What I love the most about being an artist is the community and connection aspect of all the job roles I have stepped into. To be in a room of artists that enjoy and ooze passion for the job role is something I wasn’t prepared for. To all be working hard towards a shared goal, gives me goosebumps thinking about. We explore, play, laugh, train, sweat and make art. It is up there with one of the hardest and most rewarding journeys I have undertaken in my life.
Meet Benedicta Mamuini
I started dancing with the company when I was on a long-term work-based placement as part of my post graduate studies at the age of 21. I was then offered professional contracts with the company for various shows. I have been a Resident Artist with the company and performed lead roles in The Lost Happy Endings and Rapunzel, which was so challenging, rewarding and tingly!
I am currently teaching community classes forthe company. It is a different set of skills needed to plan, action and convey an idea to varying age groups.
Everything I have done throughout the company has led me to this current moment, where I get to experience what is like being the creative facilitator and watching how it is picked up and actioned!
The best part about being a dancer is making friends and working together. We laugh, play, practise, and create amazing things. It’s really hard sometimes, but it makes me super proud.
What’s your favourite part of your job?
What or who first got you into dance?
I started dancing at the age of 15/16. I followed a friend of mine to an after-school club and from that moment I was hooked. I then took dance as a GCSE and A-Level. I used to improvise in my bedroom to different music videos, and during most of my school lunch breaks, I would be in the studio, choreographing and dancing with friends. Whilst discovering this life changing hobby I never thought it could be a career.
What’s your favourite balletLORENT family show and why?
My favourite show was The Lost Happy Endings. The making process was so much fun, as we got to explore different characters and animals. The show was mammoth; the amount of costume changes and choreography was incredibly challenging in the best way possible. So, when I was offered the lead role, due to Natalie being on maternity leave I was terrified and overjoyed. The process of reshaping Jub’s character was intense. From figuring out how movement vocabulary to her relationship with the animals and her world was so rewarding.