Southpaw Dance Company

Tuesday 25^th February 2014 at the Terry O’ Toole Theatre

Riots & Men on a Mission review

Taken from their Facebook page Southpaw Dance Company create relevant, thought-provoking, and affective hip hop dance theatre. As an audience member we were invited to witness their latest work Riots & Men on a Mission presented as a double bill. The group lead under the artistic direction of Robby Graham (also a dancer for Bad Taste Cru) performed alongside three other male artists and one female. The first performance Men on a Mission featured all four male artists dressed in smart/casual wear – trousers, smart shirt and socks. Before the piece I had no idea as to what either of the performances would entail and so my imagination was left to run wild. In relation to the style of the piece, I was told to expect Hip Hop fused with contemporary based elements. As a developing artist I was very keen to see what they would produce. 

The movement was wonderfully executed and juxtaposed, in some ways, the way conventional Hip Hop (in particular B Boying) is often expressed with pace and sharpness. Southpaw however managed to delve deep into was is clearly a broad understanding of release-based form and free flowing movement. We were able to really capture each performer’s intent and emotion. The stage opened with all four performers present of stage facing the audience – we were introduced immediately and so a clear connection was made. 

As the piece developed I, as I’m sure many other audience members did, were able to identify exactly what the piece was specifically about. One moment which made this quite noticeable was when the female performer stepped onto stage, pulled the belt from a male performer’s trousers and began to use the belt as a tightening aid often associated with a method to take drugs. It could also be claimed that the movement itself at times, often very loose and appeared as if uncontrollable, could also been a relation to drugs and alcohol misuse. Although many may ponder over the controversial narrative behind this performance I still feel it was brave and important for the company to address such current and problematic issues very common within our society. Overall I found the movement to be beautifully theatrical, crisply executed, dynamic and very innovative.

The second performance of the double bill named Riots still encapsulated the overall style of the company but expressed a very different narrative. Throughout this performance in particular the company used small LED lights to provide a very powerful lighting display which nicely complimented the performer’s intent. Having such little light meant the audience had to really focus and stay attached to a certain point for longer. 

The company cleverly allowed us as audience members to make snapshots of specific moments within the piece – very powerful! The piece featured several unison sections often initiated by use of cannon or certain motifs. The individuality of each performer was delightful to witness and this was often expressed with the form of B Boying; exciting turns, careful weight distribution as well as catching/falling stunningly into the floor or other performer’s bodies. 

In terms of a theme I believe it to have been centered around the current evolution of technology and how society is becoming ever more reliant on it. At one point the performers used the LED lights as a demonstration of a mobile phone, the audience could partially see the faces of the performers but the focus was very much on their hands and twiddling of thumbs to suggest that of a mobile device. The mood throughout was soft and gentle compared to that of the first one, it was much more intimate. Overall Riots was choreographed with detail and raw emotion which could be argued that they sought out to target and speak out about political and conformed social trends. We hope those who have witnessed their worked enjoyed it as much as we did. Please join us in supporting Southpaw by visiting their website, Facebook page and/or Twitter account.

James Kitney Community Dance Artist – artsNK

Spring Primary Dance Festival 2014

The spring edition of our Primary Dance Festival, delivered in collaboration with North Kesteven School, saw 160 young people from local primary schools participate – a clear indication of the success of the day!
 

 

A mixture of Year 5 and 6 pupils from Bassingham Primary School, Swinderby All Saints Primary School, Fosse Way Academy, Ling Moor Academy, South Hykeham Primary School and All Saints Waddington Primary School participated in the final showcase on the 13^th February at the Terry O’Toole Theatre, following six weeks of hard work.
 

Working alongside artsNK dance artists, pupils had developed creative dance pieces surrounding the idea of transition from primary to secondary school. Each school drew on elements such as friendship, isolation, discoveries, achievement, team work, support and their journeys to school within their pieces.
 

Throughout the day of the festival young people were able to rehearse their piece within the Terry O’Toole Theatre, providing an opportunity to witness and appreciate the work of other schools. The young people were also able to watch rehearsals from Year 7 and AS Level groups from North Kesteven School, giving them an insight into other dance styles and choreography.

