Effie McGuire Ward

About this class

Effie’s classes offer space to enter class with a mindset of being unimpressive yet curious, across a landscape of improvised mobilisations and structured sequences. Giving time to check in with simplicity, and build up the technical challenge–taking the spine through curves, tilts and spirals, and playing with sensations which will likely include opposition, rebound, shift and suspension. Aiming to cultivate an atmosphere of support and possibility to energise one another as collaborators in the room. Expect to talk, sweat, count, smile, and mostly, encounter challenge and enjoyment whilst moving.

About Effie McGuire Ward

Effie is a contemporary dance artist based in Milton Keynes.She undertakes work as a performer, choreographer and teacher across community dance, educational and professional settings. Effie trained at Stella Mann College and Northern School of Contemporary Dance.

Her performance projects have included working with Shobana Jeyasingh, Rosemary Lee, Hannah Pickett, Gary Clarke, Stopgap Dance Company, FfinDance, NOCTURN, JoinedUp Dance and Two Thirds Sky. Recently, Effie has been performing in Loop Dance’s Encounters Tour; working with Luminelle on Kindred- an interactive dance experience for grown-ups and their 0-5 year-olds; storytelling with movement for Carrot Productions alongside an ensemble of live musicians in More Musical Beasts! and has been performing on the children’s wards at Chelsea and Westminster hospital with Eek & Wild.

Effie teaches contemporary classes for Tring Park Associates. Her teaching and facilitation roles have included delivering classes, workshops and residencies for Rambert, Rambert School, DanceXchange/ FABRIC Birmingham, Brum Pro Class, EMDAN, BOTH, Motionhouse, Arts1 School of Performance, Hull Dance, and Yorkshire Movement and Dance. Alongside her teaching and performance work, Effie co-founded and co-directed MÓTUS, a dance festival for Milton Keynes for its first five years.

Effie’s recent choreographic credits have been collaborative projects. Alongside Laura Gibson, she co-choreographed a dance film commission for the Art Wall at the Hippodrome, London, conceived and directed by The Gray Circle. In December 2023, Effie embarked on a week’s residency in Hull with Luke Birch to begin working with creative possibilities on an ‘Anthology of Touches’. Effie also very much enjoys choreographing curtain raisers to accompany her touring performing work and creating performance pieces with the young dancers she regularly teaches at TP.