Glanio yn Llandrindod: Meet the Dancers!

Meet the dancers, who along with the Glanio collective, will be in Llandrindod this Autumn as part of the Glanio project.

The project explores our interdependent relationship with the natural world, connection to place and creative responses to the climate and ecological emergency; looking back through memory, grounding in the present and dreaming into new possibilities for our intertwined futures together.

Below you will find some information about each of the dancers, as well as their thoughts going into Glanio yn Llandrindod.

Orion Hart

Orion began taking dance classes at the age of 15 at Aberystwyth Arts Centre, and went on to study at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, completing a BA in Contemporary Dance and receiving a Mercers' Arts Award to go on to do a MA in Dance Performance as part of Transitions Dance Company. He has performed work by a number of choreographers including Wayne Parsons, Ben Wright, Sir Mathew Bourne, Richard Chappell, Hagit Yakira, Sara Green, Holly Noble, Jo Fong and Angharad Lee, as well as collaborating with Punchdrunk as part of the Selfridges Everybody Project, and Siobhan Davies Dance as part of Darkened Room: What Do You See? He was also a guest performer at the All Japan Dance Festival in 2018.

Orion about Glanio yn Llandrindod:

“I am very excited to be involved in Glanio, as I have been passionate about nature ever since I was a child. Growing up, my mother was part of a theatre company called Purple Broccoli that performed shows such as The Lorax in schools, to raise awareness about the importance of conserving nature and protecting the planet, and my experience of being at rehearsals and watching the shows had a profound impact on me. I believe that art can be an incredibly powerful tool for shaping people's perceptions, and when used in a positive way can have an amazing impact on the world. Developing a personal connection to nature is one of the best ways to encourage people to care about conserving it on a global level, and I hope that Glanio can help people to do exactly that.”

Christiane Stroubakis

Christiane is a freelance Dance artist, She trained at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park - Bretton Hall. Whilst attending a variety of classes in Leeds. She later achieved a BA (Hons) in Contemporary Arts Practice, at Leeds Beckett University. Where she focused on creating experimental films, site-specific performances and developed an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to dance.

She is also qualified as a masseuse and reflexologist. Having a keen interest in holistic therapies, and attending workshops in meditation and metaphysics. She studied acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine for four years and is now looking at ways these studies can become integral to her dance practice.

Over the past 15 years, she has taught hip-hop and contemporary dance, in a variety of community settings. As well as teaching and performing abroad. She choreographed a piece called ‘Fine Line’ for the ‘Dance Days International Festival’ in Crete. She has worked for a variety of companies such as ‘Instant Dissidence ' with Rita Marcarlo, ‘Our House Productions’ with Nathaniel Mellors, and more. She, with others, has created and performed at various underground and grassroots events and festivals.

Christiane about Glanio yn Llandrindod:

"I am looking forward to getting started on the Glanio project. It is refreshing to see a shift in awareness of how we impact our environment and how we embody a more humanistic approach to creating work. I'm excited to explore how we can do this and to develop my connection to nature."

Bethan Cooper

Photo Credit: ***@twocatsintheyardphotography***

Bethan is a Dance Artist and Pilates teacher based in Powys. After training in London, she returned to Wales and is passionate about creating dance work and opportunities in Wales. Bethan is a practitioner with Impelo, recently producing Prosiect Epynt - a co-devised, bilingual project bringing arts and our local history to life through dance. She is also a performer with Brecon Festival Ballet and Osian Meilir's Qwerin.

Bethan about Glanio yn Llandrindod:

“I was fortunate to be involved with the first iteration of Glanio in 2021. It was a unique experience to work with such knowledgeable artists, and I can honestly say one of the most supportive environments I’ve worked in. The team approached the project with such care and consideration for the artists, audience and the environment around them and I’m really excited to be involved in the next steps. Something I'm looking forward to is performing outdoors. A lot of my recent work has been outdoors and I love how close you can be to your audience.. Finding those moments of connection, drawing the audience in and framing what you want them to see. I think it’s rare to see so first-hand and so instantly the effect dance can have on people and I'm curious to see how we play with this audience/performer relationship during Glanio yn Llandrindod.”