RCDL DIRECTORS
Dr. Roy M Vestrich, Chair
A writer, painter and photographer, Roy is a founding director and chair of the RCDL and founder/director of the Sir Robert Cohan Arts Legacy L3C (RCAL) in the USA. Roy oversaw the production of On the And: Honouring the Legacy of Sir Robert Cohan CBE presented at The Place Theatre (London) in March 2023.
As Cohan's nephew, Roy was appointed trustee of Cohan's intellectual property and manages the artistic rights through RCAL. The two shared a deep interest in art, philosophy and politics; and frequently discussed artistic methodologies and pedagogy. From 2010 onward, Cohan engaged Roy as a consultant on several research and creative projects. Roy's insight into Cohan's processes and intents brings a unique perspective to companies and educational institutions looking to explore or restage Cohan's work.
Roy has authored two books of poetry, River People and The Lost Sonnets, as well as numerous articles or reviews on art, dance, higher education and sailing. His paintings and photography have been exhibited at galleries in New England, including solo painting exhibitions at the Christine Price Gallery (1991 and 2007) and an exhibit of over sixty photographs at the Castleton University Downtown Gallery (2014-2015). Roy was the recipient of a Warner's Brothers Television Writers Workshop award and fellowship in 1991. His plays and short films have been produced by university theatres and film programmes. His play Green Mountain Bucks was selected for presentation at the Edward Albee Last Frontier Theatre Festival in Valdez, Alaska (1999).
Roy appeared on stage with the Yorke Dance Project at the Royal Opera House's Linbury Theatre in November 2021 reading an original poem to accompany Yolande Yorke's work Tribute as part of an evening entitled Connecting to Cohan.
As an academic and researcher for over thirty years, Roy presented scores of papers on cinema, pedagogy, and the arts at national and international popular culture and arts conferences. He was a regular presenter and panel organizer at over twenty professional meetings including the International Conference on the Arts in Society in Edinburgh, Scotland (2006), New York City, US (2007) Venice, Italy (2009), Sydney, Australia (2010), and Liverpool, England (2011).
For over fifteen years, Roy was an elected officer in local, regional and national professional labour organisations, most notably serving as the president of Vermont State College Faculty Federation (1997-2003) and as the founding president of the United Professions of Vermont, AFT (1999-2005). Under his direction the organisation grew from approximately 200 members to over 3000 professionals in education and healthcare. He was appointed as a member of the Washington D.C. based American Federation of Teachers National Higher Education Program and Policy Council (2004-2006). Roy was also appointed by Governor Howard Dean and subsequently by Governor James Douglas as the labour representative to the Human Resources Investment Council of Vermont (1999-2005).
Roy holds a BA from Bard College where he studied literature, art, and dance. He earned an MFA and a PhD from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Roy held the post of Professor of Communication and Theatre Arts and Director of the Film Studies Program at Castleton University (now Vermont State University) for over 26 years (1988-2014) During his tenure, Roy chaired the Theatre Department (1994-2003) the Communication Department (1994-1997, 2013), the Cultural Affairs Committee (1990-1994) (overseeing performance and lecture series), and directed the London Semester Programme (1996-1997, 2010-2014).
Beginning in 2014, Roy spent several months a year in London assisting Cohan both professionally and personally. Since Cohan's passing in 2021, Roy has focused the bulk of his professional time and energy on the founding and development of RCDL in the UK and its companion organisation RCAL in the US.
Anne Donnelly
A highly accomplished dancer, teacher, and administrator, Anne was a member of the London Contemporary Dance Theatre (dancing as Anne Went) from 1981-1991. Anne is a founding co-director of RCDL and co-produced On the And: Honouring the Legacy of Sir Robert Cohan CBE at The Place Theatre (London) in March 2023.
In 2014 and 2017, Anne performed at the Sadler's Wells Theatre as part of the Elixir Festivals celebrating life-long creativity. The 2017 performances included Forest Revisited, a reworking of Cohan's classic work Forest for an intergenerational cast of professional dancers and younger dancers still in training. In 2014 Anne was nominated along with the cast of the Elders Project for a Lawrence Olivier Award for outstanding achievement in dance.
Anne specializes in the teaching of Cohan technique and has conducted extensive research into his methodologies and pedagogy. Anne assisted Cohan in teaching masterclasses at numerous educational institutions and conservatories including at Middlesex University, Tring Park and the Beijing Dance Academy. Anne accompanied Cohan to New York for his special honouring at the Martha Graham studios in 2014.
