Activate Performing Arts > SUMMER 2010 NEWSLETTER
> Introduction Over the last six months, we have been involved in some big changes and new developments for audiences and artists in the area as part of the plans for the Cultural Olympiad in the run up to 2012 and beyond.
Our one-off Greenhouse funding programme has been supporting the creation of new dance and theatre by artists based in the county and has funded the professional development of a range of other artists. Find out who’s making new work locally on page 15.
Outdoor Events and Celebrations have been given a boost with the creation of a new team employed at Activate to draw together events and create a stronger and more vibrant cultural calendar (see page 3). Inside Out returns this September with a stunning programme of events and participation (see page 5) working with strong partnerships that include the launch of a major new venue in Bournemouth Pavilion Dance. This spring, Pavilion Dance began a season of dance classes and performances to whet your appetite whilst the building works continue for a launch that starts in September and runs through to November (see page 8).
Young people continue to flock to the performing arts, and with boosts through the national Youth Dance England programme, Aimhigher and Aiming High for Disabled Children, we have been developing more opportunities for young people to take part, perform and to go and see more performance. See page 16 to find out more.
A season of new circus ties into the Inside Out festival this year with a programming first at Lighthouse called ‘Carte Blanche’. ‘Carte Blanche’ is part of a partnership that brings Lighthouse, Activate and London based circus arts agency Crying Out Loud into partnership with Cherbourg based circus creation centre La Breche, to develop new circus on either side of the channel. This will be done through the programming of new UK and French circus, critical debate and learning about the art form for artists, promoters and audiences. See page 7 for more information.
And finally – we are bursting at the seams in our current offices so we plan to re-locate this autumn to the Little Keep in Dorchester, next to Artsreach, Dorset Visual Arts and Creative Dorset. Within easy reach of the whole of the sub-region. Do keep in touch with us if you’re involved in dance and theatre or would like to be, we aim to make a platform for what’s happening through our website and the work we do.
Linking all of this together will be our new website due to go live in the summer. It will tie in with a major campaign for the arts in Dorset called Dorset Loves Arts which will raise the profile of the arts for audiences across the county. See page 2 for more details.
- Kate Wood, Director
> Activating Audiences Dorset Loves Arts – that’s a fact! And currently about 50% of the population in Dorset attends or participates in arts and cultural events more than 3 times per year. The Dorset Strategic Partnership believes that increasing attendance and participation in the arts is important for enhancing people’s quality of life and should form part of how the performance of the partnership is rated by national government. National Indicator 11 (NI11) ‘Engagement in the Arts’ has been written into Dorset’s Local Area Agreement, and there is now a drive to increase the number of people attending or participating in arts by 3%. Arts venues and other cultural institutions are now collaborating under the title of Dorset Loves Arts to increase awareness of Dorset’s cultural offers to encourage residents to attend and participate in the arts – and also to encourage tourists to make the most of the events on offer. One of the ways Dorset is responding to this is with a new, free website which will unite all the amateur and professional arts organisations for the first time. www.dorsetlovesarts.org is inviting groups and organisations, both amateur and professional to list their events and activities. The website went live in June and 58 organisations are already participating. Photo: Compagnie XY ‘Le Grand C’
> New Outdoor Events & Celebrations Team Catherine Devenish joins us as the Outdoor Events and Celebrations Manager, after a successful career with the Arts Council as Head of Resources. We are thrilled to have appointed such an excellent candidate to the post and she is equally pleased to be managing a great team of people: Cleo Evans, the Inside Out 2010 Festival Producer, Sandy Wilderspin, the B-Side Multimedia Festival Producer – who works directly with the B-Side Festival CIC, and Amy Eastwood, our Processions Co-ordinator. The team has been recruited following the success of the Dorset Strategic Partnership recognising the value of arts and culture and supporting an increase in engagement in the arts locally (National Indicator 11 “Engagement in the Arts” local area agreement target). One of the focuses for development in the county is reaching more people through outdoor events, celebrations and festivals. This is part of a wider strategy which aims to bring organisations together to raise the profile of the arts under the Dorset Loves Arts campaign, and to support leadership, creative industries, and the development of the visual arts. The new team at Activate will work on particular projects and work together on joint initiatives such as marketing, evaluation, professional development and sharing knowledge and expertise. Catherine’s role is to draw the outdoor events and celebrations activity together to create greater opportunities for audiences to go and see and take part in events, for artists to develop their practice and make new work, for organisations to work more closely together in partnership. Find out more about activities overleaf.