 

 

All schools performed twice in the evening at two sell out shows, with feedback from the young people saying how they thoroughly enjoyed being given the opportunity to perform in a theatre environment!

 

 

This spring project was supported by third year Sport Development and Coaching students from the University of Lincoln. The group helped with all stages of the project, from planning through to hosting the show, as part of one of their modules. The group were mentored by Alice from the artsNK Dance Team, who herself was once student on the Sport Development and Coaching course. Alice worked on the 2013 Spring Primary Dance project in her final year at university so it was an enjoyable experience for her to support the students with this year’s festival.
 

                                 

The Primary Dance Festival is back again in Summer so watch this space for updates and reviews!

 

Dance Factor 2014 Evaluation

Dance Factor 2014 was a huge success with over 100 young people aged 11-18 years taking part in the project.  

The final show took place at the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre on Saturday 8th February 2014.  The young people all seemed very excited as they began to arrive at the LPAC.  As well as having the opportunity to have a technical rehearsal on stage during the day, dancers were also able to take part in a workshop lead by Impact Dance Company from London!  It was evident that the young people really enjoyed taking part in this workshop.   Hakeem (founder of Impact Dance Company) had traveled to Lincoln with his professional dance company, Fully Functioning Individuals (FFI). The company were a massive part of Dance Factor 2014; Hakeem was the host of the show, Hakeem and his dancers also delivered workshops during the day and FFI opened the second half.   The young people watched FFI in the dress rehearsal and were amazed by their 10 minute dance piece.  

The show was near enough a sell out and the atmosphere during the show was amazing.  All of the 10 groups performed extremely well and it was evident how much hard work they had put in during the 10 weeks of Dance Factor sessions with their tutors.  The 4 judges of Dance Factor 2014 were: Gareth Woodward from Nottingham, Anna Olejnicki from Hype Dance Company in Sheffield, Gareth Chown from Addict Dance Studios in Leicester and Caroline Hoyle who was a Dance Factor Tutor the previous year.  The judges really enjoyed watching the show and after much deliberation came to a decision on the 3 winners.  In 3rd place was Clique from Birchwood, in 2nd place was Respect Your Elders from Bracebridge and the winners of Dance Factor 2014 was Apocalyptic from North Hykeham. 

Overall, Dance Factor 2014 was a major success. The project gave the young people a FREE opportunity to learn new dance skills, perform, meet new people and take part in a workshop lead by a professional company from London.

Thank you to everyone who was involved in making the project happen! 

True Motion is back!

This March, True Motion is back and as exciting as ever! The artsNK dance team in partnership with Dance4 have a brilliant line up of talented performers ready to perform at True Motion 2014. The event will be held at the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre (LPAC), on Saturday 8^th March! 

The groups of young talent will be performing in front of a live judging panel in hope of being selected to represent Lincolnshire in the Midlands Youth (MY) Dance Festival, taking place In Birmingham in April.

 Lincoln University’s first year dancers will be the curtain raiser for the evening as well as DWS Youth Dance Productions performing in the interval in the LPAC café. The groups taking part, hope to be selected to go through to represent Lincolnshire at the next platform. artsNK have four companies within True Motion including Youth Dance Company redXco who have been working with Gina Benjamin on a piece which is based on the riots of 2011. After having an intense three days with the award winning hip hop company, Boy Blue Entertainment, redXco were ready to begin exploring and creating movement.

Our all male Break Dance Company Jumpstart will be performing, they been working with Lee Nugent and James Kitney on a piece called The Nightmare. They have used break dance as a foundation for this piece and have drawn upon creative choreographic devices to help show the idea. They have begun to introduce physical theatre into their new dance piece. Also performing will be Creative Dance performers Descend Youth Dance Company, they have been working with Emma Terzza on a contemporary dance piece which is based on the negative affect that the media can have on individuals. The group have explored ways that the body can be manipulated through dance to show this idea. The last group from artsNK will be our Contemporary Youth Dance Company kNacKer’d.

Alongside the artsNK groups, there shall be performances from Priory City of Lincoln Academy, Lilac Theatre Dance, North Kesteven School, Dance Revolution, RAW Youth Dance Group, LCHS Youth Dance Company,Western, Lincoln College and Lincolnshire Youth Dance Company along with the Dance Factor 2014 Final Winners! 

