ABOUT HUGHMAN MOVES

Hugh Stanier is a highly experienced movement educator, facilitator, and bodyworker, with over 20 years of international teaching in Contact Improvisation and contemporary dance. Starting his dance journey in breakdancing, Hugh transitioned into contemporary dance, studying at Northern School of Contemporary Dance. He has since performed with acclaimed companies such as Wim Vandekeybus/Ultima Vez and 2Faced Dance, and is passionate about helping others explore the transformative power of movement. Hugh specializes in body-mind connection, offering personalized bodywork sessions and dance intensives for individuals and groups. Here is some information about Hugh’s journey into dance and dance education from him directly. 

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“ I started dancing from a young age and it always gave me a feeling of freedom that I never found anywhere else. When I discovered Breakdance in my early teens, not only did I find something that brought me great joy a way to physically express myself, but I found I was much more active and enthused in my education, and I also found a strong social group, a sense of community.

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As I continued to focus on Dance, I joined a youth company and was exposed to Contemporary Dance. This opened up a whole new world of choices and reasons to move. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe festival with 2Faced Youth Company in 2004 when I was 17. This was a pivotal point of my life where I decided to I wanted to train professionally and focus my whole life towards dance and movement. At the time I didn’t really understand why, I just knew that this was what i had to do and nothing else felt as important as dance.

Ever since training I have been working professionally as a dancer, performing and teaching all over the world. I am so grateful for the opportunities it has presented for me.

Over the past 16 years of working, the reasons and purpose seem to shift. It used to be about performing and succeeding, finding more and more impressive ways to move , to feel more powerful.

Slowly greater clarity as to the underlying focus of my reasons for dancing become clearer, and they are always evolving and changing.

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It is the attitude towards ourselves. Not just moving to keep fit, but moving to interact with others, moving to feel the power of your own body. Moving because it feels good. The connection between the body and the mind is cyclic and if we work both together we can obtain and maintain a wellness in our whole system. Body, Mind and whatever else you personally choose to see the other part as. 

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I find a deep connection to the importance of ‘not knowing’ when I’m dancing. I find this incredibly reassuring and it helps me to deal with the uncertainty and insecurity so prevalent in the world we live in today. 

I believe this is why I am tending to work more with Improvisational movement forms that allows me to continually discover things I didn’t know.  

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Presently, what interests me most about teaching and facilitating movement is how to create and hold spaces for other people to find a deeper connection to themselves through playful exploration. Whether it is Improvisation, Contact Improvisation, or a choreographed dance class, my focus and intention lies in finding the joy and power of a very physical movement practice connected to presence, awareness and breath.”