Aerial Training- the dance team try something new!

On Tuesday 28th and Wednesday 29th, the dance team went to Creation Climbing Centre in Birmingham to train with Joe from circusMASH UK in aerial silks and lyra.

What a painful two days!

We had a great time learning new tricks and holds on both sets of equipment with each of us finding some easier than others..... One thing is evident, we need a lot more strength!

On the silks, we worked on basic and Russian climbing as well as figure-8 foot locks and many, many wraps. We worked on various poses including double foot lock splits (see Amy below). We looked at:-

foot rolls, inverting from side wrap amongst many others.

On the Lyra (hoop), we all tried various mounts including straddle and side mounts (they are soooooo hard!). We worked on various poses including man in the moon, mermaid, stag, back balance straddle, half back balance, gazelle, amazon and lots more...... Have a look at the photos below for a peek at how we got along.

This is Amy doing Half Back Balance

This is Charlotte doing the Crucifix.

Charlotte's Cross Wrap Straddle.

This is Emma doing the Stag.

Holly 's Gazelle Splits.

This is Charlotte & Holly doing Figure 8 foot lock & Cross back straddle.

Holly's Figure 8 foot lock splits.

We were extremely inspired by Joe's teaching and will continue to train and build confidence on the equipment. We are set to buy our own rig, silks and lyra VERY soon in the run up toZygote Festival, which will happen in Sleaford in October 2013. There will then be quarterly workshops, classes & intensives for children, young people and adults to get involved.

Joe (who taught us in Birmingham) runs circusMASH UK which is the leading circus company in the West Midlands. Contact him to book workshops, performances, intensives and other training in the circus disciplines. We would highly recommend it!

Keep checking our website, Facebook & Twitter (@artsNKDance) for the latest news.



Summer Primary Dance Festival!

On Wednesday 22^nd May, the “North Kesteven School and artsNK Primary Dance Festival” took place at the Terry O’Toole Theatre and was a huge success. Once again, the shows were a sell out, with parents, brothers, sisters and relatives being treated to a night of street and contemporary dance.

Photo: Jane Harrison

 

Photo: Jane Harrsion

Over the past 6 weeks, local primary schools had taken part in this project and worked with a dance artist from artsNK. They worked together, to create a dance piece based on the transition from a primary school to a secondary school. Also performing in the show were some groups from North Kesteven School.

The primary school children had a fantastic time watching the rest   of the groups in their technical rehearsals. For most of the  children, it was their first time performing on stage and you could tell they were extremely excited. The North Kesteven groups also enjoyed performing, and were a very high standard.

Thank you to all the groups who took part from Redwood Waddington, Witham St.Hughs and The Meadows Primaries as well as Maneuver (Boys dance group), Transcendance ( Yr 7-8 girls dance group) and the Yr13 BTEC Dancers from NK School.

Photo: Jane Harrison

Hello from Charlotte

Hi Everyone,

Some of you may already know me but I’m Charlotte the new Youth Dance Intern. I am graduating from the Unviersity of Lincoln BA Dance course in September but I have been volunteering and working for artsnk for over a year.

 I have been very busy leading workshops for the North Kesteven School and artsNK Primary Festival. I worked with two groups from Redwood Waddington Primary School to create dances for the performance last night at the Terry O Toole Theatre. It was a brilliant evening and all the pieces from the primary schools and NK school groups were brilliant.

Now that this project has finished, I am working with a group for the Solidarity project. I worked on this project last year and am lucky to be involved again. The performance is on the 28th June so a few weeks left to perfect the piece!

I'm also helping to organise some workshops in the summer so keep your eyes peeled for those.

The dance team visit Breakin' Convention!

On Bank Holiday Monday (6th May), the dance team went to Sadler's Wells in London to watch and experience it's annual international festival of hip hop theatre; Breakin' Convention.

