RACHEL SURTEES
Performer & Dance Teacher
BIO
Rachel is a Performer and Dance Teacher based in Newcastle Upon Tyne.
Rachel began dancing from a young age under the guidance of the teachers and staff at Newcastle Dance Center. At the age of 16 she decided to focus on a career within the Dance Industry by attending Newcastle College where she completed both a BTEC Extended Diploma and a Foundation Degree in Dance Performance. Moving on from Newcastle College Rachel has found herself completing her BA Honors Degree in Dance at PASS (Performing Arts Studio Scotland).
Two of Rachel's most influential and exciting opportunity's were when she was chosen to be apart of Ashley Banjo's (Diversity) 'A Town that Danced' on Sky 1.
Ubisoft also gave Rachel an excellent opportunity of gaining 1st hand experience working in the dance industry, by employing her as part of the scoring system for their game 'Just Dance 4'.
'Encore Dance Entertainment' also influenced Rachel's career, as she was hired for numerous jobs in very contrasting dance styles ranging from; Ballet/Lyrical to Hip-Hop/Street.
Rachel Graduated with a 1st class Honors Degree in Dance Performance from PASS. Rachel worked as part of 'Taking Flight' Dance Company who toured in February around Scottish schools and colleges delivering dance workshops and performances. Rachel benefited greatly from the 'Taking Flight' tour as it allowed her to gain new knowledge and skills she can use in the future.
ARTISTIC VISION
As an aspiring dance teacher, Rachel's main influences within the industry are the likes of Shannon Mather and Krista Miller who combine dance styles into complex and exciting routines for both workshops and competitions.
As an aspiring performer choreographers such as Matthew Bourne inspire Rachel to keep developing acting skills alongside dance technique, so that she can adapt to any role or character on stage.
Rachel’s future aspirations are to work professionally as a Performer at Disney or on Cruise ships where her dance technique and performance can be shown. She also aspires to gain teaching qualification so that she can become a dance lecturer at either Colleges or Universities across the UK.
STATS
RACHEL SURTEES
D.O.B: 30/05/1996
Height: 5ft 7
Weight: 9st 8lb
Eye Colour: Green
Dress Size: 8-10
Hair Colour: Light BrownÂ
Playing Age: 16+
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DANCE PERFORMANCES
DISNEYLAND PARIS 25TH ANNIVERSARY - HALLOWEEN SPECIAL
September 2017 - November 2017
Disneyland Paris hired Rachel to perform in the Halloween parades for the 25th Anniversary.Â
Rachel performed as one of Goofy's Dragon Ladies, dancing through Frontier-land and parading down Main Street at Disneyland Paris's Halloween event celebrating all things Evil and Disney.
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL
August 2017
Rachel Performed as part of 'Unearthed Dance Company' debuting there new work 'Beneath the Dust'.
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CROSS CURRENTS
June 2017
Rachel performed at PASS's annual showcase at the Kings Theater in Edinburgh.
She was given the chance to perform both Jazz and contemporary style piece's choreographed with contrasting styles.
Cross Currents gave Rachel the chance to explore her performance skills and improve upon them every show.
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BREAKING BOUNDARIES
April 2017
'Breaking Boundaries' was the platform in which Rachel was able to debut her new work 'In Flight'.Â
The show allowed Rachel the experience of lighting her own work on stage alongside an industry professional giving guidance and advice.
AYR FESTIVAL
March 2017
Performing at Ayr Festival as part of 'Unearthed Dance Company', allowed Rachel to experience a dance performance where in which she was dancing on level with the audience.
The performance venue allowed Rachel to feel more connected to individuals in the audience, as she could make direct eye contact and bring them into the performance.
GO DANCE
February 2017
As part of 'Unearthed Dance Company' Rachel was given the opportunity to perform at 'Go Dance' in Glasgow - performing 'You, Me and Them' choreographed by Hannah Mason.
This performance allowed Rachel the experience of being on stage in a large theater she had too focus on projecting more with her movement and facial expressions to fill the space around her.
DANCE FEST
January 2017
Rachel will be representing PASS alongside her entire BA Hons class performing a Jazz routine choreographed by Zelie.
