Lancashire Dancers Global Grooves

LPM Dance’s Helen Gould, front, participates in a unique collaboration with dancers from three other countries. Photo by Brian Hartley

A Lancashire-based dance company has teamed up with one of the most renowned dance companies in a unique international collaboration.

Lancaster’s LPM Dance received support from the Four Nations International Fund to bring together a group of professionals from England, Scotland, Estonia and the USA, to work with, and learn from, artists from the world class Limón Company in New York.

Founded in 1946 by José Limón and Doris Humphrey, the Limón Dance Company has been at the vanguard of American modern dance for decades and is internationally renowned.

All the dancers involved came from different training backgrounds including some with disabilities.

Never before had such a diverse group of professionals from four countries come together to learn and explore the Limón movement technique.

“This was one of the first collaborative international projects of its kind since Brexit and the pandemic,” said George Adams, LPM co-founder. “Things like this are so important to further our work, challenge ourselves and open up new opportunities.”

Dancers from four countries, brought together by LPM Dance, join a virtual session

George and LPM co-founder, Helen Gould travelled to Glasgow to meet up with Julie Spence and Neil Price from Indepen-dance, Scotland’s awardwinning dance company for disabled and non-disabled performers. They then connected virtually with dancer and choreographer, Eve Mutso from Estonia and three Limón company dancers in New York.

“We’re really hoping this is the beginning of something more,” said Helen. “It’s been a really rich experience and we’ve all taken so much from it.”

LPM Dance, founded in Lancaster in 2011, have particular expertise in using dance to improve health and wellbeing and have specialist training in dance and Parkinson’s, dance and dementia, and dance and movement psychotherapy.

George and Helen plan to use the experience of the global collaboration for self-development and to push the boundaries of what LPM Dance can offer in the future. It has also inspired them to pursue other international projects.