Artistic Vision
JUDT has strong artistic and organisational plans to support Hip Hop freelance creatives, develop Hip Hop performers, exchange internationally and strengthen the UK Hip Hop ecology. We pride ourselves on staying connected to practising, developing artists, and being a vital conduit for arts organisations and the sector to diversify.
We want to:
- Demonstrate cultural leadership where everyone can have ideas and feel valued.
- Provide alternative routes to consider higher education as a pathway, encouraging more Black & ethnic minority creatives into dance
- Develop resilient artists and future leaders, nurturing creatives entrepreneurial instincts
Our Values
INSPIRE, NURTURE AND SUPPORT is a simple principle that ensures excellence across our work.
INSPIRE – Unlock creativity, increase productivity, and boost happiness for Hip Hop creatives and audiences by opening doors to different artistic experiences through dance participation and performance.
NUTURE – Listen to Hip Hop creatives and dancers and varying career levels and respond with bespoke artistic development programmes.
SUPPORT – Career pathways, valuing artists with substantial resources and networks to promote growth and develop Hip Hop, improving the quality of partnerships and the UK dance sector.
The Journey
Joseph began Just Us Dance Theatre in 2007 with a group of friends who shared a passion for Hip Hop culture, theatre and community work. They wanted to create and deliver programmes for local young people from ethnic minority and low-income backgrounds and give back to the communities they came from.
Joseph and Producer Emily Crouch form a long-standing partnership (11 years), supporting each other to become experts in their field, particularly the undervalued freelance producer role.
In 2013 Joseph won the Deutsche Bank Award which enabled him to apply for more funding and run the first ever Let’s Shine Mentorship programme which connected a variety of educational establishments across Newham, providing weekly training and performance opportunities in London.
Since then, Let’s Shine has run four times and included trips and performances in Europe, been ran solely for young black men and continues to connect people across London Boroughs.
In 2014 JUDT began workshops for training and curated annual performance platforms called ‘Just Us and Friends’ that gave creative and presenting opportunities for artists at a range of levels and introduced Hip Hop artists to venues who were yet to programme Hip Hop.
While developing his own personal practice as a maker and a touring portfolio in 2016 Joseph and Emily founded Artists 4 Artists along with Emily and another Hip Hop Producer Lee Griffiths. This was a trailblazing artist-led initiative activating industry change for the UK Hip Hop community. They aimed to address inequality and the lack of developmental avenues for Hip Hop artists and curated responsive opportunities nationally to further artists and the position of Hip Hop in the dance sector.
Just Us Dance Theatre & Artists 4 Artists have created transformative development programmes for over a decade, arming the next generation of Hip Hop performers and makers with tools, resources and information so they are equipped to continue developing and breaking the boundaries of the Hip Hop form and circumstances they are in.
Bringing these two organisations together has now consolidated support for the sector. Using Hip Hop to inspire young people, create progression routes for diverse artists, and opportunities for professionals and developing artists in the UK and Internationally.
In 2023 Just Us Dance Theatre became an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation, cementing our work in supporting and developing the UK Hip Hop dance theatre scene.
Meet our team
Artist Director - Joseph Toonga
Joseph Toonga, hailing from Cameroon and raised in East London, is an inventive and visionary choreographer rooted in the vibrancy of hip-hop culture, crafts and performs compelling dance productions deeply entwined with contemporary narratives. His distinct choreographic style fuses the essence of hip-hop with genuine life experiences, challenging societal norms, dismantling racial stigmas, and sparking transformative conversations.
Acknowledged for his outstanding talent, Joseph was honoured with the Best Choreography Award at New York’s Reverb Dance Festival, showcasing his innovative approach within the hip-hop dance realm. Renowned institutions such as the Dutch National Junior Ballet, Ballet BC Annex, National Youth Ballet/Bundes jugend ballett, Richard Alston Dance Company, Junior Ballet Madrid (Elephant in the Black Box), and East Wall (with Hofesh Shechter) have sought his choreographic brilliance, showcasing his diverse expertise across various dance forms.
