Privileged or not, the way forward for aspiring dancers seemed to be mapped out for better or for worse.
On completing my professional dance training in 2003, I felt like I was leaving dance as a career. I moved to Cornwall for a complete break and started working in relatively ‘normal’ jobs (whatever that means haha!), but I soon found my way back, first into teaching then performing and pretty soon I knew with every fibre of my being that I AM a Dancer irrespective of which job or career path I followed. Armed with that realisation, I began to find (often seemingly serendipitously) like minded humans who shared that understanding, I then began to find my voice within the communities I worked in and started to recognise the impact I could make on a daily basis among the people I taught and shared my dance with.
I discovered community and intergenerational work through my dear friend and mentor Cecilia Macfarlane (visionary of the Community dance world!) and my work directing Oxford Youth Dance (which I inherited from Cecilia in 2018 after 10 years working alongside Cecilia and OYD). Since I first stumbled upon this work back in 2008, I have uncovered more about my own body, mind, artistic practice, creativity and communication than I ever did during my training. I am frequently delighted and overwhelmed by the beautiful results working with people of all ages, abilities and walks of life, and particularly when working intergenerationally; so many VITAL connections and discoveries are made.
Growing as a human, and now Mama; finding the need to gravitate towards like minded souls – I’d love to help YOU reconnect to your inner strength and resilience and your authentic movement presence. I am working to create offerings that bring joy back to the mind and body for humans who love to move and dance but have been put off by traditional archetypes (stereotypes) of what it means to be a dancer, or those who perhaps haven’t found a beautiful connective practice that works for them yet.
