68 DIASPORA EDUCATION AND TRAINING
PLACING DIVERSITY FRONT AND CENTRE WWW.THEPLACE.ORG.UK @THEPLACELONDON
The Place and London Contemporary Dance School (LCDS) look back on a 50-year history of paving the way within the dance industry, with innovation, internationalism and experimentation woven into its DNA. Mining its past as a pioneering arts school, the organisation is looking to challenge the notion of what ‘contemporary’ means leveraging a mission to power imagination and a vision for a world with more dance.
PROGRAMME REVIEW In preparation for the Periodic Programme Review in 2020 – an academic process to reinvigorate programmes every five years - the team spent two years taking time to listen to students, artists, audiences and industry leaders, to understand the conditions needed for change and to take on board what they wanted to see within the industry and within society.
Students at London Contemporary Dance School, The Place. © Camilla Greenwell
“There was a real drive from our Chief Executive Clare Connor not to be afraid of the scale of change we were going to make; this allowed us to fully free our imagination. If we really want to make a difference, what do we need to do?”, asks Baptiste Bourgougnon, Director of Undergraduate Studies. “The new programme allows us to build on what we have learnt but put these ideas centre stage.”
DIVERSITY OF DANCE STYLES
© Camilla Greenwell, 2019 Graduation Show, Holly Blakey work
A central driver was the decentralising focus away from ballet and contemporary technique classes as the pinnacles of a hierarchical structure. LCDS is now introducing Kathak and hip hop classes, as well as practices from the African diaspora such as house, vogueing, locking and traditional African dance practices into the curriculum.
