Celebrating Somerset’s creative & cultural practitioners Carrie Madgwick - The Freelance Artist

I met the multi-talented Carrie Madgwick, on my first day in my new role, as one of the Arts Engagement & Outreach Officers at The Octagon and Westlands, and was left in awe of the multiple hats Carrie wears on a day-to-day basis. Alongside her part-time position at The Octagon & Westlands, she has been a freelance artist for nearly 20 years. From leading on our Arts for Health and Wellbeing programme to bringing dance into Yeovil District Hospital, teaching Street Dance at the Octagon & Westlands to running her own craft business, her work is diverse. Coming from a freelancer background myself, I decided to interview her for my first blog to find out how she fits it all in.

The Early Days

On interviewing Carrie for this blog, I learned Carrie trained at Chichester University in Contemporary Dance, and after graduating she toured as a dancer across the UK and Internationally. Alongside performing, she is passionate about teaching others, so she started teaching all generations the power of dance, a journey she is still on today.

During our chats, I learned of one of Carrie’s greatest achievements during these early career days was self-building an infrastructure of youth dance opportunities in Salisbury.

From humble beginnings teaching a single dance class for 2 students at Salisbury Youth Centre in 2006, she grew to 15 regular classes per week. For 8 years these classes grew, and partnerships were formed with local organisations including Salisbury Arts Centre. Classes expanded, teaching a range of ages from 2 - 92 in various settings across Wiltshire & Hampshire. Carrie had identified the need to provide progression and support for young people who may aspire to have a career in Dance.

During this time, she saw young people flourish and thrive due to the opportunities that became available to them.

Gear Change 2013

In 2013, Carrie’s career took a gear change, relocating to Somerset to take up a job as a youth dance co-ordinator, the position was a partnership between The Octagon and Take Art.

Carrie became a mother, during this life changing moment she rediscovered her love for crafting and art. Carrie built a business around her commitments as a mother called Beyond Beautiful Creations. She makes bespoke artwork for clients, selling at craft fairs and online, these are handmade personal items, some focused around personalised memories or family photos. Two of her main mediums are wood and fabric however her parents used to make ceramics and run a ceramics business, she will and does travel back to her parents to fire up the kiln if required.

Participation and Wellbeing

The final chapter of my conversation with Carrie features perhaps her most powerful work to-date.

Starting in 2016 she began a journey of self-learning and discovery in the practice of the power of dance on people dealing with health issues.

I’ve learned how she spent time training and researching evidence-based practices and began developing movement workshops with groups dealing with Parkinson's and Cancer. Once again Carrie began putting her ideas into action.

After completing Parkison’s Dance Science Training, she taught Parkinson’s Dance sessions in Sherborne, which has continued to run from strength to strength for the last 8 years.

Dance has the power to transform people's lives and her work is evidence of this, “joyful, inclusive, creative dance and movement classes can transform everyday lives. The power of dance is one way to support our health system with preventative care” she tells me.

She then trained on the Elevate Dance programme for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) with Scottish Ballet in 2022, which led to her leading one of the first Elevate dance classes in England. In addition to this, she trained in Dance in Cancer Care run by Move Dance Feel. Following this Carrie has teamed up with Sammy Gillingham to create ‘Movement Through Cancer', a unique creative dance class specifically designed for anyone undergoing cancer treatment, in recovery and those affected by cancer. Carrie and Sammy have been delivering this programme in Yeovil since January 2024, and it is already proving to have significant positive impacts.

Today & Tomorrow

Her world of dance and craft has merged over the last decade, with her passion for developing opportunities for dancers remaining. Currently, she leads 8 classes a week as a freelancer, one of which is a very successful Street Dance Class at Westlands as part of our Octagon Academy. Her latest arts and craft work with teenagers who are out of education, is another example of her freelance determination to make positive change in the community.

“How we measure and show the transformative impacts of this work is one of the biggest challenges. I am lucky enough to see and witness incredible achievements every week, and I feel so fortunate to be a part of such special moments, it is incredibly rewarding. I am always so inspired by our dancers. They are living proof that creativity and dance can have powerful transformative effects, physically, mentally and socially.” she tells me. Carrie has witnessed the change in confidence and lasting results that working creatively with the mind and body in a safe space and supportive environment can achieve.

Having viewed the videos of this work on the Westlands website, I can see the power of this work on overall health & wellbeing. Carrie tells me of how one participant said, it “Makes you want to get out of Hospital and live your life.’ during a seated dance class she taught on the wards at Yeovil Hospital. Her evidence-based work is helping to reduce the pressures on healthcare services, by providing inspiring, creative opportunities that help people’s lives to flourish, and create important support hubs through these classes.

Carrie has come a long way from a graduate of a BA Hons Dance degree at Chichester University, it is a testament to the power of believing in an idea and making a plan to see it into fruition.

Written by Anthony Kosky

(Arts Engagement and Outreach Officer.)