A SEASON OF DANCE, CULTURE AND COMMUNITY CREATIVITY
IN | motion Spring 2016
LUDUS DANCE
Fringe Benefits
IN motion Spring 2016 Welcome Everyone! Let me take this opportunity to wish you all a prosperous 2016, as I welcome you to the winter edition of ‘INmotion’. For those of you who don’t already know me, I’m Sarah Jane Lockwood, one of Ludus Dance’s Creative Programme Managers. I have been working with Ludus Dance for almost three years now and in that time the main focus of my project work has been in cultural education and directing Ludus Youth Dance Company (LYDC). The past year has been great for Ludus Dance in terms of developing our work in SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) contexts. Projects with The Coppice, Red Marsh and Cribden House special schools have all been very successful, with our freelance dance artists delivering some really high quality work. As a result of this, our new integrated dance company launched in March. The company will be devising with artist Helen Gould again in the New Year, so watch out for their new work at Lancashire Youth Dance Festival in April. We also launched a new ‘LYDC Associate Dancer’ programme in September, which acts as an extension of the Ludus Youth Dance Company model to provide progression routes for gifted and talented young dancers in the North West. LYDC Associate Dancers are offered the chance to train alongside the main company dancers, boosting their technical and creative skills. We still have some spaces left on the programme, so please email info@ludusdance.org if this is something you would be interested in. Through my work, both with Ludus Dance and as a freelance artist, I’ve developed a keen interest in artist professional development. In 2015, I was nominated for Dance UK’s ‘Future Leaders’ Teacher Mentoring Programme. Dance City in Newcastle has agreed to be my link organisation with mentorship from their Artistic Director, Anthony Baker and I’m excited to learn about Dance City’s successful professional development model and to hopefully bring some of that learning back to Lancashire. Between January and May this year I will also be completing my MA in Dance Technique Pedagogy. Please continue to support our events, keep in contact via Facebook and Twitter and do get in contact if you have a project idea or are interested in how you can get involved with Ludus Dance.
Happy Dancing! Sarah
IN motion Spring 2016 Life Begins at 40 Throughout 2015 and into 2016, Ludus Dance has been celebrating a significant milestone – 40 years since the organisation was first founded as a performing and touring dance co-operative. Over subsequent years, the company grew to become an established and renowned champion for dance in Lancashire; working with local people, schools and communities to expand opportunities for people to participate in, watch and enjoy dance as art. At the start of this anniversary year, we were very keen to make any celebrations we undertook count. They should be true to the organisation’s founding principles and, in particular, they should celebrate artistic exploration and experimentation with children and young people. Here are a few of the initiatives we are proud to have been running. Culture Sponge
MAKE
In August 2015 we took a small group of passionate young people (some from our Young People’s Forum and some from Ludus Youth Dance Company) on a day trip to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. This activity wasn’t about giving them a free day out. Rather it gave them the opportunity to experience experimental and innovative performance work, and to draw on these to develop their own individual artistic practices.
We initiated a pilot creative bursaries scheme called MAKE in 2015, to coincide with our anniversary year. The purpose of this initiative has been to support several budding young choreographers (of between 14 and 19 years old) from across the North West, as they work to develop and realise their creative potential. In May, four young people were selected to receive small bursaries of between £100 and £200. Through the year, these bursaries have been accompanied by mentoring and skills-building support from Ludus Dance, which together have enabled these young people to turn their choreographic ideas into reality.
Read a show review by one of the young people at http://bit.ly/culturespongeblog.
But there’s still much more to come...! SAVE THE DATE for our Roaring 40 event! On the evening of Saturday 19th March 2016, Ludus Dance will be hosting an evening of celebration as we round off our anniversary year. This event will be a free public celebration of dance in our community and the key role Ludus Dance has played in Lancashire’s artistic and cultural fibre over the last 4 decades. Taking place in Lancaster’s beautiful Storey building and beginning at 7:30pm, expect live music, pop-up vignette dance performances, charity raffles and plenty of other entertainment. The theme for the evening is loosely 1940s-based, so guests are welcome to don on their favourite vintage outfits (only if you want to!) and come along with a swing in your step. A light buffet will be served during the evening and the bar will be open. We’re hoping to welcome people from across Lancaster and Morecambe who have enjoyed dancing with us through the years, have seen our productions or are simply interested in what we do. We’re also hoping to see a number of current and former Ludus Dance employees, directors, associates and collaborators. This will be a free event but, in order to manage the catering and ensure we stay within capacity, we are asking anyone who wishes to attend to register for a ticket online at www.ludusdanceis40.eventbrite.co.uk. If you cannot register online, please contact us on 0152435936 or send an email to info@ludusdance.org and we will put you on the list. We hope to see you there!
