Dance Practitioner Blog – LOUISE WHITE
November 11, 2021
Dance Practitioner Blog – CARRIE WASHINGTON
November 22, 2021ARCHIVE: A-MUSE
(2020 – 2021)
Photo credit: Sam Ivin
OVERVIEW
A-MUSE was an intergenerational dance, animation and photography project in two Hertfordshire towns of Royston and Stevenage. It worked closely with the two museums of those towns, as well as developing an online offer for those experiencing isolation. The project explored local history, and stories with the community participants becoming co-creators of the work for both digital exhibitions.
It aimed to continue BEEE Creative’s development of dance infrastructure in Hertfordshire, with the inclusion of development opportunities for Dance teachers. Further infrastructure development was supported by the inclusion of a paid internship to support new talent into the industry.
“This project has made a real impact on me. I was curious about how the relationship between light and movement would work out in practice, but never imagined I would be so enthralled by the light painting app. I've enjoyed experimenting with different ideas, and even now the project is over, I still enjoy trying different things out.”
AIMS
This project had three overarching aims:
- To address identified development needs that supports BEEE Creative’s longer term strategic priorities
- To continue to support the development of dance infrastructure in Hertfordshire and beyond
- To increase feelings of wellbeing and connectedness in participants.
HEADLINE FINDINGS
- Despite the challenges of a quickly evolving landscape due to Covid-19 the project was successful in meeting its aims
- BEEE Creative has demonstrated it can be responsive and adaptive to the needs presented by the challenges of Covid-19 and the needs of the participants
- New ways of working have been discovered:
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- Commission strands – the mix of online and live, and connecting participants artists
- Research and Development strand – mixing the skill and experience level of the artists enabled further development and learning for each involved
- Wake Up and Dance was particularly successful in meeting the aim of increasing wellbeing and connectedness in participants
- By placing participants at the centre of the work, BEEE Creative continues to develop an offer that meets the needs of its participants and provides a creative and meaningful experience for them.
EVALUATION
A full evaluation report is available for this project
PROJECT CREDITS
Artists
Shaun Clark – Animator
Sam Ivin – Photographer
Tom Hobden – Dance Educationalist
Carrie Washington – Dance Artist
Hannah Delaney – Dance Artist
Wayne Parsons – Dance Artist
Jane Turner – Dance Artist
Skye Wilkinson – Dance Artist
Christopher Hunt – Creative Technologist
CDTA School Teachers
Partners
Royston Museum, Stevenage Museum, Hertfordshire County Dance Teachers Association
Funders
Arts Council EnglandFILMS
The making of Dancing with Light: https://vimeo.com/596630651?embedded=true&source=video_title&owner=75420621
