International Women's Day 2021 #ChoosetoChallenge

This years creative mission for International Women’s Day is to celebrate the work of women creatives and elevate visibility for commercial projects and commissions; all under the banner #ChoosetoChallenge We are joining the celebrations by recognising and elevating the inspiring women of EVC. We asked each of them to put into their own words how, this year they #ChoosetoChallenge

Heidi Boualili: Student Coach/Emerging Artist

“I invest a lot of time into turning my dreams into a reality. As a music artist, it’s important. I love creating vision boards to help me manifest and reach my goal! Two weeks before the end of 2020, I wrote down the number ‘10,000’ on a post-it note and stuck it on my ceiling, alongside a date - 1st Jan 2021. This was a target for the number of TikTok followers I was aiming for … when I wrote it, I had 300 followers. On the 1st Jan I hit the 10k mark! This was a combination of planning, manifesting and lots of hard work!”

This story is one of many reasons we love Heidi - her drive and determination has not wavered through the pandemic, making her an amazing role model for our younger students.

Megan Buxton: Coach/Country Artist/Actress

“I’ve spent the last year in lockdown working on my acting; auditioning and working really hard to get experience on screen. This has led me to my biggest opportunity to date; being cast as one of the leads in a Musical Horror; combining my two passions - singing and acting. The film is a real champion of women’s individuality; my role is the Elle Woods of the film … a reformed party girl, who’s super smart! We’re currently around 1/3 of the way through filming and I’m loving every minute ”

We’re absolutely thrilled for Megan and cannot wait to see ‘Powertool Cheerleaders vs The Boyband of the Screeching Dead!’

Louisa Strachan: Founder of EVC/Vocalist/Songwriter/Coach

“This last year and next is all about bringing us into the new era for Essex Vocal Coaching. Like everyone, we’ve faced a number of challenges to life as usual. From switching all activities over to online learning, to bringing forward the plans for our own space; my skillset has been tested every step of the way and I’ve never learnt so much in such a short space of time, which has been fun - all the good stuff happens outside of your comfort zone … and what else was I gonna do with myself in 2020?! 2021 will be about solidifying all the plans I’ve been making and getting back to some performing myself. I’m excited“

It’s fair to say everyone is very excited about returning to in-person lessons at the new home of EVC!

We hope you enjoyed reading our stories. If you would like to follow any of their journeys, all three of them can be found on Instagram:

Heidi: @heidimusicuk / Megan: meganrosemusicuk / Louisa: @louisasplace_