Mr Jason Piper

About

I am Associate Professor in Dance specialising in the domains of: Learning and Teaching, Leadership and Management and Professional Practice. I was head of Dance for 9 years and interim Head of School for just over a year.

I began my training at the tender age of 7 under Valerie Egri and later Sue Rosenbloom and as a teenager was a Royal Ballet JA and very young member of the National Youth Dance Company. I completed my vocational training at the LCDS conservatoire.

I have performed, taught and choreographed internationally for over 20 years and worked with a variety of contemporary and commercial companies including:

The Richard Alston Dance Company (Soloist), Matthew Bourne's New Adventures (Lead Swan, Swan Lake and Basil in Dorian Gray, Kylie Minogue (two world tours), Shirley Bassey and Christina Aguilera, Clear Channel Entertainment, Adidas, Speedo, Puma, Bloomberg, English National Opera, The Royal Academy of Dance and Warner Brothers.

I play Bane in Harry Potter 5 and was both a "creatures expert" and motion capture artist for the franchise. Despite filming for 6 weeks, nearly shooting Harry with a bow and arrow and learning a new language for the role, most of it ended up on the cutting room floor.    

As a freelance teacher, I specialised in working with "challenge" groups that included: homeless, recovering drug addicts, refugees, victims of FGM and "lads without dads".

I joined Kingston University in 2007 and specialise in group dynamics, productivity and creativity. I retain a keen interest in developing people at all levels and finding new solutions to old problems – including my aching knees.