Nikkiita
I like to think of myself as one of life’s “go-getters”; I’m not content unless I am busy planning and organising events, classes, dance projects, photoshoots or working for others on performance pieces. I always have way too much energy that needs to be burnt creatively! I started dancing when I was 7 taking on anything and everything I could and costing my poor parents a small fortune in class fees and costumes. Even from a young age I was aware of how important it would be for me to try as many different dance styles as I could manage in order to widen my skill set. This lead me through my GCSE’s and A-Levels where I discovered my love for contemporary dance. Being in the arts is something that is in my blood; I come from a long line of creative minds including artists, musicians, dancers, lighting designers… you name a creative job type and I guarantee there will be someone in my family that does it, and they are all so supportive of me and my crazy life choices! After I completed my Degree in Dance I carried on making my own work for a number of years alongside teaching dance and performing arts at College and Degree Level. I found myself at a point last year though where I began running dry on knowledge and ideas so instead of allowing myself to stagnate I left my teaching post to pursue my dreams of performing again. I did a couple of modelling shoots for fun and to start a portfolio which got me noticed by some other people who are part of the alternative modelling scene. This lead to me being invited to become a member of the UK Body Paint League - which was the best move I’ve made in years! I realised at this point just how much I had been missing out on and decided to throw myself at this career with everything I could - I signed up to casting sites and found representation for both my dancing and modelling and have spent the last year going from strength to strength with it. Since leaving teaching I have starred in music videos, performed fire poi for royalty, been painted to look like a unicorn by the incredibly talented Jo Banks and started working for a new dance company in Nottingham called Origin Art in Motion. Working with Origin and touring a very intense and high impact choreography was just the challenge I needed to start 2015 after a slow and mince pie fuelled christmas away from performing and shooting! When I finish this contract at the end of March I am keen to make sure that I have plenty more projects lined up to keep me going. I am also planning on getting more added to the tattoo on my left side / thigh because it needs finishing for summer shoots. I have always a keen interest in the tattoo culture which is what lead me to getting more and more ink over the years. It is completely addictive and I am pretty sure I will be covered by the time I shuffle off this mortal coil! Each piece I have had done or am planning to get done has meaning to it and pretty much all of them have been designed by me. It is really important to me that my tattoos have personal meaning because that way I know that in the future I will not regret them, they will all have some history that reminds me of the people and things that I love. I enjoy modelling when I can show them off too, my artists have created some incredible work on me so be that legacy for them is amazing. It also helps with body confidence, and this is something I have struggled with most of my teen/ adult life. It can be an unfortunate side effect of being a dancer; however these days there is much less emphasis on how you look and more on how you move, but as I started a long time ago now I got caught up in negative body image issues that used to plague a lot of dancers. I work and train hard to keep the athletic physique that I desire and I make sure I eat well to support the training. This ensures that I can be happy in the knowledge that I am healthy in my body rather than falling prey to eating disorders or overtraining. Being a model underpins that lifestyle and having the tattoos to show off while I shoot or dance is an added bonus that is personal to me and great for my audiences to see someone confident in their skin. Over this last year I have worked with some incredible photographers including (to name but a few) Andy Earthorne around Lincoln Cathederal, Staurt Richards at his studio in Grimsby on lingerie, latex and body painting, Hexxus Films took me on as one of their key models, and James Hall at Laughing Orc Photography who had just started out and is now shooting all the time with some outstanding models. I love this industry and all who inhabit it, and can’t ever thank everyone enough for all the time and effort they have put in with me as I took it all on board. I have recently been signed to a three year contract with Talent Management and I’ve also had interest from other agencies including people who hire models for car shows which is really exciting! If you would like to book me for a shoot from April onwards you can either contact me directly through my facebook or contact my agent at Talent Management! I offer competitive rates and a day full of fun and laughter!
