CONSULTANCY + PARTNERSHIPS
Creative access, public engagement and cultural participation.
Elizabeth works with museums, galleries, cultural organisations, universities, artists and creative teams to develop more accessible, participatory and creatively ambitious cultural experiences.
Her consultancy grows from a practice spanning community engagement, organisational leadership, neurodivergent-led research, education, film, performance and interdisciplinary creative development.
Since 2016, Elizabeth has founded and led creative organisations and projects working across grassroots communities and major cultural institutions. Her experience includes delivering hundreds of public-facing sessions, leading funded programmes, conducting institutional research, developing accessible resources and creating multidisciplinary work with partners including Rambert School, the Royal Opera House, V&A, British Dyslexia Association, One Dance UK, The Space, East London Dance and London College of Fashion.
Approved consultant
Museums & Galleries of NSW
WHAT WE CAN WORK ON
ACCESS & NEUROINCLUSION
As Co-founder and Artistic Director of Move Beyond Words CIC, Elizabeth developed research, artistic projects, workshops and resources examining how dyslexia and neurodivergence shape creative participation.
Move Beyond Words worked across performance, education, digital culture and institutional practice, collaborating with organisations including Rambert School, the Royal Opera House, V&A, British Dyslexia Association, One Dance UK and The Space.
Its research investigated learning styles, information processing, communication, high-pressure creative environments and practical changes to make studios and cultural experiences more accessible.
At Rambert School, Neurodiversity in the Studio explored learning and working methods with second-year degree students, supported by One Dance UK.
Elizabeth can support:
Neuroinclusive practice · access research · accessible communication · sensory considerations · staff learning · education · inclusive programme development
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT & PARTICIPATION
Elizabeth brings direct experience of designing and leading public programmes at scale.
Through Creative Dance London, she led inclusive online and in-person programmes spanning community participation, older-adult dance, public events, artist development and performance.
In one year, Creative Dance London delivered 320+ free sessions, with 265 individual participants engaging globally.
Evaluation was integrated into delivery through monitoring forms, polls, testimonials, participant conversations and regular feedback cycles. CDL records show an average 26% improvement in participant mood during a one-hour session.
Elizabeth can support:
Public programmes · community participation · audience development · arts and wellbeing · participatory experiences · programme design · evaluation
CREATIVE + CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
Elizabeth brings her consultancy experience together with an active interdisciplinary artistic practice across movement, film, sound and technology.
Her work ranges from Taken By The Hand, an intergenerational dance film made with dancers aged 60–87, to Boundless Body, a neurodivergent-led sensory work using SOMI-1 wearable sensors, movement data, projection and live sound.
Her current practice explores how artistic ideas, sensory experience, technology and participation can change how audiences encounter cultural work.
Elizabeth can support:
Creative direction · exhibition and public-programme development · interdisciplinary commissions · sensory experiences · artist development · participatory installations · creative R&D
RESEARCH + PROGRAMME DESIGN
Elizabeth has developed research through artistic practice, interviews, focus groups, workshops, embodied experimentation and participant evaluation.
Move Beyond Words' research generated practical recommendations for choreographers, teachers and creative organisations, while subsequent work has translated research into guides, workshops, digital resources and creative methodologies.
Elizabeth can work with organisations from the beginning of a question, helping define the enquiry, involve the people affected by it, test approaches and translate findings into something useful.
Elizabeth can support:
Creative research · embodied research · consultation · programme development · R&D facilitation · evaluation · methodology development · translating research into practice
SELECTED EXPERIENCE
CREATIVE DANCE LONDON CIC
Public Engagement · Participation · Arts + Wellbeing
Founded and led by Elizabeth, Creative Dance London developed inclusive dance and creative programmes across community, education, digital and performance settings.
Its documented activity includes 320+ free sessions, 265 individual participants in one year, international online participation.
The work was supported by funders including the National Lottery, Mayor of London/GLA through Groundwork, Sport England, Local Connections, Local Giving and UnLtd.
Participant feedback and monitoring were embedded throughout, informing programming rather than sitting separately from the creative process.
MOVE BEYOND WORDS
Neurodivergence · Research · Access · Cultural Change
Co-founded by Elizabeth in 2018, Move Beyond Words used performance, research, workshops, film, podcasting and public conversation to explore dyslexia and neurodivergence in the arts.
Elizabeth's records document 20+ ongoing projects across research, performance, workshops, film, events and podcasting.
MBW's first podcast series comprised 10 episodes, averaging approximately 250 listeners per episode and reaching around 2,000 listeners overall. Its 2019 public activity is documented as reaching 700+ people live and more than 40,000 online.
The work developed partnerships across organisations including Rambert School, the Royal Opera House, V&A, British Dyslexia Association, One Dance UK and The Space.
PODCAST Join Elizabeth Arifien & Charlotte Edmonds as they amplify the voices of neurodivergent creatives from various artistic backgrounds. As two neurodivergent creatives, we want to learn how to navigate living with being ND in the arts through interviews with inspiring creatives.
