Sioda Adams
Sioda is an artist influenced by her musical and cultural upbringing in Barnsley, S Yorkshire, having been exposed to street arts and performance from a young age as part of the Folk music community. Her formal training is in Contemporary Dance, graduating from Northern School Of Contemporary Dance in 2002. Performing and directing for over 20 years, she has worked as a dancer/physical theatre performer, actress, musician, movement director and rehearsal director, touring extensively, both nationally and internationally, with the likes of Motionhouse Dance Theatre, 2Faced Dance, Parlor Dance, Yael Flexer, Keira Martin, CScape Dance Co. and with Kneehigh writers and directors, predominantly working in outdoor and unconventional theatre settings.
Sioda received a retraining grant from Dancers Careers Development Service in 2013 to develop skills in directing theatre performance and comic presence through Lecoq teachings at The Actors Space, BCN. She went on to secure Arts council funding in 2016 to develop a making style that combined physical theatre, movement, comedy and music and launched Earth-bound, a collaborative company that has toured to outdoor festivals and events in the UK and BCN. Sioda received significant investment from Arts Council England to develop and create new, climate themed multimedia work For The Love Of Stuff which premiered in Summer 2023 and has since toured to Leamington Art In The Park and EcoFest, Barnsley Civic’s Garden Party, Resonate Festival at Warwick University and Holmfirth Arts Festival as well as presenting the work at London Schools in association with Global Action Plan UK.
Since 2020, Sioda has developed her filmmaking practice receiving commissions from arts organisations to make documentaries, trailers and experimental films as well as music videos for indie music artists. Sioda was selected as one of six directors to write and direct her first narrative short film Floodgate as part of the Prime Video Programme 25/26 at National Film and TV School.
PERFORMANCE & DEVISING 2002 – 2022
WRITING, DIRECTING & PRODUCING
Sioda is a maker who cares greatly about human connections, both in the way that she works with others and in the work that she produces – using art, love, compassion and humour to make a positive influence on the world around her. She works with multi-skilled performers to create performance art, with storytelling at it’s core, work that is socially charged, provocative and inspiring for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
Sioda is an Associate Artist of The Actors Space in Barcelona.
EARTH-BOUND PROJECTS – Artistic Director, 2016 to present:
FOR THE LOVE OF STUFF – Writer and Artistic Director, 2021 to present
GOOD BLOOD – Co-Directed/Created with Keira Martin, 2017 – 2021
KEIRA MARTIN, TWELVE – Dramaturg, 2018
CSCAPE, NEPTUNALIA – Assistant Director, 2016
2fACED DANCE CO. DREAMING IN CODE – Rehearsal Director, 2013
FACILITATOR AND MENTOR
Sioda Adams
MOVEMENT/WRITING/DEVISING
Sioda has worked extensively in schools across the country, working with early years to secondary school age in SEND settings and Pupil Referral Units. She has worked with community groups of young people and adults from marginalised areas, including youth groups and adult groups with Parkinson’s and Damentia. Her own projects include working with Refugees & adults to find voice through creativity and for wellbeing. She also worked for 4 consecutive Summers as Yoga teacher and group leader at Island retreat ‘The Island Experience’ off the coast of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil and has worked as a yoga teacher & Thai Yoga Massage therapist since 2009. Sioda also regularly leads projects with EGO Performance Group in Coventry, Directing theatrical performances with a company of learning disabled young adults.
Sioda worked for Oxford World Theatre in Italy to write and direct an adaptation of Peter Pan for young people learning to speak English as a foreign language in April 2012 and was one of 3 lead artists to facilitate a community performance project with Nutkut, involving working with 175 children at special and mainstream schools from across Birmingham, for the 175th anniversary of The Town Hall. She also worked with schools for a project with Birmingham Symphony Orchestra to put on a production based on the book Where The Wild Things Are and was selected as a facilitator for Dance Touring Partnership’s Everybody Dance Now initiative across the UK, for the tour of What The Body Does Not Remember by Ultima Vez at Warwick Arts Centre in Spring 2014.
Universities & Colleges include Chester University, Coventry University, Falmouth University (for Freefall Summer School), NSCD, Stratford College, Solihull Sixth & Chipping Campden High School, leading on the GCSE choreography & Performance module including moderation assessments. Sioda was Dramaturg and facilitator for 3rd yr performance of ‘Twelve’ by Keira Martin at Salford University. She is also a careers mentor on the DCD mentoring scheme for 3rd year students at The Royal Ballet School, advising on career options outside of dance performance.
Sioda holds creative spaces, with a sensitive and nurturing approach, for professional artists to explore and grow, including with the Earth-bound team of collaborators. She endeavours to build a company and working practices that are in line with her own ethics – to value everyone as an equal and make it possible for women, mothers and more experienced performers/artists, from diverse backgrounds to continue telling their important stories and doing the invaluable work that they do.
Sioda is truly a round peg squeezing through a square hole and the audience adore to be guided by someone who dares to share their own human vulnerability in their work, we love her for it because we feel she is one of us.
Simon Edwards
The Actors Space