8 Lessons I Learned in my First Year as a Professional Dancer

As you may have already seen if you follow me on Instagram, I recently acknowledged my one-year anniversary of working full-time as a freelance professional dancer. Despite the obvious challenges of starting your arts career in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, I’ve been exceptionally blessed, and I’ve really had some dreams come true this…

Racism in Dance

Racism in dance exists. This post is not going to discuss or debate whether racism, discrimination, prejudice, lack of diversity, lack of representation, white supremacy, racial stereotyping and bias exist in the dance world- the answer to all of the above is yes. Even though Misty Copeland is a Principal dancer with ABT. Even though…

Defiance in the face of Brexit at Sadlers Wells

Maybe in years to come, people will ask me what I was doing on the night the UK left the EU. I’ll be proud to say that I was at the Sadlers Wells theatre in London, embracing a diverse programme of dance featuring dancers and styles from all around the world. As the last few…

How to Catch Up in Your Dance Training

As you may know, I started my dance training much later than most. I took my first ever ballet lesson just before I turned 15. I danced a few times a week at local schools, and I didn’t start serious ballet training until I was 21. If you’re not sure how huge a difference that…

#wedaretodance; Standing Up for Accessibility in Dance

When I started this blog several years ago, and when I relaunched it recently as Dare to Dance, I had the idea that I wanted to document my dance journey, because I am taking an unusual route into my dance career. I started dancing much later than most, and didn’t begin serious training until adulthood….