About Life Dancing
Hello there!
I’m Sam. I live in West Yorkshire (UK) with my husband and two cats. I’m a dancer, and now a blogger too — this is my first ever blog!
I’m venturing on a mission to help fellow women and creative types live happier, more connected lives by sharing what I’ve learnt and experienced in my 13+ years as a professional Dance Artist.
Want to learn ways to relax through movement?
Want to feel more confident in your own skin?
Feel like you’ve got a lot on your plate?
Have an inner dancer waiting to get out?
Then this blog is for you!
Over the next few months you can be sure to find a blog full of tips, thoughts and experiences centred around dance, wellbeing, empathy, collaboration, gratitude, health, creativity and risk taking, all thrown in with a bit of info on my latest Netflix obsession (RuPaul’s Drag Race anyone?), and love of all things fun.
To get us started, here’s a bit of info about me…
My job basically means I get to dance and have fun with other people for a living! I’m known as ‘Dancing Sam’ or ‘Shakin’ Sam’ in some of the schools I work in and I can often be found moving and dancing in most places (the struggle to stay still is real!). This all sounds pretty positive right? And it is!
However, there are often times when things are stressful, full of anxiety, full of expectations, and I feel like I’m spinning a thousand plates! But my work also helps me get through the tough times and so I’ve decided to share my sotries and experiences with you to help us all move forwards together.
I chose this career because I know, from my own experience, that dance offers so many wonderful experiences for everyone, including happiness, creativity, and connection with other people.
Dance is also instinctive in us. When your favourite song comes on what does your body do? Do you feel that instinct to move with the music somehow?
You might be tapping your toes, moving your head slightly, or full on dancing around your kitchen swinging a tea towel, but whatever it is, there’s that feeling in you that just says ‘move’! Right?
I’ve danced most of my life, starting at the age of 4 in ballet class in a South West London village hall and then being drawn to contemporary dance as I got older — in fact I started contemporary at the age of 8 in primary school (something that really doesn’t exist in schools anymore — don’t get me started!).
Dance for me is a way to make sense of the world — I’ve always struggled with anxiety and was SO shy as a child. However, I was very fortunate to have a family and teachers who encouraged me to follow what I chose to, and dance offered me a way to communicate and be myself more than anything else could.
As an anxious teenager I spent as much time as I could dancing in school, joining all the after school dance clubs, performing in all the shows, and I used it as an excuse to get out of PE as much as possible (it’s still exercise right?).
I was so sensitive back then that the style of dance and the way it was delivered was fundamental too. Competitive dance, well basically anything competitive, was a big no-no for me (and still is!) — I was so anxious that the competitive element made me withdraw completely. I stuck it out for quite a while (I hate quitting!) at a local dance school learning ‘disco’ and I even won a few medals, but ultimately I was in a constant state of worry and never truly let myself go.
Dancing freely, without set steps and expectations from others, was where the true joy was for me. I had the most amazing secondary school teacher, Mr Griffiths, who despite my lack of confidence noticed something in me and encouraged me to pursue dance as a career through contemporary dance — a place where I could create, feel free, and show who I was — a place I could be seen.
Long story long… I ended up going to University to study Dance, starting at Bretton Hall — a wonderful campus full of artists, actors, scenographers, teachers, writers, and dancers in the heart of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park in West Yorkshire. I assume you’ve heard of Sir Ken Robinson? Or the League of Gentlemen? All Bretton alumni!
Me being me, I wasn’t happy with one degree and so took it upon myself to move to Dundee where I spent another three years training at the Scottish School of Contemporary Dance — I was desperate to be pushed physically more and get my technique up. I didn’t follow the traditional ‘ballet-modern-tap’ route that many dancers start out with as children and so I was a bit behind in some areas. Bretton focused more on choreography, teaching, and creativity so I wanted to make sure I had the technical side down too! Can you tell I don’t do things by halves??
