****Just received this from the EFDSS****

ENGLISH FOLK DANCE AND SONG SOCIETY

PRESS RELEASE                                                   
26 November 2007                                                                            Immediate Release

New Chief Executive for English Folk Dance & Song Society

The English Folk Dance and Song Society is delighted to announce the appointment of Katy Spicer as its new Chief Executive.

Katy Spicer comes to the EFDSS with extensive experience in arts management. She is currently General Manager of Rambert Dance Company, the UK's flagship contemporary dance company, where she has been managing a new capital project, as well as promoting and managing Rambert's overseas and special performance projects alongside other management responsibilities.

Earlier in her career, Katy was Executive Director and Co-Chief Executive Director of Arc Dance Company. She successfully raised Arc's profile, developed partnerships, as well as an education programme, and boosted the company's fund raising.

Katy is also a former Administrative Director and Co-Chief Executive Director of Chester Gateway Theatre and General Manager of Green Candle Dance Company. As a freelance arts manager and consultant, Katy has worked with theatre and dance companies, as well as venues, on strategic and business planning and financial management.

Katy is a trustee, and currently Chair, of Independance, a London-based organisation nurturing artists working in urban dance forms. She has also been an advisor and performance assessor for Arts Council England.

Katy's experience of folk music and dance started at school, and her parents organised folk music events in Shoeburyness, Essex in the late 1960s.

Katy Spicer says, "I am delighted to be joining the EFDSS, particularly at such an exciting time in the organisation's distinguished history."

Mike Norris, Chair of the EFDSS, welcomed Katy's appointment. "These are exciting times in the folk music world and the appointment of such a talented arts manager demonstrates our determination to be at the forefront of this movement."

Katy Spicer's appointment starts on 18 February 2008.

Ends