Welcome. I’m so glad you’ve found your way here.
If you’re someone who spends much of your life supporting others, leading, creating or holding space, yet quietly senses you’ve become disconnected from your own aliveness, you’re in the right place.
For nearly thirty years I have explored one simple but profound question:
What happens when we stop searching outside ourselves for the answers and begin listening to the wisdom already living within our body?
That question has shaped my life’s work.
I created Niio Dance—which stands for New Integrated and Inspired Openings—as a pathway back to yourself.
Drawing from ancient wisdom, neuroscience and somatics, it offers a practical way to reconnect with your body’s intelligence, your creativity and your authentic voice.
This is not about becoming a dancer.
It is about becoming a better listener.
When life becomes busy, uncertain or demanding, many of us disconnect from ourselves. We become caught in thinking, striving or simply surviving.
Yet beneath those protective patterns is another place—a quieter intelligence that often knows what we need before our thinking mind does.
Movement is the doorway. Far more than just expression, it is a way of remembering who we are and letting the body be a compass for courageous, creative living
Niio Dance has evolved gradually through decades of exploration.
From discovering the joy of dance as a child, to walking away believing I wasn’t good enough, it never left me.
Over the years, dance has become one of my greatest teachers and constant companion. Whether navigating major life transitions, extended travels, creative blocks or periods of uncertainty, I have always returned to the body, for new perspectives, clarity and inspiration.
For nearly thirty years I have been exploring movement as one of the most direct pathways to inner guidance.
My work is informed by an MA in Dance and Somatic Wellbeing, Pioneers I have trained with include: Anna Halprin (Life Art Therapy), Mary Abrams (Continuum), Linda Hartley (Bodymind Centering), Patricia Martello (Biodanza), Marie Ware (Dance Voice), Shiva Rea (Vinyasa Flow/ Yoga Trance Dance), Dr Nagarathna (Integrated Yoga Therapy) Stephen Ornellas (Hung Gar Kung Fu) and more alongside Yoga TT, QTLS, Counselling.
Yet my greatest teachers have been life itself: my own Chinese heritage, 30 plus years of free-form movement practice, travelling through different cultures, spending time in nature, listening deeply to myself, people, the land and discovering that every body carries its own wisdom when given the space to be heard.
We live in a world dictated by external needs, pressures and appearances and we need opportunities to slow down enough to hear ourselves again.
Your creativity is not something that comes from outside of you. Your authentic voice doesn’t need permission to be heard.
Whether you are leading a business, guiding others, creating meaningful work or simply longing to feel more like yourself again, I guide you home to the wisdom of your heart.
I would be honoured to walk alongside you on that journey.
I grew up in a traditional Chinese home in the UK, a BBC – British Born Chinese. At home I was surrounded by red and gold calendars, chopsticks and blaring Chinese opera. Outside I was thrust into an English working class city and (then) fear of foreigners. For me the concept of a homeland was not straightforward.
A shy child, I was a good Confucian student who studied hard but was socially awkward. I buried my head in books where I could excel and feel validated, but there was a feeling of disconnection, that carved a hole deep into my psyche.
Seduced by its grace and beauty my dancing “career” began with intensive ballet from aged seven. I was a stellar student, and life was a round of classes, exams, festivals and shows. Finally I stopped in my mid teens, disillusioned with the competitive dance world and stolid conviction that my legs were too short. After that I was at sea for a while. The only thing that grounded me was to get into my body, move, dance and lose myself in music.
After my BA, and a foray into the media and film industry in London, I decided I needed to go taste and smell the 3D world rather than see and hear the celluloid one. I had travelled the US and Europe alone before, but this time I set off with my backpack on an extended trip – with a one way ticket to India in 1995.
As I was exposed to different values and ways of being in a world that challenged, questioned and expanded my beliefs and perceptions, I had to unravel and unlearn. My travels were not all plain sailing as I was also confronted with myself, and my childhood feelings of alienation. Making documentary films had been my original intention, but instead I “discovered” yoga and meditation whilst continuing to dance. In my path of healing through dance I experienced first hand the presence and power that is possible through the mind and body connection.
Through working in various countries with their differing environments and cultural norms, I have often been out of my ‘comfort zone’.
My breathwork and somatic movement practices have helped to pacify my nervous system and navigate big transitions. My dance has kept me grounded in the present.
When I returned from Asia in 2004 I began studying Dance Movement Therapy, and in doing so something deep in my body told me that I had found a “home” again. And a new travel journey began.
I connect to the spontaneous, creative Taoist side of my Chinese heritage, that explores life with curiosity.
In Taoist belief we are like waves in the ocean – there is an essential oneness between us and the world.
In that vein I would love to support you in your personal and professional journey; towards finding flow, navigating change and being inspired and empowered to show up with passion and authenticity in the world, in a way that sustains you and your wellbeing.
Whether leading a team, a movement, or designing a life that inspires others; if you are a visionary who feels called to step into your full power and return home to your body, let’s connect.
