This week I was back in the studio with the dancers. I was really excited to begin working on some ideas with them for IN-SITE. This week we began by simply investigating object manipulation, something I haven’t explored in my previous work. It was great fun to explore a brand new avenue for myself and the dancers. The dancers explored moving with objects in a variety of ways and also investigated moving with jackets. I found it really interesting to look at how the body moves when its interacting with an object. It was also beautiful to see how the hands move when you take the objects away; there is a delicate gestural quality to them which is captivating. Working with jackets was great as their structure provides a human form or character that can be manipulated. Take a look at the video edit below for a glimpse of what we got up to…

MENTOR MEETING- Monday 23rd Feb:

Before Monday evenings rehearsals Nicola and I spent the day in Chatham for a very insightful meeting as part of the Mentor Scheme of the IN-SITE project. Once a month the commissioned artists meet and guest speakers are invited to give presentations on their practice and their area of expertise. Monday 23rd February saw the first of many wonderful guest speakers.

The day began with a talk from Anna Heinrich and Leon Palmer (Heinrich & Palmer). As visual artists they have worked in collaboration since 1991 and they have a wealth of experience creating work within the public realm. They have worked alongside a range of different groups of people, from architects to residents of a housing estate as well as museum staff and contractors. From their talk we gained an understanding of how to approach working with the multitude of people who may be involved in a single project. Anna and Leon demonstrate the ability to be adaptable and approachable whilst also remaining clear about their artistic idea and staying true to their practice.

The second talk was from Judy Adam, the curator for artSOUTH, a large project involving a number of commissioned artists embarking upon their own projects. Judy talked us through the logistics of the project as a whole and outlined some of the artists individual projects. It was great to hear how other artists had approached a collaborative commission and also selected specific sites to inspire their work. Hearing Judy talk about the planning and organisation of the project was slightly mind-blowing due to its scale but also inspirational to see how enthusiastic she was about each individual work.

The final presentation was from Jacqueline McCormick from Cheshire Dance. She talked us through the work they created for the arrival of the Olympic Torch in 2012 which was on a staggering scale! It was almost unbelievable to see how they pulled off such a mammoth task and truly inspirational to see Jacqueline talking with such pride and enthusiasm for the project. She also talked us through some smaller scale work they have done, all of which was site-sensitive. It was really useful for me to hear how other choreographers respond to a site in their work. Jacqueline is also creating innovative ways to present work that is more immersive for the audience. This made us consider alternative ways of taking dance to the public.