Dance Artist
Having taught dance for over twenty years, I'm passionate about developing the individuals confidence - deepening their understanding of the fundamental principles of contact and breaking down personal barriers. My aim is to provide an enriched and rewarding creative process that ignites and fuels their passion for dance making.
Technique Class
I teach a fast paced, dynamic and technically challenging contemporary dance technique class. As a dancer, I loved to be pushed and to feel exhilarated by the movement. Inspired by Limon technique and artists such as Kerry Nicholls and Stephen Pelton, I enjoy playing with risk taking, fast changes of direction and highly physical floor work.
It's important to me that a dancer feels ‘safe’ in the studio and I create an environment that allows a dancer to feel they can be braver and bolder with movement.
Knowing that I have mentally challenged my students every time they are in the studio gives me great satisfaction.
Specialist in Contact Improvisation, Lifting and Partner work
Having worked as a dancer for Motionhouse for nearly ten years, Artistic Director Kevin Finnan has inspired and led me towards my passion for teaching contact improvisation.
I believe that contact dance is an essential part of a dancers training. I am motivated by the huge growth I see when an individual discovers their confidence in this technique.
By teaching the building blocks of contact and fundamental weight taking and exchange principles in a fun and engaging way, trust and confidence is quickly built within the group. Exploring dynamic and exciting ways to ‘lift’ and take weight, breaking down the personal barriers and encouraging an ethos of ‘I can’ and self belief to empower each dancer and in turn supporting their development.
Choreography and Creation
I create work for performance by using contact improvisation and partnering skills mixed with my own personal movement vocabulary.
Through creative tasks and choreographic briefs, I work with individual dancers and groups to create a language that is specific to both. By nurturing the dancers through this process, I create an experience that is both enjoyable to be part of and to watch.
Testimonials
Claire is an outstanding practitioner who has simply ignited our young dancers and performers. She provides hugely challenging movement direction whilst offering considerable support and encouragement at all times. She treats my dancers with respect, as professionals, but does not pander to a hesitant or self-conscious attitude and gets startling results from them. Their performance work mirrors that of Motionhouse – passionate, dynamic and beautifully expressive. With Altiora, our fledgling contemporary dance company she has instilled a passion at a very early stage and the company is both supportive of one another and confident to develop, explore and refine their emerging skills, all under the leadership and creativity of Claire – to whom we are greatly indebted.
Mike Perry, Head of Drama, Warwick School
Claire's classes are highly technical, very energetic, fast-paced, challenging and packed full of fun. With her good sense of humour and very friendly demeanour she manages to bring the best out in everyone and motivate the class even when things get tricky. She is a beautiful dancer herself which gives every student something to aspire to.
Nina Burges - Dancer BA(Hons)