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Bombastic Dance & Ailsa Hawkins, Barclays Partner Finance

The Development Need

Ailsa wished to experience working in a new environment, with a much smaller organisation, in order to push herself, gain a better understanding and appreciation of her own skills and develop her confidence.

The Results

For Bombastic Dance

  • Improved the financial components of the company, following a review of ledgers, cashflows and annual budgets
  • A fresh overview and evaluation of Bombastic’s business and financial operations, with suggested amendments appropriate to the organisation’s size and position
  • A committed and dynamic board member who actively contributes to discussions and strategies for the organisation’s sustainability

For Ailsa

  • Experience of how an organisation outside the corporate world operates, and a deep understanding of the challenges it faces
  • A greater appreciation of the impact the arts can have on communities beyond purely the provision of entertainment
  • Developed team leadership skills and her approach to collaborative working
  • A sense of contribution and accomplishment beyond her day-to-day work
  • Being part of an organisation has allowed her to experience how legal / professional advice gets applied internally, which has helped to improve how she frames her advice to her clients

The Endorsement

Ailsa offers well judged, perceptive and informed advice. Her interest and contribution to the overall direction on focus of the company has had a positive and tangible effect on the board, and will continue to do so during her tenure. She not only brings business acumen and strong financial evaluation, but a strong beliefe in the power of the arts to facilitate change creative, and is a highly valued sounding board for our future direction.

Sean Tuan John, Bombastic Dance 

Having the chance to use the skills and experience that I’ve obtained through my career to help an arts organisation is very rewarding, and I hope that my involvement with Bombastic will contribute to its continued success. Financial matters can sometimes be daunting, but I hope that through my input, all the members of Bombastic become increasingly confident discussing financial matters and they become less of a chore and maybe even enjoyable! Working with a group of people who have a real enthusiasm and passion for what they do is really refreshing, and has increased my awareness of what a difference it makes to a task/project if you can portray belief, positivity and enthusiasm to the people you are working with.

Ailsa Hawkins, Barclays Partner Finance