Dance Fest allowed Rachel the opportunity to focus on improving her facial expressions during a Jazz performance.
FIRST FOOTING
December 2016
PASS (Performing arts Studio Scotland) Christmas Showcase where in which Rachel performed in 4 works created by: Zelie, Roz Lynch, Jenny and Hannah Mason who runs 'Unearthed' Dance company.
BLUE PRINT
May 2016
Final showcase at Newcastle College, where in which Rachel performed in pieces choreographed by: Celeste Hay, Mandy Rogerson and Jamie Neale.
Blue Print was an opportunity for Rachel to see how the industry works 1st hand by creating works in less than a week.
MOVE IT - 2016
March 2016
Rachel represented Newcastle College as part of there company 'Dance Academy North' at Move It 2016, where in which they performed a Contemporary Dance routine 'Do Not Go Gently' - choreographed by Mandy Rogerson.
A NIGHT AT THE OSCARS
May 2015
Newcastle Dance Center's dance and performing arts showcase at the People's Theater Jesmond. Rachel danced as part of Encore Dance Entertainment.Â
'A Night At The Oscars' helped enhance Rachel's choreography skills as well as performance during various styles of dance.Â
Rachel helped choreograph a Tap number for girls aged 7-9 and a Freestyle number for ages 6-9.
CBBC - THE DUMPING GROUND
May 2015
Rachel was cast as an 'Extra' for a single episode of 'The Dumping Ground' on CBBC.
This opportunity allowed Rachel the chance to discover what happens on a professional film set.
THE TOWN THAT DANCED
June 2014
Rachel worked as an extra, dancing on Ashley Banjos TV program 'The Town that Danced'.
Rachel learnt new skills and knowledge of working with cameras and filming during this opportunity, Knowledge which she could use in future work.
JUST DANCE 4
April 2013
Rachel was hired to work for Ubisoft along with 5 other dancers, to create the scoring system for Just Dance 4.
This opportunity allowed Rachel to experience first hand what a professional dance job would entail.
JUST DANCE 4 - PROMOTIONAL VIDEO
January 2013
Rachel was cast as a 'Teen' within Ubisoft's promotional video for Just Dance 4. The video was shown all across Europe during the final production stages of the game.
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TEACHING EXPERIENCE
TAKING FLIGHT TOUR
February 2017
As part of Rachel's BA Hons Degree her class have had to become a company 'Taking Flight' who will complete a week long Scottish School and college tour, visiting institutes in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
During this week Rachel will take on the role of a professional dance artist, and teacher/facilitator during her 1 hour creative workshop.
NEWCASTLE DANCE CENTRE
September 2012 - June 2016
During her time at Newcastle Dance Center Rachel has taught children between the ages of 4 - 10 Ballet, Tap, Freestyle and Performing Arts.
Teaching over a long period of time at Newcastle Dance Center, allowed Rachel the chance to experience how different aged children learn and respond to different teaching styles.
NEWCASTLE HIGH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS
February 2016 - March 2016
As part of Rachel's Teaching and Facilitating module, she had to lead a 4 week program in a style of her choice to a group of High School Students.Â
Rachel was inspired to try and use skills that her current lectures had passed on to her during technique classes.
CHOREOGRAPHY
During Rachel's BA course she found a passion for choreography. She enjoys infusing characterization and contemporary dance technique into work that surrounds a specific topic/concept.
Rachel is influenced by Matthew Bourne and his ability to choreograph works based solely upon characters from childhood tales and novels. Bourne's 'Swan Lake' and 'Nutcracker' are 2 works that have inspired Rachel directly due to the strong characterization and the movement vocabulary used throughout each work.
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Rachel has recently choreographed a work titled 'In Flight' for her Independent Dance Project.
'In Flight' - The dance work explores how 5 strangers may be in 1 place at the same time but for completely contrasting reasons. Rachel wanted to try and create a work that her audience could relate to on a day to day basis as every individual is on their own journey though life.
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Stay tuned for further work choreographed by Rachel...
CONTACT
Interested in more information or have any questions, do not hesitate to send an email.