About

Martha Harrison is a performer and choreographer from London. She first began performing as a competitive National Level Sports Acrobatic gymnast in her early years, but by the age of fifteen had shifted her interest into learning and practicing contemporary movement.

In 2001 she was one of the first to complete a Theatre Practice/Circus Degree at 'The Circus Space' (renamed in 2014 The National Centre for Circus Arts) in association with 'Central School of Speech and Drama', specialising in Doubles Trapeze.

Combining movement with aerial work became a passion, and whilst working alongside partner Dela Seward, an excellent theatrical performer, they founded 'The Barefoot Company' in 2003. The company worked on various projects and toured the UK, Europe and South Africa in festivals, cabarets and variete.

Following this, in 2010 Martha was asked to be a performer for Mimbre Acrobats, with whom she has performed over the last six years, touring street theatre festivals across Europe. She is proud to have also been named as an Associate Artist of Mimbre.

Alongside her performing work, in 2012 Martha completed an MA in Gender, Sexuality and Culture at Birkbeck University, London, completing her dissertation questioning the gendered understanding of Artistic Gymnastics.

In 2019 she published a paper entitled ‘Gender Representation in Circus Arts; A Case Study’ in Theatre, Dance and Performance Training Journal.

Finally, she has been teaching at The NCCA since 2005 and has been Course Manager on their Circus Degree Program from 2017.