It doesn’t stop there (!) after 3 brilliant years at SSCD (where I ultimately met my husband too — that’s a story for another time), I decided that the cherry on the top was going to be a Masters degree! You don’t need all of these qualifications to be ‘successful’ as a dancer (whatever that means!) but for me it was the only way I knew how to really explore all my interests in dance and reach my goal of having a career in it. I don’t regret a thing either — I’m so grateful for all of the different experiences I had as they’ve shaped who I am today.
My dream was to study at London Contemporary Dance School — the home of UK contemporary dance — I failed so many auditions there previously but gave it one last shot in 2011 and the dream came true! I graduated with my MA in 2012 (yes, just one year this time!) and out into the big wide world of professional dance I went.
I’ve actually been working professionally since graduating from Bretton in 2006 but once my MA was complete it was definitely time to get out there fully (much to my parents’ relief!).
I lived and worked in London for five years, holding down a part time retail job as well as getting as much dance work as I could to pay the rent. Then, in search of countryside and cheaper bills, my husband and I made the move back t’north — I now live just 30 minutes from Bretton Hall. I still love London (I was born there and my family are nearby in Cambridgeshire) but it was time to shift focus a little and Yorkshire offered us just that.
Because I was so anxious as a child (and still am often), and because dance gave me that outlet to be myself, I’ve been naturally drawn to a career that is focused on wellbeing and helping others be themselves through movement too.
I now run my own wellbeing social enterprise, Curel CIC, with a good friend (and fellow ‘dancey’ / movement person) where we provide a range of fun and creative movement-based activites and programmes that help people live well for longer.
I still work independently as a Dance Artist too — I work with a range of arts organisations, including Flamingo Chicks, an inclusive organisation that provides opportunities for disabled children and those with illnesses to enjoy dance alongside their friends. I’m also a qualified Complementary Therapist.
As you can probably tell, dance is part of who I am. Instead of a ‘work life balance’ I just focus on ‘life’ — it’s all life, and we all have to work through it somehow! By working on how to be true to myself I find my own way through. In the words of RuPaul…
“If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?”
Can I get an Amen up in here?!
The decision to start a blog has come around very recently for me — as I work for myself I am often meeting new people, trying to promote my work (hard for an introvert who’s inner critic is constantly telling her not to!), and collaborating with others.
Oh, and I’m also often asked the question “What is Contemporary Dance?” — this is the HARDEST question any dancer will come across! I’ll save that one for another post otherwise you and I will be here for an eternity…
Anyway, back to the point — by working for myself I have to put myself out there. I have to take that leap (or jeté if you like your ballet terminology) and make things happen, no-one else is going to do it for me. I have to step into the unknown on almost a daily basis. This has taught me so many valuable lessons and skills and so I’ve decided it’s time to share them.
I’m not an expert (are there really any experts?) and my inner critic is VERY loud on a lot of days, but I really do believe that taking risks is the way forwards and that so much joy and meaning can come from that. Have you read Brené Brown’s ‘Daring Greatly’? She explains that vulnerability IS courage — more on this in another post!
I’m also AMAZING at multi tasking — besides dancing I’m my own admin assistant, marketing executive, personal trainer, accountant, teacher, PR agency, CEO, I could go on! Phew!
In all seriousness, being freelance means you have to wear all sorts of ‘hats’ and you learn all sorts of brilliant skills outside of your main specialism.
Whilst this can be really bloody hard a lot of the time, it’s also means you’re like a fountain of different experiences and skills and I’d like to share some of mine with you — maybe then we can make a bit more sense of the world together?
Have you got a question? Ready to unleash your inner dancer? Also obsessed with Drag Race? Or just another person with all sorts of overwhelming responsibilities who wants to find new ways to live well and make sense of the world? Then join me and we’ll get going…
I’d love to hear from you — please do like, comment, share and email me if you’d like to get in touch. Constructive feedback is very welcome too and I’d love to hear about your own experiences that might be helpful for us all as well.
I’m always looking for people to contribute to Life Dancing too — just email me.
Love Sam x