Catherine - Outdoor Events and Celebrations Manager
Sandy - B-Side Producer
Cleo - Inside Out Producer
Amy - Processions Co-ordinator
Website: Activate will soon be launching a brand new website designed to give you lots of information about dance, theatre and outdoor opportunities and events in Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole. The website is intended to be very much community generated so we want everyone to get involved. The features included on the website provide detail on what’s on in Dorset, regional and national arts news, details on paid and unpaid opportunities, a resources page listing useful information and advice on getting involved and working in the arts and a members’ directory to name a few. You can create a profile on the website which will enable you to really interact with the site by posting your event listings, company or artist profile or you could post a question or a discussion topic on the notice board. Keep checking our current website: www.activateperformingarts.org.uk
for our new website launch dates.
Dorset Future Jobs Fund Programme: The Future Jobs Fund Programme is part of a national initiative by the Department of Work and Pensions focussed on tackling unemployment issues in the 18-24 age group. The Dorset programme, which is being administered by Dorset County Council, is made up of a partnership of over 50 Public and Third Sector organisations and will create 525 temporary paid jobs across Dorset funded by the Department of Work and Pensions. The programme started in April 2010, and will enable a young person to develop their skills within an organisation and be employed in a paid position for 6 months. Activate successfully bid for 3 placements and we are delighted to announce that we have since appointed Tiffany Wheaton-Green as one of our Assistant Producers for this year’s Inside Out Festival. We are currently in the process of recruiting for 2 other placements – another Assistant Producer for the Inside Out Festival and an Administrative Assistant who will support the core team at Activate.
Photo: Compagnie Ex Nihilo
Inside Out 2010: Friday 10th to Sunday 19th September 2010. Extraordinary events in extraordinary places. Inside Out transforms Dorset again with eleven days of free outdoor theatre, dance, circus, music and performance. Iconic locations in West Dorset, Bournemouth town, on Poole Quay and on the Jurassic Coast in the Isle of Purbeck become focal points for a range of international arts events both spectacular and intimate which will form part of the celebrations around the Cultural Olympiad in Dorset. Artists from across Europe and closer to home will be welcomed to Dorset, to work with local people, artists, schools and community groups. Inside Out presents major companies from France, Finland, Wales and England. The programme includes: • A new commission from Kimmo Pohjonen and Paper Cinema on the Jurassic Coast • No Fit State Circus in Maumbury Rings, Dorchester • Les Quidams in Poole • The world premiere of a new work by KMA in Bournemouth, produced by SCAN, along with the first visit to England by Ex Nihilio dance as part of the launch of Pavilion Dance, the new regional dance centre opening in Autumn 2010 • Residencies, workshops, outreach professional development and talks Inside Out is part of a wider Cultural Olympiad programme in Dorset that includes B-Side Multi-media Festival
NoFitState Circus. Photo: Inept Gravity.
presented from 18-26 September, and coincides with the region-wide celebration of music, dance and outdoor arts, Count Me In, 24-26 September 2010. More information on the Inside Out programme and locations can be found at www.insideoutdorset.co.uk or follow the festival on Facebook and Twitter. Sign up there and be the first to find out about the 2010 programme. Inside Out is an initiative of the Dorset Theatre Promoters’ Consortium (DTPC) which includes Dorchester Arts, Bridport Arts Centre, Weymouth College, Dorset County Council, Lighthouse, Activate Performing Arts, Artsreach and Pavilion Dance at Dance South West. It is also an initiative of the Bournemouth and Poole arts teams, Wave and DepARTure and is managed by Activate Performing Arts. It is funded by Arts Council England, Dorset Strategic Partnership, Bournemouth Borough Council, Borough of Poole, Pavilion Dance at Dance South West, SCAN, British Council, DTPC, Creative Dorset, West Dorset District Council, Aimhigher, Jurassic Coast Arts Programme, Wave, DepARTure, Dorchester Arts, Activate Performing Arts and the Valentine Trust.
