New patron of our Academy of Performing Arts

We are hugely excited and honoured to announce that Ionica Adriana has joined our growing community of patrons for our Academy of Performing Arts. We are grateful for her ongoing support of our curriculum provision, our students and the faculty. Ionica is a British stage and screen actress & presenter who was adopted from Romania at the age of 2.

She trained at East 15 Acting School in 2008 and went on to be awarded “Best Emerging Actress” at 2018’s International Achievement Recognition Awards (IARA) for her role as the Genie in Aladdin. She was subsequently nominated for “Best Female Solo Artist” & the “NEA Choice Award” at the National Entertainment Awards. Ionica appeared as a judge on BBC One’s second series of All Together Now alongside Rob Beckett & Spice Girl, Geri Horner.

Ionica is a former presenter at BBC Radio York, BBC Country File Live, a regular voice on BBC Leeds, Yorkshire Cast and familiar face on BBC Politics & BBC Look North. Ionica also presents at the UK’s biggest dance convention, MOVE IT and the UK’s biggest touring dance convention, CYD?UK. Most recently Ionica hosted & presented at Chris Evans’ Carfest (North & South).

Since the pandemic Ionica has hit the ground running, landing her first London show playing the role of Paula in Opening Up at the Union Theatre. Due to Ionica’s history and life story, she is regularly asked to talk at graduations, events and seminars. Her biggest privilege to date was speaking at Sir Michael Rutters memorial (of which she was the only Romanian adoptee) at Kings College, London.

Most notably Ionica fronted BBC Radio 4’s Documentary, “Ceausescu’s Children” that aired in 2022. As a result, Ionica further featured in ‘Yorkshire Life’ & “Absolutely Yorkshire” magazines, The Daily Mail newspaper, BBC History Revealed magazine, Who Do You Think You Are magazine and many other podcasts & radio shows!

Ionica will soon be appearing in BBC TV’s Celebrity Pointless and will appear as Jasmine in this year’s production of Aladdin at Lighthouse, Poole.