My DYCP  Year of Unfolding: Reflections on Practice, Community, and Discovery

Research & Skills development establishing sustainable movement practice

This past year has been one of the most transformative of my creative life. I gratefully receive d DYCP funding to support my transitional process of bridging my movement practice into exploring more in how offer somatic movement workshops and being supported to explore this deeply.

My main aspiration is to create safe,supportive,trauma informed workshops that cultivate the right conditions for individuals to feel their bodies, to find release and rejuvenation.

Where It Began

Last December, I spent a week immersed in research and somatic exploration in Glastonbury. I started with an idea about bees, thinking about hive structures and collective movement, imagining a workshop that could explore community through the body. I find Glastonbury hold much inspiration for me about the symbols of nature and how they can relate to us in different contexts and experiences.

During my research The trisclion symbol became a fascination and seemed to cross my path in every moment, so I started to follow this thread and it open a new understanding of the power of water and waters history.

During my time in Glastonbury I felt more drawn to the White Spring waters and focusing on a cellular focus. Looking back at this moment I can see the connection bettween the nature of Bee and cells, untiing, working together to support their whole ecosystem. I am always inspired to see nature reflected clearly into the body, I find it to be such a powerful way in to feel deeply connected to ourselves and each other.

A tonic and healing balm of this time within this ongoing uncertainty and collective survival mode.

I am drawn to Cells as they are the building blocks to all human life, they carry memories of lifetimes, ancestral memory, they are unaffected by the nervous system. To be able to support people to engage in this subtle yet powerful route into the body I believe is a exciting prospect for individual to recover, to heal, to also release, supporting people to have more capacity for their families, their creativity and their health.

The hive, the healing waters, and our cellular intelligence are all expressions of the same fundamental principle. The collective working and living together to keep in balance. After this chapter of research I decided to embrace the water and cellular focus seeing it’s multiple potential to be able to reach many individuals.

 Finding My Voice

I feel so blessed to of been able to of had Eva Martinez by my side as a mentor within this process. Working with Eva through February became a turning point. Together, we explored how to bridge my decade of professional dance experience with this new chapter of somatic movement practice workshops . The key insight was recognising that this wasn't a departure from my movement practice but rather a natural evolution of it. My solo work 'Evolutio’ became a pillar for showing this continuity, helping audiences understand that somatic practice isn't something separate from my artistry but deeply woven into it. It felt personally rewarding to feel the devotion I have towards my work I’ve created and fellow collaborators could join me in my professional & creative evolution tangibly and visibly.

I’ve had many new chapters and starting again, It’s always a blessing to expand rather than fresh sheet and I’m so happy this is my journey within my creative practice.

Eva and I  spent time crafting a clear message for a trailer thinking about how to use footage from my solo evolution alongside workshop moments and voiceover to communicate the heart of what I offer.  I am honoured to be able to have Dan Canham gifted support in the creation of the trailer. Please check out his work (  )

 Eva also helped me navigate something I had been wanting to spend more time with, exploring networking authentically, about how to share my work without drowning in social media pressure, and about continuing creating genuine spaces for collaboration. During March- July  turned out to be a personally  uncertain transitional period, the somatic practices we explored together became their own lesson in stability. That experience now informs how I hold space for others.

February First Cellular Wisdom Workshop at Middle Floor.

I had my first cellular wisdom work at the Middle Floor which was received so well.

This experienced showed me how accessible exploring cells can be and had a mix of people professional artist and students.

 Deepening the Research

 By April, I returned to Glastonbury for another week of research, this time focusing specifically on the waters and their history and amending the workshop with my new inspirations. I also got to know the local community more deeply and realised  the reality of how abundant Glastonbury is for somatic practitioners, almost saturated.  I decided to focus on sharing the workshops in spaces where there would be more variety of participants , reaching across ages and abilities, offering workshops in varied settings.

During my research I grew a deepening appreciation how to tap into the fully magnitude of Cellular Wisdom stems from being able to focus on the breathe, meditation and mindfulness are key routes to explore the depth of cellular sensations. I grew a steady appreciation of how to feel the water in our bodies and through my research it was evident supporting people to deepen their capacity to engage in mediation or mindfulness is a key route in feeling the sensations.

Expanding Horizons - ‘The Artist,The Warrior and The Mediator’ Retreat at Plum Village May 2024.

