In this personal reflection, Senior Dance Artist Hannah reflects on her journey into leadership, with insights into her roles as dancer, advocate and board member. Hannah shares what equity means to her, and highlights a few role models who inspire her work.
Listen to Hannah read via the Soundcloud player
I was told by a work colleague that This Is Unlimited was looking for a Learning-Disabled person to be on their board. When I heard about this, I got really interested and decided to do some research before applying for the role. Finally, I decided to apply for the role of New Trustee Board Member.
I’ve now been attending these Board Meetings since September 2024. One of these Board Meetings was at London’s Southbank Centre, where they had their first in-person meeting. I couldn’t attend because Stopgap Dance Company opening their Launch Party, performing Lived Fiction. I was honoured to be a part of their launch party, performing with Stopgap; it felt like I was working for Stopgap and This Is Unlimited at the same time. I was invited to their After-Party the following day, I felt like I needed to know more about the organisation and met up with a couple of their colleagues who are also on their board. The event was called ‘Pitch and Mix’ where Unlimited invited other dance/theatre companies to perform their work and learn how this organisation can help them with funding.
Stopgap in the dance studio. Senior Dance Artist, Hannah Sampson, in in the centre. She raises both hands in a gesture as she smiles at someone off camera. Next to her, Co-Artistic Director, Lucy Bennett watches with a smile, hands clasped behind her back.
Throughout this whole process, I had support from my colleagues from Stopgap (Lucy Bennett and Laura Jones) and some of my family members as well. From This Is Unlimited, I had support from Jo Verrent (Director), Sarah Harding (Administrator) and Cat Sheridan (Senior Producer). So far from Jo, Sarah and Cat, I’m learning a lot from them, being on their Board, talking about how Unlimited works as an organisation, and to reach out to meet new artists and choreographers for my own research.
As I’m a New Trustee Board Member, I don’t always have to attend every meeting they have. It’s optional for me to attend them whether if I’m feeling up to it. When I do attend, I prepare myself by reading their documents before the meeting and I like to make sure I arrive on time for the meeting. If I’m unable to attend the meeting, I give my absence notice to them in advance. This sends the other Board Members my ‘apologies’.
When I’ve applied for this role, I had this question in my mind: ‘Why is it so important for Learning Disabled people to be represented?’. I feel like this is really important to me because most of my friends who happen to have Downs Syndrome can have health problems and sometimes, they can rely on their parents and carers to speak up for themselves. As a friend, I like to break those barriers and help and support that person to make decisions for themselves on what they want to do in their lives. I for myself feel responsible for being there for them as a friend, a role model and an advocate. I believe as individual people, we should share our experiences and lives on our social media, platforms for example, my Professional Instagram Account. This Professional Account that I own is showing people what I’m passionate about through my love of dancing and advocacy.
Hannah stands in front of a projector screen, one hand on hip and the other bent up at her side. She smiles happily. She is wearing a stiped top and glasses, her blonde hair hangs over one shoulder. In the foreground two figure face away from the camera, listening to Hannah’s presentation.
In June 2024, I was invited to take part in an event in Leicester for the Leadership in Action Symposium. The event was co-led by People Dancing and Corali Dance Company with other invited dance companies such as Anjali, Stopgap, TIN Arts and DanceSyndrome. The whole day was for Learning Disabled artists to share their experiences, share their work and a snippet of their work in a workshop. My speech was about Stopgap, my role model Chris Pavia and how he inspired me, and what I feel about being a Leader in the Arts Industry. After delivering our speeches, I then taught a sample workshop looking at my own interests, such as storytelling and character-work. In the afternoon, we came back together and chatted about what Leadership means to us. We workshopped our ideas in smaller groups and discussed what we would like to see happening next in this inclusive world that we hope to see.
Later in September 2024, some of the Stopgap team and I travelled to Bari, Italy where I also delivered my speech and workshop too. Abbie Thompson, Lucy Glover, Monique Jarrett and I were all part of the ‘All in Festival’. For this festival, we were outdoors, and I delivered our workshop in the early evening. We had an amazing time out there even though it was a short visit; we managed to sight-see, walked around town, dined and worked.
My role models
As I’m passionate about my dancing and advocacy, I like to mention a couple of my role models who I look up to. These are…
- Daniel Laurie: Actor (Call the Midwife)
Daniel is known for his acting, and he was nominated for Best Actor Award with his outstanding performance in the television show ‘Call the Midwife’. I’ve chosen this person because I believe he inspires a lot of people through his acting. He has a great support team by his side: Jane Grantham (his Mum) has been there for him throughout his acting journey.
- Madison Tevlin: Advocate
When I saw the video ‘Assume that I can, Maybe I Will’, it got me wondering who this person was, and I couldn’t believe it was a person who has Downs Syndrome. She explains in this video that all Downs Syndrome people can do anything that they want, and I stand up for this. This is why I’ve chosen this person because she speaks up for those people who have Downs Syndrome back home in Canada.
- Kofi Holland: Model and Actor
Kofi and I met online on our Professional Instagram accounts, and he happened to be one of our audience members when we performed Lived Fiction in Manchester last year. I was inspired by his experiences as a model and how he strives to be the best he can. He has a PA with him who helps him with his social media platforms when he is super busy with work.
These role models of mine and I may have different opinions about what equity means. To me, equity is about being true to yourself in whatever you feel passionate about, it’s about being honest about what support you need for you and asking people to take time to explain things better so you can make your own decisions. I’m passionate about Dance and Advocacy because I believe as individuals, we should share our experiences with each other and together we stay united.
I really enjoy being an Advocate, a Role Model and a Board Member.
