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Move Beyond Words

Aj & Curtis Pritchard

Season 1, Ep. 6

Welcome to the Move Beyond Words podcast series. Join us as we amplify the voices of dyslexic people from various backgrounds, like us. As two dyslexic creatives, we want to start a conversation about it and share our journey...from the challenges to the countless rewards.


In the fifth and special live recorded episode, Elizabeth and Charlotte are joined by the brilliant brothers Aj and Curtis Pritchard. 

The talented brothers from Stoke-on-Trent are widely recognised on TV screens, having starred in reality and talent shows in both the UK and Ireland.


AJ’s has represented Great Britain around the world, competed in Britain’s Got Talent and in 2016, joined the line-up of Strictly Come Dancing.


Curtis has enjoyed success as a professional dancer on the Ireland’s Dancing with The Stars, as well as competing in The Greatest Dancer and 2019’s hugely popular Love Island.


Both brothers discovered their dyslexia at a young age, having struggled with writing, spelling and getting information down on paper. 

On this episode the both open up about their "struggles" with dyslexia, which were heightened when the pair made a move into theatre last year and had to do a script read in front of the rest of the cast.


To find out more about us and our various projects, visit movebeyondwords.co.uk


This podcast is part of a wider collaboration from the Move Beyond Words team.

Hosts: Elizabeth Arifien and Charlotte Edmonds.

MBW’s project manager, Hannah Gibbs

Podcast Producer: Niall Killeney-Taylor

Art and Design: Alex Colehan

Marketing, Digital and Press: Sian Gilling 

Original Score: Tom Parker



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  • Introducing Move Beyond Words

    01:36
    Welcome to the Move Beyond Words podcast series. Join us as we amplify the voices of neurodiverse people from various backgrounds.Shared experiences, by a variety of creatives, to help us understand the depth of dyslexia.Subscribe to the show now so you never miss out on an episode.This series is funded by Arts Council England.To find out more about us and our various projects, visit movebeyondwords.co.ukThis podcast is part of a wider collaboration from the Move Beyond Words team.Hosts: Elizabeth Arifien and Charlotte Edmonds.MBW’s project manager, Hannah GibbsPodcast Producer, Niall Killeney-TaylorArt and Design by Alex ColehanDigital and Social Media by Gaby WhitehillOriginal Score: Bearfoot Music
  • 1. From Dance to Desk

    31:56
    Welcome to the Move Beyond Words podcast series. Join us as we amplify the voices of neurodiverse people from various backgrounds.Lived experiences, by a variety of creatives, to help us understand the depth of dyslexia.Subscribe to the show now so you never miss out on an episode.To find out more about us and our various projects, visit movebeyondwords.co.ukThis podcast is part of a wider collaboration from the Move Beyond Words team.Hosts: Elizabeth Arifien and Charlotte Edmonds.MBW’s project manager, Hannah GibbsPodcast Producer, Niall Killeney-TaylorArt and Design by Alex ColehanDigital and Social Media by Gaby WhitehillOriginal Score: Tom Parker
  • 2. Lauren McCrostie

    39:08
    Welcome to the Move Beyond Words podcast series. Join us as we amplify the voices of dyslexic people from various backgrounds, like us. As two dyslexic creatives, we want to start a conversation about it and share our journey...from the challenges to the countless rewards.In the second episode, Elizabeth and Charlotte are joined by their first guest - actress and friend Lauren McCrostie, known for her roles in dyslexic director Tim Burton's film Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, and The Falling.Having found success across TV and theatre, as well as being an advocate and activist for sustainability, Lauren shares how she uses her dyslexia to her advantage as an actress.To find out more about us and our various projects, visit movebeyondwords.co.ukThis podcast is part of a wider collaboration from the Move Beyond Words team.Hosts: Elizabeth Arifien and Charlotte Edmonds.MBW’s project manager, Hannah GibbsPodcast Producer, Niall Killeney-TaylorArt and Design by Alex ColehanDigital and Social Media by Gaby WhitehillOriginal Score: Tom Parker
  • 3. Kate Power & Kathy Iwanczak Forsyth

