Dance Artist. Psychological Mentor; speaker and workshop facilitator.
Natalie embodies the Light of Mind message of creative expression and vitality. Her loving, warm vibration fills up any space she inhabits. You can feel her inspiring energy as she enters the space! As with all Light of Mind practitioners, Natalie is unique, and her contribution to the team is totally individual.
She is fascinated with how humans connect with their dreams and passions to turn them into realities. Natalie's passion was discovered young in her talent for expressing herself through movement and dance. As a determined and focused child, she entered professional dance training age 9. At 16 she left the comfort of her home and family in Yorkshire, moving to London to train full-time at the world-renowned Rambert School. After years of rigorous training, Natalie's dreams became a reality when she graduated with a first-class honours degree in Ballet and Contemporary Dance and gained her first professional contract with Phoenix Dance Theatre. She has danced at the highest level of contemporary dance, touring around the UK, Europe, and China, working with critically acclaimed choreographers.
As you might expect, Natalie's journey as a professional dancer was not without struggles. She learned that when the sole aim of professional training environments is 'striving for success', the individual's inner peace and worth can be covered up. These environments create incredible levels of dedication and sacrifice but have the risk of reducing someone’s worth to their success in a highly competitive and often unjust industry.
After year's meeting the demands of a high-performance industry, Natalie felt passionate about using her lived experience and knowledge of the 'system' to support the talented people of the future. She believes that through empowering individuals, they can approach their training and careers with a broader sense of their identity and the power they have to craft their lives. Not one to do things by halves, Natalie returned to studying and completed a master's degree in psychology achieving a distinction.
As a Light of Mind practitioner, Natalie can be your psychological mentor, supporting you 1:1 to be in the driving seat of your success whilst prioritizing your worth and individuality.
Natalie and Mary met when Mary was a guest on the Mantality podcast. Natalie got lost on her journey to Halifax, leaving her late for their appointment. Despite only speaking once on the phone, Natalie ran up to Mary greeting her with a big hug in a beautiful open-hearted way. At that moment, Mary knew this would be more than a one-off collaboration, and she was right! Natalie lives in Leeds with her partner Stevie Ward and loves getting out into nature, wild swimming and drinking lots of great coffee in art-filled coffee shops.
Her favourite moments in her week are seeing the talented young people she coaches become fiercely and unapologetically themselves, crafting their futures just how they want them.
Watch Natalie perform on stage with Opera North
Credentials
Natalie is a:
- Graduate psychologist with the British Psychological Society
- Professional dance artist with a decade's worth of performing experience
- Mentor/psychological coach (young people age 13-30) in professional training programmes and for individuals striving in high-performing careers
- Development Lead for Mantality, a counselling and coaching service revolutionizing how men approach their mental health
- Dance and movement teacher at leading institutions, such as Northern Ballet and Phoenix Dance Theatre.
- Art practitioner using movement and dance to improve peoples ability to connect to their wellbeing