Nafisah. Artist - Professional Dancer

Nafisah is a twenty-three-year-old professional dancer from South Ruislip. She has been in the dance industry for five years. In 2017 she won BBC’s Young Dancer of the Year! Nafisah is now currently part of the cast for the new dance-theatre West-End show Message in A Bottle.

(The show is currently on hold due to Coronavirus)

How did you get into your field? What inspired you?

‘I've been dancing my whole life. My mum took me to dance classes when I was three as I was always moving and had so much energy! When I was a bit older, I would take classes after school and at the weekend, and my hobby soon became my passion.

A few things inspired me, my dance teachers definitely but I also remember the moment I was inspired to become a dancer professionally. I was fifteen and in Cuba for a month with my dance school at the time, attending a summer intensive. We had a performance which I absolutely loved, and I remember coming off stage with the buzz off it all, and realising that dancing was what I definitely wanted to do!’

What did you study and did this help you get into your field?

‘At high school I studied the usual subjects - the school helped me massively with dance (especially my sports teachers), as they were very understanding, and very supportive. If I needed time off for exams, or to leave a little early to get to class it was allowed.

After school I went to a Tring Park School for the Performing Arts and furthered my dance training - I spent three years there.’

Do you recommend any particular studies, courses or degrees for your field?

‘I'd recommend Physiotherapy definitely! It's so important to know and understand your body, I have a few friends who are trained physios and are a huge help and a close source of knowledge when I need it!

Studying Physiotherapy could also save you from expensive costs if you ever need treatment yourself.’

What does an average day look like in your role?

‘Well at the moment things are very different with the Coronovirus! But last week, if we were not rehearsing in the day, I would arrive at the theatre for 5pm to get my make-up done and ready for the show before taking a warm-up with the company. We then do some safety checks, and review notes from the shows before - curtain goes up at 7:30pm!

After the show we have a company cool down, nice little chat or moment together as a company before heading home! Show days totally differ from the rehearsal period where we were rehearsing 10am to 6pm, six days a week!

What is the best part of your role?

‘It definitely has to be the people I working with!’

What is the worst part of your role?

‘Getting injured!’

How important is work/life balance to you and how much spare time do you have?

‘I think it's so important to have a work/life balance, but with some rehearsal working hours, it's hard to get this balance outside the dance bubble. For example, with Message in a Bottle, as I mentioned earlier, we would rehearse all day six days a week! At the time I was living far from where we were working and didn’t have much energy to do anything else - even on my day off!

So currently, with my work at the moment, there isn’t much room for spare time. I do hope I can find the balance within work!’

What do you do in your spare time?

‘I love to read!’

Do you have any advice for people looking to start a career in the same field?

‘Whatever pressures you may face, don't let anything take away the joy, opportunity and experience dance can bring you! Stay inspired, share your creativity with yourself and others and if you can, build networks that you trust and believe in.’

Have you ever experienced any uncertainties about your career? What did you do to overcome them?

‘Luckily I haven't had huge uncertainties about my career - just questioning practical things, like how I would get a job after graduating from dance college for example.’

Who is your biggest female inspiration and why?

‘Ooh, I have waaay too many to just pick one, but one person I'm inspired by at the moment is Kate Prince, the director of Zoonation, who is the boss-lady of Message in a Bottle!‘