Holly Tomlin

Holly Tomlin - Current student on MA Creative Practice

What is your current endeavour, and can you tell us a bit about it?

I encourage adults to look at their mental health and physical fitness through creative movement. I currently offer dance and yoga based wellness classes to my local community, as well as special workshops where people can get involved in a range of different movement practices and discover new styles of exercise and self care. I also have my first ever wellness retreat planned out and ready to run in September of 2024!

How has the Make Happen course inuenced your creative practise?

Make happen has been incredible to say the least! The community of staff and students feels like a family, I know I can always be myself with them, ask for advice, make mistakes and talk through my ideas.
Since starting the MA I have been able to really find my niche and target market, my weekly class attendance has doubled in size and is still growing. This has been a massive step towards financial stability in an industry that is known to be competitive and unstable.

The course has also helped me get more comfortable with putting myself first and prioritising my business endeavour, while finding a happy balance of time for myself and my family.
I am getting better at taking creative risks and exploring avenues of creative movement that I previously would not have been brave enough to.

What’s the biggest achievement so far since starting the Make Happen programme?

I am really proud that I've established a regular teaching schedule full of classes throughout the week and that it's making me money only 6 months in! I'm also super proud of my website, which I created entirely by myself and has gotten me a lot of professional recognition locally. The website has brought attention to my skills and I was actually asked to work with a couple to choreography the first dance for their wedding, which has been an honour.

What’s your origin story and how did it lead you to where you are today with your endeavour?

I le behind my background in dance, tness and performance when I moved solo to Cornwall 7 years ago. Accessibility for adults to dance was virtually non-existent in my new home, and while balancing work and uni I lost touch with my passion. Unfortunately, I then injured my spine and feet in a car accident and lost all hope of ever dancing again, which lead me to develop depression, a battle I fought for years.

Last year I had a realisation that I needed to focus back on dance and fitness instructing to give myself a sense of purpose and fulfilment. So I quit my job and launched my business, shortly after which I stumbled upon the Make Happen course, it sounded so exciting and almost like it was made for me, how could I say no?

Since then my business has blossomed and I have become the happiest I have ever been! I run successful weekly classes for my local community and do my best to inspire people of all ages to get moving.