>Get Involved Dorchester: Be part of NoFit State’s ‘Parklife’ in Dorchester. If you have a specific skill from BMX riding to morris dancing, from acapella singing to unicycling then you could take part in this spectacular one-off show. Further information from: sharon@dorchesterarts.org.uk Volunteer stewards required for Inside Out (Bournemouth, Poole, Worth Matravers and Dorchester) and B-side Multi-media arts (Weymouth and Portland) festivals in September – expand your professional and social horizons, your contribution can make the buzz happen. Opportunities to be slap bang in the middle of something amazing coming to the South West in September no experience necessary, training given. To register your interest or for more information contact Gemma on 01202 884340 or gemma@activateperformingarts.org.uk
B-Side Multimedia Arts Festival: Following the success of the pilot Festival in 2008, B-Side is back! B-side invites you to explore the flip side of Weymouth & Portland through a series of specially commissioned art pieces that investigate the less commercial aspects of the seaside. New work in sound, installation, film and visual art inhabit and reanimate the public spaces you may well have passed by before - a Fort, an underground nuclear bunker, a secluded secret garden, a seaside café and even a tailor’s shop all get the b-side treatment. Contemporary, quirky, irreverent, thought provoking and often humorous, make sure that you put September 17th – 26th in your diary as the week that you discover, encounter and experience art in unusual places! Embrace the B-side! For all up to date programme information go to www.b-side.org.uk or follow the festival on Facebook: www.facebook.com/bsidefest and Twitter: www.twitter.com/bsidefest. Keep a look out; more information will be released soon including ways that you can get involved directly.
Kimmo Pohjonen. Photo: George Wright
Carnival and Processions: Carnival has an incredibly long tradition all over the world and there are a diverse range of carnival and processions across the UK and internationally with a strong heritage steeped in local traditions, as well as creating and embracing new ideas. Carnival and outdoor processions are celebratory and community based. They offer an opportunity for people to engage either practically or as active spectators and their popularity has led to Carnivals being a key art form for the Cultural Olympiad and an opportunity for our community groups to be part of larger, international celebration in 2012 and their partnerships beyond this. Work has already begun as a part of the strategic arts development across Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole. Weymouth and Portland, and the communities along the Jurassic Coast have been identified as particular areas for focus, but equally interest across Bournemouth and Poole is also strong. A large, spectacular carnival and outdoor event is planned for 2012, including the Quest programme and we want the best carnival procession for Weymouth to showcase local carnival, offer a distinctive voice of the area and find a collective focus for everyone to work together on.
Amy Eastwood, our new Processions coordinator will be the contact point for regional carnivals engaging with the site/programme and she is in the process of organising two outdoor events and processions network meetings in October. These will be free events which will give community groups/artists/professionals (anyone with an interest in community–led processional/outdoor work) the opportunity to find out more about: • Amy’s new role in Activate (Processions Coordinator) and what it offers • Launching the concept of a network in Dorset (including Bournemouth and Poole) as well as East Devon • Meet like-minded people, network and find out about current work and ideas • Opportunity to share good practice The dates of the network meetings are Wednesday 13th October at The Malthouse, Lyme Regis from 6pm – 8.30pm and Thursday 21st October at Wimborne Community Learning and Resource Centre, Wimborne from 6pm – 8.30pm. These will be informal evenings with presentations, a chance to network and a light supper. The events are free but you must register a place. Please respond to Amy on: 01202 884340 by Friday 1st October to register. People from East Devon are also welcome if based on the Jurassic Coast.
Photo: Pavilion Dance
Pavilion Centre for Dance: The opening of Pavilion Dance is fast approaching with the official launch coinciding with the Inside Out Festival in September and there is a stunning line up ready for audiences in the autumn. Thousands of people packed into Bournemouth Square on 10th April to watch spectacular performances by more than 60 local dancers, along with professional dancers from one of London’s best hip hop dance companies.
Photo: Pavilion Dance
Avant Garde Dance Company Photo: Pavilion Dance
The hugely successful Urban Dance Weekend was organised by Pavilion Dance as a forerunner to the world-class dance centre opening in the Pavilion this autumn, and kicked off with Square Dance 2 – a hip hop piece specially created for Bournemouth Square by Avant Garde Dance, who worked with young people from local dance crews Pure Funk, Shake, Pulse, Beat and DFA (Dance for All). International breakdance crews from as far afield as France, Italy and Romania descended on the Pavilion Ballroom yesterday, as more than 300 people watched and took part in an incredible breakdance jam and competition presented by renowned local crew Second to None. 25 local dancers also took part in a free waackin’ workshop – an old school funk/disco dance style, led by hip hop dancer Anna Marsh. Ian Abbott, Programme Manager for Pavilion Dance said: “The weekend was a massive success and it was heartening to see so many people appreciative and excited by the dance on show. This is just the start of many spectacular events due to happen in Bournemouth when Pavilion Dance opens this autumn.” Visit www.paviliondance.org.uk for more information about Pavilion Dance and the classes and events on offer, which will be run by Dance South West in partnership with Bournemouth Borough Council.
