Hetty Blades is an Associate Professor in the Centre for Dance Research (C-DaRE). She is currently Principle Investigator on Moving Online: Ontology and Ownership of Internet Dance, an AHRC funded Research, Development and Engagement Fellowship (ECR route) (2022-24). Hetty is also Co-Investigator on Performing/Informing Rights: Dance, Right to Information, and Sustainable Development for Disabled People in Sri Lanka and Nepal  (AHRC, 2021-3) and Developing an Inclusive Research Network to Co-Design Livelihood Recovery Measures for Internally Displaced persons (IDPs) in Nigeria (AHRC, 2022-3).

Hetty completed her PhD in the Centre in 2015, under the supervision of Sarah Whatley and Scott deLahunta, which considered the ontological implications of digital scoring practices for dance. She holds an MA in Dance Studies from Roehampton University (2010) and a BA (Hons) in Dance Theatre from Trinity Laban (2007).

Between 2015-17, Hetty worked as a Research Assistant in the Centre, contributing to projects including Europeana Space (EU), InVisble Difference: Dance, Disability and Law (AHRC) and Resilience and Inclusion: Dancers as Agents of Change (AHRC). She was Researcher in Residence at the Digital Catapult (EPSRC, 2016).