Hello!
Nice to meet you! Here's a little about me...
Movement Artist | Producer | Director
Inclusive Dance Leader
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MSc Student in Environmental Science for Sustainability at King's College London
Experience
My career in the arts started as a professional dancer. After graduating from London Studio Centre in 2010, my performance career expanded from performing both hip hop and ballroom at Sadler’s Wells, backing dancing for Jax Jones at Wembley Stadium, representing England at the Tap World Championships and working for brands such as Nike and Hotel Chocolat. I continue to perform and have since entered into the world of circus and capoeira which I integrate into my work.
Over the past 8 years my focus shifted to creating and leading my own work. My work centres on environmental and social justice. I have produced and managed many projects, including dance film, live performance, outdoor events and community projects. Through these I have vast experience of building partnerships, coordinating artists, event management, grant writing, budget management, community engagement and project management.
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In 2016 I co-founded HarmonyDance, an inclusive dance provider. We collaborated with other partners and obtained our own sources of funding to organise dance classes, performance projects and courses for people with additional needs. This partnership has since ended, however I continue to regularly teach for various groups of people with disabilities.
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I took over as Director of Element Arts, a contemporary Latin dance company founded by Ella Mesma, in 2016. Since then I have obtained funding for and managed various projects. These include Showstoppers, an interactive community dance project funded by Bermondsey Community Fund (£2.5K). During the pandemic, I managed two projects supported by Wandsworth Grant Fund (£9K) and Wandsworth Arts Fringe (£2K) which required constant adaptability and problem solving in light of shifting regulations. One of these was Dance On Your Doorstep - taking performances to outside care homes and the homes of vulnerable people who were shielding. Another was the first iteration of our dance film Ecological Beings. In 2022, I co-directed an ACE funded project (£15K) to develop Ecological Beings, which became a 30 minute dance film exploring interconnectedness between humans and the natural world. Recently I led a project entitled Connect, a creative climate education project funded by Wandsworth (£9.4K).
In 2019 I founded Impact Festival - arts events with performances and climate education activities to inspire positive change. Across 2021 and 2022 I produced 9 outdoor events in Wandsworth & Harrow, with a total of £27.2K funding I obtained from Harrow Arts Centre, Wandsworth Council, and ACE.
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I am interested in mixing my various disciplines and in 2023, I obtained £14K from ACE to lead an R&D exploring the intersection of Chinese pole and dance.
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I am also the Engagement Lead for Creative Network Southwark, a small organisation that hosts quarterly meetings for artists in Southwark, with talks around a particular theme. I co-organise the events, look after the social media accounts, and put together the newsletters.
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My roles as Producer/Director of my own projects have given me the skills to build relationships and work collaboratively, while continuing to work in a self-driven independent capacity.
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Skills
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Performance - dance, Chinese pole, capoeira
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Inclusive dance for people with disabilities
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Choreography
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Producing
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Project management
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Partnership development
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Grant writing
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Community engagement
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Budget management
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Event management
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Marketing
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Risk management
