I grew up in an artistic family, surrounded by craftsmanship and music, with soul, rnb and jazz shaping my early interests and artistic sensibilities. I have danced for as long as I can remember, from freestyle and improvised contemporary dance to explorations of diverse movement traditions and world music. Yet my curiosity also led me towards a more theoretical path, studying dance, theatre, cultural theory, arts, philosophy and somatic psychology, and eventually completing a PhD in Creative Arts Practices in Therapeutic Education. This combination of artistic practice and critical, academic inquiry continues to shape the way I work. Today, as Founder and Artistic Director of Dunami – Movement Arts Wellbeing CIC, established in 2024, I bring together artistic production, collaborative research and community development. My work spans across contemporary dance research and dramaturgy, lectures, performances, dance films, visual arts, interdisciplinary artistic residencies, community projects, writing and online educational resources. I particularly enjoy working outdoors and across cultures and countries, bringing artists, researchers and communities together to exchange ideas, experiment and create something new. A central thread running through my practice is Eco-Somatic Felt Thinking, an embodied methodology I have developed through years of artistic and practice-based research. It explores how movement, sensory awareness and creative expression can deepen our relationships with ourselves, one another and the living world. My books Dances with Sheep: On RePairing Human-Nature Condition in Felt Thinking and Moving towards Wellbeing (Intellect Books, 2023) and Walking to Wellbeing (2023) share different dimensions of this ongoing inquiry. My visual arts practice has grown organically from my experience as a mover, as though the moving body has stepped onto the canvas. Through therapeutic body painting, works on paper and interdisciplinary exhibitions, I continue to explore the dialogue between movement, gesture, touch, colour and the material world. I bring these interests together through film, sound, painting and visual installations, opening new possibilities for experiencing movement beyond the dancing body. Being a mum of three shapes my day-to-day life, keeping me grounded in the rhythms, challenges and discoveries of active and responsive living. My natural habitat is in being outdoors, both as a thinker and an explorer, always looking for new places, perspectives and experiences to relate to and bring into my practice. I have a deep love for the natural world and animals, and I am continually inspired by the ways landscapes, other species, movement and human stories intersect. I am also an athlete at heart and have tried my hand at just about every physical activity, including martial arts, fitness and bodybuilding, swimming, running, cycling, skiing, yoga, climbing, hiking, alongside countless hours of explorative walking. For me, movement has never belonged to one discipline; it is an ongoing adventure in curiosity, discovery and connection. Through Dunami, I continue to create space for artistic experimentation, intercultural dialogue and meaningful community connections, while developing ways of sharing embodied knowledge through films, residencies, workshops, publications and online learning. Movement is my life, and I believe it is much more than something we do; it is one of the most genuine ways we come to know ourselves, connect with others and participate in the wider living world. I am always interested in unexpected encounters, generous collaborations and ideas that take us somewhere we have not been before. If you share a curiosity about movement, creativity, cultures, nature and the many ways we can learn from one another, there is plenty of room to explore here. Feel welcome to send me your thoughts. Anna Dako, PhD, RSME/T