My name is Shobana Jeyasingh and I am a choreographer. My pathway to working in dance was rather eccentric and incremental ! I had always learnt and  loved dance but went to uni to study literature before I thought about taking up dance as a profession. I had to learn on the job whenever it came my way. There was so much to discover and there still is! I did a lot of other jobs in the gaps.

My company  had just moved into a new office when I developed a rare neurological illness called  Guillain Barre syndrome which left me in a wheel chair unable to walk. It was like being hit by a thunderbolt. It took about a year to get my limbs back in working order. This experience taught me that to imagine and create even in the smallest  and most personal  way is a privilege.

I didn't actually graduate formally in dance but if you are one the lucky ones who has, even in these unusual times, - congratulations on choosing a brilliant subject. It is a subject that (whatever part it may play in your future) is a force for good.

Dance has always been a socially collaborative activity. Dancers that I have worked with are incredibly resilient. With these two qualities I think the dance sector will win through.