Saydi Jones

 

Artist Profile/Biography

Trained at London Contemporary Dance School, Coventry University for the Performing Arts and Newcastle College for the Performing Arts (Dance City). This followed her RAD Classical Ballet training as a child with the Solihull School of Ballet, West Midlands Youth Ballet, DanceXchange and courses at The Royal Ballet and The Birmingham Royal Ballet. After completing her professional training in 1996, she gained a scholarship to train at Jacobs Pillow Dance (USA) with the Paul Taylor Dance Company and Taylor 2 Dance Company. Saydi has also worked alongside a variety of choreographers and dance companies including Motionhouse Dance Theatre, Kenneth Tharpe (Choreodrome), Lea Anderson, Richard Alston Dance Company, STOMP, Small Bones Dance Company, Ijad Dance Company and Magpie Dance Company.

Founder and Co-director of the Booming Cherries Dance Partnership (a creative contemporary dance company that specialises in roving, site specific street performance) and has performed all over the UK at festivals and theatres including Islington International Street Festival, Brighton Festival, Bristol Festival, Jackson's Lane Theatre, Chisenhale Dance Space, Trinity LABAN and The Place Theatre, London. The Booming Cherries Dance Partnership were also invited to be part of Dance Umbrella, Resolution and Evolution at The Place Theatre, London. Alongside her dance career Saydi worked backstage as part of the Production Team for 5 years in the West End, London at theatres including Phoenix Theatre (Blood Brothers), Criterion Theatre (Reduced Shakespeare Co), Palace Theatre (Les Miserables) Piccadilly Theatre (Peter Hall Company) and Donmar Warehouse, Covent Garden (The Fix, Nine, The Front Page, The Blue Room).

In 2000 she qualified as a Massage Therapist (plus 1^st Degree Reiki Therapist) and as part of the Special Educational Team at Westminster Kingsway College taught creative movement and massage. Following that she worked as a Key Worker and Dance Tutor for Scotts Project for Adults with Learning Difficulties in Tonbridge, Kent. Saydi moved to Wales in 2002 and began working as a Community Dance Practitioner for TAN Dance in Swansea and Neath/Port Talbot. Initially managing the "Keep Active" project (using creative dance and massage in care homes for the elderly) but then moving on to work with schools, colleges and youth centres across Swansea and West Wales specialising in facilitating dance groups for adults with learning disabilities.

Saydi joined the creative team at Valley and Vale Community Arts in 2003 as a Dance Development Officer and during that time worked within Primary, Secondary, Further and Higher Education alongside working closely with adults with Learning Disabilities, Mental Health Charities and a variety of vulnerable minority groups. Collaborations included Carlson Dance Company, DYNION Dance Company, National Dance Company Wales, Beyond Repair, Bridgend Youth Dance, Green Candle Dance Company, Base Dance Company and partnerships with Rubicon, Pupils Referral Unit, Welsh Independent Dance and Community Dance Wales. During this time Saydi trained and used the “Isadora” computer imaging program and experienced the collaboration of live performance using “Isadora” with Troika Ranch Dance Company, USA. She has also performed with the Valleys Dance Initiative touring collaborative performances with choreographer Diccon Hogger (Base Dance Company).

From 2002-2009 Saydi was a serving soldier in the British Army, Royal Logistic Corps (Reserves)  obtaining her HGV, Coach and Motorbike license. She also worked within the Recruit Training Team training new soldiers ready for the Basic Training. Alongside routine training exercises across the UK, in 2004 she was mobilised to Basra, Iraq for 8 months and formed part of the UK Coalition Protection Force. 

In the year that followed Saydi travelled extensively to Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand and upon returning to the UK, worked for Andy Middleton from "TYF Adventure" based in St Davids, Pembrokeshire. As part of the pioneering outdoors team Saydi trained in the disciplines of rock climbing, surfing, kayaking and Coasteering alongside researching sustainability and environmental science from within the outdoor adventure industry. As part of the British Army Adventure Training she also is qualified as a BCU 3 star surf and a BCU 3 star river kayaker.

In 2010 she worked as a Dance Development Worker for Arts Care Gofal Celf and taught a variety of ages and abilities across the community and education sector in Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. She also assisted in the project management of the Arts Care D10 Dance Festival in Llanelli in July 2010. This involved choreographing and managing over 400 young dancers and adults from Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire that resulted in an all day open-air dance performance event at the Millennium Coastal Park, Llanelli. Following this Saydi worked as Choreographer with Mess Up the Mess Theatre Company also in Carmarthenshire.

Since 2011, Saydi has been the Senior Lecturer for Skills and Progression as part of the School of Creative, Visual and Performing Arts at NPTC Group in Neath College, South Wales and responsible for the coordination of the Advanced Welsh Baccalaureate for CVP students. As a member of the CVP Management Team she is also responsible for the GCSE Literacy and Numeracy progression for the School of CVP.

She is the OCR Level 2 Performing Arts Course Coordinator for Grass Roots Theatre Company and Full Time Lecturer on the BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma - Dance and Performing Arts courses. Specialist subjects include, Contemporary Dance Technique, Tap Dance, Performance Project, Physical Theatre, Dance Showcase, Ballet Technique and Performing Arts Business. Saydi also contributes choreographically to the extra curricular LIFT Dance Company that perform each year at the Taliesin Theatre, Swansea University.

Collaborations with NPTC Group include TAN Dance, Volcano Theatre, Valley and Vale Community Arts, Ballet Cymru and Harnish Lacey Dance Company alongside providing opportunities for the students to take part in LIFT Dance Company, Hedfan Community Dance Group, National Dance Company Wales and a variety of industry based workshops with professional performers and practitioners from the UK.

In 2015 she embarked on an epic 5 week journey around India and Nepal with her husband and two year old son exploring India from Delhi to Kerala and spending time with survivors of the Nepal earthquake in a small village on the outskirts of Kathmandu and the Everest foothills. A keen traveller, camper and backpacker, Saydi always has the next adventure in the pipeline.

She currently lives in Ogmore Vale, Bridgend with her husband and 2 young children and has recently added a beautiful Irish Cob "George" to the family who enjoys riding on the beach and is another exciting chapter to her future adventures.