MOVEMENTWORKS ASSOCIATES
Hilary Palmer - MovementWorks Practitioner
Hilary has been working with MovementWorks® for over twelve years, teaching Developmental Dance Movement® (DDM) and Autism Movement Therapy® (AMT) programmes to neurotypical and neurodivergent children, young people and adults in Early Years Settings and Schools..
As part of her professional development, Hilary completed her PG Cert in SEN and leads sessions in some of the MovementWorks® Community Group classes for older individuals with learning disabilities and Autism.
Hilary also teaches and supports the MovementWorks® Community Projects ‘Action for Autism’ and ‘Build A Bridge’. She is a regular at A2ndvoice events and holiday programmes, providing DDM, AMT and Creative Dance sessions to suit the attending participants.
Hilary is also a Laughter Yoga Practitioner and enhanced the MovementWorks® offering during pandemic by providing regular ‘Feel Good Friday’ sessions as part of the online offering at a time when Laughter was very much in need! She has also recorded two of these sessions with her daughter, Ella, for ‘Dance on Demand’ the MovementWorks® library of classes to reach the national and international network that connected with ‘MovementWorks® Online’ a programme of twice daily live and interactive sessions funded by Arts Council England and UK Youth.
Prior to her work with MovementWorks® Hilary was a Music Works Leader for Boogie Mites for over a decade and through this experience she has a thorough working knowledge of music-based activities for babies and children under 5 years. During this time, she worked with babies from the age of 6 weeks to crawling together with their parent/carers using musical activity as an inspirational tool for stimulating early communication skills and sensory awareness whilst encouraging parent/carers to bond, engage and interact with their babies.
Hilary has a strong appreciation of how music and movement are not only fun activities to share with children, but how they play a key role in supporting development; in language, numeracy, physical and social skills and make a positive impact in all areas of EYFS.
With her background in theatre Hilary still enjoys performing seasonally. She is the co-producer of a small-scale theatre company ‘The Uplifters’, which tours to fringe festivals and care homes for the elderly and less able, with the aim of uplifting their spirits.
Hilary is the proud mother of two children and more recently a proud grandmother to her grandson and new granddaughter, who she enjoys spending time with. She involved both her grandson and son , in the weekly MovementWorks® ‘Build A Bridge’ project but he has now left the project as started full-time school (September 2026).
Misako Ormiston - MovementWorks Associate and former Intern
Misako (she/her)completed her internship with us in July 2026 and during her internship supported both DDM and AMT programmes and continues to work with us advocating for the potential for dance to facilitate community building and personal growth.2024 and is keen to work to facilitate healing in others utilizing the power of movement, vulnerability and community.
Misako is an aspiring clinical psychologist, passionate about child psychology and dance. She hopes to engage in research, education, and experiences that further explore and uncover the therapeutic and developmental value of movement, specifically interested in investigating how improvisational movement can empower.
After earning her undergraduate in Psychology from UCBerkeley, she recently attended King’s College London, receiving a Master of Science in Affective Disorders. While studying, she completed a qualitative dissertation on how poetry enriches emotional literacy, continuing her pursuit of meaningful community partnership work. She also has a rich background in dance, currently choreographing contemporary dance for King’s College’s Dance Society.
Leora McNamara - MovementWorks Associate and former Intern
Leora (they/them) completed her internship in 2025 and is a graduate of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, where they received a First Degree BA in Contemporary Dance. Their main pursuit in life is to help others through movement practices.
Leora undertook her internship as a continuation of teaching dance movement practices in different contexts, having taught and assisted in both studio and community spaces before. Leora’s BA dissertation focused on creating and developing “Flailing” as a movement technique, to help with emotional regulation. It is based on connecting the body to rhythm (this work was expanded on in Leora’s final intern project with MovementWorks®).
In addition to working with MovementWorks® Leora does freelancing, dancing in films, exhibitions, and on stages. Their artistic interests include somatics (the study and practice of understanding and working with the body as perceived from within, emphasizing the body's internal experience and sensation), trauma regulation techniques, as well as collaborations with other artistic disciplines.
