Grace Sellwood

Associate Lecturer in Dance

I'm a dance performer, dance teacher, aerial performer, matwork and aerial pilates instructor, choreographer and dreamer working from my base in Cornwall, UK. I began my full time dance training at Roehampton University graduating with a 1st class BA (hons) in 2008. After which I joined Mapdance company touring Nationally and Internationally whilst also completing an MA in Dance Performance at Chichester University. During this time I worked with choreographers Shobana Jeyasingh, Ben Wright, Charles Linehan, Liz Aggiss & Lalia Diallo.After being involved in many different dance projects with companies such as Cscape Dance, Angela Praed, Freefall Dance, I wanted to pursue something in a different realm, so I turned my focus to aerial performance.

In 2013 I feel in love with aerial harness work, particularly vertical dance and bungee dance. Since then I have worked extensively, as an aerial performer, with both Wired Aerial Theatre (As The World Tipped, To Me, To You) and Yskynna Vertical Dance (Hyreth, Bligh Spirit), travelling Nationally and Internationally to various music and arts festivals including Sziget/ Budapest, Angers/ France, Santiago/ Chile, Womadalaide/ Australia (with Wired) and Glastonbury/ UK, Boomtown/ UK with Yskynna. I also am very proud of working and touring with Golden Tree Productions as one of their puppeteers for Man Engine, the largest mechanical puppet ever constructed in Britain (2016 & 2018).

I have recently become a Master Trainer for Bungee Workout TM created by Wired Aerial Theatre, and have also taught as an Associate Lecturer at Falmouth University for the last 8 years, teaching floor based technique for 2nd - 3rd years.I also regularly teach Pilates for Cscape Pilates, and have most recently gained my qualification (and love for!) Aerial Pilates with Air Control Pilates, becoming the first qualified Aerial Pilates teacher in Cornwall & Devon. In 2010, I co-founded Freefall Dance classes based in Falmouth, and have over the past 10 years, built up a never-ending and constantly growing, Freefall 'family' who regularly attend our weekly classes. These classes are thriving, and incorporate a mixture of ages (17 - 75!) and mixture of backgrounds and experiences. A class I look forward to teaching every week! For more info about how to get involved with these classes, please visit: www.freefalldance.co.uk

External websites

https://www.gracesellwood.co.uk

Email	grace.sellwood@falmouth.ac.uk

Qualifications

Year	Qualification	Awarding body
2018	Aerial Pilates Teacher Training	Air Control
2013	Pilates Matwork Teacher Training	Pilates Foundation
2009	MA Dance Performance	No data
2008	BA (Hons) Dance Studies	No data

Membership of external committees

Equity

Research Interests

Research interests and expertise

Floor work (including Flying- Low Technique)
Training for floor work - e.g. Ido Portal, Fighting Monkey
Pilates for dancers
Bodywork
Vertical Dance
Bungee Dance
Counterweighting
Movement for Actors/ Performance
Character work/ development

Research Outputs

Publications and research outputs

Performance

Blonska, Agnieszka, Dobson, Emily and Sellwood, Grace (2016) Wild Women. [Performance]

+2 more...

Birch, Simon, Dobson, Emily and Sellwood, Grace (2015) Words Move… commissioned by Freefall Dance. [Performance]

Events

Year	Description
2011	Co-produced Freefall Summer Intensive: Cai Tomos, Victoria Fox, Rahel Vonmoos
2012	Co-produced Freefall Summer Intensive: Ben Wright, Annie Lok, James Finnemore, Caroline Lofthouse
2013	Co-produced Freefall Summer Intensive: Yael Flexer, Helen Parlor, Charlotte Eatock
2014	Co-produced Freefall Summer Intensive: Joss Arnott, Charlotte Eatock, Simon Birch, Clare Meardon, Amely Instance, Primal Fitness
2015	Impustanz Training (Vienna) -- David Zambrano (Flying-low technique), Laura Aris (The Playful Body), Ultmia Vez (Rep workshop)
2015	Co-produced Freefall Summer Intensive: Luke Birch, KJ Mortimer, Simon Birch, Tom Jackson-Greaves, Charlotte Eatock, Sally Knight
2016	Co produced Freefall Summer Intensive: Nikki O'Hara, Harlan Rust, Luke Birch, Charlotte Eatock, Simon Birch, Sally Knight
2017	Co-produced Freefall Summer Intensive: Lotte Dekkers, Victoria Fox, Sioda Martin, Rob Mennear
2018	Vertical Dance Forum: 'Blank Canvas Lab' Ireland. June 13th - 19th Collaboration between VDF choreographers to learn more about each other’s practice, alongside a professional mentor posing questions around the theme of collaboration.
2018	Air Control Pilates: Aerial Pilates Teacher Training Level 1. Greece. 5 days
2019	Produced Freefall Summer Intensive: Becky Namguads, Becci Williams, Kuldip Singh-Barmi, Kay Crook
2020	Produced Freefall Summer Intensive ONLINE: Rose Sall Sao, Kay Crook, Aaron Vickers, Amely Instance, Sally Knight