Attending The first ‘Artist retreat’ at Plum Village Buddhist Monastery in France opened up entirely new possibilities. I met international artists and practitioners who were working across different disciplines but united by a commitment to body awareness, mindfulness, and creating from a foundation of compassion. These values sit at the very heart of my movement and somatic practice. Being part of this specific retreat tapping into this global community felt like a coming home. We're still in touch, and collaborations continue to emerge from those connections. My biggest take away was how artist have such potential and power to support the collective in nourishing healing, supportive and inspiring conditions for the collective. Attending The Artist Retreat infused me with deep inspiration in continuing to make workshops that support people to feel connected to their bodies and each other to support collective healing.  

In May, I was invited to work with a grassroots charity called Roadblock, ( please see their website and amazing work they do ) bringing somatic movement to support their team in evaluating their creative and building processes. Watching how the practice helped create cohesion in this completely different context sparked a new realisation: this work could extend into organizational consultancy. Roadblock welcomed me into their team within Wellbeing and Mediation, and I'm continuing to explore this thread.

Plum Village July Family Summer Retreat

In July I returned to Plum Village Monastary for 4 weeks this time as a  volunteer at their international  family retreat, where I had time to deepen my own practice while offering workshops in a one-to-one context.  I was able to receive individual feedback from an international audience which helped me refine and clarify my approach in ways that group settings hadn't.

My Cellular Wisdom Movement workshops  Taking Shape

The Village Event.

 By August I felt inspired from my experience in Plum Village and rejuvenated in the practices being so well received. I led my Cellular Wisdom workshop at an event called The Village, welcoming people ranging from twenty-five to seventy years old to learn the anatomy of the blood cell and the Lymph Cells and T cells which are all part of the immune system. The participants came from such array of  diverse backgrounds: administrators, holistic practitioners, pharmacists, people of different ethnicities and life experiences. Seeing the practice resonate across all these differences confirmed how important it for people to have opportunities to slow down and come back to the body in a safe way .

I was also then invited to hold space for a circle of forty women exploring their relationships with their bodies, hearts, and relating to men. The somatic movement practice I'd been developing gave me the tools to hold that circle safely and effectively. It reinforced just how adaptable this work can be, how it can meet people exactly where they are.

Looking Forward

 After a year of exploring, being able to dedicate time to explore and share this practice across so many contexts, I feel clear about what I'm offering and how to reach the people who need it.

The trailer we're creating will bring together footage from workshops throughout the year, giving people a real sense of this work's evolution and accessibility.

 I'm now part of an international artist community that meets monthly online, continuing conversations started at the retreat. I'm in dialogue with collaborators from The Village about creating weekend workshops and longer immersive events. There are also exciting conversations happening about designing a long weekend event specifically for professional creatives and artists, focusing on wellbeing, inspiration, and connection. I've updated my website with insights from all the feedback received this year, and I have upcoming workshops scheduled at So Pilates Studio. The work with Roadblock continues, and I'm creating materials to approach other organisations about somatic wellbeing consultancy.

What started as a week exploring the idea of bees has become something I couldn't have imagined: a practice that moves fluidly between one-to-one work and large groups, between artistic communities and grassroots organisations, between local spaces and international networks. The thread running through it all is simple: creating accessible entry points for people to come home to their bodies, to find stability and inspiration through somatic awareness.

I really do believe supporting people to come back to this simple moment of breathe, movement and trusting in following their sensations offer the communities chances to have a moment of restbite, regain clarity, a moment to trust themselves and moment to not be so burden by life pace.

 I'm deeply grateful for everyone who's been part of this unfolding, and I'm excited to see where the practice leads next.

A big warm grateful thank you to Arts Council England Develop your Creative Practice Grant.

Eva Martinez - Mentorship

Otis jones for composing a cellular wisdom track for the workshops- Music

Caroline Blake- Mentorship Anthropology and Cell

Dan Canham- Trailer

 Plum Village Monastery to the Brothers , Sisters, fellow Artist and Volunteer who made my residency trip so deeply rewarding.

Rachel Dean- Mentorship within context of working with Younger people and movement- specific ages of 2- 12 years.

 RoadBlock Charity

The Village for having my workshop and to offer opportunities to hold space for the women circle.

The Middle Floor for having my February Flows - Cellular Wisdom Workshop and to all those that came.