listener, Laura, who got in touch to ask for some support as she sought to make a similar career change. She felt frustrated as she navigated the unfamiliar terminology, high expectations (and low pay) of a sector she knew so well from one angle but less well from another. Did she really, she asked, need to start right back at the beginning?

Kenneth and Cath both agreed that life experience and the ability to recognise and seize an opportunity when it arises have been just as valuable as any training they have undertaken. They each walk us through their inspirational journeys from esteemed company dancers to senior management and consider the point upon which they decided to hang up their dancing shoes for good. They share experiences of creating roles for themselves along the way – in the establishing of new services or supporting friends with touring - rather than waiting for roles to present themselves. They share anecdotes of when their performance skills have come into play and considered how being a performer has shaped who they are as a leader today.

Both talk so very honestly about the skills they had to learn… quickly… and whether their impressive performance CVs’s added kudos or doubt from the sector around them.

Recording date: Wednesday 24 February 2021

Talking Moves is a Greenwich Dance production
Presented by Melanie Precious
Production by Carmel Smith, Lucy White and Melanie Precious