IN motion Spring 2016 Nurturing Young Talent Evie Pendlebury, is proof positive that dance really can open all sorts of doors for young people willing to learn and experiment. We asked her to tell us more about what she’s doing now and the journey she has taken.
“I only started dancing two years ago, when I was 13. I was really shy after having some difficult times at school with bullies, and my route into dance was completely coincidental. I was supposed to be in a Karate class that morning but it was cancelled. My mother, much to my protest, made me join in a street dance class with my sisters and cousins. I loved it! I attended regular lessons for a while and eventually got in a street team, where I blossomed and really developed a passion for dance. Then one of my friends shared an online advert for the Young Visionaries programme offered by Ludus Dance and I decided to apply. Shaking with nerves I auditioned as a street dancer. It was a massive step for me, as I had never done an audition before. But I was made to feel comfortable right from the start. I got accepted and what followed was one of the best experiences of my life! My Ludus Dance mentors encouraged me to try contemporary dance. Yes, I was hopeless and didn’t have a clue what I was doing for most of that first class, but I loved it nonetheless. I found the way everyone was moving so exquisite and unlike anything I had seen before. I knew I wanted to be able to move that way. Everyone at Ludus Dance was so encouraging and supportive. They refused to let me give up. They helped me to laugh when things didn’t go to plan and to learn from my mistakes. It was such good fun. I also met so many other incredible young dancers and I felt that these people really understood me - a bond which I was lacking at school. At the end of the project I was offered the chance to go to the Royal Ballet School in London and to take part in loads of incredible
workshops by admirable people. It was one of the best weeks of my life and really helped me grow, both as a dancer and as a person. Through Ludus Dance, I was also accepted into my first contemporary youth dance company (Outward Focus, now called Crash Test) which gave me the chance to perform in Holland for the International Youth Games - yet another life changing experience! By this point I finally felt confident enough to audition for other companies and in 2015 I was accepted into a youth dance company (Commotions) at the Lowry in Manchester. Many of the other Commotions dancers were on the CAT (Centre for Advance Training) scheme at the Lowry and, after some gentle encouragement from them and my cousin (who was already on the scheme), and a lot of hard work in technique class, I decided to audition. That year I also auditioned for Ludus Youth Dance Company and couldn’t believe it when I was accepted for both! Its hard work travelling and dancing up to 26 hours a week, on top of school work and GCSE’s, but I really do love it and now feel like I wouldn’t be Evie without dance in my life. I’m still a little unsure as to what the future holds. I want to get my A levels whilst continuing on the CAT scheme and training as much as I can. I know that I will always dance and would love to have the chance to dance with a professional company one day. I have also recently done some work in my Mum’s school, teaching dance to children with special needs, and am volunteering at a charity for children with downssyndrome. I have loved it and think that this could be one path I would also enjoy pursuing.”
IN motion Spring 2016 Supporting Regional Dance Artists Ludus Dance has recently been one of the organisations providing mentoring and peer support to Josh Hawkins of Hawk Dance Theatre. We were delighted to hear in November that he had successfully secured funding from Arts Council England to support the ongoing creation of his first full length work, (we)SINK. (we)SINK will be a highly physical dance theatre performance, which explores our changing climate and the displacement of people. It combines dynamic choreography, film projection and elements of audience interaction; creating a world where the dancers take the audience on their journey. As he further develops his piece, Josh will work with Gary Clarke as Artistic Mentor and Spin Arts Management as Producer, as well as with two professional dancers. Hawk Dance Theatre present (we)SINK
Pro Class with Hawk Dance Theatre
Josh’s new work will presented for the first time at the Brewery Arts Centre in Kendal on Wednesday 3 February 2016, at 7:30PM. Tickets available from the Brewery Box Office.
Join Hawk Dance Theatre for our free pro class at our Lancaster dance studio on 14 and 21 January 2016, 10:00-11:30am. Explore with them the company’s unique aesthetic, whilst also sharing bits and pieces of their new work.
