Marie - Louise Flexen is a highly creative individual who is passionate about delivering work of outstanding quality within the arts and wellbeing sectors. She offers over 25 years of experience in the expert field of dance and performance, with a specialism in collaboration and combined arts.

She is available for commissions and projects on a rolling basis, as an independent freelancer, working across

Gloucestershire, Wiltshire & Oxfordshire.

Marie-Louise Flexen is an experienced dance artist, versatile performer and jazz singer. She is also an award-winning choreographer, who has worked with renowned dance makers and theatre directors since graduating from the London School of Contemporary Dance in 1992. Since 2004 she has produced, created, and directed many Arts Council funded and commissioned projects, which have included large-scale site-specific works, touring dance theatre, dance films, combined arts collaborations, outdoor arts & street theatre, family shows, participatory & community dance projects. Marie-Louise was a finalist for the choreography award category in The Place Prize 2005 and was nominated for a Total Theatre Award 2007.

Marie-Lou’s popular vintage song & dance duo The Mary Lou Revue received ACE funding to tour Bedside Cabaret, Covid Safe Cabaret & Bandstand Cabaret projects from 2018 - 2023. She received an ACE ‘Developing Your Creative Practice’ grant to evolve her practice of dancing with horses which resulted in award winning documentary film ‘Arrival by Horse’ most notably, a short film winner at Cannes Film Festival 2023. In 2021 she became a movement director and choreographer for NPO Mandala Theatre Company in Oxford. She is also currently company member of The Velcro Collective in Gloucestershire.

Marie-Louise was a core company member of internationally renowned Seven Sisters Group London 1994-2002 in productions performed nationally and internationally, who’s groundbreaking productions were performed at The Royal Opera House, Royal Festival Hall, The National Theatre, St Pancreas Chambers, V&A Museum, Selfridges, The Place Theatre and train stations across Europe. Marie-Louise has been a dancer on projects with Catalan contemporary dance company El Paller between 2003 - 2008, Sole Rebel Tap and Swerve Dance Theatre between 2012 - 2018. She has enjoyed working over the years as a freelance performer for independent choreographers & directors including Yael Flexer, Rosmary Lee, Andrew Tidmarsh RSC, Lila Dialo, Helen Crocker & Robert Hyllton, Tony Adigun, Mehrdad Seyf /30 Bird Productions and Peter Anderson of Dance Theatre Iceland.

She has choreographed & performed with Curious Company since 2007 touring extensively around the UK with productions Mr Wippy & the Conettes, Alice in Wonderland, The Little Mermaid aqua spectacle and most recently Mr Chirrups Global Bug Safari . Since 1994 other clients as an entertainer have included BBC, Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Pierre Cardin, Yves Laurent, Star Cruises Asia and a host of celebrity events, parties, award ceremonies, film premieres, concerts, and with DJs and musicians including choreography and performance for cult indie pop musicians Sparks & Jarvis Cocker.

Marie-Louise has over 25 years experience as a dance teacher, creative health and wellbeing / inclusive dance and movement practitioner. See: Education / Creative Health & Wellbeing in the menu

What's Happening

Swindon Dance

Associate Artist Programme 24- 25

New Work in development

Bird Nerd & The Red List

Research supported through: A Hawkwood Centre For Future Thinking artists residency 2023

Funded by The Francis W Reckitt Arts Trust

Swindon Dance & Stroud Valleys Project

Education /Creative Health & Wellbeing

Marie-Louise Flexen is an experienced dance & creative movement teacher and facilitator. One Dance UK awarded her a South-West 'inspiring leader of the future' Working freelance Marie-Louise facilitates dance across a wide range of community settings for children, teens , young adults & adults .

She has extensive experience of delivery in creative health and well being, participatory arts and inclusive practice. She has reached hundreds of people who face disabling barriers such as physical and learning, dementia, frailty, addiction recovery & mental health. She has worked with disadvantage children, ex offenders, refugees & children in referral school. Marie-Louise leads InterdepenDance ( IDance ) with Cirencester Dance Club, a creative dance, movement & social session for adults with disability & neurodiversity that is funded by Barnwood Trust.

'Two' a dance duet with

Johnny Charles Kilminster

You got good Ideas Mary-Lou !

Gloucester Cathedral Community Dance Project

Marie-Lou combines a high level of performance skills with excellent person-centred practice. Her approach is very empowering for participants who become genuinely engaged in a creative experience rather than being passive recipients of entertainment.

Diane Amans Independent Dance Artist / Professional Development Consultant

As support workers we currently have four residents between our two houses that attend a dance class with Marie -Lou. All are autistic but two also have very impaired Vision , one of whom is in a wheelchair. The classes have had such a big impact on our guys socially for interactions, self esteem, self confidence and physically with improved mobility, stamina and ability to work alongside others to meet the same goals. Our resident who is in a wheelchair has a noticeable improvement in the range of arm movements he can make and that is all down to the dance teachers and the support of this group. Every week the ladies and gent that we support look forward to coming, often telling friends and families that they have dance on Friday which is great as it helps focus their week on what they are doing and what they can look forward to.Marie Louise and Louise have both been fab at encouraging and teaching our residents to have the confidence to learn, enjoy and be proud of what they achieve. We hope this class continues as it is such a valuable resource to us and the people we support

Angela and Jill - Support workers at Prospect place Cirencester. IDance sessions in Cirencester

CLIENT LIST