Name:           Briar Christen

Age :             21

Country:       England/Switzerland

Physical Description:

Briar has messy brown hair usually worn in a long braid down her back. Her eyes are brown and slant upward at the outer corner, and her skin is tan. She stands 4'11" and has a slender build.

Personality:

Briar is competitive and enjoys most sports, being remarkably quick at picking up those she hasn't tried before, but most of all she loves to dance. Though never shy she is wary and quiet when meeting new people, and doesn't make friends easily, but once she has made a close friend she will stick by them through anything. Though bright, she is severely dyslexic which caused her major learning difficulties at school.
 
Vocal Range:     mezzo-soprano comfortable to A

Dancer who sings

Background/family:

Her father, Karl Christen, is Swiss and her mother, Angel, is Chinese though grew up in Switzerland. Briar has one older brother, Daniel. She was born in Zurich and grew up in London, England. She speaks fluent English and Swiss-German, though cannot read or write German.

Dance/Vocal qualifications and training:

Briar has taken many forms of dance including ballet, jazz, tap, folk, modern and also gymnastics during her time at the Royal Ballet School. She has the Trinity Diploma in Voice and a BA in Musical Theatre.

Theatre History:

Briar entered the Royal Ballet School at age 11 and was in her first theatrical production as Alice in Alice in Wonderland. She enjoyed the acting part of her role so much that she began auditioning and gaining parts in numerous amateur plays and musicals. After graduating from the RBS lower school at 16 and just scraping through her GCSEs she decided against continuing to the upper school and a ballet career and despite her young age gained entry to begin a 3-year BA in Musical Theatre at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London. She graduated with Honours, after which she made her professional debut in The Phantom of the Opera in the West End, understudying Meg Giry.

Playbill:

Ever since she saw CATS as a child, Swiss-born Briar has dreamed of taking her place among the Jellicles. A graduate of the Royal Ballet School and Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts, she made her professional debut in The Phantom of the Opera in London's West End. She is delighted now to be fulfilling her childhood dream with Stuttgart CATS.