...my plans for 2016!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!! 

First of all I would like to apologise for not posting anything on this blog for MONTHS! Lots of things happened towards the end of last year which made my work soar through the roof and unfortunately not leaving me with much spare time =[ 

But that was last year so let's forget about that!

The start of a new year always forces us to think about the things we would like to do differently the following year, what we are going to do to make the next year better than the previous one and a stream of New Years Resolutions that we all know that we aren't going to keep. 

Now, I am no different to everyone else. I have a few plans & goals for what I WILL attempt to achieve in 2016 and I thought I'd share them with you because that's what we do, right? 

Goal 1 - Become a certified Beginners + Intermediate Aerial Hoop Instructor 

I've been doing Aerial Hoop for about a year now and I LOVE it! Since I am already an Aerial Yoga Instructor and I love teaching others, it only makes sense for me to train in this! Also I enjoy flying around and doing cool stuff ;P

Goal 2 - Set up my own business and get it off the ground

This goal actually began in the Summer of 2015 but 2016 will see the launch of my own business aaaaaand my relocation to a completely new location. Extremely exciting but rather scary stuff. However, I do believe that stepping out of your comfort zone every once in a while, is very good for you. 

Goal 3 - Work Out Daily 

Now I know a lot of people will read this and say 'Steph, you already work out daily' because my job as a dancer, yoga instructor etc... is already physical. You are not wrong my friends but I would like to do some work outs for me. Even though I love teaching my classes and they do class as a workout, it's not quite the same as doing a workout for yourself. Any of you who also teach, will know what I'm getting at. 

I'm happy to say that I started this on Boxing day and it's going really well. I downloaded the Sweat with Kayla app after reading about Kayla in the Women's Health magazine. (I won't talk about who Kayla is and what she does but if you want to find out more, click here.) The app contains different workouts for each week and you have a choice of 4 options: Resistance, Liss, Rehabilitation & Rest. During each week you will complete 3 resistance workouts (legs, abs and arms), 3 Liss workouts (walking, cycling etc..), 2 rehabilitation days (stretching and using a foam roller) and 1 rest day.   

The are also some really useful features in the app such as educational information about workouts, nutrition & meal tips, detailed ideas for what to eat each day and a way for you to track you progress. 

I AM LOVING IT!! 

Goal 4 - Gain more skills and learn more

This goal links into goal 1 & 2 but I really want to keep learning new things throughout 2016. I strongly believe that striving to better myself as a teacher/performer/person is really important. I am looking to learn about anything and everything. If you have any ideas for what I could learn about, leave me a comment and I'll definitely check it out. 

I think that's enough to keep me busy in 2016, don't you? 

I'd be really interested in hearing about your plans for 2016 so please do share them with me. 

Big loves x

...dance, life & the future

WOAH....

It's been ages since I last posted (sorry!) but life seems to have upgraded itself to the fast lane over the past month or so. I've been involved in some great projects, faced a few of my fears and made some important decisions.

I'm guessing that you would like the (no so) juicy details of what I'm rambling on about?

So as most you know, I am a freelance dance artist who is currently based in Newbury, Berkshire. Those of you who are also dance teachers will know all too well that the Summer term is SHOW TERM for each and every dance school/class under the sun. 

So far, I have been involved in FOUR shows this year: FAME with Park House School, Groovy Greeks with Newbury Stagecoach and the annual Dance In The Park & ACE Dance Company shows. As always it is an absolute joy to work with young performers and watch them progress throughout the years. 

As I previously mentioned in my ...Life As A Freelance Dance Artist blog post, I don't JUST teach these wonderful performers. Over the past few weeks I have been...

1. Making props
2. Hand painting costumes (33 t-shirts in fact....front & back)
3. Creating running orders
4. Designing programmes
5. Designing adverts & e-Flyers
6. Answering enquiries about DVD order forms
7. Arranging Thank You Presents for teachers
8. Editing music 
9. Being a social media whizz kid  

So there is another little insight into some of the many jobs us freelance dance people do.