    35:53
    Welcome to the Move Beyond Words podcast series. Join us as we amplify the voices of dyslexic people from various backgrounds, like us. As two dyslexic creatives, we want to start a conversation about it and share our journey...from the challenges to the countless rewards.In the third episode, Elizabeth and Charlotte are joined by a similar creative partnership - Kate Power and Kathy Iwanczak Forsyth make up the wonderful writing duo behind the books, The Illustrated Guide to Dyslexia and Its Amazing People' and ‘The Bigger Picture Book of Amazing Dyslexic’s and the jobs they do’.Together they have created such beautiful and honest work about the challenges of dyslexia (like problems or embarrassment at school), while showing how its strengths can be used to your advantage (for example how visualising and big picture thinking can make you shine at work). Their collaborative work is filled with colourful conversations with creative, motivated and successful people, who are brilliant at what they do, and who achieve incredible things because of their dyslexia. Making them the perfect guests to help us shine a light on all things ‘Amazing Dyslexics’.To find out more about us and our various projects, visit movebeyondwords.co.ukThis podcast is part of a wider collaboration from the Move Beyond Words team.Hosts: Elizabeth Arifien and Charlotte Edmonds.MBW’s project manager, Hannah GibbsPodcast Producer, Niall Killeney-TaylorArt and Design by Alex ColehanDigital and Social Media by Gaby WhitehillOriginal Score: Tom Parker
  • 4. Steve Chapman

    52:51
    Welcome to the Move Beyond Words podcast series. Join us as we amplify the voices of dyslexic people from various backgrounds, like us. As two dyslexic creatives, we want to start a conversation about it and share our journey...from the challenges to the countless rewards.In the fourth  episode, Elizabeth and Charlotte are joined by artist, writer, speaker, podcaster and experimenter Steve Chapman. Steve offers the idea that dyslexia is a label offering  a VIP pass to creativity and his incredible plethora of work and experience certainly shows this. He has spoken at tedX and Cannes Festival. His art has been exhibited alongside David Shrigley and Pablo Picasso and like us, he hosts his own podcast Sound of Silence.Interested in creativity and the human condition, Steve enjoys not knowing and at the same time, loves answers that lead to new questions. Together, they delve deep into the creative mind to find a connection between art and dyslexia. To find out more about us and our various projects, visit movebeyondwords.co.uk. This podcast is part of a wider collaboration from the Move Beyond Words team.Hosts: Elizabeth Arifien and Charlotte Edmonds.MBW’s project manager, Hannah GibbsPodcast Producer: Niall Killeney-TaylorArt and Design: Alex ColehanMarketing, Digital and Press: Sian Gilling Original Score: Tom Parker
  • 5. Stella Tillyard

    39:41
    Welcome to the Move Beyond Words podcast series.Join us as we amplify the voices of dyslexic people from various backgrounds, like us.As two dyslexic creatives, we want to start a conversation about it and share our journey...from the challenges to the countless rewards.In the fourth episode, Elizabeth and Charlotte are joined by the brilliant author and historian Stella Tillyard.Not only was her bestselling book Aristocrats made into a miniseries for BBC, she has won multiple awards for her writing. To find out more about us and our various projects, visit movebeyondwords.co.uk
  • 7. Sean Douglas

    50:09
    Welcome to the Move Beyond Words podcast series. Join us as we amplify the voices of dyslexic people from various backgrounds, like us. As two dyslexic creatives, we want to start a conversation about it and share our journey...from the challenges to the countless rewards.In this, Elizabeth and Charlotte are joined by the outspoken and dyslexia positive voice of Sean Douglas. Sean is a successful content producer, specialising in video and podcasting, having worked with likes of the BBC and The National Trust. Sean created the website and podcast designed for adults with dyslexia, named The CodPast. Sean has been public in voicing his concerns regarding Dyslexia discrimination in the workplace, appearing on a number of panels and broadcasts.To find out more about us and our various projects, visit movebeyondwords.co.ukTo discover Sean's work on dyslexia, visit https://thecodpast.org/This podcast is part of a wider collaboration from the Move Beyond Words team.Hosts: Elizabeth Arifien and Charlotte Edmonds.MBW’s project manager, Hannah GibbsPodcast Producer: Niall Killeney-TaylorArt and Design: Alex ColehanMarketing, Digital and Press: Sian Gilling Original Score: Tom Parker
  • 8. Ashley Woodfield

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    Welcome to the Move Beyond Words podcast series. Join us as we amplify the voices of dyslexic people from various backgrounds, like us. As two dyslexic creatives, we want to start a conversation about it and share our journey...from the challenges to the countless rewards.In the eighth episode of this series, Elizabeth and Charlotte are joined by the Head of Press at the Royal Ballet, Ashley Woodfield. Ashley opens up about his early years of school and how his journey may have taken a little longer to where he is now, but as many fellow dyslexics, we get there in the end. It was wonderful listening to Ashley story, as he shared moments from his life that many may not have heard before. To find out more about us and our various projects, visit movebeyondwords.co.ukThis podcast is part of a wider collaboration from the Move Beyond Words team.Hosts: Elizabeth Arifien and Charlotte Edmonds.MBW’s project manager, Hannah GibbsPodcast Producer: Niall Killeney-TaylorArt and Design: Alex ColehanMarketing, Digital and Press: Sian Gilling Original Theme Music: Tom Parker