Who We Are

Our story began in 2013, when our Founder and Artistic Director Nikki Watson discovered a lack of dance for people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Nikki had always wanted to choreograph and create exciting experiences, but hadn’t known it would end up being so intrinsically linked to her own life. Her mother had recently been diagnosed with the neurological condition and choreography became a way to process and express Nikki’s situation. At the same time she could see the impact dance was having on people with Parkinson’s and wanted a similar provision for other neurological disabilities like MS.

Today CoDa is an award-winning, socially driven, female- & disability-led dance company, delivering exceptional participatory projects in hospitals and communities for people that experience neurological conditions and disabilities, including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s, and Acquired Brain Injury. We invite our participants directly into the artistic process, working collaboratively with our Lived Experience Consultants and using immersive technology to create pioneering digital dance works that challenge perceptions of disability.

We became an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation in 2023, joining arts organisations across England considered leaders in their area of specialism, in receiving three years of investment to develop our work.

In front of a large screen showing blue and white pixels, a person in a wheelchir waves the arm in the air, with a woman in a blue CoDa t-shirt mirroring their movements next to them

Meet The Team

Executive & Administrative Team

Nikki Watson

Nikki is Founder and Artistic Director of CoDa Dance. Nikki founded CoDa following her mothers diagnosis of, and subsequent trials and tribulations with, Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis.

Nikki’s identity as a neurodivergent, working class, female choreographer, dance artist, performer and facilitator influences how, what and who she makes work with, for and by. Nikki is passionate about making art with social conscience, particularly creating dance theatre using participatory methods that put people’s voices and lived experiences at the heart of each work.

With more than 15 years experience of creating, producing, and managing high quality participatory and professional dance and theatre productions, Nikki specialises in inclusive dance and theatre practice. She has been commissioned by, performed with, programmed at and facilitated for many prestigious dance and theatre organisations over the years, including The Place, Sadlers Wells, Made in Corby, Greenwich & Docklands International Festival, Rhiannon Faith Company, and The Barbican.

Elise Phillips

Elise Phillips is Executive Director & Creative Producer at CoDa Dance. She is committed to creating opportunities for people to engage with the multiple benefits of dance and the arts.

Elise’s unique skill set draws on experience as an innovation project manager, corporate education coordinator, activist, and community practitioner, which ultimately led to her specialising in community arts delivery, marketing and audience development.

Elise has worked for Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation dance companies and independent artists for over 15 years, including Vincent Dance Theatre, Tilted Productions, Stopgap Dance, and South East Dance.

Katie Sheasby

Katie Sheasby joined CoDa Dance Company as General Manager in 2024. Katie started her career managing fundraising events for charity Action for Children, during which she realised she wanted to actually do the work she’d been raising funds for. After gaining a Masters of Science in Social Work, Katie worked with looked after children before moving into working with homeless adults and and becoming a Social Work Practice Educator, teaching student social workers on placements.

After several years in social work, Katie was offered an opportunity to set up a craft brewery, which she went on to manage for eight years. Alongside this, she undertook freelance roles as an assistant producer making films for overseas charities. Katie also trained to become a yoga teacher and has been teaching classes for refugees and asylum seekers in East London.

Jude Hibberd

Judith Hibberd is CoDa’s Executive Consultant. Judith has more than 30 years’ experience as a strategic planner, business developer, creative producer,
programmer and fundraiser. Judith enables arts organisations, their staff and their boards of trustees to manage change; navigate external and internal factors and play to their strengths. Judith’s current work includes Creative Producer for Hydrocracker, Artist Associates of Brighton Dome & Festival who make large scale immersive theatre; Associate Producer of Inroads making new writing work & projects exploring conservation issues with professional & community participants and of Fireraisers, making work in non-theatre spaces including nature reserves and rural areas. Judith is a Trustee of dreamthinkspeak.

Tina Carter

Tina is CoDa’s Trusts & Foundations Fundraiser

Georgina Harris

Georgina shares the role of Freelance Communications and Marketing Manager with Chloe Barker, with whom she also shares the role of Head of Communications at South East Dance. Georgina’s background is in arts marketing and she has over 20 years’ experience in Brighton & Hove based arts organisations including Brighton Dome & Brighton Festival and Komedia.

