Kaia China- sawyer – Joining the Year 3 cohort on the BA (HONS) Diverse Dance Styles.

I am so grateful for IRIE! dance theatre. The opportunity to join the third year has not only allowed me to expand my skill set and grow as a dancer but I truly feel I have discovered my identity as an artist. The sense of community is uplifting and incredibly encouraging and I have felt an overwhelming amount of support from my tutors and peers when being welcomed as a student who joined later in the course.

The experiences that have been provided this year have given me an insight into the industry and solidified my ambition to dance professionally, especially throughout the process of our third year Company Connecting Vibes. Intertwining the styles of West African, Caribbean, Urban and contemporary dance, we worked with our tutors to create a powerful and dynamic piece of theatre that we have been touring this year.

I have really enjoyed this experience and it has contributed massively to my growth as a dancer and artist. Throughout this process and my year of training I have been introduced to new genres of dance and educated on the history of many different cultures. I am a completely different dancer to what I ever imagined I could become after my training here and I will be finishing IRIE! with memories I will never forget. If I could do this year all over again I would do it in a heartbeat!