Meet our Kickstart Team - Freya Brown

Tell us about your dance journey before joining the Kickstart programme

I began dancing at a small village dance school in Southminster where I grew up. It was here that I found my passion for dance and drive to do this professionally. I began doing different projects at school and externally and was encouraged to apply and audition for DanceEast's Centre for Advanced Training where I spent 5 years training. Towards the end of my time at DanceEast I was successful in gaining a place at Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance where I went onto achieve a BA Honours degree. Last year I graduated amidst COVID and started work on a project called Grad Lab working with choreographer Betty Maguire, who is also one of my colleagues on the kickstart scheme, on a piece entitled No One Bloody Cares! based on the stigma around periods. 

How would you describe your dance practice?

My Dance practice is very much influenced by dance theatre and is fun and quirky. The way I dance and express myself tends to be more abstract, I like to push my body to its limits. I tend to base my choreography either around a central idea or a piece of music that I feel I have connected with. My teaching practice is something I have been developing recently and I really enjoy working with young people, it is very rewarding and great fun. 

What about the Kickstart programme are you most looking forward to?

The team at South East Dance have such a wealth of knowledge and experience. Each member brings something different from which I can draw on to widen and improve my own practice. I am super excited to collaborate with the other kickstart artists on different projects and I really feel the next few months with South East Dance will allow space for us to find some clarity in our practice and aspirations after a super tough year. 

Why do you love to dance?

I haven’t always been the best at explaining myself and I struggle academically due to my dyslexia. But dance has been an outlet for me to express myself and my feelings in a way that is so much clearer to me than words and in a form that feels so natural for me to do. 

You can find out more about the Government Kickstart Scheme and what our wonderful group of dance artists will be getting up to over the next six months here.