ABOUT ALEXIS

Alexis Southall is an internationally renowned teacher, choreographer, performer and producer in the field of fusion bellydance. With a background in MENAHT (Middle Eastern, North African, Hellenic & Turkish) dances, alongside Jazz and various Street Dance styles, Alexis’ work explores the relationship between these dances with respect and admiration for the source cultures. She has had the privilege to be an invited guest teacher and performer in 23 countries to date, and is known for her precise technique, flawless musicality and her generosity as an instructor.

Alexis began studying Egyptian dance in 2006 with Karen Price. Since then she has studied broadly with some of the most prolific dancers in the field, gaining a number of qualifications and attending numerous intensives. She studied various Street Dance styles for many years, alongside Jazz, Ballet and Tap. She is a qualified Mat Pilates and Yoga instructor and has dedicated her life to studying movement systems which support her path as a dancer and educator (scroll to view her qualifications in the CV below).

Alexis is widely considered as a community leader in the UK and has had a hand in the growth and development of both the style and many of the top performers of fusion bellydance in the country.

In 2015, Alexis launched a comprehensive training programme for dancers looking to develop their skills and grow their individual voice in her area of fusion dance. The first of its kind in the UK, the programme was received with rave reviews and is now in its seventh year, with demand to participate growing each year. A Level 2 of the programme was added in 2019. In 2020 she was the recipient of Arts Council UK grant funding to develop her work online to greater serve the community through her teaching.

As a performer, Alexis has had the opportunity to work collaboratively with esteemed artists from all over the world. She has been a guest performer for Olivia Kissel’s HYBRID Dance Project, Ambrosia Dance Company, and UNMATA, and toured in the production of Bellydance Evolution’s ‘Alice in Wonderland’ on its European debut under the direction of Jillina Carlano.

As a choreographer she was commissioned to choreograph ‘Paradiso’ in Francesca Pedretti’s production, ‘La Divina Commedia’ in Rome in 2015, and again for an online version in 2021. In 2013 she developed the Juniper Project and Juniper Collective – choreography projects bringing together community dancers to create and present exciting new choreographic works, and to develop the skills and versatility of the performers. This has attracted dancers from across Europe to participate and has been presented at various events in the UK, USA and Italy. In 2021 she produced her own choreographed show ‘Juniper Ascending’, which was broadcasted across the world online after a successful Kickstarter campaign.

Alexis is based in Wolverhampton, UK, where she runs ‘Juniper Dance & Fitness School’, teaching Fusion Bellydance, Pilates, Yoga, Vintage Bellydance and Improv Team Sync classes, as well as running her own online studio where you can study from anywhere in the world. She has been the producer of the annual fusion bellydance festival ‘Infusion Emporium’ for over a decade and was a co-producer of ‘Gothla UK’ festival from 2013-2016. She also enjoys writing about dance, has been a guest writer for Zameena, and wrote for the National Arabic Dance Association magazine for 6 years.

Outside of dance, Alexis loves to travel, occasionally cosplays, binge-watches ‘Stranger Things’ frequently, and is an avid plant lover, with a particular fondness for orchids. She has a PhD in Management, with a focus on work psychology, which she continues to contribute to research in, including a recently published book chapter in ‘Human Resource Management 3^rd Edition’ and another on the way for the 4th edition. Her latest project is her greatest challenge yet – learning to become the best mother she can be for her newborn daughter.

qualifications

Zoe Jakes’ DanceCraft Certified Teacher.
Zoe Jakes’ DanceCraft Level 3 certified.
Improv Team Sync (ITS) Levels 1-4 Certified Teacher.
Level 3 Mat Based Pilates Instructor.
Level 3 Yoga Instructor.
Level 3 Pre & Post Natal Exercise.
Level 3 Anatomy & Physiology.
Jamila Salimpour Level 2 certification training.
Suhaila Salimpour Level 1 certification training.
Integrated Dance Teacher Training Certified Teacher.
Level 2 Gym Instruction.
Level 1 Balletfit Instructor Training.
Sports Nutritionist.
PHIT (Pilates High Intensity Training) Teacher Training with Zoe Wadey.
Dance Cohesion Level 1 12 Hour Enrichment Course.
S.I.G.I.L Certification Course – Staples and Generate.
FCBD General Skills.

