Wendy Cook is a Laban trained freelance choreographer and director. Her work for the London School of Puppetry has been a long term research project with Caroline Astell-Burt on the development of kinaesthetic awareness in the puppeteer. Wendy Cook has shown by her work with each puppeteer how puppet operating skills are enhanced by the development of the puppeteer’s inner sense of movement.
She teaches all aspects of movement drawing on her own rich choreographic background and also includes types of movement influenced by Pilates and Yoga. Movement studies allow students to develop their own physical expression and often their ability to respond to music. Wendy Cook also works with each student on aspects of health and safety when operating puppets. She is a valuable outside eye for puppeteers in the process of developing work and is part of the internal assessment team.
She has been trained by the QAA to undertake the inspection of courses in Higher Education. She was the External Examiner for The London School of Contemporary Dance, and is currently doing the same job for the University of North London. She was part of the creative team which developed the renowned BAPA degree course at Middlesex Polytechnic. This was ground-breaking interdisciplinary performing arts education -(Improbable Theatre is just one of the more famous results)
She was part of the creative team for The Kissing Dance,(National Youth Music Theatre)Edinburgh Festival, then a tour ending at the Linbury Theatre, London. She has also choreographed West Side Story for Cheltenham and Gloucester College of Higher Education, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum for the University of Hertfordshire, and directed and choreographed The Card for Norfolk Youth Music Theatre.
Devised work includes Where are the Children Now? for the Royal Opera House Education programme, Warchild with Richard Taylor and Caroline Astell-Burt for the NYMT, Tam Lin with Lin Marsh and Caroline Astell-Burt for a Dorset and Devon cluster of Primary Schools (2002) She directed singer Morag MacLaren in Dorothy Fields:Rhythm of Life , Edinburgh Fringe (1999). Other theatre-based work for the NYMT includes choreography for Annie; The Threepenny Opera, (New York and Edinburgh); Caucasian Chalk Circle (Edinburgh Festival and Sadler’s Wells). She choreographed Oliver!,and Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat for Richard Hale School, Hertford and works with Ellesmere Port Light Opera Company, directing and choreographing scenes from Jesus Christ Super Star, Chess and The Mikado.
Her musicality added to her popularity with students has made her the obvious choice for many teachers and other organisations such as London Mozart Players, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Britten Sinfonia to run their dance and movement workshops for primary and secondary school students all over the UK. In 2001 she was invited to teach music theatre workshops in Japan and has made two visits, the second a three week tour- taking music theatre workshops all over the country with composer Lin Marsh.
Publications include The Torchbearers (Faber) co-written with Lin Marsh, premiered by Woodroffe School in Lyme Regis and a finalist in the Vivien Ellis Awards for new musicals. The Show Must Go On! (Faber 2001) and articles.
Wendy Cook has shown in her work how individual singing skills are enhanced by the development of the innate sense of movement in every singer. She worked with Cantate Youth Choir, winner of Sainsbury’s Choir of the Year 2000, and is currently choreographer and movement director for Cantamus Girls’ Choir (winner of Choir Olympics 2006 in China) and Amabile who was a finalist in the BBC Choir of the Year 2006. She has contributed to conferences such as NAME (National Association of Music Educators) and its Scottish equivalent, SAME, and BFYC (British Federation of Youth Choirs).