March 21, 2024 ancaster
Our influential dancer today is Hannah Sampson. Hannah is a professional dancer for Stopgap Dance Company in the UK. She is a choreographer, a performer, and a teacher. Hannah also has Down Syndrome.
Since the age of five (5) Hannah has been dancing and passionately turning it into a career. She was inspired when the song “Tragedy” by Steps came out. She knew all the choreography and dreamed of being a star on the stage!
She began at Miss Virginia’s School of Ballet in Cobham, Surrey, UK. Like some of our own dancers at NJADS, Hannah did her grades through the RAD program (Royal Academy of Dance). While in secondary school Hanna studied for two years in dance for her GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education). She would then continue her education earing a Business and Technology Education Council certificate from Kingston College in performing arts.
When she was 13, Stopgap came to her local group to run a workshop. Stopgap is an inclusive dance company hiring and working with dancers of all abilities. While working on her education Hannah did several workshops with Stopgap and at the age of 19 became one of the original Apprentice Dancers in their Youth Company.
As a part of the program with the Stopgap Youth Company, Hannah would not only gain experience in performance but also in travelling on tour and developing teaching skills. Hannah continued to move up in Stopgap into sg2 and would graduate in 2016 to become a part of the main touring company.
Hannah is now a senior dance artist teaching and inspiring other dancers with her story. She has a selection of dance projects to her name including:
Performances:
- Chris Pavia’s choreographic work Shadowed Voices (performed at schools and conferences across the UK, and for the Albanian President in 2010)
- Chris Pavia’s Captured by the Dark (Resolution! 2013 at the Place, London)
- Chris Pavia’s The Awakening (2014, Southbank London)
- The Seafarers (2015)
- The Enormous Room (2017)
- Frock
Collaborations:
- Exhibition
- The Awakening
- Night at the Theatre (choreographed by Tim Casson)
Hannah is currently working on a production for the 24 works hard training and rehearsing five (5) days a week. She is also a great advocate for inclusive dance spaces and education. She gets her inspiration for her creative works from feelings and images. She finds movement in them and translates them into dance. Hannah Sampson is truly a wonderful example of a dancer breaking down barriers and chasing what she loves.