Press Release: Sadler's Wells Appoints New Chairmam

[Jan McNulty]

SADLER’S WELLS APPOINTS NEW CHAIRMAN

 

Nigel Higgins to succeed Sir David Bell

 

 

Sadler’s Wells is pleased to announce that Nigel Higgins has been appointed Chairman of Sadler’s Wells Trust. He will take over the role in January 2017 when Sir David Bell retires after 11 years. 

 

Nigel is Co-Chief Executive and Chairman of the Group Management Committee of Rothschild & Co, one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory groups. He has worked for the company since graduating from Oxford University in 1982, and has been in his current role since 2010. Prior to that, he was Co-Head of the company’s Global Financial Advisory business, which he ran from the early 2000s.

 

Nigel is also a non-executive director of Tetra Laval Group, a major global group focused on technologies for the efficient production, packaging and distribution of food. He is also a member of the Trilateral Commission, a non-governmental, non-partisan discussion group founded in 1973 to foster closer cooperation originally among North America, Western Europe and Japan.

 

He was a member of the Advisory Board for the Commercial Directorate of the UK's National Health Service from 2002 to 2007. He has been a governor of two schools, and has long been a supporter of education initiatives in the arts. Nigel lives in north London with his wife Sanya Polescuk, an architect, and their three teenage children.

 

Sir David Bell said: “Sadler’s Wells is a very special place and it has been a great honour to chair it for more than a decade. I have loved every minute of it. Under Alistair's inspired leadership, he and his team have made Sadler’s Wells one of the world’s great dance houses. I have been lucky to be able to work with a great group of committed and imaginative trustees and Sadler’s Wells’ enormously talented staff. And it has been a real privilege to watch Sadler’s Wells move from being a place where dance happens to a place which makes dance happen. I think Nigel will be a great Chairman and could not be more pleased at his appointment.”

 

Alistair Spalding, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Sadler’s Wells, said: “We owe a huge debt to David who has been our Chairman since 2005 and it has been an absolute pleasure to work with him. Under his chairmanship, Sadler’s Wells has enjoyed international acclaim as a first-class dance house, renowned for presenting the best dance from the UK and around the world, nurturing artists and bringing ground-breaking new work to the stage. I, and the whole Sadler’s Wells team, look forward to working with Nigel to achieve continued success in producing and touring bold and exciting work and bringing new audiences to dance and to Sadler’s Wells.” 

 

Nigel Higgins said: “I am thrilled to be joining Sadler’s Wells Trust as Chairman next year. It is an organisation that I have long admired, not only for its eclectic and adventurous artistic programme but also because of its commitment to encouraging and supporting artists at every stage in their career. This approach is matched by a genuine belief in the power of learning and participation to motivate and inspire the next generation of dance-makers and audience members.” 

 

 

ABOUT SADLER’S WELLS 

Sadler's Wells is a world-leading dance house, committed to producing, commissioning and presenting new works and to bringing the very best international and UK dance to London and worldwide audiences. Under the Artistic Directorship of Alistair Spalding, the theatre’s acclaimed year-round programme spans dance of every kind, from contemporary to flamenco, Bollywood to ballet, salsa to street dance and tango to tap. Since 2005 it has helped to bring over 90 new dance works to the stage and its award-winning commissions and collaborative productions regularly tour internationally. Sadler’s Wells supports 16 Associate Artists, three Resident Companies and an Associate Company and nurtures the next generation of talent through hosting the National Youth Dance Company, its Summer University programme, Wild Card initiative and its New Wave Associates. 

 

Located in Islington, north London, the current theatre is the sixth to have stood on the site since it was first built by Richard Sadler in 1683. The venue has played an illustrious role in the history of theatre ever since, with The Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and English National Opera all having started at Sadler’s Wells. 

 

Sadler’s Wells is an Arts Council National Portfolio Organisation and currently receives approximately 10% of its revenue from Arts Council England.

 

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