Carte Blanche: Drawing together companies from France, Finland and the UK, Carte Blanche is the brand new season of new circus and outdoor performance at Lighthouse in Poole. The season started in June with Le Petit Mal from Racehorse Company (Finland) a show that left the audience breathless, and the season continues with a summer workshop programme for young people in August with NoFitstate Circus (UK). NoFitstate will then return for the Inside Out Festival in September at the same time as excellent workshops with Companie Les Quidems for artists and older students in the lead up to their performance at the Inside Out festival in September. Critically acclaimed Okham’s Razor (UK) come to Lighthouse on October 15th/16th, followed by the finale for Carte Blanche; a whole weekend on the 23rd/24th
October of French and UK circus, with Companie XY from France headlining with their show Le Grand C fresh from their acclaimed run at the Roundhouse in London. A programme of film, family workshops, masterclasses and talks, followed by a residency for young people with Niki McCretton during the half term will make this October one to remember. For video footage and booking details take a look at: www.lighthousepoole.co.uk. This is all made possible through a new partnership between Lighthouse, Crying Out Loud, Activate and Le Breche in Cherbourg and funded through the Interreg EU programme, with match funding in the Uk from Aimhigher and the partners.
Photo: Petit Mal
> Theatre Company News Stuff and Nonsense: As part of the Greenhouse funding programme, Activate have funded the work of Bridport based Stuff and Nonsense Theatre to re-make their children’s show ‘The Little Red Hen’ from a small scale The Little Red Hen to a midscale tour. This Photo: Graham Burke show for 3-7 year olds toured nationally in the spring and will continue to tour later on this year. Internationally acclaimed for their work – do not miss this show. For more information please visit: www.aloadofstuffandnonsense.co.uk In September, Bedlam by critically acclaimed Bournemouth playwright Nell Leyshon, will premiere at the Globe Theatre in London. Nell is the first female playwright ever to be staged at the Globe. For more information please go to: http://bit.ly/bedlamglobe
Photo: Ockham’s Razor ‘The Mill’
> Theatre Company News (continued) To Market: A befuddled bunch of strange and wonderful characters arrive at the market place; Mad Hatters, a Tall Man and the Boiled Sweetie Sisters. What are they doing and where do they come from? Experience one-a-penny tunes, luminous socks, fat pigs, plum cake, jiggerty jig, jiggerty jake... During the spring, Satellite Arts devised and produced a highly visual piece of theatre entitled ‘To Market’ with a group of 10 locally based young people. Funded by the National Lottery Awards for All, The Valentine Trust and DepARTure, the work was inspired by the stories behind objects for sale in the market place; where the objects come from and the journeys they make to our homes was based on, and was performed in Dorset market places. The project brought together visual artists Sarah Butterworth, Sarah Leithead with drama facilitator Wendy Petitdemange and sitebased artist Sally Watkins. Working with Dorset Social Services, we invited young carers and looked Photo: To Market after young people to
participate, and 10 participants came forward, keen to perform in their town centres. ‘To Market’ also aimed to make a positive contribution to Dorset market places by attracting new crowds. The group performed on a sunny Saturday morning at Bridport Market on April 17th, and again at Weymouth Farmers Market on May 9th. Audience response was collected by Ros Fry at West Mead Creative; “Great, unusual. More, more!” “Great spectacle, lovely bright vibrant costumes.” At the end of the project the young troupe will be treated to two creative days with Fantasy in rural Devon, where they will evaluate their work and further develop their ideas, performance skills, costumes and puppetry. Satellite Arts is a Dorset-based arts and performance organisation working with disadvantaged young people in and around Weymouth. Run by Sarah Butterworth and Wendy Petitdemange, projects have included workshops for Inside Out to celebrate the Cultural Olympiad handover in 2008, the creation of a giant Christmas Angel which led the lantern procession on Weymouth Victorian Night in 2008, and devising and performing ‘Something Happened in the Garden’ in Chesil Garden on Portland in 2007. Sarah and Wendy can be contacted on sarah@emeraldant.com and more photos can be seen at: www.flickr.com/photos/emeraldantics
Photo: Satellite Arts ‘To Market Project
Dorset Corset: Dorset Corset Theatre Company, based in Shaftesbury was founded in 2006 by Helen Watts, Fiona Davis and Ed Burnside, with a desire to tell stories in an engaging and exciting way and to breathe new life into classic literature. This year the company is combining adaptation with new writing in their new show ‘Frankenstein: The Year Without a Summer’, set to tour this autumn. Venues include Arc Theatre Trowbridge (Premier 5th October), Bridport Arts Centre, The Regent Centre, The Digby Hall, Shaftesbury Arts Centre, Broadmayne Village Hall (Artsreach) and The Shelley Theatre, Boscombe. Third year Costume and Performance Design students from Arts University College Bournemouth are designing and making the set and costumes. Funding was secured from Activate (Greenhouse fund), The Fenton Arts Trust, Bournemouth Arts Grant and Arts Council Grants for the Arts to support the development of ‘Frankenstein’. For more information take a look at their website: www.dorsetcorset.co.uk
> Activate Your Potential Inside Out: If you’re an artist based in Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole and want to find out more about the companies involved in this year’s Inside Out, then come along to one of the artist talks taking place during the festival. Look out for more detail on the Inside Out website www.insideoutdorset.co.uk and get involved - supported by Creative Dorset. Carte Blanche: A professional development programme for new circus arts is being developed for the October programme as this newsletter goes to print. It will include masterclasses for artists, talks and promoter exchange. Look out for details on our website: www.activateperformingarts.org.uk or www.lighthousepoole.co.uk
Companies such as As One Theatre, Treehouse Theatre, Artemis Theatre Company, TheatreOrb and Burnt Toast have all been developing their work and producing some interesting and exciting work in Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole in the last few months. This is only a small snapshot of theatre artists based locally. For more news on whose doing what in the county take a look at our website.
