Sole Rebel celebrates the creativity, live music and movement of tap—and shares it with an ever-growing community.
Founded in 2011, Sole Rebel creates bold, music-led rhythm tap, touring widely and collaborating with a live band through performance, improvisation labs, and community tap jams.
At Sole Rebel, tap is our foundation—but we’re always reaching beyond. We work across disciplines, blending rhythm, theatre, and movement to explore both new ideas and old traditions, collaborating with artists, musicians and creatives from a wide range of backgrounds.
We create work for both indoor and outdoor settings, and over the past 15 years have been seen performing and teaching at leading festivals and events across the UK, including Greenwich + Docklands International Festival, Edinburgh Fringe, Brighton Fringe, Green Man Festival, Festival No.6, Brecon Jazz Festival, Shambala, Fire in the Mountain, VAULT Festival, Without Walls, Leap Dance Festival, Culture Liverpool, Just So Festival, Swansea Dancing Days, Somersault Festival, Wilderness Festival, Bristol Harbour Festival, Dancin’ Oxford, Secret Garden Party and more.
Sharing the joy and connection of tap dance is central to everything we do. Our educational programme reaches dancers aged 2 to 82, from first-timers to professionals. We run regular classes, and host tap jams with live musicians—supporting improvisation, musicality, and a growing sense of rhythm-led community.
We’re proud to be rooted in Liverpool, Oxford and London, and are deeply grateful to the communities who make our work possible—and joyful.
Who We Are
Hannah Ballard
Founder & Creative Director
Hannah is a multi-disciplinary dance artist, experienced in performance, direction and choreography. Her practice draws from her experience in rhythm tap dance, somatic and release based contemporary dance and improvisation.
Hannah studied professional tap and music practice at Escola Luthier de Dansa, Barcelona. She completed her original training at London Studio Centre gaining a BA (hons) in Theatre Art. From 2018-2020 Hannah studied her Masters in Performance at Liverpool Hope University, a practise as research study under the supervision of Annalaura Alifuoco and Silvia Battista.
From 2010 – 2018 Hannah performed as an aerialist with Wired Aerial Theatre touring worldwide, including the large-scale show ‘As the world tipped’, combining dramatic film projection with interactive aerial performance on a stage suspended 10 metres high above the audience.
Hannah teaches regular classes in Liverpool for all levels and abilities at MDI, LIPA and Liverpool Hope University.
Lexi Bradburn
Associate Artistic Director
Lexi is a founder member of Sole Rebel since 2010 – collaborating in partnership with Hannah in 2016 for their two-hander ‘Blushed’ (Vault/Brighton/Edinburgh Festivals 2016 – Gilded Balloon) described as ‘funny and smart, with rich seams of comedy and rudeness’ (The Guardian).
Lexi runs adult tap courses across London, Oxford and Online, and in 2020 won ‘this year’s outstanding teaching award’ through Morley College for her efforts!
Lexi Bradburn attended LISPA in 2013, 10 years after graduating, she has since trained in clowning with Mick Barnfather, Jos Houben, Jamie Wood and John Wright, in Bouffon with Mark Winstanley and in Stand Up through the Camden Comedy School. She created two-hander ‘Shed’ for the Vault Festival 2014, described as ‘a charming, unpredictable gem, unlike anything ever seen.’ In 2018 she performed multi-character roles in Get Lucky Theatre’s ‘Come Inside’, a physical comedy set inside the body, and in Hatchit Theatre’s ‘How to Make Me Happy’, and in 2019 with Lolly Jones’ ‘I Believe in Merkels’ (Edinburgh Fringe 2019- Assembly Roxy.
I wholeheartedly recommend Sole Rebel as an exceptional tap dancing and music based company for any venue or event
— Benjamin Cosgrove, Director of Arts Bar, Liverpool
Collaborators
Alex McDowall
Musician - Musical Director
Alex McDowall is a jazz guitarist based in Liverpool. After completing a degree in jazz at Leeds College of Music in 2013 he moved back to his hometown of Liverpool to work in the blossoming jazz and creative music scene. He is the co-composer and arranger of the jazz sextet The Deportees. Alongside this he has also led and arranged The Ella Fitzgerald Candlelight Concert band around the Northwest area. Also he has been a very active sideman with numerous bands including Nyoo, Beau Trio, Kippers, Mamadou and The Lekette, and The Secret Improvisors Club.
Pablo Sonnaillon
Musician
Pablo Sonnaillon is a Spanish composer and bassist of Argentinian heritage. Now based in Liverpool, he has a degree in composition from the Royal Northern College of Music and is exploring new ways to create music collaborating with scientists, dancers, artists and filmmakers.
