Miss Sian Hopkins

Biography

Siân Hopkins is a performer, creator, and teacher. She holds a First-Class Honours degree in Dance, and an MA with Distinction in Dance Performance with Specialisation in Ritual from Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance. Since graduating, she has had the pleasure of working with a variety of companies, independent artists, and projects both near and far.

The most inspirational time she spent dancing was in cathedrals and sacred sites with Moving Visions Dance Theatre (2006-2018), seeking the numinous and exploring meaning in the arts. This work led to pursuing a career in dance education and becoming Research Assistant to Dr Ross McKim as well as Principal Artist and Rehearsal Director for the company. Siân is Lead Lecturer for Contemporary Dance with the ISTD, training teachers and examiners in the contemporary syllabi. Her research interests lie in teaching methodologies focussed on the cultivation of positive self-perception through dance training and performance.

Having been a dance lecturer at Rambert School and guest teacher at dance institutions around the UK as well Japan, Singapore, Vietnam and Canada, currently Siân is a lecturer at Middlesex University, where she has restaged iconic works and choreographed for graduation showcases. Choreographic commissions include collaborative screendance productions and various site-specific and cathedral-based projects along with Cantata Dramatica's choral dramatisations. 

Siân co-founded Kamavera Dance Theatre with musician and composer Tom Kirkpatrick in 2019, engaging in collaborative creativity and expression through screendance and live performance. The themes explored through the company’s work aim to inspire curiosity and reflection, going hand in hand with the belief that dance enables us to become more empathetic, open, and generous human beings.

Teaching

DAN3622 - Directed Performance (Module Leader)

DAN3633 - Creative Performance (Module Leader)

DAN3611 - Applied Professional Practice (Module Tutor)

DAN3623/3624 - Dance Techniques (Module Tutor)

DAN2522 - Dance Techniques and Performance (Module Tutor)

DAN1411 - The Emerging Dance Artist (Module Tutor)

ISTD Diploma in Dance Pedagogy (Joint Lead)

New Horizons Dance Festival (Curator / Event Manager)