IN motion Spring 2016 The Road to Edinburgh
Image: Anthony Briggs
Members of the Ludus Youth Dance Company (LYDC) will be working hard to raise funding for a ‘chance of a lifetime’ opportunity to perform at Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival over the coming months. As one of Lancashire’s flagship youth dance companies, LYDC offers talented young dancers, aged 14-21 and from all walks of life, the opportunity to improve their dance technique, work with nationally respected choreographers and learn about life as a professional artist. After the excitement of being involved in the U.Dance National Festival in Plymouth for the 2014-15 cohort, the Ludus Dance Creative Team decided to push this year’s company in a different direction – giving them opportunity to share their work on a wider stage, alongside professional performers and to get real experience of all aspects of life as a professional performing artist. Experiencing the Fringe first hand will also be an opportunity for them to take cultural nourishment and learning from a wide range of art genres and disciplines. After a 1-week intensive with Gary Clarke – one of the UKs leading contemporary dance artists and choreographers – LYDC are ready to take the piece he devised for them (‘Encore’) on the road. Encore is loosely based on one of Gary’s signature professional pieces, 2 Men & a Michael, and explores the concept of the double act with a vaudeville theme. It includes many characters that audiences can identify with and includes plenty of humour – something that will resonate with Fringe audiences.
So… the stage is set! The Ludus Dance Creative Team, led by LYDC Director, Sarah Lockwood, has booked an outstanding venue in Edinburgh City centre – the Greenside Venues’ Emerald Theatre – and brought together a number of other professional and youth dance partners to create a mixed bill that will perfectly complement the LYDC piece. Running from 8-13 August 2016, it will be a true ‘Northern Takeover’, with professional work from Lancashire and Cumbria based artists, including Maelstrom and Hawk Dance Theatre, as well as welcoming students from the University of Salford. The mixed programme allows us to offer audiences a wide variety of stimulating dance as well as allowing us to book a larger performance space and to share some of the production costs. However, it’s still an expensive exercise and we estimate that the young people in LYDC will need to collectively raise around £6,000 to cover expenses such as accommodation, food, staffing (Ludus Dance chaperones) and also their share of the production costs. As ever, our main focus is to make this opportunity as accessible as possible for the young people involved, regardless of their background. With the young people themselves, we’re exploring a number of fundraising strategies, including: • A Danceathon – open to all and to take place in March 2016; • Other individual sponsored events – for example Sarah Lockwood will be completing a half marathon in January; • Bake sales and supermarket bag packing; • A charity raffle - at the Ludus Dance ‘Roaring 40s’ celebration event in March (see page 3); • Applying for small local grants; and • Corporate sponsorship.
Paul Melling Photography
Over the coming weeks and months we’ll be sharing more details of fundraising appeals and activities online via our website and also on the Ludus Dance social media streams, so please connect and keep your eyes peeled! The team is very keen to hear from individuals or organisations that would like to contribute and help us achieve this stretching target. Can you donate a raffle prize? Are you willing to join-in or help out at the danceathon and fundraise for us? Do you know of local grants that our young people could apply for individually or as a group? Please get in touch with your ideas by emailing sarah.lockwood@ludusdance.org. Follow LYDC on Twitter @LudusYouth_Co
IN motion Spring 2016 Dancing Across Lancashire
outh hire Y l s a c n a La Festiv Dance
grated Breakout Inte ro Dance P ject
Misfits Y outh Dance C ompany
State
X
of FLU
LANCASTER
WYRE BURNLEY
Breakout Integrated Dance Project Our integrated dance project for young people (11-19) in Lancashire, Breakout, continues to meet weekly at Red Marsh School in Wyre (Wednesdays, 3:30pm) and also at Burnley College (Thursday, 5:30pm). Develop movement skills in an open and supported environment. For dancers of all shapes, sizes, abilities and levels of experience. £2 per session.
Lancashire Youth Dance Festival Ludus Dance’s flagship Lancashire Youth Dance Festival is held annually in partnership with the Dukes Theatre in Lancaster. This year’s festival will take place on Friday 22 and Saturday 23 April. Over the two-days, members of youth dance groups meet to participate in workshops and to perform to a public audience in a professional venue. Audience tickets for both nights available from the Dukes Theatre Box Office.
Misfits Youth Dance Company An exciting opportunity for young people (13-21) to work with professional artist Jamie Pickles (Edge Forward, Le Petit Mort, Gary Clarke). Explore your dance making skills and work together to create and perform innovative new work. £2 per session.