Chloe Barker

Chloe shares the role of Freelance Communications and Marketing Manager with Georgina Harris, with whom she also shares the role of Head of Communications at South East Dance. Chloe has been working for arts and cultural organisations, in-house and in a freelance capacity, for more than 25 years, including a decade at Arts Council England and five years running her own consultancy, during which she worked with a range of artists and organisations including Towner Gallery, The Serpentine, Blast Theory, Vincent Dance Theatre, SICK! Festival and many more. Alongside working at CoDa Dance Company and South East Dance, Chloe is currently studying for a PG Dip in Integrative Psychotherapy at The Minster Centre.

Maria Minett

Maria is Finance Manager at CoDa Dance Company.

Artistic Team

Jodie Honeybourne

Jodie is a dance artist and Dance for Neurology Project Manager & Senior Facilitator at CoDa Dance Company. Jodie has been working as a professional contemporary dancer since graduating from Northern School of Contemporary Dance in 2013. She has worked with CoDa for over 10 years starting as a dancer and then moving into facilitation work. She is now project manager for the dance for neurology work in hospitals, a senior lead facilitator and continues to work as a dancer on CoDa’s creative projects. Jodie also works in the fitness industry as a barre instructor and runs her own yoga and barre retreat business.

Maiya Leake

Maiya is a contemporary dancer, choreographer, and musician and works with CoDa Dance Company as a dance artist. She is a Sadler’s Wells Young Associate 2023/24, was a finalist in BBC Young Dancer 2022, and has an MA from Northern School of Contemporary Dance. Maiya is an alumni of, and now works as a Creative Support Artist for National Youth Dance Company. As a dancer she has performed with/in Barbie the Movie; Candoco Dance Company; Cathy Waller Company; CoDa Dance Company; Daryl and Co; Eurovision 2023; Joss Arnott Dance; and Mimbre Acrobatic Theatre Company. Maiya was a member of the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Working Group for Dancers Career Development 2022-2024 and was a shortlisted artist for the Arts Foundation Future Awards 2023.

Claire Lambert

Claire is a dance artist who works regularly with CoDa Dance Company. Claire graduated from London Contemporary Dance School with a Postgraduate Diploma in Performance, having completed her BA (Hons) in Dance Theatre at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. Recent works include new work with Beyond Words (Helen Calcutt), CoDa Dance, Laura Booth, My Bit and Gaps in the Light (Lîla Dance), It’s OK (Four Hands) and performing in the Opening Ceremony of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games (Corey Baker). Claire’s Aerial performance work includes CastAway (gyroscopic flying rig), aerial rugby player (Rugby League World Cup – Robby Graham), Research & Development (R&D) for concept film vertical dancing on cliffs (Kate Lawrence) and vertical dance piece Home (Upswing Aerial) for Coventry City of Culture 2021.

Marian Saunders

Marian is an artist specialising in live visual performance using real-time technologies, who works with CoDa Dance Company as a creative technologist. Marian started out as an abstract animator with a passion for visualising sound, discovering liberation in performing her visuals live. Encompassing digital and analogue techniques, her visuals are created from an ever evolving palette of multi-media and image making approaches. The edges of her creativity are constantly expanding and adapting as new projects and collaborations inspire her to innovate and push the boundaries of her work. Marian graduated from Norwich University of the Arts in 2017 with an MA distinction in Moving Image and Sound. Her curiosity and passion for real-time visual performance led to her current PhD research which focuses on how moving image, technology and performance coalesce to form immersive, multi-sensory shared experiences. Miriam’s work has featured in a visual collaboration with Joshua Light Show in the theatre production of Tripping on Life in New York (2023). Amongst her many and varied live visual performances are The Light Works at East Gallery Norwich (2023), Bio-Synthesis, Norwich (2023), Barn Jam, Aylsham (2023), The Light Works at The Shoe Factory (2022), Window Jam, Norwich (2022), Plug In at First Site Gallery, Colchester (2018) and Oscillation at East Gallery, Norwich (2017).

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Marius Matesan

Marius Matesan is a multidisciplinary, mixed media artist exploring the complex relationship between humans, technology and psychedelics who works with us at CoDa as a creative technologist. Marius’ work revolves around pushing the boundaries of perception, awareness and reality. He often creates experiences that address social issues with a psychedelic twist. Founder of FreekLabs and FreekMinds, Marius is noted for his work on theatre stages, festivals and raves across Europe, mixing reality with the imaginary in staged experiences of various scales through sound, music, installations and projection mapping on various surfaces and gases. Marius has also expanded his practice into virtual realities, creating award-winning experiences, co-founding PlayLa.bZ and shaping the foundations of Multidimensional Motion Arts.