BELLATRIX
I’m very passionate abut working in learning & participatory settings, which has become central to who I am as an artist. I feel that my work as a performer and as a space holder for learning come hand in hand, deeply enriching one another.
My experience spans across a broad range of settings and circumstances, and I love to work with humans of all ages.
I believe that the voice can be a key, and that being given the space and the tools to explore our voices can help us to access things like joy, confidence, self expression and of course creativity.
I have taught workshops and masterclasses at lots of different festivals and institutions including:
WOMAD Festival, Aarhus Vocal Festival (Denmark), SoJam Festival (USA), Banlieue Bleues Festival (France), BIMM Institute, Leeds College of Music, Trinity Laban, Brighter Sound, Southbank Centre, Barbican Centre, Roundhouse, Battersea Arts Centre, Wigmore Hall, Birmingham International Dance Festival, Brighton Dome, Bristol Trinity, and many more.
Here are some specific notable examples of the individual and group learning work I’ve done:
- I’m currently coaching Birmingham Poet Laureate Jasmine Gardosi.
- I mentored & taught beatboxing to Grace Savage, who went on to become a multi UK champion, professional beatboxing artist and my collaborator in our beatboxing duo BURD.
- Vocal Beats.
I was an artist in residence on the paediatric ward at the Royal Brompton Hospital (heart & lung), and the Teenage & Young Adult ward at the Royal Marsden hospital (cancer). Working with Vocal Beats - an award-nominated project that provides opportunities for young people in hospital to make music - I had the privilege of being part of a team that worked with young people and families in extremely challenging and scary circumstances. From 2017 - 2021
- Barbican Box - A Barbican Creative Learning project.
The Barbican box is a physical box and learning resource, filled with the ingredients for making original artistic work. The boxes are given to 10+ different schools in London as part of a learning project with the teachers and pupils.
In 2016 I was the curator artist for the Barbican Music Box, designing a music project which culminated in a live performance in the Barbican main space including 13 different schools.
In 2020 I was an artist mentor to assist the curators in delivering the project, which culminated in a recorded album including 11 different schools.
- Roundhouse International Programme & On Mass
In 2017 I worked as a beatboxing mentor in a collaboration between Roundhouse International and Dharavi Rocks - an educational music & dance programme for young people in Dharavi, Mumbai. Roundhouse International was established to platform the talents of young artists and to encourage collaborations between established and emerging artists around the world.
Alongside a dance group and a drumming group, we created a cross-arts performance with 50 young performers and an audience of over 3000 in Dharavi.
Several ambassador young artists from Dharavi then joined us in London later in the year for the On Mass performance in the Roundhouse main space, featuring 5x Grammy winning artist Angelique Kidjo and a range of emerging and professional artists from the UK, Palestine, Brazil and The Faroe Islands.
Several of the young artists from this project have gone on to have successful careers in beatboxing and vocalism.
- Barbican Changemakers Project - 100 Years of Suffrage.
In this week long project I worked with students and teachers in Barking & Dagenham from Sydney Russell School - one of Britain’s largest secondary schools. Marking the 100 year anniversary of suffrage, we explored through music and words what it means to be a change maker, culminating in a performance in the school hall to friends and family. 2018