Teaching

Areas of teaching

Contemporary technique (floor work based)
Pilates

Courses taught

Dance & Choreography BA(Hons)

Policy engagement within Cornwall

Engagement with organisations which contribute to the development of educational, cultural or socio-economic policies in Cornwal

Artistic Director, Freefall Dance, Cornish based Dance organisation - dance training for community & professionals
Co-director, Off The Wall Aerial Dance Circus - performance & workshops
Aerial performer, Wired Aerial Theatre -- International/ National touring
Pilates Instructor, Cscape Pilates, A Cornwall based Pilates company

Professional engagement

Independent professional practice

Performance
2020
Wired Aerial Theatre, As The World Tipped -- Womadelaide, Adelaide, Australia
2019
Wired Aerial Theatre, As The World Tipped -- Wentworth, UK
Urban Playground, Zoo Humans -- National Tour (May - October)
2018
Urban Playground, Zoo Humans -- Performance Parkour, Schools Tour
Wired Aerial Theatre, To Me, To You...re-development & Tour
Wired Aerial Theatre, As The World Tipped -- Chile/ Budapest, Tour
Golden Tree Productions, Man Engine -- National tour
Yskynna Vertical Dance, Milan -- Royal William Yard Performance
2017
Urban Playground, One Language Is Never Enough -- Cornwall, R&D
Wired Aerial Theatre, As The World Tipped -- France, Performance
Yskynna Vertical Dance, If You Go Down To The Woods -- Cornwall, Multiple Performances
Wired Aerial Theatre, To Me, To You -- UK National Tour (Bungee and dance)
Glastonbury Festival, Game On! -- Festival, Multiple Performances
Boomtown Fair, Stage Takeovers -- Festival, Multiple Performances
Yskynna Vertical Dance, Bligh Spirit -- Cornwall, Performance
2016
Yskynna Vertical Dance, BBC Children in Need -- Live TV, Performance
Yskynna Vertical Dance, Hyreth -- Plymouth, Multiple Performances
Golden Tree Productions, Man Engine -- Cornwall, Tour
Me, But Bigger - Grace Clayton -- Cornwall, Mutiple Performances
Freefall Dance, Wild Women -- Cornwall, Performance
Boomtown Fair, Stage Takeovers -- Festival, Multiple Performances
Glastonbury Festival, Transmission -- Festival, Multiple Performances
2015
Freefall Dance, Awakening -- South West, Tour (Yael Flexer & Simon Birch)
Sophie Colthurst Dance Projects, Bundles of Perceptions -- Intnl, Film
2014
Gemma Abbott, Fascinate -- National, Film
2013
Cscape Dance, Glendurgan Gold -- Cornwall, Multiple Performances
Cscape Dance, The Venus Flower -- Cornwall, Multiple Performances
Rob Garwood, Repeat -- International, Film
2012
Cscape Dance, December Magic -- Cornwall, Multiple Performances
Emily Dobson, Effete -- Cornwall, Multiple Performances
Angela Praed, Duet for a Bed of Leaves -- PDSW, Performance
2011
Attik Dance, Market Bizarre -- Plymouth, Multiple Performances

Choreography
2019
307 -- Six women, with an average age of 51 between them, all on different paths, and at different stages of that path. Take a glance into their lives to see, similarities, differences, quirks, habits, memories, poems they can never forget, and some stubborn personality traits. If there was one thing you could describe as you, what would it be?With a collective age of 307 years, dive into 6 individuals lives, which one is more like you?
Choreography: Grace Sellwood in collaboration with the dancers
Directed by: Grace Sellwood
Performed By: Tamsin Blight, Clare Lowry, Chalotte Luke, Yael Matt, Jilly Slater & Cathy Whitmore
This choreography is still in the process of development. Aiming to complete & tour in 2021.

24 -- An insight into the life of Charlotte Luke, aged 24. What really makes her tick? What makes her...well, her? Can you deconstruct someone to the bare bones of who they are in 20 mins? An electric mix in snippets of her memories, collections and experiences as we join Charlotte in her life at the age of 24.
A 2019 Commission from Charlotte Luke (DYCP - ACE funded)
Choreography: Grace Sellwood in collaboration with Charlotte Luke
Directed by: Grace Sellwood
Performed by: Charlotte Luke
Voiceover: Ollie McFarlane

Professional/scholarly development

Course:

Hands & Wrists: Anatomy & Movement (Alastair Greetham - Polestar Pilates)

Year of completion:

2020

Related courses

Course

Dance & Choreography BA(Hons)

Launch your career as a dancer and celebrate your unique potential as an artist with this skills-focused dance degree. Throughout this course, you’ll...