balletLORENT’s works have featured
community casts aged 2-92, and
additionally pregnant women and
babies. The dance theatre works
include: PassAge to Passion (1996);
La Famille (1999); Strange Glitter
(2000); The Ball (2002); MaEternal
(2008); and The Night Ball (2013).
The contribution from and inclusion of
untrained dancers into a professional
production has been inspirational.
Their input informs – their ability
determines artistic content – and their
individuality enhances the aesthetic.
These communities are
representative of our audiences.
They bring a vision of real life to the
stage – an authenticity – reflective
of the communities we serve, and
the stories we tell.
balletLORENT’s core aim is to
break down actual or perceived
barriers to engagement by targeting
underrepresented groups in
communities of high socio-economic
deprivation. We choose to work with
individuals who have no, or very little
experience of dance, made accessible
by working with primary schools and communities in these areas.
Community casts - fairytale
The inspiration behind balletLORENT’s
trilogy of Brothers Grimm fairytale
productions (2012-18) for family
audiences, was to tell stories
which had true representation of
the society in which our audiences
live, and the fairytales we were
representing.
The first of these productions,
Rapunzel (2012), had babies, toddlers,
their parents, and 12 young people
alongside the professional ensemble.
The young people were engaged
through the nationwide Centre for
Advanced Training schemes and we
held open workshops for families to
attend.
The second, Snow White (2015)
was to have ten children aged 5-9 to
be cast as village children who also
became forest animals who loved
Snow White dearly. The children in
Newcastle were found through
creative workshops in primary schools,
and we held open workshops in each
of the communities we toured.
Despite our best intentions we
discovered that open workshops were
predominantly attracting children with
dance experience as opposed to those
who perhaps couldn’t afford weekly
dance classes, lacked the confidence
to attend an audition, or simply due to
lack of opportunity, never knew they
had creative talent!
The vision for the third production,
Rumpelstiltskin (2017) was to engage
an intergenerational community cast
with an ambition to ensure that we
reached underprivileged children
and older people and to provide
opportunities for some children
who had taken part in our previous
fairytales to take on more demanding
roles.
Experience told us that we had to
adopt a new model of working to fully
achieve these ambitions in each place
we toured. Children were selected
through creative workshops with Years
1-3, partnering with primary schools in
areas ranked as socio and economically
deprived. 1,952 children (5-9yrs) took
part in workshops, with 137 performing
on stages across the UK.
We delivered workshops with
older adults in the same communities
including community centres, knitting
groups, day-care centres, and
residential homes. So many wonderful
people crossed our paths, but often
we were unable to overcome some of
the barriers to engaging further with
our project due to the support needed
outside of their care setting, or being
unable to commit due to cultural,
health or family situations. 380 older
people took part across the UK aged
from 63-92. 56 performed on stage, of
whom many have continued to send
us knitted socks, leg warmers and
hats and are advocates for their new
balletLORENT family!
“It has been a privileged experience
to work with such a creative, dynamic
and talented group of people.
Something like this is very important
for older people, because we are lonely,
and need something to look forward
to.” Dilys Pritchard, aged 75
These methods of working
proved hugely successful, achieving
outcomes that we aspired to and were
transformative for our participants,
young and old. Apart from knowing
that many of the children who appear
on stage with balletLORENT had never
before stepped into a theatre, there
are many examples of what we have
achieved.
We took a risk on offering ten
children featured roles as the young
Rumpelstiltskin and young Shepherd’s
Daughter with an opportunity to
perform in at least two theatres, giving
them more independence and the
chance to hold the stage alone with a
two-minute duet. The risk paid off.
One boy with autism began to find
focus through school workshops and
joined us in out-of-school rehearsals.
For long periods, he was fascinated
by props, creating delicate solos or
duets with our Creative Associates.
His contribution informed some of the
personality of Rumpelstiltskin, and his
movements became embedded in the
choreography.
A 9-year-old boy we encountered
in a school workshop was very
reluctant to take part in Snow White,
his teachers and parents doubted
he would see the project through,
but he did; he has since engaged in
a children’s boxing group, which has
kept his focus. A year later he was
enthusiastic about the opportunity
to take on the role as the young
Rumpelstiltskin and he got the part!
“Susie suffers from anxiety, but
she completely opened up during her
experience and she cried at the end as
she enjoyed it so much.” Louisa Turner,
Development Worker, Bennochy Parish
Church of Scotland
The Lost Happy Endings
So, what next? The Lost Happy
Endings (2019) (TLHE), an original
story by Carol Ann Duffy, is a venture
away from our previous fairytale works.
When all the happy endings to wellloved
stories are stolen, it is up to Jub
to create new, alternative endings in
time so that all the children of the
world can hear the stories they have
grown to love before bedtime. The
story needs children to play out the
roles when their bedtimes are being
disrupted as well as perform a fairytale
fantasy scene where new endings are
possible.
How do we grow further from our
past experiences? We want to support
the development of more children
who have taken part in our previous
fairytales but discover new talent
alongside. We are doing two things…
Firstly, The Lost Happy Endings
research and development programme
in Newcastle partnered with four
primary schools, three of which in
areas ranked amongst the 10% most
deprived in the country, and highly
culturally and ethnically diverse. 340
children took part in 68 creative
workshops to develop material for
TLHE. We discovered incredible
children who we have invited to join
us for out-of-school workshops to
continue their development. We aim to
give 15 of these children a part in TLHE
in Newcastle and repeat this deeper
engagement project in at least three
disadvantaged areas on tour if funding
is achieved.
And secondly, 24 children who
performed in Snow White and/
or Rumpelstiltskin will be given an
opportunity to play central characters
in TLHE and perform in three different
locations. They will be on tour!
Whilst the success of our
programmes is proven, we continue to
reflect and refine the processes, to hear
the voices of our local communities
and to provide opportunities for
those who otherwise lack access
due to geographic, economic or life
circumstances.
Our aim may not be unique, but
we believe our approach may be – to
work with children, young people and
older adults, who do not have a ‘dance
training’, and to give them a platform
on stage with the company is no
longer risky to us. The moment they
step into the studio they are treated
as equals to any other dancer. Their
voices are heard, and their opinions
valued. They are the artists who
contribute to our productions, and our
work is continually enhanced by the
artistic gift of children and adults who
bring their different physicality, age
and life experience to our studio and
our stage.
Info
www.balletlorent.com
enquiries@balletlorent.com
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+44 191 233 1811