A graduate of London Contemporary Dance School with more than 24 years of dance experience, Wendy began dancing at the age of four and has dreamt of being able to fly for as long as she can remember.

From graduation she began working as a contemporary dancer and in 1999 realised her dream by working with the world-renowned aerial theatre company De La Guarda in London. This five-year relationship took her a far as Amsterdam, Berlin and South Korea and from summer 2000 was managed around her own work with Shinjinrui (extreme aerial theatre company). A co-founder of the group, she was responsible for devising a variety of small and large-scale site-specific International aerial stunt shows through until 2003.

Now an experienced aerial harness specialist, Wendy focuses on the use of her range of dance and aerial skills within her performance and choreographic work. She conceived an aerial performance technique termed bungee-assisted dance in 2000 and has been developing it ever since. Supported by Choreodrome (The Place, London), Exploratorium (Dance Northwest), ACE and The Lisa Ullman Travel Scholarship to travel to the USA to learn more about aerial dance skill and the fusion of dance with aerial skills, Wendy is gradually increasing awareness by creating work using this genre. She is passionate about the fusion of aerial skills with contemporary dance theatre, the use of vertical walls as her dance floor and the possibilities that this perspective brings to both choreography and performance.

Also enthused by large-scale aerial shows Wendy has credits such as The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King premiere in Wellington, aerial trainer for the aerial show, Maui in New Zealand and has worked with other aerial companies such as Scarabeus and The Dream Engine. Between September 04 and January 05 Wendy performed with Motionhouse Dance Theatre in their touring production called ‘Perfect.’

An experienced teacher of dance and bungee-assisted dance she has travelled far and wide, most recently being invited by CoisCeim Dance Theatre (Dublin, Ireland) to deliver a two-day bungee-assisted dance workshop as part of Choreographic Manoeuvres alongside other practitioners Lloyd Newson (Artistic director of DV8), Wendy Houston and Lea Anderson.

Wendy can occasionally be found exercising her first degree qualification by teaching days of physical education and mathematics in her favourite primary and secondary schools - the perfect place to tell the children to believe in their dreams, as they really can come true.

POEM FOR MY BIRTHDAY, by Jacqueline Jones

Once there was a Wendy lady, flying in the sky,
She was so extraordinary, how she flew so high,
The people stopped to stare in awe, because to their suprise,
no strings, no wings, no flying things, they couldn't believe their eyes.

Dear Wendy lady tell us how we want to fly like you?
It's simple Wendy said to them, for all you have to do
is close your eyes and make a wish and then you'll fly like me
then whisper these four magic words...

Jamie pull my bungee!!!!

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