What is Breakin' Convention we here you ask?
Breakin' Convention has been producing THE critically acclaimed International Festival of Hip Hop Dance Theatre since 2004 at Sadler's Wells, featuring the very best, most influential artists from around the corner and around the world! This year's festival was it's 10th ANNIVERSARY! #10yearsstrong and the Monday evening performance featured UK Allstars- dance pieces presented by the best hip hop and streetdance groups in this country.

Who did we see?
We saw some top acts from the UK urban dance scene including Bad Taste Cru who presented their latest work "Faust". A mashup of swing, Charleston and bboying, this piece had us whooping and hollering! Bad Taste Cru (based in Newcastle) performed at Terry O'Toole Theatre earlier in the year, they delighted audiences in Lincoln, and they certainly didn't fail in London!

We also saw pieces by Birdgang Dance Company, Avant Garde Dance, Unity UK, Jukebox Collective and Company Decalage. The former company, Company Decalage, ran by Mickael Marso Riviere, have been to Lincolnshire before and Marso has taught many of our young people! The show also featured Impact Dance, led by Hakeem Onibudo- who Amy is undertaking leadership masterclasses with on the #ABLE programme until July.

Finally, the evening finished with some of the most jawdropping, original and innovative pieces of hip hop theatre we have ever seen....... ZooNation UK presented their latest duet with pro dancers Tommy Franzen and Teneisha Bonner. Intricate storytelling and raw physicality made this piece amazing. Kate Prince, ZooNation's choreographer, never fails to present entertaining dance. And the show ended with Boy Blue Entertainment's "Emancipation of Expressionism". Only one word can describe it - phenomenal. If you haven't seen Boy Blue's work, make time to see it.

If there's one thing we learnt about going to Breakin' Convention, it's that Lincolnshire needs more hip hop dance theatre in it's life. The dance team are going to do it..... #watchthisspace

For more information about Breakin' Convention and Jonzi D's (Festivals artistic director) pioneering work go to: http://www.breakinconvention.com and http://www.breakinconvention.com/artists/jonzi-d

U.Dance: True Motion 13

On Saturday 9^th March, our True Motion event was held at the LPAC in Lincoln. Eleven dance groups from around the area performed to a panel of judges, hoping to win a place in the MY Dance Festival.  

Throughout the day, rehearsals and workshops took place, giving the young people a chance to learn new skills, find out more about dance and interact with others. The commercial workshop, held by professional LA commercial dancer Gareth Woodward, and a workshop held by Chelsey Barnes from Lincolnshire One Venues, was met with a lot of enthusiasm from the participants.

Photo: Michaela Soltys

Photo: Michaela Soltys

In one of the commercial workshops.

Alongside the workshops, a number of dance professionals held a Q&A panel for the young people taking part. They answered questions about the dance industry and how they, themselves got to where they are now. This proved very insightful for the participants of True Motion and soon the panel were inundated with questions.

Photo: Michaela Soltys

With so many groups taking part, the audience were treated to a number of different performances ranging in genre and style. 

This meant the judges had a very tough decision picking the winner.

After a lengthy and thought out discussion, the judges picked NK School as the overall winners. Their war inspired, contemporary piece impressed the panel and they shall now go through to the MY (Midlands Youth) Dance Festival. This shall take place on 20^th April at Nottingham Playhouse. 

Winners NK School Photo: Michaela Soltys

Runners up kNacKer'd Photo: Michaela Soltys

Photo: Michaela Soltys

Alongside NK School, artsNK’s kNacKer’d have also been given the chance to perform in Nottingham. They too, impressed the judges with their rock inspired performance.

Although there was only one place available in the MY Dance Festival, all the groups should feel very proud of their achievements and performances.

 We here at artsNK Dance are planning more opportunities for young people to be involved, so keep a look out here on our blog, our Facebook page and Twitter.

You can also see more photos of the day by visiting our Facebook page! 

True Motion 2013!

True Motion 2013 is fast approaching! This Saturday (9th March) Lincoln's Performing Arts Centre, shall host the counties contribution to the U.Dance competition. Talented dance groups from around the area, shall battle it out to be selected for the MY Dance Festival. 