I have also started working for another amazing company named Flux Dance Theatre that was founded by my good friend Charlotte Hale. This company has many strings to its bow but predominantly focuses on the theme of Moving Science. I'm not going to go into all of the different aspects of Flux's work but if you're interested then click the link above. 

In addition to this I have been choreographing two new dance pieces for Mixed Motion. I have made two pieces for the Senior dancers before but I also have the pleasure of working with the Juniors this year too! I love creating new pieces alongside young performers as it is such a valuable experience for them all. 

In my opinion, the more people you get to work with, the better! (for them and for me)

I always try to challenge the dancers that I'm working with as I believe that it's the one of the best ways to grow as an individual. I've seen so many young dancers doing the same routines day in and day out and don't get me wrong, those routines/moves are looking fierce....but I think that versatility never hurt anyone (I think it's very beneficial actually). I'm going to stop ranting about that now as I could go on for days!!

I'm actually going to skip the comment about facing my fears as I've decided just now that I am going to write a entirely separate post about that. What a treat for you guys, eh?!

Onto the big decision that I made....

I have been doing a lot of thinking recently about my career. I moved back to Newbury, just over a year ago, after living in London for over a year. I have always viewed this as a stepping stone to the next place and I am nearly ready to up my roots and move forward. 

Whilst thinking about this, I contemplated getting a 'normal' job for the sake of a regular and stable wage but the thought of sitting in an office from 9-5 each day makes me want to cry (I seriously look up to each and every person that does that). I scouted around for some potential part-time/freelance administration jobs but found nothing that would also allow me to teach/perform/choreograph. After a long while I decided that...

FREELANCING IS THE BEST OPTION FOR ME    =]

Now, I'm not saying that this is 100% the only thing that I am going to do for the rest of my life but it IS the only thing that is currently allowing me to do all of the things that I enjoy and love. 

So I have taken the plunge and enrolled myself onto a 'Start Your Own Business Course' which has 30 modules to help you get everything in order to set up your own business. EXCITING STUFF! 

I am not planning to set up the business until Summer 2016 as I think it would be wise to take my time with getting everything in order. I haven't done much yet but I have decided on a name but you'll have to wait to find out about that one =P 

I guess that's it for now! I just wanted to give you all a 'little insight into' my life at the moment. 

I'd love to hear about what you've been up to, so leave me a comment down below!

Big loves, 

Steph xxx

...Life as a Freelance Dance Artist

I absolutely LOVE being a freelancer but that doesn't mean that it's always easy. In fact, most of the time it isn't.

Earlier on today, I was thinking about why I enjoy pursuing a career where I am constantly looking for the next job, never really knowing how much I am going to earn each month and why I'm always facing statements like 'you could really do with some more work' and questions such as 'when are you going to get a real job?'

Even though being a freelance dance artist is tough, I could never see myself being anything else. For all of those people who wonder why us freelance dancers love doing what we do, here is a little list of why it is 100% AWESOME! 

• We earn money doing what we love. Life is too short to be stuck in a career that you hate
• We get to work with incredible people of all ages
• Our place of work changes quite frequently, meaning we get to go on mini adventures on a regular basis
• We have the excitement of not knowing where we will be and/or what we will be doing this time next year
• We have control over what jobs we are involved in, allowing us to select roles that inspire us and help us develop & grow 
• We have a great sense of community with all of our fellow freelancers
• We get to be creative and have fun on a daily basis
• We inspire younger generations to express themselves and think creatively 
• There is always something new & exciting to learn
• We hold more skills then people may think, which are transferable to a variety of other job roles
• Most of us do everything. Our accounts, taxes, administration, project management, funding applications, curating/programming, invoicing... (the list goes on & on & on)
• Our careers can take us down so many different paths, in numerous fields of work
• We are really in touch with our bodies and tend to look after them better than the average person. (some may disagree with this point)

There are SO many other points that I could add to this list but this post would become more of an essay if I were to carry on! 

What do you other freelancers think? 

Leave a comment and let me know. 

Big Loves, 

Steph