State of FLUX We are pleased to have been awarded funding from BBC Children in Need to work with young people from the Junction CAMHS mental health unit in Lancaster. In early 2016 we will be running a series of creative activities aimed at developing communication skills, team working and improving self-esteem.
IN motion Spring 2016 Dancing In Lancaster From beginners to professionals, Ludus Dance offers a welcoming and friendly environment at our Lancaster dance studio. As well as being enjoyable, dancing also offers a wide range of positive health benefits, including better flexibility, strength and stamina. For adults, it’s a great way to reduce stress, gain confidence and meet new people. For children and young people, regular dance lessons can support the development of balance, coordination, stamina, as well as giving youngsters the chance to work as part of a team and improve communication skills. Our high-quality and varied programme of classes makes learning-fun, whether you’re new to dance or looking to improve your technique.
Early Years 0-4 Years • Space Babies (0-17 mths) • Ballet Tots (3-4 yrs)
• Mini Movers (18 mths–3 yrs)
All sessions £3.50 per class.
Young People 5-18 Years • Mini Street Crew (5-8 yrs) • Junior Street Crew (9-13 yrs) • Urban Diversions Performance • Stage Dance (5-7 & 8-11 yrs) Company (8-80 yrs) All sessions £3.80 per class.
Young Adults & Adults 16+ Years • Urban Diversions • RetroSpective Performance Company (8-80 yrs) Performance Group (40+ yrs) • Open Ballet (16+ yrs) • Open Contemporary (16+ yrs) • Beginners/Improvers Tap (16+ yrs) • Stretch and Boogie (40+ yrs)
Prices vary according to lesson duration, see timetable to the right. Concessionary rates available. Block-booking and loyalty scheme discounts available. For more information on these classes, visit www.ludusdance.org or call 01524 35936.
Ludus Dance Satellite Programme As well as running weekly dance classes from our Lancaster studio, we can also help your community centre, nursery or care setting offer dance as a regular activity. For example, Ludus Dance artists provide weekly dance sessions for Little Learners Nursery & Preschool in Galgate. If you would like to discuss offering dance at your centre or setting, please contact a member of our Dance Development team at info@ ludusdance.org or on 01524 35936.
IN motion Spring 2016 Lancaster Dance Classes Timetable
Term Dates
Mondays Space Babies (£3.50) 10:00-10:45am Mini Movers (£3.50) 11:00–11:45am Stretch and Boogie (£5.30/£4.77) 6:00-7:00pm RetroSpective Performance Group (POA) 7:00-8:15pm
Tuesdays Mini Street Crew (£3.80) 4:00-5:00pm
Monday 4 January to Monday 4 April Half Term: Monday 15 February to Sunday 21 February Bank Holiday: Monday 28 March
How do I book? Call us on 01524 35936 Visit our website at www.ludusdance.org
Open Contemporary (£6.25/£5.60) 7:00-8:15pm
Discounts available for full or half term advance bookings, or you can just turn up and pay on the door.
Thursdays
What to Wear
Junior Street Crew (£3.80) 5:00-6:00pm
Pro Class (Free) 10:00-11:30am Urban Diversions Performance 5:00-6:00pm Company (£4.00) Beginners/Improvers Tap (£5.30/£4.77) 6:00-7:00pm Open Ballet (£6.25/£5.60) 7:00-8.15 pm
Saturdays Ballet Tots (£3.50) 9:00-9:40am Ballet Tots (£3.50) 9:45-10:25am Stage Dance (£3.80) 10:30-11:15am Stage Dance (£3.80) 11:30-12:30pm
Anything you feel comfortable in, which doesn’t restrict your movement. Bare feet are ideal for working on our dance floor, although some classes require trainers or shoes (not black soled). If you are not sure, please ask. Please remove all jewellery before each session.
Hire our Studio Our well equipped 7m x 15m dance studio can be used for rehearsals, private classes workshops and events at competitive rates. Email info@ludusdance.org for details.
IN motion Spring 2016 Contact Us Tel: 0152435936 Email: info@ludusdance.org Website: www.ludusdance.org facebook.com/ludusdance twitter.com/ludusdance youtube.com/ludusdance Ludus Dance: Assembly Rooms, King Street, Lancaster, LA1 1RE.
Ludus Dance is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England No. 7729308, and a registered charity, Charity Registration No. 1144163.