Our Team

Nicholas Shoesmith

Co-Director and Choreographer

Nicholas Shoesmith is Co-Director and Choreographer of Balletto Monson, where his diverse creative practice spans stage, film, and interdisciplinary collaboration. A former soloist with Scottish Ballet, he brings both performance depth and a choreographic voice defined by musicality, theatricality, and contemporary relevance.

Nicholas trained at The Australian Ballet School, completing a Diploma and Vocational Graduate Certificate in Classical Dance. From 2012 to 2022, he danced with Scottish Ballet, performing works by Helen Pickett, Crystal Pite, David Dawson, Matthew Bourne, Angelin Preljocaj, and Christopher Hampson. He was nominated for the Critics’ Circle National Dance Award for Outstanding Male Classical Performance in 2019 for his role as John Proctor in The Crucible.

As Associate Choreographer of Scottish Ballet, Nicholas has created acclaimed digital works including The Fates (2019), Catalyst (2020), Odyssey (2021), Edinburgh is a Story (2022), Breathless (2024), and Swirl (2021). His stage works include Trifecta (2023), featured at both Scottish Ballet’s Summer Shorts and the Royal Opera House’s Draft Works, and new choreography for the company’s Nutcracker.

Beyond Scottish Ballet, Nicholas’s freelance work includes Insomnia (Ministry of Sound, 2024), The Celtic Story (Celtic FC, 2023), Splat (Victoria State Ballet, 2022), and pieces for the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He has also created competitive gymnastics routines and film projects nominated by the International Mobile Film Festival.

As a teacher and rehearsal director, Nicholas works with organisations including Victorian State Ballet, The Australian Ballet School, Transit Dance, and Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures. His practice emphasizes collaboration and creativity, fostering a new generation of dance artists through both technical rigour and artistic inquiry.

Benoît Egloff

Artistic Development Lead

Benoît Egloff is Artistic Development Lead at Balletto Monson, where he brings an international performance career and a wide-reaching teaching and choreographic practice to the company’s artistic direction.

Benoît trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School and the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse. As a student, he performed Balanchine’s Apollo and helped create two significant works—Plastic Mythology by Ashley Page and Light Fandango by Robert North—both of which went on to tour internationally.

He began his professional career at 19 with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal before joining Ballet Basel, touring across China, Australia, Europe, and North America. His repertoire included Giselle, Coppélia, The Nutcracker, and works by Balanchine, Jiří Kylián, Nacho Duato, Merce Cunningham, William Forsythe, Lucinda Childs, José Limón, Ashley Page, and Robert North, among others.

While dancing with Ballet Basel, Benoît began choreographing for the company and developing a strong interest in artistic creation. After a career-halting injury, he relocated to the UK and established himself as a freelance dance artist, choreographer, and teacher.

Since then, he has taught and staged work for institutions and companies including Scottish Ballet, Dance Base Edinburgh, Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures, and The Royal Ballet School’s Associate and Access programmes. He has also worked extensively with the national Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) scheme. Recent teaching highlights include company classes for Rambert during Peaky Blinders and for New Adventures during the Swan Lake Scottish tour.

Benoît holds the French Diplôme d’État de Professeur de Danse in Classical Ballet and the TQFE (Teaching Qualification in Further Education) from the University of Aberdeen. Since moving to Scotland in 2013, he has contributed significantly to the development of classical ballet training within the country.

Willow Monson is an Emerging Choreographer and Dancer with Balletto Monson, where she is currently undertaking a choreographic placement while also performing with the Company.

Born in Scotland to English and American parents, Willow began dancing at the age of four. She trained in a range of styles before focusing on classical and contemporary dance. Her expansive, physical movement style is known for its dynamic elevation and expressive performance quality.

Willow has performed with Scottish Youth Ballet and Allegrodance Touring Company, and graduated from KS Dance (Kate Simmons), where she completed a Level 6 Trinity Diploma in Professional Dance Performance. Her stage experience includes leading roles in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (as Hermia), Orion’s Belt (as Artemis), and Les Sylphides (as lead Sylph), as well as soloist work in The Door, Cry Me a River, and Seasons. She also featured in the dance film Pie Jesu and has performed at national events, including Can You Dance? Super Convention and Move It.

Choreographically, Willow has received numerous awards, including Gold at Contemporary Ballet Artist 2025 and recognition at the Ballet Grand Prix Scotland. In 2024, she was awarded first and two second-place medals at the Contemporary Ballet Choreographer competition. In 2023, she was selected as a HotHouse Choreographer through a Scottish Ballet and YDance initiative.

In addition to dance, Willow is skilled in acting, singing, digital art, and video editing. Her practice blends strong performance technique with emerging choreographic curiosity and a cross-disciplinary creative approach.