Growing up in a small industrial town on the west coast of Norway, I started dancing at a young age, which helped me to discover a sense of freedom that has stayed with me throughout my life. I decided very early on to make dance my career path and went on to train professionally in Germany and the UK. Upon moving to Wales in the early 90´s I very quickly saw opportunities to share my dancing with my local communities and established my own practise as a teacher, performer and choreographer. I was very lucky to be part of the early developments of community dance, which led me to set up the community dance organisation Dawns i Bawb in 1996, which I ran for the first six years until I joined the Arts Council of Wales as Senior Dance Officer, where I became a passionate advocate for dance in policy making, funding and strategies to support and grow the art form.
I am humbled and pleased to be able to say that I have had a long and fruitful career in dance that spans nearly 40-years, and my creative practise continues to grow and evolve, with choreographing, teaching, dancing, creating and producing work with and for others. It feels good to be utilizing my big suitcase full of experiences of all things dance, funding, project management and knowledge of national and international arts funding structures in my role as consultant and coach. I continue to juggle these different strands of my practice, making my own work alongside supporting other artists as producer, mentor and facilitator. I have been specialising in developing dance with older people, in care-home settings, and dance for people living with Dementia and Parkinson’s. As a multi-lingual person and a long-term committed Welsh learner, I particularly relish projects that work with language and body, where we don´t necessarily translate, but rather transmit our ideas in a physical form.
Throughout my journey in dance, I have continued to work in my birth country of Norway and my home here in Wales. It has been important for me to build connections and places for international dialogue through my chosen art form, as I firmly believe in the power of the arts to build bridges and widen horizons. This work offers entry points into other ways of thinking and feeling to the ones we are used to. I have been very keen to create opportunities for young people to meet through art, as I have witnessed how these experiences can change someone’s trajectory in life.
Recent creative projects:
Close(d) Border Connection w/Gullbakken – Norway
Revolutionary w/Volya Theatre – Norway
4 Tymor / 4 Seasons w/Cwmni Pen Productions – Wales
Recent Producer projects:
Grief Encounters – Cai Tomos, Wales
Revolutionary – Volya Theatre, Norway
Companies
Founder of Dawns I Bawb, Wales
Co-founder and co-director of Cwmni Pen Productions, Wales
Co-founder and co-director of Volya Theatre, Norway
Access and Support work
Application Coach – Arts Council of Wales
Artist Mentor – Arts Council of Wales
Coach and Mentor support for artists – Freelance capacity
Skills
Performance, Producing, Choreography, Teaching and Facilitating.