The Midlands Youth Dance festival takes place on the 20th April at Nottingham Playhouse. It replaces the U.Dance  East Midlands platforms and acts as a selection process for the U.Dance Festival 2013. This is taking place in Leeds across the 18-21 July.

If you enjoyed our Dance Factor 6 competition then you don't want to miss out on True Motion. The competition shall feature a range of groups, all with different styles and techniques. There is something for everyone to enjoy!

Groups taking part include...

*kNacKer’d Youth Dance Company from NK
*Misstery- Dance Factor 6 Winners from Lincoln
*RedXco from NK
*Stamford High School from SK
*Unorthodox from NK
*Junior Unorthodox from NK
*RAW from Lincoln*NKSchool from NK
*We Dance @ Lincoln College from Lincoln
*The Jokers from Lincoln
*Cherry Willingham Community School from West Lindsey
*University of Lincoln First Year Dance Students

Alongside these groups, a number of primary schools and special guests shall be attending. 

All the groups have been working extremely hard in the run up to Saturday so, come down to the 
LPAC and show your support for Lincolnshire's young dance talent!

Don't forget, the show is this Saturday! It all kicks off at 7:30pm. Tickets are still available to buy for £3. If you want to get your hands on some, call 01522 883311. 

If you are coming to the show, don't forget to tweet us your thoughts and use the hashtag #truemotion13 

What a week!

What a crazy week it has been for the dance team! From Wednesday 6th to Friday 8th February, artsNK held three consecutive showcases at the Terry O’ Toole Theatre.

Primary Dance Festival
It all kicked off with our annual Primary Dance Festival on Wednesday. This saw schools from around the area perform to a sell-out crowd. These included Bassingham Primary, NK School Yr. 10’s, Swinderby All Saints Primary School, NK School Yr. 7’s, Fosse Way Academy, Ling Moor Primary School and NK School Yr. 13’s. With over one hundred children taking part and two shows that night, it was a hectic day but everything ran smoothly.

Photo: Michaela Soltys

Children of all ages and abilities took to the stage to show off a mixture of talents which impressed the audience. Each Primary group focused on the theme of moving onto Secondary School, and portrayed this in a number of different ways with help from our Community Dance Artist, Holly Arnold and our Youth Dance Artist, Emma Terzza.

Photo: Michaela Soltys

Also working on the project with us were a number of the University of Lincoln’s 3rd year Sport Development and Coaching students. Not only did they help on the day of the show, but they helped throughout the project working alongside Holly and Emma with the Primary groups.

Photo: Jane Harrison

Inspiring Young Talent
On the 7^th February, it saw the return of our Inspiring Young Talent showcase. Groups from around the area are given the chance to show off their talents and skills, whilst performing to a large crowd.

Photo: Michaela Soltys

Featuring in the showcase, were groups from around the NK and Lincoln areas and included a mixture of styles and techniques.

During the day, amidst all the preparation for the evening’s event, Holly and her group, Freefall Youth Dance, had a chat with BBC Lincolnshire about what audiences could expect from the show.

Photo: Michaela Soltys

With a large number of acts on the night, the show promised to be entertaining and something which everyone could enjoy.  We Dance- Lincoln College 1^st Years kicked off the show with their performance to Michael Jackson’s Al Capone.  This was then followed with a variety of different dance pieces, ranging from fun and quirky to Contemporary and even Flamenco!

Photo: Michaela Soltys

Due to popular demand, two IYT shows were held, which meant more groups had the opportunity to perform. On the second night, Friday the 8th, the line - up was a little smaller but still crammed with talent.

Again, the groups were from the NK and Lincoln area and featured all abilities and skills including redXco, our street dance company and LNRevolution who took part in this years Dance Factor competition.

Photo: Michaela Soltys

Photo: Michaela Soltys

Photo: Michaela Soltys

Along with the help of the University of Lincoln’s 3rd year Sport Development and Coaching students, the two IYT shows were a success and we hope it inspired young people to get involved!

You can see more pictures from all three nights by visiting our Facebook page here.