For several decades, Anne has been instrumental in the restaging of Cohan's works. She worked directly with Cohan on choreographic reconstruction as well as costume and lighting design for revival performances. Anne was the lead coach for the Swedish Royal Ballet School's outstanding restaging of Stabat Mater for The Place performances and their prior performances in Sweden. .
Anne's significant experience as a performer and teacher, and her exceptional understanding of Cohan's craft and technique give her a unique ability to coach and support dance companies or educational institutions interested in performing or researching Cohan works.
Anne joined the faculty at Middlesex University (MDX) in 1994, serving as an Associate Professor of Dance. She held the position of Director of Dance Programmes from 2002-2023. As an academic, Anne has presented research papers or participated as a panelist at numerous professional conferences. Anne also served as a director on the Executive Board of DanceUK (1998-2001).
Prior to her appointment at MDX, Anne was the rehearsal director for the National Youth Dance Company, and taught dance extensively at institutions throughout the UK including, Arts Education School (Tring Park), Central School of Ballet, the Royal Ballet School, and Thamesdown Foundation School.
Anne holds a range of degrees and certifications including from the Academy of Sport, International Therapies Examining Council, Raworth College of Alternative Medicine, London School of Contemporary Dance, Arts Educational School, Imperial Society of Teachers of Dance, and Royal Academy of Dance.
Darshan Singh Bhuller
Darshan Singh Bhuller is an artistic director, choreographer, teacher, dancer, film director and editor. Darshan is a founding co-director of RCDL.
Darshan was introduced to dance in Leeds by the pioneering teacher Nadine Senior MBE at the Harehills Middle School and then by Intake High School under guidance of John Auty. From 1979-1994, Darshan was a member of the world-renowned London Contemporary Dance Theatre. He worked closely with Artistic Director Robert Cohan as an LCDT company dancer, and later as a rehearsal director, choreographer and teacher. Cohan became a major guiding presence and collaborated with Darshan on several works. Darshan also danced as a member of Siobhan Davies Dance Company in 1991-1992 and was a dancer and assistant to the director of Richard Alston Dance Company from 1994-1996.
Beginning in 1985 Darshan directed numerous dance and music films including The Fall (nominated for BFI innovation award), and Jane Dudley’s Harmonica Breakdown for BBC2. In 1990 Darshan and his wife Sallie Estep formed Singh Productions to focus on making short dance films and eventually touring stage works. In 2004, he completed the biographical film, Robert Cohan: Another Place. In 2016 he directed a documentary film on former dancer Patrick Harding Irmer, Das Model, the Dancer and Lola.
In 2022 Darshan directed, edited and choreographed a short film, NALA, danced by PeiJu Chien-Pott, the Taiwanese-American award-winning dance artist. The film has accumulated ten awards and two honourable mentions and been selected for over thirty-eight international film festivals. His full-length stage works produced for UK tours by Singh Productions include Planted Seeds and Caravaggio: Exile and Death with support from the Arts Council of England.
Darshan was appointed artistic director of Phoenix Dance Theatre in 2002. During his five years with Phoenix, he revitalised the reputation of the company on the national and international stage, earning Company Prize for Outstanding Repertoire (Modern) in the 2006 Critic’s Circle National Dance Awards. After a successful US tour in May 2006, he stepped down as artistic director, returning in 2014 to stage Mapping and again in 2022 to restage Heart of Chaos for Phoenix Dance Theatre’s 40th anniversary tour of the U.K.
Darshan has created and directed works for many international companies, notably: working alongside Director Micha Bergese to choreograph and direct the Opening Ceremony for the Millennium Dome in 2000; as assistant director and choreographer for Shaolin Wheel of Life, an international production with the masters of Kung Fu; and received choreographic commission from Rambert Dance Company, CandoCo, Nordic Dance Theatre, CeDeCe, Companhia de Bailado Contemporaneo (Portugal), Nimbus (USA) and Graham 2 (USA). In 2014 he directed and choreographed Rites of War, an aerial dance theatre piece for Gravity & Levity.
Darshan teaches regularly at several UK and US universities and conservatories including Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, and the Alvin Ailey Dance School. In March 2023 he co-produced On the And: Honouring the Legacy of Sir Robert Cohan CBE at the Place Theatre (London).
In July 2023 Darshan was awarded an Honorary Fellowship Award from the Northern School of Contemporary Dance.
View Darshan's work at https://vimeo.com/showcase/7427473