Charlie Dixon in the Spotlight

Hi my name’s Charlie and I’m a freelance choreographer and dance practitioner. I have been part of the 4Motion team now for over eight years. After returning from teaching english in China, I was lucky enough to be welcomed into the team and haven’t looked back since. I started teaching in a few schools which developed further and further, and I have now taught in most primary schools in the area, delivering dance as part of the PE curriculum.

Special Educational Needs
I graduated from Trinity Laban Conservatoire for Music and Dance in 2011 with a BA (hons) in Dance Theatre, and have been teaching dance to young people since 2012. My area of expertise lies in teaching young people with special education needs and looked after children. My passion for creative learning and an openness to encourage inclusive dance has enabled me to work on some wonderful projects; including setting up several youth companies aimed at children with addition needs.

Dance Unite is our weekly session. It encourages dance fitness and coordination as well as building structure and unique friendships within the group. We know how important these sessions are to the participants and I’m truly grateful we were able to continue the project during lockdown.

I recently lead on the delivery of Arts Award discover program, which enabled six young people to pass the course using Zoom and interactive learning - a great achievement during these unprecedented times.

Choreographic Projects
My time at Laban was an enriching experience, and I focused a lot of time on choreographic projects, forming Charlie Dixon Dance Co in 2011, where I developed my degree piece, Wise Man, into a full length piece performed at many platforms and festivals for emerging choreographers.

I am very proud to have created a commission with Epic Arts; an international inclusive charity based in Cambodia with a residency to create new dance work for their graduating students.

For the past 4 years, I have been producer of a choreographic event, Scratch , which is an eclectic mixed bill to showcase emerging choreographers. Scratch offers a platform for artists to share new work and build connections within a local venue. Hopefully Scratch will return in 2021.

Working with 4Motion
Some of my highlights working with 4Motion have been performing as part of the Brighton Fringe Festival. The Kiosk was performed at the top of a pub, where we did an epic nine performances in three days. Not sure I could manage that anymore! We’ve had many exciting opportunities with 4Motion and this has also included our youth company, where I have been part of the choreographic process in projects such as the Festival on the Estate, Berkshire Games opening ceremony, Big Dance, Hot House dance platform for excellence (Eastleigh), Windsor Fringe Festival and Woking Dance platforms. Alongside this, I have been working with the 4Motion Youth ambassadors; a program which supports young people with volunteer work and leadership skill enhancing through the arts.

Outside of my freelance schedule, I work as Assistant Front of House Manager at The Place in London. I have recently trained as a mental health first aider for young people as professional development; an area I hope to learn and develop more.

I’m also a huge film fan and love getting lost in a good book. I really miss going to the theatre and seeing new work, and can’t wait to do this and see our industry thrive one again.

I love the buzz around 4Motion and have met some life long friends. We all bounce off each other and no idea is a bad idea. One small idea becomes a project and we run with it. Having that creative freedom is amazing and, quite frankly, truly unique.