Nick Branton
Musician
Nick Branton is an improvising clarinetist and saxophonist, be it freely or within a jazz setting. His main focus is exploring the sound possibilities of his instruments and recently has been investigating the combination a written melodies with free improvisation, through his band “Kippers” and by diving into the world of (underground jazz hero) Steve Lacy. Along with playing with some of the North Wests finest improvisers, Nick has started organising regular gigs of experimental/ improved music.
He is also at home in traditional and swinging jazz situation and can be found performing regularly around Liverpool with the “Jubilee Stompers” and the “TuneSteppers”.
Luci Mercer
Musician
Luci Mercer is a percussionist, vocalist and songwriter based in Liverpool. Primarily writing and performing worldwide with the art-pop group ‘Stealing Sheep’, she also composes under the name ‘Lula’ and performs locally with ‘The Jubilee Stompers’, ‘TuneSteppers’ and ‘Silent K’
Becky Lamley
Assistant Director - Training and Performance Company 2025
Becky’s passion for Tap started at a very young age taking classes at Vanessa’s School of Dance in Belper.
Becky joined Tap Attack in 2011/2012 and completed in the World Tap Dance Championships in Germany.
Since then, as well as performing professionally in Pantomime and Children’s Theatre Shows, Becky continued her Tap training with some of the best Tap Masters around the world including Sarah Reich, Roxane Butterfly and Heather Cornell who are some of her greatest inspirations.
Becky regularly performs solo, with her band “Vintage on Tap” and with “The Sole ReBelles.” She also teaches at dance colleges and runs her own adult classes.
Becky loved being part of the 2024 T&P Company and is very excited to take on her new role as Assistant Director to the company.
Elise Sandiford
Assistant Producer - Training and Performance Company 2025
Since leaving Tap Attack in 2022 and completing her degree at The Arden in 2023, Elise has loved exploring tap dance history and creating her own work. Nothing makes Elise happier than tap dance! Elise is also a freelance youth work and dance producer for companies such as WigLe Dance CIC. This is her second year with Sole Rebel’s Training and Performance Company and she is so excited to be Assistant Producer this year. Elise can’t wait to see what’s next for her tappy family!
Jasmine Metcalfe
Marketing Manager - Training and Performance Company 2025
Jasmine is a professional actor graduating from LIPA in 2022 with a first class degree. She has also trained at RADA and NYT. Jasmine has been dancing with Sole Rebel since 2019 and has been a member of the Training and Performance Company since its pilot year. Jasmine loves working with young people and runs after school clubs in Liverpool, as well as teaching for Sole Rebel. Jasmine also teaches tap at The University of Liverpool and often tours children’s theatre with The B Tales. Jasmine has just wrapped on a new TV production for AMC and hopes to continue pursuing screen work further this year. Jasmine has assisted with the marketing for the T&P Company for the last two years and is excited to step into this role whilst continuing her tap training and development with Sole Rebel. Jasmine is also a member of The Sole ReBelles.
Karen Wynne
Musician
From playing keyboards and singing in a Senegalese mbalax band to composing and performing music for professional dance productions, Karen loves what music brings to life and is a multi-instrumentalist (piano, guitar, clarinet, percussion). She has sung and played in wide ranging contexts (think sacred choral music and psychedelic rock via street theatre!), and is proud to have collaborated with a wide variety of musicians and performers from across the UK and beyond, including Mamadou & The Super Libidor Band / Andy Frizell Theatre Orchestra / Bisakha Sarker MBE / Emily & the Faves / Dawn Penn.
Karen has taught performance/ensemble/instrumental skills in further education, and has worked on community music projects with More Music, MZONE, SOLA ARTS, Chaturangan and others.
Sophie Ellen Powell
Writer of 'In Time'
Sophie is a theatre-maker, writer, performer and educator. As a theatre practitioner she is drawn to playful imaginative work. Her practice focuses on devised work , clown , mask, puppetry and object animation. Originally training in Drama and French at Bristol University she conducted further training with Gaulier, John Wright and Little Angel Theatre, also completing an MA in Creative Writing at Chichester University. She is an associate performer with Long Nose Puppets and co-wrote and performs in the only official Moomin Puppet show Mischief and Mystery in Moomin Valley. Other performance credits include Du Iz tak? for Tiny Pickles, Flat pack and Barbara Pootlepaddle with OH! Productions, StevenWhinnery’s Lying with the animals for the London International Mime Festival.
As a writer Sophie was the recipient of the Kate Betts Memorial prize for best writing in the MA. Winner of the Exeter story prize 2017 and shortlisted for Cambridge story prize and Myriad first drafts. A contributor to the climate fiction anthology Sunburnt Saints , published by seventy2one. Work also published by TSS, MIR online, Litro mag, MJP publishing and Poetry Today.
She is co-founder of PuppetBox – a company dedicated to puppetry training and access. Find her on Instagram @apinchofsaltsophie