Introducing Matilda Maginnis – A Dance Woking Associate Artist

Matilda is a performer, choreographer and teacher based in Woking, Surrey. Matilda trained at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance graduating in 2018 with a First-Class Honours Degree and then went on to complete an MA with Emergence graduating with a Distinction in 2019. Since graduation she has worked with a variety of companies including, Ascension, Dance Woking, Stagecoach, DRIFT, FRONTLINEDance, Rees Dance, iiD, Sarita Piotrowski & R.W.D. In 2020, Matilda joined forces with fellow dancer Hannah Woodliffe, to create H&T, a company which shares work that portrays issues and topics through dance and is accessible to a diverse range of audiences through outreach workshops.

She says of the opportunity: “Being a Dance Woking Supported Artist is a privilege and I relish the opportunities that it will bring. Bringing a collective of like-minded people to discuss, share and develop thoughts and ideas will make us all more rounded artists.

“I’m passionate about performing & creating dance work that is accessible to a diverse audience. I like to use socio-political themes as a catalyst and hope in turn that it resonates with those who watch it.”

Tilly is sharing a excerpt of her diverse range of performance work on our Instagram page today.

As the industry began opening up earlier this year, Tilly has been busy performing at festivals. This week she has been at Surrey Arts Studio working on a piece with H & T Creative & she looks forward to sharing some of her more recent work soon.

You can find out more about Matilda by visiting her profile page here

Dance Woking developed the Supported Artist Programme, a new annual programme, to support up to 11 local dance artists and creatives living or working in Surrey to help them either re-establish their practice or begin it and help make working within Surrey a more sustainable proposition. Each week we will be introducing you to one of our supported artists and showcasing their ongoing work, achievements and capabilities. For more information about the scheme please click here

Introducing Wesley Bingwa – A Dance Woking Associate Artist

Wesley is a performer, dancer and choreographer based in Surrey. Wesley graduated from De Montfort University, Leicester and recently completed a scholarship funded MA from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. He recently took centre stage at Dance Woking’s Boys Platform in March 2020 and is thrilled to become a Dance Woking Associate Artist. Wesley is the artistic director for Boyz in Motion Dance Company.

He says of this opportunity: Being a Dance Woking associate artist means being one step closer to being an impactful artist and choreographer. I have always been someone who care about the growth of dance in Woking and I would like to be a significant figure in that process. I have spent the couple years studying the craft and watching mentors work. It is now about trying to create and take opportunities created by platforms like these.

“I want to create a space where dance doesn’t have to be full bodied experience but rather an internal space, using hand movements, breath and speech to enhance the experience “

Wesley is sharing an excerpt from a  piece called ‘ARRIVAL’. It explores the idea of migrating and what is arriving, as well as the idea of home. Originally performed in 2019 as part of Black History Month, the piece will be getting expanded for the next Black history Month hopefully in the Buzz theatre. Wesley will be one of the performers alongside his brother Tanaka and exploring how they can make the story personal by working with someone he ARRIVED with to this county.  You can watch the excerpt on our Instagram page.

You can find out more about Wesley by visiting her profile page here

Dance Woking developed the Supported Artist Programme, a new annual programme, to support up to 11 local dance artists and creatives living or working in Surrey to help them either re-establish their practice or begin it and help make working within Surrey a more sustainable proposition. Each week we will be introducing you to one of our supported artists and showcasing their ongoing work, achievements and capabilities. For more information about the scheme please click here

Introducing Sarra Whicheloe – A Dance Woking Supported Artist

Sarra is an experienced Bharatanatyam Dancer, teacher, choreographer and Natural Voice practitioner and the director of Harmony Arts.

Sarra has trained in Indian Classical Dance, Bharatanatyam in India as well as in London. Indian Classical Dance integrates stylised movement with theatre, set to a rich tapestry of melody and rhythm. Her work through Harmony Arts draws inspiration from stories, songs and poems from within our own communities and from across the world.

She says of this opportunity: “Being part of the Dance Woking team I hope to excite more people about the wellbeing benefits of Indian dance – it is the dance of Yoga. I also hope to offer more creative projects in primary schools improving literacy through dancing stories.”

“Dance brings people together in creative dialogue. Using movement, music and storytelling we enrich our lives, build communities and care for our planet.”

Sarra has been showing various videos on her social media channels throughout the week. We’ve shown a snippet of a Lakshimi Dance that Sarra has produced on our Instagram page but more information on the dance and instructions can be found below via her Youtube Channel. The Lakshmi dance is for Beginners and especially girls age 9+ .

Sarra will be sharing a video of a work in progress on her Youtube channel this evening that she has been creating alongside Fabrizia Verrecchia.  It is the first half of a dance on the 5 elements. These elements are expressions of the goddess of creation, Bhuvaneshwari. The piece is a solo performance that is being created for outdoor and online dance events. Be sure to subscribe to her channel to see the video premiere at 6.30pm tonight!

You can find out more about Sarra by visiting her profile page here

Dance Woking developed the Supported Artist Programme, a new annual programme, to support up to 11 local dance artists and creatives living or working in Surrey to help them either re-establish their practice or begin it and help make working within Surrey a more sustainable proposition. Each week we will be introducing you to one of our supported artists and showcasing their ongoing work, achievements and capabilities. For more information about the scheme please click here