Assis Carreiro
A key figure in the performing arts, with a specialisation in dance, Assis Carreiro is an international cultural entrepreneur working for over four decades with organisations around the globe.
Passion, energy, commitment and a thirst for developing and nurturing talent and innovative creative initiatives & partnerships have made her a respected key player in the national and international cultural scene.
From 2012-2014, Assis was Artistic Director of Royal Ballet Flanders, where she rejuvenated the award-winning company, with a merger with the Flemish Opera and the development of new repertoire, including creations by Slava Samodurov (Romeo & Juliet), Edward Clug, Ashley Page and Jacopo Godani as well as introducing works by Wayne McGregor, Alexander Ekman, Jiri Kylian and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui.
Assis was Artistic Director & Chief Executive of DanceEast from 2000–2012. She led the organisation through a period of reorganisation and expansion. Her legacy there is the iconic Jerwood DanceHouse, the cultural cornerstone of the largest urban regeneration project in the East of England on the Ipswich waterfront.
Her career also spans experience in government as Cultural Strategist for the High Commission of Canada, London and Director of Culture for the Delegation du Quebec in London.
She has served as Head of Strategic Planning & Development for New English Ballet Theatre. In 2015, she was Creative Producer for Dance UK’s first industry-wide international conference; and Creative Researcher on Digital Dance for The Space.
During 1998/99 Assis was dance programmer at DasTAT in Germany for William Forsythe’s Ballett Frankfurt. From 1994-96, she was founding Artistic Director of DanceXchange in Birmingham and went on to work for Wayne McGregor|Random Dance and as Fund Raising Executive at The Place. Prior to moving to the UK in 1994, Assis was Director of Education, Community Outreach and Publications for the National Ballet of Canada .
Assis is Trustee of Rambert Dance School, Project Animo in Australia and Eastern Angles Theatre Company in Suffolk. She has been an advisor and assessor to Australia Council, Arts Council England, Ontario Arts Council, the Canada Council, and Scottish Executive and served on Sir Brian McMaster’s Sounding Board Review for Supporting Excellence in the Arts: From Measurement to Judgement.
Assis was born in the Azores, Portugal, and raised in Canada. She studied dance for many years and holds a BA (Honours) from Canada’s York University and an MA (Distinction) from Surrey University in Guildford.
She holds an Honorary Doctorate in Civil Law from Suffolk College, University of East Anglia and has been a Visiting Senior Fellow in Dance in the School of Arts and Humanities of University Campus Suffolk.
In 2014 Assis was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours for her services to dance.
Assis lives in Mistley, England with her family and two cats. Away from the desk, she spends a lot of time in theatres and art galleries and is an avid reader, world traveller and collects books and ceramics.