Photo: StopGap Dance Company
> Theatre
In theatre, we are working with Jonathan Petherbridge (from London Bubble Theatre) on the development of the Pumphouse Project in Wimborne, artist Michelle O’Brien to continue to make outdoor work and for a new project called Spice Box, Sarah Butterworth for her street theatre project entitled ‘The Hanging Gardens of Blanchmange’ and Sally Watkins’s community piece for Weymouth ‘Come Sail With Me’. Stuff and Nonsense Theatre Company have also benefitted from the funding as mentioned previously. Funding was also granted to TheatreOrb for their first successful festival of new writing at Lighthouse. Not only have we given financial assistance to these companies and artists, but we are providing advice and support for them too. Theatre Orb Writing Festival: As part of the Greenhouse funding programme, Activate supported Theatre Orb’s New Writing Festival which took place over a weekend in April at the Lighthouse, Poole. The festival enabled around 80 writers to experience masterclass events /network meetings and support sessions for their new writing, and this included masterclass workshops with Nell Leyshon and Jack Bradley. Theatre Orb’s founding members Craig Norman and Helena Fox curated the event which saw film showings, a meeting of the South West New Writer’s Network as well as a new production of Simon Stephen’s powerful play, Herons. www.theatreorb.co.uk
Herons. Photo: Stephen Fox - www.stephenfox.co.uk
Greenhouse: Activate’s aim is to put the artist at the centre of everything we do and we have invested £8,500 worth of funding from our Greenhouse funding programme into local artists and projects. Funding has gone towards some key projects which focus on new dance and theatre work being made in Dorset, new opportunities for artists based in Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole, and new audience opportunities being created.
> Dance DanceNet: Activate supports local dance artists, practitioners and teachers as part of our DanceNet programme, and we recently partnered with the choreography department at University College Falmouth (incorporating Dartington College) to organise a workshop with lecturer and choreographer Malaika Sarco Thomas. The successful workshop entitled ‘How to teach choreography’, enabled Malaika to share her expertise with local teachers and youth dance leaders. Equally successful was the workshop for professional dancers and dance students with Akram Khan Dance Company. The workshop offered participants the opportunity to learn some of the choreography from the company’s latest piece ‘Bahok’. The workshop was fully subscribed and rated ‘excellent’ by the participants. Thanks goes to Lighthouse and Bournemouth and Poole College for helping to make it possible. Our regular contemporary dance classes for intermediate dancers will continue to take place at Lighthouse, Poole in the Autumn.
Yorke Dance Project Youth Leaders Programme: As part of Activate’s Community Youth Dance Project, in partnership with Active Dorset, we have offered a fully funded bursary of £1000 for 2 of our local youth dance leaders to take part in a Creative Professional Development training with the Yorke Dance Project this summer. The Youth Dance Leaders programme offers the participants the unique opportunity to join the Yorke Dance Company for a period of up to two weeks, taking part in daily classes, and task-based creative sessions which have direct input into the creation of the company’s new work. Following this creative time, each youth group leader will return home across the South West region and will be encouraged to use the ideas and movement vocabulary from Yolande Yorke-Edgell, the Company artistic Director to create work with their respective youth groups. The Youth Dance Leaders are given the opportunity to show the new work, created with their youth dance group, as a curtain raiser before one of Yorke Dance Projects forthcoming tour dates. The new DanceNet programme for autumn will include talks from artists that are performing in Inside Out and the new Pavilion Centre for dance – sign up for our e-news to find out more and take a look at our website: www.activateperformingarts.org.uk Bahok. Photo: Hugo Glendinning
> Dance (continued) Greenhouse: In dance, we have supported Natasha Player with the research and development of a new dance piece which explores dual heritage entitled ‘Obey the Wind’. This show premiered at the Dorchester Festival in May and was very positively received. Margaret Swallow has also been awarded a bursary to work on the research and development of ‘Pianola’, an intergenerational dance piece inspired by her father’s memories. We are contributing to Niki Northover’s travel to the New York Tap Festival so that she can be accompanied by some of her talented students and movement artist Sandra Reeve has created a site responsive dance piece called ‘Absence’ which she performed on the 18th July at St Gabriel’s Chapel in Golden Cap.
