Following a career, in which London’s Dance Expression magazine called him, “One of the UK’s most innovative choreographers,” George Mitchell has finally hung up his shoes on a life he now refers to as his parallel universe. Originally from Aberdeen, George’s passion is to explore the world, and so far he has travelled in over 70 countries, experiencing extraordinary adventures along the way. Very often these travels are off grid, giving him the feeling that he has stepped on stones that possibly no other human being has ever tread.
George started to tap dance at the age of four and was initially taught by his Mum Levena who ran her own successful dance school. However it wasn’t until he was in his twenties that he took it seriously and moved to London to study the art of rhythm tap. George has been in Russia over a hundred times since 1993, working in dance with various groups, teaching workshops and performing in theatres and Jazz clubs.
Realising from early on that he had nothing in common with the showy London musical scene and that he wanted no part of it, George decided to step out on his own and create his own work. In 1997 he started to teach freelance dance workshops and with his no-nonsense approach to Tap, he soon became highly sought after; his choreography and teaching style were simply revolutionary. He set up his own company, Trap 4 Tap Company and started to produce his own shows.
George then went onto write and choreograph his own unique Rhythm Tap Syllabus which was an introduction to young students on how to Tap properly. It was a huge success and was taught to thousands of students over the next eight years. He wrote/produced/directed and choreographed numerous sell out shows between 1999 and 2007.
In 2003 George bought and directed his own dance school. He turned his dance school Evolution into one of the UK’s largest dance schools. Having changed the way Tap was perceived, George wanted to change the image of dance schools, but he endured tremendous criticism and within three years, Evolution had 750 paying students on its books.
In April 2008, at the age of 37, George sold both Evolution and Trap 4 Productions, but in Moscow in 2010/2011, he again performed in front of a live audience mixing the rock music of Status Quo with the sounds of Tap, but this was to be his final performance.
George held no dance qualifications whatsoever. He was a self taught hoofer who carved a career out of teaching nothing but his own work and he is immensely proud his achievements.
George has a holiday home on Condado de Alhama between Alhama de Murcia and Mazarrón and spends much of his time there.
In his very first attempt at becoming published, George had one of his short stories, A Spontaneous Act, published in a book entitled, Ten Best Short Stories of 2011. Since then he has also independently published the following short stories; Time To Go; Get Me To The Church On Time and Nothing To Declare. He has recently finished his first fictional novel, Moral Dilemma.
Moral Dilema
Sick of who and what he has become, city boy Max Elliot finally casts off the shackles of his greedy material life, only to soon discover that opting out of the rat race and ‘trying to find oneself’, doesn’t necessarily enrich your life either. Disillusioned and near broke, more life-changing decisions need to be made and as a result, Max bounces from one dilemma to the next. Long forgotten money, the law, forged documents, corrupt officials, and the arrival into his life of a very special, if somewhat troubled girl. These situations mentally push Max to the limit as he searches deep inside himself trying to establish who he really is and what, if anything, he morally stands for. Is it possible to have money AND morals?
For more information on George Mitchell, go to georgermitchell.com