Bethan is a Worthing based dance artist who choreographs, teaches and produces for a wide range of people and organisations across the professional and community arts sectors.

Specialising in contemporary and social dance forms, Bethan is predominately interested in creating and producing work that has social engagement and individual expression at its core. She often explores environmental themes within her work, which consider our personal and collective relationships to place and planet.

EXPERIENCE

Bethan received a BA (Hons) in Dance Studies from Roehampton University, then continued her training at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, undertaking the Postgraduate Certificate in Dance in the Community and in 2015 completed an MFA in Choreography, at Roehampton University.  

Bethan has taught and lectured dance in a variety of community and educational settings, to a range of ages and abilities for twelve years.  She was a faculty member of the Postgraduate School at Trinity Laban for four years and has also worked for the conservatoire's Learning and Participation (Dance) department since 2010. 

From 2011 - 2016 Bethan was a choreographer and lead practitioner for Arts Odyssey, a community arts organsiation that delivered dance and cross-arts projects in the UK and internationally.  

From April 2015-June 2016 Bethan Choreographer in Residence at Royal Museums Greenwich. During her residency she created a series of site-specific performances for professional dancers and community groups as well as delivering a participatory programme of activities for museum visitors.

In addition to her choreographic and teaching work, Bethan is a freelance dancer and performer. She has danced for choreographers and artists including Jessica Green, Caroline Jones and Willi Dorner. She  was also  a professional dancer in the NHS section of the opening ceremony for London 2012 Olympics, choreographed by Temujin Gill and Sunanda Biswas.  

Bethan has a range of experience in social dance forms such as Ballroom and Latin, Lindy Hop and Jive, elements of which she likes to experiment with in her teaching and choreographic practice.  

Since 2018 Bethan has been the Creative Learning Producer for Dance Umbrella; London’s international dance festival which celebrates 21st century choreography across the capital.

ARTISTIC STATEMENT

Through my artistic practice I endeavor to challenge the traditional notion of a dance artist by seeking opportunities that can broaden my approaches to work and blur boundaries between dance, other art forms and fields of knowledge. I am a great advocate for exploring ways in which dance can reach beyond itself as an art form to inform and impact upon social, political and environmental matters.

My choreographic work often manifests in live performance pieces or experiences, which are shared in a variety of venues from indoor and outdoor theatres to galleries, stately homes and libraries. In recent years I have become increasingly interested in digital dance modes and developed a number of interactive installation experiences and dance films. 

Much of my work is focused around the theme of encounters, which for me includes not only interaction and communication between people, but also in relation to landscapes and environments. Creating site-specific or site-sensitive work is a major thread of my choreographic practice. I am particularly fascinated in responding to locations where changeability and instability are key features of its geographical character.

I am fascinated by the impact a particular location or environment can have on people both physically and emotionally. I am concerned with the complex interrelationship between place and people. How do we as individuals and collectively impact on the places we inhabit and how does it impact us in return? What are the traces we leave behind?

Collaboration is a major aspect of my practice. For many of my projects I work with other dance artists, in the past I have also collaborated with a variety of composers, filmmakers, writers and poets. I am always keen to learn from fellow artists and professionals from other fields of knowledge and feel that collaborative opportunities greatly enrich my own work.