Natasha Player. Photo: Aurore Le Quere
Amanda Fogg continues her work with Mark Morris Dancers: Amanda visited New York to work with the Mark Morris Dance Company and to find out about their practice in dance and health. Their relationship continues and she tells us about recent activity: ‘Earlier in the month the Mark Morris Dancers, David Leventhal and John Heginbotham, together with Toby Beazely of Dance Umbrella, held another development day in London for the small but growing network of those of us who are doing this work. It was a fabulous day, and in the afternoon, Parkinson’s participants of three London groups came to the Siobhan Davies Studios to take a class which we all co-taught - a very enjoyable and stimulating experience. We are all appreciating being in contact with each other, and it is a wonderful boost to have such support and validation from David, John and Toby.’
> Activating Youth Performing Pathways: We are currently working on Phase 2 of Performing Pathways with the Grange, Rossmore and Kings High Schools with funding from Aim Higher. Artists Richard Conlon (writer) and Tiago Gambogi (Dance artist) are delivering day-long workshops with pupils, and performer and director Peter Courtney will be running workshops on artist interventions. Pupils will also have the opportunity to visit centres of higher education in drama and dance. And, if you haven’t yet seen it, please take a look at a copy of the youth theatre and dance brochure: http://bit.ly/youththeatreflyer Unlocked: The Brownsea Unlocked project was conceived in 2008 when a number of organisations came together to discuss
Photo: Martin Coyne
the potential of a youth led creative project on the island. Funding was secured for a residential weekend on the island with a group of young people recruited from Dorset. The response of the young people was extremely positive and they suggested two ways to increase enjoyment and engagement of young people visiting the island. One of these was a Young People’s Alternative Guide to Brownsea Island (“The Guide”) and the other was a live arts event that is now being developed alongside The Guide. The project aims to provide young people with the opportunity to gain a range of new skills and knowledge and give them an enjoyable experience of their cultural heritage. There will be a core group of ten young people who will produce the guide. A further 70 young people will be involved through workshops to help develop the guide whilst learning about their cultural heritage and spending time in the outdoors. One of the main project aims is for the stories at Brownsea Island to be shared and interpreted in a way that is interesting and accessible for the many young people who visit the Island each year. ‘Unlocked‘ is in the process of recruiting a project manager and will begin in September 2010.
> Activating Youth (continued) The Remix: Our integrated youth performance company continues to go from strength to strength. In January 2010, the Remix performed new work created during a residency with renowned integrated dance company STOPGap at the youth dance platform event ‘Elevate’ at The Lighthouse, Poole. They also took part in ‘Face to Face ‘workshops with Helen Baggett (Gecko Theatre and former founder of CandoCo). The Remix family continues to grow as not only have we welcomed back our artistic director, Claire Hodgson and our project manager, Jenny Gordon after the births of their baby girls, but we have also welcomed 14 new members who joined the company in February 2010. Further recruitment in July will see the company larger and better than ever. In July, the group created an exciting new piece of choreographed dance and joined together with other local dance groups in the area to perform a flash mob in Bournemouth. It was extremely well received and was the first integrated flash mob to happen in the UK! In August, Remix are collaborating with the Inside Out Festival 2010 and the opening of Pavilion Dance and will be working with STOPGap again to produce a piece of outdoor performance for the grand opening. During the autumn term we will be meeting CandoCo and hope to take Remix to meet, work and perform with Graeae in London. There is also whisper of a trip to Vietnam in the future... just a whisper at the moment but we will keep you posted... shhh!
Remix. Photo: Phil Sayer
Hubalicious: Hubalicious.org is designed and run by young people to celebrate and showcase local artistic talent. Hubalicious is a team of young people from around Bournemouth and Poole who are interested in the arts, be it music, dance or drama. Currently, there are seven young people, all working hard behind the scenes to bring you all the news and reviews about creative arts from around the conurbation, but they can always use more input. Please visit www.hubalicious.org for more information.