Awards, bursaries & funding

2021 – Fully funded Kickstarter campaign to produce ‘Juniper Ascending’.
2021 – Birmingham Dance Network/One Dance UK Bursary to attend Dance Advocacy training with Hanna Madalska-Gayer.
2020 – Arts Council Funding to develop Juniper Dance & Fitness School online studio as part of the Covid-19 support programme.
2019 – Recipient of National Lottery Community Fund and West Midlands Combined Authority funding to produce an event for the Mayor’s Community Weekend.
2019 – Recipient of Birmingham Dance Network Bursary to attend training with Jackie Shemesh in Lighting Design.
2014 – Strive – An Arts Council funded training programme for working with vulnerable groups through dance.

company experience

Juniper Project (Director, Choreographer, Performer, 2013-Present).
Juniper Collective (Director, Choreographer, Performer, 2014-Present).
DanceXchange Performance Group (Performer, 2015-16).
Bellydance Evolution (Performer, 2014).
Anansi (Performer, Contributing Choreographer, 2014).
Ambrosia Dance Company (Performer, 2012-13).
HYBRID Dance Project (Guest Performer, 2011).

CHOREOGRAPHIC HIGHLIGHTS

Click through to watch videos of each piece.

2023 – ‘Mirror Play’
2023 – ‘Kayrah’ – Artist Development Intensive Group, Offenbach
2022 – ‘Middle Eastern Medley’ – Juniper Project
2021 – ‘Switch’ – video project.
2021 – ‘HAM’ – video project.
2020 – ‘Wait’ – video project.
2020 – ‘Aranami’ – video project.
2019 – ‘The Allure’ – Juniper Collective.
2019 – ‘Hunger of the Pine’ – Juniper Project.
2018 – ‘Sixty Cycle Drum’ – Juniper Collective
2016 – ‘Aurelian‘ – created under the mentorship of Maria Antunes.
2016 – ‘Technicolour Beat’.
2016 – ‘Cymbalogy’ – Juniper Project.
2016 – ‘Du[a]l’ – Juniper Collective.
2015 – ‘Left Alone’.
2015 – ‘Go’ – Juniper Collective.
2014 – ‘Overture’.
2014 – ‘Rock Anthem’ – Juniper Collective
2014 – ‘Veil of Tears’ – Juniper Project.
2013 – ‘Swimming Pools’.
2013 – ‘Til Enda’.
2013 – ‘Retrying’ – duet with Heather Labonte.
2013 – ‘Unspoken’.
2012 – ‘End of the Month/Raphael’.

Performance Highlights

Click through to watch videos of each piece.

2022 – ‘Casper’, UK
2019 – ‘Al-Houriyah’, UK
2018 – Guest performer with Curious Verses Collective, UK.
2017 – ‘Who We Are’, Tarracofusion, Spain
2016 – Guest performer with UNMATA, UK.
2016 – ‘Tap, Clap, Ring’ choreographed by Leo Orchidaceae, Portugal.
2016 – ‘Veronika’s Dream’ choreographed by Ashley Lopez, Estonia, & Sweden.
2015/16 – ‘Left Alone’ duet with Leo Orchidaceae, UK & Sweden.
2015 – ‘Summertime/Boingo’ Improv Team Sync with Zoe Jakes/choreography by Ashley Lopez, USA.
2015 – Guest performer with UNMATA, USA.
2015 – Cinema Voyage, Italy.
2014 – Takadum Orchestra Live Theatre Show, Italy
2014 – ‘The Body’ – collaborative choreography project, Spain.
2014 – Tribal Art Festival, Spain.
2014 – Performance with Mango Royale band & Khader Ahmed, Germany.
2013 – ‘Pisces’, Hungary.
2013 – Discordia’s Apple, Denmark.
2013 – Tribal Massive, USA
2012/13 – ‘I Follow Rivers’ – collaborative choreography with Martina Crowe-Hewett, Germany, Hungary, UK, Canada, USA.
2012 – ‘Lost & Found’, Gothla UK.
2012 – Live Show with Kaligola Disco Bazar, London.
2012 – Tribal Fusion Express, Italy.