Meet Exim

Laura was appointed as Artistic Director of Exim Dance Company in late 2016. 2019 saw her selected as one of fifteen South West women to be a part of ‘Women in Leadership Programme’ led by Women’s Resource Centre London where she was invited to deliver a speech at The House of Lords. Laura is a ‘This Girl Can’ ambassador for the South West campaign led by Active Devon. She has and continues being mentored regularly by pioneers of dance and business coaching. 

Laura graduated from University of Plymouth in (2013) in Dance Theatre, she has deeply embedded herself into the dance community specifically within the South West of England, specialising in working within community settings, delivering dance wellbeing services predominantly in deprived areas to those deemed disadvantaged.

Her passion is breaking the social-political barriers that surround dance. One of Laura’s main focuses is to help enhance the health and wellbeing of all the participants she works with and to make dance diverse & accessible for all.

In addition to her work with Exim Dance Laura is an independent community facilitator, regularly mentoring students and professionals and leading regular workshops for dance organisation and educational settings. She is an associate lecturer at the University of Plymouth & on the professional University of Plymouth mentoring cohort for 2021. She is in the final stages of qualifying as a Young People Wellbeing Counsellor. 

Away from work commitments her downtime is very much based around all thing’s plants, flowers, yoga, her family and her two cats.

Chloe, originally from Yeovil, Somerset studied both BTEC and A-Level dance. She graduated in 2017 with a First Class BA (Hons) in Dance Theatre from University of Plymouth. Chloe has trained in various dance styles; undergoing training and intensives with renowned dance artists and companies such as Adam Benjamin, Heather Walrond Company, Twist and Pulse and Avant Garde Dance, embedding a contemporary and street dance fusion to her teaching. Chloe is currently Community and Education officer for Exim Dance Company. She assists in the day-to-day running of Exim Dance Company, leading on community projects such as Communities Together. As part of her role, Chloe develops and establishes relationships with local Primary and Secondary schools within Plymouth. She enjoys working with Exim Dance as she gets to work with different generations to deliver movement and dance sessions, embedding wellbeing into her practice; a keen interest of hers.

Outside of work, her interests are in Well-being, Psychology and Physical Therapy in which she is currently undergoing Counselling Level 3 training and hopes to begin her Sports Massage Therapy course. Hobbies include: HIIT sessions, walking her sausage dog Rocco and exploring new places!

Kaitlyn is a Creative Arts Practitioner based in Plymouth, Devon specialising in Dance and Taiko, after graduating with a First Class BA Honours Degree in Dance Theatre from The University of Plymouth (2017). Kaitlyn leads sessions weekly and has extensive experience across a wide variety of classes and workshops, focusing on facilitating through a person centred approach that holds wellbeing at the heart.

As well as being a lead practitioner Kaitlyn manages our Community premises – Oxford House Creative Hub and our in-house and outreach events such as, Traverse Youth Dance Platform and Scratch Nights. Kaitlyn loves her work with Exim as she feels connected to the roots of her community. She enjoys working in a manner that makes a real difference on an approachable and accessible level where everyone is welcome.

Kaitlyn’s practice in dance lies within celebrating and discovering unique ways of moving, finding the edges of movement with a high focus on remaining fluid. As an inclusive practitioner Kaitlyn finds joy in celebrating one’s own movement style, always searching to find a place where differences can meet and exceed to their highest potential.

Outside of work Kaitlyn enjoys cooking and crafts to help her relax and switch off. Kaitlyn uses her page Kaitlyn’s Kreations UK to share what she makes as well as exploring new crafts to challenge herself to learn new skills; something Kaitlyn finds exciting and enlivening.

Hayley graduated from University of Plymouth (2019) with First Class BA (Hons) in Dance Theatre and received the Russell Maliphant Prize for Excellence in Dance. Since then, she has worked alongside organisations such as Plymouth Dance and Barbican Theatre, as well as setting up her own classes based in Cornwall under Ebb & Flow Dance Studio. With Exim Dance Company, Hayley has a particular focus on working within the Community and Educational setting as a Lead Practitioner in and around Plymouth & Cornwall. Hayley also creates, designs and shares content for various social media platforms, emails & our website; showing off all of the incredible work we get up to at Exim!

Hayley takes pride in the team’s efforts towards reducing barriers and the shared ethos and resilience within the work that Exim delivers on a daily basis – no day is ever the same! This line of work is something that she is passionate about and is seen rooted into her personal and professional development. 

In her free time Hayley most enjoys staying active by taking long walks with family, friends and her dog or chilling out by indulging in a good Netflix series and a hot drink.