During her internship, Leora is suppored both Developmental Dance Movement® (DDM) and Autism Movement Therapy® (AMT) programmes and has completed her AMT Stage 1: Certification training in April 2025 and now supports us in the various projects and programmes as well as working towards her Professional Level qualification.
Bethany Dickinson - MovementWorks Associate and former Intern
Bethany studied at Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, gaining a Diploma in Professional Musical Theatre. She has performed in various theatre productions over the years as well as an extra in television when she was younger..
She then went on to study a Diploma in Dance Teaching and Learning at Trinity Laban Conservatoire, passing with Distinction. She has since taught dance and drama for a variety of after-school groups and clubs, to a range of ages. She currently works at The Green School For Girls in Isleworth within the SEN department while she studies towards her MSc in Creative Arts and Mental Health at QMUL.
Bethany completed her internship in 2023 and then went on to take Autism Movement Therapy® Stage 1: Certification Training in September 2024. She has continued to deliver our Developmental Dance Movement® sessions and in 2026 will take part in our 'Action for Autism Youth' project supporting young people with Autism Movement Therapy®.
Ashley Simpson - MovementWorks Associate and former Intern
Ashley completed her internship with us in 2023 and 2024 and is keen to work to facilitate healing in others utilizing the power of movement, vulnerability and community.
She has always had a passion for working with young people with past experiences facilitating self-development and expression workshops with young people in contact with the criminal justice system.
While not being a traditionally trained dancer, Ashley developed a passion and love for movement through dancing in her free-time, particularly passionate about dance of the African diaspora. Prior to joining MovementWorks, Ashley worked as a consultant to philanthropic and charitable organisations focused on equitable social change. She is aiming to make a career transition to becoming a licensed psychotherapist, particularly training as a Movement Psychotherapist.
During her internship she supported both DDM and AMT programs and completed her Stage 1 Autism Movement Therapy® Training in October 2023 and has continued her work with MovementWorks® supporting our various projects and programmes.
Claudia Boes - Occupational Therapist and Academic Co-Author
Claudia Boes is an independent academic researcher and consultant specialising in special educational needs, child development and education. Apart from her consultancy, she is a qualified Occupational Therapist, currently working with the National Autistic Society and also Montessori Education for Autism (MEfA) as an academic advisor.
'Evaluation of a Developmental Dance Movement Program as OT Intervention for Children with Autism' was presented by Ms Boes and Ms Golding at the College of Occupational Therapists Annual Conference 2015. The abstract can be accessed in the corresponding British Journal of Occupational Therapy supplement publication.
Ms Golding and Ms Boes have a peer reviewed published paper in the journal Research in Dance Education 'Investigating learning through developmental dance movement as a kinaesthetic tool in the Early Years Foundation Stage'
Elsie Burns - Research Consultant
Elsie is a research consultant, with over 20 years experience in quantitative and qualitative research in London. She has led and worked on studies for a range of government departments, businesses and educational charities. Clients include the National Audit Office, HMRC, the Carbon Trust, the Department of Transport, London Underground, the Book Trust, E.S.U., E.O.N., Royal Mail, Lloyds, Tesco, B.T. and the BBC.
Earlier in her career, she worked for the Ministry of Education in New Zealand in their Early Childhood and then Policy Development section across a wide range of issues from mainstreaming through to rural education, teacher training, and qualifications and assessment.
She considers the MovementWorks programme to have a tremendous amount to offer at this time when there is a growing awareness of the importance of movement: for healthy development and for a fulfilling and expressive life.
Katy Nash - Teaching Assistant and AMT Practitioner
(MovementWorks Professional Level)
In her teaching assistant role at Marjorie McClure Special School, Katy assisted Ali with MovementWorks sessions for several years. Inspired by the work, she completed the Level II training in Autism Movement Therapy in 2017 and the MovementWorks Autism Movement Therapy Professional Level course in 2018.
As well as working with children; dance, singing and drama have always been an important part of Katy’s life.
Katy enjoyed working with the MovementWorks team to promote the benefits of movement for all.
MovementWorks offers fixed-term internships for a career change or continuing professional development (CPD).
Please contact us in regard to Internships and Training Opportunities.
Applications considered in the first instance via email with a covering letter expressing interest, background and relevant experience.
