board of directors

Rajpal Pardesi is the Chair of Direcors for Body Politic.

Raj is a dedicated senior arts professional with a highly successful background in Dance, Theatre and Music. Throughout his career, Raj has taken numerous independent artists through to National Portfolio Organisation status and others to new levels of middle/large scale touring.

He has extensive experience working in the hip hop theatre sector, working as Producer and General Manager for companies such as Avant Garde Dance Company, Boy Blue and BirdGang. As someone who was present at the birth of Hip-Hop Theatre in the UK, alongside with Jonzi D and Benji Reid, Raj has a wealth of knowledge which he is keen to bring to his role of Chair at Body Politic. 

“It is my pleasure to be joining Body Politic in the role of Chair of Directors. I am delighted to be part of the ongoing growth of Hip Hop Theatre companies in the UK. Body Politic aspire to create exciting and empowering opportunities for children and young people within theatre and dance. We hope to continue and support BP’s values and objectives for reinvesting into the culture and art for current and the next generation of artists, leaders and audiences. I look forward to working closely with Emma-Jane Greig, her wider team and the Board of Directors to continue the successes of Body Politic.”

Craig is passionate about improving the quality of life for people and communities and
strongly believes in the power that dance has on young people’s personal and social
development.

He is currently employed as a team leader with Oxford City Council’s Communities Team,
and previously managed their youth work team. He is also a trustee helper with My Life My
Choice.

Craig brings with him a wide range of relevant skills in developing third sector organisations,
widening participation, fundraising, and delivering impactful programmes for young people.

“I’ve seen first-hand the positive impact dance can have on young people’s personal and
social development and that’s why I’m so keen to be a part of Body Politic.”

Natasha Anderson is Sadler’s Wells’ Senior Community Engagement Manager, with a focus on young people, low-income households and over 60s, she leads on all engagement work based in Islington and East London as part of the Learning and Engagement Department.

With over twenty years’ experience in the arts and culture, she has spent the last ten years focusing on arts education, community partnerships, audience development and marketing. Her previous employers include Barbican Centre, Bernie Grant Centre and Iniva.  

Natasha has spent most of her career working closely with different members of the community to offer the opportunity for people whom the arts are sometimes not accessible. She has championed their needs from within the organisations and flags opportunities to build closer relationships.

Natasha’s experience will be invaluable to the team as she sees arts and education through the lens of groups less engaged with arts institutions and her experience and ensures that activities will be delivered authentically.

“Now more than ever we need the arts to pull us together and form strong untied bonds within communities, Body Politic’s programmes offers so many opportunities for young people to explore dance and self expression in a supportive environment. Their performances continue to provoke debate and like all good cultural experiences help us question who we want to be as a society. I am so excited to be part of their journey and look forward to supporting and working closely with the team.”