> Youth Theatre
Photos: Teatro Kismet
Cultural Hub – The Mermaid Princess Project: The Mermaid Princess is an exciting Year 4 performance and participation project that links seven cultural organisations and five Cultural Hub primary schools (and one ‘non-hub’ school) based in Bournemouth and Poole. Led by Lighthouse the project was kick started when pupils from the six schools attended the venue to see a performance of ‘The Mermaid Princess’, by Italian theatre company Teatro Kismet at the end of March. Activate facilitated a post show talk with the director and the cast which gave the children a great opportunity to ask direct questions to the company. Following this, each school had the opportunity to participate in workshops during the summer term which focused on the story of The Mermaid Princess and the themes that are presented in the story. The workshops were delivered by Dorset History Centre, Bournemouth and Poole Libraries and professional illustrator Jane Ray. Local visual artists Sarah Butterworth, Heidi Stellar, Nina Squire, writer Richard Conlon and digital media artists ‘Interim’ then worked with the students to create various different art works that are currently on display as part of a Mermaid Princess exhibition at Lighthouse. This exhibition will be open until the end of September. The project is funded by the Bournemouth and Poole Cultural Hub and Activate is a partner organisation.
Youth TheatreNet: Towards the end of last year, two young programmers from Weymouth College travelled to Newbury with Activate to see Les Quidems show Rêve D’Herbert (Herbert’s Dream). There was an opportunity for the young programmers to meet the cast afterwards for a discussion about their work. Les Quidems will be bringing Herbert’s Dream to Poole in September for the Inside Out festival. There will be further opportunities for the young programmers to work alongside artists and/or festival mangers during Inside Out. And, as a result of the young programmers seeing work at Xtrax in Manchester, Weymouth College have programmed integrated dance company Stopgap to perform at the college theatre in the autumn. Activate sits on the industry panel for the Foundation Degree Acting Course at Weymouth College, giving feedback to students on their performances during the year. The latest production by the incredibly hard working student company, Tenth Opinion was ‘Our Country’s Good’ by Timberlake Wertenbaker. The company also toured to Bridport Arts Centre and have a lot of interest from local schools.
> Youth Dance
Community Youth Dance Practitioner: Youth dance is flourishing across the county. We have established a number of new community youth dance groups and are continuing to support existing youth dance groups who offer a variety of dance styles across Bournemouth, Poole and Dorset. We also work closely with youth dance leaders to support them in their professional practice to deliver high quality youth dance. Whitewash: In Poole the boys only dance group “Whitewash” has picked up momentum and is continually creating exciting new high-energy dance work for performance. The company of boys are 11-19 and from local schools and Bournemouth & Poole College. The company have choreographed 2 brand new dance pieces; “Run Free” and “You act, I react”. The company will also take part in a summer residency with a visiting artist in August. See side feature for more news on Whitewash. At Wareham Leisure Centre, Purbeck, and the Grange School dance studio, Christchurch, we have set up community youth dance classes for young people aged between 11-16 who are interested in contemporary dance fused with other styles such as street and funk. Both groups had the opportunity to perform for the very first time as part of the Elevate U.Dance Platform in January. For some young people
this was the first time they had taken part in a public performance. There will be many more performances coming up for these two groups as well as summer workshops and guest artist residencies over the course of the next few months. Through funding from this project Dance Bytes Back have been able to continue their weekly dance sessions at Henry Brown youth centre as well as visiting local schools to offer free dance taster sessions. In partnership with Pavilion Dance we plan a summer programme of dance for young people in the school holidays in Bournemouth. For information about taking part in these activities please contact Alice Chutter, Community Youth Dance Project Coordinator at Activate. This work is delivered in partnership with Active Dorset (the county sports partnership). Portrait: Portrait: At the beginning of February, Portrait – Dorset’s County Youth Dance Company, were invited by Bridport Arts Centre and Tavaziva Dance Company to present a piece of work that they had created during their residency with Tavaziva as a curtain raiser. This was performed before the company’s latest work Wild Dog. Since then, Portrait have also participated in a residency with Mobius Dance Theatre and this new piece was performed for the first time at Dorchester Festival in the Borough Gardens on the 29th May.
Whitewash. Photo: Martin Coyne
West African Dance workshop led by Olu Taiwo at Elevate. Photo: Kevin Clifford
Elevate: Following the success of the first edition of the County Youth Dance platform Elevate, a second edition took place in January at the Lighthouse. Lighthouse became a hive of activity during a day with more than 200 young people coming from various community youth groups all over Dorset to take part in workshops led by Olu Taiwo, West African Dancer, and Capoeira specialists Origens do Brasil. The evening saw a variety of amazing performances from all 12 groups involved, and there was a very broad range of styles demonstrated including tap dance, hip-hop and contemporary.