True Motion 2014 is set to be thrilling this year with a diverse range of dancers and performances! Don’t forget to book your tickets they are selling fast! Book via www.terryotooletheatre.org.uk or call 01522 883311. Start Time: 7.30pm Tickets: £5 Full, £3 Concessions Running Time: 1 hour 40 mins (inc interval).


Posted by Leonie Harris, Student Placement at artsNK Dance.

Dance Factor 2014!

Dance Factor is over for another year, but what a blast it was! On Saturday 8th February, over 100 young people performed at the Lincoln Performing Arts Centre to a sell out crowd.

If you're not familiar with the format of Dance Factor, here is a breakdown of the project.

Dance Factor is a free 10 week street dance project for 11-18yr olds, taking place in venues across NK and the City of Lincoln. It’s designed to teach dance skills, but to also bring people together from different areas and encourage them to work together. Starting several years ago, the project has grown bigger and better and shall only continue to do so.

This year, the groups were treated to a performance from the special guests FFI(Fully Functioning Individuals) from Impact Dance, they also took workshops throughout the day.

Photo: Electric Egg

The winners were Apocalyptic from North Hykeham Youth Centre, they shall now go on to compete in the county U.Dance platform, True Motion. This takes place on Saturday 8th March, again at the LPAC.

Photo: Electric Egg

If you are interested in continuing to dance, check out our Facebook page for our full list of classes, times and costs!

From the Artist: Katie Green

Made By Katie Green have worked with artsNK/Terry O’Toole Theatre on the development of new work for several years now, premiering the full version of Matters of Life and Death at the Terry O’Toole Theatre in October 2011, and our most recent piece, The Imagination Museum, in November 2013.

Both of these productions have gone on to be very successful, and this is due to the support we have been given by artsNK/the Terry O’Toole Theatre in the earliest stages of research and development.
The team we work with at artsNK/the Terry O’Toole Theatre are very experienced, and invest a great deal of time in learning about their audience and their local community. This means that when we begin discussions about a new project, we are able to have an open, constructive dialogue about how we can make our residency work, how we can open up our activity to the local community (e.g. through open classes and sharings of work-in-progress) and how we can develop our audience for example. The team offer support and advice, and in spite of already having a very full workload, they are always incredibly generous with their time.

The Performing Arts team understand the requirements of a small-scale dance company, and they provide in-kind resources that are essential to the rehearsal process, including space and technical time as well as help at the funding application stage and support marketing events. I always enjoy the time I spend in rehearsal in North Hykeham and Sleaford more than anywhere else that we rehearse, as we are made to feel so welcome. We are given freedom to go about our business without any external pressure, whilst also feeling there is someone available to give feedback if we need it.
The Performing Arts team support our interest in engaging new audiences for dance in Lincolnshire. We aim to create accessible performance work, and also to provide opportunities for all individuals to participate in workshops so that they can have an insight into the working process, which we hope gives them more confidence in their own interpretation of a professional dance performance. In spite of this commitment to engaging audiences, which we know is shared by all of the Lincolnshire One Venues, dance, and particularly contemporary dance, continues to be a hard sell in this particular area. artsNK/the Terry O’Toole Theatre are not afraid of this, and they include dance of all kinds as part of their diverse programme of events. I am hugely thankful for the great faith they have shown in my ability, as a Lincolnshire-born choreographer, to create new work, and perhaps in doing so to shift local attitudes to contemporary dance in whatever small ways I can.

Photos from The Imagination Museum in rehearsal at the NK Centre and Terry O’Toole Theatre Theatre and open company class with Lincolnshire-based dance artists.

My Week.

