Spotlight on the brilliant Theo Marasescu, who recently finished a 9 month long professional placement scheme from Northern School of Contemporary Dance .
Read more about her placement at Motionhouse below in Theo’s own words:
Hi, my name is Theodora, but I normally go by Theo, and before my placement with Motionhouse I trained at London Contemporary Dance School.
My placement started in September 2024, and I jumped straight into training with the dancers for the range of shows Motionhouse tours, engaging in company class and rehearsing repertoire. The physicality that Motionhouse brings as well as the supportive atmosphere around me made this feel natural and meant I could start pushing myself early on. I also had lots of teaching opportunities and was able to see how both the office and teaching teams work to make all the shows and outreach projects happen, which really helped me feel fully immersed in the company.
Some of my favourite moments were teaching outreach workshops to students across the country and some of Motionhouse’s own community classes where I was able to get to know the children and experience the joyful atmosphere of the sessions. Additionally, being part of the creative process for Hidden was very exciting, as I was able to experience its development from many different angles.
Over the course of my placement, I’ve pushed myself physically to try things that scare me and then realised they’re actually a lot of fun! I’ve also gained a stronger sense of what keeps me wanting to be dancer and how that can overlap with the way I teach, to stay inspired.
One of the valuable things I’ve learned is to trust the process, but also know that process requires a lot of hard work. I’ve also picked up a lot of practical teaching and technique tips that I know I’ll carry with me moving forward.
Next up, I’ll be finishing the rest of my Masters degree at Northern School of Contemporary Dance, and then looking for opportunities, whether this be teaching or dancing, while staying present and open to what comes my way.