Capoeira Workshop led by Origens de Brasil Capoeiraí. Photo: Kevin Clifford
‘Elevate is a great opportunity for young people to come together and be involved in such a diverse selection of youth dance from all over the region. The dancers had their eyes opened and it encouraged a deeper appreciation of dance in all its forms,’ - Amy Beveridge, Director of Pure Funk Dance Company Elevate was part of the National initiative U.Dance led by Youth Dance England and aim to give every child the opportunity to perform.
News from the Dance South West regional youth dance programme: There were three young people from Dorset who took part in the Stride! Initiative held in Dartington where participants met dance professionals, worked on group activities, which aimed to develop their confidence, leadership, creative thinking and Photo: Kevin Clifford problem solving skills and experienced different aspects of the dance sector ‘in action’. Following this intensive week the young people will complete a 10 day placement with a professional organisation and Activate is pleased to be one of them. We welcome Holly Morris who will work this summer with Aurore Le Quere, Activate’s Dance Development Coordinator. Dance mapping in schools: Activate is leading an audit among school teachers to map the dance activity in the area within and out of school in order to create more opportunity for young people to perform and also to respond more accurately to the need of the local area. Local dance artist Aimee Smith is working on this for us as part of our work with Youth Dance England - the National Agency for Youth Dance to support the development of youth Dance in Dorset Bournemouth and Poole. Stan Won’t Dance and Motionhouse inspire Whitewash dancers: Whitewash, based at Lighthouse and led by Jane White have been inspired by the nationally renowned Dance Theatre Company Stan Won’t Dance who performed their latest provocative new show Babel in Lighthouse’s theatre. Stan Won’t Dance employ a mixture of movement and dance styles in their workshops, from martial arts to contact, from boot camp to yoga and Whitewash were given the opportunity to develop their dance skills in a very physical dance workshop from Stan Won’t Dance. The young male company then went on to perform at Lighthouse in the foyer before the nationally acclaimed performance of Scattered by Motionhouse – both companies received excellent feedback – the Lighthouse audience praised the young company and went on to give a standing ovation to Motionhouse in the main auditorium!
> Activating Participation Return to Dancing Nepal: Following a successful tour of 3 museums across Dorset last year, Return to Dancing Nepal had its final exhibition tour date at the Red House Museum and Gardens in Christchurch in May. The exhibition aimed to inform the public about Nepalese life and traditions and increase the awareness of the Nepalese culture that the Gurkha families from the Royal Signals Camps have brought with them to Dorset. The exhibition was created following a research and collection period coordinated by the Blandford Town Museum and six volunteers from the Blandford community. Stan Won’t Dance workshop. Photo: Activate
The exhibition is now a permanent feature at the Blandford Forum Museum. Blandford Forum Museum is open from April to October, Monday to Saturday from 10.30am to 4.30pm. Admission is free. Dance Bytes Back: Activate supports Dance Bytes Back – a youth dance group which offers affordable and accessible dance opportunities for young people in Bournemouth. Through funding
from the Community Youth Dance Project Dance bytes back have been able to continue their weekly dance sessions at Henry Brown youth centre as well as visiting local schools to offer free dance taster sessions to encourage and inform young people about opportunities in the Bournemouth area. Sixteen young people from Dance Bytes Back performed a piece called “Eklektik” at Elevate U.Dance platform in January and continue to offer great dance opportunities for young people in Bournemouth. Step out! Project: Thanks to the Christchurch Community Partnership and support from the Grange school’s NOPES funding, Activate secured money to set up 10 weeks of intergenerational dance sessions in Christchurch as part of the Step Out! Project. A Day of Dance was organised on Saturday 3rd July at the Grange School in Christchurch and more than 100 people took part in workshops and learnt new healthy recipes from a cooking demonstration by chef Ian Hewitt. The day finished with 3 performances from Fuse Youth Dance Company, Summer Street Dance Group, Mad4dance, Swerve Dance Theatre Company from Swindon. The event was a great success and it was fantastic to see such a wide range of people getting involved in dance.
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If you would like to include your news, event or workshop on our website or in one of our e-bulletins then please contact Antonia Beck at the office. Activate sends out dance and theatre events and opportunities in the region via email. If you wish to receive e-bulletins every fortnight please email: antonia@activateperformingarts.org.uk stating whether you would like to receive information on dance, theatre or both.
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