Profile
Training
2020 - 2021 The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, MA Movement: Directing and Teaching
2018 - 2019 UKCC, Certificate for Coaches in Badminton at Level 1
2016 - 2019 Royal Holloway, University of London, BA Drama and Theatre Studies
2015 - 2016 Academy of Performance Combat, Proficiency Certification (Unarmed, Knife)
Experience
Movement Experience whilst on the MA Movement: Directing and Teaching
2021 Assistant movement director. Assisted Louise Kempton on movement direction for the National Youth Theatre’s ‘Playing Up’ programme final production of The Master’s House. Worked with setting movement to music for large ensembles.
2021 Movement coach. Working with MA Character Animation students at Central St. Martins. Movement workshops and individual coaching for animation projects commissioned for the London International Animated Film Festival.
2020 Movement teacher. Mentored by Anna Healey. Working with first-year BA (Hons) Acting (Musical Theatre) students at RCSSD to develop somatic awareness, movement ability and experiential knowledge of movement fundamentals and expression.
2020 Movement director. Working with several production teams offering movement direction to short original works selected for RCSSD SU Fest. Online rehearsals focussing on movement for online performance and interactivity.
Productions and Teaching
As a Movement Director
2022. Movement Director. Half Moon Theatre / UK Tour. Daytime Deewane. Inspired by the daytime raves of 1990s British Asian culture, Azan Ahmed’s Daytime Deewane explores the beauty and struggle of living with a multi-cultural identity as a teenager. The movement in Daytime Deewane stretches from the hard “stomps, shimmys and slides” of a daytimer, to tender moments of brotherly affection and the transcendent ritual of whirling.
2022. Movement. Royal Court / Stanley Arts. Djinn and Other Spirits R&D. Combining themes of the spiritual and ritual with physical endurance and rave culture. The movement was devised organically through a rich devising process that involved the performers digging into cultural identity and heritage - asking the question what does it mean to be British Asian?
2022. Movement. Camden People’s Theatre. Discoballs and Dupattas. Developed a movement score to underpin the piece. Techniques included identifying movement qualities in various genres of music, creating immersive choreography inspired by underground rave culture and South Asian heritages, and catering to non-seated audiences.
2022. Movement. Barbican Centre. STATUES. Written by Azan Ahmed as part of Barbican Open Labs. Worked on choreographing a surrealist movement sequence that combined elements of puppetry with research into Bollywood dance. Other physical aspects of the work engaged significantly with Islam, masculinity and British Asian culture.
2021. Movement coach / Special lecturer. Central St. Martins. The Children’s Society Project. Worked on a one-to-one basis with MA Character Animation 2nd year students. Consulting and coaching the movement requirements of their individual short films. The studio work involved generating contrasting physicality, object manipulation and overcoming technical challenges in applying physical movement to digital animation.
2021. Movement. Half Moon Theatre. Daytime Deewane. Written by Azan Ahmed, Performed by Jonny Khan. Worked on generating character physicality, and movement for the R&D project. The work drew inspiration from 90s daytime raves and Sufi whirling dervishes.
2020. Movement. Mint Face Productions Online Showcase. Faux Woke. Worked online one-to-one directing the performer through a physical adaptation of an original spoken word text.
2019. Movement. Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The Brave Anthology. Directed by Becky Hinde and Sam Pout. Worked with actors on moving with music, rhythms and creating ensemble that connected bodies to cities.
As a Performer
2022. Lead Performer. Birmingham Hippodrome. Waswasa. Waswasa explored the physical act of Islamic prayer in modern secular Britain. Combining movement, film and spoken narrative, the show invites audiences to re-frame and de-mystify attitudes towards Islamic prayer. Presenting Islam in a authentically told and artistically rich experience.
2022. Performer. Camden People’s Theatre. Discoballs and Dupattas. Daytime Raves during the 80s and 90s were a huge liberation for British South Asians, giving young Desi’s an opportunity to skip school and rave to the hardest mixes from the best DJs around. Through a backdrop of these Daytimers and underscored by a different genre of DJ each performance, Discoballs and Dupattas follows a group of young wannabe ravers whilst they try and get their hands on the hottest tickets in town, all without any aunty or uncle ever finding out.
2019. Performer and Co-Creator. Oval House London. Hold Me[,] Back. An original physical theatre piece which explored the role of contact in male-to-male heterosexual relationships. The piece critiqued attitudes of toxic masculinity by comparing gestures such as handshakes, arm-wrestles, hugs, press-ups and downing drinks.
2019. Performer and Co-Creator. Boilerhouse Theatre, RHUL. Wavelength. An original dance theatre piece which incorporated themes of surrealism and the artistic style of Jasmin Vardimon. The narrative explored the detrimental physical and psychological effects of injuries on elite athletes.
2016. Performer. Camden People’s Theatre. Underline. An original verbatim dance theatre piece which explored the complexities of comfort and discomfort on public transport.
As a Teacher
2022. Workshop Leader. Kiln Theatre. Led a movement workshop for Kiln’s BCJ Young Company. The workshop led participants through selected techniques for creating movement and choreography from various forms of material. The workshop was followed by a commission from the Kiln to develop and perform a movement piece for their exhibition ‘Dear Social Services’.
2022. Mobility Coach. Age UK. Combined strength and conditioning with dance to lead chair-based mobility sessions for over-50s that focused on flexibility, mobility, and muscle activation.
2022. Assistant Teacher. National Youth Theatre. Assisted Cathy Owen on the Non-Text Based Performance unit for ‘Playing Up’ (19-24). Modules focused on contact improvisation, Viewpoints and devised movement-based work. The role also included leading warm-ups and supporting various learning requirements.
2019 - 2020 Drama Intern. British International School Phuket. Developed and taught modules and workshops to students ranging from Year 1 to Year 13. Examples include creating and delivering a physical theatre module to the Year 12 IB students, a movement workshop for the KS3 production of Lord of the Flies, and running an after-school activity directing a group of KS5 students in a devised movement piece.
Biography
Hamza Ali is a movement practitioner with a focus on the multiplicity and universality of movement. His theatre background is as a director, theatre-maker and performer of physical and dance theatre. His training in competitive sport and interest in spirituality and philosophy also feed into his research and practice. His current work is centred around discovering factors that link movement disciplines. From acting to dancing to sports, how can one develop methods of teaching and training movement that benefit movement culture in a holistic way. Hamza is an associate artist at the National Youth Theatre.
Skills
Devising, video making, badminton, lacrosse, strength and conditioning, writing, research and development.
Languages
English, Urdu