Week beginning 20/01/2014

Monday (20/01/14)

Chestnut Street Primary School

Going into my second session I was feeling very excited and motivated to see all the children again after witnessing such great potential from the previous session. The children greeted me with glowing smiles and attitudes that expressed a readiness to work. We began as we always do with the ‘name game’ allowing the children to focus on how they move across the circle, the importance of clear direction and clarity whilst obviously giving me a brief chance to learn names.  Prior to stretching we developed a warm up game in the first session which focuses on Greek (the sessions being themed around Ancient Greece) Gods/Goddesses/Heroes and Villains. The children again responded very well, giving all their effort and energy in what was being asked of them. I then facilitated a stretch sequence working all areas of the body, particularly the neck, shoulders, spine and legs.  The creative task set for this session was looking into the concept of ‘flocking’ and ensemble work. Using ‘The 300 Spartans’ as a useful resource I showed the children several pictures of ‘The 300 Spartans’ and asked them to comment on what they noticed.  Great words started to emerge such as “formation”, “closeness”, “together” and “as a group” it was delightful to hear such clever and accurate responses.  After a few minutes we worked with the concept of being a unit but having the potential for one leader influencing the group. We then went on to creating a small movement sequence.  The sequence itself displayed a variation of gestural and specific movement actions and was received highly by the pupil learning it. Without my aid, they performed with enthusiasm and energy I might add.

Tuesday (21/01/14)

Swinderby All Saints Primary School

This was my third session with the pupils at Swinderby and the children were very energetic to begin working. Pleads of “can we do this…” and “can we go over that…” rung around the hall. I was delighted to be greeted by such determination. The session started (as always) with our usual ‘name game’ similar to that which is done at Metheringham, however this game involves saying our name loudly and clearly whilst also performing an individual action. It’s very surprising to witness year 5/6 children performing such extravagant actions such as the splits or crab, none the less the actions are a reflection of their personality and so it’s a good chance for them to show off a little bit. The previous two sessions were mainly focused around building a relationship between me and the children, getting them working with imagination and creativity, rather than me just giving directions /instructions all the time. Groups of up to five created short freeze frames centered on the theme of ‘getting ready for school’. As well as this, we also created a short movement sequence based on the action of putting on a tie. Within this session we successfully managed to create a strong start point integrating all the children which then naturally allowed us to lead into our ‘putting on a tie’ and into our group freeze frames.  Overall a fantastic session.

Wednesday (22/01/14)

Metheringham Primary School

I have to say that even though it is an early start, I do enjoy the prospect of going to teach at Metheringham. The school itself does not have many male representatives and so I really do feel it’s important for them to see and interact with a male facilitator, particularly one who leads sessions with the focus of dance. I have two sessions one with year 1s and another with year 2s. Although the children are very young and perhaps do not have a great deal of dance experience both classes are always ecstatic to see me and to start working. Each week I try to deliver something different just so the children stay interested and don’t become bored by repeating the same thing each week. Our theme is ‘Up  Up  and Away’ we have developed movement related to a Spitfire along with the growth of a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly but this week was looking into creating movement based upon the flight of a kite and projection of a firework. The children worked with patience and precision which ultimately produced stunning movement. We always end the session with a well-deserved high five for appraisal and effort.  

Thursday (23/01/14)

Rauceby Primary School

This was only my second session and I was feeling very excited about working with the children. Sessions with Rauceby are themed around ‘high energy dance’ and the previous session was centred on seeing how mobile, fit and healthy the children actually were. We held relay races which started to introduce various movement actions – rolls, running, turns and balances to warm up the body. Although the children were more focused on finishing as quickly as they could it was still a joy to see them attempting each move as best as they could. This session however allowed us to go over our small routine which we started to do as a group the week before. The routine was dynamic, sharp and got the children working quite hard. I encouraged them all to push through and just enjoy what they were doing and they did! It was only the second session and I could really start to see the children’s perception of dance starting to change. Finally, due to their wonderful dedication shown throughout the session I decided it would be a fun way to end by getting the children to explore the notion of ‘monkeying’. Giving clear instructions and demonstrating the correct way to travel through the space it was time to see how the children would get on. To my delight they seemed to respond really well. They were really enjoying this new found way of moving and they adopted the technique better than I had hoped. They've even requested to do it again next week!

All in all a great week of teaching. I’m thoroughly enjoying my time with artsNK and it is such a pleasure to witness children and young adults engaging with dance. I have every confidence that my sessions of present and those coming my way will continue to surprise, excite and inform me further. Be sure to check out what the other team members are getting up to with daily updates on the blog and our other social networking sites. Have a great week everyone!

James.