BOUNDLESS BODY Sensory Experience · Technology · Neurodivergence A neurodivergent-led interdisciplinary project combining choreography, wearable technology, film, projection and sound. SOMI-1 sensors attached to the body capture movement data that can influence sound, projection and light in real time. The development has incorporated Isadora, Ableton and TouchDesigner and generated an eight-episode documentary series plus a feature film. Developed through work with East London Dance and London College of Fashion, the project extends Elizabeth's research into how bodies, technology and sensory environments can create alternative forms of communication and cultural participation.
THE DYSLEXIA ICON Move Beyond Words + The Space Development of a visual accessibility tool designed to help audiences understand whether online cultural content and webinars had been considered through a dyslexia-access lens.
![UN[BOX]ED – a short dance film about the stigma of dyslexia
UN[BOX]ED explores one person's journey as they deal with the stigmas connected to Dyslexia through dance. In society, those with dyslexia are often boxed into what people perceive our abil](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fac1639a44bf5639a5898ac/7848d9a6-3fb4-4c0e-94c4-88b585d2509a/Screenshot+2026-09-17+at+16.23.40.png)
UN[BOX]ED – a short dance film about the stigma of dyslexia UN[BOX]ED explores one person's journey as they deal with the stigmas connected to Dyslexia through dance. In society, those with dyslexia are often boxed into what people perceive our abilities to be. When we peel back the layers - who decides who we really are and who creates the box we so often are told we fit within?
MOVE BEYOND WORDS CIC A neurodivergent-led creative organisation founded by Elizabeth & Charlotte to explore dyslexia through movement, film, conversation and research. Its work included accessibility thinking, organisational workshops, public programmes, films, podcasts and collaborations with organisations including the British Dyslexia Association, Royal Opera House, Rambert School, One Dance UK, City Lit and The Space.
NEURODIVERSITY IN THE STUDIO Rambert School + One Dance UK A practice-led research project exploring how neurotypical and neurodivergent dancers learn, retain information and navigate high-pressure environments. The research examined choreography delivery, learning styles, wellbeing, communication and preparation for auditions and performance. Rambert School committed £2,000 to the research, alongside administrative and coordination support, and the project was subsequently undertaken with second-year degree students with support from One Dance UK. The research contributes to Elizabeth's continuing work around neuroinclusive teaching, embodied communication and accessible cultural practice.
Supporting Neurodivergent Children in Dance Spaces A practical resource supporting dance teachers to build more inclusive, sensory-aware and emotionally supportive spaces for neurodivergent children and young people. Combining lived experience with professional practice across dance, education and immersive arts, the guide offers practical tools that can be applied immediately within studio settings.
Dyslexia In The Studio Research Report Move Beyond Words commissioned research to support dyslexic dance and theatre practitioners to help: ● Understand how best to support dyslexic performers, especially in the audition and job application process. ● Develop guidelines to help choreographers, casting directors, agents and teachers to appreciate and include neurodivergent performers.
WORDS FAIL ME V&A + Royal Opera House Words Fail Me explored dyslexia through choreography, design, sound and public conversation. The V&A project was developed as three free public performances, an installation and a panel discussion, using a creative team that was 90% dyslexic. The artistic process developed dyslexia friendly approaches using colour, sound, touch and visualisation. Across Move Beyond Words' documented 2019 activity, Words Fail Me, Royal Opera House activity and Innate Beauty reached 700+ people live and more than 40,000 online.
TAKEN BY THE HAND
Ageing · Representation · Film · Participation
A film by Tom Sloan & Elizabeth Arifien created with six dancers aged 60–87, bringing together movement, personal histories, film, fashion and music to challenge assumptions around ageing.
The project conceptualised & creative directed by Elizabeth led to screenings, workshops and relationships across organisations including Yorkshire Dance, Bruce Castle Museum, Royal Academy of Dance, English National Ballet, East London Dance and DanceEast.
Bruce Castle Museum and Archives agreed for the film to become part of its London Screens archive, creating a lasting record of the community and its stories.
HOW I WORK
I would make this less abstract than the current version:
Elizabeth's approach combines evidence, lived experience and creative practice.
She has worked as an artistic director, organisational founder, project lead, researcher, facilitator, choreographer and creative director — giving her experience of both developing ideas and dealing with the practical conditions required to deliver them.
Projects begin by understanding the people involved, the context and the question being asked. From there, Elizabeth can work through research, consultation, embodied exploration, workshops, programme development or creative experimentation.
Her approach is particularly interested in one question:
Who has the experience been designed for — and what becomes possible when we design with more ways of sensing, processing, moving and participating in mind?
GOOD QUESTIONS TO BRING ME
Who is participating in our programme, and who isn't?
How could this exhibition or cultural experience be encountered differently?
Are we designing access into the work, or adding it after the decisions have already been made?
What would meaningful neurodivergent participation look like here?
How could movement, sound, sensory experience or participation change the way audiences encounter this idea?
What does our audience or community data actually tell us, and what are we not yet asking?
LET'S WORK TOGETHER
Bringing a project, question or unfinished idea?
Elizabeth works with organisations at different stages, from early research and strategic conversations through to programme development, workshops and creative delivery.
You don't need to arrive with a finished brief.
Museums · Galleries · Cultural Organisations · Universities · Artists · Creative Teams
““She is an incredible mentor, her shared experience and knowledge has been invaluable.””
TESTIMONIAL
“If it wasn’t for these dance sessions and all my new friends, I would not be here today. Thiese dance session hasve saved my life.”