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Keira Martin is a West Midlands based dancer, choreographer, teacher, mentor and musician. She began her dance adventure by ring-leading her friends into dancing in the streets with her for free tickets and camping at folk festivals. At age four Keira trained in traditional Irish step dance on a concrete floor in a church in Barnsley, before the age of ten she was competing at an international level.
A versatile and passionate artist with years of experience in performing to the max on-stage and crafting dance and creating imaginative choreography for a range of audiences and clients. Keira enjoys collaboration and exchanges, working with artists such as Rachael McShane from Bellowhead. Her loves are; traditional music and dance, the rush of being on stage, cultural diversity, folk-fusion, politics, reggae, helping young people to achieve their potential, hard-working ethos and keeping it real.
Keira's down-to-earth manner and knack of inspiring hard to reach people makes her an asset to community and outreach projects. With stroppy teenagers and young offenders being a speciality, she says 'bring on the challenge!' Keira wants to pass on her passion, give her a ring or drop her an email to discuss projects ideas.
Keira graduated from The Northern School of Contemporary Dance and then studied at New School for Dance Development in Amsterdam. She then performed world-wide for the following dance companies: Kompany Malakhi, Assault Events, Charlerio/PlanK, Biserk Dance, State of Emergency, Bermuda Dance Co, Nathan Trice Dance Rituals, Spirit of The Dance and undertaken projects with Jonathan Burrows, Yolande Snaith, Bawren Tavaziva, Beth Cassani, Donald Edwards, and Yael Flexor.
In 2005 she founded Keira Dance, a fusion of contemporary and Irish Dance styles using live music and song firmly rooted in tradition. The company's work grew with the support of Swindon Dance and The Corn Exchange and New Greenham Arts Centre in Newbury and the company embarked on a national tour of Threads in 2008/09, including dates at the Purcell Rooms, Southbank Centre and Greenwich Dance. Keiradance recently performed Threads on Thursday 5th May 2011 at The Purcell Rooms, London's Southbank Centre as part of 'These lands are our lands' festival, a weekend-long celebration of traditional music, dance and ceremony from Britain and beyond. Threads will tour again in spring 2010, contact Keira on 07967915696.
2005- Arts Council England South East grant for research and development.
2007- Swindon Dance The first Alpha Associates Award.
2008- The Garrick Trust sponsorship grant from in support of the Threads national tour 2008/09.
2008- West Berkshire Council commission in support of national tour of Threads.
2009- ROH2 'Firsts' Commission
Click here to download Keira Martin's 2010/11 CV
Photography above: Andrew Fleming www.andrewflemingphoto.com
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