Assis Carreiro, Artistic Director & Chief Executive, DanceEast

Assis Carreiro was born in the Azores and raised in Canada. She moved to the UK in 1994, having been Director of Education, Community Outreach and Publications for the National Ballet of Canada for 12 years where she led the first education unit in a Canadian dance company. She is now one of the most influential figures in dance in the UK.

From 1994 to 1996, she was founding director of DanceXchange, the National Dance Agency in Birmingham and went on to work for Wayne McGregor Random Dance and as Fundraising Executive at The Place. During 1998/99 Assis was dance programmer at DasTAT in Germany for William Forsythe's Ballett Frankfurt.

Assis Carreiro was appointed Director of DanceEast in January 2000, and has led the organisation through a period of massive redevelopment and expansion. Under her direction DanceEast has initiated Rural Retreats, a series of international think tanks looking at key issues facing the dance profession for existing and future leaders; Snape Dances, an international dance series at Snape Maltings Concert Hall; a rural touring programme throughout East Anglia and a series of curated evenings of dance. She has led the successful campaign to develop the DanceHouse in Ipswich, which opened in September 2009.

Assis Carreiro has taught and lectured internationally and has been on the Board of Directors of Dance UK, Dance 4, Dancemakers, the Jonathan Burrows Group and the Arts & Business East Regional Advisory Council. She is currently a member of the Dance Task Group for Arts Council England, the National Dance Network, and is a member of Les Reperages dance platform in Lille, France. In 2003, the International Theatre Council nominated Assis for the International Dance Award and in 2006 was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Civil Law from the University of East Anglia.

Photo credit: David Parry