As the appointed Royal Ballet’s Choreographic Residency artist for
2023/2024, Joseph’s contributions transcend boundaries, harnessing the power of hip-hop to reshape societal narratives. A driving force behind Just Us Dance Theatre and Artists4Artists, he remains steadfast in his commitment to cultivating innovation in both hip-hop and contemporary dance while nurturing the next generation of exceptional talent.
Executive Producer - Hazel Singleton
Joined Just Us as Executive Producer in September 2023. She has over 20 years experience of working in the dance sector, both with independent artists and companies. Most recently she has worked with a variety of creative arts companies on consultancy projects and previous to this, she was Administrative Director at Studio Wayne McGregor where she worked for a large part of her career across a range of company management responsibilities.
Company Manager - Francesca Padovani
Creative Associate - Theophilus O. Bailey
Board
Nadia Gardner-Charles (Chair)
is a Business analyst working within the corporate environment. She has an array of skills such as being a qualified secondary teacher and is about to commence her Doctorate in Counselling Psychology allowing her the protected title of Counselling Psychologist. Nadia is also an artist herself, as principal dancer of Boy Blue Entertainment, dancing and performing with the organisation for over 15 years and a Director of an International award-winning short film "AWOKEN SOMA".
Graham Ambrose
Graham is a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs. He specialises in the Asia-Pacific region, where he lived for 8 years during the 1990s. [He is also a Board Member and Trustee of East London Dance and is Co-host of the Lift For Life weight-training podcast].
Heather Coke
Heather was a performer prior to becoming a Performing Arts, Dance and PE teacher in inner London schools. It was at an East London School that she crossed paths with the young Joseph Toonga and, the rest is history.... Heather currently teaches at that same school, mentors trainee dance teachers, moderates for AQA GCSE Dance and works as an independent dance consultant. She recently performed in the West End again and loved it..
Akosua Boakye BEM
Founder and director of AkomaAsa Performing Arts Academy, Akosua Boakye BEM, plays a key role in developing young talent for careers in dance and the performing arts industry in Britain. Akosua is a freelance dance and movement practitioner with a portfolio career in teaching and directing in educational, theatrical and community settings. Her dance language draws from the disciplines of African diaspora dance forms and Western contemporary dance. She is the Children’s Casting Director for Disney’s West End musical, The Lion King, London and UK tour and Cub Academy coordinator. A former director of dance and performing arts in further education she spent over 12 years as a Lecturer at Canterbury Christ church University (CCCU) delivery her practice of coordinatorAfrican diaspora dance. In 2019 she co-founded the Thea Barnes Legacy Fund (TBLF). Akosua is a recipient of the British Empire Medal (BEM), the Association of Dance of the African Diaspora (ADAD) trailblazer fellowship and the One Dance UK Teaching Mentoring Programme.
Peggy Olislaegers
A dancer, dramaturg and dance activist, working in hiphop, contemporary dance and ballet. She became an established adviser during her directorship of the Dutch Dance Festival (2010-2016), co-created innovative European projects like Act Your Age and Performing Gender, and has advised choreographers in the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France, Belgium, Taiwan and the Netherlands. She has been Artistic Associate of dance company Rambert/London, and is Associate on Research and Development of Dutch National Ballet.
Theresa Beattie
Theresa is an Arts Consultant specialising in dance and working in organisational development, executive recruitment and as a mentor. She is a Governor at Northern School of Contemporary Dance and a Trustee of Hofesh Shechter Company.
Gayane Gyurjyan
Gayane is an independent consultant, advising Lifesciences companies on strategic topics and commercial and digital transformations. Prior to this, she was a Partner at McKinsey & Company in London, where she led McKinsey’s new business building service line in Lifesciences for Europe, helping clients adopt new, agile ways of working, drive business model innovation and scale their new businesses. Born and raised in Armenia, she has lived and worked in 10+ countries, including the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Germany, France, and the USA. Gayane is passionate about dance as a force for good for individuals and society and enjoys dancing in her spare time. Outside work, she is also involved with healthcare and humanitarian charities, and enjoys spending time with her family and friends.
JUDT are committed to an active agenda to challenge underrepresentation. We have a policy of positive action within recruitment to create a Board that celebrates intersectionality across gender, ethnicity, disability, social class and, as a company with a national focus, geographical representation outside of London. We continue to work towards these aims.
